Either Catholics or Mormons have it right...

  • Thread starter Thread starter SalesianSDB
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Lynn is a wife, mother, grandmother, scholar, and author with a doctorate in education. In her 11 years as a professor and researcher, and 20 years as a teacher, she has mentored thousands of students and has produced more than 50 scholarly publications. Her sphere of research is how to advance the academic and social-emotional success of “marginalized” students. Indeed, this very interest led her to question Mormonism. Once tenured faculty at BYU, Dr. Wilder left in 2008 when she experienced a crisis of faith.

exmormonscholarstestify.org/lynn-wilder.html
 
Thanks for the link! Enjoyed reading her testimony.

BTW, here is the post by Pitcharan from India on his experience in going to confession…I finally found it…and must have given you wrong info…but couldn’t find your thread’s question…

Thread: ‘Do Catholic Priests have the authority to forgive sins?’…Pitcharan, page 30, post 437.
 
You state there were no witnesses; I seem to recall reading in the Book of several witnesses. Am I not remembering correctly?
Joseph Smith said to the three witnesses whom he had chosen, "Behold, I say unto you, that you must rely upon my word, which if you do with full purpose of heart, you shall have a view of the plates . . . and it is by your faith that you shall obtain a view of them… . .And if you do these last commandments of mine, which I have given you, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you. (Doctrine and Covenants, Section 17). D&C is one of the books Mormons regard as scripture.

Afterwards, the four men went into the woods to pray. Smith said an angel had appeared and he convinced the others. Their signed testimony, in part, was: “And we declare with words of soberness that an Angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon . . .” IOW, it was a vision which Smith conjured up, not reality. They saw the plates “with the eyes of faith,” as Harris later told a lawyer. All three “witnesses” eventually quarreled with Joseph and left his church.

Smith later gathered eight additional witnesses. Thomas Ford, Governor of Illinois, who knew several of Joseph’s key men after they left Smith’s church, wrote the following: “He (Smith) assembled them (the eight witnesses) into a room and produced a box, which he said contained the precious treasure. The lid was opened; the witnesses peeped into it, but making no discovery, for the box was empty, they said, ‘Brother Joseph, we do not see the plates.’ The prophet answered them, ‘O ye of little faith! How long will God bear this wicked and perverse generation? Down on your knees, brethren, every one of you, and pray God for the forgiveness of your sins, and for a holy and living faith which cometh down from heaven.’ The disciples dropped to their knees, and began to pray in the fervency of their spirit, supplicating God for more than two hours with fanatical earnestness; at the end of which time, looking again into the box, they were now persuaded that they saw the plates” *History of Illinolis *(Chicago, 1854, p. 257, cited in No Man Knows My History, Second Edition, by Fawn Brodie, Alfred A. Knopf, 1979).

Shortly thereafter, an angel took the plates to heaven, according to Mormon doctrine.

The following post was written by Sir Thomas More, a former Mormon, on a thread about the University of Stanford study of the Book of Mormon:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=462182&highlight=university+of+stanford+book+of+mormon&page=2

"The witnesses to the B of M do not help the B of M. The fact [that] Joseph said they are not to be trusted is the nail in the coffin. If They cannot be trusted, then we cannot trust their testimony. But, if they are honest, then Joseph is dishonest to bear false witness against honest men, so then Joseph cannot be trusted.

Either way, the B of M fails."

References: Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, No Man Knows My History, Second Edition (Brodie)

Peace, Jim Dandy
 
Actually, I made a boo…

Smith’s witnesses didn’t show up until 5 years later, not 4. Long time no see.

Again, when we do comparative discourses on various religions, we also have to deal with a credible manner of discourse.
 
You state there were no witnesses; I seem to recall reading in the Book of several witnesses. Am I not remembering correctly?

I wonder how you would perceive a Mormon that talked in the same degrading manner about Catholicism as you do about Mormonism? I have a suspicion that you would be the first to want to burn someone at the stake and call for holy war. It makes me more than sad when I see this type of behavior from someone that calls themself a Christian. And they will call to me Lord, Lord and I will say to them, depart from me for I have never known you. You cannot act this way and say you know Christ; I am sorry but they do not go hand in hand; it is impossible. The Holy Spirit guides in humility, patience, and love. This is not present in any of your words. Why?
JeanMichel, pointing out evidence that brings into question the legitimacy of a particular faith is a noble exercise and nothing of which to be ashamed. They certainly have an opportunity to answer or refute anything anyone has said here.

