Article of Faith 2 says;
We believe that men will be punished for their own sins and not for Adams transgressions.
I am fairly certain that this article was in response to the Catholic belief in infant baptism.
Joseph Smith taught that children should be baptized at the age of 8 and not in infancy.
More than that this article is obscure in it's implications about sin. We are only punished. There is no reference here about judgement, or salvation. Which by the way, is a typical response for the people of old Joe.
I don't have too much more on this, but the next Article is the killer so stay tuned.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Article of Faith#1
Since I started doing this blog, I have been thinking about going through the 13 Articles of Faith and trying to make some Christian sense out of them. I memorized them when I was a kid and taught them to my older ones. So today, God gave me a reason and something to really latch onto.
#1 Says;
We believe in God the Eternal Father and in His Son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost.
That seems like a fairly strait forward Holy Trinity kind of statement. Then Joseph Smith gave the King Follet discourse which is famous for the new concept that "As man is God once was, As God is man may become."
When I was first a Christian I had alot of trouble conceptualizing God any other way than human. For me that was huge.
I hated most men. I grew up in a messed up excuse for a Mormon family. I married young and have been divorced. My first husband is a tried and true "priesthood holder". I hated having to deal with his condensending attitude for the 5 years I was single and for nearly 20 as we struggled with child support and visitation issues. Oh he did just enough to keep his temple recommend, but that was all. I won't go into the gory details but just so you know I was pretty scared from birth from the men in my life.
For me to think of having faith in God was a struggle. When I found out that God was spirit, that He was omnipotent and could understand me from His humanity and help me from His deity. That I no longer had to think of being in Heaven with a man that had an eternal erection and that I would not be pregnant forever made me dance in my living room!
More than that I understand from a deep level that to believe that God is human makes you nuts. Yes that is an admition of insanity! I was at Sally's house today being a grandma. The baby had been crying for 3 days and she hadn't had a shower in that long. So after she got a little break and i got to spend time with my grandkids. She started to cry. She asked me if I thought that Heavenly Father felt as helpless as she did when she has to let her baby cry herself to sleep, Knowing that to be able to take care of herself is good for her and that interference would not be. I wonder if God feels as frustrated about watching us and not being able to help us as I am right now. Oh my Gosh!
I stopped being chicken. I couldn't keep silent. I explained that the God I worship never feels frustrated. He sees the end from the beginning. He doesn't rescue us unless it is in His will to do so. But frustrated? No.
She sat down and cried some more. It was a good meltdown.
I told her that my God is never helpless, can and does take complete care of us and trusts us with precious babies to take care of. My God trusts you. But if He wanted to He could in His Almightiness fix every detail of every problem you have with out any human help at all. His understanding is so complete and so infinite. He doesn't.
After that the baby started to cry. She was still frustrated. I prayed in my heart that my all powerful, all present, all knowing amazing God would help her, yes even lift her burden just for a moment.
Love, R:)
#1 Says;
We believe in God the Eternal Father and in His Son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost.
That seems like a fairly strait forward Holy Trinity kind of statement. Then Joseph Smith gave the King Follet discourse which is famous for the new concept that "As man is God once was, As God is man may become."
When I was first a Christian I had alot of trouble conceptualizing God any other way than human. For me that was huge.
I hated most men. I grew up in a messed up excuse for a Mormon family. I married young and have been divorced. My first husband is a tried and true "priesthood holder". I hated having to deal with his condensending attitude for the 5 years I was single and for nearly 20 as we struggled with child support and visitation issues. Oh he did just enough to keep his temple recommend, but that was all. I won't go into the gory details but just so you know I was pretty scared from birth from the men in my life.
For me to think of having faith in God was a struggle. When I found out that God was spirit, that He was omnipotent and could understand me from His humanity and help me from His deity. That I no longer had to think of being in Heaven with a man that had an eternal erection and that I would not be pregnant forever made me dance in my living room!
