gdemetz wrote:I don't see any crosses now on the temples, etc., and if I ever do, I will petition the first presidency to tear it down.
Etc? You mean, LDS Chapel's too. I can imagine what your reaction would have been to this cross floral arrangement at this funeral held in the the Brigham City Tabernacle with Joseph F. Smith preaching at the pulpit: So why don't you petition the first presidency to remove the crosses on the shields in the stain glass from the Salt Lake Liberty Ward (1908-1924) chapel?
And why don't you also take it up with God, asking him why he answered Elder Kimbal's prayer (about joining the Quorum of the 12) with a cross?
Things are certainly getting confusing... Christ hung on a cross. God turned that vial object of torture into a sign of salvation. Some feel the display of such is wrong and others feel that there is something wonderful in it presents. I feel it may reveal the heart of the individual.
Scriptures indicate to me that the words "the cross" are a legitimate means of referencing the sacrifice of Jesus. However, these words are perhaps only a reference to the sacrifice of Jesus, not a reference to the Church or the commandments or the teachings or the Birth of Jesus, or the Resurrection of Jesus, or the rest of the story, the things which help us to know about Jesus and understand the significance of that sacrifice. Is the cross an advertisement for those things? In the text, it is only understood alongside the character and nature of Jesus, and that understanding is necessary first.
In terms of a physical symbol of that sacrifice, I don't think God ever said physical symbols of His death are to advertise. Instead, physical symbols are specified and used in ordinances and play a functional role. This is the case in the Old Testament where firstlings were sacrificed "in a similitude of the sacrifice that would be made of the Only Begotten Son of God" (LDS Bible Dictionary), and in the New Testament, where "as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come" (1Cor 11:26).
This does not minimize the cross. Jesus has the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet. It is necessary to understand the sacrifice he made. But He is not dead, He is not dying, He is Risen!
sweetheart_ty wrote:In terms of a physical symbol of that sacrifice, I don't think God ever said physical symbols of His death are to advertise.
Did God ever say that the Christus or angel Moroni statues "are to advertise"?
But He is not dead, He is not dying, He is Risen!
Mormons believe that Joseph Smith's work did not end at his death either. Why then is it acceptable in Mormon culture for Mormons to treat Carthage as sacred space? Why do Latter-day Saints visit the place of martyrdom, and report having spiritual experiences therein?
I am suppose to make a trip to Salt Lake in September, and I intend to bring this to the attention of the first presidency. Nipper, Christ's death was a necessary thing for us all, but the cross is not our salvation, Christ is. The cross is the horrible instrument of torture used by the "beast" to torture the saints as well as others they considered their enemies. In fact, it is the "mark of the beast," or sign of that kingdom! If you look up "Bishops of Rome under Constaintine I" in Wikipedia, you can see a painting of him handing authority (his crown) to Sylvester! "And it (the Catholic church) exercised all the power of the beast (kingdom - Rome) before it."
gdemetz wrote:I am suppose to make a trip to Salt Lake in September, and I intend to bring this to the attention of the first presidency. Nipper, Christ's death was a necessary thing for us all, but the cross is not our salvation, Christ is. The cross is the horrible instrument of torture used by the "beast" to torture the saints as well as others they considered their enemies. In fact, it is the "mark of the beast," or sign of that kingdom! If you look up "Bishops of Rome under Constaintine I" in Wikipedia, you can see a painting of him handing authority (his crown) to Sylvester! "And it (the Catholic church) exercised all the power of the beast (kingdom - Rome) before it."
you and the first presidency hang out a lot together do you?
I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. - Galileo
Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man. - The Dude
Don't you know there ain't no devil, there's just god when he's drunk - Tom Waits
