Ask a Mormon, Part 4

[GhostWriter16]

It's not one of the questions we are asked in interviews (side note: when someone wants to go to the temple or do whatever, they are interviewed to see if they are worthy and accept the doctrine) but it is more consistent with our doctrine than the alternative.

OK thanks.

Well, yeah.

How easy is that to do? I mean, I'm assuming that you didn't have to be a Mormon in this life, since there are so few comparatively anyway.

Is there ANY Preresequites to this? Can anyone become righteous enough, no matter what they did in this life? Or are some particularly vile people unable to ever become rightoeus enough? And how many people will become righteous enough? (That last question is speculation obviously, and I'm not looking for an exact number so much as a general answer like "A lot of people", "A few people" "Hardly anyone," something along those lines.)

 

[timtofly]

If we are God's of our own universe, we would have to be unknown to the peons and hope they will experience us, or get mad and rearange everything and start over.

 

[Atticus]

That's certainly possible - and has been speculated to be so - but we don't know one way or the other.

Thanks!

I've had a couple of short moments when the Watchmaker argument and the argument of the first cause made sense to me, but unfortunately can't reproduce those moments. Anyhow, they had very much to do with the idea that our universe is someone's thoughts, a story of "divine" mind. This possibility you mentioned: becoming a god and having an own universe (sorry if paraphrased wrong), sounds something that would go very well together with those thoughts.

 

[GhostWriter16]

Are God the Father and Jesus Christ God of all Universes, or only this one?

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Are God the Father and Jesus Christ God of all Universes, or only this one?

Well, as this is (kind of by definition) the only universe we know anything about . . . I couldn't say.

How easy is that to do? I mean, I'm assuming that you didn't have to be a Mormon in this life, since there are so few comparatively anyway.

Of course not, and for most of human history Mormonism wasn't around ANYWHERE.

But the important thing is that salvation and exaltation should be viewed not as checking a series of things off a list in order to qualify for a particular reward, but of BECOMING a person for whom salvation means something.

Is there ANY Preresequites to this? Can anyone become righteous enough, no matter what they did in this life? Or are some particularly vile people unable to ever become rightoeus enough? And how many people will become righteous enough? (That last question is speculation obviously, and I'm not looking for an exact number so much as a general answer like "A lot of people", "A few people" "Hardly anyone," something along those lines.)

Hopefully a lot of people will, bear in mind that according to Mormonism most evil, unrepentant people will, upon death, if they totally reject God's mercy . . . live in a state unimaginably better than anything we could imagine on earth. Those who are righteous will get something even better than that.

 

[GhostWriter16]

Hopefully a lot of people will, bear in mind that according to Mormonism most evil, unrepentant people will, upon death, if they totally reject God's mercy . . . live in a state unimaginably better than anything we could imagine on earth. Those who are righteous will get something even better than that.

That IS an interesting concept.

Is there a Hell in Mormonism? And who goes there. I remember reading "Apostates and Murderers" but based on what I've read from you in this thread, I question the accuracy of that according to Mormon belief.

 

[_random_]

Do Mormons rebaptize converts from other Christian groups?

 

[downtown]

Do Mormons rebaptize converts from other Christian groups?

Yup. Anybody who joins the church gets baptized, regardless of previous religious affiliation.

 

[Ajidica]

More of a historical question then theological, but here it goes:
Does Mormonism have any of the 'skeletons in the closet' that other religions have with regards to actions carried out in its name?

 

[downtown]

More of a historical question then theological, but here it goes:
Does Mormonism have any of the 'skeletons in the closet' that other religions have with regards to actions carried out in its name?

The closest one I can think of is the Mountain Meadows Massacre, and I think historians are split as to who exactly was responsible for that.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Though I would at the very least say that it is fair to say that it was "carried out in the Church's name".

 

[Berzerker]

a few years ago the comedy cartoon South Park offered their take on the founding of Mormonism - did you see it and is it essentially accurate about how Joseph Smith came up with the religion, ie by reading tablets only he could see?

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

I haven't seen it, so I can't vouch for the accuracy overall . . .

Yes, we believe the Book of Mormon was written by Joseph Smith translating from a set of golden plates, but he did show them to other people.

 

[downtown]

In my opinion, the episode's depiction of many aspects of LDS *culture* were very accurate (particularly their depiction of Family Home Evening), but how they presented our history and theology gets a B-

 

[Luckymoose]

I haven't seen it, so I can't vouch for the accuracy overall . . .

Yes, we believe the Book of Mormon was written by Joseph Smith translating from a set of golden plates, but he did show them to other people.

All of these "witnesses" also became prominent early leaders. He said he returned them to the angel. Does that make you feel as if he lied?

 

[downtown]

All of these "witnesses" also became prominent early leaders. He said he returned them to the angel. Does that make you feel as if he lied?

Several of the witnesses later left the church, and were not friendly with Smith. They never denied what they saw.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Besides, if someone said that an angel gave him something he couldn't have produced on his own, and showed it to you, you might take him more seriously than you would otherwise.

 

[El_Machinae]

Yeah, that's the natural counterpoint.

What proportion of the witnesses left the church?

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

I don't remember off hand, but there were two sets:

The Three Witnesses, who said that an angel showed them. All three left the Church; two returned.

The Eight Witnesses, who said Smith showed them himself. About half left, I think.

 

[unscratchedfoot]

Eran of Arcadia you should grab one of them by the hair and do like in Raw Deal where you show them a mirror and say 'witness this' as you blow their brains out with a handgun. That would provide you an exciting, and very badly needed, diversion from spending all day everyday on civfanatics.

Moderator Action: Trolling; advocating murder.
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