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Blaine: I concur
with Dave's eloquent message--and as he says, I consider all to be my brothers
and sisters--let judgement be made by Him whose right it is to judge.
"D&C 82:23 "leave judgement alone with Me, for it is mine
and I will repay."
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2004 10:10
PM
Subject: Re: [TruthTalk] Re:Dialogue with
Mormons
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
In a message dated 3/31/2004
8:10:14 AM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
I don't
want to speak for Blaine, but I see nothing in Mormonism that prevents
either of us to fellowship with non-LDS Christians. Perhaps I don't
understand fellowship quite the same way you do though.
Good post. And
thanks for not taking offense. I am afraid I did speak for
Blaine. Probably a mistake.
Fellowship. I do think
that fellowship is bigger than denominational boundaries but limited
by a true sense of mutuality and purpose. A lexical view of
koinonia reveals a number of nuances, to wit (old guys say that
a lot, "to wit"): fellowship, association, community, communion, joint
participation, intercourse. Note the progression. It was
part of the routine of the first church (Acts 2:42).
My
experience with the Mormon church has been one that is the witness to
a degree of exclusion which goes beyond sectarian or denominational bias.
It seems to me that this exclusiveness is the surrounding halo of a
world religion. If that is the case, we have no fellowship
or brotherhood. I don't like saying that. I have only my
instincts about this issue. If Blaine and I are brothers (or Dave and I),
to what eventuality can we point as the defining factor which
presents us with the same Parent? Or is there more to brotherhood than
divine genetics?
DAVEH: Perhaps you (representing
Protestants in general) do not understand the LDS concept of
brotherhood. From what I see in TT, brothers in Christ are those who
share a common salvational perspective. IOW.....If one perceives he is
saved by Jesus, he is bonded to others who profess similarly to the exclusion
of those who do not perceive themselves to be saved.....such as those non
Christians or LDS folks like myself.
OTOH.....From the LDS perspective, we all are brothers in that we were spirit
children (pre-mortal earth life) of heavenly parents, and despite out
differences of beliefs we still maintain that pre-mortal heritage of being
literal children of God. That even applies to those who stray from the
paths of righteousness or belief. Just as Jesus was out spirit brother
in the pre-mortal existence, so was Lucifer. However, though we share a
common root of existence with reprehensible beings devoted to fighting against
the Lord and the plan of salvation, we recognize how they came to be and what
effect they have on their own progression, and that of ourselves.
Somewhere between the extremes of Jesus and Lucifer, we have a whole spectrum
of spirit creations who conform to the Lord's will in some measure.
While some (such as the despots of the world) fall toward the lower end of the
scale, others (perhaps some of the noble prophets of the Bible like David or
Moses) may be at the upper end of the same scale. Somewhere in between,
lay most of the rest of us. Though one may be closer to God (in terms of
trodding on the path back to heaven) than another, we always have hope the
Prodigal Son will return. Did the PS gain his fellowship with his blood
relatives ONLY AFTER his repentance? Or did he always share a
brotherhood with his family, even when slopping the hogs? I feel it is
the same with us......Even when a (spirit) brother has departed from the ways
of the Lord, and may even kick against the pricks....we still share a common
root in that both he and I (and you, John) were spirit creations of
God. And, I simply don't feel comfortable condemning as bad
something God created. There will come a time when judgment will pass on
all of us, and I'll be happy to let the Lord do the judging of my fellow
brothers. Until then, I'll just assume we are all brothers and try to
treat my brethren (whether LDS or not) as part of my eternal
family.
Now don't misunderstand.....IF the
Lord gives one of my brothers the boot (as he did Lucifer) out of heaven, I
will not only feel badly for that spirit creation that failed to measure up,
but I will consider him a lost cause. For those who remained in
heaven and became mortal, I will simply consider lost sheep who need a
shepherd and may hopefully someday return to the fold.
So John......Though I may believe many of the
doctrines you may have adopted are in error, I don't see why that should keep
us from some form of fellowship. However, I think many TTers believe
that which I believe is so evil that it is not acceptable to them in the
Lord's eyes to associate with me in any form.....unless I exhibit some
possible chance of reform. I assume that is why so few TTers would
consider me to be their brother, yet both Blaine (I think I can speak for him
on this) and I consider all TTers to be our brothers in the Lord.
John
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dave Hansen
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.langlitz.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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