What you need to know about Mormons

There are many differences between Christians and Mormons. I do not plan to get into all of those here and I understand that I will stir a hornet's nest with this post. What I DO intend, is to point out the one difference you need to know about. First a disclaimer:

I believe there ARE Christians in the Mormon church. I believe that many Mormons who have not gotten into the hierarchy and original teachings of the church, probably believe the same way I and most Christians believe. Having said that, I do NOT believe that the Mormon doctrine is truly Christian. Mitt Romney told the world that he believes in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. I have no reason to doubt his statement or his faith. That's between him and God and I would be the last person to judge another's faith or relationship with God. This is not about politics.

My way of determining whether a group is Christian or not is this: Do they believe the way to salvation is based on faith in Jesus Christ, and nothing else. Only faith is required.

... the Mormon Church teaches that the purpose of the atonement was to bring resurrection and immortality to all people, regardless of whether they receive Christ by faith. Christ’s atonement is only a partial basis for worthiness and eternal life, which also requires obedience to all the commands of the Mormon church, including exclusive Mormon temple rituals (Gospel Principles, pp. 74-75; Mormon Doctrine, p. 669).

... the Mormon Church teaches that eternal life in the presence of God (which it terms "exaltation in the celestial kingdom") must be earned through obedience to all the commands of the Mormon Church, including exclusive Mormon temple rituals. Works are a requirement for salvation (entrance into the "celestial kingdom") — Gospel Principles, p. 303-304; Pearl of Great Price — Third Article of Faith; Mormon Doctrine, pp. 339, 671; Book of Mormon — 2 Nephi 25:23). (source)

Mormons believe in many gods and they believe that they can BECOME gods. They believe that God was once a human man.

Leaders of the Mormon church (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) say:

... the very name of the Savior is in the name of the church. . . . The New Testament is a fundamental scripture for us. We have in addition to that the Book of Mormon, which becomes another witness for Jesus Christ." (here)

First, there IS NO OTHER testament of Jesus Christ than the Bible. Not the Book of Mormon and not the Pearl of Great Price, or any other book. Mormons use all three books as their Scripture.

Second, Just like attaching a Roll Royce logo to a Volkswagen does not make the latter a Rolls Royce, using the name of Jesus Christ does not make Mormonism "Christian."

Third, and most important, Mormons believe Jesus was created, not Divine.

The Mormon Jesus Christ

A created being: the elder brother
of Lucifer

Common (one of many gods) and,
in some ways, of minor important in
the larger Mormon cosmology

Conceived by a physical sex act
between God the Father (Adam or
Elohim) and Mary, thus not through
a true virgin birth

Once sinful and imperfect

Earned his own salvation
(exaltation, godhood)

A married polygamist?

VS:

The Biblical Jesus Christ

Uncreated God

Unique (the Second Person of the one and only Godhead)
and of supreme importance through time, eternity and all
creation

Conceived by the Holy Spirit, who supermaturally
"overshadowed" Mary, thus a true virgin birth

Eternally sinless and perfect

As God, never required salvation

An unmarried monogamist

Quite a comparison.

In the 2nd letter to the Corinthians Paul warns about the very real possibility of another Jesus, a Jesus different from the Jesus Paul had presented to the Corinthians.

For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted-you may well put up with it!
2 Corinthians 11:4 (here)

The Pearl of Great Price infers that Jesus and Satan were brothers, equals, before Satan refused to carry out God's will:

Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;

And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice. (The Pearl of Great Price, Moses 4:1-4)

So it can be said that Jesus and Lucifer were brothers, in the sense of both being spiritually begotten by the Father, but it is a misrepresentation to say so without giving the contextual background. Whatever similarities in background exist between Jesus and Satan pale compared to the differences. Jesus is the Beloved and Chosen, who is the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh. (here)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believe some strange things like:

Jesus visited the United States.

There are many heavens, celestial, and terrestrial, and telestial; believers go to one of these if they have earned it in their earthly life.