More than that I understand from a deep level that to believe that God is human makes you nuts. Yes that is an admition of insanity! I was at Sally's house today being a grandma. The baby had been crying for 3 days and she hadn't had a shower in that long. So after she got a little break and i got to spend time with my grandkids. She started to cry. She asked me if I thought that Heavenly Father felt as helpless as she did when she has to let her baby cry herself to sleep, Knowing that to be able to take care of herself is good for her and that interference would not be. I wonder if God feels as frustrated about watching us and not being able to help us as I am right now. Oh my Gosh!
I stopped being chicken. I couldn't keep silent. I explained that the God I worship never feels frustrated. He sees the end from the beginning. He doesn't rescue us unless it is in His will to do so. But frustrated? No.
She sat down and cried some more. It was a good meltdown.
I told her that my God is never helpless, can and does take complete care of us and trusts us with precious babies to take care of. My God trusts you. But if He wanted to He could in His Almightiness fix every detail of every problem you have with out any human help at all. His understanding is so complete and so infinite. He doesn't.
After that the baby started to cry. She was still frustrated. I prayed in my heart that my all powerful, all present, all knowing amazing God would help her, yes even lift her burden just for a moment.
Love, R:)
Monday, July 12, 2010
Oxygen
I was reading something today and it was so good I had to share it. It is from the book "Mormonism Unmasked" by R. Philip Roberts.
"When one adds good works or Mormon attributes to grace, grace changes. It is no longer trust only in God's forgiveness through Christ; it becomes confidence in one's own good or religious works as well. When Oxygen stands alone, it is life-giving. When even one part of carbon is added to it though, it becomes carbon monoxide which deprives one of life-giving oxygen. The same principle is true of grace-it only gives eternal life when it stands alone."
Now you have to admit that is good, right? When I was Mormon, I loved God, I knew He loved me, but I just couldn't seem to "do" enough to get Him to pay attention to me. I was hungry for Him, starving! I read the BOM every year, sometimes twice a year. It wasn't enough. I wanted to be near Him, to feel the peace to experience the joy. I just wasn't "good enough."
After I left I was empty, I thought I was going to just go to sleep and never wake up. What is life without God? It didn't take Him long to show me and give me the amazing gift of salvation. Just 2 months. I didn't fully understand what had happened to me but I knew I was free! I felt like I could fly!
I have learned since then that I was literally being deprived of the life giving "air" of His grace! Each day as I seek His face His love pours over me. I am truly partaking of the full pure "oxygen" of God. I love His Word! There He IS, not was, not can be, not might be if I do enough of whatever some guy can dream up. He is right here WITH me! 2 Corinthians 3:6 says:
"who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."
If you are searching and can't find God, and you are in the Mormon church, find a Christian and ask them where He is, the answer is available. Accept Jesus, and breath!
Love, R:)
"When one adds good works or Mormon attributes to grace, grace changes. It is no longer trust only in God's forgiveness through Christ; it becomes confidence in one's own good or religious works as well. When Oxygen stands alone, it is life-giving. When even one part of carbon is added to it though, it becomes carbon monoxide which deprives one of life-giving oxygen. The same principle is true of grace-it only gives eternal life when it stands alone."
Now you have to admit that is good, right? When I was Mormon, I loved God, I knew He loved me, but I just couldn't seem to "do" enough to get Him to pay attention to me. I was hungry for Him, starving! I read the BOM every year, sometimes twice a year. It wasn't enough. I wanted to be near Him, to feel the peace to experience the joy. I just wasn't "good enough."
After I left I was empty, I thought I was going to just go to sleep and never wake up. What is life without God? It didn't take Him long to show me and give me the amazing gift of salvation. Just 2 months. I didn't fully understand what had happened to me but I knew I was free! I felt like I could fly!
