A
Asella
Guest
I have never seen a picture of a Mormon church before, but I must say that picture just gives me a sad feeling inside. It is quite possibly the most depressing-looking building I have ever seen.
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B
BJ_Colbert
Guest
Semper Fi:
BJ
We feel that we know Him, but in more depth than you know Him, just a difference in knowlege, same Jesus Christ. There is only ONE you know. Or I hope you know. We try to live our lives as He would have us live them, and follow the commandments as closely as we can. Love our fellowman, as difficult as that can be at time. Still we try to emulate Him as much as humanly possible. That is a goal I strive for on a hourly and daily and weekly basis. Constantly trying to be follow His example. That is what emulate means and that is what we try to do. But, we are human and none is perfect. Studying the scriptures will bring you closer to understanding Jesus, so if you do that, and pray daily you may come to know Him as well.
BJ
B
BJ_Colbert
Guest
I can understand your feeling, as I felt the same when I entered my husband’s parish the first time. I felt it was very cold(literally as they did not have the heat on), it was huge and not at all welcoming and warm. The people didn’t speak and still don’t, six years later. I was horrified by the blood dripping off some of the statues of Jesus, and it was difficult to feel the spirit with so many statues to take away my attention.
As I attended through the years I became more familiar and I don’t even notice the blood now. I just look at the Priest and listen to the gospel and all of the bad stuff (my opinion)goes away.
I feel very reverent in our buildings and when all the people gather the good feelings are very strong. Friends greet each other and the Bishop shakes my hand, I sit with my friends, I know everyone, so they are all my friends, and it feels like I am home, only better. I feel the spirit of God there, so I guess it all boils down to what you grew up knowing and being comfortable with. My husband feels very comfortable in our Chapel, and of course he feels comfortable in his parish. I think your Cathedrals are spectacular, but the regular parish we meet in is very plain except for the statues. I find it very interesting to see the differences.
BJ
S
searcher
Guest
“How can I emulate Him if I don’t know Him?” Perhaps as a teenage Protestant I didn’t know who He was in a theological or doctrinal sense. When I joined the LDS I probably haven’t known Him in what might be called a more traditional sense. However as a teenager and as an LDS adult I have tried to follow His teachings in the 4 Gospels as I understand them. I believe most LDS do the same. So while LDS might not be defined as Christians in a theological or doctrinal sense. They do try to live as Christians.
A
awfulthings9
Guest
Need a statistic for a talk I’m giving. Anyone know how many Mormon temples are now in existance?
C
catsrus
Guest
In the Phoenix area, there is an lds bldg on almost every corner. I’ve often wondered who’s ahead in bldgs, mormons or Walmart. Actually though, mormons.
I attended a wedding also in a mormon “chapel” (if that’s the correct word, and found it to be quick and not memorable at all. The room was very austere. The wedding was for an ex Greek Orthodox friend of mine to a mormon who’d divorced his wife to whom he’s been sealed in the temple.
They were both extremely reluctant to discuss religion with me. I’ve wondered since how they each feel about some of their decisions. They don’t call anymore and if I call, they are polite and get off the phone asap.
I attended a wedding also in a mormon “chapel” (if that’s the correct word, and found it to be quick and not memorable at all. The room was very austere. The wedding was for an ex Greek Orthodox friend of mine to a mormon who’d divorced his wife to whom he’s been sealed in the temple.
They were both extremely reluctant to discuss religion with me. I’ve wondered since how they each feel about some of their decisions. They don’t call anymore and if I call, they are polite and get off the phone asap.
M
Mom_of_5
Guest
I just sent an e-mail to www.Mormon.org. I asked how many temples in the USA and in the world. They answer fairly quickly. When I get the answer I will post it. I have heard a number around 100 or more, but many are being built everywhere so this could be outdated.
Love and Peace
M
Mom_of_5
Guest
Just got the e-mail answer to the above question—kind of. The e-mail said that they read all e-mails but cannot respond to all of them so I should contact a member of the LDS church or attend a service at one of the chapels.
So------maybe someone on this forum can answer.
Love and peace
So------maybe someone on this forum can answer.
Love and peace
B
BJ_Colbert
Guest
I believe it is 119 completed, with 7 more having broken ground and to be finished within the next 2 years. It takes approximately 18 months from groundbreaking to finished Temple. The San Antonio Temple will be dedicated in May, so it is open to visitors now until then. We have one being built in Sacramento which will be 123, and one in Twin Falls, Idaho. Another in Salt Lake City, because the current one can’t handle all the attendees. I just visited the Buenos Aires, Argentina Temple and the Lima, Peru Temple, also the Santiago, Chile Temple. The Ghana, Africa Temple was just dedicated in 2004, and the Copenhagen,Denmark Temple, and the Manhatten, New York Temple also in 2004. There are books in the Deseret Bookstore that list all of them, or the mormon.org website under Temples, but they are being completed so fast it is hard to keep up.