... the Mormon Church teaches that Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three separate Gods (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 370; Mormon Doctrine, pp. 576-577), and that the Son and Holy Ghost are the literal offspring of Heavenly Father and a celestial wife (Joseph Fielding McConkie, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, vol. 2, p. 649).

Mormons "continue to have children after the resurrection". Also the more children you have here on earth, the higher heaven, or kingdom, you will reside in after death.

...the Mormon Church teaches that there are many Gods (Book of Abraham 4:3ff), and that we can become gods and goddesses in the celestial kingdom (Doctrine and Covenants 132:19-20; Gospel Principles, p. 245; Achieving a Celestial Marriage, p. 130). It also teaches that those who achieve godhood will have spirit children who will worship and pray to them, just as we worship and pray to God the Father (Gospel Principles, p. 302).

... the Mormon Church teaches that God the Father was once a man like us who progressed to become a God and has a body of flesh and bone (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22; "God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!" from Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 345-347; Gospel Principles, p. 9; Articles of Faith, p. 430; Mormon Doctrine, p. 321). Indeed, the Mormon Church teaches that God himself has a father, and a grandfather, ad infinitum (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 373; Mormon Doctrine, p. 577). (more)

Mormons also believe a living person can be baptized for someone who has already died, thus saving that person and getting them into a heaven/kingdom.

I leave you with the above information and suggest you do some searches and reading on your own.

Other reading:
Is the Christmas Story Just a Legend? Ask the Archbishop of Canterbury!, Insight on Freedom
Golden Opportunity, Political Pistachio, also Lawsuit Filed Against A Teacher For Making Offensive Statements Regarding Christianity!
Do they know it's Christmas all the time, Faultline USA
Brought to you by Christians Against Leftist Heresy
___________________________________________________________________
Trackposted to Rosemary's Thoughts, Adam's Blog, Big Dog's Weblog, The Amboy Times, Cao's Blog, Leaning Straight Up, Chuck Adkins, Faultline USA, Woman Honor Thyself, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, Walls of the City, The World According to Carl, Pirate's Cove, Blue Star Chronicles, The Pink Flamingo, Celebrity Smack, CORSARI D'ITALIA, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Comments

[eric]

i am an ex member of the LDS church. Most of the facts stated in this article are not true about the LDS (mormon) church. There is a little bit of truth in a few of the satements but most of them are somewhat false or completely false. When you do things like this you only discredit yourself to those of us who know better. I would also like to warn people about the LDS church but i dont want to lie to them to do so. Get it right. Contact me if you want it cleared up.

[Debbie]

Stormwarning: The differences and the commonalities between religions, cults, sects, denominations, etc. are all important.

What do we believe? Why do we believe it? What makes our faith different from others? What makes our faiths similar to others? All important.

I have faith that God is big enough to have a plan that I don't know about. Takes Jews, God's chosen people. I have many many Jewish friends and I believe God is all powerful enough, all knowing enough, to have a plan for all his people.

I don't condemn anyone, far be it from me to judge.

This post is giving some comparisons on major Christian beliefs, and where Mormons differ, according to their OWN writings. I see nothing wrong with it.

[Stormwarning]

I apologize for doing this so close to Xmas...but why is it important for someone to worship in one way or another? In fact, if you search your comments section, you will find that a few days ago, Ortho left a link to a Christopher Hitchens comment that called Christianity the "x" child of Judaism. My point is not to offend anyone here, but to question why the differences and not the similarities are so important.

[Debbie]

I want to thank all of you for commenting, leaving your personal experiences and knowledge. I think open discussion is a good thing.

Please remember that I suggested everyone do their own research, talk to people who are Mormons, see what they believe. I made it clear that I believe there are Mormons who are Christian and who worship God the same way that I do. I'm thankful that some of them came by to comment.

[bernie]

Merry Christmas, Debbie.

