Mormons

[CardinalBaseball]

I know a Mormon girl, and I would like to know what you think about them. Saved? Not saved? Why or why not?
Short and to the point.

 

[CrazyforYeshua]

Short and to the point-they're not scriptural. They believe some different things, Yeshua and satan were brothers, God lives on a planet and has spiritual children, we can become a god, stuff like that.
Go to the website I mentioned elsewhere: www.watchman.org, you will find articles to help you.

 

[kamikat]

They do not believe in the same god as we do, nor do they belive in the same Jesus as we do. The Book of Mormon teaches that "god" came down to earth, became man, had relations with Mary to conceive Jesus as a normal man does.
http://www.angelfire.com/ms/seanie/mormon/conception.html

kamikat

 

[GraceLikeRainFallsDown]

I do not like making these judgement calls. It is really up to God to determine who is saved. I would have to make a generalization to answer your question and say NO that they are not saved. Their religion conflicts with the Bible. They do not have the same beliefs about Jesus as Bible based Christians.

(Anyone who believes that Jesus is their Lord and personal Savior is saved. So if they believe that as individuals regardless of what they are taught, they are saved.)

 

[MercuryAndy]

does it not depend if they are a good person on whether they are saved or not.

 

[Sketcher]

Unsaved, and from my personal experience, shallow.

Their doctrine is incompatible with Christianity. People getting promoted to God status if they are good enough, Jesus and Satan being spirit brothers, and their "holy books" overriding the Bible ought to set off alarms. They don't let people in on this stuff until they've gotten hooked by the nice veneer that draws people into their "churches."

Having learned from an ex-Mormon's lecture, and having lived with another ex-Mormon, I can tell you that they have a huge problem in their culture with the showy righteousness that Jesus told us all to avoid. I'm not going to say that some of them are not truly humble, that is presumptuous. But from what I've seen and learned, they live in Shallowland. They depend on the good first impression and the cheery fascade for so much. But when you go deeper than that,in matters of faith and/or matters of character there isn't anything attractive. This is not exclusive to Mormons by a long shot - but the showiness is part of Mormon culture and from what I have observed, it is important.

 

[dalej42]

I often disagree with people from the LDS church. However, I don't know enough to make such a decision. I'll respect them for their beliefs even though I strongly disagree with many of them.

 

[Svt4Him]

does it not depend if they are a good person on whether they are saved or not.

Not even a bit:

http://www.livingwaters.com/good/


Best Mormon site: www.mrm.org Well cited, well referenced.

 

[Amisk]

does it not depend if they are a good person on whether they are saved or not.

Salvation is not based on works or being good. It depends on asking Jesus Christ into your life and then confessing to others that you are a Christian.

Once you have done the above then works and being good enter into the life of a Christian.

 

[christianmomof3]

The Mormon religion itself does not have the same teachings as Christianity and many of their teachings are considered way off by Christian standards. However, I think they do use the Bible along with the Book of Mormon, so they have the opportunity to know the gospel and I imagine that some of them are indeed saved even though their religion does not necessarily teach salvation. We cannot judge the hearts of men, only God knows our hearts. So the girl you know may be saved or she may not. Depending on how much she follows her religion, she may have some very different ideas than are considered correct by Christianity, but she still may know the Lord.

Being saved is not a matter of being good. It is a matter of accepting Jesus Christ as God and having faith in Him and having His life. When we are saved, we are saved from sin and sins and the world and we are saved into Christ. To be saved is to be born again. It is to be as in Gal 2:20 - no more I, but Christ who lives in me. It is to have Christ living in us. As the Holy Spirit, He comes into our human spirit and dwells in us as seen in John ch 14:17 - "Even the Spirit of reality, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him; but you know Him, because He abides with you and shall be in you."

 

[GK]

Are we talking about people or the religion?

I believe there are people found in all religious groups (including those who don't even think of themselves as religious) who know Christ, even if they don't know all the details of his story. From a "who is in the book of life" perspective, only God knows the answer to this.

While pieces of truth are found in all religion, the LDS religion does not as a whole represent the Word. They use similar language to us, but they worship, follow, and believe very different things.

 

[DeaconDean]

The Mormon religion itself does not have the same teachings as Christianity and many of their teachings are considered way off by Christian standards. However, I think they do use the Bible along with the Book of Mormon, so they have the opportunity to know the gospel and I imagine that some of them are indeed saved even though their religion does not necessarily teach salvation.

Being saved is not a matter of being good. It is a matter of accepting Jesus Christ as God and having faith in Him and having His life. When we are saved, we are saved from sin and sins and the world and we are saved into Christ. To be saved is to be born again. It is to be as in Gal 2:20 - no more I, but Christ who lives in me. It is to have Christ living in us. As the Holy Spirit, He comes into our human spirit and dwells in us as seen in John ch 14:17 - "Even the Spirit of reality, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him; but you know Him, because He abides with you and shall be in you."

Let me help Sis, here are two doctrines from the "Official Mormon Church."

Bible

1. "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. . ." 8th Article of Faith of the Mormon Church.
2. "Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God." (1 Nephi 13:28).