If you want to hear degrading commentary on the Catholic Church, early Mormon writings are right up front; “the whore of Babylon”, “mother of harlots”, etc. No one here has come close in matching the degrading comments of Mormons toward Catholics. Come on.
 
Thanks for the link! Enjoyed reading her testimony.

BTW, here is the post by Pitcharan from India on his experience in going to confession…I finally found it…and must have given you wrong info…but couldn’t find your thread’s question…

Thread: ‘Do Catholic Priests have the authority to forgive sins?’…Pitcharan, page 30, post 437.
Kathleen thank you so much. Read it and enjoyed his experiment.
 
I am beginning to finally enter into the joyous Christmas spirit…today has been a day off…

I was driving home and looked up to the south…there was a cloud formation against the gray clouds…this one was in white…and it looked like one of those unborn pictures of a baby’s head…the shape was just of an unborn baby’s head…looking upwards with joy, its eyes closed and lips open in praise…

Hmmm…I wonder if I will see some new clouds on Christmas Day…because in this moment of celebration, Christ is yet unborn.

Then…I get sad again thinking the Mormons do not really celebrate Christmas with us because the Catholic Church picked December 25 as a day to celebrate our Lord’s birth. This is the season of The Child, of His Infancia…

When we are simply reacting to other people, instead of responding to the life of Christ within us…we are really not living by faith.
 
Lynn is a wife, mother, grandmother, scholar, and author with a doctorate in education. In her 11 years as a professor and researcher, and 20 years as a teacher, she has mentored thousands of students and has produced more than 50 scholarly publications. Her sphere of research is how to advance the academic and social-emotional success of “marginalized” students. Indeed, this very interest led her to question Mormonism. Once tenured faculty at BYU, Dr. Wilder left in 2008 when she experienced a crisis of faith.

exmormonscholarstestify.org/lynn-wilder.html
Thanks for the link. Good reading. There are more exmormonscholars postings to come.

That link led to other “testimonies” of why ex-Mormons left the LDS church. Here’s one regarding the historical facts of Mormonism and the suppression of the Journal of Discourses, an early Mormon doctrinal document that was “recalled” by the LDS.

packham.n4m.org/whylft.htm

Jim Dandy
 
Well let’s thank “God” you’re not a betting man or you’d be broke.
 
JeanMichael,

Don’t you think it a duty of any humanitarian person to be concerned about the welfare of other people? I think Jim Dandy here is providing links on the historical background of Mormonism.

You may see WhyMe…as someone previously engaged in conversations with us here on CAF. At first I listened to him and his defense of Mormons, while he said he went to Mass and was a lector. Later someone found out that he was a Mormon, was complaining about the lack of charity here…he didn’t come across right…something amiss…

He should have not been lectoring at the Mass as a Mormon…this was very wrong of him and the Mass is sacred. Participants are supposed to be professed believers…and his violation and misrepresentation of himself was very deceitful and he was eventually banned.

Anyway, I just finished Jim’s link…I know Soren from CAF and he is married to a Mormon and has debated Mormon scholars. He studied under the top clergy scholars in the world in regards to the book of Hebrews in OT. He is one of those on Jim’s link…

I can only go so far with the Mormons. They have no answer why, to their claim, the apostles of Christ were not allowed to have successors. And because there was no successors allowed to carry on following the apostles…denies Christ’s mission as Messiah, Savior, and Redeemer to the world…so we have a different Christ.

What Jim is about is objective truth and the truth of Christ’s apostolic Catholic Church. How many people are being denied the Eucharist…‘Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood will have eternal life…’

It is a matter of compassion and appropriate response as a true believer to respond to Christ’s words at the Sermon on the Mount to instruct the ignorant and make the Good News known to all people, to bring freedom to those who are held captive.
 
Originally Posted by JeanMichel
You state there were no witnesses; I seem to recall reading in the Book of several witnesses. Am I not remembering correctly?
I wonder how you would perceive a Mormon that talked in the same degrading manner about Catholicism as you do about Mormonism? I have a suspicion that you would be the first to want to burn someone at the stake and call for holy war. It makes me more than sad when I see this type of behavior from someone that calls themself a Christian. And they will call to me Lord, Lord and I will say to them, depart from me for I have never known you. You cannot act this way and say you know Christ; I am sorry but they do not go hand in hand; it is impossible. The Holy Spirit guides in humility, patience, and love. This is not present in any of your words. Why?
JeanMichel, pointing out evidence that brings into question the legitimacy of a particular faith is a noble exercise and nothing of which to be ashamed. They certainly have an opportunity to answer or refute anything anyone has said here.

