Ubuntu
wayfaring stranger
@GracetotheHumble:
I'm sure that there are many nice people in the LDS Church, and I also think it's safe to assume that many of them are sincere believers that are loved by God.
However, let's make a thought experiment. Imagine that you were a pagan Roman soldier stationed in Judea a few years before the public ministry of Jesus and you were curious about the religion of the people of God. Chances are that many Jews would have treated you with contempt and scorn, as an “unclean” person. Even though they were a people raised up by God it didn't mean that they were better than other people, in some respects they might have been worse. Perhaps you later were stationed a little further north and found that the Samaritans in general were a lot more friendly than the Jews… Yet Jesus insisted that the Salvation came from the Jews! (John 4:22)
How could this be? The solution of this dilemma is obviously that not all Jews were spiritually minded, in the same way as not all church goers today are true Christians. If you don't know the difference between the universal church and the visible Church, your experience in any Church/denomination will be difficult. The body of Christ consists of all true believers in all Churches, while the visible Church is a formal body such as for instance the adventist denomination. Not all members of the adventist denomination will be members of the body of Christ. Yes, it's true that we recognize true believers belonging to the universal Church by their fruits, but you are mistaken if you think you can establish whether or not a Church is “safe” to join using this test alone. Some of the most friendly and helpful people I've ever met have been Jehovah Witnesses, but I still wouldn't recommend anyone to join that denomination.
Finally, are you completely sure that the people there have been ignoring your requests? Perhaps there's some other reason why you haven't heard from them? I'm not necessarily saying that this is the case, but I would be careful about naming and shaming a Church without being certain that you know all the particulars about why you haven't heard from them. In most places people would be glad to hear from seekers, so it strikes me as a little strange that you didn't hear back from anyone, especially if this is a larger Church.
I'm sure that there are many nice people in the LDS Church, and I also think it's safe to assume that many of them are sincere believers that are loved by God.
However, let's make a thought experiment. Imagine that you were a pagan Roman soldier stationed in Judea a few years before the public ministry of Jesus and you were curious about the religion of the people of God. Chances are that many Jews would have treated you with contempt and scorn, as an “unclean” person. Even though they were a people raised up by God it didn't mean that they were better than other people, in some respects they might have been worse. Perhaps you later were stationed a little further north and found that the Samaritans in general were a lot more friendly than the Jews… Yet Jesus insisted that the Salvation came from the Jews! (John 4:22)
How could this be? The solution of this dilemma is obviously that not all Jews were spiritually minded, in the same way as not all church goers today are true Christians. If you don't know the difference between the universal church and the visible Church, your experience in any Church/denomination will be difficult. The body of Christ consists of all true believers in all Churches, while the visible Church is a formal body such as for instance the adventist denomination. Not all members of the adventist denomination will be members of the body of Christ. Yes, it's true that we recognize true believers belonging to the universal Church by their fruits, but you are mistaken if you think you can establish whether or not a Church is “safe” to join using this test alone. Some of the most friendly and helpful people I've ever met have been Jehovah Witnesses, but I still wouldn't recommend anyone to join that denomination.
Finally, are you completely sure that the people there have been ignoring your requests? Perhaps there's some other reason why you haven't heard from them? I'm not necessarily saying that this is the case, but I would be careful about naming and shaming a Church without being certain that you know all the particulars about why you haven't heard from them. In most places people would be glad to hear from seekers, so it strikes me as a little strange that you didn't hear back from anyone, especially if this is a larger Church.
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