Trackbacked to you from How the West Will be Won http://plancksconstant.org/blog1/2007/12/how_the_west_will_be_won.html

[Jeff]

Hi! I have about half an hour before I join a choir preparing to sing hymns of praise to Jesus, Lord of all creation. I love the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To me, it has always been His church and His teachings and His will. Its always been our belief that this Church is simply the New Testament church restored prior to the Savior's second coming. This is a very important key to understanding the Church. Just as Noah, Abraham, and Moses of the Old Testament were called to restore truths that were lost; just as Peter, James, John, and the other apostles of the New Testament were called to testify of the living reality of the Son of God; Joseph Smith was simply a servant of the Most High, called to testify of his Heavenly Father "the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He] hast sent" (John 17:3) and to administer the ordinances of salvation as authorized by the Savior himself.
I believe with all my mind and heart that this is truly the Church of Jesus Christ.
I wish you all a Merry Christmas!

[Cameron]

buzz, buzz, sting, sting. Oh Exalted one please forgive me for believing something different. All knowing all seeing Debbie help me to comprehend your limitless knowledge. Hold on I personally have not been let in on all the secrets of my church I am 32 and the "HEIRARCHY" has not let me know the real secrets they are hiding from the 11 million members of the LDS church yes the LDS it is what we are officially called not Mormons. Man those old men are evil schemeing sons of bachleors aren't they to keep all those secrets from us. Did you ever consider that your leadership is putting out this information because the LDS church has an aggresive and effective missionary program that threatens pastors livelihoods. Do some research and find out how much money is made from anti mormon material. Check out how many books the LDS church publishes slandering and defaming other churches . Mormons are a peace loving people we have no problem with any particular religion or person. Let everyone believe what they choose to believe and stop taking judgement from Who it belongs. Let God sort it out in the end I know I am on the right track you know you are on the right track lets just agree to disagree how about that.

[Debbie]

Mark In Irvine: Thanks so much for the link, much appreciated.

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone.

[Mark In Irvine]

Check out http://www.exmormon.org/

for personal accounts by disgruntled ex-Mormans about what goes on behind the temple doors.

[Debbie]

From Carl who had problems leaving a comment:

Hi Debbie, a very interesting post of yours. If I may, I'd like to offer a URL to an excellent Christian apologetics site (Ankerberg Theological Research Institute) that covers many topics indepth including Mormonism. The following is not the main URL but the area of the site that covers Mormonism:

http://www.ankerberg.org/Articles/archives-ap.htm#Mormonism

In case the link above does not work due to truncation the main URL is:

http://www.ankerberg.org/

With that said, I do wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and to the readers and visitors of The Right Truth I hope your Christmas is happy, safe and that God blesses each and every one of you.

On an unrelated note: I'm posting some trackback links again since some of them aren't making it through for probably several reasons. Sometimes on blogs all that shows up is a message saying "The World According To Carl pinged this post" with no information on what the trackback was although others' trackbacks has all their pertinent info. Other times some of my trackbacks might show up but instead of having some of the text at the beginning of my entry, it has only my trackback list which is at the END of my post. Weird, ain't it? Maybe some sort of WordPress incompatibility issue or something.

Anyway, I'm no computer expert so I'm just gonna have to live with it and sometimes post my trackback URLs in the comments section. I asked as many blogs on the Linkfest Haven trackback lists if this was acceptable and thus far all have said it was fine. So I thank all the blog owners for allowing me to do so. I don't normally do this every time but only on the ocassions where I think my posts to trackback are important enough or interesting enough to share. Anyway here are a few more entries of mine I invite you to visit and leave comments:

"This Explains A Lot"
http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/?p=1258

"PhotoHunt 89: Light"
http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/?p=1257

"Christmas Video: "Elf's Lament" (Live) -- Barenaked Ladies"
http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/?p=1254

"Godly Wisdom -- December 22, 2007"
http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/?p=1259

Thank you in advance for visiting and leaving comments.

----

Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and that God blesses you and your family.

