Do Mormons believe in many gods, believing each planet has its own god and that the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit are three gods?

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gazelam said:
Monotheism, Yehezkel Kaufmann observed, postulates multiple deities, subordinated to the one.
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Just a quick note on Kaufmann:

Kaufmann’s ideas on monotheism and its emergence in Israel were far from being consensual and undisputed, and heavily influenced by the times he lived in (the Shoah and the creation of the state of Israel) and his need to p(name removed by moderator)oint a specificity to Jewish identity, which coloured his view on Israel’s religion. The classical explanation for how monotheism came to be is that from multiple deities (paganism) one went to multiple deities subordinated to one (henotheism) to one single deity (monotheism). Kaufmann wanted to sever that “pagan connection” and defined monotheism in a completely original way – one which would be coherent with a religion cut from outside influences from Moses on (which is not what the current research consensus works with).

So, the way he defined monotheism is quite a stretch from how most people define monotheism, simply because he needed a way to explain henotheist formulations in the OT without resorting to surrounding pagan cultures, or the very idea of paganism.

For the overwhelming majority of scholars, your quote above would be the very definition of henotheism.

… and that wasn’t so quick, sorry !
 
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@gazelam I have relatives who are Mormon (also relatives who are Catholic, Jewish and others who are non-denominational) and I have been to a Mormon funeral for my uncle. All theology aside, I must say, Mormons are some of the nicest and most genuine people I have ever met. I disagree with their theology in numerous places but I do think as people the Mormons I have met are very humble, genuine, caring, and peaceful.

While Mormons and Catholics do not share much in terms of theological beliefs, we do share in the wanting to create a more just, humane, and peaceable world spread with love and mercy. This we can respect and agree upon.

God Bless.
 
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Funny how you quote the first verse of that hymn but leave the rest. Par for the course. Why leave out that he is mingling with gods? So is Smith a god? All the prophets prior? Be honest. Remember the Commandment “thou shall not bear false witness”. Or is lying for the lord still ongoing in your church?
 
OddBird said:
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gazelam:
Monotheism, Yehezkel Kaufmann observed, postulates multiple deities, subordinated to the one.
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Just a quick note on Kaufmann:

For the overwhelming majority of scholars, your quote above would be the very definition of henotheism.

… and that wasn’t so quick, sorry !
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I appreciate your comments. Take care and God bless you.
Dolphin said:
All theology aside, I must say, Mormons are some of the nicest and most genuine people I have ever met. I disagree with their theology in numerous places but I do think as people the Mormons I have met are very humble, genuine, caring, and peaceful.

While Mormons and Catholics do not share much in terms of theological beliefs, we do share in the wanting to create a more just, humane, and peaceable world spread with love and mercy. This we can respect and agree upon.
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You are very kind. Take care and God bless you.
whatistrue said:
One worship and four praise. Putting them together in the description when they are very different things was, at the least, disingenuous.
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How so? It makes the point that the notion put forward in the hymn is similar to notions in the Bible.
Apache78 said:
Funny how you quote the first verse of that hymn but leave the rest. Par for the course.
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The astute CAFer can easily refer to the other verses in the earlier post. There are space limitation on this forum.
RuthAnne said:
Not only do their leaders lie but they openly encourage the rank and file members to lie as well
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This statement is blatantly false. I’d suggest attending an event with @Dolphin.
 
gazelam said:
This statement is blatantly false. I’d suggest attending an event with @Dolphin.
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It’s not false at all. Here’s one example. Dallin Oaks, in a talk called Testimony:


"Another way to seek a testimony seems astonishing when compared with the methods of obtaining other knowledge. We gain or strengthen a testimony by bearing it. Someone even suggested that some testimonies are better gained on the feet bearing them than on the knees praying for them."

