SteveH

SteveH

34p

45 comments posted · 1 followers · following 0

15 years ago @ Mormon Coffee - The Impact of Mormonis... · 0 replies · +1 points

Aaron,

Regarding your comments, I would disagree with your portrayal of God as a "hand-me-down" artist - in other words there is no originality in His creations.

God the Father spoke to Moses face to face and declared:
Moses 1:3 - 4
"And God spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name; for I am without beginning of days or end of years; and is not this endless?
And, behold, thou art my son; wherefore look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease."

Moses 1:33
"Worlds without number have I created"

For what purpose?
God the Father declared to Moses:
Moses 1:39
"For behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."

Further God the Father declares:
Moses 2: 1
"I am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten (Jesus) I created these things; yea, in the beginning I created the heaven, and the earth upon which thou standest."

It would inaccurate in LDS doctrine to portray God the Father as a "hand-me-down Artist".

15 years ago @ Mormon Coffee - Mormon Coffee Tabletal... · 0 replies · +2 points

Aaron,

Not to be contentious, but it appears that you truly do not understand what Mormons refer to as a "Testimony". It is much more than a private emotional experience. To the Latter-day Saint a testimony entails personal revelation directly revealed to the individual through the power of the Holy Ghost who bears witness of the truth or through other means of divine revelation.

A testimony as personal revelation can take many forms whether it be something as dramatic as a visitation from Christ, the ministering of angels, hearing the audible voice of God, being transfigured, being caught up in the spirit (as the apostle Paul would describe it) and transported to heaven, having a miraculous healing of a terminal disease and so forth. More commonly a Latter-day Saint can receive a testimony of a specific principle of the gospel such as the blessings which come from obeying the law of tithing or the greater spirituality that comes from praying and reading the scriptures on a daily basis.

Latter-day Saints affirm that God speaks not just to prophets but all who are willing to listen to Him. This is the great blessing of having modern revelation.

Unlike evangelicals, we do not try to muzzle Christ in saying that God cannot speak to mankind in this day and age.

15 years ago @ Mormon Coffee - Mormon Coffee Tabletal... · 0 replies · +1 points

Gundek,

It always amazes me how evangelicals are so ready to reject Christ and his messengers.

In the Revelations 11 John reveals in considerable detail the mission of two witnesses (prophets) who will be sent to Jerusalem to preach the Gospel just prior to the Second Coming of Christ. If you sincerely believe in Jesus Christ and the Bible then would not the words and message of these two divinely appointed individuals be of great worth? Or will you reject them because what they say does not identically comport with your Protestant interpretation of the scriptures?

15 years ago @ Mormon Coffee - Mormon Coffee Tabletal... · 2 replies · +2 points

Aaron,

On the contrary, I accept the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine of Covenants because the Holy Ghost has borne witness directly to me of their sacred veracity. It is you who is rejecting Christ.

15 years ago @ Mormon Coffee - Progression to Godhood... · 0 replies · +1 points

MichaelP,

It is recorded in the New Testament in numerous places that Christ instructed his disciples NOT to tell the world about some specific aspects of His teachings or sacred events that took place.

One example would be what transpired on the Mount of Transfiguration wherein Jesus and three of his disciples (Peter, James, and John) ascended this high mountain. On the mountain top Jesus and his three disciples met with Moses and Elijah and God the Father who declared:

Matthew 17: 5
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

In Matthew 17:9 Jesus instructs his disciples to tell no one about the vision or what transpired there.

What occurred on the Mount of transfiguration was that the Keys of the Kingdom
of God (or the power and authority specifically held by Moses and Elijah) were transfered to Christ's disciples Peter, James and John.

The sacred events which occurred on the Mount of Transfiguration are a great mystery to biblical scholars and have been hotly debated through the ages.

The Lord has chosen to reveal an understanding of these sacred events in this dispensation. This is but one example of the great value of modern revelation and prophets.

15 years ago @ Mormon Coffee - Progression to Godhood... · 0 replies · +1 points

Gundek,

I have never understood why some evangelical sects reject the words of Jesus Christ when he states very plainly:

John 3:5

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

There are numerous other examples in the New Testament where Christ states very plainly that the ordinance of baptism is absolutely necessary. Yet, notwithstanding the clear and plain words of Jesus, evangelicals (unlike the rest of Christendom) totally reject the necessity of this ordinance.

Given that evangelical theology so easily rejects such a basic tenet of Christianity as well as many other basic tenets (ordinances and covenants, the priesthood, the importance of marriage etc.) can evangelicals be properly called Christians?

15 years ago @ Mormon Coffee - Mormon Coffee Tabletal... · 0 replies · +2 points

Aaron,

This all smacks of bibliolatry - in other words the worship of the Bible over God. Why is it that evangelicals always try to muzzle God? Are evangelicals really Christian? I am inclined to think not. Is not the Bible God's Word written by His prophets who received direct testimony of the Lord?

So according to the evangelical approach you would totally discount the Apostle Paul's epiphany which he received on the road to Damascus because it was a private, emotional testimony. Paul's account was certainly not in accord with the interpretation of the scriptures of the religious experts of the time (the Sanhedrin and Sadducees). Likewise you would discount the meeting between the Lord and Moses because this was a personal epiphany.

According to this evangelical formula all communication between man and God is to be discounted because it is an emotional epiphany. Well, doesn't that discount the entire Bible?

15 years ago @ Mormon Coffee - Progression to Godhood... · 0 replies · +1 points

Michael,

What you wrote is anything but clear:

"I do repeat what Paul explicitly says, that if folks cannot avoid sinning through sex, they ought not to get married. How can you read anything different into his clear words? And his clear words suggest that marriage was not a commandment."

Are you suggesting that Paul was advising the early church members in Corinth that "if they cannot avoid sinning through sex, they ought not to get married". In other words, are you stating that Paul was advocating sexual promiscuity for those who are not married???

Isn't this exactly the opposite of what Paul was writing to the saints in Corinth - to avoid the rampant sexual promiscuity that was so prevalent in Greek culture.

This does not make sense to me.

In regard to you other point concerning misrepresenting LDS doctrine; evangelicals do not so much "interpret {our} faith differently" but rather are very uninformed as to what Latter-day Saints actually believe and practice in their faith.

15 years ago @ Mormon Coffee - Progression to Godhood... · 2 replies · +1 points

Michael,

No, it doesn't make sense to me nor to the vast majority of Christendom.

It is curious how evangelical theology negates some six millenia of Biblical teaching. The vast majority of Christian denominations (apostolic faiths such as Roman Catholicism, Greek and Russian Orthodox, Coptic, Marionite, Anglican etc. including most mainline Protestant churches - Lutheran, Anabaptist, Calvinists etc.) affirm the absolute necessity of sacraments or ordinances and covenants such as baptism.

Evangelical theology is in the minority on this issue on insisting that ordinances and covenants are not necessary. This begs the question: are evangelicals really Christian if they totally reject Christ's teachings on such vital matters as baptism?

Is not the notion of cheap grace a false gospel?

15 years ago @ Mormon Coffee - Mormon Coffee Tabletal... · 0 replies · +2 points

Aaron,

Could you elaborate on what you mean when you say:

"perhaps is the difference between bearing God's testimony and bearing one's personal testimony."