Odd Mormon Beliefs.

[Skwim]

In another post one of our RF members said "I'll be [sic] you'd be surprised to find out that our [Mormon] beliefs aren't anywhere near as weird as you've been led to believe."

I'm certain that a lot of Mormon beliefs are quite reasonable, even in their religious context; however, I have found some that do seem a bit odd. This isn't to say they're wrong or untrue, or that I mean to criticize or in any way disparage them, but only to show that some could indeed be thought of as strange if not weird.

The following examples were all taken from outside sources, which have accompanying explanations. However, I can't vouch for their accuracy. If they are in any way wrong, any correction will be appreciated.

LDS theology states that in order to make it to the highest kingdom of heaven, you must pay a full and honest tithe.

Everyone on earth now was a spirit in the pre-existence. When we die, our spirits are separated from our bodies and if we were good they go to “spirit paradise.” If we were bad they go to “spirit prison.” The spirit world exists as a place for spirits to go while awaiting the second coming.

The Book of Mormon is a book of LDS scripture that takes place during the same time as the Bible and takes place on the American continent. It follows the stories of two tribes who descended from the family of Lehi. After Jesus’ resurrection LDS people believe he visited the peoples of the Americas.

The LDS religion believes in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit as separate beings. They also believe that God, Jesus and resurrected beings have bodies of “flesh and bone.

Any worthy male can be given the priesthood and is given specific duties. Black people were not allowed to have the priesthood until 1978. Females are not allowed to have the priesthood.

There are three heavens: the Celestial Kingdom, Terrestrial Kingdom, and Telestial Kingdom. The Celestial is the highest, where God and the ones who followed his law reside. The Terrestrial is the middle, where people who followed the Law of Moses reside. The Telestial is the lowest, where the ones who followed carnal law reside.

You can be forgiven for any sin, save two. First, denying the Holy Spirit, and second, murder. Also, God is infinitely forgiving, until the second coming. After that, you end up where you end up, no matter what. There are no second chances. Period.

God created multiple worlds and each world has people living on it. They also believe that multiple Gods exist but each has their own universe. We are only subject to our God and if we obtain the highest level of heaven we can become gods ourselves.

Source and substantiating LDS scripture HERE​

Further beliefs.

Native Americans Are Descendants of Ancient Israelites.
source​

And more

God does not reside in heaven but actually resides on a planet located close to the star Kolob.

God took human form and had sexual intercourse with Mary in order to impregnate her with Christ.
source​

 

[Revoltingest]

To an ignorant (no religious education at all) heathen like me, all religions look strange.
Is this LDS stuff any stranger than others?
Or does it only look strange because it differs from more mainstream faiths?

 

[David1967]

To an ignorant (no religious education at all) heathen like me, all religions look strange.
Is this LDS stuff any stranger than others?
Or does it only look strange because it differs from more mainstream faiths?

Rev, I think you just nailed it.

 

[Revoltingest]

Rev, I think you just nailed it.

Reminds me of that poor woman with the nail in her forehead.
I just want to fix it.
Is that so wrong!

 

[David1967]

Reminds me of that poor woman with the nail in her forehead.
I just want to fix it.
Is that so wrong!

Well did you? ...Fix the nail in her forehead?

 

[Revoltingest]

Well did you? ...Fix the nail in her forehead?

I've been around long enuf to know better.
I validated her feelings.

 

[Iti oj]

To an ignorant (no religious education at all) heathen like me, all religions look strange.
Is this LDS stuff any stranger than others?
Or does it only look strange because it differs from more mainstream faiths?

To an ignorant (no religious education at all) heathen like me, all religions look strange.
Is this LDS stuff any stranger than others?
Or does it only look strange because it differs from more mainstream faiths?

this. before I had my own pod cast my christian friend and i were on his podcast and he brought up Mormonism and asked me if i would agree that its beliefs were absurd. I told him no more then the nonsense you believe from my pov.

