Francine

There is a line of men who have been taught to listen to the voice of the LORD, the bible calls them sons of God. You say they are all descendants of Adam and Eve, and that is your belief. How you accord that belief with evidence that the human race is millions of years old (rather than 6,000 years) is up to you. If you take that approach, then all men were taught to listen to the voice of the LORD by Adam, but some fell away, which prefigures the apostasy. Where in scripture does God go through the trouble of setting up a negative outcome as a type-antitype pair? In my belief, God called out from the multitude of men one single family of men (the line of Adam-Seth-Enoch-Noah etc) and taught them to listen to his word. This prefigures the calling of Abraham, of Moses, the priesthood of Aaron, of all the prophets, and of the Church in general. This belief allows for evolution and an old earth, but it also explains where Cain got his wife, and how he built a whole city in only a few generations...not all the citizens were from his loins.

Catholics are very different from Mormons. They believe the one God is three Persons, and that only this Holy Trinity existed from eternity, not a progression of gods. They do not believe in the pre-existence of souls. They believe that eternal separation from God is the consequence of dying without sanctifying grace. They do not believe men become gods. They do not believe marriage survives death. They believe the bible canon was defined infallibly in 1546 and cannot be altered. They believe the "Great Apostasy" is the Protestant Reformation. They believe that the priesthood is sacrificial in nature, not simply a hierarchy of different levels of authority. They believe the sacrament of baptism does not require a priest to make it efficacious unto salvation.

How did Cain deny God, if he felt so strongly about his grain offering that he killed Abel when God denied Cain? A denial of God would have entailed indifference about the offering, not a passion to please God.

Christianity is monotheistic. There are no "lesser gods" in Christianity, not even Satan. If they were fallen angels they would not have been called Sons of God. If they were unfallen angels they would not have slept with women.

That's not racism, that's ethnocentrism. The Jews and Palestinians are almost totally identical by race, especially in the 1st Century before the post-Roman Diaspora. Perhaps Christ wanted to maintain control of his message while he lived by keeping all his apostles nearby. Because after the resurrection Christ did tell his disciples to teach all nations.

That's unfortunate, because one hallmark of Protestantism is the primacy of Scripture, and even a quick glance at Scripture reveals that all of the descendants of Cain were destroyed by the Flood.

Hillary likes to put, in essence, "Presidential Mother" on her resume, but just being married to a powerful man doesn't make you equally as powerful.

There were the sons of God (Gen. 6:4) , who were in the line of Adam, and there where the daughters of men who were your pre-existing "modern men", and by the time of Noah, nearly all of the sons of God had amalgamated themselves with the daughters of men.

I do not come to the Sacred Scriptures with an agenda of God's sovereignty or one of absolute human freedom. If I find what appears to be contradictory statements in the bible I try to reconcile them, but it is important to look at everything and let God's word set the agenda.

Fred Phelps better live to be at least 98, or I'll take his early death as proof that God hates people who hates homosexuals.

I was told in no uncertain terms to keep my questions about what Mormons believe confined only to things which are given in what they called the Standard Works. This is rather difficult for me, because I only have access to the KJV and the BoM.

I cannot comment on the doctrine of a heavenly mother, because I have been firmly chastised by LDS on another forum for assuming that things are LDS doctrines which do not appear in the KJV, the BoM, the D&C, or the PoGP.

I don't like it, but there is scripture to that effect. Romans 9:[20] Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? [21] Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? [22] What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction

It's hard to imagine we are the same species with angels, when angels do not get married. Mark.12:[25] For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.

By dying in the murderer Barabbas’ stead, Jesus teaches us that even people who do us evil have a claim on our love.

I fail to see how a second death makes amends for the first, unless that death is viewed as blood atonement. A murderer could much better make amends by working for the rest of his life, with the fruit of his labor going solely to support himself (that he not be a burden on society) and providing restitution to the family.

We have scripture that says God predestines the elect, so this would seem to indicate God's will has an irresistable influence in the initial conversion from unbelief to belief. But for the rest of our life, our free will then takes over, as we choose to either cooperate with God's plan for our salvation, or resist it. There are scriptures which indicate it is possible to fall from grace.

They also said they were going to picket Heath Ledger's funeral because he once portrayed a bisexual man in a movie. The family of Heath Ledger defended against this by making their funeral arrangements in Australia private.

That should spur us on to great efforts to reach them with the Gospel. However, I do not know of a scripture that says the gospel is preached to the dead, other than the passage in 1st Peter, which is in past tense, indicating a one time event.

I will honor your judgment that my argument is not intellectual enough to retain your interest, and I will not waste any of your time again.

Naturally the gospel goes out to the whole world, but only a relatively few are moved by the Holy Spirit to respond. Matt.22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen. Jesus taught that the ones who become part of his mystical Body are given to him by the Father. John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

Cain took away Abel's life, but God showed mercy to him, and did not declare Cain's life forfeit. The law that requires eye for eye, life for life, stripe for stripe has been nailed to the cross. The law from Sinai has been abrograted in favor of a New Covenant. The Love of Law has been replaced by the Law of Love. Ephesians 2:14-16 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

Luke 6:35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

I did reply, but that is the last reply you will get from me, because you think I am an internet bot.

Christ died in 33 AD, and the last time there was a valid Apostleship, according to Mormonism, was in 98 with the death of John. That means with the Church founded directly by Christ in the Middle East, people attained to the Celestial Kingdom only during a window for 65 years. All the Apostles that were appointed to replace the ones Christ chose, and all of their Apostles, are disqualified by the Mormon Church as apostate. Even the Church Christ founded in the Western Hemisphere became apostate and ceased to exist. All the Apostles appointed by the man Joseph Smith have died as well, but the ones they appointed to replace them are considered valid by the Mormon Church. Somehow a mere man has done in North America what the Son of God himself could not do on any continent...establish a Church that did not fail.