Teancum18

The answer is simple: Duty. Something can't be real if it's not your strongest sense of duty that you feel.

Well, Christ did say in the New Testament that we are Gods. And He was quoting Himself from the Old Testament.

Well, at least that makes a little.... more sense.

I have actually been told several times that people can't believe I believe the church to be true. haha... on my mission, I was known as Elder [last name], the first to Heaven or the first to Heck. Anyway, here's why: 1) I am a cynic by nature 2) I doubt everything and believe very little of what I'm told. I actually don't believe in most people outside of my parents and the General Authorities. 3) Everyone in my life admits that they really don't know how deep my malice runs. Nor do they want to. 4) I've been told that my blood is cold as ice 5) I like to tear people's beliefs down; not because that's truly what I want- it's not. But, rather because I want to see what others' beliefs are made of. Some of you are probably thinking, "Geez... I can only imagine the spiritual experience he must have had to believe in the Church." Truthfully, there has never been much of one. I've just always known. Never needed more than that. :)

This is what I have been counseled. Always take the Sacrament unless specifically told not to by a Bishop, Branch President, or Stake President. I don't believe any bishop would do this. This is either a rumor, or a misinterpretation of what really happened. And on the very jacked up case that it did, if it did, I guarantee you that Bishop was reprimanded or removed quickly.

Perhaps. In my opinion, it's still monotheistic for two major reasons: 1) We worship God the Father as the God of our world. Jesus Christ is the Savior, but still did the will of the Father, therefore worshiping the Father in Christ. Christ Himself says that He gives all the glory unto the Father. The Holy Ghost just bears record of the Father. 2) The god head was decreed by Heavenly Father. So we are only doing what He has commanded us to do. It wasn't Christ or the Holy Ghost that established or declared the god head, but only the Father. So we are still doing what only He has commanded us to you. Does that make sense?

Monotheistic in that we worship one God, the Eternal Father; His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. Polytheistic in that we believe that there are other Gods, just as Christ said so Himself in the New Testament, and Paul taught in his epistles. For all intents and purposes, we are polytheistic when it comes to our beliefs. However, we are very monotheistic when it comes to our worship.