 

[Katzpur]

I just saw this thread on the list of "new topics." Otherwise, I would not have been aware of it. Skwim is on my ignore list. It's a short list. In nearly 12 years on this forum, fewer than a half dozen people have made it, and nobody gets on it without a truly dedicated effort. I am resisting taking him off ignore, at least long enough to see what "odd beliefs" I supposedly have, but I know I would just end up being drawn into yet another pointless discussion with someone who is determined not to take anything I say at face value. So, here's the deal... If anyone else who is following this thread (my friends Revoltingest, David1967, and Iti oj are the only names I see so far) sees any "odd Mormon beliefs" in Skwim's OP that they'd like to discuss, just ask the question yourself and I'll respond to it. Now that I've responded once to the thread, I should get updates whenever one of you make a new post. I am always happy to clear up inaccurate information about Mormon beliefs, which I personally see as far more logical and rational than the beliefs of mainstream Christianity, but I refuse to waste my time on people who have demonstrated conclusively that nothing I say is going to make any difference anyway.

 

[Iti oj]

I just saw this thread on the list of "new topics." Otherwise, I would not have been aware of it. Skwim is on my ignore list. It's a short list. In nearly 12 years on this forum, fewer than a half dozen people have made it, and nobody gets on it without a truly dedicated effort. I am resisting taking him off ignore, at least long enough to see what "odd beliefs" I supposedly have, but I know I would just end up being drawn into yet another pointless discussion with someone who is determined not to take anything I say at face value. So, here's the deal... If anyone else who is following this thread (my friends Revoltingest, David1967, and Iti oj are the only names I see so far) sees any "odd Mormon beliefs" in Skwim's OP that they'd like to discuss, just ask the question yourself and I'll respond to it. I am always happy to clear up inaccurate information about Mormon beliefs, which I see as far more logical and rational than the beliefs of mainstream Christianity, but I refuse to waste my time on people who have demonstrated conclusively that nothing I say is going to make any difference anyway.

Well like i said all religious beliefs are odd IMO, but if i had to pick one from the list.

Native Americans Are Descendants of Ancient Israelites.
source

not really odd, just genetically untrue. Again though i find many religions have untrue things. So ehh.

Imo mormonism has some redeeming qualities that are lacking in main stream Christianity . Particular the way God gives people second chances after death.

if i remembered and stated that right.


Also always love being called a friend. Much love

 

[David1967]

I just saw this thread on the list of "new topics." Otherwise, I would not have been aware of it. Skwim is on my ignore list. It's a short list. In nearly 12 years on this forum, fewer than a half dozen people have made it, and nobody gets on it without a truly dedicated effort. I am resisting taking him off ignore, at least long enough to see what "odd beliefs" I supposedly have, but I know I would just end up being drawn into yet another pointless discussion with someone who is determined not to take anything I say at face value. So, here's the deal... If anyone else who is following this thread (my friends Revoltingest, David1967, and Iti oj are the only names I see so far) sees any "odd Mormon beliefs" in Skwim's OP that they'd like to discuss, just ask the question yourself and I'll respond to it. Now that I've responded once to the thread, I should get updates whenever one of you make a new post. I am always happy to clear up inaccurate information about Mormon beliefs, which I personally see as far more logical and rational than the beliefs of mainstream Christianity, but I refuse to waste my time on people who have demonstrated conclusively that nothing I say is going to make any difference anyway.

No worries Katz. I think by now you know how I feel regarding this. I am a strong advocate of asking one who follows the religious path I want to know about.

 

[Katzpur]

Well like i said all religious beliefs are odd IMO, but if i had to pick one from the list.

Native Americans Are Descendants of Ancient Israelites.
source

not really odd, just genetically untrue.

