Blaine wrote: > one of our articles of faith states, "We believe > men (and women) will be punished for their own sins, > and not for Adam's transgression."
I agree with this; nevertheless, we do suffer because of Adam's transgression, just not as a punishment. We suffer as a consequence of what Adam did. Adam is responsible for making us all sinners, but we don't become guilty of sin ourselves until we actually sin. At least that is how it seems to me. I do sometimes wonder if I believe this way because of my culture rather than because it is the absolute truth. I say this because there have been men in history who have believed that children are born damned to hell who I consider great men of the faith. For example, John Wesley believed that infants are damned to hell and therefore should be baptized as soon as possible. Blaine wrote: > We do not believe in infant baptism, as we believe > children are born innocent. Because we did inherit > Adam's fallen nature, however, we believe eventually > we will sin--but not until we understand right from > wrong, which starts to happen with most people at about > age eight yrs., an age revealed to JS, by the way. > We do not baptize until that age or older. I have difficulty with this idea. I first believed upon the Lord when I was five years old. I desired baptism at that time, and I believe that this desire I had was from the Holy Spirit. However, my parents thought I was not old enough and so they forbid it. When I was 8, I received the Holy Spirit and so then my parents realized that I was old enough, but I believe I would have received the Holy Spirit earlier if they had not considered me too young. I once prayed with a 5 year old and saw him receive the Holy Spirit, so that tells me that Joseph Smith was wrong about this 8 years of age thing. I also know someone whose son received the Holy Spirit when he was 3 years of age. Blaine wrote: > our doctrine is that we will be saved by grace, > but only after all we can do for ourselves. This phrase has always bothered me and continues to bother me. We believe that we will be saved by grace only after we have given up trying to do for ourselves. Therefore, this doctrine is one of those great big deceptions that separate us from Mormonism. We call whatever we do for ourselves "dead works" that need to be repented of. Once we repent of these dead works, then we can believe. Something else Mormons seem to do is reverse the order of repentance and faith. We believe repentance first, then faith. You believe faith first, then repentance. From my perspective, this perpetuates a misconception of exactly what Biblical faith is. Peace be with you. David Miller, Beverly Hills, Florida. ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.