Before a Temple has groundbreaking it is completely paid for, there are no mortgages on any LDS Temple, or on any LDS Churches. Last year we were listed as the 5th largest religion in the USA and this year we are listed as the 4th largest.
I think even a Catholic would have to admit that is pretty amazing growth. I hope this helps with your report.
BJ
B
BJ_Colbert
Guest
If it is not in the Temple, it is the same as being married by a Justice of the Peace. In fact my LDS son married out of the Church and was married by a Presbyterian Minister, it cost a bit of money and his reception was $15,000.00. Hardly anyone gets married in the Mormon Church building. They usually just have the reception in the recreation hall of the building. If they want the Bishop to marry them, they know it will be simple and about the same as a justice of the peace. If they want elaborate they can pay, and have it officiated by anyone. They usually want free, so that is a big reason why they have the Bishop marry them, and also the reason they have the reception there. It is all free, big reason for young people on a budget.
BJ
B
BJ_Colbert
Guest
I just checked the mormon.org site and they have a map of the world that you can click on and see how many Temples in each country. There are 3 in Africa, 2 in Hawaii, 3 in the South Pacific Islands(Tahiti, New Gunea etc.) it also tells you when each was completed as Laie, Hawaii was completed in 1915, and you will have to research the rest yourself, as I am out of time. I think my above figures are pretty accurate. I know that we were told the Sacramento Temple would become the 123rd to be completed, so by the end of 2006 there should be approximately 127. BJ
BJ
C
catholic-rcia
Guest
C
Chazemataz
Guest
When I first went into the LDS Church with my great-grandparents I could not stand it. I simply just felt so cold. I could not feel that warm feeling that I normally had whenever I went into my church. I’ve seen courtrooms that look more cheerful than Latter-Day Saint chapels.
I
iwonder
Guest
Help! Why if you acknowledge Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, why then would you want to put his picture in the lobby rather thatn where the celebration occurs?
What is the purpose, please, and I would like the answer to come from someone who is LDS, not a Catholic.
What is the purpose, please, and I would like the answer to come from someone who is LDS, not a Catholic.
C
Casen
Guest
Help! Why if you acknowledge Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, why then would you want to put his picture in the lobby rather thatn where the celebration occurs?
What is the purpose, please, and I would like the answer to come from someone who is LDS, not a Catholic.
We don’t worship idols, pictures, statues, etc. I think if we had a picture in the chapel sooner or later someone would pray to it. That’s just my opinion; I don’t know the official reason.
What is the purpose, please, and I would like the answer to come from someone who is LDS, not a Catholic.
We don’t worship idols, pictures, statues, etc. I think if we had a picture in the chapel sooner or later someone would pray to it. That’s just my opinion; I don’t know the official reason.
B
BJ_Colbert
Guest
I agree with Casen. I have been to many Catholic Churches and Cathedrals all over the world and the people actually start worshiping the statues of the saints and Mary instead of Jesus Christ. They leave all kinds of offerings, flowers, food, toys, little body parts according to what they want healed. They pray to and kiss these statues as if they were alive. That to me is worshiping an object instead of God. God says “I your God am a jealous God, thou shalt not have any other Gods before me”. (I may have missed a couple of words, bad memory)
I know the Catholic Church does not worship these statues and images, but their people are confused and do worship and pray to the statues. My own dear husband thought he was praying directly to Mary. I had to explain that in the Catholic Church he is not praying to Mary, but asking her to pray for him. I learned that in this forum. My husband is not stupid, just so you know he is above average intelligence and retired Marine and retired from NATO in Naples, Italy. So you can see that the average Catholic gets confused.
We do not want that to happen in LDS churches, so we make sure that our statues and paintings are in places where they will be admired, reflected upon to remind us of Jesus, but not worshipped, or prayed to.
In our services there are usually fresh flowers adorning the alter, and it is very beautiful and spiritual to me. Very simple and unadorned. With the soft organ music playing familiar hymns as we enter the chapel, it is difficult to imagine a more reverent atmosphere in which to worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I guess it all depends on what is familiar to you, and that is OK.