Sincerely,
Carl
my website - http://www.nettally.com/saints
my blog - http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/

[Debbie]

From Carl who had problems leaving a comment:

Hi Debbie, a very interesting post of yours. If I may, I'd like to offer a URL to an excellent Christian apologetics site (Ankerberg Theological Research Institute) that covers many topics indepth including Mormonism. The following is not the main URL but the area of the site that covers Mormonism:

http://www.ankerberg.org/Articles/archives-ap.htm#Mormonism

In case the link above does not work due to truncation the main URL is:

http://www.ankerberg.org/

With that said, I do wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and to the readers and visitors of The Right Truth I hope your Christmas is happy, safe and that God blesses each and every one of you.

On an unrelated note: I'm posting some trackback links again since some of them aren't making it through for probably several reasons. Sometimes on blogs all that shows up is a message saying "The World According To Carl pinged this post" with no information on what the trackback was although others' trackbacks has all their pertinent info. Other times some of my trackbacks might show up but instead of having some of the text at the beginning of my entry, it has only my trackback list which is at the END of my post. Weird, ain't it? Maybe some sort of WordPress incompatibility issue or something.

Anyway, I'm no computer expert so I'm just gonna have to live with it and sometimes post my trackback URLs in the comments section. I asked as many blogs on the Linkfest Haven trackback lists if this was acceptable and thus far all have said it was fine. So I thank all the blog owners for allowing me to do so. I don't normally do this every time but only on the ocassions where I think my posts to trackback are important enough or interesting enough to share. Anyway here are a few more entries of mine I invite you to visit and leave comments:

"This Explains A Lot"
http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/?p=1258

"PhotoHunt 89: Light"
http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/?p=1257

"Christmas Video: "Elf's Lament" (Live) -- Barenaked Ladies"
http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/?p=1254

"Godly Wisdom -- December 22, 2007"
http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/?p=1259

Thank you in advance for visiting and leaving comments.

----

Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and that God blesses you and your family.

Sincerely,
Carl
my website - http://www.nettally.com/saints
my blog - http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/

[Rastaman]

Debbie
Congratulations on such a fine job of getting people excited. It went well. :-))

I wasn't saying, in my semi-parody, that you meant that Mormons were unfit for the Presidency, only that I thought I felt an undercurrent. I personally feel that any truly devout follower of any faith should stay out of politics, because that person will adhere to their beliefs even in office, ultimately to the detriment of other faiths. It simply can't be helped. Let me cite the abortion issue and stem cell research as fine examples of religious belief dictating law.

Our leaders should respect religion - except the satanic cult of Islam, of course - but focus on their jobs.

On a side note... The Romans collected taxes in the summer when weather was clement, not in the winter when it was foul, as they weren't stupid and a lot of people had to travel long distances to pay each year. This is why there was no room at the inn by the time Joseph and Mary showed up in Jerusalem to pay their taxes. Jesus was born in summertime. Christmas is the celebration of the Winter Solstice, and even that is out of whack by several days.

Not that it matters, it just shows how stories can change over time.

This was indeed one of your very best posts. It sure stirred a lot of people up.

And to A.C. McCloud, who said he'd like to speak to my source when I say that while there is a God, we stay dead when we die,... Don't ask me for permission, go speak to Him yourself.

Lastly, no, I don't talk to God and I don't hear voices. God is a presence of universal love and acceptance. You either can feel that presence if you're willing to let it in, or you can't. Feeling it doesn't mean I or any of us live by it constantly. Not when we have things like Islam to deal with.

Rasta

[Carl]

Hi Debbie, a very interesting post of yours. If I may, I'd like to offer a URL to an excellent Christian apologetics site (Ankerberg Theological Research Institute) that covers many topics indepth including Mormonism. The following is not the main URL but the area of the site that covers Mormonism:

http://www.ankerberg.org/Articles/archives-ap.htm#Mormonism

In case the link above does not work due to truncation the main URL is:

http://www.ankerberg.org/

With that said, I do wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and to the readers and visitors of The Right Truth I hope your Christmas is happy, safe and that God blesses each and every one of you.

