John Larsen wrote:I don't understand why you think the answers provided by your stake president are a thing of interest. Who is he?
They will probably be of little or no interest to you. On the other hand, the reaction of the stake presidency to the questions may be of some interest. It will be to me.
Who is he? No one special, I suppose. Just a man (and two other men serving as his counselors) who has just been called to preside, as the spiritual leader, over 4000 men, women, and children in a typical town in the Mormon heartland.
I imagine that he will be confronted with many tough questions over the course of the next nine years. I just figured I'd let him know what he could be in for. And who better to provide samples of the tough questions than this tough crowd in Shadyville?
John Larsen wrote:I don't understand why you think the answers provided by your stake president are a thing of interest. Who is he?
They will probably be of little or no interest to you. On the other hand, the reaction of the stake presidency to the questions may be of some interest. It will be to me.
Who is he? No one special, I suppose. Just a man (and two other men serving as his counselors) who has just been called to preside, as the spiritual leader, over 4000 men, women, and children in a typical town in the Mormon heartland.
I imagine that he will be confronted with many tough questions over the course of the next nine years. I just figured I'd let him know what he could be in for. And who better to provide samples of the tough questions than this tough crowd in Shadyville?
Except all we would get is your interpretation of his reaction. Give him the URL, I sure he knows how to use a computer. We can ask him the questions directly. We can probably give him some good tips, too.
beastie wrote:1. What do you think the impact would be on wards if individual members took upon themselves the role of ferreting out closet nonbelievers and attempting to ascertain if those same nonbelievers are trying to undermine other people's faith, or if they are simply trying to resolve troubling issues, in order to expose them and force them out of the church?
perhaps with this addition:
we would determine this based on their "countenance", and how many warm fuzzies it did or did not give us.
1. After the death of his first wife, Dallin Oaks proclaimed in a 2002 talk given at BYU that his second wife was his eternal companion. Will Dallin Oaks have 2 eternal companions, or did the second wife take the place of the first wife?
2. The Book of Mormon forcefully proclaims that there are two Churches; the Church of the Devil or the Church of God. Is the Roman Catholic Church part of the Church of the devil or the Church of God?
3. If ordinances used by the Church are a restoration of ancient ordinances, and if the modification of ordinances, such as sprinkling for Baptism, by the Catholic Church and others are a sign of their apostasy, is the modification of ordinances such as the 2005 change to symbolically wash and anoint a sign of apostasy? Which version represents the restored version?
4. What happened to the second anointing? Is it no longer necessary? If it is not necessary why was it performed? Is it performed today in secret?
5. Were the blacks legitimately denied the priesthood before 1978 or were the brethren wrong about this policy?
6. Could the Lord raise a prophet, like Samuel the Lamanite or Jeremiah from outside the Church to reform the Church? Why not?
1. Please document the revelation that restored the M. priesthood, complete with date, time, place, and witnesses.
2. How much did the conference center cost? What was the bidding process? Which family members of current general authorities benefited from the contracts?
3. How much tithing was deposited in your stake in the last 10 years? How much humanitarian aid was given out in that time period?
4. What financial advantage do you expect to gain from your calling?
5. How do you explain the fact that Joseph married his first plural wife (supposedly) prior to restoring the sealing power?
6. Where does your loyalty lie... with the LDS church or with God?
7. Would you give your innocent virgin 15 year old daughter to the prophet as his plural wife, in return for a promise of exaltation for your family?
8. Would you follow a con man?
9. How much are the general authorities paid?
10. What would you do if the prophet declared that he'd received a revelation giving women the same priesthood as men have?
1. Was it a "lie", or otherwise dishonest, for Joseph Smith to stage a fake sealing ceremony between himself and the two Partridge sisters in front of Emma, who had consented to their marriage to him, in order to conceal from her the fact that he'd already had himself sealed to each of them, separately, several months previous?
2. Do you think it would be appropriate for a Prophet to call one of his Apostles on a mission to a foreign land, and then make marriage proposals to that Apostle's wife while he was gone, and without his knowledge? Would it be appropriate for this Prophet to be sealed to this Apostle's wife and have sex with her, without this Apostle knowing about it? Do you think it would be this Apostle's business and right to know that his wife was having sex with the Prophet, or would it be a matter solely for his wife and the Prophet, and he had no right to know about it?
3. How was Joseph Smith's affair with Fanny Alger a proper expression of the True and Everlasting Covenant if the marriage ceremony, if there even was a marriage ceremony, was performed a couple of years prior to the "Sealing Power" being restored in the Kirtland temple?
