The new 2010 Church Handbook of Instructions has some small but important changes from the 2006 version in its section on homosexuality. Deletions are in strikeout. Additions are in [italics].
via project mayhem: Homosexuality in the 2010 Church Handbook of Instructions.
Popularity: 2% [?]
The water in Haiti’s seaside town of Leogane rose to the doorsteps of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But if you’re local, and homeless, you needn’t have bothered coming here for help. Help is for Mormons only.
via No Sanctuary at Leogane, Haiti, Mormon Church During Hurricane Tomas.
Also, see the Church’s response.
Popularity: 1% [?]
The poll also asked about overall familiarity with the issue, and Mormons accounted themselves as the least of these. So the poll basically portrays Mormons saying ”I haven’t actually heard a great deal about the circumstances, but go ahead and move your community center someplace else.”
via Faith-Promoting Rumor » Mormons blow it in recent Gallup poll on NYC Islamic Center.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Recently, I was having a conversation with a Mormon I know regarding tattoos. She has a tattoo and recently saw another one she would like to have. Having come back to church after a long absence, she thought getting a tattoo was “against the rules”.
I told her it wasn’t against the rules (whatever that means), and two other members joined our conversation saying it was. One of them said not getting a tattoo is treating our bodies as temples for the spirit.
That phrase comes from 1 Cor 6:19:
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
I have to wonder how on track that interpretation is. After all, when we go to the temple, is what the outside of the temple looks like what makes us feel the Spirit?
Consider also 1 Corinthians 3:16–17, where Paul says:
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”
Sure if people start with the premise that tattooing is defiling the body, then they are going to see how this scripture supports the stance that tattooing is wrong.
But what if defilement refers to something entirely different.
Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
Perhaps what Paul was referring to was that we must use our bodies for the purposes God intended for them. Perhaps we should use our bodies for accomplishing good, for bettering others, and for improving the world. Perhaps there are more important things we should be worrying about than whether we have a tattoo.
Consider 1 Sam 16:7:
But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
Does Jesus really concern himself with whether someone gets a tattoo? Would he consider having a tattoo to be a greater sin (if a sin at all) than the judgement doled out by other Mormons toward my friend for having a tattoo in the first place.
How can any good Christian read Matthew 7 then feel justified in judging the actions of others? What we need in this world are more Christians and fewer Mormons.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Please watch these two videos. In both videos you can find individuals who believe they are followers of Christ and are performing God’s will.
Now that you have had a chance to view both videos, which of these two do you feel showed Christianity more accurately in the actions of those portrayed?
One might even paraphrase Luke 10:36 and ask which of those portrayed in these videos was a neighbour?
I didn’t pick these videos because I wanted to portray Mormons as Christian and Baptists as not Christian. In fact, there are many Mormons who don’t emulate Jesus’s life in their own. Likewise, there are many Baptists who are true disciples of Jesus.
Consider this passage from the Sermon on the Mount:
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matt 7:21)
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we often use this scripture to justify the belief that we are saved by our works, and not by simply accepting Jesus into one’s life.
In my opinion, that interpretation is misguided.
This scripture isn’t separating the Mormons from other Christians, or the sheep from the goats (see Matt 25:32–33). It has nothing to do with denominations. There will be no division of the children of Christ in heaven. The children of Christ will have one faith, looking forward with one eye, and having our hearts knitted in unity (see Mosiah 18:21; 4 Nephi 1:17; Eph 4:5).
Missionary work in the Mormon Church shouldn’t be about producing more Mormons, it’s should be about creating new Christians. There will be no Mormons in the Celestial Kingdom, only Christians.
Too often in the Mormon Church I hear the echoes of the Zoramites preaching from their Rameumptom: how we are separated from other Christians; how we do not believe in the traditions of other Christians; how we have been elected to be saved while all around us revel in debauchery and are going to hell; that we are a chosen and holy people.
In fact, I heard this very thing in Gospel Doctrine today as class members listed off the various evil acts of today’s society.
But why don’t we get it? Why can’t we see that it’s not just the Westborough Baptist Churches out there who aren’t Christian? Why can’t we see that many Mormons think they are going to the Celestial Kingdom even though all they do is say, “Lord, Lord?”
Did Jesus stand on a street corner calling sinners to repentance? Did he sit in a Sunday School class extolling the righteousness of his Church members and badmouthing the sinners of the world?
Of course not. He showed charity. There is a reason why charity is called the pure love of Christ (see Moro 7:47). He did not condemn the sinners (see John 8:11); he ate with them (see Mark 2:15).
Consider this passage, which I believe sums up succinctly the ministry of Jesus:
“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” (Matt 5:44)
Imagine a world where all Christians were actually, well, Christian.
Popularity: 1% [?]
As a young woman, I went into my first temple interview (for baptisms) as a complete sexual ignoramus. (I thought ‘french kissing’ meant kissing for long time as opposed to a friendly peck. And that pretty much summed up the entire depth of my knowledge.) My parents never talked to me about sex, and I only had the vaguest notion of what was involved. So when the Bishop asked me if I obeyed the law of chastity, I don’t know if it was the stupefied look on my face, or if he was following standard procedure, but he quickly amended, do you understand the law of Chasity? And I felt I had to admit that I did not think so.
via Feminist Mormon Housewives » 13 Articles of Healthy Chastity.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Or he’s not. I don’t care. He is still my son. And he is 5. And I am his mother. And if you have a problem with anything mentioned above, I don’t want to know you.
I have gone back and forth on whether I wanted to post something more in-depth about my sweet boy and his choice of Halloween costume. Or more specifically, the reactions to it. I figure if I’m still irked by it a few days later, I may as well go ahead and post my thoughts.
via My son is gay « Nerdy Apple Bottom.
Popularity: 1% [?]
An Argentine family who sought asylum in the United States from religious persecution scrambled Wednesday to stuff 10 years of their American life into a few suitcases.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement late Tuesday denied Claudio Correa’s and Deborah Zalazar de Correa’s petition to delay their deportation so Correa could finish treatment for hepatitis C and their son could complete high school. ICE gave them less than two days to prepare for a flight to Buenos Aires on Thursday.
via Deseret News
Popularity: 1% [?]
What I found most interesting about this film was the frequent similarities between Islam, Orthodox Judaism, and other insular religions (including Mormonism), in terms of community, clothing, and marriage. While at the park, Rochel encourages her young brother to play with Nasira’s cousin. “But is he Jewish?” the brother asks, in the same unselfconscious way that I have heard many Mormon moms express concern about their neighbors. In another scene, Rochel’s mom demands that Nasira leave her home, threatening Rochel with what will happen if the neighbors see her. “You’re ruining your prospects!” she tells her, in reference to her marital chances.
via Arranged.
Popularity: 1% [?]
