The Mormon Church is trying to set the record straight

Discussion in 'Faith and Religion' started by tulianr, Feb 27, 2014.


  1. tulianr

    tulianr Don Quixote de la Monkey

    Mormons: People don't get own planets in afterlife

    SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Mormon Church is pushing back against the notion that members of the faith are taught they'll get their own planet in the afterlife, a misconception popularized in pop culture most recently by the Broadway show "The Book of Mormon."

    A newly-posted article affirms the faith's belief that humans can become like God in eternity, but says the "cartoonish image of people receiving their own planets" is not how members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints envision it.

    "While few Latter-day Saints would identify with caricatures of having their own planet, most would agree that the awe inspired by creation hints at our creative potential in the eternities," the article says.

    The expectation of exaltation is more figurative and ambiguous than boiling it down to living on one planet, it says.

    "Church members imagine exaltation less through images of what they will get and more through the relationships they have now and how those relationships might be purified and elevated," the article says.

    The 3,500-word article is part of a series of recent online pieces posted on the church website that explain, expand or clarify on some of the more sensitive gospel topics.

    Past articles have addressed the faith's past ban on black men in the lay clergy and the early history of polygamy.

    The series of postings have been applauded by religious scholars who say the church is finally acknowledging some of the most controversial or sensitive parts of its history and doctrine that it once sidestepped.

    "The church has become fully aware that scholarship and history is a double edge sword," said Terryl Givens, professor of literature and religion and the James Bostwick Chair of English at the University of Richmond. "They can work in the church's favor, but they can also be unsettling."

    The new article, entitled "Becoming Like God," doesn't mention Kolob, referred to in the Book of Abraham as a planet or star closest to the throne of God.

    Kolob is mentioned in a Mormon hymn, but interpretations that it is the planet where God lives, or the place where church members will go when they die, read a great deal into an obscure verse in Mormon scripture, said Matthew Bowman, assistant professor of religion at Hampden-Sydney College.

    "I'm not surprised it's not mentioned," Bowman said. "Even most Mormons aren't sure what exactly to make of the reference."

    Kolob is believed to be the inspiration for the name of the planet, "Kobol," in the science fiction TV series, "Battlestar Gallatica," which was created by a Mormon.

    Kolob isn't mentioned in the Broadway show, "The Book of Mormon" but a fictional Mormon missionary sings, "I believe that God has a plan for all of us. I believe that plan involved me getting my own planet."

    People commonly latch on to the most outrageous or unique aspects of religions, such as Amish people using horse and buggy, and that's how the perception of Mormons inheriting their own planets became widespread, Givens said.

    The series of postings, as well as the church's opening of its archive, shows a natural progression for a religion that is younger than other major worldwide faiths, Givens said. The church was founded in 1830 and took more than a century to hit 1 million members. Today, there are 15 million Mormons worldwide.

    "Many of these things can be unsettling to members who have grown up with a typically manicured narrative, but it's a necessary part of the maturation for the church membership," Givens said.

    The intent of the articles is to give Mormons and non-Mormons definitive places to go to study or learn about doctrinal issues. That could happen eventually but church leaders need to make people aware of them, said Armand Mauss, a retired professor of sociology and religious studies at Washington State University.

    And he said the article won't put an end to misconceptions held by some about Mormons.

    "For devout members of other Christian denominations, especially those of the Evangelical variety, this statement will confirm their existing claims of outrageous Mormon heresies where doctrines of deity are concerned," Mauss said.

    Mormons: People don't get own planets in afterlife - Yahoo News
     
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  2. ditch witch

    ditch witch I do stupid crap, so you don't have to

    That's going to disappoint a lot of people.
     
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  3. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    I was the only non-morman working in a shop in Californication. I was given a Book of Morman, that is still in my bookcase, as they tried to convert me. I was told exactly that, that as a child of God, as any father would want for his children what he had, that I would become a God of another planet.

    I declined.
     
