From the Horses Mouth

[Sev3nth_Plague]

Hey everyone,

I'm doing a study on different beliefs and religions and i've tried Live Mormon missionary chats and they aren't answering me directly so I decided to come here.

To start it off...from your own words, what is the difference between the LDS and let's say...a non-denominational Christian church? I've already talked to multiple people and i'm just trying to get some more input.

Thanks

[Palerider]

perhaps you might get a few who will help you....keep in mind we get someone here at least once a month asking almost the very same thing. Alot of times it turns out to be attacks against our beliefs....however. i hope for your sake this is not one of them and it truly is info you are after....I will watch this one closely....:)

[NeuroTypical]

what is the difference between the LDS and let's say...a non-denominational Christian church?

The concept of earthly authority.

LM

[Sev3nth_Plague]

I wouldn't doubt it. I've glanced at multiple websites and i've witnessed many debates. Very heated debates...

But I can assure you that I will not receive any attacks or insults from me. That wouldn't be a good evangelistic take on things, would it? lol

Thank you though. I'm looking forward to finally getting some quality replies!

[Finrock]

Hey everyone,

I'm doing a study on different beliefs and religions and i've tried Live Mormon missionary chats and they aren't answering me directly so I decided to come here.

To start it off...from your own words, what is the difference between the LDS and let's say...a non-denominational Christian church? I've already talked to multiple people and i'm just trying to get some more input.

Thanks

Good evening Sev3nth_Plague! Hey, thanks for coming here to ask questions about the LDS religion. I, personally, appreciate the opportunity to answer questions about my faith to the best of my ability.

I see your question here, and I've thought about it a bit, and I'm having a hard time answering it! I've determined that it is difficult to answer because it is extremely vast in it's scope. But, I'll go with a few general ideas that more than likely will be different from most other Christian churches.

* First, our understanding of the Godhead is different. Traditionally Christians believe in the Creedal Trinity, which is the idea that God is three persons, but of one substance. The LDS church believes in a Trinity, more aptly called the Godhead, which is that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost are three separate persons, each an individual and distinct person.

* Also, our understanding of God is different in that we believe that God the Father, God the Son both have bodies of flesh and bone, while the Holy Ghost has a spirit body, although it too is not immaterial.

* We believe in modern day living prophets and apostles. Most Christian churched do not, or at least not in the sense of there being a prophet like Moses was a prophet.

* We believe that marriages and families can be sealed together for eternity. That a marriage between a husband and wife is not just until death, but extends on to eternity, even after physical death. I don't know of any other Christian church that teaches this.

* We believe in an universal apostasy which required the restoration of Christ's church. Most Christian churches do not believe that a universal apostasy took place, if any believe this.

This is just a few that I can think of at the moment. Perhaps if you can narrow your inquiry a bit, I can come up with some other differences.

Thanks again for the question and have a good evening.

Regards,

Finrock

[Sev3nth_Plague]

The concept of earthly authority.

LM

the earthly authority of the church or Christ Himself? Just to clarify things

[Dr T]

Good start Fin :)

[mike_sweeney211]

yeah i have the same question as seventh plauge, im curious to what the differences are??

[Sev3nth_Plague]

Good evening Sev3nth_Plague! Hey, thanks for coming here to ask questions about the LDS religion. I, personally, appreciate the opportunity to answer questions about my faith to the best of my ability.

I see your question here, and I've thought about it a bit, and I'm having a hard time answering it! I've determined that it is difficult to answer because it is extremely vast in it's scope. But, I'll go with a few general ideas that more than likely will be different from most other Christian churches.

* First, our understanding of the Godhead is different. Traditionally Christians believe in the Creedal Trinity, which is the idea that God is three persons, but of one substance. The LDS church believes in a Trinity, more aptly called the Godhead, which is that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost are three separate persons, each an individual and distinct person.

* Also, our understanding of God is different in that we believe that God the Father, God the Son both have bodies of flesh and bone, while the Holy Ghost has a spirit body, although it too is not immaterial.

* We believe in modern day living prophets and apostles. Most Christian churched do not, or at least not in the sense of there being a prophet like Moses was a prophet.

* We believe that marriages and families can be sealed together for eternity. That a marriage between a husband and wife is not just until death, but extends on to eternity, even after physical death. I don't know of any other Christian church that teaches this.

* We believe in an universal apostasy which required the restoration of Christ's church. Most Christian churches do not believe that a universal apostasy took place, if any believe this.

This is just a few that I can think of at the moment. Perhaps if you can narrow your inquiry a bit, I can come up with some other differences.

