I'll echo the welcome, Scot. You should find this a friendly enough place. Always be willing and able to back up what you say with evidence, and please don't consider it mocking or ridiculing if your opinions are challenged.
Oh, no! I just lost my big reply I was writing - I just finished, and I had links to give, but I have not yet reached 15 posts. Consequently, I pushed Post Reply and then the warning came up and I lost all of what I was saying.
Never mind - I'll retype what I can. Thank you very much for your very kind welcome! I had gathered that this would be a great place to be, and you just confirmed it!
As one who spent his last months as a believer (literally) begging for a sign from Heaven, I wonder why I wasn't privy to this "truth". I am quite interested in your opinion.
A question - do you think there may be a specific action or process that needs to be done in order to get the specific answer you want? Vague queries don't work too well, don't you think? "God, are you there?" and you might get an answer that *might* be questionable if it really was from God or not. In my previous reply, I had suddenly thought of an idea - it's like a map to a treasure. Many people are looking for treasure (God), yeah? And the map is something that lists specific details and actions which are needed to reach the treasure. In other words, perhaps there's something specific that needs to be done so that God can finally reveal himself to you.
If you are saying that the early Christian church was similar in doctrine to the Latter Day Saints, please provide evidence - particularly of those points at which Mormonism differs from traditional Christianity. If I have misunderstood, accept my apologies.
Oh, that is what I'm saying, yes - the early Christian church as led by Jesus and Peter had the same doctrines as the LDS Church does now. There are practices and doctrines that are found in the LDS Church which are spoken of in the New Testament but are not commonly found in many mainstream Christian churches. Three things come to mind: 1 - 1 Corinthians 15:29 - "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?" That refers to temple work for those who are dead and are in need of saving ordinances. 2 - Various mentions of laying on of hands in several blessings documented in the New Testament - this is the power of God manifested in such blessings, and I have seen it manifested through the laying on of hands - and it only works if the authority is present. Men in the LDS Church have this authority. And 3 - Ephesians 4:11 - "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers" - we have these types of people in our organizational hierarchy.
There are others to be sure, but those three come to mind.
Many things have been written on this forum as a testament to the "lost and dying world." Catholics, Muslims, Nostradamians, members of nearly every religious faith, philosophy, etc., have spoken of the truth they possess and their sorrow that we don't understand and accept their view. In what way, besides special pleading, is your statement any different than theirs?
The LDS Church is emphatic that God can and does answer directly to specific queries, whether the person is asking about the validity of the Book of Mormon, or if Joseph Smith was indeed a true prophet of God, or some specific question. And such queries are answered directly with the Holy Spirit, whose role is to confirm the truth of all things. I personally have received such confirmations hundreds of times. I have met many previously non-LDS people who have directly asked God for confirmation that what they're learning or hearing about the LDS Church is true at all, and they became converts after the Holy Spirit has testified to them of the validity of such things. The Holy Spirit is available to anyone who wishes to know about such validity in a honest and sincere manner.
In other words - the LDS Church is unique in the sense that they have the Holy Spirit and the authority to act in God's name. It cannot be proven, generally speaking, except only by individual subjective experience through revelation by God.
Is this a derail? Perhaps, but it stems from the discussion on Mormonism. If another mod thinks this is worthy of a split, I understand completely.
I really, really apologize if this is going to be a derail. I know the feeling because of my moderator work on another forum. To be fair, this discussion is appropriate for the moderated thread that we are here to comment on, but as this thread is related to Mormon issues and topics, then it becomes a question of whether people are comfortable with this thread being a commentary of the moderated thread *and* a discussion on related Mormon topics, or whether it should be a separate thread. I honestly do not know because I don't know the forum well enough to judge for myself.
).