Ask a Mormon, Part 3

[Eran of Arcadia]

Honestly? God doesn't always explain.

Suffice to say that it is very rare for Him to do so, and the last time it happened it caused major crises of faith - some left the Church over it, and others were able to accept it with difficulty.

 

[zxcvbnm]

Might it be that when societies change, new practices lead to better results somehow on the long term?

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

That is possible; we believe that although the Gospel transcends society, that doesn't mean that the practices we have are completely independent. But we don't claim to have all the answers for everything.

 

[Nylan]

Just those necessary for our salvation.

 

[holy king]

I believe I might be a god, one day. Not everyone will be.

"Ray, the next time someone asks you if you are a God, ... say: YES!!!!"

couldnt resist...

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Oh yeah, my bad . . .

 

[Pessimus Dux]

That is possible; we believe that although the Gospel transcends society, that doesn't mean that the practices we have are completely independent. But we don't claim to have all the answers for everything.

Of course, no one has answers for everything (except God). And it is better that way
Pardon me for being uninformed, can I ask you something? You wrote that you might be a god (yes, I noticed small "g" letter), and in the same time that there is a God above all (as I understood, correct me if I'm wrong)? Are those two things settled on different levels?

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

What do you mean "settled on different levels"?

 

[Pessimus Dux]

What do you mean "settled on different levels"?

Uff, sorry, this phrase is common in Croatian language, a word "existing" is maybe better than "settled". What I mean is, if you theoretically became a god, are you equal to the God, or the God is still "above" you? In what relationship you'll be (or anyone else who became a god) with the God?

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

You will still be subordinate to God the Father; after all, it is through His power that this is even possible.

 

[holy king]

You will still be subordinate to God the Father; after all, it is through His power that this is even possible.

hm... you guys are basically polytheistic christians then? sounds fun...

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Well, whether we can be called "polytheist" or not depends on the exact definition of the word - and bear in mind that trinitarian Christians have been accused of polytheism as well.

 

[RedRalph]

who do you prefer: Brandon Flowers or Donny Osmond?

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Brandon Flowers, if you mean whose music I prefer. I don't think I have ever heard anything by Donny Osmond.

But if I can choose from all LDS musicians, have to go with Gladys Knight.

 

[Nylan]

who do you prefer: Brandon Flowers or Donny Osmond?

Musically? Brandon. As a person? No idea, don't really know Donnie that well.

EDIT: Yep, Gladys is the stuff.

 

[RedRalph]

Ever seen the Killers live? absolutely class

 

[Nylan]

No, but I've heard great things about them. "Best British band to come out America", I believe they're called?

 

[downtown]

who do you prefer: Brandon Flowers or Donny Osmond?

Flowers (and Knight) don't even deserve to be in the same sentance as Donny

 

[RedRalph]

No, but I've heard great things about them. "Best British band to come out America", I believe they're called?

Yeah I've heard them called that, but that ignores Blondie...

 

[Chazumi]

I believe I might be a god, one day. Not everyone will be.

Like I said before, we don't get a world, we get a universe.

That doesn't make us polytheistic, at least according to my understanding of the word, given that we would always be subordinate to God the Father.

In Greek mythology Zeus was arguable "God the Father."

I still stand by my argument that believing that you or others will one day become gods make mormonism technically polytheistic. No big deal, kind of like tomatoes are fruits by definition.

By definition mormons are polytheistic, catholics or christians in general are monotheistic. There is only one god.

Although Mormonism believes that the Godhead consists of three gods, they also believe in the existence of multiple gods outside of these three. This is rooted in the denial that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit share the same being and/or substance. The baptism of Jesus, for example, is seen as an interaction between three god-beings, not just three persons. Additionally, the first Mormon Prophet, Joseph Smith, taught that God the Father was once a man like us, living on another planet with a God ruling over it. Our God later became a God and fathered our spirits. The Mormon scriptures (The Pearl of Great Price, Book of Moses) as well as the Mormon Temple endowment ceremony explicitly teach of multiple Gods. (cf. Smith, The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 341-7; Abraham 4:1, Pearl of Great Price; and Gospel Principles, 290). Joseph Fielding Smith Jr, the tenth president of the LDS Church in his Doctrines of Salvation 2:48. which was quoted in the 1976 Achieving a Celestial Marriage Student Manual 132: "We will become gods and have jurisdiction over worlds, and these worlds will be peopled by our own offspring."