BJ
I know the Catholic Church does not worship these statues and images, but their people are confused and do worship and pray to the statues. My own dear husband thought he was praying directly to Mary. I had to explain that in the Catholic Church he is not praying to Mary, but asking her to pray for him. I learned that in this forum. My husband is not stupid, just so you know he is above average intelligence and retired Marine and retired from NATO in Naples, Italy. So you can see that the average Catholic gets confused.
We do not want that to happen in LDS churches, so we make sure that our statues and paintings are in places where they will be admired, reflected upon to remind us of Jesus, but not worshipped, or prayed to.
In our services there are usually fresh flowers adorning the alter, and it is very beautiful and spiritual to me. Very simple and unadorned. With the soft organ music playing familiar hymns as we enter the chapel, it is difficult to imagine a more reverent atmosphere in which to worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I guess it all depends on what is familiar to you, and that is OK.
BJ
I
iwonder
Guest
Casen said:
Help me here again. Why don’t you want to pray to Jesus Christ if you accept him as Lord and Ruler? Do you pray rather only to God the Father?
I
iwonder
Guest
BJ Colbert:
I suppose your houses are as bare of photographs as your Churches are of reminders of God and His family.
We also leave flowers, or food depending on the culture because we believe our Heavenly Father sees all things and knows all things and is not offended, but rather pleased with our expression of INTENTION. Intention is the key word here. The intentions of the heart. This Church in question placement of the picture seems an attempt to eradicate and throw outside the Lord and His Family. To keep Him in the lobby rather than letting him into your Church or your hearts. Because, simply it looks on first observation that you have intentionally placed him in the lobby. Is that not so in that particular Church? Many people would view that actually as the intention. Since our God sees all we do and knows all we do, we do not want him to think we have the intention of putting him out on the porch rather than the living room.
Again, since the purpose of the forum is to learn about each other, could this be answered by LDS, please?
Also, B. J. quotes the OT here with the I, your God, am a jealous God. Thou shalt not have other Gods before me. But I thought the forum here had already established that Mormons all become Gods through eternal progression? And that means that over the years you have multitudinous Gods. Although I think in the Doctrines and Covenants the Mormons become little Gods and have one big or something. Help again. Are these Gods different somehow that God the Father does not need to be jealous of them or what?
Also, B.J. if he is not praying to her, how is he asking the Virgin to pray for him? that makes no sense.
We don’t worship statues, B.J. Another anti Catholic lie. People express themselves, using statues and icons to remind themselves who the person is they are thinking of, much like you might keep a picture of your mother in your own home or do you not keep family photos? Maybe you don’t believe in having family photos either, I don’t know. Many is the time since my mother has passed away that I have touched her picture, because deep down inside I wish I could still touch her. I’m not worshiping the photo, I’m expressing my intention. Sometimes I touch her picture to remind myself that we will be together again. That is not worshiping photos. That is just humanity.I agree with Casen. I have been to many Catholic Churches and Cathedrals all over the world and the people actually start worshiping the statues of the saints and Mary instead of Jesus Christ. They leave all kinds of offerings, flowers, food, toys, little body parts according to what they want healed. They pray to and kiss these statues as if they were alive. That to me is worshiping an object instead of God. God says “I your God am a jealous God, thou shalt not have any other Gods before me”. (I may have missed a couple of words, bad memory)
I know the Catholic Church does not worship these statues and images, but their people are confused and do worship and pray to the statues. My own dear husband thought he was praying directly to Mary. I had to explain that in the Catholic Church he is not praying to Mary, but asking her to pray for him. I learned that in this forum. My husband is not stupid, just so you know he is above average intelligence and retired Marine and retired from NATO in Naples, Italy. So you can see that the average Catholic gets confused.
We do not want that to happen in LDS churches, so we make sure that our statues and paintings are in places where they will be admired, reflected upon to remind us of Jesus, but not worshipped, or prayed to.
In our services there are usually fresh flowers adorning the alter, and it is very beautiful and spiritual to me. Very simple and unadorned. With the soft organ music playing familiar hymns as we enter the chapel, it is difficult to imagine a more reverent atmosphere in which to worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I guess it all depends on what is familiar to you, and that is OK.
I suppose your houses are as bare of photographs as your Churches are of reminders of God and His family.
We also leave flowers, or food depending on the culture because we believe our Heavenly Father sees all things and knows all things and is not offended, but rather pleased with our expression of INTENTION. Intention is the key word here. The intentions of the heart. This Church in question placement of the picture seems an attempt to eradicate and throw outside the Lord and His Family. To keep Him in the lobby rather than letting him into your Church or your hearts. Because, simply it looks on first observation that you have intentionally placed him in the lobby. Is that not so in that particular Church? Many people would view that actually as the intention. Since our God sees all we do and knows all we do, we do not want him to think we have the intention of putting him out on the porch rather than the living room.