Before responding to your post, I went in and looked at the source for that statement. As soon as I saw the title of the article, "Twelve Beliefs the Mormon Church Might Not Want You to Know About," I had to laugh. If I saw a title like that with any religion I can think of substituted for "Mormon," I would immediately dismiss the contents of the article as so negatively biased that I wouldn't even bother reading it. If the statement (Native Americans Are Descendants of Ancient Israelites) was really an accurate description of what we believe, why wouldn't we want you to know it? Why would we try to keep something so integral to our faith a secret? There simply isn't any logical reason for us to do so. (Nor, for that matter, is there any logical reason for me to lie about my beliefs in responding to that claim.) So before I go any further, let me just say that you're right!!! The claim that "Native Americans Are Descendants of Ancient Israelites" is, in fact, "genetically untrue."

Now, let's assume, however, that the claim had been this:

"Mormons believe that a small family from Israel migrated to America in about 600 BC. They arrived to find a largely populated continent, and were eventually assimilated into the 'native' population of the continent."

Lineages simply disappear over time. There can be a tremendous discrepancy between the DNA of people who lived 300 years ago and the people who live now. One very good example of this is found in the "deCODE Project" in Iceland. Recent research shows that the vast majority of today's Icelanders are descended from a tiny percentage of people who lived less than 300 years ago. Many people living there as recently as the mid-1700s have no genetic lineages represented in Iceland's population today. This is due to genetic drifting, the founder effect and population bottlenecks.

The whole issue of the Book of Mormon and DNA is a matter of the wrong claim being made in the first place. When Lehi and one other family were said to have arrived on the American continent roughly 2600 years ago, they were perhaps two dozen or so individuals among thousands of people who already populated this continent. That they intermarried with these people is almost certain. But since mtDNA is traceable only through a female, it is not only possible but highly probable that the few females among that group of people would have left no genetic markers in today's Native American population. That is not proof that they never existed any more than the same essential situation in Iceland today is proof that today's Icelanders are not descendants of people who were around much further back than 300 years.

There may very well be Mormons today who believe that today's Native Americans are of Middle-eastern ancestry. Most educated Mormons would not make that claim. On the other hand, it is entirely possible that a small family from the Middle-east could have settled on the already populated American continent 2600 years ago and left no genetic evidence of their existence. Had Lehi and his family had arrived on an empty continent, it would be a different matter entirely, but we know that wasn't the case. Or to put it even more succinctly, assuming that it were a fact that a couple of dozen individuals from the Middle-east migrated to somewhere in the Western Hemisphere 2600 years ago, DNA analysis could not prove it to be so. As a matter of fact, it would be very unlikely for generic evidence of their existence to have survive after 2,600 years." Here is just one of several reasons why:

“Genetic Drift”: The following is an experiment anyone can do to demonstrate the process by which the Nephites’ generic markers could not only easily have disappeared over time, but how they almost certainly would have done.

Put 10 red marbles and 10 blue marbles in a jar. Pick one marble at random and check the color. Let's say it's red. Return the marble to the jar, but also take a marble of the same color from a bottle of spares, and put it in a second jar. The new marble (the one you just put in the second jar) will represent the red lineage. It's the lineage you want to track. Keep repeating this process, picking one random marble each time until the second jar has twenty marbles. (Always return the original marble you picked to the jar you took it from. That jar must always contain 20 marbles.) Of the 20 marbles in the second jar, you might have 8 red ones and 12 blue ones. After you've got 20 marbles in the second jar, start the whole process over again, this time picking marbles from the second jar and adding marbles of the corresponding color from your pile of spares to a third jar. By the time you've got 20marbles in your third jar, you may have 5 red ones and 15 blue ones. By the time you're working on your fourth or fifth jar, you will likely have only blue marbles. If you have even one red one, though, repeat the process. You are guaranteed to have all blue by the time you get to the sixth or seventh jar. Blue will be fixed and red (the lineage you were trying to trace) will be gone forever.

Imo mormonism has some redeeming qualities that are lacking in main stream Christianity . Particular the way God gives people second chances after death.

if i remembered and stated that right.

Essentially, that's an accurate statement.

