LDS versus MAIN STREAM FAITHS, what is your take ?

PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE HUB BEFORE COMMENTING ! READ IT CAREFULLY, THEN AND ONLY THEN AFTER DOING SO, FEEL FREE TO OFFER YOUR THOUGHTS.

ALRIGHT SO I OPENED THE DOOR !

You have all seen them. The nice blond headed boys on bicycles riding around town. My one principle question before I go any further is, why do they make them wear the suits and ties and then hand them a bicycle ? That is not exactly the proper safety gear nor is it comfortable to wear when riding, but that would just be a side thought for me. O.K., so the knock came and being the dutiful and polite old, fat, grey haired cowpoke I am, I  opened the door. Hi there came the greeting from the teenage, smiling young man. We are Elder ( can't remember their names now, but they are always named Elder something ) and we are from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Church or Mormon's if you will, may we come in and visit ? After the introductions were made from the grinning young men and my " Oh shucks " type of thing, they got past the Aussie Blue Healer and proceeded to the living room. Let me first say, nobody but nobody gets past that blue healer named Lily. But these boys managed to immediately win her over, now I knew something was up.

I do have to make a small confession here. I love to discuss theology and the unseen world of spirits and God. It is probably my favorite topic other than politics. Yes, I know, most of the world doesn't like to partake of this sort of discourse, but what can I say ? I suppose I am weird. After the initial What would you like to drink part was done and serving them lemonade, we seemed to get " right into it ". They told me of how the young boy Joseph prayed and prayed to be shown the " One True Church " and then he was blinded by the bright visions of the Father in Heaven and Jesus. Afterward he was given the Golden Books to be translated and such and a bit later "  The Book of Mormon " was born. This entire process took about an hour or so. They handed me the little book and left.  Hey wait a minute, I wanted to fight about this for a while !

Second confession. I am not illiterate when it comes to theology. I have actually studied it for decades and quite in depth. I have even been privileged enough to have been blessed to get to hear some of the most prolific Biblical speakers of our time give sermons or speak. These would include greats such as Dr. Tony Evans, Dr. Adrian Rogers, Dr. Ed Young of the Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas and even got hear Dr. Charles Stanley. I must also add that I have even been blessed enough to actually get to visit with many that have Masters Degrees in Divinity and some Doctorates of Theology. I only name drop to let you know that I am NOT a theological turtle. I do know my way around the Holy Bible at least to some degree. To further the point, I am not expounding on my vast knowledge or lack thereof, I am merely pointing out that I find the subject fascinating and love to discuss all of the " what ifs " in life. This brings me to what I did next.

THE TRAPPING OF MISSIONARIES !

O.K. so the cowards ran and would not let me beat them up. I came very close to running down the street and shouting, come back boys, I want to fight about this Joseph character. I then thought that would not look so good to my neighbors. The grey haired, fat, old cowpoke wanting to beat up a couple of clean cut, God loving missionary boys. I did the next best thing. I then went to the W-W-W of the world. My plan of salvation lay in my knowledge that I could garner from the web of this Oh so self righteous Cult from Salt Lake City. I spent the next week reading everything I could find on " Just how evil and fake this religion was or is ". And believe me folks their is plenty out there on this topic. It turns out that even the revered Smithsonian Institute has taken this task on, of proving that most of the tales in the Book of Mormon are false. There are no less than thousands of websites dedicated to " proving " just how wrong this boy was from upstate New York about his claims. I learned of how it was impossible for the 12th tribe of Israel to have sailed and landed in the America's. I learned of how their are no artifacts and on and on it went. In the end with all of the evidence in, there was no doubt that this boy was a world class liar or was he ? I was now ready for the return visit of the handsome little lads on bicycles. I was armed for combat !

The week went by with me furiously working on my HP Computer. I had all my ammunition and was ready for if and when they would return and sure enough they did. This time was not to be so easy for my little bicycle riding friends in suits. I put up every conceivable argument that I am sure they have ever faced. And through the entire interrogation process of their beloved Prophet, they smiled and answered. Always polite, never once they did become angry with me. I did have to take my hat off to them for that. Oh yes, the fact is, quite a bit of what I threw at them, they could not answer with anything more than ONE MUST HAVE FAITH AND BELIEVE. O.K. that is just to easy ! But in the end it got me to pondering some of this.

