How do Mormons actually believe what they do?

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Hi Rebecca, I hope you are doing well.

Official teachings are known as doctrine.

While I’m sure committees take much care in defining what the manuals contain, every word in every manual is not necessarily official doctrine of the church. This is simply a fact. You can whine and say manuals contain official teaching but the church does not define it’s doctrine in that manner.
Is this quote from BH Roberts, doctrine?

Whine? You must be projecting
 
Using history, logic, and the Bible, could you tell me why I SHOULD be Mormon?
Why do you limit the word of the Lord and seek to constrict what you are willing to learn? For the Lord has spoken more of the truth than what is restricted to the Bible, yet ye will not hear it. If you have so limited yourself, than there is nothing more that I or anyone else could add to convince you. But let me share the words of the Lord in hopes that you may hear them.

Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their far toward me is taught by the precept of men: therefore, behold I will proceed to do a marvellous work among theis people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. …And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. (Isaiah 29:13-14, 18).

And because my words shall hiss forth - many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible. …Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea even upon all the nations of the earth? Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? …Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written. (2 Ne 29:3, 7, 8, 10)

And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me: and they teach all men that the should do good. And if they are not the words of Christ; judge ye - for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things, notwithstanding my weakenss. And I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day. (2 Ne 33:10-12)
 
Why do you limit the word of the Lord and seek to constrict what you are willing to learn? For the Lord has spoken more of the truth than what is restricted to the Bible, yet ye will not hear it. If you have so limited yourself, than there is nothing more that I or anyone else could add to convince you. But let me share the words of the Lord in hopes that you may hear them.

Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their far toward me is taught by the precept of men: therefore, behold I will proceed to do a marvellous work among theis people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. …And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. (Isaiah 29:13-14, 18).

And because my words shall hiss forth - many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible. …Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea even upon all the nations of the earth? Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? …Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written. (2 Ne 29:3, 7, 8, 10)

And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me: and they teach all men that the should do good. And if they are not the words of Christ; judge ye - for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things, notwithstanding my weakenss. And I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day. (2 Ne 33:10-12)
Nope - didn’t work, I’m still Catholic
 
I don’t think quoting from spurious works like the book of Mormon will convince a Catholic to change their mind.

Mormon apologists like to point to a few verses that support the need for additional revelation, or foretell Joseph Smith’s restoration.
Ezekiel 37:16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel his companions:
17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
The “Stick of Judah” is the Bible and the “Stick of Joseph” the BoM. Never mind that the very next verses explain what it means, or that “stick” is never meant to mean “book” elsewhere in Scripture.
Isaiah 29:4 And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.
Since the Nephite records were buried, they are a speech out of the dust. The BoM has a “familiar spirit”, since it apes Jacobean English. Never mind that this is a prophecy of destruction of Jerusalem, or that the “familiar spirit” refers to the screeching of a spirit medium.

However, after searching the Bible long and hard, I actually did find a prophecy of Joseph Smith!
2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of…
3:17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
😃
 
The opportunity to have truth revealed by the Holy Ghost is not simply limited to members of the LDS church. If it were then there would indeed be confusion and few would join. But as James said, “If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God”. Any person may ask, and if they are open, sincere, and ask in faith they may know the truth.

In your case you declare, “Disclaimer - I am not now nor ever will consider becoming LDS…”, and so you have already cut yourself off from finding some forms of truth. It is this very attitude, among others, that prevents the Holy Ghost from testifying to you about certain subjects.

Now, I don’t particularly worry if you are LDS or not, but I do worry about you being open to the truth as whispered by the Holy Ghost. And so I urge you not to cut yourself of from his influence.
Well Janderich, I did not have to ask. Jesus told me to got out an protect His Church. He sent me to a field where a rock was standing by itself. I never knew what the rock meant till I read the bible. This was the 2nd vision I received. So would Jesus lead me astray? I was in a bad way in my life and didn’t even pray or speak of God. His very name brought on anger. I looked into your religion and its founding. There is too many contradictions and lies for it to be Christ Church. So when I say I wouldn’t ever become LDS, you better believe it. I would die before I converted.
 
Well Janderich, I did not have to ask. Jesus told me to got out an protect His Church. He sent me to a field where a rock was standing by itself. I never knew what the rock meant till I read the bible. This was the 2nd vision I received. So would Jesus lead me astray? I was in a bad way in my life and didn’t even pray or speak of God. His very name brought on anger. I looked into your religion and its founding. There is too many contradictions and lies for it to be Christ Church. So when I say I wouldn’t ever become LDS, you better believe it. I would die before I converted.
It sounds to me like your conversion to the Catholic church was a good thing. I don’t mean to discount that in any way. However, I think we can add to the truth you have received.

If you are determined to die before becoming LDS that’s up to you. However, there is always the Spirit World. 😉
 
It sounds to me like your conversion to the Catholic church was a good thing. I don’t mean to discount that in any way. However, I think we can add to the truth you have received.

If you are determined to die before becoming LDS that’s up to you. However, there is always the Spirit World. 😉
You comment is very offensive. You come to a Catholic forum and basically tell us we are going to hell (or heck in mormonville). The fact that that you participate on a Catholic forum tells me you may not be as firm in your LDS conviction as you would have us believe. After all I don’t hang out on LDS forums trying to prove my faith…just sayin
 
However, I think we can add to the truth you have received.
Mormonism is not an addition to the truth. It is the opposite of the truth.

To quote post #29.
Precisely! It’s a matter of trustworthiness. Unless one wants to live their entire life as a cynical conspiracy theorist about pretty much anything in life they cannot personally validate due to lack of access or credentials we all have to believe things based on nothing more than the testimony of others. Where our individual thinking comes in is in deciding if that testimony is credible.
We know that Joseph Smith is not credible; therefore Mormonism is something he just made up.