Also always love being called a friend. Much love

I call 'em as I see 'em.

 

[Buttercup]

I just saw this thread on the list of "new topics." Otherwise, I would not have been aware of it. Skwim is on my ignore list. It's a short list. In nearly 12 years on this forum, fewer than a half dozen people have made it, and nobody gets on it without a truly dedicated effort. I am resisting taking him off ignore, at least long enough to see what "odd beliefs" I supposedly have, but I know I would just end up being drawn into yet another pointless discussion with someone who is determined not to take anything I say at face value. So, here's the deal... If anyone else who is following this thread (my friends Revoltingest, David1967, and Iti oj are the only names I see so far) sees any "odd Mormon beliefs" in Skwim's OP that they'd like to discuss, just ask the question yourself and I'll respond to it. Now that I've responded once to the thread, I should get updates whenever one of you make a new post. I am always happy to clear up inaccurate information about Mormon beliefs, which I personally see as far more logical and rational than the beliefs of mainstream Christianity, but I refuse to waste my time on people who have demonstrated conclusively that nothing I say is going to make any difference anyway.

You are truly a patient, tolerant woman with an eagerness to teach. In the decade I've been visiting RF off and on, you've consistently answered these kinds of questions about the LDS over and over and over with dependable grace. You need your trophy back!!

PS...Skwim really isn't a bad guy, he just enjoys asking contentious questions. I'm guilty of the same so I feel the need to defend him a bit.

 

[Katzpur]

You are truly a patient, tolerant woman with an eagerness to teach. In the decade I've been visiting RF off and on, you've consistently answered these kinds of questions about the LDS over and over and over with dependable grace. You need your trophy back!!

Oh, yeah! I'd forgotten about those trophies! I WANT MINE BACK!!!!

Honestly, I do try to be patient, but like everybody else, I have my limits. What most people really don't understand about me is that I'm not here to win converts to Mormonism. I just like people to have an accurate understanding of our theology. Most don't, and that's understandable. It's when people imply that I'm either being dishonest, that I'm avoiding giving a straight answer, or that I don't know what I'm talking about that my patience starts to wear thin.

PS...Skwim really isn't a bad guy, he just enjoys asking contentious questions. I'm guilty of the same so I feel the need to defend him a bit.

You're going to have to work harder to convince me of that than you would at convincing me God shouldn't have created us capable of murder. And I really don't even mind contentious questions. They keep me on my toes. It's his continual repetition of misinformation once I've clarified a doctrine that I can't handle.

(I do have a beef with you, by the way... Why the hell can't I see your profile? )

 

[Iti oj]

Also always love being called a friend. Much love

Before responding to your post, I went in and looked at the source for that statement. As soon as I saw the title of the article, "Twelve Beliefs the Mormon Church Might Not Want You to Know About," I had to laugh. If I saw a title like that with any religion I can think of substituted for "Mormon," I would immediately dismiss the contents of the article as so negatively biased that I wouldn't even bother reading it. If the statement (Native Americans Are Descendants of Ancient Israelites) was really an accurate description of what we believe, why wouldn't we want you to know it? Why would we try to keep something so integral to our faith a secret? There simply isn't any logical reason for us to do so. (Nor, for that matter, is there any logical reason for me to lie about my beliefs in responding to that claim.) So before I go any further, let me just say that you're right!!! The claim that "Native Americans Are Descendants of Ancient Israelites" is, in fact, "genetically untrue."

Now, let's assume, however, that the claim had been this:

"Mormons believe that a small family from Israel migrated to America in about 600 BC. They arrived to find a largely populated continent, and were eventually assimilated into the 'native' population of the continent."

Lineages simply disappear over time. There can be a tremendous discrepancy between the DNA of people who lived 300 years ago and the people who live now. One very good example of this is found in the "deCODE Project" in Iceland. Recent research shows that the vast majority of today's Icelanders are descended from a tiny percentage of people who lived less than 300 years ago. Many people living there as recently as the mid-1700s have no genetic lineages represented in Iceland's population today. This is due to genetic drifting, the founder effect and population bottlenecks.

