and got to thinking, IF you want people to know about something about your religion
THEN don't keep religious secrets
they're never going to know your religion. that can't be rocket science, can it?
non-members can only know so much...
because "the really important stuff" performed in the temple is secret.
Although 53 percent of those surveyed expressed a favorable view of Mormons, nearly the same amount (51 percent) said they knew very little about the Mormon faith.
100% of respondents should have claimed knowing very little about the Mormon religion
due to the reality that 100% of all non-members are 100% clueless about the stuff that matters.
how does that feel to be a lawnmower man? must be a real rush.
I once attended a Church that took a very hard stand against gossip, and they expected all the members to commit themselves to telling only "good reports." Anything that reflected poorly of anyone else in the Church, they were expected to keep it to themselves. It got to the point that you couldn't even ask for prayer, if your reason had to do with the personal failings of yourself, a loved one or someone else in the Church.
But even the Goodnews (i.e. the Gospel) has a darkside, if you will. The goodnews that God sent His Son to save us from our sins has a flip side that basically says, God has pronounced judgment and eternal damnation against everyone who lives in sin and follows the lies of the devil. Smart ministers and Christians have learned how to share the goodness in a way that implies more than its says... like John 3:16. Sadly, I know of some Christians who take the goodnews and turn it into badnews, by focusing entirely on the negative implications of the positive message of the Gospel. But that having been said - the negative aspects of the Gospel have to be taught in Church to the people - otherwise they are not getting the "rest of the story."
However, this is completely different from a Church that tries to conceal all the dirty laundry about its founders and leaders from its members. It's about time, in my opinion, for some Churches to learn that they (i.e. their leaders and or founders) are not what "Christianity" is all about.
To illustrate that point... My wife informed me a few months ago, that Joel Osteen is coming to the Seattle area. I remember asking her, "And why should I care?" And she said, well, I know you're into that kind of thing and I thought you might want to know." I said, thanks dear, but I am not a disciple of Joel Osteen. The point being this - the LDS Church, in mho, has made their whole religion contingent, if not directly about one man (JS JR.) and his experiences with God. And so they must do their best to defend his image from damage, be it from history, by artifacts or old documents... as well as from modern day detractors.
But Christianity, or faith in Christ is not about the messenger. The gospel is not a personality driven message. The pastor, his good hair and smiling white teeth, his fantastic experiences and entertaining sermons are not what Christianity is supposed to be about. It's about our relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ - and this involves our devotion and worship of Them.
Churches that focus entirely upon defending their image or that of their founders are nothing more than religious scams, and are in fact not much different from Mega-Churches featuring super-star celebrity pastors who do not preach the Gospel of Christ, but rather take center stage promoting themselves and the secret to how to live a happy and prosperous life.
Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior, and He redeemed mankind to God by His death and shed blood on the Cross. And we who believe in Jesus are to call Him Lord, lean and do His commandments, and take up our crosses and follow Him... and that does not mean anything like becoming disciples of the Joel Osteens of the present or past religious scene. Face it folks, the Gospel teaches us to believe in God through faith in Jesus Christ. The Mormon Church preaches that we are to believe in Christ through faith in Joseph Smith. And what I am trying to says is that Joseph Smith was nothing more or less than someone who wanted the center stage, and the spotlight, and so he invented a religion that claims Jesus Christ is what its all about - when in reality, Joseph Smith was the one stealing the show, making the calls, writing holy writ... etc.
Joseph Smith is not what faith in Christ is about - if you have to be a disciple of somebody - do not be a disciple of a dead man, but of the risen and living Savor of all men.
Joseph Smith is not what faith in Christ is about - if you have to be a disciple of somebody - do not be a disciple of a dead man, but of the risen and living Savor of all men.
~ Theophilus
A-MEN! When I read the New Testament, I see an endless teaching by Christ that we are NOT to follow or obey men in spiritual matters, that we can and should follow God directly, through Christ. To me, His most important message was that God was as accessible to everyone as He Himself was, because He WAS God. He respected every single person He met, even the worst sinners, those who had no faith, or those whose faith was entirely different than that of the Jews. He had nothing but rebuke for those who set themselves up as representatives of God, as channels of access to God, as secretaries of God whose approval must be met before the petitioner could speak to God.
That religious leaders like Mormon GA's refuse to acknowledge that they are exactly like the scribes and Pharisees whom Jesus rebuked only goes to show that they recognize themselves very well (or they'd address it in some way), but they're hoping their followers are too stupid to notice the similarity.
"Charity is no substitute for justice withheld." ~ St. Augustine
"Never place a period where God has placed a comma." ~ Gracie Allen
"I care not for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it." ~ Abraham Lincoln
The Mormon Church preaches that we are to believe in Christ through faith in Joseph Smith.
faith is what's in the heart, belief in the absence of facts.
religion is what humans create. the ritual, the dogma, the buildings, the nametags, the job titles, the baptismal fonts.
to accept the religion of Joseph Smith... is to believe Jesus was a failure at keeping His plan in place as He designed it.
Jesus never asked for anything other than "having faith in Him".
no religion necessary.
it is difficult to comprehend how people can view Jesus as a failure.
Jesus couldn't keep the Christian church together, so, we are told, Jesus needed JS, a philadering swindler and bankrupt, for assistance. I'd say that's setting the bar rather low.
A conservative is someone who believes that firefighters, teachers, and police officers are overpaid.
"Wesley told the early Methodists to gain all they could and save all they could so that they could give all they could. It means that I consider my money to belong to God and I see myself as one of the hungry people who needs to get fed with God’s money. If I really have put all my trust in Jesus Christ as savior and Lord, then nothing I have is really my own anymore."
Republicans experience suffering the way they experience all their virtues, i.e. vicariously.
According to "just war" standards of Christian theology, if Saddam Hussein killed 30,000 Iraqis, and the Iraq War killed 120,00, how was the War "just"?
