Megacles wrote:My goodness, Servant, you have certainly been putting on a show here over the last few weeks. I do not usually post in the Terrestrial forum because I prefer to avoid contention as much as possible, however today I am making an exception.
I want to inform you of a few pressing things, and then perhaps ask you a question. I hope you will participate in this thread.
You seem to be of the mistaken understanding that members here have a desire to defend Mormon beliefs. From what I have noticed in almost a year of lurking and occasional participation is that most folks here are no longer believing Mormons. In fact, most folks here actively mock Mormonism. There are a few--I can count them on one hand, perhaps--active Mormons here: myself, maklelan, Kevin Sim, and bcspace.
From what I have gathered, a large portion of members here are atheist and are prone to mock religion in general. For example, I believe that many here might ask you 'why are your weird dogmatic beliefs any stranger than Mormon weird dogmatic beliefs'?
And now, if I may ask you a question: in another thread, you said
Servant wrote:I am an Anglican. Their beliefs are recorded in the Nicene Creed. You'll find that on the internet.
Why are you an Anglican? Every other traditional Christian church believes that their beliefs are recorded in the Nicene Creed. If that is the case (i.e. one common creed), why is there more than one traditional Christian denomination?
If you are a Mormon, are you a TBM, or one more or less of the "higher critic" types? I've only seen one person on the forum who'd I'd classify as a TBM.
Megacles wrote:Why are you an Anglican? Every other traditional Christian church believes that their beliefs are recorded in the Nicene Creed. If that is the case (i.e. one common creed), why is there more than one traditional Christian denomination?
Servant wrote:If you are a Mormon, are you a TBM, or one more or less of the "higher critic" types? I've only seen one person on the forum who'd I'd classify as a TBM.
I am sorry, Servant, but where I come from we answer questions before we begin asking. It is only polite.
I will answer this question for you, though: I reject such labels. I am a believing, active Latter-day Saint.
Megacles wrote:I am sorry, Servant, but where I come from we answer questions before we begin asking. It is only polite.
I will answer this question for you, though: I reject such labels. I am a believing, active Latter-day Saint.
I've never understood labels like this either. I believe Mormonism may have a basis in fact. Does that mean I believe everything ever stated about Mormonism also has a basis in fact? Of course not. But my willingness to entertain certain arguments in favor of Mormonism (and on occasion attend the LDS version) should qualify me to be as Mormon as any other believer I think.
"You lack vision, but I see a place where people get on and off the freeway. On and off, off and on all day, all night.... Tire salons, automobile dealerships and wonderful, wonderful billboards reaching as far as the eye can see. My God, it'll be beautiful." -- Judge Doom
Sorry, but you are failing to make the distinction between Continuing Anglicans (of which I am a part) and Episcopalians and other liberal Anglican groups.
Continuing Anglicans are evangelicals, are conservative in their interpretation of the Scriptures, support Right to Life and Traditional Marriage, and do not ordain homosexuals or female priests (although some allow female deacons, but not as a regular "holy order.") There are several continuing Anglican churches - United Episcopal, Anglican Episcopal, Orthodox Episcopal, Anglican Church in N.A. (the largest) Reformed Episcopal and Anglican Catholic. Most of these groups meet together and cooperate on different levels.
Megacles wrote:I am sorry, Servant, but where I come from we answer questions before we begin asking. It is only polite.
I will answer this question for you, though: I reject such labels. I am a believing, active Latter-day Saint.
I've never understood labels like this either. I believe Mormonism may have a basis in fact. Does that mean I believe everything ever stated about Mormonism also has a basis in fact? Of course not. But my willingness to entertain certain arguments in favor of Mormonism (and on occasion attend the LDS version) should qualify me to be as Mormon as any other believer I think.
In my opinion, an examination of Joseph Smith's lifestyle and his false prophecies precludes any possibility that Mormonism is anything but a fiction conjured up by a 19th century hoaxter.
Servant wrote: Why are there 150 sects of Mormonism?
Actually there have been more than 400 different expressions of the church since the time that Joseph Smith founded his original version in 1830.
Today we have the SLC based version which claims 15 million members (actual numbers are probably half that), and the RLDS/Community of Christ with a few hundred thousand, the FLDS (run by the wacko Jeffs) with perhaps 10,000 members. Beyond that are small scattered fundamentalist groups, mostly polygamist, whom no one has ever heard of.
What do you mean by 150 sects of Mormonism?
"Any over-ritualized religion since the dawn of time can make its priests say yes, we know, it is rotten, and hard luck, but just do as we say, keep at the ritual, stick it out, give us your money and you'll end up with the angels in heaven for evermore."