Investigator1

are there stories of various Prophets physically meeting with Christ, besides the one you listed? I vaguely remembered reading something like that, but can't find it anywhere.

I'm really fascinated by the continuation of the offices of Apostle and Prophet in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What does it mean that Apostles are special witnesses of Christ? Also, I have randomly read on other forums about how Prophets may meet with Christ at times, or Christ appears in the Salt Lake Temple, etc. Is there anywhere where I can read about this? Does this happen in the Holy of Holies in the Salt Lake Temple? Are there stories of Christ or angels appearing in the Salt Lake Temple? Thanks!

YES. I randomly watch BYU-TV, but it really isn't equivalent to EWTN. Suprisingly (at least to me), one of my friends from high school told me yesterday that her family decided to inquire about the LDS Church based on one of the commercials. They then converted.

One of the great aspects of the Restored Gospel is the restoration of the use of temples. After much reading on the subject (admittedly this is what began my interest in the LDS Church), I have come to the conclusion that the temple is in fact a restoration of a concept that exist since Old Testament times. My question is, how soon after baptism can one begin to attend the temple to participate in baptisms for the dead? I know you have to wait a year to receive your endowment. Being baptized on behalf of my grandfather is something I would be very excited to do. Also, when you go to the temple, is it always for a specific purpose, such as sealing, baptism for the dead, or the endowment? Can one go to the temple (after being endowed and having a full recommend) and sit in the celestial room in pray for example, or is it always for one of the ordinances?

Does the LDS Church believe that God the Father was once a man? I know that various prophets have spoken on this issue, and President Hinckley kind of left it in a vague area during an interview. Also, Joseph Smith said in the King Follett discourse that God the Father was once as we are, and is an exalted man. How should I interpret this? I know that LDS believe that God will always be our God, and Jesus always our Savior, even through our own exaltation. However, how do you interpret these statements about the Heavenly Father being once a man? What is the basis for this belief, and do we find this among the early Christians? Out of all the believes about the Godhead, this is probably the most difficult to accept, as I have found much evidence historically for the LDS views on the nature of God, and prayer has helped. Thanks!

So I am close to deciding to take the steps necessary to convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS! How should one go about this? Should I ask the missionaries to come to my home and they will start that process? Also, I feel a little uncomfortable inviting the missionaries to my home, as I leave with 3 other guys (I'm a student), and I think it would be uncomfortable for them (2 are Catholic, the other is nothing), and I don't feel like revealing my decision to them at this time. Do missionaries give their lessons in other locations, or is it just normal for them to go to your home? What should I do if this would just be an awkward situation? Thanks!

and remember you can read it online in the meantime. Scriptures That's what I'm doing, as I left my copy at home and I'm not there right now.

Many religions claim to have examples of various miracles that point towards God, whether it's the various Marian apparitions in the Catholic Church or the Holy Fire miracle that apparently occurs every year for the Orthodox Church (and of course the most important miracle in these churches, the transformation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus). Now, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has had miraculous events from its beginning, with the appearance of God the Father and Jesus Christ to Joseph Smith, and afterward various Biblical figures and angels. What is the Church's view on more recent miracles? Does the LDS Church have views on miracles? Is there phenomenon that occurs in the LDS Church that helps to point towards God, etc.? There are all these stories of weeping icons and statues, apparitions, Holy Fire, saintly intercession, etc. in these other churches, and I was wondering if there are similar stories and miracles that occur in the LDS Church. Thanks!

tonight I'm going to start reading the Book of Mormon :)

Thanks for your views. I think my issue with these explanations is that it's taking a more "logical" approach to theology and I guess I'm a little wary at this point. I definitely do not look for explanations or examples of every doctrine in the Bible, especially being a Catholic, where it is believed that the Church came before the Bible, and while everything might not be explicitly stated in the Bible, none of their beliefs contradict anything in the Bible, and can find examples in written history of continuity of belief. So as far as the belief in the Heavenly Mother, while it may seem logical that because we are male and female, the Divine should be the same (especially because of being made in [their] image?), I guess what I am also looking for is just historical writings that show that the first Christians believed in a Heavenly Mother. So my real concerns at this point are the historical basis of the Restoration in relation to the early Christians. While I realize that some practices find correlations with those early Christians, I think that basic restored beliefs, such as in a Heavenly Mother, should be evidenced in those early times, and it doesn't necessarily have to be in the Bible, as from a historic Christian point of view (Catholic, Orthodox, etc), sola scriptura is a false belief. Sorry for all of these questions, I'll take the mod's advice and separate some questions into other threads. Also, are the missionaries versed in historical analysis of the Restoration? I guess I see the missionaries as not having comparatively analyzed the Restored beliefs with those of the first questions, especially on the "major" differences between Traditional and Mormon Christianity. Thus I come here:D

I have not yet been meeting with the missionaries. I think I would request meeting with them once I have a fairly good idea of what I'm looking for, and if the LDS Church has a good chance of offering that, which I am leaning towards.

Thanks for the reply! I will read the Liahona article and read the Doctrine of God and the Nature of Man chapter in Restoring the Ancient Church to gain a fuller view on LDS doctrine on God. What do you mean by the temple rites are a restoration? Did the first Christians build temples, and practice all of the temple rites? I guess the two that I am focusing on are sealing and the endowment. Baptism for the dead is an interesting one, and I've always seen 1 Cor 15:29 referenced in relation to it, but this seems to be the only evidence for it. I think there's a "new" book about that Bible verse and the baptism for the dead practice, I'll look into that. Can you point me in the direction of Bible verses or 1st century Christian writings that show a practice of endowment like rituals? Does anyone have any views on the real presence vs. symbolic nature of "the Sacrament"? If I do convert, I think this would be a main issue, as Catholicism puts such a large emphasis on Communion, and other historic Churches, as mentioned above, do as well. They don't use the word Transubstantiation (this is a Catholic attempt to define what actually happens), but they all believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the bread and wine, and leave the explanation as a Mystery of God. Ok so belief in the Heavenly Mother is a restored belief. What evidences are there that the first Christians believed in a Heavenly Mother? I will definitely read the Book of Mormon soon. It seems that once I sort out these historical issues I have, that will lead me closer to the LDS Church, but at least for me being an academic and being baptized in a historical Church, these issues are important to me, especially if the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claims to restore original beliefs that are not held by churches that claim to be 2000 years old, especially with the Orthodox Church, which claims to continue beliefs from the first Christians without any addition or subtraction. Thanks!

Hi all, this is my first post:) I've recently become interested in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and am still trying to figure out whether or not conversion is the right thing for me. I've been a Catholic from birth, and love liturgical worship and the stories of visits by angels, Mary, etc. I do know that the weekly worship service for LDS isn't liturgical, though the temple ordinances intrigue me. I haven't read the Book of Mormon yet, though I do have a copy (I've actually had it for over 5 years, when I first became vaguely interested in the CoJCoLDS). I've done a lot of reading, both of the LDS website, jeff lindsay's website, Mormonism for Dummies, and I still need to finish Restoring the Ancient Church. I've also read some ex-Mormon websites, seeing what their issues were with the LDS church. So while I am very intrigued by Mormon beliefs and practices (and the culture and community are really fascinating and attractive), I still am not sure if it is where I should be, if it has the fullness of Truth and the Catholic Church doesn't, etc. I am especially drawn to study based on historical proofs of ancient Christian faith. So what I am asking for is if anyone can provide me with further resources that explore the continuity of the LDS Church with the first Christians. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints claims to be a "restoration"; therefore it should be able to show that their beliefs continue those of the first Christians. The areas that I am specifically looking for more information on are: 1) the nature of God is really an issue for me. Of course I've grown up with the Trinity, and I know that the LDS church teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three separate beings/Gods united in purpose. Trinitarian churches, such as the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, claim that Trinitarianism was professed from the beginning of Christianity, and that the Creeds from various Councils were defined to reject various heresies that began to arise (in fact, the purpose of church Councils in these two churches is to protect the Church from heresies by explicitly stating doctrines). Where can I find further proof that the LDS belief on the nature of God is the historical one (aka the restored belief)? Also, what of the belief that God has a body like ours (sometimes "flesh and bones" is also added to this)? 2) The endowment is a uniquely Mormon ordinance, and while it does sound based in Biblical covenant making practices with God, is the endowment supposed to be viewed as a restored practice? Or is it a "newer" practice based on restored ideals (such as covenant making)? 3) Did the early Christians believe in the "real presence" in the communion elements? It seems that the older churches, such as the Catholic, Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Armenian, etc. Churches all profess belief in the real presence of Christ in the bread and wine, as the Body and Blood of Christ. What is the LDS view on the historicity of this claim? As a related issue, liturgical churches tend to provide evidence that the early Christians were liturgical, and had worship formats just like theirs (though the actual liturgies (specifically the words) used might be different). What is the LDS view on the restoration of worship services? 4) Is the belief in the Heavenly Mother a restored belief? Is there evidence that the first Christians believed in Her? 5) Did the early Christians practice ordinances for the dead? Is this really a restored practice? I think those are the main issues I have at this time. I REALLY want to believe that Joseph Smith did restore the ancient church, as I am really drawn to the community offered by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The beliefs on Heaven are also very beautiful. However my issues lie in the realm of history. The Catholic and Orthodox Churches are deeply rooted in history, and their apologetics tend to provide a lot of evidence for continuity of faith, especially the Orthodox Church. Because we have so much writing and relics from the beginnings of Christianity, it seems that there should be a way to provide evidences for the LDS church restoring original Christian beliefs. The view of continued revelation is great, and can be seen as a way to show the continued power of God in the world, however it seems that this can be used as a way to explain away beliefs that might be harder to prove as "restored" beliefs. So if anyone can help me with these questions, as well as point me in the direction of further LDS apologetics related to history, that would be great! Thanks.