Why would anyone want to be a Mormon or Jehovah Witnesses?

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RebeccaJ said:
In the face of real, tangible, evidence, perhaps what we see is your feelings don’t align to reality. So, I can’t say the idea is persuasion, but an attempt to draw out an answer to the OP. To say “I feel”, is not a rational response, but one that can be given for any number of things to believe, based on feeling. If we perceive that your feelings don’t align to reality, then the idea here is, you should be able to explain how those feelings do align to reality.

God created us as rational creatures, able to reason, and so it is evident to us that rational thought and feelings don’t need to be in conflict. Quite the opposite, we don’t believe God is such a trickster as to want us to believe for the sake of believing, only based on a feeling, while ignoring reason.

Feelings are very subjective, which is what a delve into one’s life and circumstances helps to flesh out. What is subjective and what is objective.

For myself, the object of by my faith is Jesus Christ. Not a book that I feel good about.
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Well said.
 
NeuroTypical said:
I have never, ever in my 35 active years as a mormon, ever been taught “I get to be a God on my own planet” Not in any Sunday school lesson, or priesthood quorum, or temple session. Not in any bishopric meeting, or fireside, or hallway discussion. I’ve never seen it in any church literature. I’ve only heard it from critics, and maybe a mormon or two speculating about what the eternities must be like, since the Bible tells us Christ inherited everything the Father hath, and we can be joint heirs with Christ.

We are taught about exhaltation. I know you guys don’t believe it. I know y’all think it’s false doctrine, and feel the need now to counter the notion, and that’s fine. I’m just sticking it out there because it’s what we are actually taught - and not the goofy sensationalistic “eternal sex with a million wives on your own planet” nonsense people keep telling me I am taught.

LDS Gospel Principles manual chapter 47: Exhaltation
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I was taught we would become a God and “Do as we have seen our Father Do”…which would mean a planet, etc
 
I can tell you why yo become LDS…the closeness of the members, the camaraderie, the focus on family, morals, values. I am a guy who has never smoked done drugs or drank alcohol…the church seemed tailor-made for me.

It was not till I was deep into it that I found the false and scary doctrines.

But there is much to like about the Church…
 
mathonihah said:
Where is this Sufi guy anyways? He has started the thread and then disappeared. Not very courteous to forum members is it, to start a thread and then disappear! If he is not interested in the subject, why did he start the discussion?
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Because, it was a red herring, a false lead to get people to argue. He wasn’t interested in the differences or the why or why not of it all. The purpose was probably get us discussing JW or Mormons which both have some parallels to Islam. (yes I see that you are LDS). I think he might have left when he saw that Catholic Christians are not the idiots that he thinks we are and maybe know a thing or to about our own faith and differences with brake off sects that deny the trinity of God which Islam does.
 
robwar said:
Because, it was a red herring, a false lead to get people to argue. He wasn’t interested in the differences or the why or why not of it all. The purpose was probably get us discussing JW or Mormons which both have some parallels to Islam. (yes I see that you are LDS). I think he might have left when he saw that Catholic Christians are not the idiots that he thinks we are and maybe know a thing or to about our own faith and differences with brake off sects that deny the trinity of God which Islam does.
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Actually I have been looking at his posts in other threads where he has been engaging in debates with Catholics. But his activities on the forums seem to have come to an end a few days ago, and since then ha has not posted. It seems that his interest in the forum flared briefly and then subsided.
 
I personally was born into the faith and really have found no ill while in it. I’m questioning whether its the true church or not but the church itself is not evil (IMO) There’s a sense of “family” in the LDS church and many people are drawn to it. When I was in Ireland serving my mission, a lot of the people loved the fact that the LDS church seemed like a community of families rather than random people going to church. I’m not saying the LDS church is the one true church but it has many good qualities and teaches its followers to do good. I don’t see why so many people hate the LDS faith.
 
mathonihah said:
Actually I have been looking at his posts in other threads where he has been engaging in debates with Catholics. But his activities on the forums seem to have come to an end a few days ago, and since then ha has not posted. It seems that his interest in the forum flared briefly and then subsided.
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People get busy, doesn’t mean they won’t be back. 🙂
 
