Conversion to Mormonism?

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Thanks LW! I’ve added two new books to my wish list. Brant Pitre’s book is already on my stack.
 
Do you believe Christ was a God before he became human? Do you believe he was human and then ascended to Heaven as God?

Whether you like it or not…Christ is a God with a resurrected human body. He lived a human experience went back to heaven with that body as God.
As part of the Holy Trinity, Jesus has always been God from all eternity. He humbled Himself and took on human flesh in order to save us from our sins, because He loves us that much. He certainly did not need to “progress to godhood” as the LDS claim. That is a gross insult against Him.
You must be referring to Isaiah…here it goes.
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Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and **beside me there is no God**.
Passages such as Isa 44:6,8 and 45:5,21 that read “no God beside me” or a variation of that phrase are traditionally interpreted by mainstream anti-Mormons as meaning that other than Yahweh no form of deity exists at all, including exalted men. This type of interpretation at first seems obvious, but after considering similar passages in other parts of scripture it is clear that this interpretation is incorrect.
So, anyone that has a different view is automatically “anti-Mormon” to you? :rolleyes:
For example, Isaiah 47:8-10 depicts the city of Babylon as saying:
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Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and **none else beside me**; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children: 

For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and **none else beside me. **
These passages use the exact same phrase as Isa 44 and 45, yet they certainly do not exclude the existence of any city other than Babylon. The city of Ninevah would be very upset if this were the case, as Zephaniah depicts Ninevah in Zephaniah 2:15 as saying:
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This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is **none beside me**: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.
Again it is clear that this phrase does not exclude the very existence of other cities. Using these parallel phrases makes it clear that Isaiah is not excluding the very existence of any other deity when he quotes Yahweh as declaring “there is no God beside me.”
That phrase’s meaning is understood by considering the surrounding text and circumstances being described. It does seem to have similar meaning here because Babylon is characterized as being puffed up with pride, as if it were the only city of any importance, to the point of being equal to God. God was not amused and clearly planned to show them His disapproval of their immense pride (one of the 7 deadly sins).
There are, in fact, several scriptures in the Old Testament that imply that Yahweh is in fact one of a number of Gods, albeit supreme. Compare the following passages from the KJV, NIV and ESV versions of the Bible:
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And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who **among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?** God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee? (KJV Psalms 89:5-8)

The heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness too, i**n the assembly of the holy ones**. For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD? Who is like the LORD **among the heavenly beings** [fn. Lit "sons of god(s)]? In **the council of holy ones** God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him. O LORD God almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you (NIV Psalms 89:5-8).

**Among all the gods there is none like unto thee**, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works (Psalms 86:8).

God has taken his place in the divine council; **in the midst of the gods **he holds judgment (ESV Psalms 82:1)

God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth **among the gods.** (KJV Psalms 82:1)
en.fairmormon.org/Mormonism_and_the_nature_of_God/%22No_God_beside_me%22
The first Commandment clearly states, “I am the LORD thy God: thou shalt not have strange gods before me.” As others have already stated, this last part refers to pagan/mythical gods. Or, in some instances, it was also used as another way to reference angels, aka: “heavenly hosts”.
Even the apostle Paul acknowledged the existence of other gods when he said…

For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. 1 Cor 8:5-6
His first words in bold are the key that he is referring to pagan (Roman) gods, or any others that might be called ‘gods’ by the people. Paul was very clear that there was only One True God.
 
I think Alma147 is confusing the JoD with “The Seer”, as what he presented is common Mormon refutation of “The Seer”. Of course, there is a problem with that refutation as well, particularly when it comes to the Adam/God doctrine of Young. “The Seer” also was a sanctioned publication of the LDS Church until it published against Young’s Adam/God doctrine, and then it was shut down by Young.
No, Alma is well aware of the difference. There was a private publication of stenographer’s notes of discourses of LDS speakers. It was serialized in England and church leaders encouraged people to subscribe in order for the stenographers to recoup their costs. However, that was a privately published endeavor. In the 1900’s, an early fundamentalist named John Bucherite made photostatic copies of the printings, intending to sell them as bound volumes. He decided to leave the groupd he was in (later known as FLDS Church) to join another group of fundamentalists in Mexico. The project was revived a few years later and published by the FLDS Church as the 26 volume Journal of Discourses. Consequently, it was not ever published by the LDS Church.