Thanks again for the question and have a good evening.

Regards,

Finrock

Yeah thanks, you too.

Okay so this pretty much summarized the basics of what you all believe (which affirms some things). There are some umm..more far-fetched things that i've come across that some Mormons do believe, and some havent even heard of. I'd have to search through my stack of papers to find actual quotes but, for now...

what do you believe about predestination? ive always been curious as to what the LDS church's understanding of that topic is.

Thanks

[mike_sweeney211]

okay question for finrock,

* We believe in an universal apostasy which required the restoration of Christ's church. Most Christian churches do not believe that a universal apostasy took place, if any believe this.

in saying this, are you saying when jesus said to peter isnt valid? jesus said that he was going to build his church upon him and not even the gates of hades will overpower it, therefore, it cant be swayed or vanished or destructed, so wouldnt that mean that the church has always been since the day of pentacost and theyre wasnt some great apostacy?

[Finrock]

what do you believe about predestination? ive always been curious as to what the LDS church's understanding of that topic is.

Thanks

We do not believe in predestination. We believe in foreordination. Which brings up another difference which isn't related to your question here. Namely, we believe that we existed with Heavenly Father as spirits prior to coming to earth. In the same vein, we believe that we are all literally the spirit children of Heavenly Father. Now, going back to foreordination. We believe that prior to us coming to earth, many of us, both past and present, were foreordained to certain callings. For instances, Abraham was foreordained to be a prophet. Foreordination, however, is contingent upon the personal choices of the individual thus ordained. So, a person may have been foreordained to a special calling, but if they live their life contrary to the commandments of God, that ordination will not come to pass.

I hope that answered your questions and added some additional information as well.

Regards,

Finrock

[Finrock]

okay question for finrock,

* We believe in an universal apostasy which required the restoration of Christ's church. Most Christian churches do not believe that a universal apostasy took place, if any believe this.

in saying this, are you saying when jesus said to peter isnt valid? jesus said that he was going to build his church upon him and not even the gates of hades will overpower it, therefore, it cant be swayed or vanished or destructed, so wouldnt that mean that the church has always been since the day of pentacost and theyre wasnt some great apostacy?

Hey mike_sweeney211! I hope you are doing well tonight.

To address your question. I am not attempting to prove or disprove what the LDS church believes. I am simply pointing out the differences at the request of the original poster. Although I respect your inquiry, I feel that your question would veer from the intent of this thread and the intent of the original poster. In other words, it appears that your question isn't merely asked to illicit information, but it is advocating a certain position (your apparent position that no apostasy occurred) while in a very subtle way rejecting the LDS position. I will, out of respect for the OP, refuse to answer your question here. However, I'm certain no one would object to you starting another thread so that you can debate your beliefs against what the LDS believe.

Kind Regards,

Finrock

[Sev3nth_Plague]

We do not believe in predestination. We believe in foreordination. Which brings up another difference which isn't related to your question here. Namely, we believe that we existed with Heavenly Father as spirits prior to coming to earth. In the same vein, we believe that we are all literally the spirit children of Heavenly Father. Now, going back to foreordination. We believe that prior to us coming to earth, many of us, both past and present, were foreordained to certain callings. For instances, Abraham was foreordained to be a prophet. Foreordination, however, is contingent upon the personal choices of the individual thus ordained. So, a person may have been foreordained to a special calling, but if they live their life contrary to the commandments of God, that ordination will not come to pass.

I hope that answered your questions and added some additional information as well.

Regards,

Finrock

Sweet. Yeah I have loads of controversial stuff that I want to eventually cover in the future. Thanks for the help. And please don't be offended by by any questions that may raise disbelief or the questioning of your faith.

And go ahead and answer mike sweeney's question. I'd like to hear your input on that

[Finrock]

Thanks for the help. And please don't be offended by by any questions that may raise disbelief or the questioning of your faith.

You're welcome. I can guarantee you that I will not be offended.

And go ahead and answer mike sweeney's question. I'd like to hear your input on that

Very well.

Regards,

Finrock

[Finrock]

okay question for finrock,

* We believe in an universal apostasy which required the restoration of Christ's church. Most Christian churches do not believe that a universal apostasy took place, if any believe this.

in saying this, are you saying when jesus said to peter isnt valid? jesus said that he was going to build his church upon him and not even the gates of hades will overpower it, therefore, it cant be swayed or vanished or destructed, so wouldnt that mean that the church has always been since the day of pentacost and theyre wasnt some great apostacy?

Per the request of the OP, I will answer your question.