TheIrishman said:
I personally was born into the faith and really have found no ill while in it. I’m questioning whether its the true church or not but the church itself is not evil (IMO) There’s a sense of “family” in the LDS church and many people are drawn to it. When I was in Ireland serving my mission, a lot of the people loved the fact that the LDS church seemed like a community of families rather than random people going to church. I’m not saying the LDS church is the one true church but it has many good qualities and teaches its followers to do good. I don’t see why so many people hate the LDS faith.
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I’ve never met someone who was never affiliated with LDS to state he or she hated it. In my (admittedly limited) experience people who rabidly and angrily disparage LDS are former Mormons who have very negative feelings about their experiences.

I don’t want to be insulting, but I tend to talk to a Mormon about their religion like I would talk to someone in an abusive relationship. Railing against their foolishness and blindness to the situation they’re in will only drive them further into it. And as another example, some fundie telling me that I am a consort for the whore of Babylon wouldn’t make me rip off my scapula. I’d just cling to it harder.

As a total outsider to LDS who’s read a whole lot about it in a obsessive way, I know for a solid fact I know more about Mormonism than the Tabernacle Choir. (I also know far far more about Scientology than people who signed a billion year contract to serve that church.) I keep comparing the two religions for a reason. They both engage in cult-like behavior, though Scientology is solidly a cult: there’s no gray area, it’s a cult. And I think it’s important to point out that both L.Ron Hubbard and Joseph Smith borrowed ideas for their religious texts from previously published books. Joesph Smith was inspired by View of the Hebrews and The Wonder of Nature, and L.Ron Hubbard drew inspiration from… The Book of Mormon.

There is a TON of information out there for people who’d like to look into the history of Mormonism, and I’m definitely not qualified to point out discrepancies between verifiable history and LDS doctrine. And I also don’t think it’s necessary to challenge people unsolicited about Mormonism. The one true enemy of Mormonism isn’t Satan or Gentiles or apostates. It’s information. Like Scientology, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Exclusive Brethren, etc., their numbers are dropping because of a new access to information that the churches can no longer control. Before the internet Mormons only got LDS information from their bishops and priestholders. Now they can google, and once they have the desire to take off the blinders they were trained to wear to avoid subversive information they’ll leave on their own. Mormons are intelligent people and they don’t need our help unless they ask for it.
 
TheIrishman said:
I personally was born into the faith and really have found no ill while in it. I’m questioning whether its the true church or not but the church itself is not evil (IMO) There’s a sense of “family” in the LDS church and many people are drawn to it. When I was in Ireland serving my mission, a lot of the people loved the fact that the LDS church seemed like a community of families rather than random people going to church. I’m not saying the LDS church is the one true church but it has many good qualities and teaches its followers to do good. I don’t see why so many people hate the LDS faith.
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I know it may seem like some of us hate it…but I, for one, do not. Like I said, there is much to like about it, and I miss aspects of it.

We hate false doctrine.
 
mathonihah said:
Thank you; but I don’t think there is anything I could say that would persuade you, nor anything that you could say that would persuade me, so I don’t see much point in continuing the discussion.
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Do you not want to continue because you have nothing to back up your beliefs? Also, why would you believe in and follow a man and what he says he thinks is correct? Do you not realize that in order for your church to work or any other restorationist church to work Christ must have failed the first time? Christ doesnt fail, men do. And men will change Gods Words to fullfill their needs and wants. Do you not see that Christ cannot fail and will never fail?
 
TexanKnight said:
I know it may seem like some of us hate it…but I, for one, do not. Like I said, there is much to like about it, and I miss aspects of it.

We hate false doctrine.
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I can definitely agree with that, I mean, who doesn’t hate false doctrine. It’s just a little disheartening when you grow up being told one thing and come to find out that there is a better thing out there. I believe that some aspects of the LDS church are built on truth, but not all of it. Thats what’s led me to come here and seek answers.

