Let's discuss Mormonism.

[Zioneer]

By the way, I'm going on my LDS mission in a little more than a month, so if you have any more questions about Mormonism, ask before then.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

By the way, I'm going on my LDS mission in a little more than a month, so if you have any more questions about Mormonism, ask before then.

So where are you headed, or do you not know that yet?

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

By the way, I'm going on my LDS mission in a little more than a month, so if you have any more questions about Mormonism, ask before then.

So how many wives do you have?

[Torie]

Have you heard anything thought the grapevine about what the LDS leadership in hindsight thinks about its full court press involvement (using below the belt tactics) in pushing for the anti-gay prop 8 measure in CA?

[SPC]

By the way, I'm going on my LDS mission in a little more than a month, so if you have any more questions about Mormonism, ask before then.

So where are you headed, or do you not know that yet?

Kenya?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

By the way, I'm going on my LDS mission in a little more than a month, so if you have any more questions about Mormonism, ask before then.

So where are you headed, or do you not know that yet?

Kenya?

That might cause Bushie to consider becoming a Mormon by adding a letter.

[Zioneer]

By the way, I'm going on my LDS mission in a little more than a month, so if you have any more questions about Mormonism, ask before then.

So where are you headed, or do you not know that yet?

LDS missionaries don't know where they're headed until they receive a letter from the Brethren (term for the collective leadership). Since I have Asperger's Syndrome though, I'm probably not going to be going out of Utah. They don't tend to send autistic young men away from their families. I don't know if they'll say yes or no to me going at all, but I predict that I'll have a "service" mission, which is less door-to-door preaching and more just helping out at places like the Family History Center (which has more genealogical records than almost any other place on Earth),

By the way, I'm going on my LDS mission in a little more than a month, so if you have any more questions about Mormonism, ask before then.

So how many wives do you have?

Fifty. Thousand.

No, but seriously none. I haven't even gone on more than 3 dates in my life. And most modern Mormon men stay married to one woman their entire lives.

Have you heard anything thought the grapevine about what the LDS leadership in hindsight thinks about its full court press involvement (using below the belt tactics) in pushing for the anti-gay prop 8 measure in CA?

I've heard that the leadership regrets the negative backlash that they encountered from Prop 8, and they've accordingly decided to refrain from pushing any other anti-gay-marriage legislation (notice how Washington State and other states didn't have any real LDS opposition when they've been passing gay marriage). It seems that church lawyers are pinning their hopes on the Supreme Court, but based on their approval of anti-discrimination measures in Utah, I think they realize they're losing this fight.

[Torie]

Thanks for the responses Zioneer, as always. You seem amazingly lucid given your condition, but then it is one that I don't understand. That was not covered much in my NAMI classes.

I once went to an LDS Family Center because I needed to sign a declaration in a real estate adverse possession case, where the technical owner were unknown issue of a guy who died in about 1910, then I had made a good faith effort to track them down. So off to the Family Center. The guy there was most helpful - almost too helpful in fact. What amazed me was that the billions of names, and the attendant information, was all on about 30 CD's maybe, stacked on top of one another on this cylinder resting on a plate sitting on his desk. Man, things have changed. I can't imagine was it was like before information could be cyber stored.

[Zioneer]

Thanks for the responses Zioneer, as always. You seem amazingly lucid given your condition, but then it is one that I don't understand. That was not covered much in my NAMI classes.

I once went to an LDS Family Center because I needed to sign a declaration in a real estate adverse possession case, where the technical owner were unknown issue of a guy who died in about 1910, then I had made a good faith effort to track them down. So off to the Family Center. The guy there was most helpful - almost too helpful in fact. What amazed me was that the billions of names, and the attendant information, was all on about 30 CD's maybe, stacked on top of one another on this cylinder resting on a plate sitting on his desk. Man, things have changed. I can't imagine was it was like before information could be cyber stored.

Well, my Asperger's Syndrome doesn't affect my writing all that much (besides making it slow, unemotional, and plodding whenever I try and write fiction), it's more of social situations where I am impaired. And even then, I'm apparently fairly good at appearing "normal".

As for your experience,, yeah, that tends to be the Mormon way of helping. We really get into it. Nowadays we a lot more sophisticated technology for that sort of thing, but we still use microfilm readers to read old records.

Any more questions?

[Zioneer]

Thread, rise from your grave!

Anyway, so I've just been told that I'm going to be doing an LDS service mission (not a normal proselytizing mission), so I felt it was time to revive the thread and answer your questions. So ask away!

[Zioneer]

Bumping this, with the added note that you're going to see LDS missionaries online now. New policy change. I'm doing a service mission so it doesn't apply to me, but normal missionaries are being allowed to talk to folks online now.