Question: "...are you saying when jesus said to peter isnt valid?"

Answer: I am not saying that.

Question: " jesus said that he was going to build his church upon him and not even the gates of hades will overpower it, therefore, it cant be swayed or vanished or destructed, so wouldnt that mean that the church has always been since the day of pentacost and theyre wasnt some great apostacy?"

Answer: It could mean what your post advocates if your interpretation and understanding of Matthew 16:18 is correct. Even if the interpretation of Matt. 16:18 that is being advocated by your post is true, it still doesn't preclude the idea that an apostasy occurred. The apostasy means that God's church and authority wasn't on the earth, not that it ceased to exist. Also, the restoration ensures that God's church is still alive and well, not having been affected by the "gates of hades" at all.

Regards,

Finrock

[THIRDpersonviewer]

Just to give a short reply, it was to build upon the Priesthood authority that Peter held. Christ gave him that authority and power. In like manner, Christ's Church must hold this Priesthood Power for it to be God's Church. That is the foundation. Priesthood. That is why there was an apostasy. Because there was no functioning Church that was lead by Proper Priesthood authority.

[THIRDpersonviewer]

I might also add that there was no functioning Church once the apostles had died.

Forgive me if I am butting in or intruding on your delightful conversation.:)

[HiJolly]

I might also add that there was no functioning Church once the apostles had died.

Forgive me if I am butting in or intruding on your delightful conversation.:)

Define "functioning". I think an excellent case can be made for a certain church's continuation for hundreds, if not thousands of years following the apostle's deaths. Maybe you could word it differently?

HiJolly

[HiJolly]

Yeah I have loads of controversial stuff that I want to eventually cover in the future. Thanks for the help. And please don't be offended by by any questions that may raise disbelief or the questioning of your faith.

And go ahead and answer mike sweeney's question. I'd like to hear your input on that

WhoooooWee! Maybe Palerider nailed it, after all. I'm not saying you can't ask questions, but.... Better do it respectfully, tactfully, etc.

HiJolly

[Sev3nth_Plague]

WhoooooWee! Maybe Palerider nailed it, after all. I'm not saying you can't ask questions, but.... Better do it respectfully, tactfully, etc.

HiJolly

Oh of course. I'm not here to debate, just to get answers a lot of your church members apparently haven't heard of a lot of the doctrines and beliefs I've read about.

[Jenamarie]

Oh of course. I'm not here to debate, just to get answers a lot of your church members apparently haven't heard of a lot of the doctrines and beliefs I've read about.

Perhaps because they're not our beliefs?? Is "we believe God had sex with Mary" (which we DON'T) on that list?

[HiJolly]

Oh of course. I'm not here to debate, just to get answers a lot of your church members apparently haven't heard of a lot of the doctrines and beliefs I've read about.

Do you want to understand the answers? I sure hope so, and if you don't it will be obvious, in short order. Often, gaining understanding is impossible without extensive personal investigation, contemplation and some prayer. I'm not saying you can't do it, I'm just saying that on an internet discussion board, the probability that you are serious and sincere on these controversial items is fairly low.

I can almost guarantee you won't be satisfied with our 'answers'. Maybe I'm just too jaded, been on the 'net for too long. Survivor of A.R.M., etc. etc. Many of the Gospel's detractors have developed short (10 words or so) questions that require tens of thousands of words to appropriately explain. Puts us at a considerable disadvantage, in this age of A.D.D. temperments.

HiJolly

[Hemidakota]

Articles of faith is what Joseph Smith wrote to those who inquired of the church.

[THIRDpersonviewer]

Define "functioning". I think an excellent case can be made for a certain church's continuation for hundreds, if not thousands of years following the apostle's deaths. Maybe you could word it differently?

HiJolly

Hi, you're right. I should have been more clear. It was also meant it to be part of the prior statement, but I thought of it a couple minutes later and figured I should just make a new post. Anyways...

The thing is, Christ set up an organization for His followers. This organization must be run according to Christ's designations. Why? Because it is His Church, and it is run His way. That means(as He stated) His Church is set up upon the rock of Peter, or the Priesthood power and authority that he held.

The Priesthood was here and remained(through John the Revelator), but there was no "church" to speak of. The Church, or organization, that was run by virtue of the Priesthood, did not exist after the apostles were killed. Therefore there was no functioning Church.

I should also point out when I capitalize the C in church, I am referencing God's Church. Likewise a capital H in him or he, references Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ depending on the context. And so on.

In regards to a church that exists thousands of years. Yes. That church is obviously functioning. But not as the Church of God, unless the Priesthood stands at the head.