mentalgymnast wrote:Want to try again?
No thanks. You can play your game without me.
Who Knows wrote:mentalgymnast wrote:Want to try again?
No thanks. You can play your game without me.
mentalgymnast wrote: In my experience over the last fifteen years or so I have not, through any official channels or organs of the church, been told to run away screaming from "anti-mormon" sources.
mentalgymnast wrote:Who Knows wrote:mentalgymnast wrote:Want to try again?
No thanks. You can play your game without me.
I don't see it as a game. Undercutting the goodness/decency of men that have dedicated their lives to spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world and making honest attempts to help members of the church perfect themselves and be happy in this life and the next is serious business indeed.
Regards,
MG
harmony wrote:mentalgymnast wrote: In my experience over the last fifteen years or so I have not, through any official channels or organs of the church, been told to run away screaming from "anti-mormon" sources.
Then I suggest reading pg 14 of the newest New Era. The instructions there are quite clear. Or don't you consider church magazines to be official channels or organs of the church?
harmony wrote:mentalgymnast wrote:Who Knows wrote:mentalgymnast wrote:Want to try again?
No thanks. You can play your game without me.
I don't see it as a game. Undercutting the goodness/decency of men that have dedicated their lives to spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world and making honest attempts to help members of the church perfect themselves and be happy in this life and the next is serious business indeed.
Regards,
MG
Remember who the producers of the program were, MG. This was not a church-produced program, dedicated to preserving the undeserved reverence surrounding our church leaders.
mentalgymnast wrote:• Say you would rather read something you trust, like the scriptures.
• Spending a lot of time and energy reading anti-Mormon literature would be a waste.
• If you run across it, discuss it with someone who is knowledgeable about the gospel.
• Never take anti-Mormon literature at face value.
• Honest inquiry is good, but everything needs a proper perspective and context.
First, it would be a waste to spend a lot of time and energy reading it.
Second, you should never take the claims of anti-Mormon literature at face value.
Think of how you feel when you read the Book of Mormon, pray, or bear your testimony. How do those feelings compare with the feelings that come from reading anti-Mormon literature?
We’re not against honest inquiry in the Church. We welcome it. The Apostle Paul said, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good”
We seem to have a host of critics. Some appear intent on trying to destroy us. They mock that which is sacred. They belittle that which we call divine. Some have said that we are trapped by our history, others have worked with great diligence seeking flaws in our early leaders.
As we continue our search for truth, particularly we of the Church, that we look for strength and goodness rather than weakness and foibles in those who did so great a work in their time.
MG: These are good suggestions. If I had a child that was showing interest in or had a friend who was trying to get them to look at a site like this, for example, I would sit down and read this article with them for beginners and then see how things evolve. Kids are going to be curious. I think this article recognizes this and is simply pointing out things to consider when investigating alternate points of view.
I find it interesting that you seem to take this article as being a call to run away screaming, so to speak, from people such as yourself.
"Some appear intent on trying to destroy us." Would this apply to you?
Regards,
MG
harmony wrote:We have a host of critics because we've gone out of our way to keep information from members and the general public. Our PR department works overtime (as witnessed by your thread).
My love for this church is well-documented, MG.
I long ago came to the conclusion that God is no more at the helm of this church now than he was in 1820. I'm just waiting for the announcement from SLCentral that confirms it.
Our leaders in SLCentral cannot acknowledge that they have input from anyone; doing so would undermine their smoke and mirrors about the supposed revelations they receive on behalf of the church.
I will give you one of the Keys of the mysteries of the Kingdom. It is an eternal principle, that has existed with God from all eternity: That man who rises up to condemn others, finding fault with the Church, saying that they are out of the way, while he himself is righteous, then know assuredly, that that man is in the high road to apostasy; and if does not repent, will apostatize, as God lives (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1938]
The final stage of apostasy is reached when the person gives up and becomes despondent about ever finding peace and fellowship in the Church. This bitter despondency may turn to cynical attacks against the Church or its members, including relatives and former close friends. It is plain to see how accurately Nephi describes Satan’s influence on the primrose pathway to apostasy: Others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, . . . and [he] leadeth them away carefully down to hell. And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains. (2 Ne. 28:21-22.) Not only will some people give themselves over to Satan’s influence, but they may also go one step further and actively persecute and fight against the Church. In other words, they may leave the Church, but they cannot leave it alone. (Victor L. Ludlow, Principles and Practices of the Restored Gospel [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1992], 193.)