LDSChristian Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Last night at Institute the lesson was on the martyrdom. Good lesson by the way. Anyway, there was a part about worshiping the one true God which led up to an interesting conversation. The teacher asked if the christians of other faiths worship the one true God. By the end of the discussion the answer that came up was no. This is due to doctrinal differences and things that are contrary to the scriptures. It was taken like this: how can they all worship the one true God when their beliefs are completely different? That would create different variations of God with different teachings which ultimately makes different "one true Gods". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason_J Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Last night at Institute the lesson was on the martyrdom. Good lesson by the way. Anyway, there was a part about worshiping the one true God which led up to an interesting conversation. The teacher asked if the christians of other faiths worship the one true God. By the end of the discussion the answer that came up was no. This is due to doctrinal differences and things that are contrary to the scriptures. It was taken like this: how can they all worship the one true God when their beliefs are completely different? That would create different variations of God with different teachings which ultimately makes different "one true Gods".In my discussions with LDS in online forums over the years, I've actually found most of them to hold the opposite view. This topic typically would come up when talking about whether LDS believed in a "different Jesus" or if there is such a thing as "the Mormon Jesus". The LDS response would be, we believe in the same Jesus as other Christians do, however we believe some different things about Him. I think the same concept applies here.So, I would tend to the belief that non-LDS Christians are worshipping the same God as we are, except that they believe different things (that we would view as false beliefs) about Him. This of course doesn't mean that saving ordinances are available outside of the Lord's Church, but that non-LDS Christians are worshipping the same God with the knowledge that they have (some of which is false). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slamjet Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Last night at Institute the lesson was on the martyrdom. Good lesson by the way. Anyway, there was a part about worshiping the one true God which led up to an interesting conversation. The teacher asked if the christians of other faiths worship the one true God. By the end of the discussion the answer that came up was no. This is due to doctrinal differences and things that are contrary to the scriptures. It was taken like this: how can they all worship the one true God when their beliefs are completely different? That would create different variations of God with different teachings which ultimately makes different "one true Gods".Then your institute teacher needs to be brought back to the real world. God as he is understood. Same God, just people's understanding of him. For example, a new member's understanding of God will only mature and expand as they study the Gospel and applying it in their life. Does God change? Nope. Same God, just a different understanding of him.Same with people across different denominations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Backroads Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 So... your teacher is saying there are a whole bunch of gods involved with this world and we all worship different ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroTypical Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 It was taken like this: how can they all worship the one true God when their beliefs are completely different? That would create different variations of God with different teachings which ultimately makes different "one true Gods".Usually, it's other Christian sects that tell Mormons that we worship a different God. I do not think it's a good thing that we've started foisting the same criticism back at them. Anyway, here's how I've learned to answer, when someone tells me my Jesus is the wrong Jesus:Bob works with Doug. He knows Doug as a quiet guy who gets his work done most of the time.Fred knows Doug. Doug coaches Fred's kid's soccer team. He knows doug as an energetic guy who loves to laugh and get each kid to give a little more.Duane knows Doug. Duane is Doug's 19 yr old stepson. Duane thinks Doug yells too much and is anal-retentive. Mary knows Doug. Mary is Doug's 4 yr old stepdaughter. Mary loves Doug, because Mommy used to cry every night, and now that Doug is here, Mommy doesn't cry any more. Doug is good because he plays with her and gives her hugs and tickles.Which one knows the "right Doug"? It's a stupid question. They all know the same Doug. There are not multiple Dougs. They just have different perspectives about who Doug is.LM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rex8499 Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 The concept carries further than other Christian denominations. The Muslims also worship the same God, they just believe that they've had different prophets since Abraham and believe some different things about God. But it's the same God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 I can't believe they had a conversation in an Institute class that degrades the beliefs of other religions. Because that's basically what it boils down to. That's basically like your thread you started once before about us being the ONLY true Christian church. It's arrogant thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 (edited) Thread closed. Again this is NOT what we as LDS believe, not do we endorse this line of thought on lds.net. Edited March 4, 2011 by pam changed a word for better clarification Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rameumptom Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 · Hidden Hidden I think most Christians worship the one true God. None of us, including most LDS, worship him perfectly. We know some stuff about him, but not enough to be perfect in our worship or understanding of God. The scriptures (not Elder McConkie, or Joseph F. Smith who had many opinions on many things), tell us that the Terrestrial are "honorable men" of the earth, who just were not valiant in their testimonies. Yet, they are considered friends and disciples of Christ (see D&C 76). I tend to follow Pres Packer, who tells us to follow the doctrines of the gospel that we find in the scriptures and official doctrine, and not just one-off statements by an occasional apostle (especially those of decades ago, when many apostles speculated on many things). These people are all saved. That tells me that they are worshiping the one true God to the best of their understanding. Link to comment
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