Again, since the purpose of the forum is to learn about each other, could this be answered by LDS, please?
Also, B. J. quotes the OT here with the I, your God, am a jealous God. Thou shalt not have other Gods before me. But I thought the forum here had already established that Mormons all become Gods through eternal progression? And that means that over the years you have multitudinous Gods. Although I think in the Doctrines and Covenants the Mormons become little Gods and have one big or something. Help again. Are these Gods different somehow that God the Father does not need to be jealous of them or what?
Also, B.J. if he is not praying to her, how is he asking the Virgin to pray for him? that makes no sense.
B
BJ_Colbert
Guest
iwonder,
Sorry, you misunderstood me. I said we do not want our people to be confused as many of your people are. My own husband being one of the confused ones who did not understand that he was not praying to Mary, but asking her to pray for him.
He did not quite understand the concept of praying for a saint or Mary to pray for him and not praying directly to the saint or Mary. I set him straight, from your posts and others in this forum. I know your statues are like photos to you and you are not actually worshiping the statues but using them as remembrance of the persons or dieties they represent. But, it is still misunderstood by other Catholics all over the world, who do not get the concept of the photo.
Our whole church is sacred to us. The chapel is for worshiping God and not for looking at statues and photos. They are not real, they are photos or statues. Only God is real and we worship God and not His statue.
I understand your confusion, because you have been told that statues are only like a photo of the person you are worshiping, and we have been told that we do not want even the possibility that Jesus may think we are worshipping statues, or graven images. In the biblical times God got very mad at people for worshiping statues. So believe as you wish, we are not taking any chances to offend Him.
In our religion, we have direct personal prayer to God and do not have to go through Mary or a saint to pray for us. That is a big difference between our religions. We believe He is our literal Father in Heaven and as such listens to our prayers without any middle persons. We do not need statues to remind us of Him, He is in our hearts and minds constantly and we never forget Him and His sacrifice for us. Our chapels are dedicated to the worship of Christ and so we do not need to be reminded of who we came to worship. We know why we are there and we know His spirit is there with us.
No reason to be offended, it is simply a different belief. You need reminders in the form of statues. We do not need those things to remind us of Jesus. My mother’s photo has nothing to do with my remembering Jesus, but if it helps Catholics to remember that they are not praying to the images then that is a good thing to tell them to relate to photos of relatives. I have heard the same story repeated often in these threads. It is a good correlation for you, and I told my husband the same story as I heard it here. It helped him, but he said he still always thought he was praying directly to Mary. Oh well, as long as it is clear to you, that is all that really counts. BJ
Sorry, you misunderstood me. I said we do not want our people to be confused as many of your people are. My own husband being one of the confused ones who did not understand that he was not praying to Mary, but asking her to pray for him.
He did not quite understand the concept of praying for a saint or Mary to pray for him and not praying directly to the saint or Mary. I set him straight, from your posts and others in this forum. I know your statues are like photos to you and you are not actually worshiping the statues but using them as remembrance of the persons or dieties they represent. But, it is still misunderstood by other Catholics all over the world, who do not get the concept of the photo.
Our whole church is sacred to us. The chapel is for worshiping God and not for looking at statues and photos. They are not real, they are photos or statues. Only God is real and we worship God and not His statue.
I understand your confusion, because you have been told that statues are only like a photo of the person you are worshiping, and we have been told that we do not want even the possibility that Jesus may think we are worshipping statues, or graven images. In the biblical times God got very mad at people for worshiping statues. So believe as you wish, we are not taking any chances to offend Him.
In our religion, we have direct personal prayer to God and do not have to go through Mary or a saint to pray for us. That is a big difference between our religions. We believe He is our literal Father in Heaven and as such listens to our prayers without any middle persons. We do not need statues to remind us of Him, He is in our hearts and minds constantly and we never forget Him and His sacrifice for us. Our chapels are dedicated to the worship of Christ and so we do not need to be reminded of who we came to worship. We know why we are there and we know His spirit is there with us.
No reason to be offended, it is simply a different belief. You need reminders in the form of statues. We do not need those things to remind us of Jesus. My mother’s photo has nothing to do with my remembering Jesus, but if it helps Catholics to remember that they are not praying to the images then that is a good thing to tell them to relate to photos of relatives. I have heard the same story repeated often in these threads. It is a good correlation for you, and I told my husband the same story as I heard it here. It helped him, but he said he still always thought he was praying directly to Mary. Oh well, as long as it is clear to you, that is all that really counts.