The whole issue of the Book of Mormon and DNA is a matter of the wrong claim being made in the first place. When Lehi and one other family were said to have arrived on the American continent roughly 2600 years ago, they were perhaps two dozen or so individuals among thousands of people who already populated this continent. That they intermarried with these people is almost certain. But since mtDNA is traceable only through a female, it is not only possible but highly probable that the few females among that group of people would have left no genetic markers in today's Native American population. That is not proof that they never existed any more than the same essential situation in Iceland today is proof that today's Icelanders are not descendants of people who were around much further back than 300 years.

There may very well be Mormons today who believe that today's Native Americans are of Middle-eastern ancestry. Most educated Mormons would not make that claim. On the other hand, it is entirely possible that a small family from the Middle-east could have settled on the already populated American continent 2600 years ago and left no genetic evidence of their existence. Had Lehi and his family had arrived on an empty continent, it would be a different matter entirely, but we know that wasn't the case. Or to put it even more succinctly, assuming that it were a fact that a couple of dozen individuals from the Middle-east migrated to somewhere in the Western Hemisphere 2600 years ago, DNA analysis could not prove it to be so. As a matter of fact, it would be very unlikely for generic evidence of their existence to have survive after 2,600 years." Here is just one of several reasons why:

“Genetic Drift”: The following is an experiment anyone can do to demonstrate the process by which the Nephites’ generic markers could not only easily have disappeared over time, but how they almost certainly would have done.

Put 10 red marbles and 10 blue marbles in a jar. Pick one marble at random and check the color. Let's say it's red. Return the marble to the jar, but also take a marble of the same color from a bottle of spares, and put it in a second jar. The new marble (the one you just put in the second jar) will represent the red lineage. It's the lineage you want to track. Keep repeating this process, picking one random marble each time until the second jar has twenty marbles. (Always return the original marble you picked to the jar you took it from. That jar must always contain 20 marbles.) Of the 20 marbles in the second jar, you might have 8 red ones and 12 blue ones. After you've got 20 marbles in the second jar, start the whole process over again, this time picking marbles from the second jar and adding marbles of the corresponding color from your pile of spares to a third jar. By the time you've got 20marbles in your third jar, you may have 5 red ones and 15 blue ones. By the time you're working on your fourth or fifth jar, you will likely have only blue marbles. If you have even one red one, though, repeat the process. You are guaranteed to have all blue by the time you get to the sixth or seventh jar. Blue will be fixed and red (the lineage you were trying to trace) will be gone forever.

Essentially, that's an accurate statement.

I call 'em as I see 'em.

Thanks for clearing that up =D. lol wish i had marbles to do that with.

edit if you want to clear the rest of the stuff up i can post it for you.

 

[Katzpur]

Also always love being called a friend. Much love

Thanks for clearing that up =D. lol wish i had marbles to do that with.

edit if you want to clear the rest of the stuff up i can post it for you.

I don't know how much there is. If there's a lot of stuff, I wouldn't mind addressing one item at a time.

 

[Skwim]

Before responding to your post, I went in and looked at the source for that statement. As soon as I saw the title of the article, "Twelve Beliefs the Mormon Church Might Not Want You to Know About," I had to laugh. If I saw a title like that with any religion I can think of substituted for "Mormon," I would immediately dismiss the contents of the article as so negatively biased that I wouldn't even bother reading it. If the statement (Native Americans Are Descendants of Ancient Israelites) was really an accurate description of what we believe, why wouldn't we want you to know it? Why would we try to keep something so integral to our faith a secret? There simply isn't any logical reason for us to do so. (Nor, for that matter, is there any logical reason for me to lie about my beliefs in responding to that claim.) So before I go any further, let me just say that you're right!!! The claim that "Native Americans Are Descendants of Ancient Israelites" is, in fact, "genetically untrue."

