May

16

There is always a lot of confusion about who are the Mormons. A few years ago I noticed that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints started putting more emphasis on the official name of the Church by asking more clearly that members and not members use the full name of the Church, instead than saying “Mormon Church.”

However, in this video, Mormon spokesman Michael Otterson clearly says that the media should not call those little poligamyst sects “Mormons” because there is really almost nothing in common between those groups and the Church. I like the idea of defending the nickname “Mormons” since it is widely used and recognized, and there is nothing to be ashamed of.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not allow its members to practice poligamy since the end of the 19th century. Moreover, the way poligamy was practiced more than a century ago was very different from the way it is practiced today by these groups, and the social environment is completely different.  

Finally, many other aspects of the way these people live or believe are different from what is taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Watch the Video:


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Mar

26

The Fall of Adam is one of those doctrines that really differentiate the Mormon Church from almost any other Christian Church. The main consequence is to see Adam’s Fall as a blessing and not only as a step back, in fact, it was a step forward that brought positive and negative consequences on the human race.

An important related issue, however, is that Mormons do not believe that Adam’s transgression was a breach of the law of chastity. According to Mormon doctrine, Adam and Eve were already married before partaking of fruit and therefore they could not sin in the sense most Christians believe. Adam’s transgression included partaking of a food that would make Adam and Eve mortals. They choose to do so to be able to have children.

These concepts may help to understand the following quote:

The Fall was not a disaster. It wasn’t a mistake or an accident. It was a deliberate part of the plan of salvation. We are God’s spirit ‘offspring,’ sent to earth ‘innocent’ of Adam’s transgression. Yet our Father’s plan subjects us to temptation and misery in this fallen world as the price to comprehend authentic joy. Without tasting the bitter, we actually cannot understand the sweet. We require mortality’s discipline and refinement as the ‘next step in [our] development’ toward becoming like our Father. But growth means growing pains. It also means learning from our mistakes in a continual process made possible by the Savior’s grace, which He extends both during and ‘after all we can do’ (2 Nephi 25:23).”

Bruce C. Hafen, “The Atonement: All for All,” Ensign, May 2004, 97

Feb

19

A week or so ago I had the opportunity to watch the worldwide leadership training of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It focused on families, how to build up a righteous posterity.

Now the training is available on the internet for all those who may want to watch it for the first time or watch it again. Archives are available in text, audio, and video formats at:

LDS Library

or you can find the video of the RoundTable at:

GoogleVideos

Dec

10

As a parent of a few male teenagers and a Mormon, I was hoping that sending them on a mission would be the last big effort before they would finally become adults.

However, a few months ago someone had told me that children between the ages of 18 and 25 or even 30 may still need a lot of help and require a lot of work. I had hoped that it was not true… but I was doubting…

Now I am sure that my hopes were in vain. A new study by BYU professors seem to indicate that in fact, children between the ages of 18 and 25 are not yet really adults.

The findings strengthen the idea that a distinct life stage has emerged between adolescence and adulthood, consequently extending parents’ period of responsibility for their children. The study, which will be published in the new issue of the Journal of Family Psychology, offers a new look at parents’ expectations when children reach their 20s.

“The message parents are sending to their kids is “You may be 18 but that doesn’t magically make you an adult. There are things you first need to develop and that hasn’t happened yet,” said Larry Nelson, associate professor in the School of Family Life at BYU and lead author on the study. “It’s not that their kids refuse to grow up, it’s that they are still in the process of doing that.”

BYU study: Parents don’t view their college students as adults

In short, it look like I have many years in front of me before I can say… it is done!

 


 

 

Aug

17

The Family: A Proclamation to The World was issued by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on September 23, 1995.

This is a quote from that document:

“All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose”

What do we learn from this? That we have “heavenly parents”, not just a heavenly father. This makes sense. How can we have a father without a mother? But I know that this is hard doctrine for most of the Christian world; however, it is still true.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks said:

“Our theology begins with heavenly parents. Our highest aspiration is to be like them”.

Just to make things even harder this is another quote from Elder Melvin J. Ballard about eternal marriage and eternal increase:

“What do we mean by endless or eternal increase? We mean that through the righteousness and faithfulness of men and women who keep the commandments of God they will come forth [in the Resurrection] with celestial bodies,… and unto them, through their preparation, there will come children, who will be spirit children.”

And this is the most interesting part:

“The nature of the offspring is determined by the nature of the substance that flows in the veins of the being. When blood flows in the veins of the being, the offspring will be what blood produces, which is tangible flesh and bone; but when that which flows in the veins is spirit matter [as in resurrected beings], a substance which is more refined and pure and glorious than blood, the offspring of such beings will be spirit children.”

This is great doctrine. This is meat and not milk, but it is true and wonderful. I am glad that the Mormon Church teaches what really is and not the fables of the world.

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