sock puppet wrote:
Another way I might describe the gospel that you preach is:
1-Each follower needs a true baptism of fire by the Spirit, to be truly born again, and humbly realize that he or she is saved by Jesus and not by what the follower does, and
2-Zion has never been established.
Do you think JSJr was born again? Was he a fallen prophet by the time of his murder?
What specific, concrete characteristics would a true Zion have?
As for #1 what a follower does is of the greatest importance. It is all that you can do to forsake the natural man and truly desire the wicked spirit rooted out of your breast, what the Old Testament called the circumcision of heart. God CANNOT work upon you and recreate you until you submit to his will whole heartily. He will not impose upon you. It is a covenant. And agreement and what YOU do is nearly as important as what the Lord ends up finishing. People who think that Jesus saves are ignorant of what real faith requires. You must desire to know God and want to be sanctified so you can obtain your one great desire to be with him in this world and no more walk alone. I could say this a million different ways. I hope its clear.
#2 The saddest fact of our day. Not even close. It is doing for your culture what you did in Christ Jesus for your own salvation, wanting God to be part of it.
Joseph Smith was truly born again of fire and of the Holy Ghost in the Sacred Grove with the gift bestowed of a seer, else he would not have seen God and could not have conversed with him, not in the flesh, but in vision only by the way. He did not turn and walk away but came to himself after.
Joseph Smith was never a fallen prophet. A failure for Zion but the weight that he moved regardless counts him one of the greatest prophets of all time. Polygamy was not his idea. It was forced upon the Restoration in wisdom to preserve it since the Gentiles were NOT getting it right. The strong delusion of thinking that they were on the road to godhood kept the Gentiles riveted and it served the Lord's purpose that they were because they did not receive the love of the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2
Zion would be everyman seeking the welfare of his neighbor. IMAGINE such a thing as that!