BJ
I
iwonder
Guest
BJ Colbert:
I also use milagros- those funny little body parts you reject.
My house is filled with my family and we talk all day, every day.
The Virgin is alive in spirit and stands ready to help at any time.
I don’t want to mislead you- what I said is true- I do not worship the statue- but I am a human being and not a God, and when my kids are breaking something, or the dog made a mess, and Ifeel like yelling, well, actually I remember whose presence I’m in. And the statues help me to call on them rather than my own strength, which is limited. I will pray for you and your husband. And I hope you will forgive me for being nothingmore than one of those other ignorant Catholics you have met around the world. I just hope that your husband is not deprived of the Blessed Sacrament and the Anointing of the Sick during his illness. I would hope you could try to be big hearted toward us ignorant ones and allow him the comfort of a priest during his illness. See for us, B.J.,Christ in Really Present with us. He is not off in space somewhere, He is here. In all of His healing, all of His love, all of His Wisdom. But that’s just me speaking. You are absolutely guaranteed your freedom to worship whatever you like.
Peace and please don’t be mad at me for being an ignorant Catholic. I’m happy with it though. And so is my husband. He’s more ignorant than me!
Well, actually, B.J. I AM one of those other poor misguided Catholics who pray to saints. I pray TO the Virgin and TO St. Patrick and TO Jesus and TO St. Joseph and all the others.I am sorry you set him straight. The Rosary can be very comforting and helpful during an illness. But that is your business.iwonder,
Sorry, you misunderstood me. I said we do not want our people to be confused as many of your people are. My own husband being one of the confused ones who did not understand that he was not praying to Mary, but asking her to pray for him.
He did not quite understand the concept of praying for a saint or Mary to pray for him and not praying directly to the saint or Mary. I set him straight, from your posts and others in this forum. I know your statues are like photos to you and you are not actually worshiping the statues but using them as remembrance of the persons or dieties they represent. But, it is still misunderstood by other Catholics all over the world, who do not get the concept of the photo.
Our whole church is sacred to us. The chapel is for worshiping God and not for looking at statues and photos. They are not real, they are photos or statues. Only God is real and we worship God and not His statue.
I understand your confusion, because you have been told that statues are only like a photo of the person you are worshiping, and we have been told that we do not want even the possibility that Jesus may think we are worshipping statues, or graven images. In the biblical times God got very mad at people for worshiping statues. So believe as you wish, we are not taking any chances to offend Him.
In our religion, we have direct personal prayer to God and do not have to go through Mary or a saint to pray for us. That is a big difference between our religions. We believe He is our literal Father in Heaven and as such listens to our prayers without any middle persons. We do not need statues to remind us of Him, He is in our hearts and minds constantly and we never forget Him and His sacrifice for us. Our chapels are dedicated to the worship of Christ and so we do not need to be reminded of who we came to worship. We know why we are there and we know His spirit is there with us.
No reason to be offended, it is simply a different belief. You need reminders in the form of statues. We do not need those things to remind us of Jesus. My mother’s photo has nothing to do with my remembering Jesus, but if it helps Catholics to remember that they are not praying to the images then that is a good thing to tell them to relate to photos of relatives. I have heard the same story repeated often in these threads. It is a good correlation for you, and I told my husband the same story as I heard it here. It helped him, but he said he still always thought he was praying directly to Mary. Oh well, as long as it is clear to you, that is all that really counts.
I also use milagros- those funny little body parts you reject.
My house is filled with my family and we talk all day, every day.
The Virgin is alive in spirit and stands ready to help at any time.
I don’t want to mislead you- what I said is true- I do not worship the statue- but I am a human being and not a God, and when my kids are breaking something, or the dog made a mess, and Ifeel like yelling, well, actually I remember whose presence I’m in. And the statues help me to call on them rather than my own strength, which is limited. I will pray for you and your husband. And I hope you will forgive me for being nothingmore than one of those other ignorant Catholics you have met around the world. I just hope that your husband is not deprived of the Blessed Sacrament and the Anointing of the Sick during his illness. I would hope you could try to be big hearted toward us ignorant ones and allow him the comfort of a priest during his illness. See for us, B.J.,Christ in Really Present with us. He is not off in space somewhere, He is here. In all of His healing, all of His love, all of His Wisdom. But that’s just me speaking. You are absolutely guaranteed your freedom to worship whatever you like.
Peace and please don’t be mad at me for being an ignorant Catholic. I’m happy with it though. And so is my husband. He’s more ignorant than me!
- Status