Also, I love my family to death. They will undoubtedly stay LDS and that does not make them evil in my eyes. When I see someone attacking the LDS doctrine and faith itself, I have no problem with it. But it’s when they attack and mock the followers of the faith that I begin to get defensive. My parents are the most kindest and quite frankly, some of the most smartest individuals I have ever met in my life. Just because someone is a member of a different sect then you (and i’m not talking about you TexanKnight) that does not give you the right to mock them and call them out. We need to learn to love and respect our brothers and sisters in Christ and hope for the best. Eventually the church of the devil will be revealed and fall. Don’t you think those that were caught in it’s web want comfort and sympathy and a warmth embrace from the followers of Christ church? Instead of being mocked and being told, “i told you so! how could anyone be a part of “that” church!”. Eventually, the light of Christ will reveal the true church to all.
 
TheIrishman said:
I can definitely agree with that, I mean, who doesn’t hate false doctrine. It’s just a little disheartening when you grow up being told one thing and come to find out that there is a better thing out there. I believe that some aspects of the LDS church are built on truth, but not all of it. Thats what’s led me to come here and seek answers.

Also, I love my family to death. They will undoubtedly stay LDS and that does not make them evil in my eyes. When I see someone attacking the LDS doctrine and faith itself, I have no problem with it. But it’s when they attack and mock the followers of the faith that I begin to get defensive. My parents are the most kindest and quite frankly, some of the most smartest individuals I have ever met in my life. Just because someone is a member of a different sect then you (and i’m not talking about you TexanKnight) that does not give you the right to mock them and call them out. We need to learn to love and respect our brothers and sisters in Christ and hope for the best. Eventually the church of the devil will be revealed and fall. Don’t you think those that were caught in it’s web want comfort and sympathy and a warmth embrace from the followers of Christ church? Instead of being mocked and being told, “i told you so! how could anyone be a part of “that” church!”. Eventually, the light of Christ will reveal the true church to all.
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often, what is posted seems like mocking. It isn’t.

It was very hard for me to leave the LDS Church. Losing my testimony was one of the worst days of my life
 
TexanKnight said:
often, what is posted seems like mocking. It isn’t.

It was very hard for me to leave the LDS Church. Losing my testimony was one of the worst days of my life
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I believe you.

How did losing your testimony in the LDS church compare with your gaining of one in the Catholic Church?
 
  1. Poor understanding of their faith - this applies mostly to poorly catechized Catholics
  2. Lack of knowledge of early Christianity (and falling for the claim of an Apostasy)
  3. Ignorance/Vulnerability
  4. They really think they’ll get their own planet to become a :“god” of.
 
TheIrishman said:
That’s a pretty neat experience!
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Yes…it was.

I was a very devout Mormon. I was baptized when I was 22. I graduated college and had a job and fiance when called to my mission. I sold all I had and went on my mission when I was 24. Came back and served in the bishopric and EQ presidency. When I lost my testimony, it was devastating. I floundered several years. When I found the Catholic Church it was like Christ pulled me out of the angry sea like He did Peter and carried me to dry land.

I wish you the best…
 
kimg901 said:
Do you not want to continue because you have nothing to back up your beliefs? Also, why would you believe in and follow a man and what he says he thinks is correct? Do you not realize that in order for your church to work or any other restorationist church to work Christ must have failed the first time? Christ doesnt fail, men do. And men will change Gods Words to fullfill their needs and wants. Do you not see that Christ cannot fail and will never fail?
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No, you have failed, Christ hasn’t failed. Apostasy is a failure of man, not if God.
 
TexanKnight said:
often, what is posted seems like mocking. It isn’t.

It was very hard for me to leave the LDS Church. Losing my testimony was one of the worst days of my life
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I can believe it. Gaining a testimony was the greatest day of my life.
 
mathonihah said:
No, you have failed, Christ hasn’t failed. Apostasy is a failure of man, not if God.
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Your kidding right? Your prophet said that Jesus & God told him all churches had it wrong right? Now Jesus gave us His Church in 33 A.D. So how does He go back to the 1800’s and tell smith that all churches had it wrong? Christ did not fail like your prophet said he did. You know the verse in which Christ told Peter, why would He lie?
 
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