I agree; a physician who ignores the cancerous tumor growing within his patient for fear of making him "uncomfortable" isn't being very loving. But neither is a physician who gives a diagnosis, a course of treatment, and then ignores the patient as an individual. There's a balance.

That said, "He started it" doesn't fly with my son and nephews; what chance do you think you have? ;) We have been admonished to respond to questions with love, and also with respect. I don't know if you've ever done pastry work, but when you temper chocolate, you raise and lower the temperature over and over until, when it's just right, the sugar and fat crystals in the chocolate are all aligned. To be "tempered" is to have everything aligned and working towards a same purpose. So love, tempered with respect, are to work together to the purpose of salvation.

Of course, there's also simply difference of personality to take into account; I can't see St. Matthew speaking with the same force as St. Paul, but who's to say whose ministry is better? I know I have heart issues with anger and forcefulness and a lack of grace. Again, I don't bring it up towards any one person, just a general reminder I felt on my heart. :)

That doesn't really answer the question. All you're saying is "Evidence exists" without actually providing any, or even any sources, much less an unbiased, objective source, which is all I'm really interested in. You're not going to prove that Sharon's argument about persecution in Iceland is false by arguing about persecution in Missouri.

Geoff,__Do you have any specific sources? I've been looking on the internet for 45 minutes or so, and all I can find are anecdotal stories on Mormon sources -- in other words, the exact issue that Sharon is talking about: Individual accounts without any actual verifiable proof.__It's kinda like if we only believed the Holocaust occured because we have Anne Frank's diary. Obviously, the evidence in favor of the Holocaust's having taken place -- police records, video, images, corroborating evidences, accounts of the persecutors as well as the victims, facilities, etc -- are much more important and reliable than the diaries of a preteen girl.__I'm not saying personal accounts count for nothing. I'm just saying that individual accounts are less convincing than objective evidences, for the simple reason that individuals are largely deceptive, especially when they have an agenda upon which their eternal destination rests.

I would be careful about pointing to anecdotal experience, for the same reasons that I would caution a Mormon against using personal experience as a "gauge" for whether or not they have the Holy Spirit in their lives: Because individual experiences vary widely and are often unreliable as a measure of objective fact. I'm certain that there ARE Mormons who are ostracized for their faith; I mean, I'm a Messianic Jew, I get harassed for my faith from time to time. While it does ENHANCE my faith, my faith is not based on it; rather, my faith is based on the validity of the Inspired Torah and the Completed Gospel of Jesus Christ.

While, as slaves of Christ it is our duty to respond to Mormonism's false doctrines with Biblical Truth, it is also our responsibility to defend the persecuted, whomever he may be.

...1John 4:1-2 -- the Biblical Jesus, not the BoM Jesus!)

Geoff, if you witnessed a healing take place as a result of Tibettan Buddhist meditation, or touching a Catholic relic, or blessing from a Witch, would you abandon the god of Mormonism and follow those other faiths? Jesus tells us that there will be (and there are!) false prophets who would perform wonders in His name (Matt 7:22). He told us that it is a WICKED and FOOLISH generation that looks for a sign (Matt 12:32). Personal experience is NOT the basis against which we are to measure the presence of the Holy Spirit, but the Bible. (1 Thess 5:21

Definitely default by date. And if it can be organized by reverse date, so much the better. I still seem to be having some issues with it -- for instance, being automatically logged out after only a few minutes, and not being able to comment more than a few hundred characters -- but overall, it is a lot more streamlined, I'm sure whatever bugs will get worked out eventually.

I think the misunderstanding between Mormons and Christians is the idea of "salvation." The Mormon will tell you, "Yes, of course, we're all SAVED by grace alone! What's the problem?" The problem is the difference between SALVATION and the Mormon idea of exaltation. See, Christians don't have a different idea of salvation or exaltation. When you die, you go to Heaven and live and worship and love in God's eternal and abiding rest forever and ever, or you go to Hell where you're eternally separated from God. For the Mormon, you die and go to a level of Heaven based on your works. You don't get to be with God because God is always going to be infinitely above you in His level of progression. The best you can possibly hope for is that your works, your MERIT, earn you a highest Heaven where you can become your own god.