On an unrelated note: I'm posting some trackback links again since some of them aren't making it through for probably several reasons. Sometimes on blogs all that shows up is a message saying "The World According To Carl pinged this post" with no information on what the trackback was although others' trackbacks has all their pertinent info. Other times some of my trackbacks might show up but instead of having some of the text at the beginning of my entry, it has only my trackback list which is at the END of my post. Weird, ain't it? Maybe some sort of WordPress incompatibility issue or something.

Anyway, I'm no computer expert so I'm just gonna have to live with it and sometimes post my trackback URLs in the comments section. I asked as many blogs on the Linkfest Haven trackback lists if this was acceptable and thus far all have said it was fine. So I thank all the blog owners for allowing me to do so. I don't normally do this every time but only on the ocassions where I think my posts to trackback are important enough or interesting enough to share. Anyway here are a few more entries of mine I invite you to visit and leave comments:

"This Explains A Lot"
http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/?p=1258

"PhotoHunt 89: Light"
http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/?p=1257

"Christmas Video: "Elf's Lament" (Live) -- Barenaked Ladies"
http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/?p=1254

"Godly Wisdom -- December 22, 2007"
http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/?p=1259

Thank you in advance for visiting and leaving comments.

[Roger W. Gardner]

Well Deb, as I'm sure you expected, you got a bunch of little nasties and a couple of "You-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about"s.

But, all in all, it seems that a lot of people, myself included, appreciate your bringing this pertinent subject up.

We have almost allowed ourselves to be intimidated into declining to discuss or criticize one particular Middle Eastern religion; but I'll be damned if we're going to allow ourselves to be intimidated into not being able to discuss or criticize some home-grown religious movement, which -- I'm sorry to say this but -- a lot of people who have looked into this somewhat mysterious religion have found it to be rather strange and bizarre in its core beliefs and in its attempts to create some new American Testament, founded on, what are to me at least, somewhat incredible and fanciful revisons to those generally accepted facts of Western History.

And to those people who would it seems just like to shut off debate completely and preach their revealed truth to us while we sit quietly at attention, I can only say -- Get off your high horse.

We will discuss whatever religions we choose to discuss here, and we will not be shut down by people who want to end this discussion by telling us that we just don't know what we're talking about.

That, my friends, is arrogance and pomposity in it's finest form. And it just doesn't work around here.

Due to the presidential elections which are looming, the subject of Mormonism IS going to be discussed and debated -- and probably even criticized, so you'd better get used to it.

All of us Protestants and Jews and Catholics got used to this kind of attention a long time ago.

And I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but regardless of your own obviously high self-esteem, you deserve no particular preferential treatment around here.

And you'll find that we do not tolerate any misguided attempts at condescesion. Especially aimed at the highly-respected owner of this site you chose, for whatever reason, to visit.

Having said that --
I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas.

[Yeti]

Your research is bogus. You might use a Mormon to define what they are and what they believe. This might help to make your research "credible". Your skills as a researcher are very "cultish" if you get my meaning. I suppose that Mormons could careless how you define them. They are Christian by their own definition. Who made you God? And who made the Nicean Council God? Maybe God can define himself & his actions without our debate.

[Douglas V. Gibbs]

My great grandfather was Brigham Young's right-hand man; and then left the church. When he did so he wrote a book against the Mormon Church and the church burned every copy they could get their hands on. It reveals secrets - reveals Mormonism for what it is. . . a cult. thanks for this post, it was a good one. It has inspired me to do one on the subject as well - will be forthcoming/

[Texas_JAM]

You sure did a lot a of research. I must say that I prefer the South Park explanation though... Dumb...Dumb...Dumb... That was funny.

[Butch]

Can of worms, huh?

It's tough being a Christian these days...

[Butch]

Merry Christmas...

[Alma]

Sorry not to join all those patting you on the back for a great post, but where in Mormon theology did you get the idea that Jesus Christ was ever "sinful and imperfect?" While I find a lot to question about your conclusions on Mormonism, that's probably the most pernicious. It simply isn't true.

[A.C. McCloud]

..Rastaman said..
"There is a God, which doesn't change the fact that when we die, we stay dead."

