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I don't know how many of you live or have lived in the deep south but today was another one of those "defend the faith" days...

 

A guy I know at work asked me if I was still LDS so naturally I said yes (Although I thought about telling him "no, I'm a Snuffer-ite now"), and waited for the test to begin.

 

Round one (outside the men's room) -

 

Him: "Do you still have the seer stone Smith used to translate the Book of Mormon?"

 

Me: "I believe the angel Moroni took those back when Joseph had finished translating."

 

Him: "Do you still have the plates the Book of Mormon was written from?"

 

Me: "The angel Moroni took those back too when Joseph had finished translating."

 

Him: "So you don't have anything?"

 

Me: "We have the Book of Mormon, and in a future day the plates will be revealed again and the sealed portion will be translated."

 

Him: "So no one else saw the plates but Smith?"

 

Me: "The testimonies of eleven witnesses who saw the plates is in the front of the Book of Mormon"

 

Him: "But no one saw the plates while he was translating?" 

 

Me: "Not that I'm aware of although several people took turns writing while he translated."

 

Round two -

 

Me (in a note we work in different parts of the plant): "You believe in the bible, and if so, is there an original version of any of the books or epistles of the bible in existence?

 

What happened to the original versions - each one specifically?

 

Do we still have the breastplate the Jewish high priest wore or the Urim and Thummin he used?

 

Do we have the Ark of the covenant, the menorah, the altar of incense or the table of shewbread from the tabernacle in the wilderness or the temple in Jerusalem?

 

 

So we don't have the original version of any of the books or epistles of the bible, we don't know what happened to them.

 

We don't have the breastplate the Jewish high priest wore or the Urim and Thummin he used and we don't know what happened to them.

 

We don't have the Ark of the covenant, the menorah, the altar of incense or the table of shewbread from the tabernacle in the wilderness or the temple in Jerusalem and we don't know what happened to them.

 

 

That's OK, I believe the Book of Mormon is the word of God even the I don't have the gold plates or the Urim and Thummin, and I believe the bible is the word of God as far as its translated correctly."

 

*

 

Round three tomorrow (hopefully it will be something new and exciting for once)...you get this stuff much where you are?

Edited by Average Joe
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I never got that at work.  In my neck-of-the-woods (Utah), I'll occasionally get the snarky comments from those who have left the church.

 

I suppose so...there are maybe one or two less mormons here in the heart of the bible belt so we have to settle for what abuse we can find ;) 

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I don't know how many of you live or have lived in the deep south but today was another one of those "defend the faith" days...

 

A guy I know at work asked me if I was still LDS so naturally I said yes (Although I thought about telling him "no, I'm a Snuffer-ite now"), and waited for the test to begin.

 

Round one (outside the men's room) -

 

Him: "Do you still have the seer stone Smith used to translate the Book of Mormon?"

 

Me: "I believe the angel Moroni took those back when Joseph had finished translating."

 

Him: "Do you still have the plates the Book of Mormon was written from?"

 

Me: "The angel Moroni took those back too when Joseph had finished translating."

 

Him: "So you don't have anything?"

 

Me: "We have the Book of Mormon, and in a future day the plates will be revealed again and the sealed portion will be translated."

 

Him: "So no one else saw the plates but Smith?"

 

Me: "The testimonies of eleven witnesses who saw the plates is in the front of the Book of Mormon"

 

Him: "But no one saw the plates while he was translating?" 

 

Me: "Not that I'm aware of although several people took turns writing while he translated."

 

Round two -

 

Me (in a note we work in different parts of the plant): "You believe in the bible, and if so, is there an original version of any of the books or epistles of the bible in existence?

 

What happened to the original versions - each one specifically?

 

Do we still have the breastplate the Jewish high priest wore or the Urim and Thummin he used?

 

Do we have the Ark of the covenant, the menorah, the altar of incense or the table of shewbread from the tabernacle in the wilderness or the temple in Jerusalem?

 

 

So we don't have the original version of any of the books or epistles of the bible, we don't know what happened to them.

 

We don't have the breastplate the Jewish high priest wore or the Urim and Thummin he used and we don't know what happened to them.

 

We don't have the Ark of the covenant, the menorah, the altar of incense or the table of shewbread from the tabernacle in the wilderness or the temple in Jerusalem and we don't know what happened to them.

