in rememberance

[_LittleNipper]

If your faith has a radically different definition of God-------------------------------------------- NO! You would not know God but would be worshipping an idol of your own design...

Catholics, Protestants and Jews for the most part do not have a radically different view of God Himself. He is still the Great I AM.

Okay thanks, I can better see your position on belief in God.

Do you believe that Mormons fit within that group that worships God or is their concept of God so radically different it must be considered idol worship? Perhaps in your view they worship God but cannot be considered Christians since they separate Christ from God?


In case it is not clear, here is where I stand. I am a life long Mormon (though some LDS would be offended at my claim), inactive, agnostic-ish but very interested in the historical aspects of Mormonism. Having spent all of my life as a Mormon I have very little exposure to how other religions view us, hence my questions to you.

I do not fully understand Mormonism and so it is hard to sort out that which Mormons believe, or some Mormons believe, or has been misunderstood concerning Mormons. That said, this seems to elude that there is some mystery surrounding the Mormon belief system. What I find troubling is that Mormonism seems to be based on the premise that scripture is under man's control, manipulation and whim. On top of this is the open ended beliefs surrounding the nature of God and Man and Jesus Christ being a brother to Lucifer and a possible mother god known as Wisdom. This all is very pagan in feel as with Zeus, Athena, Hades, etc... I find that the Book of Mormon contains actual verses from the Bible, but is a story outside the flow of scripture that is at best a late 18th, early 19th century religious novel and at worse a concocted forgery meant to deceive and misdirect ------ in order to achieve a false religious superiority.

[_SteelHead]

Your false sense of religious superiority lies in a Bible that sprang forth complete from Jesus' forehead like Aethena from the head of Zeus. To bad such a belief has no basis in the actual history of the compilation of the Bible.

[_Fence Sitter]

Thank you for your response. Here are a few comments that are intended to provide the LDS point of view.

I do not fully understand Mormonism and so it is hard to sort out that which Mormons believe, or some Mormons believe, or has been misunderstood concerning Mormons. That said, this seems to elude that there is some mystery surrounding the Mormon belief system. What I find troubling is that Mormonism seems to be based on the premise that scripture is under man's control, manipulation and whim.

While Mormons believe scripture to be important, they do not see it as inerrant or closed. What you see as 'man's control' of scripture they view as ongoing revelation from God to God's mouthpiece (the prophet) here on earth. We place a lot of emphasis on having the authority to act in God's name on earth and part of that authority is the ability to speak when directed by him.

On top of this is the open ended beliefs surrounding the nature of God and Man and Jesus Christ being a brother to Lucifer and a possible mother god known as Wisdom. This all is very pagan in feel as with Zeus, Athena, Hades, etc...

It seems most Christian religions struggle with the humanistic view we Mormons hold of God. Our concept of God allows us to deal well with problems of free agency and evil but at the same time we worship a God who is not the first cause of everything. (For example we do not believe God created matter.) In other words words your God could probably beat up our God.

I find that the Book of Mormon contains actual verses from the Bible, but is a story outside the flow of scripture that is at best a late 18th, early 19th century religious novel and at worse a concocted forgery meant to deceive and misdirect ------ in order to achieve a false religious superiority.

Yes it does and maybe he did. Sometimes I think he actually believed what he was doing but most of the time I think he was just looking to control people, but then that is what I think most (if not all) organized religions do anyways.

In my opinion the problems the Book of Mormon faces with the Bible are very similar to the problems the Bible faces with the Bible.

Thanks