I have learned since then that I was literally being deprived of the life giving "air" of His grace! Each day as I seek His face His love pours over me. I am truly partaking of the full pure "oxygen" of God. I love His Word! There He IS, not was, not can be, not might be if I do enough of whatever some guy can dream up. He is right here WITH me! 2 Corinthians 3:6 says:
"who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."
If you are searching and can't find God, and you are in the Mormon church, find a Christian and ask them where He is, the answer is available. Accept Jesus, and breath!
Love, R:)
Friday, July 9, 2010
Conversation with my daughter in law
Hi, I am new to this blog and would like to share my new experiences being a free, saved, child of an amazing God.
I am the mother of 13 children. Not unusual for a good 6th generation Mormon. When I finally came to realize that I wanted to leave I wondered how my older kids that are still in the LDS church would react. It has been an interesting journey these last 3 years.
My second son, I'll call him Zack, and his wife and 7 kids came over for a birthday celebration. His wife, "Sally", and I were sitting together. She is currently enrolled in an Old Testament course through BYU. We got to talking about the law of Moses. She asked me "I wonder what rules God would make up for the music of our day". I got up and chickened out. I walked into the kitchen and started to clean up. She followed me. I had a chance to talk about how the law of Moses was for their benefit and that when Jesus Christ came it was done away. I totally chickened out at that point.
I have thought about it for a couple of days now and thought I would write my response here. I hope she reads it.
I would say to her,"God did away with all the rules to live by, instead He indwells in our lives. It is His voice that we hear when we don't put ourselves into a religion that can come between you and HIM." He could tell you Himself if the music you hear is offensive to His relationship with you."
She made a commment about her being a Christian woman. Here is what I would say to that, "Well I don't consider myself a Mormon. Why do you consider yourself a Christian?" I would then have to listen to the response that she believes in the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Well do you believe that you gain salvation through that Atonement?
Yes.
Then what are you striving so hard to acheive?
WEll you can't just get there without doing anything.
But in Ephesians 2, Paul talks about being saved by grace, not works. I would want to get the Bible out and look up the scriptures and hold her and tell her and pray with her. She is a strong one and I think if we can get into it and I can really be brave, she would see and understand.
She might be a little devastated, she lives in that Mormon perfect fantasy. I hate the fantasy. Pray for me. God is faithful and in His time and way she will be His.
Love, R:)
I am the mother of 13 children. Not unusual for a good 6th generation Mormon. When I finally came to realize that I wanted to leave I wondered how my older kids that are still in the LDS church would react. It has been an interesting journey these last 3 years.
My second son, I'll call him Zack, and his wife and 7 kids came over for a birthday celebration. His wife, "Sally", and I were sitting together. She is currently enrolled in an Old Testament course through BYU. We got to talking about the law of Moses. She asked me "I wonder what rules God would make up for the music of our day". I got up and chickened out. I walked into the kitchen and started to clean up. She followed me. I had a chance to talk about how the law of Moses was for their benefit and that when Jesus Christ came it was done away. I totally chickened out at that point.
I have thought about it for a couple of days now and thought I would write my response here. I hope she reads it.
I would say to her,"God did away with all the rules to live by, instead He indwells in our lives. It is His voice that we hear when we don't put ourselves into a religion that can come between you and HIM." He could tell you Himself if the music you hear is offensive to His relationship with you."
She made a commment about her being a Christian woman. Here is what I would say to that, "Well I don't consider myself a Mormon. Why do you consider yourself a Christian?" I would then have to listen to the response that she believes in the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Well do you believe that you gain salvation through that Atonement?
Yes.
Then what are you striving so hard to acheive?
WEll you can't just get there without doing anything.
But in Ephesians 2, Paul talks about being saved by grace, not works. I would want to get the Bible out and look up the scriptures and hold her and tell her and pray with her. She is a strong one and I think if we can get into it and I can really be brave, she would see and understand.
She might be a little devastated, she lives in that Mormon perfect fantasy. I hate the fantasy. Pray for me. God is faithful and in His time and way she will be His.
Love, R:)
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