Me thinks, dear Zer, that i am saddened to find that you have slandered me, and the one i admire, without just cause. For Socrates’ goal i life was never to win arguments but to win (or acquire) wisdom and truth about himself and the God he sought to know.
That does not deserve a reply.
It was Socrates who said:
To be curious about what is not my concern, while I am ignorant of my own self, would be ridiculous.
and
…the unexamined life is not worth living… .
and
…if we had found the truth ourselves, do you think that we would care much about the opinions of men?
and
Wise, I may not call them; for that name is too great and belongs to God alone – “lovers of wisdom,” or philosophers, would be a more harmonious and befitting title.
For the first time, that i recall, you choose to call me your good friend, yet your actions show you to be more an enemy. The devil is the accuser of the brethren, who i wish to be, and you have accused me unjustly. Do you not think this sin grieves the Holy Ghost, as it certainly grieves me?
And it was Jesus who said:
Matthew 7:
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Luke 11:
9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
D&C 88:
63 Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Regarding prayer, my friend Zer (for i would like to become your friend), i have been praying each day that the Holy Ghost would reveal the truth to me about the Book of Mormon through my dialog with you. Perhaps by your refusing to answer my questions i have the answer to my prayer?
I sincerely hope that you are my friend, and that I am a friend to you. However, with regard to prayer, and knowing the truth of the Book of Mormon, God never promised to anybody that the truth of the Book of Mormon will be revealed to them by dialoging with
me! The promise was that if you would read the Book of Mormon itself, and pray about it in sincerety and in faith, God will reveal the truth of it directly to
you.
Then i shall ask you no more questions, unless, of course, you change your mind.
After you have read the Book of Mormon, or any portion of it, and have any questions that you would like to ask me about that, I would be happy to answer. I thought that was our original bargain. If, however, you are expecting me to take the place of the Holy Ghost in revealing the truth of the Book of Mormon to you, that unfortunately I am not in a position to be able to do.
I’d like to ask you to consider one thing after i am gone: Did Jesus ever say to anyone, in the Book of Mormon or the Bible, “I have nothing further to say to you”?
… whoever comes to me I will never drive away.
– Jesus (John 6)
Well, I suppose He did. I can think of some examples. Of the pharisees who were not interested in the truth he said to His disciples:
Matthew 15:
14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
That amounts to saying the same thing.
zerinus
