BLAINE: Kevin has access to a lot of stuff written by Mormon authorities. I proudly congratulate him on getting the items below correctly. But the problem is, IF God told Joseph what Joseph says he did, then that is the way it is, despite denials, rationalizations, arguments, put-downs, outright lies, etc to the contrary. What Joseph S. did by asking is actually a repeatable experiment. ALL MEN may ask and expect to receive an answer, according to the epistle of James. They will get one, IF (getting an answer IS conditional)they ask in faith with nothing wavering. (James 1:5-8)
"My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right � and which I should join. I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong, and the personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in His sight: that those professors were all corrupt . . ." (Joseph Smith, "History of the Church, Vol. 1, page 5-6.) It was this directive that caused Smith to establish his church in 1830. It was this directive that caused God (if you believe The Book of Mormon is inspired) to reveal that there are only two churches � the church of the Devil and the church of the Lamb (1 Nephi 14:10). It was this directive that caused LDS Apostle Orson Pratt to teach that marriages outside of the LDS church were illegal and the children of those marriages are illegitimate. It was this directive that caused LDS Apostle Charles W. Penrose to state in his Rays of Living Light � Divine Authority that Christian creeds are valueless and that Christendom has no inspired apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers and hence no authority. It was this directive that caused the LDS church to produce a tract in 1982 titled �Which Church Is Right?� which states that other churches cannot save souls and that they have no divine authority. "We talk about Christianity, but it is a perfect pack of nonsense....Myself and hundreds of the Elders around me have seen its pomp, parade, and glory; and what is it? It is a sounding brass and a tinkling symbol; it is as corrupt as hell; and the Devil could not invent a better engine to spread his work than the Christianity of the nineteenth century."( Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, page 167 - 1858) Judy Taylor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I don't know where the Mormon Boys have gone, they've been quiet - must be either busy or overwhelmed - so I can't check with them - but Kevin isn't this the same song and dance Joseph Smith came up with before he found the golden plates that he deciphered with the urim and thummin that later became the Book of Mormon. Everybody had bad theology and all the Churches were messed up so God had to enlighten him so he could start all over again and add a whole new book to the Word of God. jt On Sun, 17 Apr 2005 16:43:19 -0500 "Caroline Wong" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Sorry Kevin, I often delete your messages without reading them thoroughly and that one must have zipped by. Because I know bad theology has dogged Christianity from the beginning, and that great theologians (not to mention pastors, elders and the ordinary joes on the pew) have errors in their theology, I would never claim that all I believe is right and true. I remember NT Wright saying 1/3 of what he teaches is probably wrong; the only problem is he didn't know which third. We all laughed when he said that because he is a very good theologian. I doubt his error rate is as high as one third but there is definitely error. If NT Wright has that humility about his great understanding and learning, can I do less? Augustine was reputed to have said, "I was wrong" on his deathbed. C.S. Lewis said the first thing he'll probably say when he gets to heaven is "I was wrong". And I'm far lesser in understanding than these two men. I have great confidence in what I believe about the Person I believe in. But I keep an open mind. Now before you jump on your keyboard and type "so open your brains fall out" I'll add that 23 years immersed in the Word and scripture have left an indelible impression on my brains. Every time I hear something, I remember what I've read in the bible, and what other people have said on the same topic and I come to a reasoned conclusion. I'm sure you do the same. :-) Do you have humility in your theology? Love, Caroline ---------- "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.