This is fantastic! I'm loving this! Thank you everyone. I actually feel like I am back at the Council of Nicea (hopefully everyone gets the insinuation there). Actually, it's very clearly defined in numerous accounts. This is precisely why Joseph Smith needed to be approached by both Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. In the early 1800's, the religious growth in the new America was abundant and overwhelming. In all of His infinite wisdom, Heavenly Father had to appear to Joseph Smith with His beloved son on His right-hand side. Now bear in mind, back then, no one had even conceived the notion of the two being separate beings. I would be inclined to believe that if Joseph Smith wanted to make that story up, he would have done it according to the popular belief of the time. The account would have gone as follows: "Joseph, I am God; hear me roar!" So for Joseph Smith to give the account he did is truly one aspect that signifcantly adds to the validity of the story. Could Joseph Smith had made the whole thing up and conceived the story from his own imagination? Possibly. At the age of 14 with a third grade education? Highly unlikely (especially considering the fact that children back in those days were discouraged to think for themselves and were punished greatly when they did). And even if he did come up with all of that on his own, would he have gone through tarring and feathering, beatings, incarceration, and ultimately death; all for a fantasy he made up? Absolutely not! Fortunately for Joseph, he wasn't the first to have this experience. May I remind you all of Stephen seeing Jesus on the right hand of God (Acts 7:55-57); the voice that John the Baptisit heard when he doused Chris in the river Jordan, "Behold my beloved Son..." (Matthew 3:16-17); Paul's epistle to Timothy regarding the mediation between God and man, and how another man was needed, he being Christ (1 Timothy 2:5). Above all, why would blasphemy against the Holy Ghost be the only unforgivable sin, but not blasphemy against God or Christ if they were the same person? (Matthew 12:31-32) All scriptures in the Bible that argue God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are the same being are subject to interpretation. However, actual eye-witness accounts of visually seeing two different beings is not subjective or open to interpretation. They are exactly what they are: eye-witnesses. Don't forget John 8:16-18. Some very interesting points were posed here. It actually proves that Christ cannot be the same as God the Father. How can a being be prayed to if He is refered to by one title, but not by another. New rule for Teancum18! Everyone on this site may only talk to me if, and ONLY IF, they refer to me as Teancum18. If you refer to me by my real name, I won't answer or even read what you right. You see, I have an identity complex. I'm not sure if I'm one person or three. So to clarify the matter for the time being, you must refer to me as Teancum18 if you wish to talk to me. I'm sorry, but I don't believe this story actually happened. I don't like the way I felt when I read this part, and the feeling holds true now as I reflect on it. I'm very sorry, I don't mean to accuse you, but I must be honest; I just don't get a good feeling about it. You are absolutely right. That's why there are over 50k missionaries in the world. In regard to the publications out there regarding the Trinity, many of them don't really talk about the Trinity, but rather poor, inadequate ways in which it was conceived. (I almost didn't say that after all the ways WiseMagic12312 was verbally ravaged for mentioning it, but I felt I had to.) I hope you don't feel attacked, Sergg. I am actually trying to make sense of your doctoral-level writing by attempting to carry a conversation with it; whether for or against. I hope you can see that. Wait, wasn't Christ conceived in the womb of Mary and given birth to? How can traditional monotheistic beliefs hold true to the notion of a God that was not birthed? Wait! Before you respond with, "That was just the body he had on this Earth," let me say this. Acts 1:11 testifies that the same "Christ shall come again in like manner as ye have seen him go." So if He is in the same temporal body at His second coming, that He was given at the time of birth, wouldn't that constitute a being that is made of flesh and bone (Luke 24:39), meaning that he was given birth to? I second that notion. Exactly! Since I am created in God's image, I am multple people in one! That's precisely why everyone on these forums are no longer allowed to speak to me unless they call me by Teancum18, and no other name. I don't mean to be rude, I just don't want to create any confusion. I really like where all this is going. I wasn't hopeful at first about this thread based on the first couple of posts; for all intents and purposes, those people were right. However, I'm glad it still took off. I would like to see more points of the LDS God Head challenged by LDS people and non-LDS people.

Welcome to lds.net. As with everyone else who is new here, I hope you enjoy your stay and post as often as you can.

I know I am posting a lot of welcome messages, but I meant it to you just as much as the next person. Enjoy your stay here and have fun.

Welcome to LDS.net. I hope you enjoy your stay here and post often.

Welcome! I hope you have fun here!

Welcome! Enjoy your stay here.

PrisonChaplin said something in the welcome threads that really got me thinking about starting a brainstorming discussion about the God Head (I'm just going to refer to it as that since I'm LDS). But for all intents and purposes, however other members from different faiths refer to it is still precisely what I want to discuss here. This is what PC said. Now, I'm sure this goes without any necessity to mention because PC is an all-time favorite on lds.net/forums, but I will still say it out of respect: I am not quoting him to put him on the spot or attack him. On the contrary, he poses a really good point and I want to discuss it. I'm still not entirely sure where I want to go with this thread, but I definitely want it to be one that discuses the complexity of the God Head (or Trinity, ect as others will refer to it). Scriptures, doctrine, personal opinions- all are fair game as contributions that may lead to this discussion (LDS people, please remember Alma 12:9) I definitely want questions asked, ideas challenged, new ideas posed; all in an attempt to find common ground between all faiths as to the nature of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. One last thing, if you read this thread and think it's stupid, please don't just ignore it. Work with it. Help me find ways to make this a good discussion. There are some very intelligent people on this forum site, and I want to see what all of us putting our heads together can accomplish in regards to finding a common-ground belief of the God Head. :::EDIT::: Thank you to the person who moved this thread for me.

Welcome aboard buddy!