lynnef@teklabs.UUCP (06/13/83)
What do Mormons believe in? Several people have told me that Mormons are
not Christians. Are there some Mormons out there who could enlighten me?
Lynne Fitzsimmons
{ucbvax, decvax, zehntel, cbosg, pur-ee, ihnss,
,chico}!teklabs!lynnefruss@dadla-a.UUCP (06/21/83)
Mormons believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and it is only through the atonement of Christ that we are able to be saved. There are some people that claim we are not Christians, but it is not because we don't believe in Christ. Some of the reasons I have heard is because 1. We don't believe in the Trinity (a combination of the gospel with Greek philosophy). 2. We believe in living Apostles and Prophets today. 3. We acknowledge additional scriptures like the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon has as its purpose to be a second witness for Christ. In listening to the discussions on net.religion I would say that we need such an additional witness. The Book of Mormon provides a refreshing perspective in support of Christ and I think provides one of the best witnesses for Christ today. The reason is because the Book of Mormon could only be produced by one of two ways: 1. A forgery developed by Joseph Smith and others, or 2. A book of divine origin If some on net.religion would be interested, I would be glad to present the mounting internal and external evidences which shows that it could not have come from Joseph Smith or his culture. There is no single aspect which is conclusive proof by itself, but the wide variety of support is very substantial. Russell Anderson Tektronix
russ@dadla-a.UUCP (06/23/83)
The some sort of special communication with God that you refer to is just that the President of the church is considered to be a prophet like prophets in the Bible. There is no reason why that type of communication is limited to ancient times except for lack of faith. As far as the decision to allow the blacks to receive the priesthood, it was always known in the church that the blacks would receive that opportunity some day, but it was not know when. It would also not seem to be politically motivated since 1978 was a rather quite period relative to complaints about the Church's stand relative to the blacks. But all decisions could be suggested to be politically or otherwise motivated as long as the assumption is that he is not a prophet.
silver@csu-cs.UUCP (06/28/83)
I tried to read the Book of Mormon. I am an avid reader who found the New Testament to range from "fascinating" to "dull but tolerable". By comparison, the Book of Mormon was far too monotonous, vague, and confusing to keep my interest. I attempted to continue numerous times; also jumped ahead to supposedly remarkable passages. I still don't see why so many Mormons swear by it, though it's obvious, I guess, why so many Christians swear at it. Hoping for further discussion by fanatics of both flavors, Alan Silverstein, Hewlett-Packard Fort Collins Systems Division, Colorado ucbvax!hplabs!hpfcld!ajs, 303-226-3800 x3053, N 40 31'31" W 105 00'43"
mat@hou5e.UUCP (06/30/83)
To all persons who feel that their religous beliefs would be instructive to others, and have not been aired recently: Please feel free to post, in not-to-large articles, and in a non-prothslytic manner, anything you think may be instructive or informative. To those who don't want to hear them: Please reply on net.flame. Mark Terribile Speaking for myself alone, Duke of deNet