Now, let's assume, however, that the claim had been this:

"Mormons believe that a small family from Israel migrated to America in about 600 BC. They arrived to find a largely populated continent, and were eventually assimilated into the 'native' population of the continent."

Lineages simply disappear over time. There can be a tremendous discrepancy between the DNA of people who lived 300 years ago and the people who live now. One very good example of this is found in the "deCODE Project" in Iceland. Recent research shows that the vast majority of today's Icelanders are descended from a tiny percentage of people who lived less than 300 years ago. Many people living there as recently as the mid-1700s have no genetic lineages represented in Iceland's population today. This is due to genetic drifting, the founder effect and population bottlenecks.

The whole issue of the Book of Mormon and DNA is a matter of the wrong claim being made in the first place. When Lehi and one other family were said to have arrived on the American continent roughly 2600 years ago, they were perhaps two dozen or so individuals among thousands of people who already populated this continent. That they intermarried with these people is almost certain. But since mtDNA is traceable only through a female, it is not only possible but highly probable that the few females among that group of people would have left no genetic markers in today's Native American population. That is not proof that they never existed any more than the same essential situation in Iceland today is proof that today's Icelanders are not descendants of people who were around much further back than 300 years.

There may very well be Mormons today who believe that today's Native Americans are of Middle-eastern ancestry. Most educated Mormons would not make that claim. On the other hand, it is entirely possible that a small family from the Middle-east could have settled on the already populated American continent 2600 years ago and left no genetic evidence of their existence. Had Lehi and his family had arrived on an empty continent, it would be a different matter entirely, but we know that wasn't the case. Or to put it even more succinctly, assuming that it were a fact that a couple of dozen individuals from the Middle-east migrated to somewhere in the Western Hemisphere 2600 years ago, DNA analysis could not prove it to be so. As a matter of fact, it would be very unlikely for generic evidence of their existence to have survive after 2,600 years." Here is just one of several reasons why:

“Genetic Drift”: The following is an experiment anyone can do to demonstrate the process by which the Nephites’ generic markers could not only easily have disappeared over time, but how they almost certainly would have done.

Put 10 red marbles and 10 blue marbles in a jar. Pick one marble at random and check the color. Let's say it's red. Return the marble to the jar, but also take a marble of the same color from a bottle of spares, and put it in a second jar. The new marble (the one you just put in the second jar) will represent the red lineage. It's the lineage you want to track. Keep repeating this process, picking one random marble each time until the second jar has twenty marbles. (Always return the original marble you picked to the jar you took it from. That jar must always contain 20 marbles.) Of the 20 marbles in the second jar, you might have 8 red ones and 12 blue ones. After you've got 20 marbles in the second jar, start the whole process over again, this time picking marbles from the second jar and adding marbles of the corresponding color from your pile of spares to a third jar. By the time you've got 20marbles in your third jar, you may have 5 red ones and 15 blue ones. By the time you're working on your fourth or fifth jar, you will likely have only blue marbles. If you have even one red one, though, repeat the process. You are guaranteed to have all blue by the time you get to the sixth or seventh jar. Blue will be fixed and red (the lineage you were trying to trace) will be gone forever.

Essentially, that's an accurate statement.

I call 'em as I see 'em.

From the BYU Harold B. Lee Library

Native Americans.

LDS BELIEFS. The Book of Mormon, published in 1830, addresses a major message to Native Americans.

*snip*

The Book of Mormon tells that a small band of Israelites under Lehi migrated from Jerusalem to the Western Hemisphere about 600 B.C.