I'd like to speak to your source on that one.

[Debbie in Flakey Patch]

Very interesting. I learned a few things that I did not know about the Mormons.

[Roger W. Gardner]

Good point Deb.

And to Layla and Butch -- off topic or not --

Thanks and Merry Christmas to you too!!

[Debbie]

Thanks for all the comments, input and opinions. I didn't get into the American Indian part of the Mormon doctrine (as well as many other things). I really just got the tip of the iceberg to get folks talking and thinking.

Gary P: Thank you for your personal thoughts on Mormons. I assume you are a Mormon.

Roger Gardner: You make a good point. I was not really talking about moderate vs radical or anything. I truly believe there are Mormons who do NOT KNOW the full teachings of their church.

I have known some Mormons and they believed exactly like I do as a Southern Baptist Christian.

A reader leaves the following comment for Rastaman, via email:

Yes, Christianity is for people who are afraid to die – for death is eternal for those who haven’t been saved by Our Lord. Jesus Christ conquered death for us and He is “the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Jn 14:6) Rastaman and others of his guild, on the contrary, are afraid to live. They don’t share the “absolute joy” that people living within the Middle Ages had which allowed them to live through the plague and unfathomable poverty or those of the early martyrs who endured through the Roman emperors and unfathomable pain and torture. People today have “hollow” existences; they possess ultimate luxury and freedom and yet long for something “more”. They are simply not satisfied with anything and ensure that other people know it.

Four years ago this past 13th, I lost the love of my life to one of the most horrendous diseases imaginable to man. It turned my precious Sara into a grotesque representation of a once petite, beautiful woman. Yet, it was the manner of her ultimate death that spoke volumes of God’s mercy and the infinite power available to us Christians. Sara’s body was virtually destroyed during the last year of her life. I had to carry her into the shower for bathing (until her body ceased being a body); she couldn’t talk since her tracheotomy a bit more than a year previously; and due to a screw up from her doctor, her pain medication was virtually impotent. Quite often, I would walk in on her unannounced and see her bobbing her head in absolute pain. At other times, she hid the pain from me.

Regardless, on the day before she went into her coma (that is, the Thursday before her death on Saturday) she still remained concerned about others – making sure that I had paid the lady that I had hired to help care for Sara while I was at work because “she has a rough life and really needs the money”. I ask you, who but a true Christian would worry about someone else’s problems on their own deathbed? Sara wasn’t an angel, however, she was a saint. There’s a difference. An angel is a spirit that serves a particular office – they can either be good or demons. A saint is one who accepts what they are, learns from their mistakes, and when push comes to shove does the “good thing”. Sara suffered from alcoholism, child abuse, and a horrible previous marriage. She had every right to be bitter about life, yet she accepted her own death with grace and dignity. Again, what else but absolute faith would cause a person to endure such conversion? If death was meaningless, then Sara would’ve undoubtedly gone to hers fully inconsiderate of others.

I have already written much about the miraculous events surrounding Sara’s death. I will only add that there is absolutely nothing that will convince me that Jesus – or at least an emissary of his – didn’t ‘visit’ me twice within my life during hours of crisis. I only write again of Sara because there is a lesson that needs to be taught in reflection of Christianity versus Mormonism.

Christians try to live good lives in the ‘hope’ that God has mercy on us and that we will live in eternity with Him and the saints who passed before us. There is absolutely nothing within orthodox Christian teaching that says any of us will be equal to one another. In fact, the very doctrine of the Communion of Saints hints at this – if we were equal, then we wouldn’t need to share our experiences, etc.

Mormons on the contrary, which incidentally are not Christians accordingly to official statement from the late Pontiff John Paul II, do good deeds because they believe that they will become equals to Jesus and gods of their own right. Where Christians seek forgiveness and salvation Mormons are not much different than Islamists who seek “material reward” for their good deeds. There’s a profound difference if you care to think about it.

