jkwilliams Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 Just now, AtlanticMike said: To follow your sports team anology, isn't the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints just one team in a league of numerous teams. If God has populated other world's, who's to say the Savior of that world isn't called Mark. We're team Jesus, they're team Mark 😁 Those of us who have consciously chosen to follow Satan like to refer to ourselves as team outer darkness. 1 Link to comment
Jamie Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 2 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said: I think the question posed in the OP illustrates why President Nelson has urged us not to refer to ourselves as “Mormons”. In the minds of some the nickname tends to distance from God those whom He has designated as His covenant people, a thing that would cause Satan to rejoice. Yes but more than just that, I think. I think the main question in the OP is asking if God, our Father, is one of us. Asked in another time period the question could be phrased as: Is God an Israelite? Or yet in another context: Is God one of us? And I see the answer to all as basically, no, not really. It is more like we become one of him or his people by being his covenant people. And yet there is still a big difference between him and us. We can become like him, while he already is what he is. 1 Link to comment
AtlanticMike Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 1 minute ago, jkwilliams said: Those of us who have consciously chosen to follow Satan like to refer to ourselves as team outer darkness. Ohohoho, if I join your team can I have jersey number 666? 😂 PS. Dear God, please don't strike me down for that last joke. Amen. Link to comment
jkwilliams Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 8 minutes ago, AtlanticMike said: Ohohoho, if I join your team can I have jersey number 666? 😂 PS. Dear God, please don't strike me down for that last joke. Amen. Just stand next to me. He’ll get me before he worries about you. Link to comment
Jamie Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 7 minutes ago, AtlanticMike said: To follow your sports team analogy, isn't the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints just one team in a league of numerous teams, the league being the priesthood. No, only one team has the priesthood because only one team is the church of Jesus Christ. Everyone else was and still is invited to join it but some people have instead chosen to start their own team while claiming it is his church when it isn't. So think of that for a moment. Lots and lots of churches (groups of people) all claiming to be the true church of Jesus Christ, while thinking they are, when only one of those churches is his. This is the state of the "Christian" world now. Link to comment
Popular Post Vanguard Posted May 28, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted May 28, 2021 2 hours ago, MustardSeed said: Sorry, I should have capitalized God and Mormon. I heard a monologue yesterday that grabbed my attention. I wonder if others might feel the same way I do? I have a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love my church, and there are also things I dislike. But I love it enough to embrace and participate fully. The more I travel, the more I see, the more people I come to know and appreciate, the more I come to think and feel that God is so much more than I understand. So much more than I was taught in primary and have never really strayed from that understanding of HIm. Such a limited view. As I experience and grow and learn, I come to believe that I don't have the first clue about God. But I am aware that He knows me inside and out, and that He is going to make all things right, both in my favor and against it, depending on me. So....have I always seen God as a member of "my" church? Do I still? I think now as I really am honest, I have a hard time with the idea of God being a member of the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It feels so very exclusive. I get it, everyone is invited - but is that realistic? Does it help us, in any way, to assume God is a Mormon? Also, I know the word Mormon is a curse word to some. I'm more reflecting on a time when I probably thought he was - like all through my 40s. I too have a hard time believing such. Calling God a 'Mormon' seems to dumb down the grandeur of our Father-in-Heaven as I view Him. It's a kind of anthropomorphizing of our God in a way that - relative to said grandeur - profanes his existence. As wonderful as membership in the church is, He has to be much bigger. Is He the author of all saving gospel principles and ordinances? Yup. Does he identify as a Latter-Day Saint? I suspect not. 6 Link to comment
Teancum Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 1 hour ago, Scott Lloyd said: To say or imply that He has not established a covenant people is every bit as false. No it is not. Link to comment
Teancum Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 1 hour ago, Scott Lloyd said: That’s like asking if Jesus is a Christian. Jesus was a Jew. Link to comment
Teancum Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 37 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said: I think the question posed in the OP illustrates why President Nelson has urged us not to refer to ourselves as “Mormons”. In the minds of some the nickname tends to distance from God those whom He has designated as His covenant people, a thing that would cause Satan to rejoice. Satan was awfully excited for mos of the history of the LDS Church then. And he was down right ecstatic over the I Am A Mormon Campaign? Do you think that was a victory for Satan? Link to comment
Teancum Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 21 minutes ago, Jamie said: No, only one team has the priesthood because only one team is the church of Jesus Christ. Everyone else was and still is invited to join it but some people have instead chosen to start their own team while claiming it is his church when it isn't. So think of that for a moment. Lots and lots of churches (groups of people) all claiming to be the true church of Jesus Christ, while thinking they are, when only one of those churches is his. This is the state of the "Christian" world now. Protestants have the priesthood of all believers, or so they say. Link to comment
mfbukowski Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 2 hours ago, MustardSeed said: Sorry, I should have capitalized God and Mormon. I heard a monologue yesterday that grabbed my attention. I wonder if others might feel the same way I do? I have a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love my church, and there are also things I dislike. But I love it enough to embrace and participate fully. The more I travel, the more I see, the more people I come to know and appreciate, the more I come to think and feel that God is so much more than I understand. So much more than I was taught in primary and have never really strayed from that understanding of HIm. Such a limited view. As I experience and grow and learn, I come to believe that I don't have the first clue about God. But I am aware that He knows me inside and out, and that He is going to make all things right, both in my favor and against it, depending on me. So....have I always seen God as a member of "my" church? Do I still? I think now as I really am honest, I have a hard time with the idea of God being a member of the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It feels so very exclusive. I get it, everyone is invited - but is that realistic? Does it help us, in any way, to assume God is a Mormon? Also, I know the word Mormon is a curse word to some. I'm more reflecting on a time when I probably thought he was - like all through my 40s. I believe he teaches us from the book, "Elementary Paradigms For Mormons, Lesson One". It's the best stories He can use that we ant brains might at least partially understand Link to comment