If you want to hear degrading commentary on the Catholic Church, early Mormon writings are right up front; “the whore of Babylon”, “mother of harlots”, etc. No one here has come close in matching the degrading comments of Mormons toward Catholics. Come on.
Thank you, Steve. I suspect JeanMichael knows little about Mormonism. He can correct me if I’m wrong.

Here’s corroboration of what Steve wrote to JeanMichael:

From the 1830 Book of Mormon, First Book of Nephi, pages 30 - 34, that is in my library:

– quote-- And the angel of the Lord said unto me . . . behold, after this thou seest the foundation of a great and abominable church, which is the most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the Gospel of the Lamb, many parts which are plain and most precious; and also, many Covenants of the Lord have they taken away; and all this have they done, that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord; that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, thou seest that after the Book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are **many plain and precious things taken away from the Book, which is the Book of the Lamb of God **. . .

And it came to pass that the angel of the Lord spake unto me, saying: Behold, saith the Lamb of God . . . the Gentiles do stumble exceedingly, because of the plain and precious parts of the Gospel of the Lamb which hath been kept back, by that abominable church, which is the mother of harlots . . .

And the House of Israel shall no more be confounded; and that great pit which hath been digged for them, by that great and abominable church, which hath been founded by the Devil and his children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to Hell . . .

And it came to pass that when the angel had spoken these words . . .And it came to pass that he saith unto me, Look, and behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose foundation is the Devil. And he saith unto me, Behold, there is, save it be, two churches: the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the Devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God, belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.

And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, **because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore **which sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, which were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominion upon the face of the earth was small, because of the wickedness of the great whore which I saw.

And it came to pass, that I beheld that **the great mother of abominations **did gather together multitudes upon the face of the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God . . .

And it came to pass that I beheld the wrath of God was poured out upon the great and abominable church . . . – end quote –

There’s more, but that’s plenty, plenty, to illustrate the point.

Mormonism teaches that the Catholic Church became apostate at the end of the first century, or no later than the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325). They call it “the Great Apostasy.” There is no evidence of this, but Mormons nevertheless claim that the LDS Church founded by the “glass looker” Joseph Smith in 1830 – not the Catholic Church founded by Jesus Christ in A.D. 33 – is Christ’s True Church.

Now, after their founder, Joseph Smith, called the Catholic Church “the great abomination, the church of the Devil, the great whore, the whore of all the earth, the destroyer of the Bible,” etc., in their “scripture,” the Mormons want to play nice – it suits their agenda.

Jim Dandy
 
That was exactly the same material I encountered at Deseret in 2005 or so…the language is very different than the early Church…I saw reference to the Roman Church…so with everything else … who else could it be but us?

Where are our forces? Isn’t Jesus Christ the message???

We cannot separate our lives from the clergy. We do not have Mass and the Eucharist without them…So to make such charges against our priests is also to make charges against us…
 
Mormonism claims to be a Restoration of the original true Church of Christ, with prophets, Apostles, and modern day revelation and scripture; whereas Protestantism claims to be a Reformation of the Catholic Church. Mormonism claims to be a Revelation from God, whereas Protestantism claims to be nothing more than a human endeavor at correcting errors in the Catholic Church. If both claims were true, Mormonism by definition would supersede Protestantism.

Both Mormonism and Protestantism in fact claim that an apostasy of the early Christian Church took place; but their solutions to it are different. I like the Mormon solution better—obviously! 🙂
It really doesn’t matter what people claim. Read the Word of God, the Bible!
Finding Jesus in your worship is paramount.
Joseph Smith seemed to be more concerned about how many wives he could manage.
Plural marriage? Not found in scriptures.
Mormons are nice folks. they do not smoke or drink alcohol, or even coffee, as a rule.
However this doesn’t get a person into heaven. Jesus Christ took our sins to the cross. Do you know Him?

God bless you,
bluelake
 
The source and life giver of the Catholic Church is Jesus Christ, and HIs comforter, the Holy Spirit filled the Apostles at Pentecost…and taught them many things…

All that deflected out from unforgiveness towards corrupt clergy was a man made movement.

I wish we could all be one again in the Lord, and in doing so, become a great witness to the world. There is need for greater parish work, and it is waiting to be filled by our separated brethren. The Catholic Church needs all Christians who believe in Jesus Christ as God, Messiah, and Redeemer.
kathleen,
This could be said of many churches.
Catholics are wonderful christians. I’m very fond of their docrtine.
I am a conservative Lutheran. Missouri Synod. Our beliefs are similar in many points.
However, I do not judge anyone’s salvation. If God has blessed you with His Spirit you can be sure to receive many other blessings as your devotion continues.
I’m sure this has already started with your Christian walk.

