Differences between Mormon Missions and Catholic Missions

[LongJourney]

An ancient parable comes to mind. I know most of you are familiar with it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant

 

[Eliza10]

I have read them.
They contain inaccuracies regarding what our beliefs are.
He makes no attempt to present our beliefs in a fair manner, and consistently impugns our motives for everything we do: for instance, in his view it is impossible for a Mormon to actually care about someone else; we are only friendly so that we can become gods.

He twists statistics…for instance, using Utah statistics to ‘prove’ that Mormons have a higher divorce rate than average…when in fact that the divorce rate for LDS marriages (not simply 'Utahn") is lower by three points than for Catholics. In fact, his creative use of statistics is so biased as to be unusable in any real sense…

He uses work from the Tanners without attribution…and without fact checking, which leads to a couple of embarrassing screwups in terms of the formation of the Danites and the idea behind blood atonement.

According to him, being friendly is ‘love bombing.’ (a term I’ve never heard until I heard it from him, by the way…) No action we take, no word we say, nothing we think or do can have any motive other than the most sinister and underhanded. .

I read this book and I see nothing of this!!! Really, do you think you are nitpicking, looking for the littlest inaccuracies and blowing them out of proportion while ignoiring the main message??

This is Bennet’s book, advertised here on CA: The book explains what are the 6 lessons the Mormon Missionaries teach. It tells the extensive list that the Mormons will discuss within each of the six lessons. i.e., God, Jesus, First Vision, etc., etc. Then those topics, in alphabetical order, title the rest of the many short chapters in the book. So, if the missionary at the door is coming to Lesson 3, you look what Lesson 3 topics are, then look the topics in each of the chapters of that name, and therein learn what Mormns teach vs. Catholic truth on each topic. Pretty straightforward!

That there might be some debatable small inaccuracies is possible. But the book is good, and honest IMO.

I don’t know who the evil Tanners are you’ve referred to but I am sure I’ll run across them some day.

I do not deny you may have some legitimate concerns about the book. I see no reason why you can’t start a thread to discuss it. It may not get moving as fast as some other threads (not everyone will have read the book) but it will move along and generate some discussion in its own time.

This book, and others like it,are specifically intended to criticise and defeat my belief system, rather than to teach Catholicism…

Well - yes! There are tons of books offered on teaching Catholicsim here at CA. But when Mormons missionaries come knocking at Catholic doors, as we have established here on this thread, its not to do service. Its to procelitize. To teach beliefs that are in opposition to Catholic beliefs. Catholics need to be informed what they will be taught and how our Chruch teaches* differently *on those topics.
I do not see distasteful here.

I find both things distasteful, and I find them distasteful no matter who publishes books like this, no matter the target faith. I am just as opposed to the anti-Catholic clap trap written by the Jack Chicks of the world. .

We also have books on what Seventh Day Adventists teach, what Jehovaohs Witnesses teach. I dont’; see it as distasteful at all.

Now Jack Chick, he’s distasteful. But really he is the bottom of the barrel. He is in a class of his own. He is NOTHING like Isaiah Bennett!

The point is, you will not see a book entitled “When Catholics come to call” or “Inside Catholicism, what Catholics REALLY believe” written by an ex-Catholic convert to Mormonism being published by Deseret Books…

Well, Catholics don’t come to call at Mormon dooors. You may have the odd persoanal evangelist but you can be assured, we have no program requiring all our youth to knock at Mormon doors in order to convert them. So no such book needs to be written. But if the Mormons want to write a book on what Catholics believe, they can go ahead.

As to “Inside Catholicism, what Catholics believe” - I would not be offended if any religion published one. Lots of Protestant ones do, and when one day I compared them to Catholic works it made me become Catholic. So, I guess I would say I am all for freedom of speech, in these instances anyway.

It is something that I, personally, intensely disapprove of; it’s a waste of time, if nothing else. If you have the Truth, you don’t HAVE to attack someone else’s belief system before you show that Truth to them; simply teaching them Truth will dispell lies–that is, if you actually have the faith in your Truth you claim you do, and if it is, in fact, Truth.

I don’t see it as a waste of time at all. I think a free marketplace of ideas is a good thing. As to attack, Bennetts book is not an attack. (Refute it if you want to start a thread on his book. I’ll read and post.)