1. In reality what difference does it make if the 12th tribe actually came to America ?
2. What difference does it make if some or all of the stories are true ?
3. What difference does it make if Joseph's claims of meeting God and Jesus are true ?

For the fact is this ! Now is when you should pay very close attention to this part.

CONCLUSION :

Does it really matter if they did or did not come to America ? I will throw this out for all of you Baptist to ponder. Check into the ancient Indian mounds in Ohio and several other places. They date to the exact date that Joseph claims this stuff was to of happened, that being around 600 BC. Archaeologisthave found burial tombs with Egyptian writing and Hebrew writing in these tombs. Can someone explain how Hebrew writing ended up in Ohio in 600 BC ? I would be curious as to how this happened.

But all that aside, let's take a hard look what the LDS do believe. They believe that God had a son named Jesus. Jesus came to Earth was born of a virgin, taught what his father wanted him to teach and was crucified for the sins of the world. They believe that God sends his Holy Spirit to minister to the world and all Christians. So what is the problem ? Yea, o.k., so they have something called the Doctrine and Covenants. Oh, you say, they do not believe in the Trinity. I have some hard truth for you, " NOBODY UNDERSTANDS THE TRINITY " OR THE LACK THEREOF. AND IF YOU DO, YOU ARE TRULY LYING TO YOURSELF, FOR THE FACT IS WE AS HUMANS ARE INCAPABLE OF UNDERSTANDING JUST HOW THIS PART OF OUR GOD WORKS.

So, I ask again, what is wrong with the LDS faith ? The fact is this, their are quite a few unsavory characters in the Bible that were some of God's most cherished children. How about David ? God said David was his most prized child. Let me get this straight, God loves David, but not Joseph ? David went out and took his neighbors wife because he thought she was " Hot " and brought her in to his house to sleep with her and then sent her husband to the front lines with a price tag on his head to be murdered. Yes, yes he did my children. David was not only an adulterer, but a murderer as well. Moses killed, Lot slept with his daughters and the Apostle Paul used to kill Christians for the fun of it. All of these folks God revered. Yes, I know they repented, but I do not recall Joseph murdering someones husband to sleep with her, nor did he kill Christians for target practice or did he sleep with his daughters.

My point is this. All through the Bible we can find different " But what ifs " and " Did that really happens " or " That simply is untrue " ( ie: the earthbeing made in 6 actual days ). We can shoot holes in some of the Baptist beliefs that dancing is a sin or the Catholics faith of sprinkling children or drinking wine versus grape juice for sacrament. This is why there are in fact so many different faiths in Christianity.

To further my point, so what if part of what the Book of Mormon says is true and part is a bit shaky ? I honestly have found none of what it says as being " Anti-Biblical " in nature. Some of what it says does leave you wondering " what if ", but that is o.k...Because in the end folks, this is the main thrust of Christianity.

1. We are to believe that God had a son named Jesus.

2. His son was born of a virgin named Mary and a father named Joseph.

3. He taught us how to live and how to love him and to obey his commandments.

4. He was sacrificed for the sins of the world if we believe in him.

5. He loves and walks with us daily if we open our hearts to him.

6. And one day if we do the above, then we get to spend eternity with him in heaven.

All of the rest is minutia. Whether you wear white underwear or red thongs to me is a non binding argument. Whether your allowed to drink coffee as your breakfast drink is not a factor in my faith in the Lord Jesus. I will say this, that if you adhere to some of what the Mormons teach as a way of life, you will be healthier and probably live longer. The Mormons do have a very infectious love that I have not found in other faiths or churches. And believe me, I have tried all of them. They seem to always be smiling and their happy people. I can honestly say, I have found very few if any that are miserable by nature such as the Catholics. Those poor people have been so very scolded into behaving properly that they are miserable from all the guilt that have been layed on their poor little pointed heads.

O.K. NOW IS YOUR TURN. LAY YOUR THOUGHTS ON ME. I AM CURIOUS. TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE MORMON FAITH VERSUS THE CATHOLICS OR METHODIST OR ANY OTHERS. QUITE FRANKLY, I AM AT A LOSS AT WHAT THE BIG DEAL IS. GOD BLESS YOU ALL AND I DO HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU...