I'm not sure why they seem to kinda stonewall on a couple of the questions, but I thought this might be an interesting for everyone. Foxnews, like most Republican folks, has generally been much more supportive of Romney over most of the other candidates, in case you're wondering. Most of the questions, I believe, seem to be based on the differences between Mormon and traditional Christian beliefs. I doubt an atheist would really care whether Mormons believed God has a physical body or not. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,317272,00.html
im no expert on mormon faith but i heard that mormons believe that God has a spirit wife who concieved Jesus and Lucifer who are spirit brothers. (?) also heard that african americans werent allowed to join their church until the 70's. (?) i guess the person being interviewed didnt go into specifics because he didnt want to blow up romney's appeal to the conservative christian base of the republican party.
These may or may not have been beliefs at one time in their history which they've changed over the years. I know that polygamy was something the "founding fathers" went for but it's since been banned by the Mormon Church. They also held rather distasteful views on blacks, but that stance has also been changed since. I know we have a couple of Mormons on the board so they could probably educate us better on this stuff...if not, there's always Wikipedia
These may or may not have been beliefs at one time in their history which they've changed over the years. I know that polygamy was something the "founding fathers" went for but it's since been banned by the Mormon Church. They also held rather distasteful views on blacks, but that stance has also been changed since. I know we have a couple of Mormons on the board so they could probably educate us better on this stuff...if not, there's always Wikipedia [/QUOTE] when i hear about the "becoming a God of your own planet..." stuff i get the impression that mormonism may be like scientology (?) or like agnostic christianity (?) but im no scientology nor agnostic christianity expert.
The explanation of why the Mormon Church is considered a cult is interesting. How is such a large church/religion with such reach and resource so misunderstood? They have millions of members, and many outside of the church know the doctrine, right? The LDS Church was one of my major accounts at a former company in the late 90's. They would only allow me so far into the temple because I was not Mormon. They were not at all willing to share much about their beliefs. It seemed to me to be almost "secretive." In high school, my wife dated a Mormon for a couple of years. According to her and what he told her, and what his family believed...the whole thing about "getting your own planet" is true. They believe that, through good works, you earn your place as a God yourself and you get to rule over your own planet. So if the Mormon church does not believe this, then maybe certain sects or specific churches do? I read somewhere that there is not one shred of proof (archaeological, historical, physical, scientific, whatever) that any of the events in the book of Mormon actually happened. Not sure if this is true.....has anyone else read this? Other than Joseph Smith existing and authoring the Book of Mormon, supposedly nothing else can be proven.
I read somewhere that there is not one shred of proof (archaeological, historical, physical, scientific, whatever) that any of the events in the book of Mormon actually happened. Not sure if this is true.....has anyone else read this? Other than Joseph Smith existing and authoring the Book of Mormon, supposedly nothing else can be proven. Same could be said wrt The Gospels.
See, Mormons can be normal people With the amount of wives Brigham Young had, there's probably a lot more descendants of his than you'd think.
I would say the cult line comes from the more highly organized structure, high reward, high cost, and more secret nature they have. Plus they have some very specific guidlines for what needs to be done for salvation, in terms of specific services.
And that's more than can be said about the rest of the Bible--no evidence about the purported authors.
Actually, there is overwhelming proof out there in support of the gospels. In fact, I was rather embarrassed that I ever doubted the gospels after I did some digging. Compared to some of the other historical figures, leaders, and accounts we all believe in in our history books, the gospels have ridiculously more proof and support. It's out there. Just dig a little like I did, and you'll get all the proof you need. You can start with a book "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel.
I think part of the cult thing is because of the fact that temples do not allow non mormons in. You have to be certified to be allowed in the temples so creates the idea of secrecy that adds to the belief that they are a cult.
These answers seem to be thoughtfully deceptive (more in what is left out then what is said). Any organizations with so many secrects or so much to hide raises red flags. It's like they want to indoctrinate you a little at a time --- giving you a little knowledge at a time.
yeah I actually thought that foxnews screwed up and printed the same answer twice by mistake and then I noticed that it occurred a few times throughout the questionairre
I've had many deep conversations with Mormons, and their beliefs are certainly much different than "mainstream" Christians. Even so, generally, they really get the Great Commission and the Golden Rule. I look at the evidence behind the Book of Mormon and some of the wierd things that they believe in and can't believe it myself. Still, many of them are much better Christians than I am.
important point here...remember that Jesus shocked everyone when the example he pointed to of someone who was "doing it right" was...GASP...a samaritan...a group of people strongly looked down upon by the Israelites of the day. or when he said he found more faith in the Roman centurion who was...GASP...a Gentile...than he found in all of Israel. find common ground where you can find it. that does not mean that you have to compromise what you believe.
There are some major differences in their beliefs about the Divinity of Jesus. For instance: The Mormon church views Jesus and Satan as spirit brothers and sons of God. God put forth His plan of salvation for the world, and Satan proposed his own plan. Jesus accepted the Father's plan and offered to implement it as the Savior. The Father chose Jesus, and the spirit of Jesus was given a body through the virgin Mary. He was crucified on a Roman cross, and rose from the dead three days later to establish His deity. The character and life of Jesus is attainable by anyone who performs at such a righteous level. The Christian church teaches that Jesus Christ has existed eternally as the Son of God, the second "person" of the Trinity. Jesus took on human flesh about 2000 years ago and was born into the world through the virgin Mary. He was crucified on a Roman cross for our sins, and rose from the dead three days later to establish His deity. This is why the Mormon church members do the door to door thing, amongst other works. The concept of grace is missing or maybe skewed? If we have to earn our salvation through works, then why did Jesus have to die? He died for nothing if it were possible to attain eternal life through works. My wife also told me that they believe you cannot attain eternal life without being baptized by a Mormon priest (no other baptism counts). They also believe in baptism of the dead, or baptism in proxy, for those that died not having been baptized (so they can earn salvation).
