Has your opinion of the LDS church

[Serious]

But you are anti-mormon and my eyes are wide open and my heart is still faithful.

ok, if my dad were a raging alcoholic and i were to suggest he accompany his rehab with activity in his mormon ward, would that make me anti-mormon?

serious, put the brakes on. you dont know me. you are not being a charitable example.

put your own brakes on, you don't know me either. Charity is a many splender thing, it is not stagnant or blind. It does nothing unseemly, and endures all things. I think you need to study the true charity not the world's definition. There is no tolerance for evil, because it is the pure love of Christ and He cannot allow the least degree of sin.

According to the teachers of the NT when one is born again, they cannot allow the least degree either.

So if your definition of charity is expecting tolerance of evil, you will not find it in me.

Here just for you:

..

and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

[Boy Named Sue]

do you believe all things? or do you, like me, consider that to be subjective? do you believe the earth is flat?

are you making an effort to disallow me?

hey serious, i reported you for your last post. i dont appreciate the tone or the accusations.

[Serious]

do you believe all things? or do you, like me, consider that to be subjective? do you believe the earth is flat?

are you making an effort to disallow me?

hey serious, i reported you for your last post. i dont appreciate the tone or the accusations.

HAHA, yeah that is a good spin. All things refers to all things being given through God. And apparently you don't. the book of Mormon is true. The CofJCofLDS is true. All things given of God.

And I don't like your tone either. So if tone is what we are to report, consider your post reported as well.

[Who Knows]

Very interesting poll.

I've noticed a couple things, which go along with what I thought before I created the poll.

This board either does nothing, or it increases peoples already preconceived views (either strengthens the testimony, or strengthens the doubts). Very few switch views.

From my limited reading of threads, it appears that people dig in, and try their hardest to defend their views, which ends up strengthening their views. It has happened to me...

[Tchild2]

As an ex-member I have found that the posters on the FAIR boards have contributed a much more nuanced and complex view of Mormonism than I was able to gleen from other boards (RFM for one).

I believe that I have a much more favorable view of Mormonism from the many posters here who have shared their point of view and who have synthensized what I once viewed as a black/white dogma into a more humanistic interpretation.

[Dunamis]

do you believe all things? or do you, like me, consider that to be subjective? do you believe the earth is flat?

are you making an effort to disallow me?

hey serious, i reported you for your last post. i dont appreciate the tone or the accusations.

You need to read our board policy. We do not like a lot of noise. I am seeing little but noise from you.

[Neighbor]

Incidentally, a new and, we hope, more useful version of the FARMS website -- which is a good place to look for serious scholarly arguments (and not merely defensive ones) regarding the truth claims of Mormonism -- was unveiled today, and is definitely worth some examination.

http://farms.byu.edu/index.php

Neighbor: That is the most boring stuff I've ever read. Sorry, but it didn't even hint at capturing my interest. Yes, why would anyone need to explain the statements of a prophet? If you don't get what they say, then they just are not a good prophet are they:-)

That's why I like to let Gods word speak for itself into my heart.

It's a love letter from God. Those who love Him don't need a prophet to tell them what God said to them.

[Who Knows]

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[Serious]

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[Who Knows]

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[Neighbor]

Back on topic now that I've read the posts..

This message board has been a benefit to me. I have a better understanding of the diversity of LDS opinions and faith - it's actually broader than I'd thought, as all are not TBMs..There are a lot of people from other Mormon backgrounds that I am able to share interests in and learn from - such as Uncle Dale.

There are other LDS member message boards that have some extreemist and rude LDS posters and moderators...

This site has the best moderators for an LDS site that I've ever experienced -

congrats are due for their efforts to remain fair to everyone - including non-LDS and anti-LDS and the infrequent rude LDS.

I think the bulk of everyone here are pretty decent people who want to love the Lord - we do tend to disagree on how to do that though.

Today I've been thinking about that verse that says we are to provoke one another to love and good works.

I really hope that someday soon our paths will cross in good ways.

You've been gracious and kind in many things. If only we could agree on the truth.

I'd highly recommend another site for interesting information today. The speaker is doing a series on who Jesus is and is on the topic of Melchizedeck (I never can spell taht word!:-) You might find it VERY intersting if you can get through a short cult statement and get on to the meat of the lessons...

http://www.davidhocking.org

go to the radio program and start with the first lesson - I think there are three.

Merry Christmas!!!:-)

ps: Why doesn't FARMS have a discussion/message board?

[Daniel Peterson]

That is the most boring stuff I've ever read.  Sorry, but it didn't even hint at capturing my interest.

By contrast, Neighbor, I invariably find your posts exhilarating.

I'm sorry that you didn't like our new site. I suppose we could have equipped it with muzak, cute drawings, a raffle, cheerleaders, and maybe a car chase . . .

It's an academically oriented site. For those who don't like academically oriented things, it's probably not very exciting. Just as those who don't like scrapbooking or fabric shops probably don't enjoy shops or websites devoted to fabrics and scrapbooking.

