Servant wrote:"My concern in this post is the true blue Mormon. Are new order Mormons justified in being hesitant to come out to them? While some saints will be welcoming and loving of all people who want to be affiliated with the church in any capacity, I think a great deal of regular saints feel threatened by new order Mormons, and as a result have less than charitable reactions." (source:
http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/20 ... r-mormons/)
Are there any N.O. Mormons here, or is this forum basically Mormon hanger-ons who have a high opinion of their humor (or supposed intellect) and just like to goof around plus a few real Mormons who actually are "near TBMs" ?
If there are any N.O. Mormons here, I'd like to know if they believe in an actual God - and is their concept of God more closely aligned to the Christian view of an Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient God Who is Spirit, or the Mormon god who appears to be some kind of exalted human being from another planet (if you read Joseph Smith).
I'm wondering if Mormonism is undergoing any kind of transition in its theology (other than some kind of higher textual criticism placing God in the category of an Edomite deity), and is there a movement toward embracing a move orthodox view of Deity? There seems to be a new move to minimize the whole "exaltation" doctrine TBMs have so long cherished!
I am a NOM. About 10 years ago, I was going through a real crisis of faith, and when I first heard the term "cafeteria Mormon", I really identified with it. John Dehlin's PowerPoint presentation on "the Middle Way" had a really strong impression on me. Frankly, if it wasn't for that presentation, it is very likely that I would have left the Church altogether, so I will always be grateful to John for that.
If there are any N.O. Mormons here, I'd like to know if they believe in an actual God - and is their concept of God more closely aligned to the Christian view of an Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient God Who is Spirit, or the Mormon god who appears to be some kind of exalted human being from another planet (if you read Joseph Smith).
I do believe in an actual God. And I have always thought of God as a Heavenly Father. I am unsure of whether or not he is an Omnipresent spirit, or One who has a perfected body. I believe that there are just some mysteries that we won't know until we actually die and get to Heaven. What I do believe is that God will judge us all based on our hearts rather than whether or not we "dotted this i" or "crossed this t". I also don't think that He will separate families based on what denomination people chose to belong to in this life. My personal belief is that what is most important to God is how we love each other and how we treat each other.
I'm wondering if Mormonism is undergoing any kind of transition in its theology (other than some kind of higher textual criticism placing God in the category of an Edomite deity), and is there a movement toward embracing a move orthodox view of Deity? There seems to be a new move to minimize the whole "exaltation" doctrine TBMs have so long cherished!
I think that there is a lot more mainstreaming happening within the Church. President Hinckley made some tremendous strides in that direction. That is why you do see changes in the Gospel Essentials manual which, as you pointed out, diminish the strict exaltation doctrine that existed previously.