The purpose of this is not to persuade anyone or to give the basis for an argument. This is a blog about A Love Story. It is a story about Marika and I. We've received comments to learn more about being LDS so I guess I shouldn't put it off anymore. I will also consider that what you asked for was a taste, so take into consideration that it's an appetizer, not a 5 course meal.
The Plan
God is our loving father in heaven. He created us in His own image. He wanted us to have the joy and happiness that He has. We learn through our experiences. We need the freedom to choose, to decide for ourselves and experience the consequences. God cannot be in the presence of sin. Knowing that no one is perfect, we were given a place to learn, Earth. Jesus Christ's atonement, suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane as well as His suffering and death on the cross, was central to our Father's plan of salvation.
Christ's Ministry
Latter-day saint reflects on the church that Jesus set up on Earth. He called twelve apostles and laid hands upon them and gave them the power and authority to act in His name. The teachings of Christ and the gospel of repentance was taught and given in the perfect state. After Christ was crucified and the apostles were killed off, that authority was taken from the earth. Even though Christ was not unitedly accepted, not all were bad. There were those who wanted to learn of the gospel and began teaching.
Telephone
There is a game frequently played in elementary school called telephone. It probably has more than one name but I don't know any others. The game is as follows: Students sit in a circle. The teacher whispers a sentence or message into a students ear. The student then whispers to the next student etc. When the message is carried to the end of the circle then the student stands and voices the message. Then the teacher says what the message was originally. Sometimes the sentence is accurate while other times the message is something totally different. I'm sure everyone knows what causes the message to change but I'll write a few anyway. People sometimes forget what was said, others missunderstand the message and then sometimes, there are kids for lack of better reason feel like being funny and change the message into something they think is better.
The church
After Christ, His apostles and many of His followers were killed, that priesthood authority that Christ gave to his apostles was lost. There was no one to teach the people and so, just like the telephone game, the interpretation of His teachings were taken and slowly changed. When something was not accurate to one's understanding then they corrected it sometimes starting their own church to teach as they felt right. In my belief, this is why there are so many religions and churches. Each have been based off of good, righteous desires or intentions with different spins or modifications to work for the peoples' understanding and way of life.
Prophets
Prophets are men called of God and given power and authority to teach and interpret the will of God for the benefit of man. A prophet acts in God's name. He can talk directly to God, face to face. Adam was the first prophet. God revealed the gospel to him. The Lord's plan or gospel has been revealed over and over again through direct communication to prophets such as Noah, Abraham, and Moses. After time people used their free agency and became lifted up in their own pride. When a prophet is rejected or killed, the priesthood power is taken from the earth. Yes, we can have personal relationships with our Father in heaven but a prophet reveals the will of God to the Earth. We can all recall working in a group or organization/lack thereof when there is not someone called to lead. Sometimes people are specifically good at different things. All it takes is someone who can organize and lead towards the end goal. At this time we have a prophet, who is called of God and is much like a watchman on a tower to warn us of incoming dangers.
There is more specific information coming
Kyle
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It would be nice to know how this all affects to your life? Is it any diffrent than those who are not LDS?
ReplyDeleteKyle, this is not to attack against you or anything like that but out of interest I'd just like to hear more about your opinions on polygamy and the other doctrines (e.g. the United Order) abandoned by the present church, mormons becoming gods, the money that goes to shopping malls, resorts or alike instead of aid, the racist past of the Mormon church, God the Father and God the Son as two separate beings.. the list seem to have no end whatsoever.. May I ask some more or am I "honored" enough?
ReplyDeleter, I'll write more about specifics on the affect it has on my life and being LDS. I'm almost finished writing it.
ReplyDeleteJanice, of course you can. I'll try to elaborate but I don't know if anything I'll say will address your concerns in the way you are looking for. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the trek westward in the US but many people were killed or died so there was a need for widows and their families to be taken care of. After time the law was perverted and was stopped. There are still groups that do this but the church does not because of our belief in obeying the laws of the land. The united order was a higher law that, because of the pride of man, was too much to handle. Just like when moses brought the children of Israel through the red sea and later brought the plates of commandments. The people had already begun to forget by what power they were saved. Our purpose in life is to learn, to gain inteligence which is glory. We can receive all that our father has. The church has no paid ministry. The church responsibilities are carried by it's members. There is humanitarian aid provided to members as well as those around the world who are not and I've participated in many. May 15th is the next big project here but I'm sure it wont be hard to find countless service activities and aid projects. The gospel teaches us the value of service. The Lord reveals His will in His own time. I can only speculate that the "racism" to which you are referring/holding back of the priesthood, was because the world was not ready. We believe that the son and father are two separate beings but one in purpose. It looks like you've been researching so I'll leave a few links for you to help in your search. Also the missionaries are always able to help answer questions if you'd rather talk instead of looking on the computer.