[afleitch]

Bumping this, with the added note that you're going to see LDS missionaries online now. New policy change. I'm doing a service mission so it doesn't apply to me, but normal missionaries are being allowed to talk to folks online now.

It would be nice to be left alone.

[Zioneer]

Bumping this, with the added note that you're going to see LDS missionaries online now. New policy change. I'm doing a service mission so it doesn't apply to me, but normal missionaries are being allowed to talk to folks online now.

It would be nice to be left alone.

Hey, at least I won't be the one trying to convert you over the 'net. Chalk me up as someone who isn't going to be converting anyone.

[Consciously Unconscious]

Do the majority of Mormons consider Mormonism as a part of Christianity? 

[DC Al Fine]

Do the majority of Mormons consider Mormonism as a part of Christianity? 

To add to that question; If they do consider themselves Christian, do they think of themselves as Protestants or as their own group?

[Zioneer]

Do the majority of Mormons consider Mormonism as a part of Christianity? 

To add to that question; If they do consider themselves Christian, do they think of themselves as Protestants or as their own group?

Yes, we do consider ourselves Christians (It's in our official freaking name after all), and yes we consider ourselves Protestant (of a sort. Insisting that we're the only "true" church puts us into a weird category).

Our religious culture has a lot of respect for Martin Luther (we kind of quietly sidestep the antisemitism he expressed), and especially for the early Bible Latin-to-English translators. Those Mormons who know of him (and we had a movie about his troubles) friggin love John Wycliffe.

I actually have a very weird opinion on Mormons being Christians; I believe that, but I also think that because of our idiosyncrasies, we could consider ourselves the fourth Abrahamic religion. I also fervently believe in Joseph Smith's teaching that every other religion teaches at least a little bit of the truth. I'm still a Mormon, but for example I think Buddhism has some excellent teachings.

[Mopsus]

Do some consider the term "Mormon" derogatory? If so, is there another adjective used to describe a member of the LDS Church? You'll have to forgive me if this question has already been asked.

[Zioneer]

Do some consider the term "Mormon" derogatory? If so, is there another adjective used to describe a member of the LDS Church? You'll have to forgive me if this question has already been asked.

A few people still consider it derogatory, but the LDS Church itself has mostly embraced the term "Mormon" (see the "I'm a Mormon" videos for example), mostly because everybody is going to call us that anyway and it isn't really offensive. We still don't call ourselves Mormon or use it in member-to-member conversation, but I see it as a good shorthand.

We're officially Latter Day Saints, but that takes way too long to remember or say.

[Zioneer]

Sorry for bumping this thread after so long, but after the same-sex marriage ban going down in Utah, and the LDS Church saying that yes, the priesthood ban was racist, I thought this was about time to revive this thread.

So does anyone have any further questions about Mormonism?

[Deus Naturae]

Forgive me if I'm just flat-out incorrect here, but isn't it true that the LDS Church believes that Mormonism is more or less the same as the original practice of Christianity, ie the form of Christianity practiced between the Resurrection of Jesus and the Great Apostasy. Based on what is historically known about the earliest practice of Christianity, is that belief not historically inaccurate?

[Zioneer]

Forgive me if I'm just flat-out incorrect here, but isn't it true that the LDS Church believes that Mormonism is more or less the same as the original practice of Christianity, ie the form of Christianity practiced between the Resurrection of Jesus and the Great Apostasy. Based on what is historically known about the earliest practice of Christianity, is that belief not historically inaccurate?

Oh it's no problem, ask away.

In any case, we believe that some beliefs were altered or misinterpreted by Christians after the Apostasy and we don't follow say, the Nicene Creed at all. We also focus on the practices found in the Book of Mormon and on modern policies (not doctrine, but institutional policies) we find helpful. Also, we are a church of continuing revelation while at the same time believing that we're a restoration of original principles. It's complicated, and possibly contradictory, but that's the way it is.

Also we believe that Joseph Smith was inspired to tweak a few words and passages here and there in the Bible to ensure that it was accurate.

[Zioneer]

So I'm listening to a podcast/reading a book about Elijah Abel, the first black priest in Mormonism. It's a very fascinating story.

[Frodo]

I don't know if it has already been discussed in this thread, but what is Mormonism's stance on evolution, and science in general? 

[Zioneer]

I don't know if it has already been discussed in this thread, but what is Mormonism's stance on evolution, and science in general? 

I'll borrow the answer to that (and to whether we believe in aliens) from another Mormon on another forum:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

To add to that, most Mormons have the thought that since God is God of the entire universe and not just Earth, it makes no sense to only have life here.

[Zioneer]

So just to dust off this thread: the Church just had their General Conference weekend, and appointed about 42 new "area seventies" (regional leaders, basically) of a huge variety of nationalities.

Very interesting, and might be the sign of a new international push by the LDS Church.