Lastly, what if Jesus had borrowed from Buddhism? He borrowed from ancient Greek “The Golden Rule” precepts too. The point is that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.” (Jn 1:1) Buddha is the plagiarist. J

[PALADIN]

ANY RELIGION THAT WAS FOUNDED BY A GUY THAT CLAIMS TO HAVE GOTTEN ONE OF THE GOSPELS FROM A SALAMANDER IS CULT!!!!!!!!! THIS IS ONE OF THE CLAIMS OF JOSEPH SMITH. ALSO THE MORMONS WERE INTO SPILLING A LOT OF BLOOD FOR ATONEMENT IN THE OLD DAYS AND WOULD PROBALY STILL BE DOING IT IF THE LAW ALLOWED IT. THERE IS A TRADITIONAL MORMON CULT IN COLORADO CITY ARIZ. I HEARD AN INTERVIEW WITH A WOMAN WHO WAS IN THIS MORMAN CULT AND ESCAPED IT. THIS IS THE PLACE THAT WARREN JEFFS RAN?? SHE CALLED IT THE HOME OF THE AMERICAN TALIBAN. IF I WAS LIVING IN THE U.S.A., MITT ROMNEY WOULD DEFINITELY NOT GET MY VOTE.TOO MANY QUESTIONS REMAIN ABOUT MORMONISM FOR ME TO BE COMFORTABLE ABOUT IT. AND TOO CHECKERED A PAST.

[Layla]

Sorry for the off topic!

Merry Christmas to you and yours and I pray many more to come all of our way!

[Butch]

Off-topic:

Have a very Merry Christmas...

[Rastaman]

Nothing gets a wider variety of opinions than the subject of religion. Not even politics can compare.

This proves that what we believe takes precedence over what we know.

Have you ever considered the human decision-making process? When we are faced with having to make a decision, we rely on our store of knowledge. Often, our knowledge is very limited so our decisions are often based more on our opinions than on our knowledge. This is why we make so many bad decisions but that doesn't stop us from continuing to do it.

We run our lives mostly on guess-factor. No wonder we all disagree so much.

Rasta

[Robocop]

I think the atheists are a bigger problem than anything else, this includes Muslims.

[Mark In Irvine]

"The last thing this country needs as President is a cult member or a person who claims to talk with God."

Uh ... what about George W. Bush? He claims he's been having a conversation with God about American policy and direction throughout his term in office. If that is supposed to have been OK, it must be because he was talking to YOUR God and not someone else's.

[ortho stice]

Nice article Debbie! A few more tidbits about Mormonism: (a) Mormonism is a wacky cult; (b) Mormons believe the Garden of Eden is somewhere in Missouri; (c)until 1978 The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints was a racist organization that did not allow black people into its "temples"; (d) many Mormons still practice polygamy and forced marriages, practices that exploit young women; and (e) Mormons believe that their leaders are prophets whose rulings supersede secular law.

Also, I disagree with Stormwarning and other commentators who claim "that a candidate's religion or lack thereof changes whether that individual can or should lead this country into the next decade." In fact religion plays a major role. The U.S. currently has a Christofascist in the White House who believes "God" speaks to him. God told him to attack Afghanistan. God told him to attack Iraq. God told him to funnel corporate welfare payouts to his largest corporate contributors. God told him to increase the national debt, plunge the U.S. into a recession, and saddle future generations of Americans with perpetual, multifront planetary war. God told him to raise the price of gas and necessities. God told him to keep the American people in a state of fear. God told him to commit voter fraud. God told him the poor are lazy, to kill welfare, and build more liquor stores in American ghettos.

The last thing this country needs as President is a cult member or a person who claims to talk with God.

[Angel]

instead of worrying bout Mormons we ought to focus on u know who!..heh..Fa la la la la to u my friend!:)

[Roger W. Gardner]

Sorry, "staring" = "starting".

[Roger W. Gardner]

Wow. Great article Deb. Once again you astound me with your sweeping knowledge.

Regardless of that first comment, you have shed some much-needed light on this touchy subject. Of course it's bound to start a big theological debate, but for me the issue is fairly simple. I too have and have read some -- just enough, as your previous commenter has suggested -- of that exceedingly strange Book of Mormon to quickly start to lose interest.