 

[Eliza10]

Yes, there has been some “derailment”. We won’t discuss just how it got “derailed”. We’ll just get it back on the rails! .

 

[SirThomasMore]

this thread has been , in my opinion, permanently derailed.

It would have been one thing if the issues of actual organizational differences were addressed in a manner that educates people…after all, there are some things that Catholics do very well, and things that Mormons do very well. Sometimes they are the same things.

The goals for both organizations are the same; to spread the gospel to those who don’t have it, and to provide comfort and physical aid to those who need it.

However, this thread began, and continued, as a whole sale slam against the ‘Mormon way’ of doing things. To be honest, nobody here has talked about any of the specific Catholic organizations that help others. The only emphasis is about how awful the Mormons are and how gloriously unselfish and better at everything the Catholics are.

As a result, there really isn’t any place for this thread to go, since in this talk about charity, there simply isn’t any. Therefore I’m bowing out.

As you always do when you are proven wrong.

There is nothing wrong with LDS missions (other than the fact they preach a false gospel). In fact, I loved my mission and still consider it the best two years of my life.

But to compare what a kid does between freshman and sophomore years of college with someone who gives their entire life to God is simply ludicrous

 

[Annie_B]

Funny you should mention that, since we have this.

sltrib.com/sltrib/home/49942960-76/church-missionaries-online-lds.html.csp

"The Internet is the new “town square,” said Ron Wilson, manager of Internet and marketing for the church. “And Mormons are taking to it like never before.”

And the Pope himself encourages use of the internet to share faith :
cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/05/22/tech-facebook-iphone-social-networking.html

I think all religions and churches can use the internet as a way to share and promote their faith.

Annie

 

[Eliza10]

…There is nothing wrong with LDS missions (other than the fact they preach a false gospel). In fact, I loved my mission and still consider it the best two years of my life.

I guess I do agree with you - there is nothing wrong with LDS Missions (referring to the young ones who do that in college). It is about proselitizing but if you believe you have the truer gospel it certainly is a moral thing to act on what you believe.

But I am curious - explain further - Why do you say your missions were the “best two years of your life???”

Its somewhat curious. You’re Catholic now. However, I say somewhat. My life has not been a picnic since I converted. I wouldn’t trade being Catholic for anything, but I did not get to go down a flower-strewn path after conversion. (I am *trusting *that comes later. It is my hope!)

Reminds me of something else of my experience. My marriage was no bed of roses, but I can look at my wedding pics without any sadness. Because it was a happy day and I did not know what lay ahead of me.

So tell us, why was LDS Missions a happy time for you?? Were the restrictions on outside world contact perhaps a blessing; you had more peace in your life? Let us know! Tell us.

…But to compare what a kid does between freshman and sophomore years of college with someone who gives their entire life to God is simply ludicrous

You do have a point there.

 

[Annie_B]

What is wrong with those books? Have you read them? How can you judge a book that you haven’t read??

I have. I read Isaiah Bennets book which I got from CA after seeing it advertised here. So I can attest that Bennett is an honest man with honest motives, reporting the facts as they are. There is nothing wrong with his book.

You can’t judge a book by its cover. *. *

Eliza - you are so right about judgung a book you have not read. This begs the question: have YOU read the Book of Mormon? Many here claim to have read it and they still do not agree - and that is their right. However, I am curious about how many here have not read the entire BOM and yet still judge it…

Annie

 

[Annie_B]

Eliza - you are so right about judgung a book you have not read. This begs the question: have YOU read the Book of Mormon? Many here claim to have read it and they still do not agree - and that is their right. However, I am curious about how many here have not read the entire BOM and yet still judge it…

Annie

That should be “judging”…my comp would not let me edit
Annie

 

[Eliza10]

Eliza - you are so right about judgung a book you have not read. This begs the question: have YOU read the Book of Mormon? …

Yes.

 

[Eliza10]

That should be “judging”…my comp would not let me edit
Annie

No problem reading it - my posts are full of typos and I assume everyone just skims over them!

