Hey Jersey Girl, I felt bad eating my lunch earlier with some friends realizing I didn't address your questions specifically when I responded in this thread earlier. I realize you deserve a response seeing as you asked me pointed questions. Here goes.
Jersey Girl wrote: ↑Sun Oct 02, 2022 8:32 pm
dastardly stem wrote: ↑Fri Sep 30, 2022 1:21 pm
Likewise traditional Christians speaks as if God loves them more than any Mormon. Mormons are wrong. God lets them get tricked while they think they are really experiencing God. One day they'll know, but for most it'll be too late.
Huh? I don't recognize the Christians that you describe here as speaking as if God loves them more than any Mormon. Not even close.
Let me draw back to the thread and the OP. Nelson was quoted and summarized as saying:
Nelson states that “all those who have made a covenant with God have access to a special kind of love and mercy.” Then he describes what covenants he is referring to: baptism, temple endowment, a marital sealing in the temple. All of those require membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
And with that it was said, and I have no qualms about saying that it was rightly said, Nelson thinks "God loves Latter-day Saints more than others". In my more generalized reply I pointed out how many Christians have outright condemned Mormons, including yours truly back in the day, as basically non-believers who are condemned to hell. Which as I see it comes off as very similar to Nelson's point--true believers are blessed while those who are not believing correctly aren't so blessed with special kinds of love and mercy.
But, that may be too general, I also recalled William Lane Craig recently made an admission that sounded eeirly similar to Nelson's comments:
But I just mean a kind of fundamental assurance that one's faith is true. People often talk about this as the assurance of salvation, and I think that is the privilege of every born-again Christian. I hope that Kyle is more than just a nominal Christian, that he's really come to experience the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit and that he's indwelt and filled with the Holy Spirit because I think then that removes the huge epistemic bar that he thinks you need to get over in order to become a Christian.
Sounds similar, it seems. "Born-again Christians" are privileged by God to get an assurance of salvation--receiving the "regenerating power of the Holy Spirit" and that such true believers as "indwelt and filled with the Holy Spirit". I suppose we try and swap "born-again Christian" out with Mormon or Muslim, Craig would like object (indeed he has so objected). Just before this line Bill suggests speaking of his own conversion he realized "God loved me, he loved Bill Craig, and that I could come to know him and experience eternal life with God".
Craig a traditional Christian, if you will, thinks God privileges and witnesses of his love for those who agree with his religion. Nelson, a Mormon leader, thinks God gives access to a special kind of love and mercy from God, to those who agree with his religion. Seems similar. Both if questioned may back off and say God really loves everyone equally. But that's really just walking back what they said.
Can you share a more specific experience you've had with that type of interaction yourself where statements were made to that effect?
Have you ever gotten that vibe on these boards from me or others who identify as non-LDS Christian?
Nah...you and others are nice about it. I don't know what more to share on it. It seems like a pretty obvious idea.
Ftr, I do absolutely believe that LDS can experience God, know Jesus, and discern the leading of the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost as LDS refer to it in the language of their faith.
I wanted to get into the hell doctrine piece of this thread (reading it backwards as I often do) so I went to the beginning and found your post here. I'd appreciate it if you would answer the bolded questions I posed to you.
Thanks. Hopefully my answer fits well with what you are looking for.
“Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another.”
― Carl Sagan, Cosmos