Ok Formosa, you’ve babbled quite enough, although I do respect your right to babble.
It takes far more guts to be a Christian, or for that matter a Mormon, that it does to not be anything at all. Christianity forces you to face your issues like a man, make the changes, no matter how hard that might be. There is no hiding behind excuses or anything like that, just dealing with what is going on inside you. Molly coddling, sure, some churches get into that, but it takes more back bone to be a real Christian when most people are pleasing themselves and walking another way. That, my friend, takes pure grit and determination. We are all human and all have weaknesses and you are not helping your friend at all. Stearing, and pulling him away from his convictions is not something that he will thank you for in the end, believe me, I know.
I have taken more than a few hits from Taiwan in regard to my faith, being isolated and having no one to fellowship with has cost me more than I care to think about. I was well on the road to becoming a Pastor when I was back home. I was a traveller, a preacher, and part of some of the biggest ministry teams around, and now, 5 years later I find myself a shadow of my former self. Would I thank those friends like you - Not a chance. And now I begin the long walk back, alone, no, come to think of it, there is no going back, only forward. Now that takes guts.
Regardless of what your friend says he wants to do, leave him alone to make his own decision. Urged - Pushed - there is a real fine line between the two.
[quote=“Ke di er”]Ok Formosa, you’ve babbled quite enough, although I do respect your right to babble.
It takes far more guts to be a Christian, or for that matter a Mormon, that it does to not be anything at all. Christianity forces you to face your issues like a man, make the changes, no matter how hard that might be. There is no hiding behind excuses or anything like that, just dealing with what is going on inside you. [/quote]
While I very much agree he should respect his friend and leave him alone, this is the biggest bunch of BS I have heard all week.
My sister married an “ex-Mormon” who eventually couldn’t kick the habit. The straw that broke the camel’s back was him wearing the garment to bed. It removed all spontenaety in the sex department. He also decided he wanted to hang this huge painting in the living room of Jesus getting hit with a beam of light. My sister said no way, people will think we are some sort of God freaks.
He remarried within three weeks of the divorce to a nice Mormon gal he had met two weeks before. These people are sick.
While I very much agree he should respect his friend and leave him alone, this is the biggest bunch of BS I have heard all week.[/quote]
Whatever Feel free to be wrong or of a different opinion but BS it aint.
I have tried it your way, if you haven’t tried it my way then you don’t have an accurate opinion. Before you go into that whole “I haven’t been an axe murderer but I know it’s wrong thing” blah blah blah, it’s a totally different story.
Sincerely believe whatever you want but don’t even begin to think that you understand the situation. Maybe you have experience, but I doubt it because of your BS statement.
[quote=“Ke di er”]Ok Formosa, you’ve babbled quite enough, although I do respect your right to babble.
It takes far more guts to be a Christian, or for that matter a Mormon, that it does to not be anything at all. Christianity forces you to face your issues like a man, make the changes, no matter how hard that might be. There is no hiding behind excuses or anything like that, just dealing with what is going on inside you. [/quote]
Flicka is correct. The above is full of hogwash. Try telling those whom the Catholic Church burnt at the stake that they lacked moral conviction.
My sister married an “ex-Mormon” who eventually couldn’t kick the habit. The straw that broke the camel’s back was him wearing the garment to bed. It removed all spontenaety in the sex department. He also decided he wanted to hang this huge painting in the living room of Jesus getting hit with a beam of light. My sister said no way, people will think we are some sort of God freaks.
He remarried within three weeks of the divorce to a nice Mormon gal he had met two weeks before. These people are sick.[/quote]
Agreed, some of them have serious problems, but not all of them are as sick as this fellow. One of the problems, of course, is that sexual activity outside of marriage is banned. Why do you think so many Mormons get married so young? Talk about ready to burst.
On the garments issue, you asked “Why?” I’m probably not going to be able to satisfy you with my answer, but I’ll try. Mormons take all sorts of oaths about revealing too much information about the symbols sewn into the garments, and though I don’t think those oaths are valid, I respect the fact that other people hold them sacred. If you really want to know, all of that information is available online under “Anti-Mormon” or “The Godmakers.” You’ll probably even find pictures of the garments.
I wonder if they hate wearing that uniform. I mean really, off the record like.
Actually, it’s probably not fair to discuss them because I would think that they wouldn’t be allowed to come online here and discuss things. But at least we have Tomas, the dude.