Book of Mormon

1. The book of Mormon is more correct than the Bible, (History of the Church, 4:461.)

Salvation

1. "One of the most fallacious doctrines originated by Satan and propounded by man is that man is saved alone by the grace of God; that belief in Jesus Christ alone is all that is needed for salvation." (Miracle of Forgiveness, Spencer W. Kimball, p. 206.) A plan of salvation was needed for the people of earth so Jesus offered a plan to the Father and Satan offered a plan to the father but Jesus' plan was accepted. In effect the Devil wanted to be the Savior of all Mankind and to "deny men their agency and to dethrone god." (Mormon Doctrine, page 193; Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, page 8.) Jesus' sacrifice was not able to cleanse us from all our sins, (murder and repeated adultery are exceptions), (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 3, p. 247, 1856.) Good works are necessary for salvation, Articles of Faith, p. 92.)
2. There is no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith as a prophet of God, (Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 1, p. 188.)

Just to name a few.

 

[Svt4Him]

The Mormon religion itself does not have the same teachings as Christianity and many of their teachings are considered way off by Christian standards. However, I think they do use the Bible along with the Book of Mormon, so they have the opportunity to know the gospel and I imagine that some of them are indeed saved even though their religion does not necessarily teach salvation. We cannot judge the hearts of men, only God knows our hearts. So the girl you know may be saved or she may not. Depending on how much she follows her religion, she may have some very different ideas than are considered correct by Christianity, but she still may know the Lord.

Being saved is not a matter of being good. It is a matter of accepting Jesus Christ as God and having faith in Him and having His life. When we are saved, we are saved from sin and sins and the world and we are saved into Christ. To be saved is to be born again. It is to be as in Gal 2:20 - no more I, but Christ who lives in me. It is to have Christ living in us. As the Holy Spirit, He comes into our human spirit and dwells in us as seen in John ch 14:17 - "Even the Spirit of reality, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him; but you know Him, because He abides with you and shall be in you."

The Jesus of Mormonism is not the Jesus of Christianity. God did not have sex with Mary when I read the Bible. Jesus did not have children, and now live with His wife.

One thing to keep in mind with Mormonism is they believe God was a man and evolved. Many will say this is not 'official church doctrine' which is their ace in the hole, but it is from the founder Joseph Smith. Their prophets are looked at as speaking from God, until they say things that are bad.

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints proclaims that Jesus Christ is the Son of God in the most literal sense. The body in which He performed His mission in the flesh was sired by that same Holy Being we worship as God, our Eternal Father. Jesus was not the son of Joseph, nor was He begotten by the Holy Ghost" (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, pg.7).

"Thus, God the Father became the literal father of Jesus Christ. Jesus was born of a mortal mother and an immortal father" (Gospel Principles, pg.57).

"[Jesus Christ] was willing to make payment because of his great love for mankind, and he was able to make payment because he lived a sinless life and because he was actually, literally, biologically the Son of God in the flesh" (Messages for Exaltation, pp.378-379).

"God, the Father of our spirits, became the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh ...The fleshly body of Jesus required a Mother as well as a Father. Therefore, the Father and Mother of Jesus, according to the flesh, must have been associated together in the capacity of Husband and Wife; hence the Virgin Mary must have, for the time being, the lawful wife of God the Father ...He had a lawful right to overshadow the Virgin Mary in the capacity of a husband, and beget a Son, although she was espoused to another; for the law which He gave to govern men and women, was not intended to govern Himself, or to prescribe rules for his own conduct" (The Seer, Orson Pratt, pg. 158).

"The birth of the Saviour was as natural as are the births of our children; it was the result of natural action. He partook of flesh and blood - was begotten of his Father, as we were of our fathers" (Journal of Discourses, Brigham Young, 8:115).

"...I will say that I was naturally begotten; so was my father, also my Saviour Jesus Christ. According to the Scriptures, he is the first begotten of his father in the flesh, and there was nothing unnatural about it" (Journal of Discourses, Heber C. Kimball, 8:211).

"Now, we are told in scriptures that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God in the flesh. Well, now for the benefit of the older ones, how are children begotten? I answer just as Jesus Christ was begotten of his father ...Jesus is the only person who had our Heavenly Father as the father of his body" (Family Home Evening Manual, 1972, Joseph F. Smith, pp.125,126).

"Christ Not Begotten of Holy Ghost ...Christ was begotten of God. He was not born without the aid of Man, and that Man was God!" (Doctrines of Salvation, Joseph Fielding Smith, 1954, 1:18).

"Christ was Begotten by an immortal Father in the same way that mortal men are begotten by mortal fathers" (Bruce McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 1966, pg.547).

"And Christ was born into the world as the literal Son of this Holy Being; he was born in the same personal, real, and literal sense that any mortal son is born to a mortal father. There is nothing figurative about his paternity; he was begotten, conceived and born in the normal and natural course of events, for he is the Son of God, and that designation means what it says" (Mormon Doctrine, 1966, pg.742).