To me, the whole concept of the revelations of Joseph Smith involves what I call "me-tooism". Everyone -- including Islam -- wants their own national prophet, their own national Jesus Christ. It's only logical that Americans would want theirs too.

To me, what some people seem to be saying is almost that same kind of slippery rationale that we use in trying to differentiate Moderate Muslims from fanatical Muslims. We seem to be saying that, although it is beyond question that the Qur'an promotes intolerance of other religions and most definitely promotes the use of violence, that these Moderates just don't really follow these teachings very closely. And, although some of the most basic tenets of the American Mormon movement are, to say the very least, very bizarre and unquestionably incompatible with the fundamental beliefs of mainstream Christianity, we seem to be embracing that same shaky logic here: that is, that there's no need to be concerned about Mormons because those "Moderate Mormons" don't really follow the teachings of their elders that closely anyway.

Maybe, as we chose to do with Kennedy, we should just rely on the historic record of their actual actions -- which, certainly in the case of Islam -- is abysmal.

This is an important discussion, too important for it to become subsumed into some -- ultimately unwinnable -- theological debate.

Thanks for staring the dialogue.

[Stormwarning]

I think that religion is playing way too much a role in politics. I don't believe that a candidate's religion or lack thereof changes whether that individual can or should lead this country into the next decade.

UNFORTUNATELY, and I mean "unfortunately," that is not the case.

[Greg P]

Hi, it seems you’ve done a bit of research; hopefully you didn’t miss some of the basics:

The Mormon articles of faith are a basic description of the beliefs of the Mormon/LDS Church describe Mormon beliefs.

1. “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.”

2. “We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.” (Note atonement means Christ’s sacrifice for man)

3. “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.” The Book of Mormon doesn’t replace the Bible; just as the Bible is God’s dealings with people in the Middle East, the Book of Mormon is God’s dealings with people in the Americas. I think it’s a beautiful thing that God is willing to talk with all his children on all lands who follow him with full purpose of heart.

Hope this helps clear up some of the confusion!

[Rastaman]

Ok but don't light a match.

[Grouch at Right Truth]

I think the thing that is hard to swallow for many non-believers is that Jesus Christ IS God, IS eternal, was NOT created, has always been and always shall be, and IS personal. He is not some idea, some notion, some feeling, or some invisible power.

I realize this is difficult for many to comprehend or accept.

[Faultline USA]

Very interesting article! I'm ignoring the fool who just posted the comment above.

[martin]

Call Mormons "non-traditional Christians" and stop the pointless arguments.

Please read this entire debate (start at the bottom of the page)

http://blog.beliefnet.com/blogalogue/mormondebate/

[Rastaman]

Some young gals came by my place one day and started talking to me about the Mormon church and offered me a Mormon bible. So I took it and later started reading it. The very first thing I read was that American Indians, who have been here for 12,000 years that we know of, are one of the Lost Tribes of Israel. That was enough for me, the book went straight into the trash.

Rastafarians believe that Haille Selassie was an incarnation of Jesus Christ.

Zen Buddhists believe that we can attain direct perception of God and that everything is literally equal to everything else. So do Sufis.

Most religions are bunch of bog bubbles and so is Christianity. Jesus's sermons were literally copies of the Buddha's, who was born 600 years before he was. He was preaching Buddhism.

There is a God, which doesn't change the fact that when we die, we stay dead.

Religion is a crutch for people who are afraid to die. We have all kinds of crutches to get us through life and what suits one person may not suit another. They're all good as long as they promote some modicum of brotherly love and a decent work ethic.

This is where Islam fails, and why the only religion I despise is Islam.

All religions are an attempt to control the ineffable, to corral God and give God limits and restrictions so we can feel safe as long as we follow "Gods rules". Then of course there's the priesthood that claims to be in direct communication with God, and who tell us what the rules are.

In this way the priesthood rules.

All swamp gas.

Rasta