Doctrine from the Book of Mormon

Big ned · Post by **Big ned** » Nov 14th, 2007, 10:41 am

Here is a nice thread for those that seem to skip over all the wonderful teachings in the Book of Mormon and deal only with anti Mormon websites. There may not be many of you out there, but I hope for those who are misinformed, this will be of help.

Remember.. it is better to go to the source than to ask somebody that may not really know what is going on.

and humble yourselves even in the depths of ehumility, fcalling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing gsteadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.
12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the alove of God, and always bretain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the cknowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.
13 And ye will not have a amind to injure one another, but to live bpeaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due.
14 And ye will not suffer your achildren that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye bsuffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and cquarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the devil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.
15 But ye will ateach them to bwalk in the ways of truth and csoberness; ye will teach them to dlove one another, and to serve one another.
16 And also, ye yourselves will asuccor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the bbeggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.

I don't know how someone could interpret this as awful....

More to come.

Big ned · Post by **Big ned** » Nov 14th, 2007, 11:25 am

Another beautiful scripture and doctrine from the BoM:

22 For behold that all little children are alive in Christ, and also all they that are without the law. For the power of redemption cometh on all them that have no law; wherefore, he that is not condemned, or he that is under no condemnation, cannot repent; and unto such baptism availeth nothing—
23 But it is mockery before God, denying the mercies of Christ, and the power of his Holy Spirit, and putting trust in dead works.
24 Behold, my son, this thing ought not to be; for repentance is unto them that are under condemnation and under the curse of a broken law.
25 And the first fruits of arepentance is bbaptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins;
26 And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect elove, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.

ILLEffect · Post by **ILLEffect** » Nov 14th, 2007, 1:57 pm

I love the Book of Mormon. My favourite is Alma. I've grown up with a lot of disbelief in my family and life and learning about faith as a seed really awakened a lot in me. Once I started to treat it like a seed, it blossomed. I was actually baptized at LDS this year:) I love the church. The Sister Missionaries are amazing, everyone in the church is incredibly nice and helpful.

I came across a lot of hesitation and scrutiny from friends regarding the LDS faith. It's very sad how misinformed people are and yet they do not want to see the facts when you present them. I still have friends that believe I'm a cult member about to be one of 8 wives, have live sacrifices...etc etc etc.

Thank you for posting this, I will be sure to follow it!!!

Big ned · Post by **Big ned** » Nov 14th, 2007, 2:11 pm

Thanks Illeffect. Welcome to the boards and happy to have another LDSer posting. Old Tex comes on once in a while. I met him on the Sean Hannity board. There is quite a group of lds on that religion board.

The Book of Mormon is filled with wonderful counsel and words of wisdom.

I will post more as I have time.

Big ned · Post by **Big ned** » Nov 14th, 2007, 2:48 pm

Here is one that even the heathens can appreciate.

29 He commandeth that there shall be no ariestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion.
30 Behold, the Lord hath forbidden this thing; wherefore, the Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, which charity is love. And except they should have charity they were nothing. Wherefore, if they should have charity they would not suffer the laborer in Zion to perish.
31 But the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish.
32 And again, the Lord God hath commanded that men should not murder; that they should not lie; that they should not steal; that they should not take the name of the Lord their God in vain; that they should not envy; that they should not have malice; that they should not contend one with another; that they should not commit whoredoms; and that they should do none of these things; for whoso doeth them shall perish.
33 For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.

grammafreddy · Post by **grammafreddy** » Nov 21st, 2007, 7:54 pm

Lovely words of wisdom to live by - too bad all that religion stuff is in there.

Did it ever occur to anyone that they could live their lives doing nice things, helping people, not being nasty, being tolerant of others' cultures, sharing, respecting elders and all those other warm fuzzies - and have no mention of the word "God", "Jesus", "heaven", "hell", "eternal life", etc ?

Or do the people who subscribe to any religion think that it is their sole dedication to that religion that makes a person that way?

Gramma

Big ned · Post by **Big ned** » Nov 29th, 2007, 10:06 am

There are many good people out there that don't subscribe to religion. Of course there are. I think good people care about others rather than focusing on themselves all the time.

I have several employees that are very good and not religious. Belief in God doesn't make you a good person either. Many very bad people that profess a belief in God.

You have to reconcile with yourself what kind of person you are going to be. Those of us that believe in God have a more concrete system to follow. For example... I don't believe lying is right. Some people will lie if it serves their self interest because it benefits them.