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  4. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

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  5. -06

    -06 Monkey+++

    From a personal viewpoint--My wife and I nearly "converted" to the LDSs. We "came to our senses" and left the fold. Have many very good friends who are Mormons and have a high regard for their diligence. We chose not to embrace their beliefs/practices. Still have the Pearl of Great Price, Doctrines and Covenants, and their "Bible". Have since come to have many doubts about the origin of their leaders "experience" and several other tenets of their faith. Again this is my personal experience and extremely glad we left the church of LDSs.
    ETA: if you have personal questions please PM and will be very glad to answer any.
     
  6. Big Kahuna

    Big Kahuna Monkey++

    I had a long discussion with a Mormon who grew up in the religion who somewhat questioned the testimony of Joseph Smith, and the doctrine as compared to the Bible. However, He said that the most attractive thing about Mormonism to him was that someday he would be able to rule his own world.
     
  7. madmax

    madmax Far right. Bipolar. Veteran. Don't push me.

    I will never tell someone what they should believe in. My beliefs. Just ask.
     
    tulianr likes this.
  8. NotSoSneaky

    NotSoSneaky former supporter

    What's with all the LDS bashing lately ?
    You run out of people to hate ?

    I'd be a lot more concerned about all the mooslums running around.
    You know, the ISIS folks who shoot westerners at random, chop off heads, burn people alive and oh yeah, slice the clitoris off of every woman they find..
     
    3M-TA3 likes this.
  9. D2wing

    D2wing Monkey+

    True. But on the other hand, Mormons were know to massacre non-Mormons in the 1800's. There seem to be different sects within The Mormons just as there are amongst other religions.
     
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  10. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

    It only requires a fairly casual look at any religion's history, and it's not difficult to find past practices and doctrines that would make one's hair stand on end. ISIS just happens to be the current mob of inhumane religious zealots.

    I sometimes wonder whether some LDS stalwart will proxy baptise chelloveck against his knowledge and wishes??? Baptisms for the Dead | Baptizing by Proxy If so...I can only hope that the Stephen Colbert proxy circumcision service will still be available to return the favour. TV host Stephen Colbert weighs in on baptism row by 'converting all dead Mormons to Judaism' | Daily Mail Online
     
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  11. 3M-TA3

    3M-TA3 Cold Wet Monkey

    I'm a teensy bit more concerned by what religious sect is trying to kill me now than the ones who stopped doing it a hundred years before I was born. Just a thought...
     
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  12. D2wing

    D2wing Monkey+

    Good point 3M. I think that the Mormons have been back pedaling on Joseph Smith's teachings for a long time. I consider him a false prophet and a heretic. Therefor everything he said is either false, misleading or unimportant. Mormons have rejected some of his teachings and are embarrassed by some of them. To me this indicates that possibly he was mistaken about what he taught and should have been ignored. But cults of all kinds abound. Thankfully they are not our enemy now. Don't let me get started on who is.
     
  13. 3M-TA3

    3M-TA3 Cold Wet Monkey

    I was immersed in ultra conservative Mormon culture for several years while working for an INEEL spin-off in Eastern Idaho. The greatest danger with Mormons today is that you always need to take at least two of them when you go fishing. If you only take one he will drink all your beer...

    Seriously, though, Mormons are taught to prep from birth and I bet that many Monkeys are Mormon. Most that I knew were solid people trying to live right and take good care of their families. It made for nice well tended neighborhoods, safe streets, and good schools.The "jack Mormon" population was no different than any other group of people you would meet anywhere else.
     
  14. HK_User

    HK_User A Productive Monkey is a Happy Monkey

    First time I heard that line it went like this.
    The greatest danger with Baptist Preachers today is that you always need to take at least two of them when you go fishing. If you only take one he will drink all your beer...
     
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  15. 3M-TA3

    3M-TA3 Cold Wet Monkey

    My version is the Mormon one because it was told to me by a jack Mormon friend as he was finishing my last beer. True story.
     
    chelloveck likes this.
  16. vonslob

    vonslob Monkey++

    I have no issues with Mormons. Live and let live.
     
    tulianr likes this.
  17. fmhuff

    fmhuff Monkey+++

    Mark Twain once said "That a man that does not read books has no advantage over him who cannot read". The same might be said about God's word, the Bible. If you don't even know the truth how will you be able to spot a forgery? So to make a point, it's not what or who you're against, it's what you're for. There are many spiritual roads, but only one narrow way that leads to "life".
     
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