Because it is made up, logic, history, and the bible cannot be used to support it. Your post #100 proves that. Of course, you are not unique among Mormons because none of them can do it.
 
You comment is very offensive. You come to a Catholic forum and basically tell us we are going to hell (or heck in mormonville). The fact that that you participate on a Catholic forum tells me you may not be as firm in your LDS conviction as you would have us believe. After all I don’t hang out on LDS forums trying to prove my faith…just sayin
The spirit world is not hell. Rather it is the place where all those who have died reside after death. All people will go there, both the righteous and the wicked. So no offense was intended.
 
The spirit world is not hell. Rather it is the place where all those who have died reside after death. All people will go there, both the righteous and the wicked. So no offense was intended.
Sure it was intended. I’ve lived in LDS case communities for a long time, I know the passive approach when called on something. The next one is to get personal to avoid the truth.

Just to be completely clear…I am Catholic today, will be Catholic tomorrow, and every day after that. When I go to meet my Lord I will be Catholic as I will be for eternity. No silly LDS ritual will change that.

If you really want the Truth, as in Jesus Christ, stick around here. You’ll learn something.
 
Sure it was intended. I’ve lived in LDS case communities for a long time, I know the passive approach when called on something. The next one is to get personal to avoid the truth.

Just to be completely clear…I am Catholic today, will be Catholic tomorrow, and every day after that. When I go to meet my Lord I will be Catholic as I will be for eternity. No silly LDS ritual will change that.

If you really want the Truth, as in Jesus Christ, stick around here. You’ll learn something.
Say Mormons do make it to heaven, Won’t they be Catholic in heaven?
 
It sounds to me like your conversion to the Catholic church was a good thing. I don’t mean to discount that in any way. However, I think we can add to the truth you have received.

If you are determined to die before becoming LDS that’s up to you. However, there is always the Spirit World. 😉
Nothing you add is needed, or uplifting or matches the prompting and guidance I’ve received from the Holy Spirit. What you see as refusing we see as following the Spirit, avoiding the wrong path and falling into error and confusion.

“I think we can add to the truth you have received” this is very close to proselytizing.
 
Nothing you add is needed, or uplifting or matches the prompting and guidance I’ve received from the Holy Spirit. What you see as refusing we see as following the Spirit, avoiding the wrong path and falling into error and confusion.

“I think we can add to the truth you have received” this is very close to proselytizing.
👍
 
The spirit world is not hell. Rather it is the place where all those who have died reside after death. All people will go there, both the righteous and the wicked. So no offense was intended.
We know well that you were referring to LDS baptism and other temple work for the dead and the LDS belief that Horton and others would be proselytized by LDS missionaries in the Spirit World and have the opportunity to accept that proxy baptism. The very idea or even “threat” of being baptized LDS by proxy after death is what is offensive to people.

I am confident that my LDS family will attempt to have me rebaptized LDS by proxy after I die. I am not entirely sure they will be allowed to do so, but I am sure they will try. It bothers me. I purposefully reject the claims of Mormonism and the fact that my LDS family will ignore that and try and do it anyway bothers me. I know it means nothing, but it bothers me. I may not even qualify for Spirit World proselyting anyway as I am an apostate. I don’t hold the priesthood, so whether or not Outer Darkness is in my future is open for debate.
 
Because mormons are taught from their early childhood not to " question" any of the beliefs. That they must** rely on faith**. There “Heavenly Father and Holy Ghost” will give them the answers if they read the Book of Mormon, pray and go to church. They will hear that “still small voice” Prompting them the church is true.
 
We know well that you were referring to LDS baptism and other temple work for the dead and the LDS belief that Horton and others would be proselytized by LDS missionaries in the Spirit World and have the opportunity to accept that proxy baptism. The very idea or even “threat” of being baptized LDS by proxy after death is what is offensive to people.
This has never really made any sense to me. While I no longer believe that proxy baptisms or any other proxy ordinance are in any way effective for the dead, I don’t really get being offended over them. Mormons don’t believe that the proxy ordinances are in any way binding on the deceased, or that they “make” you be Mormon, only that they are available to you should you decide in the next life to accept them. Since we know what we believe, and know that we won’t have an opportunity in the next life to accept them, because they are not “real” and our choices in this life and only in this life determine our eternal outcome, then why would it bother us what Mormons do in true sincerity on the behalf of the deceased? They are wrong in their belief, but the actions themselves are neither evil (which requires an understanding that they are against God’s commandment) nor even really “mean”, because they are honestly acting out of what they believe to be the best intentions for the deceased individuals.
 
This has never really made any sense to me. While I no longer believe that proxy baptisms or any other proxy ordinance are in any way effective for the dead, I don’t really get being offended over them. Mormons don’t believe that the proxy ordinances are in any way binding on the deceased, or that they “make” you be Mormon, only that they are available to you should you decide in the next life to accept them. Since we know what we believe, and know that we won’t have an opportunity in the next life to accept them, because they are not “real” and our choices in this life and only in this life determine our eternal outcome, then why would it bother us what Mormons do in true sincerity on the behalf of the deceased? They are wrong in their belief, but the actions themselves are neither evil (which requires an understanding that they are against God’s commandment) nor even really “mean”, because they are honestly acting out of what they believe to be the best intentions for the deceased individuals.
I know they have no meaning in the salvation of the non-LDS. I know it is false doctrine and goes against Christianity. One of my issues is say someone decides to “proxy baptize” me 100 after I die and I get “counted” as LDS (because we all know it’s about numbers for them) and my descendants see it and think I changed to LDS. Wow…great granny was a faithful Catholic, how did she end up on the LDS rolls?

Welcome home Steve! You will love the Catholic Church
 
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