Because Matthew and Luke and John were inspired for God, perhaps even divinely commissioned by the church to pen their testimonies. If Luke in the Gospel, as well as in Acts or John chose to write of subsequent appearance of the Lord Jesus after His ascension into heaven, appearances not found in Mark or Matthew, are we prone to criticize, to cry foul?
No, because these accounts are contained in the Christian canon, that collection of books that serves as the rule of faith and practice in the Christian world. The authority of scripture is tied to its source. From our perspective, the living, breathing, ever-relevant nature of the word of God is linked not to written words, not even to the writing of Moses or Isaiah or Malachi, not to the four Gospels or the epistles of Paul, but rather to the spirit of prophecy and revelation that illuminated and empowered those who recorded them in the first place.
The Bible does in fact contain much that can and should guide our walk and talk; it contains the word and will of the Lord to men and women in earlier ages, and its timeless truths have tremendous normative value for our day.
But we do not derive authority to speak or act in the name of Deity on the basis of what God gave to His people in an earlier day. Just how bold is the Latter-day Saint claim? In a letter to his uncle Silas, Joseph Smith wrote the following:. Why should it be thought a thing incredible that the Lord should be pleased to speak again in these last days for their salvation? But you will admit that the word spoken to Noah was not sufficient or Abraham. I may believe that Abraham communed with God and conversed with angels.
And will not the Lord hear my prayers, and listen to my cries as soon [as] he ever did to theirs, if I come to him in the manner they did? Or is he a respecter of persons? Latter-day Saints feel a deep allegiance to the Bible.
It seems odd to us, however, to be accused of being irreverent or disloyal to the Bible when we suggest to the religious world that the God of heaven has chosen to speak again. Our challenge is hauntingly reminiscent of that faced by Peter, James, John or Paul when they declared to the religious establishment of their day that God had sent new truths and new revelations into the world, truths that supplemented and even clarified the Hebrew scripture. And what was the response of the Jews of the day?
They are sufficient. And so it is today. We had read several of his books and had enjoyed his preaching over the years. As a part of an outreach effort to better understand those of other faiths and to assist them to understand us a little better , we have visited such institutions as Notre Dame, Catholic University, Baylor, Wheaton College and various religious colleges and seminaries. We met this particular pastor and then attended his church services on both Sunday morning and Sunday evening and in both meetings were impressed with the depth and inspiration of his preaching.
The next day we met for lunch and had a wonderful two-hour doctrinal discussion. I explained that we had no set agenda, except that we had admired his writings and wanted to meet him. We added that we had several questions we wanted to pose in order to better understand Evangelical theology. I mentioned that as the dean of religious education at that time , I oversaw the teaching of religion to some 30, young people at Brigham Young University and that I felt it would be wise for me to be able to articulate properly the beliefs of our brothers and sisters of other faiths.
I hoped, as well, that they might make the effort to understand our beliefs so as to represent accurately what we teach. We compared and contrasted, we asked questions and we answered questions.
In thinking back on what proved to be one of the most stimulating and worthwhile learning experiences of our lives, the one thing that characterized our discussion, and the one thing that made the biggest difference, was the mood that existed there — a mood of openness, candor and a general lack of defensiveness. We knew what we believed, and we were all committed to our own religious tradition. But we were eager to learn where the other person was coming from.
This experience says something to me about what can happen when men and women of good will come together in an attitude of openness and in a sincere effort to better understand and be understood. Given the challenges we face in our society — fatherless homes, child and spouse abuse, divorce, poverty, spreading crime and delinquency — it seems so foolish for men and women who believe in God, whose hearts and lives have been surrendered to that God, to allow doctrinal differences to prevent them from working together.
Okay, you believe in a triune God, that the Almighty is a spirit and that He created all things ex nihilo. I believe that God is an exalted man, that He is a separate and distinct personage from the Son and the Holy Ghost.
He believes in heaven, while she believes in nirvana. She believes that the Sabbath should be observed on Saturday, while her neighbor feels that the day of corporate worship should be on Friday. This one speaks in tongues, that one spends much of his time leading marches against social injustice, while a third believes that little children should be baptized.
One good Baptist is a strict Calvinist, while another tends to take freedom of the will quite seriously. And so on, and so on. Most or[S1] all of these ills have moral or spiritual roots. In the spirit of the brotherhood and sisterhood of humankind, is it not possible to lay aside theological differences long enough to address the staggering social issues in our troubled world? My recent interactions with men and women of various faiths have had a profound impact on me; they have broadened my horizons dramatically and reminded me — a sobering reminder we all need once in a while — that we are all sons and daughters of the same Eternal Father.
We may never resolve our differences on the Godhead or the Trinity, on the spiritual or corporeal nature of Deity or on the sufficiency or inerrancy of the Bible, but we can agree that there is a God; that the ultimate transformation of society will come only through the application of moral and religious solutions to pressing issues; and that the regeneration of individual hearts and souls is foundational to the restoration of virtue in our communities and nations.
One need not surrender cherished religious values or doctrines in order to be a better neighbor, a more caring citizen, a more involved municipal. In addition, we can have lively and provocative discussion on our differences, and such interactions need not be threatening, offensive or damaging to our relationships. What we cannot afford to do, if we are to communicate and cooperate, is to misrepresent one another or ascribe ulterior motives.
Such measures are divisive and do not partake of that Spirit that strengthens, binds and reinforces. Hinckley said of the Latter-day Saints:. We want to be good neighbors; we want to be good friends. We feel we can differ theologically with people without being disagreeable in any sense. We hope they feel the same way toward us. We have many friends and many associations with people who are not of our faith, with whom we deal constantly, and we have a wonderful relationship.
