NextElement

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Everything posted by NextElement

  1. "Mormon Culture" was one of the things that originally brought me to learn more about the Church. My best friends are all Mormon, and I've yet to meet guys as pure and devoted to God as them (which is something rare for 18 year old guys). The thing I probably like most about the Church is the social nature of it.... To me, Christ would want his Church to be very active together and supportive of each other. I'm sure the early Church was that way, and the restored Church echoes that!
  2. At my lesson yesterday they said that they love my town because it's the first place they've been where people are actually approaching them and asking them for LDS materials (keep in mind, I live in a Conservative mainly Protestant area).
  3. I'll give you the view of God from my Catholic background (and it's a very hard view to overcome, btw): God is the unmoved mover who created the entire universe and everything in it. He always was and always will be, and is omniscient in every way. Now if you're wondering about the Trinity, I can give you a simple explanation: God is a being, made up of three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Like I said, they are different persons, but of the same substance (consubstantial). No one can say for certain why God did what he did, but we assume he created humans to have something to share his love with that knew right from wrong (created in his image: Free will love, a sense of good and evil).
  4. Had my meeting/lesson with the missionaries today, and all I can say is wow! It was awesome. I'll be attending church next Sunday, and another lesson next week as well!
  5. I think you were actually better off not drinking it. Coke and other soda might seem refreshing, but the caffeine actually dehydrates you further.... Dumb move by the coach lol!
  6. This is the last of the "tough questions" that have been bugging me about the Church, so I figured I'd ask it here before my meetings with the missionaries Wednesday: Can you explain the LDS position on the Fall of Adam and Eve? I was brought up to believe that they were in paradise in the garden, and God told them they could stay as long as they didn't eat the fruit. Eve was tempted by the devil to eat it, and Adam followed, which led to the invention of sin and all of the problems we have as humans today. However, from my research, it seems like Mormons view Adam and Eve eating the fruit as a good thing. How could it be good to knowingly obey Heavenly Father's order, and invent sin? I will admit that all I know of is topic is from the Catholic Answers Forum, which has a notoriously anti-LDS spin.
  7. UPDATE: I've got my first lesson with the missionaries on Wednesday!
  8. Thank you both for your replies! Very informative. I want to make it known that I'm not here to troll or argue, I really am interested in learning more about the Church. I'm actually going back this Sunday! But these are tough questions in the back of my mind that I had to ask before taking any more steps.
  9. Well first, I disagree with the idea that one will = one God. To me, looking from the outside in, it appears you have multiple Gods, and that they also have Gods. If two people on Earth have the same wills that doesn't mean they are the same people. Also, it's hard for me to understand how Heavenly Father's-Fathers would've had the same wills..... That would imply that we then lose our free will when our mortal bodies die. Heavenly Father would've developed some different ideas than his Heavenly Father while he was on Kolob, since he had free will. That would mean once he got his own planet, he would institute those ideas, because he maintains his free will right? So therefore they could have slightly different to radically different wills.
  10. But wouldn't that make them not God from a philosophical standpoint? By definition, God is a being that was not created, he has always been. God also would be outside of our physical universe, by definition. If Heavenly Father was created, that would make him just a more intelligent being, not a God. Or if you are saying that Heavenly Father's Heavenly Father created him, where does that chain end?
  11. Why not worship her? If she is married to Heavenly Father, then isn't she of the same same substance as him and worthy of worship? Maybe I'm looking at it from a Catholic standpoint. In Catholicism, we believe that God the Father is the unmoved mover that began the creation of the universe and is outside of our universe. He always was and always will be, and therefore wasn't once a man or anything like that. That's probably the hardest part for me of accepting LDS teachings: your definition of what a God is is so radically different from mine.
  12. I guess I'll be direct about this question: Do Mormons believe in a Heavenly Mother, who is Heavenly Father's wife? I've heard that it is frowned upon to worship heavenly mother, and that there have been several issues within the LDS about the topic (like the BYU women's studies professor, who encouraged worship of Heavenly Mother). How can you justify worshipping one but not the other? And if Heavenly Father really came to Earth and conceived Jesus with Mary, wasn't he "cheating" on Heavenly Mother? This is a subject that's been bothering me since I found it..... Looking forward to answers!
  13. They actually just started their mission about two weeks ago, so I may have been one of the first to actually approach them!
  14. SGMan, I too am thinking about converting. What made you take that final step?
  15. Was driving home last evening, and some guys with backpacks and white shirts! I thought "well, they're either Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons!" So I stopped in the middle of road and asked them. They looked really confused and said Mormon, so I just gave them a thumbs up..... As I was driving back I got a sudden urge to turn around and go talk to them. So long story short, I ran them down and we talked and they gave me a pamphlet and a Book of Mormon! Looking forward to reading them!
  16. Ahh okay, that clears it up. So what exactly is the process after baptism?
  17. If someone were to convert to Mormonism after age 18, would they automatically be considered in the Melchizidek (sorry about spelling) a Priesthood after their baptism? It seems odd that they'd automatically be given that "rank" and authority so quickly.
  18. Curious: What exactly is "Moroni's Challenge"? I've heard it being used here and there in regards to conversion or seeing if the BOM is true. Can someone explain it?
  19. Well, I really enjoyed it actually! It was nice to get out of the routine of Catholic mass and see how your church operates. Sacrament meeting was a little boring honestly, but Sunday school and Young Men's class were awesome. I can't say I've been changed or anything like that, I'm still a devout Catholic, but I wouldn't mind going again.
  20. Wow, great replies so far! Just an interesting tidbit: I found a Mormon lady online who was from Mexico. Her father was of Aztec descent, and they converted to LDS because her father said he would always hear stories passed down orally of a "great white God" who visited the people long ago and would one day return..... Jesus perhaps?
  21. Thanks for the replies so far, it means a lot. One thing that you both mentioned and that every Mormon seems to mention is praying and asking if the Book of Mormon and what Joseph Smith taught were the truth..... Can I ask you how you both went about doing this? Did you literally just pray and say "Lord, is this true?"? Did you read through the BOM and feel the Holy Spirit? In regards to the archaeology, it is important to me. I came to accept my beliefs as a Catholic and Christian by using a fair amount of reason along with faith. For example, history and archaeology Jerusalem was a major city. The Pharisees were a major religious group. There was a man name Jesus who was born in Nazareth and crucified by the Romans. There is a good amount of physical evidence...... With the BOM, I feel as if that evidence is lacking.
  22. Hello! I'm new to these forums but glad I've found them. I'm an 18 year old Catholic who has many Mormon friends, and had some questions on the faith. I guess I'll be direct and just ask: 1. How can you be so sure that Joseph Smith was a prophet, had the vision, and didn't just make up the Book of Mormon? 2. What archaeological proof is there in the Americas that the Nephites and Lamanites existed, and had these great cultures that were destroyed? Also, what would you say to the critics who claim that there is no evidence of Jewish tribes coming to the Americas, and that several things mentioned in the BOM weren't around (steel, swords, horses, cattle, etc)? 3. What Bible verses lead you to believe that God would send another prophet after Jesus? Do these contradict other verses saying he is the last prophet? 4. What is your belief on the Trinity? Do you believe that each aspect of it is a separate being? 5. I've heard rumors that Mormons believe God lives on another planet, and that humans can eventually become a God of their own planet..... Wouldn't that contradict the definition of a God? Or is this is widely held belief? 6. What advice do you have for attending a Mormon service? I'll be going with a friend this Sunday. Thanks!