 

[PaulDupre]

Eliza - you are so right about judgung a book you have not read. This begs the question: have YOU read the Book of Mormon? Many here claim to have read it and they still do not agree - and that is their right. However, I am curious about how many here have not read the entire BOM and yet still judge it…

Annie

I have read it several times. I even taught it in LDS Sunday school. It is so full of errors, anachronisms and obvious plagiarisms that I cannot take it seriously.

 

[twopekinguys]

I read it about 30 years ago, and didn’t believe then, don’t believe it now.

Although, I’m not sure which “version” I read, since there have been numerous versions, and numerous changes.

But then again, reading the BoM isn’t what this thread is about is it?

Good shot at derailing the thread.

 

[soren1]

Eliza - you are so right about judgung a book you have not read. This begs the question: have YOU read the Book of Mormon? Many here claim to have read it and they still do not agree - and that is their right. However, I am curious about how many here have not read the entire BOM and yet still judge it…

Annie

I have read it more than ten times, and I have studied critical commentaries written by Mormons. I consider it an entirely blasphemous book.

 

[dianaiad]

I have read it more than ten times, and I have studied critical commentaries written by Mormons. I consider it an entirely blasphemous book.

Y’know what I like about you, soren?

I like that even as much as you DO disaprove of us and our belief system, you do try your best to disaprove of the actual thing, not some strawman construct that bears no resemblance to who and what we actually are.

People like you are rare. I just wanted you to know this, for the next time we butt heads about something.

 

[dianaiad]

I have read it several times. I even taught it in LDS Sunday school. It is so full of errors, anachronisms and obvious plagiarisms that I cannot take it seriously.

You took it seriously for a very long time, evidently. It makes me wonder what it is that actually changed.

 

[zerinus]

I have read it more than ten times, and I have studied critical commentaries written by Mormons. I consider it an entirely blasphemous book.

I have read it a lot more than ten times. I have read it so many times I have lost count how many. And every time I read it, I am convinced more and more that it is true.

 

[StevieD]

Research. It’s a good thing. Try it.

You have yourself ‘misspoken’ on these forums* but thank you for your condescending comment. I shall do some research and get back to you. Brigham did nothing if there wasn’t a dollar in it for himself.

*Telling us all that every church calculates its numbers on exactly the same basis, when the US statistical office in the last census explicitly states that this is not the case.

 

[StevieD]

A better measure, then, would be what Brigham Young did regarding providing doctors. As it happens, along with other pioneer groups, there weren’t a lot of doctors wandering around. As a result, BY encouraged women to go to Philadelphia to study at the Woman’s Medical College there. This provided real medical doctors (as opposed to “Thomsonian doctors,” who paid a “Dr. Thompson” $20 for a book on herbs and permission to resell his stuff. St. Marks hospital staff consisted mostly of the latter, since women doctors…even with honest to goodness medical degrees…were not allowed to practice there.

Research. It’s a good thing. Try it.

This is what your own source actually says (compare it to what you quote)
Rising maternal and child death rates prompted Brigham Young to encourage **some women living in polygamy who had already borne children to study medicine at the **Woman’s Medical College in Philadelphia; but there was no provision for their financial support. When these women returned home in the summer to earn money to support themselves during the school year, many became pregnant again, which added to their financial and emotional woes.

Uhmmm - and you made Brigham sound so kind. Kept his wallet intact though.

 

[SirThomasMore]

Y’know what I like about you, soren?

I like that even as much as you DO disaprove of us and our belief system, you do try your best to disaprove of the actual thing, not some strawman construct that bears no resemblance to who and what we actually are.

People like you are rare. I just wanted you to know this, for the next time we butt heads about something.

All of us disapprove of the actual THING. The difference is, we also disapprove of all the things your church has been. The problem for you is that your church changes its doctrine and beliefs so often that it is a moving target. YOU would rather we focus on what it is TODAY. While most of us look at it over the last almost 200 years. It is by looking at it over that time that it is easy to show how and why it is a false church.

 

[dianaiad]

You have yourself ‘misspoken’ on these forums* but thank you for your condescending comment. I shall do some research and get back to you. Brigham did nothing if there wasn’t a dollar in it for himself.

*Telling us all that every church calculates its numbers on exactly the same basis, when the US statistical office in the last census explicitly states that this is not the case.

What in the world are you talking about?