 

 

That's OK, I believe the Book of Mormon is the word of God even the I don't have the gold plates or the Urim and Thummin, and I believe the bible is the word of God as far as its translated correctly."

 

*

 

Round three tomorrow (hopefully it will be something new and exciting for once)...you get this stuff much where you are?

I don't really get that. well from the conversation it still looks positive.

i'd probably have said somehting to the tune of " this is where God has sent me, and since then i've seen things people have said absolutely don't exist"

 

Edited by Blackmarch
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I once had a conversation like that with someone and I became somewhat frustrated and said ..... Not sure what your seeing the plates or anyone else for that matter would do .....I mean after all the Saviour was on the earth and no one believed him. They person stared at me and walked away. Never had another conversation again about religion.

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I once had a conversation like that with someone and I became somewhat frustrated and said ..... Not sure what your seeing the plates or anyone else for that matter would do .....I mean after all the Saviour was on the earth and no one believed him. They person stared at me and walked away. Never had another conversation again about religion.

 

Good come back. This person and I are on decent terms but every now and then my being LDS seems to drive him a little crazy for some reason, and its time to defend the faith again. :rolleyes:  

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I don't really get that. well from the conversation it still looks positive.

i'd probably have said somehting to the tune of " this is where God has sent me, and since then i've seen things people have said absolutely don't exist"

 

 

This has gone on for a while. in his church the LDS are a cult...the Book of Mormon bugs him, but that I can show our faith from the bible bugs him even more ;)

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Him: "Do you still have the seer stone Smith used to translate the Book of Mormon?"

 

Me: "I believe the angel Moroni took those back when Joseph had finished translating."

 

This is not entirely accurate. The church has one of the seer stones, as I understand it, in their archives. The Urim and Thummin was taken back.

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This is not entirely accurate. The church has one of the seer stones, as I understand it, in their archives. The Urim and Thummin was taken back.

 

I had heard we had a seer stone but didn't bring it up because I didn't have a reference of the source...anyway, what I told him was accurate enough. Thanks for mentioning it...you don't recall the source do you? :)

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Guest MormonGator

Seems like he's creating a hostile work environment. 

 That's a pretty harsh accusation. We don't want be thin skinned  tattle tales. It doesn't show good on our religion. Just roll with the punches. 

 

OP-Hope your day gets better my friend! 

Edited by MormonGator
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I don't know how many of you live or have lived in the deep south but today was another one of those "defend the faith" days...

 

A guy I know at work asked me if I was still LDS so naturally I said yes (Although I thought about telling him "no, I'm a Snuffer-ite now"), and waited for the test to begin.

 

Round one (outside the men's room) -

 

Him: "Do you still have the seer stone Smith used to translate the Book of Mormon?"

 

Me: "I believe the angel Moroni took those back when Joseph had finished translating."

 

Him: "Do you still have the plates the Book of Mormon was written from?"

 

Me: "The angel Moroni took those back too when Joseph had finished translating."

 

Him: "So you don't have anything?"

 

Me: "We have the Book of Mormon, and in a future day the plates will be revealed again and the sealed portion will be translated."

 

Him: "So no one else saw the plates but Smith?"

 

Me: "The testimonies of eleven witnesses who saw the plates is in the front of the Book of Mormon"

 

Him: "But no one saw the plates while he was translating?" 

 

Me: "Not that I'm aware of although several people took turns writing while he translated."

 

Round two -

 

Me (in a note we work in different parts of the plant): "You believe in the bible, and if so, is there an original version of any of the books or epistles of the bible in existence?

 

What happened to the original versions - each one specifically?

 

Do we still have the breastplate the Jewish high priest wore or the Urim and Thummin he used?

 

Do we have the Ark of the covenant, the menorah, the altar of incense or the table of shewbread from the tabernacle in the wilderness or the temple in Jerusalem?

 

 

So we don't have the original version of any of the books or epistles of the bible, we don't know what happened to them.

 

We don't have the breastplate the Jewish high priest wore or the Urim and Thummin he used and we don't know what happened to them.

 

We don't have the Ark of the covenant, the menorah, the altar of incense or the table of shewbread from the tabernacle in the wilderness or the temple in Jerusalem and we don't know what happened to them.

