I’m worried about you. You seem wounded, hurt, angry and lonely. I think something must have happened in life for you to be this way. I have a lot of love and sympathy for you. Hang in there big guy.
"I'm on paid sabbatical from BYU in exchange for my promise to use this time to finish two books."
I’m worried about you. You seem wounded, hurt, angry and lonely. I think something must have happened in life for you to be this way. I have a lot of love and sympathy for you. Hang in there big guy.
Gotcha! Ladies and gentlemen, we have seen a demonstration of behavior on Mr. Wang's part that is described in greater detail in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) that I earlier referred to:
Passive-Aggressive Behavior
Emotional Manipulation
Attention-Seeking Behavior
Pathological or Compulsive Lying
Mr. Wang, there is professional help available...although I'm questioning that where you have come this far without treatment that you may be living a lie and not have inner knowledge of the extent to which your condition has become part of who you are as a person. But it is possible to change.
I think I'm done with you for now. I will check back at a later time to see if you have P.M.'d me in order to connect on more personal level than is possible in a public forum. I'm honestly not expecting you to do so.
What "core doctrines" are there within Mormonism that don't exist outside of it?
Godhead-nature of God.
Full understanding of the Atonement.
God speaks and Scripture is maintained/created/canonized.
Continuing revelation through prophets.
Comprehensive plan of salvation.
Ordinances and authority.
Thank you for that. I suppose I should've also tacked on your previous statement, "the core doctrines have withstood the test of time," because all of the items you listed have changed and/or been altered over the years.
Godhead-nature of God.
Full understanding of the Atonement.
God speaks and Scripture is maintained/created/canonized.
Continuing revelation through prophets.
Comprehensive plan of salvation.
Ordinances and authority.
Thank you for that. I suppose I should've also tacked on your previous statement, "the core doctrines have withstood the test of time," because all of the items you listed have changed and/or been altered over the years.
In that book I found multiple examples of where LDS doctrine/theology has evolved and/or been modified/corrected over time since the initiation of the Restoration. At it is, looking at this list I think that most of the dust has settled over time. Harrell shows that in a number of cases there have been major 'rewrites' that have come about because of incomplete understanding by those that were coming into the restoration having been accustomed to certain beliefs and practices. Change didn't happen overnight for various reasons.
School of hard knocks. Gradation and graduation from one tier to the next. And here we are. Even now the restoration is ongoing as can be seen in course corrections and modifications that periodically 'move the scale' in order to balance things out.
But all in all, these core doctrines have been the pillars of Mormonism over time and have remained bedrock in the institutional church. The LDS Church puts all of this into one package and as I've said avoids the problem of traditional Christianity in which doctrines, practices, and ordinances have been scattered from here to there and disparate/separated and often corrupted either partly or completely from the whole.
Thank you for that. I suppose I should've also tacked on your previous statement, "the core doctrines have withstood the test of time," because all of the items you listed have changed and/or been altered over the years.
In that book I found multiple examples of where LDS doctrine/theology has evolved and/or been modified/corrected over time since the initiation of the Restoration. At it is, looking at this list I think that most of the dust has settled over time. Harrell shows that in a number of cases there have been major 'rewrites' that have come about because of incomplete understanding by those that were coming into the restoration having been accustomed to certain beliefs and practices. Change didn't happen overnight for various reasons.
But that's exactly the reason why Mormons say the Catholics went into apostasy.
School of hard knocks. Gradation and graduation from one tier to the next. And here we are. Even now the restoration is ongoing as can be seen in course corrections and modifications that periodically 'move the scale' in order to balance things out.
APOSTASY: When your church changes.
CONTINUING REVELATION: When my church changes.
But all in all, these core doctrines have been the pillars of Mormonism over time and have remained bedrock in the institutional church. The LDS Church puts all of this into one package and as I've said avoids the problem of traditional Christianity in which doctrines, practices, and ordinances have been scattered from here to there and disparate/separated and often corrupted either partly or completely from the whole.
Do you realize that your third paragraph completely contradicts your first paragraph?
In that book I found multiple examples of where LDS doctrine/theology has evolved and/or been modified/corrected over time since the initiation of the Restoration. At it is, looking at this list I think that most of the dust has settled over time. Harrell shows that in a number of cases there have been major 'rewrites' that have come about because of incomplete understanding by those that were coming into the restoration having been accustomed to certain beliefs and practices. Change didn't happen overnight for various reasons.
But that's exactly the reason why Mormons say the Catholics went into apostasy.
School of hard knocks. Gradation and graduation from one tier to the next. And here we are. Even now the restoration is ongoing as can be seen in course corrections and modifications that periodically 'move the scale' in order to balance things out.
APOSTASY: When your church changes.
CONTINUING REVELATION: When my church changes.
But all in all, these core doctrines have been the pillars of Mormonism over time and have remained bedrock in the institutional church. The LDS Church puts all of this into one package and as I've said avoids the problem of traditional Christianity in which doctrines, practices, and ordinances have been scattered from here to there and disparate/separated and often corrupted either partly or completely from the whole.
Do you realize that your third paragraph completely contradicts your first paragraph?
Comparing what happened over time in the Christian tradition that resulted in the simple gospel teachings being corrupted, and non-fixable/restorable, is a different thing than a restoration of line upon line of true concepts/principles with course corrections. The core teachings...corporal God, Priesthood, essential ordinances, plan of salvation, remained more or less solid although there were tweaks at the beginning. Joseph and his brethren had to be trained in 'truth'. They came from a corrupted Christianity in some respects (the Creeds) which was part and parcel of their own background and upbringing.
David Whitmer and others had a heck of time making the transition.
Think of Lectures on Faith. That wasn't a 'one off".