“The Seer” on the other hand, was published by Orson Pratt using Church funds, as were several other newspapers in San Francisco, New York, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. They all were short lived publications. “The Seer” was denounced by the First Presidency and Quorum of the 12 (including its author) as unreliable in a joint proclamation in 1865–specifically condemning an article on “The First Great Causes” and n article on “The Holy Spirit” as teaching doctrinal error.
 
Wrong. They are quotes from BY. They have NEVER been refuted. And actually, when I read them, they were very old volumes printed BY THE LDS CHURCH. Nice try…but you can’t fool a former Mormon Missionary who also served in the Bishopric

Refute the quotes. You can’t, so you try to attack the book they are from and cast doubt on me. It will not work
Interesting that you can be so certain and so wrong. I have the first set of seven volumes and several other, later versions. The first attempt at bound copies was printed in Lichtenstein in 1955 by Gastera Trust, Schaan. That is not the LDS Church. The next edition printed in 1966 was done by R. James in Liverpool, England. That’s not the LDS Church either–even if you were once a missionary or a member of the bishopri, that doesn’t grant you any special power against being fooled–for heaven’s sake, you thought the JoD was published by the Church!

You gave a quote that Adam was God from the JoD. Here’s one that says Adam and Eve are the children of “our Heavenly Father:”

Who are we? But the Gospel tells us that we are the sons and daughters of that God whom we serve. Some say, “We are the children of Adam and Eve.” So we are, and they are the children of our Heavenly Father. We are all the children of Adam and Eve, and they and we are the offspring of Him who dwells in the heavens, the highest Intelligence that dwells anywhere that we have any knowledge of. (BY JD 13:311)

Remember, Paul the apostle said God was Adam as well. Don’t get wrapped around the axle too far relying on quotes that may not be accurate.

Alma
 
I thought Mormons taught Adam was created by Jesus and Young taught the Adam was the Father. Which is not problematic in a Mormon context of multiple Gods.

But you are wrong about the Journal of Discourses, it was a sanctioned publication of the LDS Church and widely quoted in current LDS Church material. (lmgtfy.com/?q=%22in+journal+of+discourses%22±search+site%3Alds.org)
My point was that they JoD has never been published by the LDS Church. Church manuals quote lots of sources–including the JoD. However, if the Church has the same quote also appearing in the Deseret News, they’ll cite that preferentially.

Alma
 
Except Brigham said what HE preached WAS ALWAYS doctrine…

now, if Mormons want to say he was wrong…and therefore not a prophet…I am ok with that
Who you trying to fool? Here is what he claimed: "I will make a statement here that has been brought against me as a crime, perhaps, or as a fault in my life. Not here, I do not allude to anything of the kind in this place, but in the councils of the nations—that Brigham Young has said “when he sends forth his discourses to the world they may call them Scripture.” I say now, when they are copied and approved by me they are as good Scripture as is couched in this Bible,

He needed to have the opportunity to copy and approve it himself before equating it with doctrine. I personally know that he corrected some of his discourses and the uncorrected version appears in the JoD.

You claim to have been a knowledgeable Mormon; yet you fail to recognize a very basic premise taught consistently from Joseph Smith onward: That a prophet isn’t always a prophet but only when acting as such. “This morning I read German and visited with a brother and sister from Michigan, who thought that “a prophet is always a prophet;” but I told them that a prophet was a prophet only when he was acting as such.—DHC 5:265.”

Alma
 
Interesting that you can be so certain and so wrong. I have the first set of seven volumes and several other, later versions. The first attempt at bound copies was printed in Lichtenstein in 1955 by Gastera Trust, Schaan. That is not the LDS Church. The next edition printed in 1966 was done by R. James in Liverpool, England. That’s not the LDS Church either–even if you were once a missionary or a member of the bishopri, that doesn’t grant you any special power against being fooled–for heaven’s sake, you thought the JoD was published by the Church!

You gave a quote that Adam was God from the JoD. Here’s one that says Adam and Eve are the children of “our Heavenly Father:”

Who are we? But the Gospel tells us that we are the sons and daughters of that God whom we serve. Some say, “We are the children of Adam and Eve.” So we are, and they are the children of our Heavenly Father. We are all the children of Adam and Eve, and they and we are the offspring of Him who dwells in the heavens, the highest Intelligence that dwells anywhere that we have any knowledge of. (BY JD 13:311)

Remember, Paul the apostle said God was Adam as well. Don’t get wrapped around the axle too far relying on quotes that may not be accurate.

