utcowboy Posted July 31, 2008 Report Posted July 31, 2008 After reading the last few posts in the Anti-Mormon thread, I found this blog particulary interesting. I hope that you enjoy it also.By Common Consent How Do We Contend Without Being Contentious? Quote
Hemidakota Posted July 31, 2008 Report Posted July 31, 2008 To add to a already excellent post:Stop Using Words That Hurt in Ensign Mar. 2006 by J. Thomas Cearley ...from me. "Raising my voice invited the spirit of contention into our home. Once it was there, the children ... 3 Nephi 11:29 means: `He that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil.' Allowing the spirit of contention to enter our home allowed darkness and ... What I Would Do Differently As a Parent in Ensign July 1996 ... from me. Raising my voice invited the spirit of contention into our home. Once it was there, the children ... [3 Ne. 11:29] means: "He that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil." Allowing the spirit of contention to enter our home allowed darkness and ... An Honored and Invited Guest in Ensign June 2007 by Naida Stephens Tims ...Satan to win. He said we had allowed the spirit of contention to invade our home, and it had destroyed ... thanking Heavenly Father at night. The spirit of contention began to wither and die. One morning I ... There have been many battles with that spirit of contention invading our home, but knowing the enemy... The Canker of Contention in Conference Report, April 1989 by Russell M. Nelson ...confirmed that prophecy: A*He that hath the spirit of contention is not of me [saith the Lord], but is of ... steps may each of us take to supplant the spirit of contention with a spirit of personal peace? To begin... Cleansing the Inner Vessel in Ensign May 1986 by Ezra Taft Benson ...consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their ... who is right. Pride is manifest in the spirit of contention. Was it not through pride that the devil... Quote
utcowboy Posted August 1, 2008 Author Report Posted August 1, 2008 Obviously this wasn't as interesting as I had thought.... Quote
MarginOfError Posted August 1, 2008 Report Posted August 1, 2008 why don't you all just shut your pie holes!!!!Wait, that isn't in the right spirit is it? Quote
StrawberryFields Posted August 1, 2008 Report Posted August 1, 2008 why don't you all just shut your pie holes!!!!Wait, that isn't in the right spirit is it? :oI would say that is more than a MarginOfError.:confused::p:p Quote
unixknight Posted August 1, 2008 Report Posted August 1, 2008 This feels particularly relevant to me, because not only am I a debate junkie but if there's one thing I can't abide it's dishonesty when our religion comes up as a subject. I often post on another forum mostly populated by Evangelical Christians. This particular forum is on a website that focuses on gaming but has a general forum area for discussing other things. There have been the typical false accusations thrown around there about what we believe and so on, so naturally I debate on the side of defending the Church. One thing I have to constantly do is take a few moments to cool down before I respond, and remind myself that I cannot convert people. That's for the Spirit to do, but I can cause a lot of harm if I let my anger answer for me. I remind myself, and them, that I'm not there to try and get anyone to believe what I believe in, but rather, know at least the truth of what Mormons believe so as to make an intelligent opinion. The part that aggravates me is when someone accuses us of a particular false doctrine, I calmly explain why that isn't true, and their reply is "Nuh-uh! My book here written by a well-known Christian author sez you do!!!!!" Even when I can point straight to a verse in the Book of Mormon that contradicts what their pet author said we believe. I've even been accused of being hardheaded, unreasonable and closed minded because I refuse to take the word of some non-member book author who received a paycheck for writing this nonsense over our own Scripture. But it does get easier to stay cool over time. People believe what they do not because of reason, but because of emotion. They WANT to believe we're some sort of bizarre cult so they willingly accept any accusation, any source, that reinforces that. This is when we need to step back, calmly accept that the discussion isn't going anywhere, and rely on our own testimony. Let the Spirit move them as it will. But sometimes there are reasonable people out there who will debate, but in an intellectually honest manner and that's the best time to go full throttle, but always calmly and always respectfully. Quote
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