*snip*

The concluding chapters of the Book of Mormon describe a calamitous war. About A.D. 231, old enmities reemerged and two hostile populations formed (4 Ne. 1:35-39), eventually resulting in the annihilation of the Nephites. The Lamanites, from whom many present-day Native Americans descend, remained to inhabit the American continent. Peoples of other extractions also migrated there.
source​

 

[Thana]

I just saw this thread on the list of "new topics." Otherwise, I would not have been aware of it. Skwim is on my ignore list. It's a short list. In nearly 12 years on this forum, fewer than a half dozen people have made it, and nobody gets on it without a truly dedicated effort. I am resisting taking him off ignore, at least long enough to see what "odd beliefs" I supposedly have, but I know I would just end up being drawn into yet another pointless discussion with someone who is determined not to take anything I say at face value. So, here's the deal... If anyone else who is following this thread (my friends Revoltingest, David1967, and Iti oj are the only names I see so far) sees any "odd Mormon beliefs" in Skwim's OP that they'd like to discuss, just ask the question yourself and I'll respond to it. Now that I've responded once to the thread, I should get updates whenever one of you make a new post. I am always happy to clear up inaccurate information about Mormon beliefs, which I personally see as far more logical and rational than the beliefs of mainstream Christianity, but I refuse to waste my time on people who have demonstrated conclusively that nothing I say is going to make any difference anyway.

Well I was hoping you wouldn't mind explaining to me the Mormon belief of apotheosis. I find it hard to reconcile that with what the bible teaches about humans and seems to contradict the meaning of Jesus's sacrfice.

Also all the prophets in the bible (Aswell as Jesus) were Jewish whilst Joseph Smith was not. So why would God change pattern for Him? And a lot of depicitions of Joseph Smith's meeting with God and Jesus has them as white, but as far as I'm aware they are not and would not have been. Not to mention that anyone who has ever witnessed the divine fell prostrate/dead, So why didn't that happen to Joseph Smith?

And I know this might be a bit touchy, feel free not to answer if you like, but if the practices of polygamy and exclusion of black men from the priesthood were abandonded by the Church, wouldn't the very fact that they were ever practiced and accepted indicate that Mormonism is just as corrupted as any other denomination?

I only ask because I want to learn, and if anything I've said is offensive please let me know.

 

[Katzpur]

Well I was hoping you wouldn't mind explaining to me the Mormon belief of apotheosis. I find it hard to reconcile that with what the bible teaches about humans and seems to contradict the meaning of Jesus's sacrfice.

Also all the prophets in the bible (Aswell as Jesus) were Jewish whilst Joseph Smith was not. So why would God change pattern for Him? And a lot of depicitions of Joseph Smith's meeting with God and Jesus has them as white, but as far as I'm aware they are not and would not have been. Not to mention that anyone who has ever witnessed the divine fell prostrate/dead, So why didn't that happen to Joseph Smith?

And I know this might be a bit touchy, feel free not to answer if you like, but if the practices of polygamy and exclusion of black men from the priesthood were abandonded by the Church, wouldn't the very fact that they were ever practiced and accepted indicate that Mormonism is just as corrupted as any other denomination?

I only ask because I want to learn, and if anything I've said is offensive please let me know.

I'd be happy to discuss all of these topics, Thana. Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to be online any more until tomorrow, so if you'll check back then, I'd appreciate it. And, just so that you know, I'm not offended by your questions.

 

[Clear]

Hi Katzpur;

Like you, I didn't think the OP was an authentic set of descriptions of LDS beliefs, but was merely meant to dyscontext LDS beliefs. For example, I could use the same O.P. links to demonstrate to the LDS how one spreads misinformation. Good luck Katzpur.

See you

Clear

1-8 : post was edited, original version is in post #20 by skwim

 

[Skwim]

Hi Katzpur;

Like you, I didn't think the OP was an authentic set of questions, but was merely meant to dyscontext LDS beliefs.

Perhaps that's because they weren't questions. FYI, when I post questions they're followed by a question mark. A question mark looks like this:"?"

I could use the same O.P. links to demonstrate to the LDS how one spreads misinformation.

For someone who can't tell a statement from a question, I have my doubts. Of course, if you feel any of the statements are wrong you can always do as I asked: feel free to correct them. But in as much as you haven't I'll simply assume you can't.