mfbukowski Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 40 minutes ago, AtlanticMike said: To follow your sports team anology, isn't the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints just one team in a league of numerous teams, the league being the priesthood. If God has populated other world's, who's to say the Savior of that world isn't called Mark. We're team Jesus, they're team Mark 😁 I always suspected I was an alien. 3 Link to comment
mfbukowski Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 46 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said: I think the question posed in the OP illustrates why President Nelson has urged us not to refer to ourselves as “Mormons”. In the minds of some the nickname tends to distance from God those whom He has designated as His covenant people, a thing that would cause Satan to rejoice. I asked someone earlier if Mormon was a Mormon That might have had some influence Link to comment
strappinglad Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 Let's not confuse Church with Kingdom. 2 Link to comment
Meadowchik Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 (edited) 42 minutes ago, Vanguard said: I too have a hard time believing such. Calling God a 'Mormon' seems to dumb down the grandeur of our Father-in-Heaven as I view Him. It's a kind of anthropomorphizing of our God in a way that - relative to said grandeur - profanes his existence. As wonderful as membership in the church is, He has to be much bigger. Is He the author of all saving gospel principles and ordinances? Yup. Does he identify as a Latter-Day Saint? I suspect not. That's pretty much my attitude about religions and about any individuals claiming to speak for God to the world. What is essential to me is the values which would make God worthy of worship. Sticking to those is what matters to me. If there is a good God, I think that,--at least for me--that adherence to good values is the best course to approach God. I was a child born in the covenant and raised in the church. So now I am an atheist who still believes in the core values that made God worthy of my personal worship when I decided He was at about five years old. So I think that religion matters much less than righteousness. If there is a God, I hope God is righteous. Edited May 28, 2021 by Meadowchik 1 Link to comment
JLHPROF Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 (edited) God is a Mormon in beliefs and obedience, not in membership. Which probably makes him more Mormon than most actual members. He actually believes the doctrine and obeys the laws of the restored gospel. Most members can't fully say that. Another question - is Mormon a God? Edited May 28, 2021 by JLHPROF Link to comment
Scott Lloyd Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 35 minutes ago, mfbukowski said: I asked someone earlier if Mormon was a Mormon That might have had some influence And what was the response? Link to comment
Scott Lloyd Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 1 hour ago, jkwilliams said: What's in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet. Words matter. Or so I’m told. 1 Link to comment
Scott Lloyd Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 53 minutes ago, Teancum said: Satan was awfully excited for mos of the history of the LDS Church then. And he was down right ecstatic over the I Am A Mormon Campaign? Do you think that was a victory for Satan? We’ve been over this repeatedly on this board. The “victory for Satan” is cutting off the name of Christ from the name of His Church. President Nelson, with a prophet’s wisdom and inspiration, could see that happening with the constant substitution of the name “Mormon” for the name of Christ in reference to His Church. So President Nelson called a halt to it. So long as I see you and others distorting President Nelson’s message on this, I will continue to push back. 1 Link to comment
JLHPROF Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 17 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said: Words matter. Or so I’m told. 2 Link to comment
jkwilliams Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 17 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said: Words matter. Or so I’m told. Take it up with Shakespeare. Link to comment
Scott Lloyd Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 10 minutes ago, jkwilliams said: Take it up with Shakespeare. I did. He disapproves of your taking him out of context. 2 Link to comment
carbon dioxide Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 4 hours ago, MustardSeed said: Sorry, I should have capitalized God and Mormon. I heard a monologue yesterday that grabbed my attention. I wonder if others might feel the same way I do? I have a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love my church, and there are also things I dislike. But I love it enough to embrace and participate fully. The more I travel, the more I see, the more people I come to know and appreciate, the more I come to think and feel that God is so much more than I understand. So much more than I was taught in primary and have never really strayed from that understanding of HIm. Such a limited view. As I experience and grow and learn, I come to believe that I don't have the first clue about God. But I am aware that He knows me inside and out, and that He is going to make all things right, both in my favor and against it, depending on me. So....have I always seen God as a member of "my" church? Do I still? I think now as I really am honest, I have a hard time with the idea of God being a member of the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It feels so very exclusive. I get it, everyone is invited - but is that realistic? Does it help us, in any way, to assume God is a Mormon? Also, I know the word Mormon is a curse word to some. I'm more reflecting on a time when I probably thought he was - like all through my 40s. I view the Church being for weak people like us to bring us closer to Christ and the Father. So God is not a Mormon. However relationship between the LDS Church and God is like the relationship between an author of a book and a book. Without the author, the book would not exist. So God is to the LDS Church as JK Rowlings is to Harry Potter, George Lucas is to Star War, Bill Gates is to Microsoft or Jeff Bezos is to Amazon. Link to comment
mfbukowski Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 35 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said: Words matter. Or so I’m told. "You're under arrest!" 16 squggles on a page that could change your life. Two "yeses" in a wedding ceremony. No comment on the similarities. 2 Link to comment
mfbukowski Posted May 29, 2021 Share Posted May 29, 2021 36 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said: We’ve been over this repeatedly on this board. The “victory for Satan” is cutting off the name of Christ from the name of His Church. President Nelson, with a prophet’s wisdom and inspiration, could see that happening with the constant substitution of the name “Mormon” for the name of Christ in reference to His Church. So President Nelson called a halt to it. So long as I see you and others distorting President Nelson’s message on this, I will continue to push back. I was waiting for that change for 35 years- since I became a member, in my youth I believed that "Mormons" worshiped "saints" who were Native Americans, one of whom was named "Mormon". No clue they were Christians, and I was shocked to find out otherwise. 3 Link to comment
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