If Joseph Smith were really a prophet you wouldn’t have much choice but to follow his doctrine. Catholic doctrine can seem confusing to a non-Catholic. Mormons would probably point out that our Catholic doctrine of the Trinity seems confusing. I believe the only valid way of understanding who Christ is is through the doctrine of the Trinity, but others wouldn’t see it the way I see it. The Book of Mormon exposes as false Joseph Smith’s claim to be a prophet.
I hear what you’re saying. The Trinity was very difficult for me to grasp when I first became a Christian too. Unfortunately, the church I was attending at that time was preaching hell, fire, and brimstone to the point where I couldn’t hear the message of Gods Love. So I settled for the religion that was most “familiar” to me (LDS) and tried to make sense of it. Without any confirmation from God that it was true I had to take other peoples word for it. I didn’t know any better. I didn’t stop praying to know God’s truth though, and now, like you, I understand that God is an eternal relationship of Persons. God is still a mystery, but the Trinity does makes sense with what has been revealed through Jesus Christ.
Which Smith fraud is the most defining? Book of Mormon? Book of Abraham? Kinderhook plates? Polygamy? His many cons and criminal activities?
I think all of those things qualify, but except for polygamy none of them is doctrinal. And frankly, if he had followed his actual revelation on polygamy which required him to marry only virgins approved by Emma he would have been better off even on that. Joseph contradicted his own calling as a prophet by not heeding his own “prophetic” words about polygamy. He married the wives of other men and married women without Emma knowing about it. He really didn’t seem to believe in his own teachings if it was inconvenient for him to do so. Not much of a prophet.
Joseph married both Emily Dow Partridge and her sister, Eliza M. Partridge. He also married Maria Lawrence and her younger sister, Sarah. He also married Sylvia sessions and then married Sylvia’s aunt Patty Bartlett Sessions, both of whom were already married.
BoA is doctrinal.
Now that I have removed any identifying information from my profile,
I am comfortable with agreeing with such honesty. 
Yup, and it’s a real gem too. I’m kind of surprised that nobody has explored that one yet.BoA is doctrinal.
Sorry to bore you, Zerinus, though i’m not offended. I do wonder why you ask me to ask the Holy Spirit for answers to my questions and then yawn when i tell you what He had to say. It gives the impression that you either do not believe God speaks, or you have no concern for what He has to say to me.
Thank you Socrates. You have forced me to go back and have a quick read of your posts!Sorry to bore you, Zerinus, though i’m not offended. I do wonder why you ask me to ask the Holy Spirit for answers to my questions and then yawn when i tell you what He had to say. It gives the impression that you either do not believe God speaks, or you have no concern for what He has to say to me.
I’d be interested in know whether you think the words i believe the Holy Spirit actually spoke to me (that i recorded in the four posts) are really from Him or from another source, and why.
After reading it, my conclusion is that it is not a true conversation that you have had with the Holy Ghost. It is something that you have created out of our own mind, thinking that that is how a conversation with the Holy Ghost should go. But it is not valid conversation with the Spirit. I recall that once we had another conversation together in post #629, which went as follows:That was, and still remains, my answer to your question.Socrates4Jesus;3333007:
The way that the Lord has outlined for knowing the truth of the Book of Mormon is to read it impartially and with an open mind, with a sincere desire to know and obey the truth, and ask the Lord in faith to reveal the truth of it to you; which if you do, the promise is that God will reveal the truth of it to you by the power of the Holy Ghost. If your answer is substantially different from that, it is probably the wrong one.
zerinus
Thanks for your frank opinion, Zerinus. However, you have failed to answer my question. I asked that if you did not believe it is the Holy Spirit speaking to me, that you would explain why you do not believe this.Thank you Socrates. You have forced me to go back and have a quick read of your posts!
That was, and still remains, my answer to your question.
zerinus
LOL!Beautiful. This gave me goosebumps! Is that rational?
God bless you!
Tami
I do not have an explanation for that I am afraid. That is my personal opinion. You are free to disagree with it if you like.
We believe that He does. God’s promises are sure, and will be fulfilled. There are millions of LDS who can testify to that. But I cannot comment on individual cases.
Yes, Zerinus, but your opinion, or my opinion for that matter, does not matter. What does matter is the opinion of God, for His opinion is always true.
I can testify to people reading The Book of Mormon and being bored out of their mind too.
This is a good time to quote an American national treasure, Mark Twain, speaking about the Book of Mormon:I can testify to people reading The Book of Mormon and being bored out of their mind too.
Surely The Creator of The Universe could write something that wasn’t so boring.
I’ve also heard that it is in the top 5 of the worlds most boring books along with Mien Kampf and Mao’s Little Red Book.
