I don't think he's saying that they apply only to the Son, but to both. The idea is that that makes them both the one true God.

What are you talking about, Nick?I think they raise a good point that should at least be delt with fairly. Jesus seems to be prayed to in 2nd Corinthians. What exactly are the implications of this?

Exactly. Those in the church believe they do have true priesthood authority from God. I'm not saying they do, but that explains why the laying on of hands and other things involving the priesthood are done.

The reason I said I recieved the gift of the Holy Ghost right afterwards is that that's actually a separate ordinance in the LDS church. It's usually given as a blessing with the laying on of hands, typically shortly after baptism (after drying off and changing of course). I honestly don't know if I really did recieve the Holy Ghost or if my…[Read more]

Looking at all sides, why aren't more people recorded as calling Christ their God? Also, how can we be sure which instances people are speaking with a deeper meaning? Because you could take this all the way and say that Thomas wasn't really saying Christ was his Lord either, but that he was just refering to the Father Christ was representing.…[Read more]

Progress is going alright. Still looking mostly at the nature and character of God, and I'm almost halfway through the book I'm reading on the Arian controversy and resulting council of Nicaea.An interesting thought occured to me the other night. I was thinking about how angels and messengers of God are often referred to as God. I thought it…[Read more]

Completely agree, Nick.

Good question. I don't have an answer for you.

I was baptized when I was about 9. I was pretty young and quite a different person then, but it was my decision. The baptism was by full immersion and I recieved the gift of the Holy Ghost right afterwards.

Good idea, t8. I think it's important for me to point out right now that members of the LDS faith generally aren't as “works dependant” as some seem to think. The fourth article of faith states, “We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance…” This means that…[Read more]

I hadn't thought of it that way, Nick. But that sounds more like Tritheism to me than Trinitarianism. I guess the question I would have is what the term “fully divine” means. Would an angel or holy messenger be thought of as fully divine or just partially? As far as I know, I never met a person who worshiped Christ as anything more than the…[Read more]

Hmm. That could be true, Tim. I didn't consider the possibility of Nick just trying to get through to anyone reading in general. But if that is the case, I felt it was gone about in completely the wrong way.

Oh! I completely forgot. There is a small statement of faith very commonly held in the church. It's a small document or creed outlined around the time when the church was founded. It's called The Articles of Faith. I'll past it below for anyone that's curious. I would say these are the beliefs that unify those in the church more than any…[Read more]

Yeah, that quote confused me too. Just as Mormon 7:7 did when I first found it. If they do, then I was never aware of it. God was always referred to as our Heavenly Father, and Christ as his Son. If at all possible, I'd love to get a link to the page he quoted from. Anyway, all I know is that I and those I went to church with never declared…[Read more]

Thanks for the support, t8. But actually, anybody can feel free to ask all the questions they want. That's the whole reason I started posting here. I have 100% confidence that answering questions about a group of people I grew up around won't stop me from moving on or seeking out truth. I'm many months into my search and will contine to do…[Read more]

Exactly, Phoenix. Everyone else has been quite respectful to me and seems to get what I'm trying to say. Nick has seemed very much of an arguer thus far. The “I'm right, your're wrong” mentality I described on page seven. The funny part is that he doesn't even seem to get that I'm not trying to defend the LDS church. What's wrong with a…[Read more]

Holy crap, Nick. I keep saying over and over that I really don't want people jumping all over my case about things I don't even believe in in the first place. All I wanted to do was provide you guys with an inside look of the LDS view point. I know because I grew up around these people, and know more or less how they think and act. I can't…[Read more]

The time actually preaching the gospel varies from day to day. It all depends on how many doors don't get slammed, and how many discussions with non-members they have planned for the day. But I can assure you that they're preaching as much and in as many ways as they can. That is, afterall, the purpose of being there.A member of the church…[Read more]

It sure does. If you're a member of the chruch then you believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. Even if you don't, they do. So they would call it scripture and study it right along side bible. Even cross-referencing between the two books. It's definitely understandable why so many would find this hard to accept, regardless of…[Read more]

It's pretty dang intense. Every part of their day is scheduled in some form or another. I think 6:30 wake up to 10:30 in bed is pretty typical. Each day starts off with two or three hours of scripture study – half personal and half with their companion. Other parts of the day are broken up between getting ready, eating, working out, knocking…[Read more]