I believe the conscience we all follow (when it is telling us to do right) is the promptings of the spirit of God. If we ignore it and do what is wrong, it will prompt us less and less until we pay not attention to it at all

FreeRights · Post by **FreeRights** » Nov 29th, 2007, 4:38 pm

*can't stop laughing*

Big ned · Post by **Big ned** » Nov 29th, 2007, 5:01 pm

Care to elaborate?

Baba O'Riley · Post by **Baba O'Riley** » Nov 30th, 2007, 9:52 am

Big ned wrote: I believe the conscience we all follow (when it is telling us to do right) is the promptings of the spirit of God. If we ignore it and do what is wrong, it will prompt us less and less until we pay not attention to it at all

I kinda like that explanation, Big Ned! Thank you. :smt023

Big ned · Post by **Big ned** » Nov 30th, 2007, 3:03 pm

Thanks Baba. I guess freerights got something caught in his throat and really had nothing to say at all.

NAB · Post by **NAB** » Dec 4th, 2007, 7:14 pm

Interesting twist from a current political perspective..

Nab

Romney to walk fine line in Mormon speech
Tue Dec 4, 2007 3:51pm EST

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Featured Broker sponsored linkBy Jason Szep - Analysis

BOSTON (Reuters) - From baptism of the dead to a ban on coffee, Mormonism's doctrines are alien to many Americans and that is unlikely to change when Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney gives a long-awaited speech on his faith this week, religious scholars say.

Thursday's address by the former Massachusetts governor, who would be the first Mormon president of the United States, could fuel more questions than answers about a faith many powerful evangelical Christian voters dismiss as a cult.

"I can't see him really making a kind of passionate defense of Mormonism. That's not going to win votes. On the other hand, to pretend he is an evangelical is not going to win. He is in a very awkward position," said Alan Wolfe, director of Boston College's Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life.

Romney is unlikely to say religion will have no bearing on his decisions if he wins the November 2008 election or to stress the separation of church and state as John F. Kennedy did in 1960 to Texas Baptists while campaigning to become the country's first Roman Catholic president.

"Many of its evangelical voters who are crucial in the Republican Party's nominating process don't just want to know that you are religious but that you put religion at front and center," said Boyd Petersen, interim chairman of the Mormon studies program at Utah Valley State College.

"The one thing JFK did that was really important is he emphasized that religion should not be the litmus test for candidates. That's going to be harder for Romney."

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the sect based in Salt Lake City, Utah, is formally known, is the fourth-largest U.S. religion and one of the richest, with 12.9 million members globally and an estimated $5 billion in annual revenue. More than half live outside the United States.
It bans alcohol, tobacco, tea and coffee. It maintains there is no eternal hell, the dead can be baptized and that God speaks through living apostles and prophets such as the church's current president, Gordon Hinckley.
Although Mormons revere Christ as their savior and consider themselves devout Christians, they reject the unified Trinity and teach that God has a body of flesh.

They believe the religion's founder, Joseph Smith, was a prophet instructed by God to restore the true church and that the Bible contains errors.

AVOIDING SPECIFICS

"With Mormonism, I think one of the problems he is going to face is that the more he talks about specifics, the more the differences are going to come into focus," said Petersen.

While healthcare, the Iraq war, immigration and the economy are dominant election themes, candidates from both parties make a point of highlighting their faith in a country where a recent Harris poll showed 82 percent of people believe in God.

But many voters know little about Mormons and are often skeptical of that faith's beliefs.

In a survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life in February, 30 percent of respondents said they would be less likely to back a Mormon for president, while 46 percent in a Gallup poll said they had an unfavorable opinion of Mormons.

Campaigning in New Hampshire, Romney said his speech in Texas would not echo Kennedy's but focus on "our common heritage, the founding fathers, the faith which they had in a creator -- not a specific religion."

"I am certainly not a spokesman for my faith," Romney said on Monday. "We have had presidents who were Quakers, Unitarians, of course a Catholic president," he added. "It shows that we do not choose our presidents based on their denomination but instead upon their vision and their values."

A former bishop in his church, Romney often skates around questions about his faith, at times adopting the language of evangelicals by calling Jesus his "personal savior". In a debate, he described the Bible as the "word of God".

While that may shore up support among evangelicals who share many of Romney's conservative views on issues ranging from abortion to gay marriage, he also has to be careful not to offend Mormons who are big donors to his campaign.

