Baptism for the dead,?

[gazelam]

No it’s not silly at all. Joe had at least 8 years of womanizing before he got taken out in that gun fight. That’s plenty of time to produce seed. Your answer is typical…it’s no answer.

Catholics who are knowledgeable about Joseph Smith hold a much different and charitable opinion.
Scholar Stephen H Webb noted:

By any measurement, Joseph Smith was a remarkable person. His combination of organizational acumen with spiritual originality and personal decorum and modesty is rare in the history of religion . He was so steadfast in his ability to inspire men and women through times of great hardship that none of those who knew him could claim to fully understand him. He knew more about theology and philosophy than it was reasonable for anyone in his position to know, as if he were dipping into the deep, collective unconsciousness of Christianity with a very long pen. He read the Bible in ways so novel that he can be considered a theological innocent—he expanded and revised the biblical narrative without questioning its authority—yet he brusquely overturned ancient and impregnable metaphysical assumptions with the aplomb of an assistant professor. For someone so charismatic, he was exceptionally humble , even ordinary, and he delegated authority with the wisdom of a man looking far into the future for the well-being of his followers. It would be tempting to compare him to Mohammed—who also combined pragmatic political skill and a genius for religious innovation—if he were not so deeply Christian. (Stephen H. Webb,Jesus Christ, Eternal God: Heavenly Flesh and the Metaphysics of Matter (Oxford University Press, 2012))

 

[RuthAnne]

Still…no answer.

Can’t say I blame you. I couldn’t answer it either.

 

[RuthAnne]

if he were not so deeply Christian.

Funny. The last Mormon I knew who joined the Catholic church had to be baptized because the official position of the Catholic church was that a Mormon baptism was not considered a Christian baptism. Doesn’t sound to me like Webb is in line with the Catholic church regarding what being Christian means.

I post this with a little bit of hesitation because you’ll probably use it to detract from my previous question. And I’m not going to let you off the hook until you answer my question about Joseph’s seed.

 

[Horton]

In context they are not as supportive of LDS theology as @gazelam would like us to believe. But as cherry picked quotes, Webb is used on fairmormon in an attempt to “prove” Catholic scholars agree with the LDS.

Gazelam would also like to portray Steven Webb as a leading Catholic scholar when he was really no such thing. Webb’s scholarly works varied, including books on vegetarianism, animal rights, diet, Bob Dylan, literature, and others. He belonged to various religious groups until becoming Catholic in 2007.

So while his writings appear to the LDS to support their church, it is of little meaning as Webb really can’t be called an accepted Catholic scholar.

 

[RuthAnne]

It’s called lying for the Lord and we’ve seen it here.

 

[Tommy999]

Hi RuthAnne,
Just curious how it is being Catholic and having Mormon family members. I imagine it might lead to some potentially interesting family get togethers.

I sometimes wonder if folks like gazelam are stationed on CAF as Mormon missionaries to try to reach Catholics and other non-Mormons.
Perhaps this is his “post” so to speak, or one of them.

However, I could be wrong and he may be just a typical Mormon guy defending his faith. I truly don’t know.

 

[RuthAnne]

Just curious how it is being Catholic and having Mormon family members.

It’s interesting to say the least. They mostly leave me alone, but from time to time, they reach out to my husband (since it’s his side of the family) and try to persuade him. Most of it is pretty friendly. Family get togethers are almost non-existent since they are mostly in California and Utah and we are in the South.

I have a confession . . . I really don’t know a lot about Mormonism. I study topics when the situation warrants, but most of my thoughts come from my nephew who is a former Mormon. He left the Mormon church after he became a Bible scholar and decided that the Mormon church was far from Bible based. He instructs me on a lot of this stuff.

gazelam is typical of a lot of zealous Utah Mormons who are not very well informed and it shows. I can’t blame him for defending his faith, but I feel sorry for him as well. How can anyone defend Mormonism?

I have a couple of brothers-in-law who sometimes talk to me about the Mormon church. The most annoying thing I run into is when I ask questions and they say something like, “You shouldn’t concern yourself with such things. God will work that out.” Then they bear their testimonies to me. Well, you know what? I’ve had people of several different faiths bear their testimonies to me . . . often through tears. I’m not impressed with “testimonies”.

 

[Mercury7]

we were Catholic, and my wife changed and became a mormon 10-12 years ago. I’m always getting the religion shoved in my face, and people telling me that I “need” to feel the burning in my stomach ( or whatever that is). I just tell them that I get that type of feeling when I eat spicy foods, end of testimony
Also, I’m getting to the point where mormon get together s were starting to actually weaken my resolve, so I have commited to God and myself that mormon stuff in any shape or form needs to be culled from my life. Perhaps if my wife actually sees what is going on, it might open her eyes. Talking about mormon beliefs and history just invites the persecution complex into the conversation.

 

[Tommy999]

and people telling me that I “need” to feel the burning in my stomach ( or whatever that is). I just tell them that I get that type of feeling when I eat spicy foods, end of testimony

Lol… as someone who takes a daily omeprazole for heartburn, I can definitely relate to that.

 

[RuthAnne]

and people telling me that I “need” to feel the burning in my stomach

They call it a burning in the bosom and it’s described as the feeling you get when the Holy Ghost is bearing witness to you that the thing you are pondering in your mind is true. I’ve had the same burning in the bosom about the Catholic church. Just as Mormonites know theirs is the true church according to the burning in the bosom, I can say the same about my beliefs in Catholicism. It’s a debate that goes nowhere. I once had this discussion with a brother in law and he had the audacity to suggest that I got my burning from an evil spirit. I guess Mormons have a corner on true spiritual promptings.