For those, however, who enjoy scholarly work on the scriptures, on ancient history, and on the early days of the Restoration, it is, I think, a treasure trove.

Yes, why would anyone need to explain the statements of a prophet?  If you don't get what they say, then they just are not a good prophet are they:-)

Take that, Isaiah!

I hope that you're advising all of those hundreds of evangelical writers who constantly churn out commentaries on the Bible to cease and desist. And I hope you'll share some of their responses with us.

Incidentally, very, very little on the FARMS site is devoted to "explaining the statements of prophets."

That's why I like to let Gods word speak for itself into my heart. 

It's a love letter from God.  Those who love Him don't need a prophet to tell them what God said to them.

Well, there go the Old and New Testaments. Those who really love God and simply let his word speak for itself, directly into their hearts, evidently don't need Luke, or Moses, or Mark, or Jeremiah, or Matthew, or Paul, or Peter, or Ezekiel, or Amos, or John, or any of those folks.

[Boy Named Sue]

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[Daniel Peterson]

I'd highly recommend another site for interesting information today.  The speaker is doing a series on who Jesus is and is on the topic of Melchizedeck (I never can spell taht word!:-)  You might find it VERY intersting if you can get through a short cult statement and get on to the meat of the lessons...

http://www.davidhocking.org

go to the radio program and start with the first lesson - I think there are three.

Not a chance, Neighbor. If I let God speak directly into my heart, as you've advised me to do, I don't need to listen to some non-prophet's commentary on the scriptures. If the scriptures aren't already completely plain, they aren't very good scriptures, are they? In fact, I'm not even sure that I need the scriptures, on your view.

Why doesn't FARMS have a discussion/message board?

It would be irrelevant to our mission, as we conceive it; it would take a lot of work; there are already plenty of message boards; we're not sure that we see them accomplishing a whole lot of good, really; we're an academic publishing house, not a web "ministry"; and we're not interested.

Why should we have one?

[maxrep12]

Interesting thread and poll.

I believe a demographic of this website that would be helpful to this poll are those who browse the more lively discussion forum here, but choose not to post.

[Neighbor]

Maybe a site that is a bit more foundational to faith?

The Scriptures uphold that teachers of the word of God are needful, as are various functions of the gifts of the Spirit. A good teacher is worth their hire. They are hard to find. David Hocking is amongst the best of our day. It's free!!!

I'd thought you'd be interested in what others of knowledge think. Surely you are not closed minded are you?

[Daniel Peterson]

I'd thought you'd be interested in what others of knowledge think.  Surely you are not closed minded are you?

I'm not the person claiming that we should rely solely on direct access to God, without prophets or teachers.

[Neighbor]

Nor do I demand a living prophet to reveal new Scriptures or claim to restore priesthood of which there is but one who can be such a priest who abides forever and is without father or mother - no geneology.....

The priesthood has changed - our High Priest is in heaven.

[Daniel Peterson]

Nor do I demand a living prophet to reveal new Scriptures or claim to restore priesthood of which there is but one who can be such a priest who abides forever and is without father or mother - no geneology.....

The priesthood has changed - our High Priest is in heaven.

Yes, I understand that you're a conservative Protestant.

[Boy Named Sue]

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Here is how it works, folks. If you want to add a bit of substance to this board we are glad to have you. If you don't, you won't be missed.

[Dill Pickles]

Some of you are consistently mean, judgmental and self-righteous.

[charity]

Dill Pickles: I think Cowpie took a couple of sentences, but without context, did not adequately convey what I meant to say. I haven't seen any LDS post-er express hatred or disrespect for any religious leader of any other denomination, or a denomination itself. But that is certainly not the way in which our leaders and Church are treated by those few here who are obviously anti-Mormon.

Do you disagree with that, Cowpie?

[Daniel Peterson]

from the Pickle jar: just want to clarify something: I think Cowpie is subtlely mocking Charity, Dr Peterson. Most of her paragraph is exactly the same as one Charity wrote on Page 1, with a few changes.

Ah. Yes, you seem to be right. I hadn't been paying attention.

I don't think his parody works very well, though.

[kantgomo]

This isn't exactly the forum for exploring or discussing difficult issues without being censored.

[Boy Named Sue]

from the Pickle jar: just want to clarify something: I think Cowpie is subtlely mocking Charity, Dr Peterson. Most of her paragraph is exactly the same as one Charity wrote on Page 1, with a few changes.

Ah. Yes, you seem to be right. I hadn't been paying attention.

I don't think his parody works very well, though.

dr. peterson,

i hope you know i meant no harm with my comments earlier. (substance)

dunamis: you have no sense of humor (not noise, substance)

charity: you have failed to defend yourself regarding your generalizations of the use of "anti" (not noisy, factual, substance)

as for my testimony and these boards: i would feel more welcome in a lions den. whats with the how do you do dunamis? seriously.