This is a disingenuous argument. We both know the answer, which is why I’m calling you on it.
Sarcasm noted.
Yep. This is one of, if not the largest difference with mainstream Protestants and the reason given by my sister’s new church for not recognizing her Mormon baptism as valid in her church, where they accept baptisms from other churchs.
Goad away, I would like to see what he / she has to say as well.
Somebody had to try and do your job for you, Monty. Most people are willing to drone on and on about their beliefs, you seem unable to answer any questions. Tell us about it:
Statement purported to be a Mormon belief: God was once a man.
Montys answer:
Statement purported to be a Mormon belief: God the Father has many wives and lives on a planet near the star Koleb.
Monty’s answer:
Statement purported to be a Mormon belief: Jesus was Lucifer’s brother not the Creator God
Monty’s answer:
Statement purported to be a Mormon belief: Black-skinned people are of inferior origin.
Monty’s answer:
Statement purported to be a Mormon belief: We are saved by grace, after we have done all we can.
Monty’s answer:
And don’t worry about my posts directed at Tom. It was a fairly standard exchange - I tell him the truth and he’ll come back and call me a liar. No cause for you to get your temple undergarments in a knot.
BibleMan, let me take a stab at these. While I am no longer Mormon, I was for 25 years, served a full-time mission, attended BYU, and consider myself well versed in LDS doctrine. Monty is welcome to come along and disagree with me.
Statement purported to be a Mormon belief: God was once a man.
OneCentStamp’s answer: Yes, absolutely. Joseph Smith said so in as many words.
Statement purported to be a Mormon belief: God the Father has many wives and lives on a planet near the star Koleb.
OneCentStamp’s answer: Mormons definitely believe that God the Father lives on a planet near the star Kolob (note the spelling correction). As to the many wives part, it was speculated by several early LDS apostles, but AFAIK never became a part of the official doctrine.
Statement purported to be a Mormon belief: Jesus was Lucifer’s brother not the Creator God
OneCentStamp’s answer: Jesus was the Creator of the world, but did so under the direction of God the Father, whom Mormons hold to be a separate entity. Jesus and Lucifer are brothers only in the sense that you and I are Jesus’ brothers: i.e. we are all spirit chidren of God.
Statement purported to be a Mormon belief: Black-skinned people are of inferior origin.
OneCentStamp’s answer: The Church never made an official doctrine of this. However, it was pretty much universally believed by Mormons until 30-40 years ago. To those who will demand a cite, I humbly offer Bruce R. McConkie’s Mormon Doctrine, and my own and my family’s experiences in the Mormon Church.
Statement purported to be a Mormon belief: We are saved by grace, after we have done all we can.
OneCentStamp’s answer: Yes, as has been quoted from the Book of Mormon above.
Thanks for the reply and the clarifications. From what I gather, either the leadership is currently trying to move away from these and other extreme teachings to a more orthodox position, or simply trying to bury them and focus on the positives about the church ie, family values, work ethic, patriotism, etc.
There are some of them that the church really isn’t even trying to distance itself from. The idea that God was once a man, and that humans may become gods, is still central to the Mormon idea of salvation. It’s still openly taught and discussed. I honestly can’t imagine it ever changing; we’re talking about a vital cog in the Mormon universe, not some peripheral detail like “a” vs. “the” or the cut of an undergarment. Other things, like old attitudes about black people, have really gone by the wayside.
Not for every single planet (e.g. there isn’t a god for Neptune because there aren’t any people there AFAWK), but for every planet with humans on it. And Elohim is our God, but there are others, and Elohim Himself was once a man on another planet, governed by another god. What happened to that god is anyone’s guess: perhaps there’s some type of retirement. For that matter, I haven’t heard much speculation on what will happen to our God after this earth is “done” (i.e. Jesus back, Satan defeated, people resurrected and judged).
Elohim and Jesus are gods of an unspecified number of other worlds, which Jesus’ sacrifice in this world was able to work for them in the other worlds.
As far as the faithful becoming gods after the judgement, one has to assume that there must be additional training since few people seem likely to be able to get drafted out of high school, as it were.
However, with the whole God and man aspect, to quote the current President of the church about this theology, “we don’t know a lot.”
Mormonism has changed considerably since I was a member up until the mid 80s. A belief in evolution would not be accepted then, although I do have Mormon friends who concede this now.
A typical teaching from when I was still a Mormon:
I notice that the teachings have changed considerably since then. From a recent article in a magazine aimed at the youth, they address how to handle evolution:
The entire post (most of which I have omitted) was simply a cheap shot that (in your words) “added nothing of any substance to the thread.” This particular statement is a direct personal insult directed at another poster.
You will stop doing this sort of personal attack, one way or another.
I support a truce. I do not even care who participates in the thread (despite the fact that every discussion of the LDS turns rancorous).
I am not looking to shut down the discussion among those who can maintain a level of civility, regardless how passionately they feel the “other side” errs.
However, personal insults are not permitted, (and are the personal responsibility of those who hurl them).