Ask Jonny anything RE: his views on Mormonism, Christianity, Religion, etc. (gospel, beliefs)

[jonny]

I don't know if anyone is interested, but I thought I'd give this a try. The forums have been kind of slow for me lately so I'm trying to keep myself entertained (as the risk of humiliating myself because no one cares about what I think ).

Here are the rules - anything goes. I'll answer honestly and directly. You can ask me anything about Mormonism - even my opinion on obscure quotes from the 1800s - and I promise to give my beliefs on it without copping out and claiming that "it isn't church doctrine, yada, yada, yada." It doesn't even have to be about Mormonism. It can be about my political views for all I care.

Alrighty now...give me what you've got.

[Comprehend]

Originally Posted by jonny

I don't know if anyone is interested, but I thought I'd give this a try. The forums have been kind of slow for me lately so I'm trying to keep myself entertained (as the risk of humiliating myself because no one cares about what I think ).

Here are the rules - anything goes. I'll answer honestly and directly. You can ask me anything about Mormonism - even my opinion on obscure quotes from the 1800s - and I promise to give my beliefs on it without copping out and claiming that "it isn't church doctrine, yada, yada, yada." It doesn't even have to be about Mormonism. It can be about my political views for all I care.

Alrighty now...give me what you've got.

cool idea.

1. Do you believe man evolved from a lower order of species?

[jonny]

Originally Posted by comprehend

cool idea.

1. Do you believe man evolved from a lower order of species?

Good question. My opinion on this has changed quite a bit over the past few years. Five years ago I would have said that there is either evolution or God, but there cannot be both. I've become a little more reasonable on the subject since I've given it more thought. I believe that evolution occurs, but I don't believe that man evolved from a different species. I believe that man has evolved in the sense that he has adapted to his enviornment, but I don't believe he was a fish or weasel or anything like that. I don't rule out that man could have evolved from a different species, but I haven't seen any overwhelming evidence to convince me that he did.

This is coming from someone who took as few science classes as possible though, so I wouldn't really call it an educated response.

[Tigress]

How and why did you become a Latter-day Saint?

[Gentoo]

Do you have a favorite hymn?

[love]

I thought that was a good answer jonny so I decided to ask you question.
What are your feelings that a supreme order exists that controls the physical laws of the universe?
What do you think mankinds role in this is?
What is the future of mankind?

[jonny]

Originally Posted by Tigress

How and why did you become a Latter-day Saint?

I was actually born into the church. I come from a long line of Mormons. My first ancestor to join the church did so in 1832, just two years after the church was first organized. The last line of my family that joined the church did so about 1902. My family history correlates very closely with the history of the LDS church and I grew up hearing stories about my family members in Ohio, Missouri, and Illionis and crossing the country with the pioneers to Utah. Most of them joined the church in Europe (Sweden, Norway, England, Wales, and Scotland, and Swizerland) and immigrated to the U.S. to be with the members of the LDS church wherever they were at the time. Many lost their lives during the trek.There's lots of great stories that I have grown to love. A few years back I put together about 500 pages of biographies from my direct ancestors who were members of the LDS church.

Anyway, I honestly never really seriously doubted my faith until I went on a mission. That was the first time that my faith was tried and I had some pretty serious doubts. I was ready to quit the mission, go home, and be done with everything. I decided to get on my knees and pray about what God wanted me to do. The result was an experience that I'll never forget and have never had since that confirmed to me that I was doing what God wanted me to do. I consider that experience to be the foundation of my personal conversion to the gospel.

[jonny]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

Do you have a favorite hymn?

Yep. I love music. There are a few hymns that I really love. The first one that came to mind was "Hark All Ye Nations."

Hark, all ye nations! Hear heaven's voice
Thru ev'ry land that all may rejoice!
Angels of glory shout the refrain:
Truth is restored again!

Chorus
Oh, how glorious from the throne above
Shines the gospel light of truth and love!
Bright as the sun, this heavenly ray
Lights ev'ry land today.

Searching in darkness, nations have wept;
Watching for dawn, their vigil they've kept.
All now rejoice; the long night is o'er.
Truth is on earth once more!

Chorus

Chosen by God to serve him below,
To ev'ry land and people we'll go,
Standing for truth with fervent accord,
Teaching his holy word.

Chorus

It's a German hymn I think, but the LDS church has included it in its hymnal.

[yuvgotmel]

• How do you feel about the rise of Islam? What do you think of the culture that is often associated with Islamic laws?
• Do you believe that aliens exist? If so, in what form? Do you believe that the Mormon description of “God” fits into the category of alien?
• Do you want to see an increase of people converting to the Mormon church?
• Do you believe that your faith answers all the tough questions about the universe and spirituality?
• Do you believe that had you been brought up in a different religion that you would have converted to the Mormon church?
• What is the purpose for the belief in keeping faces free from hair? And is that considered a “sin” (if a person refuses to obey)? If so, does that constitute a “lesser sin” than say “immorality”?
• How do you feel about coercing children into a certain faith (of their parents), even if it obviously objectionable to them (as children, teenagers or young adults)? Do you feel that the children should be allowed to choose their own beliefs too and be free from the demands of obeying the faith of their parents?
• Why do you think that people are so opposed to Mormons and the beliefs of your church?
• Have you ever considered that the LDS doctrine(s) and the visions of Joseph Smith might be wrong? And have you ever considered that Buddhism might be more “correct”?
• Have you ever wanted to simply die and forget about all this stuff?
• Have you ever loathed having to maintain a certain set of standards or felt that they were not necessarily what you desired?

[Tigress]