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Most of us are aware of the story of prophet Gordon Hinkley being interviewed and saying that:



Q: There are some significant differences in your beliefs. For instance, don't Mormons believe that God was once a man?

A: I wouldn't say that. There was a little couplet coined, ``As man is, God once was. As God is, man may become.'' Now [i]that's more of a couplet than anything else. That gets into some pretty deep theology that we don't know very much about.

Q: So you're saying the church is still struggling to understand this?

A: Well, as God is, man may become. We believe in eternal progression. Very strongly. We believe that the glory of God is intelligence and whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the Resurrection. Knowledge, learning, is an eternal thing. (heh...this is unintentionally ironic...Mormons aren't taught to question anything).

Yet here...clear as day, is Joseph Smith's answer on the immortality of man:

"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!...........It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God........yea, that God himself, the father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did; and I will show it from the Bible...." (from Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith and History of the Church, 6:302-17)

Was he lying? Or was it simply a halftruth?

Furthermore, why was he so coy with a member of the press? One who could repeat the Mormon message of God-like immortality to the ignorant masses.

Notoriuswun wrote:Most of us are aware of the story of prophet Gordon Hinkley being interviewed and saying that:



Q: There are some significant differences in your beliefs. For instance, don't Mormons believe that God was once a man?

A: I wouldn't say that. There was a little couplet coined, ``As man is, God once was. As God is, man may become.'' Now [i]that's more of a couplet than anything else. That gets into some pretty deep theology that we don't know very much about.

Q: So you're saying the church is still struggling to understand this?

A: Well, as God is, man may become. We believe in eternal progression. Very strongly. We believe that the glory of God is intelligence and whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the Resurrection. Knowledge, learning, is an eternal thing. (heh...this is unintentionally ironic...Mormons aren't taught to question anything).

Yet here...clear as day, is Joseph Smith's answer on the immortality of man:

"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!...........It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God........yea, that God himself, the father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did; and I will show it from the Bible...." (from Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith and History of the Church, 6:302-17)

Was he lying? Or was it simply a halftruth?

Furthermore, why was he so coy with a member of the press? One who could repeat the Mormon message of God-like immortality to the ignorant masses.

I think he was equivocating and dodging a discussing a doctrine that is diffucult to explain in such a setting.

Jason Bourne wrote:

Notoriuswun wrote:
"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!...........It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God........yea, that God himself, the father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did; and I will show it from the Bible...." (from Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith and History of the Church, 6:302-17)

Was he lying? Or was it simply a halftruth?

Furthermore, why was he so coy with a member of the press? One who could repeat the Mormon message of God-like immortality to the ignorant masses.

I think he was equivocating and dodging a discussing a doctrine that is diffucult to explain in such a setting.

No...this is a logical fallacy.

It was very easy for early Mormons to figure out, and the quote by Smith is spoken in plain enough terms. Are you now claiming that early Mormons are somehow smarter than modern man?

This one concept is the hinge-pin of all Mormon Dogma...w/out it, Mormonism would basically be another deviant of Christianity... it is also akin to the "Virgins in heaven" Islam Dogma. It grants the faithful a heaven that is beyond their wildest dreams...and the ability to become Gods. The rest is kind of meaningless without it.

Notoriuswun wrote:No...this is a logical fallacy.

It was very easy for early Mormons to figure out, and the quote by Smith is spoken in plain enough terms. Are you now claiming that early Mormons are somehow smarter than modern man?

This one concept is the hinge-pin of all Mormon Dogma...w/out it, Mormonism would basically be another deviant of Christianity... it is also akin to the "Virgins in heaven" Islam Dogma. It grants the faithful a heaven that is beyond their wildest dreams...and the ability to become Gods. The rest is kind of meaningless without it.

Let me be clearer. I believe Pres Hinckley believe what is taught in the KFD and believes it is doctrine and just did not want to discuss it with the press. So he dodged and equivocated.

What is the logical fallacy about that?

Notoriuswun wrote:Most of us are aware of the story of prophet Gordon Hinkley being interviewed and saying that:



Q: There are some significant differences in your beliefs. For instance, don't Mormons believe that God was once a man?

A: I wouldn't say that. There was a little couplet coined, ``As man is, God once was. As God is, man may become.'' Now [i]that's more of a couplet than anything else. That gets into some pretty deep theology that we don't know very much about.

Q: So you're saying the church is still struggling to understand this?

A: Well, as God is, man may become. We believe in eternal progression. Very strongly. We believe that the glory of God is intelligence and whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the Resurrection. Knowledge, learning, is an eternal thing. (heh...this is unintentionally ironic...Mormons aren't taught to question anything).

Yet here...clear as day, is Joseph Smith's answer on the immortality of man:

"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!...........It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God........yea, that God himself, the father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did; and I will show it from the Bible...." (from Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith and History of the Church, 6:302-17)

Was he lying? Or was it simply a halftruth?

Furthermore, why was he so coy with a member of the press? One who could repeat the Mormon message of God-like immortality to the ignorant masses.

He basically tried to pass it off and then lied. Its not the first time he lied, wasn't the last.

Jason Bourne wrote:Let me be clearer. I believe Pres Hinckley believe what is taught in the KFD and believes it is doctrine and just did not want to discuss it with the press. So he dodged and equivocated.

What is the logical fallacy about that?

Then why did he not state that?

I bet you are the typical Mormon with the picture of Hinckley hanging on your wall. No?

its become another of the things that are embarassing for the church to admit that it teaches/taught. Much like the distance that it tries to place on the "mark of cain" doctrine (which i don't think it has officialy de-canonized). Mormonism by much of the world is still a load of crazy people. (as it is) Since they cannot completely remove it in such a short period, the only thing he can do at the moment is put a large amount of ambiguity on it by saying, "we don't know". its easier to do than to say, "we no longer believe that".


If you ask me, it IS dishonest. But hey, its par for the course on what the church does regarding anything that the outside world might question. Right?

Polygamy Porter wrote:Then why did he not state that?

I bet you are the typical Mormon with the picture of Hinckley hanging on your wall. No?

No picture of Pres Hinckley on my wall.

He was equivocating which is a form of lying.

A larger and more blatent Hinckley lie is when he was interviewed by a German reporter during the olympics.

REPORTER:

IN MY COUNTRY, THE…WE SAY THE PEOPLE'S CHURCHES, THE PROTESTANTS, THE CATHOLICS, THEY PUBLISH ALL THEIR BUDGETS, TO ALL THE PUBLIC.

HINCKLEY:

YEAH. YEAH.

REPORTER:

WHY IS IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOUR CHURCH?

HINCKLEY:

WELL, WE SIMPLY THINK THAT THE…THAT INFORMATION BELONGS TO THOSE WHO MADE THE CONTRIBUTION, AND NOT TO THE WORLD. THAT'S THE ONLY THING. YES.

The "Church" doesn't make an accounting to tithe payers. Hinckley is guilty of gross incompetence or lied. I find it hard to believe that Hinckley would be unaware of this fact since he's been a church employee or in high callings his entire adult life.

Jason Bourne wrote:

Polygamy Porter wrote:Then why did he not state that?

I bet you are the typical Mormon with the picture of Hinckley hanging on your wall. No?

No picture of Pres Hinckley on my wall.

That is a step in the right direction.