"The Church Is True" What Does It Mean?

[Anonymous]

One of the more common phrases spoken by Mormons is "the church is true". What exactly that means, I don't really know. Yes, the organization does exist. I see a Temple everyday, I see a wardhouse everyday, I see missionaries...everyFREAKINGday (it seems). There is evidence that the Church exists, so in a sense the church is true.

On the other hand, the evidence to support Mormonism largely isn't true. The Book of Mormon appears to be almost completely fictionalized. Book of Abraham, ditto. Golden Plates, ditto. Angels in (America) upstate New York, ditto. Almost every scientific test for the mythology of Mormonism has failed.

So we are left with an organization. A church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. A church built on the most unstable of ground. An organization without little to stand on except the words of a few men. Is the church true? Yes. Is the mythology upon which Mormonism based true? Absolutely not.

So is the church true or false? Or largely true? Or largely false?

I'd say largely false.

Bond

[_Mercury]

One of the more common phrases spoken by Mormons is "the church is true". What exactly that means, I don't really know. Yes, the organization does exist. I see a Temple everyday, I see a wardhouse everyday, I see missionaries...everyFREAKINGday (it seems). There is evidence that the Church exists, so in a sense the church is true.

It means that "the church" has the property of being true, a hard to define characteristic applied to simple esoteric concepts used to explain highly improbable events that in all likelyhood NEVER HAPPENED

...matter of fact I would bet my life on it.

On the other hand, the evidence to support Mormonism largely isn't true. The Book of Mormon appears to be almost completely fictionalized. Book of Abraham, ditto. Golden Plates, ditto. Angels in (America) upstate New York, ditto. Almost every scientific test for the mythology of Mormonism has failed.

DIg a little deeper...its not just "not true", its inherently dishonest.

So we are left with an organization. A church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. A church built on the most unstable of ground. An organization without little to stand on except the words of a few men. Is the church true? Yes. Is the mythology upon which Mormonism based true? Absolutely not.

Bond

So they now have an old boys club with multi generational wealth. Its our job to destroy it brick by brick. This means that our job is a long and hard road where small bits can be chipped away until we find the one keystone brick. Maybee not in ten years, maybee not even in our lifetimes. We need to develop multigenerational protections against the Mormon mind virus and other simmilar pathogens. Until this destructive collection of Memes has been wiped off the face of the earth

Its all about the social nature of the medium. Without looking at this from the perspective of a largely social context one truly cannot see how to slay the beast of Mormonism.

[_Polygamy Porter]

It is the rote message tattooed on the inside of the Mormon children's eyelids.

The statement, declaring a boolean value about an organization really demonstrates how rote the phrase really is. Members are just repeating it.

"True" and "False" are boolean statements similar to on and off, and on the computer 1 and 0. A statement can have a value of true or false, but not a noun.

Using the same phrase on anything else in the same structure sounds like improper english, then again, perhaps to non Mormon folks who did not grow up hearing that same pathetic phrase, it sounds like improper english.

The US is TRUE.

The Lions Club is TRUE.

The Constitution is TRUE.

The military is TRUE.

This discussion board is TRUE.

I wonder if nevermos get the same bad taste when they hear "The church is TRUE"

A more proper term would be divine. The church is divine, meaning from god. But then that is a false statement :)

[_Runtu]

It is the rote message tattooed on the inside of the Mormon children's eyelids.

The statement, declaring a boolean value about an organization really demonstrates how rote the phrase really is. Members are just repeating it.

"True" and "False" are boolean statements similar to on and off, and on the computer 1 and 0. A statement can have a value of true or false, but not a noun.

Using the same phrase on anything else in the same structure sounds like improper english, then again, perhaps to non Mormon folks who did not grow up hearing that same pathetic phrase, it sounds like improper english.

The US is TRUE.

The Lions Club is TRUE.

The Constitution is TRUE.

The military is TRUE.

This discussion board is TRUE.

I wonder if nevermos get the same bad taste when they hear "The church is TRUE"

A more proper term would be divine. The church is divine, meaning from god. But then that is a false statement :)

On my mission, we would say that if you were struggling with your testimony, you could still be an effective missionary by saying such things as the following:

I know the Book of Mormon is blue.
I know that Gordon B. Hinckley lives today and leads this church.
I know that Joseph Smith was the true founder of our church.

Works for me.

[_Sam Harris]

To be honest, I never quite understood that saying. And when I did say it, it had taken me four years to say it. I said it based on the church's fruits, but given what I know now, I'm kind of iffy on that. People like Liz, Rollo, Mok, et al are either very quiet or very scarce. My mom used to say that the bad ones were always the loudest, and I hope this is the case with regards to the church.

But yeah, I don't quite get the whole "I know this church is true" bit. I think I said it back then more because I needed to than because I believed in a true church. I don't even believe in a true religion. I believe in true false questions, they can be annoying when you don't know the answer. The odds always fall on me getting the blasted question wrong...

[_moksha]

One of the more common phrases spoken by Mormons is "the church is true". What exactly that means, I don't really know.

I think it is used for its hypnotic effect. Some LDS clarify this statement to mean they believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ as presented by the LDS Church to be true, others simply seek to fulfill the will of Landru.