Alma
It’s not an issue of quote mining BY. He clearly taught Adam-God, which was disavowed by subsequent apostles. His contradiction about who God is is disappointing given his position as the Lord’s one true prophet. Not surprising though that he couldn’t get his story straight…neither could Joseph. It took him at least 9 or so tries to figure out what he exactly saw that one Spring morning.
 
Who you trying to fool? Here is what he claimed: "I will make a statement here that has been brought against me as a crime, perhaps, or as a fault in my life. Not here, I do not allude to anything of the kind in this place, but in the councils of the nations—that Brigham Young has said “when he sends forth his discourses to the world they may call them Scripture.” I say now, when they are copied and approved by me they are as good Scripture as is couched in this Bible,

He needed to have the opportunity to copy and approve it himself before equating it with doctrine. I personally know that he corrected some of his discourses and the uncorrected version appears in the JoD.

You claim to have been a knowledgeable Mormon; yet you fail to recognize a very basic premise taught consistently from Joseph Smith onward: That a prophet isn’t always a prophet but only when acting as such. “This morning I read German and visited with a brother and sister from Michigan, who thought that “a prophet is always a prophet;” but I told them that a prophet was a prophet only when he was acting as such.—DHC 5:265.”

Alma
So how do we determine when a prophet is acting like a prophet?
 
Remember, Paul the apostle said God was Adam as well. Don’t get wrapped around the axle too far relying on quotes that may not be accurate.

Alma
Please, provide a reference (chapter & verse) where I can read that in the Bible, because my memory might be seriously slipping if that’s true. I don’t recall ever reading anything even remotely like that. :confused:
 
As part of the Holy Trinity, Jesus has always been God from all eternity. He humbled Himself and took on human flesh in order to save us from our sins, because He loves us that much. He certainly did not need to “progress to godhood” as the LDS claim. That is a gross insult against Him.
Does that mean that every time he prayed to his father he was praying to himself?

How is it possible then that the scriptures tells us that he became perfect only after his resurrection?

Or was he lying when he said this?

*It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.I am one that bear witness of myself, and the **Father **that sent me beareth witness of me. *
 
The other so-called gods being referenced here are pagan gods. There are no other gods. Get it? Israel struggled for a long, long time, believing the pagan gods of their neighbors to be real gods, subordinate to their God. God leads them out of this idolatrous belief, eventually. Mormonism is an attempt to revert to error.
Do you think Christ was mistaken then?

“Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are gods? If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? John 10:34-36
 
Does that mean that every time he prayed to his father he was praying to himself?

How is it possible then that the scriptures tells us that he became perfect only after his resurrection?

Or was he lying when he said this?

It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.I am one that bear witness of myself, and the **Father **that sent me beareth witness of me.
This is a common caricature of the Trinity doctrine (a number of LDS leaders and writers have demonstrated it), and shows a lack of understanding of the Trinity doctrine, as distinct from the Modalistic heresy. Trinitarians believe that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons; they are not each other. Therefore, no, Jesus did not pray to Himself. He prayed to the Father, who is a distinct Person from the Son. The Father sent the Son, the Son did not send Himself.

Catholic teaching is that Jesus Christ has always been fully Divine. He wasn’t less Divine at one point then became more Divine at another. He has always been God, and never ceased to be so, nor was He ever less so. The Bible does not teach anything contrary to that. Christ during His time as a man learning obedience and having experiential knowledge of suffering for our sake, perfecting Him as a true sacrifice for our sins, as well as a true example for us, does not change the fact that He has always been God.

Again, your posts continue to betray a lack of understanding of actual Catholic doctrine.
 
TexanKnight, are you aware that the Journal of Discourses has never been published by the LDS Church? It was produced by dissidents and ex-Mormons–many of whom were excommunicated for heresy. The problem with the quotes you provide is that there are also quotes where Brigham Young taught that Adam was created by God. Mormons don’t have to reject Brigham Young in rejecting those statements. Mormons only need to recognize that there are discrepancies in unofficial transcripts.
If it was produced by dissidents and ex-Mormons, by the way I’d like some substantiation on that claim I have never ever see any Mormon make this claim, why did your so called apostle have this to say this about it?

Apostle George Q. Cannon said:
“The Journal of Discourses deservedly ranks as one of the standard works of the Church, and every rightminded Saint will certainly welcome with joy every Number as it comes forth from the press as an additional reflector of ‘the light that shines from Zion’s hill.’”

BTW reading what your apostles have said in the JD I can totally understand why you want to through your previous leaders under the bus.
 