Some Mormons were angered when Romney criticized polygamy, which the church banned in 1890, by calling the once-common Mormon practice "bizarre" even though his own great-grandfather had five wives and great-great-grandfather had a dozen.
In a failed 1994 bid to unseat Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, Romney also faced questions about his faith, especially over Mormonism's past policy of barring blacks from leadership roles.

He responded by calling the 1978 lifting of a ban on black priests "one of the most emotional and happy days of my life."

Romney is the fifth Mormon to seek the White House. His father, former Michigan governor George Romney, ran in 1968 and the church's founder, Joseph Smith, was shot to death by a mob during his 1844 presidential campaign.
Francis Beckwith, associate director of the J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies at Baylor University, said voters may not end up with a much clearer understanding of the Mormon faith.

"One of the big issues the church is facing as it has grown and its members have become more prominent is how much of the theology do you reveal without surprising people," he said.

Big ned · Post by **Big ned** » Dec 6th, 2007, 6:01 pm

Thanks for posting that Nab. Interesting the focus the media is putting on the candidate who has no other real "skeletons in the closet" Married to the same woman his whole life. Harvard graduate who started his own company and is a self made billionaire... Saved the Salt Lake Olympics from certain failure, became a conservative governor of liberal state and balanced it's books in a four year term. Brought people of different backgrounds together to accomplish this. The only thing people can find to critize is his personal belief system.... something that the founding father's were very clear should not be a requirement to run for president. Doesn't matter... people gravitate towards Romney when they sit down and listen to his common sense message. His platform resonates with the people.

Well, it appears "despite" his personal belief system, he has accomplished more thand most. He has a proven track record of managing government affiars very effectively.

He has run a very astute and historically sound campaign. He has focused carefully on the first four or five primary states where he is now in the lead or a statistical tie in all of them. If he were to win 3 or four of those states, history has shown that the momentum from such victories could very well catapult him into the republican nomination. It will be interesting to see what happens

It's funny that if you were to ask a Catholic about their beliefs in the trinity or their view of the Sacrament... to someone who has only a surface understanding of those ordinances, it seems quite peculiar too. When you have a solid understanding of LDS doctrine, the things the article points to aren't strange at all, but are what draw many people to the faith. Eternal family, God's love and fairness to all his children. IT's just not something you can explain in a ten second sound byte.

NAB · Post by **NAB** » Dec 7th, 2007, 8:03 am

You're welcome Ned. I had intended to follow up today with the promised speech, the full context being found at

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=23830

It is worth a full and consciencous read by believers and non-believers alike IMO..

Here are some excerpts that particularly caught my eye....

Nab

*************************************************

"There are some who may feel that religion is not a matter to be seriously considered in the context of the weighty threats that face us. If so, they are at odds with the nation's founders, for they, when our nation faced its greatest peril, sought the blessings of the Creator. And further, they discovered the essential connection between the survival of a free land and the protection of religious freedom. In John Adams’ words: 'We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion... Our constitution was made for a moral and religious people.'

"Some believe that such a confession of my faith will sink my candidacy. If they are right, so be it. But I think they underestimate the American people. Americans do not respect believers of convenience.

Americans tire of those who would jettison their beliefs, even to gain the world.

"We separate church and state affairs in this country, and for good reason. No religion should dictate to the state nor should the state interfere with the free practice of religion. But in recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning. They seek to remove from the public domain any acknowledgment of God. Religion is seen as merely a private affair with no place in public life. It is as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America – the religion of secularism. They are wrong.

"Americans acknowledge that liberty is a gift of God, not an indulgence of government. No people in the history of the world have sacrificed as much for liberty. The lives of hundreds of thousands of America's sons and daughters were laid down during the last century to preserve freedom, for us and for freedom loving people throughout the world. America took nothing from that Century's terrible wars – no land from Germany or Japan or Korea; no treasure; no oath of fealty. America's resolve in the defense of liberty has been tested time and again. It has not been found wanting, nor must it ever be. America must never falter in holding high the banner of freedom.

"Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone.

Big ned · Post by **Big ned** » Dec 7th, 2007, 10:09 am

Most eloquent and poignant in todays world. The US could do (and has certainly done) much worse than Mitt Romeny as president. He is a man that solves problems and brings people together. If the US needs anything more than that, I don't know what it is.

I thought he handled it admirably and the way he should have. He doesn't have to explain his personal beliefs to anyone. They are on LDS.org for anyone to look at and study. He is running for President of the US, not pastor of the US.