You gain a testimony by bearing it? That’s like saying that if you tell a lie enough times, you will begin to believe it. Oaks is a former attorney and judge. He knows that bearing a testimony to an event that you did not witness is a lie, it’s perjury, it’s plainly and simply bearing false witness.

This talk is encouraging people to lie. To give testimony of something they don’t have a testimony of.

You are absolutely wrong, g, as usual. My statement was not blatantly false. It was painfully true.
 
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Apache78 said:
Why leave out that he is mingling with gods? So is Smith a god? All the prophets prior? Be honest. Remember the Commandment “thou shall not bear false witness”. Or is lying for the lord still ongoing in your church?
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I really should not attempt to speak on behalf of the LDS given (a) I’ve never been one and (b) I don’t have any type of deep study into their doctrines, and anyone who is a member of the LDS please slap me down… but they teach that we are all gods, natural (not adopted) children of the Father. That includes Smith, but also you and me. We are just not as… mature as the Father is. They also believe the Father has a body like we do, if I remember right a wife… The Father is just above all of his children, and I don’t think that ontologically different (according to LDS) from us. There is a huge difference in the Catholic understanding of the Divine nature and the LDS one.

I think there are many iron clad objections to LDS doctrines, but this one about worshipping Smith seems… well, there’s so many differences before you even get to that point I think you end up talking past each other.
 
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gazelam said:
I’d suggest attending an event with @Dolphin.
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I’ve been around Mormonites a LOT in my lifetime, from family reunions to even taking the missionary lessons and attending your church services. There is a Mormonite temple right in my back yard. I saw it while it was open to the public. I know the folks. A lot of them are genuinely friendly and nice, but their culture is really no different in that respect than Southern culture is known to be. We are very friendly, hospitable folks. And there’s some really bad apples mixed in with the good, just like with Mormonites. As far as they go as people, my husband has said that he would never hire a Mormonite. In general, he can’t trust them.
 
gazelam said:
How so? It makes the point that the notion put forward in the hymn is similar to notions in the Bible.
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No. It conflates two different things and takes cherry-picked quotes that don’t even actually support the contention even when cherry-picked to try to excuse the hymn.
 
When I attended my friends wedding (I was his best man) at a local lds church the bishop straight out lied when giving his testimony about the married couple. He said he has known them for years and how blessed they are and then on to how great Smith is. I asked my friend if he knew the bishop to which he replied “no, my wife and I don’t know him. They know my mother in law and the only reason they were getting married at the church was because they were forced into it”. So if that’s not a lie I don’t know what is.
 
We as men have to gain our godhood. Just like their god was once a man that gained his. Their god had a father and so on. Their god also has a wife. They put more stock in Smith then they do Jesus. How could you follow a man and his religion when he said he has done more for the church then Jesus or his followers have ever done? Sounds like an inflated ego to me.
 
Like I said, there can be some really bad apples mixed in with the good. My husband simply doesn’t trust them. One of the reasons is because his family personally lost millions of dollars to a Mormonite schmuck named Dean Udy (look him up) who bilked a lot of Mormons out of a lot of money and used his position in the church to do it . . . former stake president, former regional representative. I heard that he died in prison.
 
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Nice to hear. I’m presently from Alabama, but born and raised in Louisiana.
 
I’m an ex-Mormon, and something I noticed is that while many LDS “know” the bible and the Book of Mormon, it ends there. 95% of Mormons know virtually nothing about their own “theology” and “history”. In fact, many LDS are terrified of learning about history and theology because their church has lots of problems with both.
 
I’ve heard that they are actively discouraged from reading anything not written by approved Mormon sources when investigating their faith. I understand reading books from those outside your faith should be read with caution and understanding biases but they actively discourage it! A Mormon friend from long ago left the faith after reading a secular history book about early Americans. When she questioned some of what she was reading to her bishop, he forbade her to read anymore of it! Yikes!
 
A lot of whats considered anti-Mormon comes from their own writings and scripture. Its sad really. I feel for their members.
 
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