Does that mean that every time he prayed to his father he was praying to himself?
No, Jesus is not a schizophrenic. :rolleyes:

As I said, Jesus is one part of the Holy Trinity, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit. But, They are all parts of one God. It’s a very difficult concept to understand, even for a theologian, but we believe it because that’s what Jesus taught. They were all pure Spirit before Jesus came down from Heaven to become a man on earth.

One way to help our understanding of the Trinity is to look at an egg. There is a shell, the egg white, and the yolk. They are all very different parts of the same object. The parts of the egg can’t be separated without changing what they are as a whole… an egg.

Jesus was never separated from the Father & the Holy Spirit throughout His entire life on earth, because God exists outside of time and space. But, He was (is) still fully human.
How is it possible then that the scriptures tells us that he became perfect only after his resurrection?
Please, provide chapter & verse where it says that in the Bible.
Or was he lying when he said this?

It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.I am one that bear witness of myself, and the **Father **that sent me beareth witness of me.
Accusing Jesus of lying is never a good idea. Please, don’t do that.

There, Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees and referred to their law which says “that the testimony of two men is true”. He was not referring to God the Father and Himself, so the “two men” is inconsequential unless taken out of context. So, here is the whole passage:
"DRV John 8 [13] *The Pharisees therefore said to him: Thou givest testimony of thyself: thy testimony is not true. [14] Jesus answered, and said to them: Although I give testimony of myself, my testimony is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go: but you know not whence I come, or whither I go. [15] You judge according to the flesh: I judge not any man.

[16] And if I do judge, my judgment is true: because I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. [17] And in your law it is written, that the testimony of two men is true. [18] I am one that give testimony of myself: and the Father that sent me giveth testimony of me. [19] They said therefore to him: Where is thy Father? Jesus answered: Neither me do you know, nor my Father: if you did know me, perhaps you would know my Father also.*"
 
No, Alma is well aware of the difference. There was a private publication of stenographer’s notes of discourses of LDS speakers. It was serialized in England and church leaders encouraged people to subscribe in order for the stenographers to recoup their costs. However, that was a privately published endeavor. In the 1900’s, an early fundamentalist named John Bucherite made photostatic copies of the printings, intending to sell them as bound volumes. He decided to leave the groupd he was in (later known as FLDS Church) to join another group of fundamentalists in Mexico. The project was revived a few years later and published by the FLDS Church as the 26 volume Journal of Discourses. Consequently, it was not ever published by the LDS Church.

“The Seer” on the other hand, was published by Orson Pratt using Church funds, as were several other newspapers in San Francisco, New York, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. They all were short lived publications. “The Seer” was denounced by the First Presidency and Quorum of the 12 (including its author) as unreliable in a joint proclamation in 1865–specifically condemning an article on “The First Great Causes” and n article on “The Holy Spirit” as teaching doctrinal error.
…so, what is your point? A Mormon compiled the sermons, just a Mormon you don’t agree with, but still a Mormon. You provide no evidence the sermons were modified. Again, the LDS church, Brighamite version, uses the JoD throughout its own publications.

Pratt did not believe the Adam/God doctrine, and that was his doctrinal error. Who had the error, Pratt or Young?
 
Interesting that you can be so certain and so wrong. I have the first set of seven volumes and several other, later versions. The first attempt at bound copies was printed in Lichtenstein in 1955 by Gastera Trust, Schaan. That is not the LDS Church. The next edition printed in 1966 was done by R. James in Liverpool, England. That’s not the LDS Church either–even if you were once a missionary or a member of the bishopri, that doesn’t grant you any special power against being fooled–for heaven’s sake, you thought the JoD was published by the Church!

You gave a quote that Adam was God from the JoD. Here’s one that says Adam and Eve are the children of “our Heavenly Father:”

Who are we? But the Gospel tells us that we are the sons and daughters of that God whom we serve. Some say, “We are the children of Adam and Eve.” So we are, and they are the children of our Heavenly Father. We are all the children of Adam and Eve, and they and we are the offspring of Him who dwells in the heavens, the highest Intelligence that dwells anywhere that we have any knowledge of. (BY JD 13:311)

Remember, Paul the apostle said God was Adam as well. Don’t get wrapped around the axle too far relying on quotes that may not be accurate.

Alma
To say the LDS church published something, does not mean they did so using LDS printing presses. As a more recent example, the LDS church published a special edition of the Book of Mormon, and when you look at it, you’ll see it was published by Doubleday. It was published under the authority of the LDS church, the same as the JoD.

Paul never said God was Adam.
 
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