4. Do you agree with Joseph Smith (as per his letter to Nancy Rigdon) that there is no absolute right or wrong - that some things which are often wrong can be right, depending on the circumstance, and whether God wills it?
5. If a member of your stake had extramarital sex but told you, in an interview, that it was OK because God had revealed to him that it was, would you be OK with that?
6. Do you agree with the published view of the Church, that the Flood of Noah was in fact a global, catastrophic event, as confirmed through latter day revelation?
7. Which apologetic theory do you subscribe to in explaining how the Book of Abraham was translated from some run of the mill Egyptian funeral spellbook documents?
8. Is masturbation second in seriousness only to murder? If not, then just how serious is it?
9. Is it appropriate for men in the positions of Bishop and Stake President to ask young men and young women, alone in his office, whether they touch their genitals inappropriately?
10. How do you reconcile the fact, as we now know it, that human beings have existed on the Earth for at least a hundred thousand years, and perhaps closer to two hundred thousand years, in light of the Biblical timeline that goes back to Adam and Eve only around six thousand years ago? Do you believe that things were living and dying on the Earth prior to Adam's Fall ~6000 years ago?
Mormonism ceased being a compelling topic for me when I finally came to terms with its transformation from a personality cult into a combination of a real estate company, a SuperPac, and Westboro Baptist Church. - Kishkumen
Seth, lol, you're the man. I would only add something like, "If you were sent on a mission to Europe and came home to find a general authority had married your wife and had sexual relations with her, would that increase your testimony of the gospel and the Lord's ever pervasive power to make something "wrong in one situation", "right in another?"
What else can you ask really. at the level of SP, everyone is just hungry for the recognition of the leadership positions and really don't care at all about doctrine. Virtually nothing will shake them because they are aren't interested in the truth, just their jobs as admins.
William Schryver wrote:You see, I'm almost certain that no one in our stake presidency is aware of this, and therefore I consider it to be important for them to be confronted with such a question. This is their first week on the job. And after I pose the questions to them, I suppose it could be my last. ;-)
I don't understand your true motive here. Did the ScareCrow grow a spine?
I think it would be morally right to lie about your religion to edit the article favorably. bcspace
1. why is faith necessary given that one cannot really be held accountable except according to his knowledge and given that Satan and co. rebelled despite seeing and talking with God and that Jesus, the pre-mortal Jehovah, had already attained godhood and that children who die before 8 are saved?
2. Who came up with the idea that the Kinderhook plates gave an account of Zelph--where did the names Zelph and Onandagus come from if not from those plates, and why should we trust the other things from the scribe who related that account on Joseph's behalf?
3. If the atonement is the way Jesus paid for our sins, then why did He have to be sinless--why couldn't He have sinned and then paid off his tab and ours all at once just as a rich man can pay off his loans and mine, expecially if my debts are much greater than his debt of say $0.02.
4. What determines our eternal gender--was it random chance when we became spirits, or was it due to some property of our pre-spirit intelligences? Given that Jesus--the only perfect being --was male, what does this imply? Does it imply that gender is not the result of merit but is inherent in intelligences?
5. If the answer to 4 (or any other question here) simply hasn't been revealed, then what was so important about the name God's home star that we actually happen to know it? I would think 4 is much more pertinent to the eternities than knowing that Kolob is the name of the place which is nigh unto God.
6. Are females more righteous than men? If so, why, and why doesn't this make god a respector of persons?
7. What is responsible for our natural disposition? If it is our agency, then why don't we all chose the same? If it is randomness or the environment, then why are we judged for that which we cannot control? That is, what is it that makes us choose different than another and why is it fair to be judged for that?
8. How long has the Holy Ghost been the Holy Ghost? Is He always the same person? What happens when He is born with a body? What happens to the Godhead if Jesus and the Holy Ghost become Fathers of their own universes--does the godhead dissolve, do they never become Fathers elsewhere, or do they retain their both callings?
9. Will my wife's leg hairs realy come back in the resurrection?
10. Is Adam's navel an "innie" or an "outtie"?
That's General Leo. He could be my friend if he weren't my enemy. eritis sicut dii I support NCMO
1. What could we do to build better relations and understanding with the other Churches in our area?
2. Could something more be done to retain members?
3. Why not have a group at the same time as the Gospel Doctrine class, for members who are struggling?
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While these questions may not be the precise type you are looking for, they are worthwhile items for any Stake President to ponder aloud.