Well expressed Dave. You may not be as weird as I once suspected. :)
Terry
========================
Dave Hansen wrote:
DAVEH: Jesus Christ is my Savior and
Redeemer. Is that succinct testimony adequate, Dean?
cd: I had the opportunity to speak to a man the other day who
claimed he believed in God. My reply was : : Do you believe in the God
of Abraham ,Isaac, Jacob? I got no response from him. The point is
which Jesus do you believe in? The Catholics believe in one who allows
worship of idols (ie. praying to Mary, dead Saints...etc). In my short
time upon this earth I have found that one person in a cult actually
believes that they are in one. Do you believe in a Jesus that allows
more then one wife (ie. providing for death,adultery,abandonment)?
DAVEH: I believe there have been times when the Lord has not only
allowed polygamy, but has actually encouraged it. At other times he
has forbidden it. As I see it, most Christians only acknowledge those
times when it was discouraged or forbidden, apparently without
recognizing that some of the Lord's chosen people (including his
prophets) had multiple wives without His condemnation.
Do you believe in a Jesus that allows marriage in heaven?
DAVEH: I do not believe marriages are or can be performed in heaven.
I believe such unions are an earthly ordinance, that are meant to be
sealed by one with the proper authority while in mortality. And as
Jesus explained to Peter, those servants who possess the power of the
Lord to bind on earth, can join together man, wife and families that
will remain bound together in heaven.....despite those who would wish
to put such asunder. That is the power of the Jesus in whom I believe.
Let me ask you a question, Dean.....Do you believe Jesus has the
power to keep families together in heaven?
Is the Jesus you believe in the only way to heaven or can
this be obtained by works?
DAVEH: Without Jesus' atoning sacrifice, nobody could return to
heaven....no matter what works he could perform. First, without Jesus
there would be no possibility of our resurrection. There simply is
nothing we could do on our own to overcome that chasm.....the
separation of our spirit from our physical body. Just as Adam brought
physical death to us, Jesus alone made it possible for us to overcome
that death by virtue of his resurrection.....nothing is required on our
part, except being born into mortality.
Regarding works, Jesus atoned for our sins....making it possible
for those who make a covenant with him to allow for the remission of
their sins. I believe that those who covenant with the Lord are first
exercising faith, and then they are commanded to repent of their
sins. The nature of that covenant is evidenced by being born with a
water baptism which symbolically washes away the sins of the
participant, and the Lord in return gives the Gift of the Holy Ghost to
the person being baptized, signifying that he is born again. Besides
having faith, repenting and being baptized, our part of the covenant we
make with the Lord is to keep his commandments. In return, we have the
promise of salvation for those who endure to the end.
So.....Jesus has told us how to get to heaven, and then he
cleared the way of all the impassable obstacles that would prevent us
from getting there. What barriers remain are those that are self
imposed.....and a failure to follow in Jesus' footsteps. Simply put,
it is up to us to do those things that he has commanded in order for us
to become one with the Lord in his Kingdom. Do you disagree, Dean?
Do you really think I am overtly trying to lead TTers to hell?
Or, do you think I am inadvertently doing so simply by being a member
of TT?
cd: I believe that you serve you master well
DAVEH: I do not feel I have served Jesus to my full potential.....but
thanx for the compliment!
and are chomping at the bit to lead people to Mormonism
DAVEH: You do not know me very well, Dean. <sigh>
BTW....When you attended the LDS meeting a few years ago, did
anybody seem to be chomping at the bit
to convert you? And....have I exhibited any characteristics here on TT
that would suggest I am chomping at the bit to
convert you?
( the gate way to hell).
DAVEH: I'm sad that you feel that way. :-(
Weather or not you know whom you serve in not my concern-I
know and that is enough.
DAVEH: Likewise, it mattereth not what you think of me....I know Jesus
is my Lord and Savior. That is sufficient for my needs in respect to
what you think about me.
BTW.....I do understand your thinking regarding my beliefs in LDS
theology, and I appreciate your concern for my eternal welfare.
However........FTR, I respectfully disagree with you in this matter.
cd: How can you respect me while warring against my God?
DAVEH: ??? Where did you get that, Dean? Why do you feel I am
warring against your God? Have I done anything to belittle or condemn
you, or your belief in God? If you sincerely believe in Jesus....I
have no quarrel with you. I respect your belief in the Lord, even
though I may disagree with the way you practice it at times.
That is not to say that I agree with your doctrinal beliefs
either. But I respect you as a Christian who is following Christ to
the dictates of your conscious. You do not even have to respect me, or
my beliefs.....I will still respect you for your sincere beliefs in the
Lord.
From my LDS perspective, I truly believe you and I are both
literally spirit children of our Heavenly Father. Even if you were to
stab me in the back, I would still respect that heavenly kinship
between us and pray that you would change your (backstabbing) ways. I
know that is sometimes hard....but I think it is what Jesus would want
me to do.
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dave Hansen
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.langlitz.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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