[quote=“dosvog2002”]mod lang wrote
“Needless to say, in the age of “political correctness” , the Church has reluctantly disavowed such racism (at least publicly). But the fact that they had to wait until as late as 1978 to do so speaks volumes.”
Coincidently, at the same time the Morman Church proscribed racism the US government were offering substantial tax relief to organisations that showed no racism or prejudice. So was it a genuine effort by the church to amend their ways or a shrewd business move?[/quote]
The Mormon church enjoys tax exempt status, so this is a moot point.
Though, a few years ago when California had a referendum on gay marriage, the Mormon Church organized its members to work against it. Their apostles (Catholic cardinal level) sent letters with instructions to the Stake Presidents (like a Catholic Bishop) who sent the message on to the Bishops of each ward (congregation/diocese) who then mobilized the peeps to go out and put up signs and otherwise agitate against allowing gays to marry. Not sure how they got around this because it is my understanding churches can not get involved in politics without the risk of losing their tax exempt status. The Mormon church has some very clever lawyers who work for it, so I’m sure they were informed as to how to dance around the rules without technically breaking them. One of their 12 apostles is an attorney, Dallin Oaks, not sure what kind of law he practiced, though.
I dont understand whats the deal with celibacy in certain churches… the Bible never required or even encouraged celibacy or anything close to that. In fact certain verses of the bible encourages marriage and stuff. As for being gay, I dont know because some parts of the bible totally condems it (the story of Sodom and Gomorrah for example) but that seems to vary from translation to translation (the King James says no gays will go to heaven while other translation is a little less harsh) so I guess I’ll just let the Holy Spirit guide me on that issue. But AFAIK Sodom and Gomorrah is more than just being gay, they were wicked in every day, of course the hard line baptist preachers says “they were destroyed for being gay”. I think thats just a load of crap, they may have been gay, but I think they were just wicked which prompted God to destroy them. Before I became Christian I was a Muslim, and back then I got myself too concerned with rules and dogma because I want to go to heaven. They were almost like catholics when it comes to rules, pray 5 times a day, fast, whatever. Then later I just found that its pointless to follow rules because God tried that with the Jews and look what happened. Today I accept there is a God (no other way around it) and that he loves us enough to come down himself to die for us. Because no matter what you do everyone is a sinner, for example if you ever lied you’re a sinner, if you even so much as hated someone that makes you a murderer (check it out in matthews, theres a whole section on that). So rithuals and duties is pointless once you come to this realization, but knowing that all you had to do was pray and give your life to the Lord and you can avoid hell completely is a great comfort.
all the things i’ve heard about mormonism futher my belief that christianity needs to get back to the historical, Jewish Jesus of palestine and purge itself of these euro/american “great awakening” additions.
Cool! Underwear with symbols forming the shape of a pentagram. So a little kick of nature religion in it. Unity of spirit, earth, air, water and fire and stuff.
Mormons believe that the Constitution of the United States was inspired by God–however they have never been able to explain the Volstead Act and it’s repeal by the 21st Amendmant.
Yeah, but your family’s had that still up in the “holler” there for generations, so they prob’ly never had to PAY no never mind to that whole Volstead thing, any WHICH way…
At’s a good lookin’ hound, what you-all callin’ him…
Junior Johnson always made it to church on Sundays before the stockcar races began —thank you very much Mr. I’m-the-Chief-Nosey-Good-Doer. We still have “Dry” counties in much of the south but nobody believes it to be divinely inspired.
Nosey Gooddoer? I think I went out with her in high school…
Being half a Jack Mormon myself, I think it’s interesting that up where I come from, in a country in which no county is allowed to legislate the sale of booze (or lack thereof), the ONLY place where you just can’t get a drink is around the areas where polygamist Mormonians came decades ago to inbreed and pedarize without governmental interference. And become my antecedents.
Damn, boy, I read your post about 10 times, I still can’t figure out what your point is. I was mocking you for being a backwoods yokel, I wasn’t making any comments regarding…now see, I still can’t figure it out…rest assured, I would never stoop to political rhetoric or critique…I reserve my energies for ad hominem attacks…
Hell, you and me, we’re probably cousins.
Not the marrying kind of cousins, mind…
Feel free to be wrong or of a different opinion but BS it aint.
