The Irrelevance of LDS Leaders, Part 2

[_Sanctorian]

False!!! The only people that will return to God's glory are those that inherit the Celestial Kingdom. That number is very small according to the Latter-day Prophets and in fact, the vast majority of the earth's inhabitants will live in the terrestrial or telestial kingdoms. Don't you know your own doctrine man?

Everyone who died before the age of eight gets a free ticket. All the people with developmental disabilities have a free ticket. Anyone who died without hearing about The One and Only True Church gets a second chance in the afterlife.

Consider what the infant mortality rate used to be, and still is in many places. Add to that all the good men with the "wrong" religion that many LDS believe will convert the "right" religion and you have a pretty rosy picture. Other faiths damn everyone else outright, and even in our modern age we have Christian sects massacring the unbelievers.

“Most of the adult people who have lived from the day of Adam to the present time will go to the telestial kingdom. The inhabitants of this lowest kingdom of glory will be ‘as innumerable as the stars in the firmament of heaven, or as the sand upon the seashore.’ They will be the endless hosts of people of all ages who have lived after the manner of the world; who have been carnal, sensual, and devilish; who have chosen the vain philosophies of the world rather than accept the testimony of Jesus; who have been liars and thieves, sorcerers and adulterers, blasphemers and murderers.” (Bruce R. McConkie, MD, pg. 778)

“From the reading of other passages we discover that there will be great multitudes embracing the vast majority of mankind, who will never be privileged to come back to dwell in the presence of the Father and the Son. These receive banishment from their presence, but not entirely do they get beyond the divine benediction.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, 1:78)

So aside from the babies and the handicap persons, how many people will make it back to God again? Oh yeah, the vast majority will not.

[_RockSlider]

Kittens_and_Jesus,

you forgot about those BIC get a free ticket.

Only if they Obey or die before the Age of Accountability. 8 year olds are so accountable for their own actions...

Otherwise they end up in the Terrestrial Kingdom per my understanding.

Born in the Covenant ... sealed. It used to be taught that it guaranteed your children would be with you in the Celestial Kingdom. They might have to pay a price and might not make Exaltation, but would be able to be with you.

I think what happened was all the damn converts started coming around and expecting the same, but hey its says BORN in the Covenant. But you know the church, get some whiners and before you know it 5 points of fellowship ... gone ... preacher ... gone ... my guaranteed Celestial Kingdom pass ... gone.

I hate the church.

[_canpakes]

God the Father doesn't want those children, ever for all of eternity. How heavenly is it to live eternally knowing your Father doesn't want anything to do with you, ever?

And all because - with an eternity of spirit existence before mortal habitation, and with an eternity following it - you did something objectively insignificant while on a tiny ball of dirt for the briefest snippet within that time eternal, after having your mind wiped clean of knowledge with no guarantee of ever being provided the 'truth' during your flash of mortality.

Yes, that makes so much sense...

[_Bazooka]

The basis of God belief, in my opinion, is that we look at life with purpose...eternal ramifications included. That is the foundation of receiving the glories of God's Celestial and Terrestrial kingdoms.

Regards,
MG

Pretty much, I think. The Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial kingdoms of glory are ALL under the umbrella of "The Kingdom of God". They are kingdoms of GLORY.

Regards,
MG

Mormon doctrine has introduced an eternal class system based on an individuals level of obedience whilst going through an eternal period of time denoted as a "blink of an eye". Not only that, it is a system where it is better to have not come into contact with Mormonism during this life, than it is to try but fail to live an obedient Mormon life. When you really consider the system of Mormon Kingdoms of Glory, it is a shambolic and unfair method of eternally categorising people and one that, by its very nature, ensures families will not be together forever - which is diametrically opposite to what it is claimed to be designed to deliver.

[_sock puppet]

The basis of God belief, in my opinion, is that we look at life with purpose...eternal ramifications included.

Regards,
MG

Why look at life that way?

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

The basis of God belief, in my opinion, is that we look at life with purpose...eternal ramifications included.

Regards,
MG

Why look at life that way?

At the end of the day I think most of mythology centers around death and our primal instincts, namely to find food, shelter, and companionship. Displacing acceptance of death, and responsibility for instinctual behavior helps people cope with life.

Since life is meaningless, in the fundamental sense, then the creation of an eternal morality play that ameliorates our fears over death and the lack of stuff that keeps us living provides many with purpose. It's a purpose that's felt so strongly that the truth of our temporal state is shocking and unacceptable.

V/R
Doc

[_Bazooka]

At the end of the day I think most of mythology centers around death and our primal instincts, namely to find food, shelter, and companionship. Displacing acceptance of death, and responsibility for instinctual behavior helps people cope with life.

Maslow would slightly disagree about where 'companionship' fits in terms of a primal instinct.

1. Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep.

2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, stability, freedom from fear.

3. Love and belongingness needs - friendship, intimacy, affection and love, - from work group, family, friends, romantic relationships.

4. Esteem needs - achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, self-respect, respect from others.

5. Self-Actualization needs - realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.

http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

[_Amore]

The basis of God belief, in my opinion, is that we look at life with purpose...eternal ramifications included.

Regards,
MG

Why look at life that way?

Ever read "Mans search for meaning"?
In some hellish circumstances, a sense of purpose is what makes people not only survive, but also thrive.

Nihilism = Misery.

[_sock puppet]

The basis of God belief, in my opinion, is that we look at life with purpose...eternal ramifications included.

Regards,
MG

Why look at life that way?

Ever read "Mans search for meaning"?
In some hellish circumstances, a sense of purpose is what makes people not only survive, but also thrive.

Nihilism = Misery.

Why does man need to create a "god" in which to believe, and an afterlife to boot, in order to make it worth living life?

[Guest]

Ever read "Mans search for meaning"?
In some hellish circumstances, a sense of purpose is what makes people not only survive, but also thrive.

Nihilism = Misery.

The belief in nihilism can be. Just as a belief in God can make one miserable.

Consider that life cannot, logically, be meaningless, as your mere existence extends impact to others... especially if you've ever had children. And regardless of your passage from mortality, the encoded information that defined you carries forward to another, either directly (genetically) or indirectly (interaction)... just as you were formed yourself, within an unbroken and interlinked humanity from the beginning of our simplest ancestral form.

Why does man need to create a "god" in which to believe, and an afterlife to boot, in order to make it worth living life?

I'm betting that you don't think that this would be necessary. Nor do I.