 

 

That's OK, I believe the Book of Mormon is the word of God even the I don't have the gold plates or the Urim and Thummin, and I believe the bible is the word of God as far as its translated correctly."

 

*

 

Round three tomorrow (hopefully it will be something new and exciting for once)...you get this stuff much where you are?

 

I got this (and much, much more) for two years in south Alabama and the Florida panhandle and I still get it on a fairly regular basis in the NW.

If an honestly inquisitive line of questioning had preceded this, then I would think that the questions he was asking were genuine.  However, having heard nearly every anti-question known to man, I would say that this guy has gotten coached by someone or something.

I would ask him if he knows the story of Thomas, give testimony, encourage him to read selected passages in the Book of Mormon, and ask him to pray about it, referencing James about getting answers.

 

I understand how frustrating it is.  I have people tell me what I believe and most of it is completely wrong.  I tell them that they misunderstand, and sometimes they will flat out tell me that I am wrong.  I usually get grumpy then say something like, "You sure know a lot about Mormons.  How long have you been a member?", or, "You know, everything about Mormons on the internet is true.", or, "You're an idiot."  Then the Spirit leaves and I have to repent.

 

I hate it when I do that.

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 That's a pretty harsh accusation. We don't want be thin skinned  tattle tales. It doesn't show good on our religion. Just roll with the punches. 

 

OP-Hope your day gets better my friend! 

 

Wasn't a bad day...more of a "here we ago again" kind of a thing. There are a few at work that, idk, had a tent service or sermon about cults and they become defenders of the non-cult Christians for a couple of days before letting it go and getting back to live and let live.

 

I agree with you. As long as they don't get nasty just roll with it. :)

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AverageJoe, what city are you in? The "heart" of the bible belt. I served my mission in tulsa oklahoma and was around a lot of those environments.

 

I'm not in a city, I avoid those like the plague if I can. I'm in South Carolina and have learned how to give as good as I get without getting nasty about it. Most folks here are live and let live but those "chosen few" can be a piece of work. ;)    

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I understand how frustrating it is.  I have people tell me what I believe and most of it is completely wrong.  I tell them that they misunderstand, and sometimes they will flat out tell me that I am wrong.  

 

That is my all time favorite - being wrong about my own church - something they've never even set foot in. 

 

I know this situation isn't unique to me, it doesn't eat at me anymore but sometimes it gets really, really, really old. Thanks for sharing your story with me. :)

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At least these were in the form of questions-even if coached.

The little religious discussion I hear at my workplace usually consists of someone not really questioning but indignantly spouting off about why they 'can't' believe this or that. They're Not interested in what you think-only in what they just can't believe. Most days I'm glad that talking about such topics is discouraged by management.

Edited by lonetree
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I'm at the point now that I wouldn't hesitate to simply go to HR and report a co-worker who takes it upon himself to teach me my religion. 

 

If you don't feel the spirit of Christ and instead feel a spirit of contention it does little good to try to respond to this type of inquiry and is most likely a waste of time and energy.

 

It wouldn't get past round one with me. 

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At least these were in the form of questions-even if coached.

The little religious discussion I hear at my workplace usually consists of someone not really questioning but indignantly spouting off about why they 'can't' believe this or that. They're Not interested in what you think-only in what they just can't believe. Most days I'm glad that talking about such topics is discouraged by management.

 

lol, I've had those types of "discussions" too...this one is evolving somewhat. Apparently he had read about Old Testament scripture fragments being found in Egyptian funeral masks...and Smith (I have gotten him to quit calling Joseph, Joe Smith or Ol' Joe) claimed to translate from Egyptian and scriptures in a mummy.

 

Yeah, I know but at least its Q&A and not "Hey, I'm trying to save your dumb Mormon self from going straight to heck"  

Edited by Average Joe
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I'm at the point now that I wouldn't hesitate to simply go to HR and report a co-worker who takes it upon himself to teach me my religion. 

 

If you don't feel the spirit of Christ and instead feel a spirit of contention it does little good to try to respond to this type of inquiry and is most likely a waste of time and energy.

 

It wouldn't get past round one with me. 

 

He can't shake my faith but I've managed to place a biblical dent or two in his religion of choice in the past. I like to think I can handle my "troubles" with out including HR.  ;)

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