Most often, revelation unfolds as an ongoing, prayerful dialogue with God. When a problem arises, we study out its dimensions and we ask God our questions. If we have sufficient faith, God leads us to answers, either partial or full. Though ultimately a spiritual experience, revelation also requires careful thought. God does not simply hand down information. He expects us to figure things out through prayerful searching and sound thinking. The First Presidency consisting of the president or prophet of the Church and his two counselors and members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles receive inspiration to guide the Church as a whole.
Individuals are also inspired with revelation regarding how to conduct their lives and help serve others. Learn more about revelation. All women are daughters of loving Heavenly Parents. Women and men are equal in the sight of God. In the family, a wife and a husband form an equal partnership in leading and raising a family. While worthy men hold the priesthood, worthy women serve as leaders, counselors, missionaries and teachers and in many other responsibilities.
They routinely preach from the pulpit and lead congregational prayers in worship services. They serve both in the Church and in their local communities and contribute to the world as leaders in a variety of professions. Their vital and unique contribution to raising children is considered an important responsibility and a special privilege of equal importance to priesthood responsibilities. Latter-day Saints believe that God wants us to become like Him.
But this teaching is often misrepresented by those who caricature the faith. In our world of diverse religious observance, many people of faith wear special clothing as a reminder of sacred beliefs and commitments. This has been a common practice throughout history. These garments are simple, white underclothing composed of two pieces: a top piece similar to a T-shirt and a bottom piece similar to shorts.
Not unlike the Jewish tallit katan prayer shawl , these garments are worn underneath regular clothes. Temple garments serve as a personal reminder of covenants made with God to lead good, honorable, Christlike lives. The wearing of temple garments is an outward expression of an inward commitment to follow the Savior. Biblical scripture contains many references to the wearing of special garments. In the Old Testament the Israelites are specifically instructed to turn their garments into personal reminders of their covenants with God see Numbers — Indeed, for some, religious clothing has always been an important part of integrating worship with daily living.
Such practices resonate with Latter-day Saints today. Because of the personal and religious nature of the temple garment, the Church asks all media to report on the subject with respect, treating Latter-day Saint temple garments as they would religious vestments of other faiths. Ridiculing or making light of sacred clothing is highly offensive to Latter-day Saints.
The practice of polygamy is strictly prohibited in the Church. The general standard of marriage in the Church has always been monogamy, as indicated in the Book of Mormon see Jacob For periods in the Bible, polygamy was practiced by the patriarchs Abraham and Jacob, as well as kings David and Solomon.
It was again practiced by a minority of Latter-day Saints in the early years of the Church. Polygamy was officially discontinued in Those who practice polygamy today have nothing whatsoever to do with the Church.
Read more regarding this question. The gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone. People of all races have always been welcomed and baptized into the Church since its beginning. During this time some black males were ordained to the priesthood. At some point the Church stopped ordaining male members of African descent, although there were a few exceptions. It is not known precisely why, how or when this restriction began in the Church, but it has ended.
Church leaders sought divine guidance regarding the issue and in extended the priesthood to all worthy male members. The Church immediately began ordaining members to priesthood offices wherever they attended throughout the world. The Church unequivocally condemns racism, including any and all past racism by individuals both inside and outside the Church. In , then Church president Gordon B.
Nor can he consider himself to be in harmony with the teachings of the Church of Christ. Mormons believe that God the Father is the all powerful and all knowing supreme being who created the world.
God the Father is a being called Elohim, who was once a man like present day human beings, but who lived on another planet. Over time this man made himself perfect and became God, with a knowledge of everything, and the power to do anything. Since God is a being who has a history, and who has lived in some way like us, he is much easier for human beings to understand. Because God has shared in our experience of growing through life he is able to get very close to us.
The result is that it is possible for there to be a very close and personal relationship between God and each individual. When Mormons speak of God as eternal they don't mean that God has always existed in the same form, but that God has lived for so long that it's impossible to imagine a time when God did not exist.
God created this world out of material that already existed by organising it into the proper forms. Unlike the ideas of some other religions, God in Mormon thinking does not create time and matter out of nothing.
Instead he works with matter and spirit that already exist and organises them into the created universe. In many ways this idea of God is less difficult to understand than the concept of a being who exists beyond time and matter, and who in some unexplained way brings both into being. If you think about this creation story in detail it turns out to have many problems, but so do the creation myths of all religions. Their truth is spiritual and poetic, rather than a mechanical account of what actually happened.
The Mormon founder Joseph Smith said that the spirit of man has always existed in some form and is in some way made into individual spirits by God. One idea of how God does this is that human spirits are conceived and born into spirit children, who at some point in their existence are born as human children on earth - in the same way that God himself is the spirit child of another God.
Mormons regard Jesus Christ as the central figure of their faith, and the perfect example of how they should live their lives. They believe that after the resurrection, Jesus visited America, where he taught and performed miracles. Jesus was the first spirit child of God the Father.
He is the eldest brother of all the spirit children - and thus the eldest brother of all human beings. Jesus created this and other worlds at the direction of God the Father. He did this to make possible the mortal state that is an essential stage in enabling spirit children to achieve eternal life. Jesus was known to the people of the Old Testament as Jehovah.
He became Jesus Christ when he was born on earth. Jesus was born on earth to Mary in Bethlehem, as related in the Bible. He lived his life on earth without sin, and in total obedience to God the Father.
0コメント