"As far as this life is concerned, [Jesus] was born of Mary and of Elohim; he came here as an offspring of that Holy Man who is literally our Father in heaven. He was born in mortality in the literal and full sense as the Son of God. He is the Son of his Father in the same sense that all mortals are the sons and daughters of their fathers" (Bruce McConkie, Mortal Messiah 1:330).

"The Father had a Son, a natural Son, his own literal Seed, the Offspring of his body" (Bruce McConkie, The Promised Messiah, pg.355).

"There is no need to spiritualize away the plain meaning of the scriptures. There is nothing figurative or hidden or beyond comprehension in our Lord's coming into mortality. He is the Son of God in the same sense and way that we are the sons of mortal fathers. It is just that simple" (The Promised Messiah, pg.468).

"Elohim is literally the Father of the spirit of Jesus Christ and also of the body in which Jesus Christ performed His mission in the flesh ..." (First Presidency and Council of the Twelve, 1916, God the Father, compiled by Gordon Allred, pg.150).

"Jesus Christ is the Son of Elohim both as spiritual and bodily offspring; that is to say, Elohim is literally the Father of the spirit of Jesus Christ and also of the body in which Jesus Christ performed His mission in the flesh..." (The Articles of Faith, James Talmage, pp. 466-467).

Conclusion
You might ask, "How can they say Christ was born of a virgin when leaders have consistently described an act common to the reproductive process?" This is accomplished by changing the definition of the word virgin. Since Mormonism teaches Mary did not have sexual relations with a mortal man, but instead was impregnated by an immortal man, Mormons feel that they can still use the phrase virgin birth. As Bruce McConkie said, "For our present purposes, suffice it to say that our Lord was born of a virgin, which is fitting and proper, and also natural, since the Father of the Child was an immortal Being" (The Promised Messiah, pg. 466).

When one considers that the LDS Church also teaches that every human born on earth is a literal child of God, the above quotes become even more blasphemous. Mormon leaders have maintained that all humans, Mary included, were born first in a spiritual state known as the pre-existence. If Mormon leaders are telling the truth when they say that God physically impregnated Mary, then we have no other recourse than to assume the Jesus of Mormonism was created by way of an incestuous relationship.

www.mrm.org

 

[christianmomof3]

I understand that the Mormon doctrine is wrong. But, that does not mean that the people themselves may not be saved. The Lord came to save sinners - even the ones who read the wrong books and misunderstand certain doctrines. He can save Mormons if He wants to and if they want Him to. The people in the Mormon religion are being misled and deceived by their religion, but that still won't stop them from being saved if they give themselves to the Lord. God can save anyone He chooses to save. He saved me and I was a Jew. He has saved people out of every religion and lack of religion in the world. We cannot judge people's hearts and know whether they are saved or not. We can say that the Mormon religion is wrong, but we cannot say that the people who follow it are not saved. Many of them probably are not saved, but I am sure there are some who are saved.

 

[Proud2bIntellectual]

Well, from what I understand, their view of the Trinity is wrong. I have also heard that they believe that Jesus was actually St. Michael the Archangel or something. Is that true? Maybe I'm thinking of the Jehovah's Witnesses? As for whether or not they're saved, I can't make a blanket judgement on that. Some of them might be saved and some of them probably aren't.

 

[TheSilentMan]

i talked to a couple of mormon guys a couple months back. We scheduled a second meeting and i had prepared many questions to ask them. Some of the answers they gave me seemed a lot like bull schnizzle.

 

[SteelDisciple]

I know a Mormon girl, and I would like to know what you think about them. Saved? Not saved? Why or why not?
Short and to the point.

Not saved.

Do a quick bit of research on a non-bias website and you'll see pretty easily they are not.

Basically what it comes down to is...a bunch of people who don't know their Bible and because of that easily lied too.

 

[SteelDisciple]

I understand that the Mormon doctrine is wrong. But, that does not mean that the people themselves may not be saved. The Lord came to save sinners - even the ones who read the wrong books and misunderstand certain doctrines. He can save Mormons if He wants to and if they want Him to. The people in the Mormon religion are being misled and deceived by their religion, but that still won't stop them from being saved if they give themselves to the Lord. God can save anyone He chooses to save. He saved me and I was a Jew. He has saved people out of every religion and lack of religion in the world. We cannot judge people's hearts and know whether they are saved or not. We can say that the Mormon religion is wrong, but we cannot say that the people who follow it are not saved. Many of them probably are not saved, but I am sure there are some who are saved.

Nope. they are not saved BECAUSE their doctrine is wrong. It's not "just misinterupting something" Their doctrine isn't anything like the core of christianity (needing Jesus and only Jesus for salvation)

 

[SteelDisciple]

i talked to a couple of mormon guys a couple months back. We scheduled a second meeting and i had prepared many questions to ask them. Some of the answers they gave me seemed a lot like bull schnizzle.

you gotta understand that, much like Jehova's Witness...they are TRAINED to open up questions and answer questions specifically...If you break past their debate set-ups...they won't have an answer...they only know what they are told to say at certain specific questions.

 

[CardinalBaseball]

..If you break past their debate set-ups...they won't have an answer...they only know what they are told to say at certain specific questions.

And are we any different than that?