God bless,
bluelake
 
Thank you, Steve. I suspect JeanMichael knows little about Mormonism. He can correct me if I’m wrong.

Here’s corroboration of what Steve wrote to JeanMichael:

From the 1830 Book of Mormon, First Book of Nephi, pages 30 - 34, that is in my library:

– quote-- And the angel of the Lord said unto me . . . behold, after this thou seest the foundation of a great and abominable church, which is the most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the Gospel of the Lamb, many parts which are plain and most precious; and also, many Covenants of the Lord have they taken away; and all this have they done, that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord; that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, thou seest that after the Book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are **many plain and precious things taken away from the Book, which is the Book of the Lamb of God **. . .

And it came to pass that the angel of the Lord spake unto me, saying: Behold, saith the Lamb of God . . . the Gentiles do stumble exceedingly, because of the plain and precious parts of the Gospel of the Lamb which hath been kept back, by that abominable church, which is the mother of harlots . . .

And the House of Israel shall no more be confounded; and that great pit which hath been digged for them, by that great and abominable church, which hath been founded by the Devil and his children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to Hell . . .

And it came to pass that when the angel had spoken these words . . .And it came to pass that he saith unto me, Look, and behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose foundation is the Devil. And he saith unto me, Behold, there is, save it be, two churches: the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the Devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God, belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.

And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, **because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore **which sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, which were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominion upon the face of the earth was small, because of the wickedness of the great whore which I saw.

And it came to pass, that I beheld that **the great mother of abominations **did gather together multitudes upon the face of the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God . . .

And it came to pass that I beheld the wrath of God was poured out upon the great and abominable church . . . – end quote –

There’s more, but that’s plenty, plenty, to illustrate the point.

Mormonism teaches that the Catholic Church became apostate at the end of the first century, or no later than the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325). They call it “the Great Apostasy.” There is no evidence of this, but Mormons nevertheless claim that the LDS Church founded by the “glass looker” Joseph Smith in 1830 – not the Catholic Church founded by Jesus Christ in A.D. 33 – is Christ’s True Church.

Now, after their founder, Joseph Smith, called the Catholic Church “the great abomination, the church of the Devil, the great whore, the whore of all the earth, the destroyer of the Bible,” etc., in their “scripture,” the Mormons want to play nice – it suits their agenda.

Jim Dandy
Perhaps our Mormons friends should read Mt.7:1-5, Mt.22:36-40

God bless,
bluelake
 
Thanks for the link. Good reading. There are more exmormonscholars postings to come.

That link led to other “testimonies” of why ex-Mormons left the LDS church. Here’s one regarding the historical facts of Mormonism and the suppression of the Journal of Discourses, an early Mormon doctrinal document that was “recalled” by the LDS.

packham.n4m.org/whylft.htm

Jim Dandy
Jim,
Thank you for the interesting story.
I also have read one about an ex-mormon, Jim Spencer.

This made me think about a Senator from Mass. Mitt Romney. A Mormon.
He may run for President . keep your eye on him.

God bless,
bluelake
 
Bluelake,

You are projecting…

On this thread, we are looking at foundations of origins, not looking at people’s end. That is between them and their beliefs.

The Catholic Church states that all who seek God and those who live and work for the common God…find salvation.

We are living in times that do not accept absolute truths or deflate the bottom line that it is about the sanctity of human life. Only the Catholic Church upholds the sanctity of human life for all people.
 
.
.
.
Now, after their founder, Joseph Smith, called the Catholic Church “the great abomination, the church of the Devil, the great whore, the whore of all the earth, the destroyer of the Bible,” etc., in their “scripture,” the Mormons want to play nice – it suits their agenda.

Jim Dandy
In your long quote from the Book of Mormon, you neglected a significant verse, 1 Nephi 14:10

And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.

Two churches: the Church of God and the Church of the devil. You are mistaken when you interpret these churches as particular sects, they are spiritual in nature.
 
Two churches: the Church of God and the Church of the devil. You are mistaken when you interpret these churches as particular sects, they are spiritual in nature.
So you admit that the church of the devil also exists within Mormonism, and the LDS hierarchy has been negligent in purging itself of those on the hateful far right? An excellent monologue on that dynamic here:
youtube.com/watch?v=ebexx89yohE
 
Does the Mormon worship invoke the Lamb of God?

We have the Agnus Dei…we have a processional cross with Christ as Redeemer but as a Lamb with a stole and cross…
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top