Disparate Doctrines: Two Faiths in Conflict

First of all, I don't believe in judging other people because of their faith. There are many good people in the world trying to do the right thing...whether they be Mormon, Protestant, Catholic, or whatever. I'm not saying that just because someone is Christian means that they are perfect. That is far from the truth. People are not perfect, but many of us are trying to become better. I certainly don't believe in bringing religion into deciding who the best candidate for office is. For those who believe that Mitt Romney is a poor choice solely because of his religion, I would advise those people to go and research his religion on their own as opposed to believing all of the lies out there about the LDS church.

Second, I agree completely with Yseult and terry1s. God is not imperfect, and by creating man as imperfect beings He gave us the chance to become like Him...IF we live a good life on earth. I find it very disturbing that some people believe that to be saved all you have to do is have a good relationship with Christ. It makes me frightened for the world in which our children will be brought up in.

God creating man as an imperfect being is not proof that God made a mistake. It is only proof that perfection is a process which takes work. One does not arrive at perfection just by being created that way. Man would never have learned anything if that were the case. God loves his children and therefore wants us to gain knowledge.

Regarding the comments by travis099...God made man imperfect so we could learn, grow and change from our experiences. It doesn't make God imperfect or fallible. It makes him wise. Regarding Eve, you are right that many churches have used her story to subjugate women. If they understood her divine and necessary role in the Fall then they would not use her story as an excuse to do evil to women. In the LDS church Eve is respected. It was necessary that The Fall take place to bring mortality to man...and indeed that mankind could exist (we believe Adam and Eve could not have had children in the Garden being innocent and immortal). Also, some use the term "helpmeet" (Eve was a helpmeet to Adam) to treat women as less than men. A correct translation of the word indicates that a helpmeet is "the same as or equal to". So we can see that Eve was to be an equal partner in her relationship with Adam.

Regarding the post by travis099....God made us imperfect so we would learn, grow and change from experiences as a mortal being on a mortal earth. It doesn't make God imperfect or fallible. He did this out of wisdom. If we were made perfect we'd have little to no understanding. Regarding Eve...I agree that many churches use the story of Eve to subjugate women. If they understood her relevant and necessary role they would not use the story to do evil against women. The Fall of Adam and Eve was necessary in order that man be made mortal and that people could be born into the world...Eve is respected in my church for that role. Plus, she was made as a "helpmeet" for Adam. Some use that word as an excuse to say that women should be less than a man but a correct translation of the word indicates someone "the same as or equal to". Eve was an equal partner in her relationship with Adam.

Quote from "Mere Christianity" by CS Lewis (non-Mormon), bottom of page 176.

"The command Be Ye Perfect is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command. He said (in the Bible) that we were "gods" and He is going to make good His words. If we let Him - for we can prevent Him, if we choose - He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (through, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what He said."

@ Have a cuddle
I like cuddles, by the way. I dig your name.
I'm not Muslim, Mormon, Christian, any of the above. If I can be pigeonholed, I'm a Deist (I know, evangelicals...a pagan. I'm going to Hell. Boy, if I had a nickel...)
I believe there IS a God, but in what form I can't say. I don't necessarily believe He's sitting up there on a cloud watching my every move, a 'magic man' in the sky, judging on a whim.
I don't consider Jesus to be my savior. Last time I checked, he doesn't do my jobs for me, pay my mortgage or raise my kids. I HOPE he's out there, and HOPE he's divine...but if he is, I'm sure he has much more important things to do. There are people still being sold on stage after all. In the 21st Century! Can you believe it?!? Regardless, I'm not dropping everything I'm doing to try to convince you one way or the other. I simply haven't the time--busy living life over here, in the manner in which I believe He would want me to. WWJD and all that (although I'm pretty sure Jesus wouldn't pay 7 bucks for a keychain).

I've known many (self-proclaimed) Christians, many of them truly good people. I don't fault or judge them for what I consider to be their narrow-mindedness or their presumptuous attitudes (ooops, there I go judging...I better stop that) toward the rest of us who don't believe the words in their book are infallible. Having said that, I've also met many (self-proclaimed) Christians who are 'exclusive bigoted jerks, killing those they didn't like and believing that's what God wants them to be/do (paraphrasing your description).
Fact is, it's much easier to preach it than it is to live it. I find that, more often than not, this is what many people do. It's truly a shame.
I refuse to acknowledge I was a sinner out of the womb for whose eternal sins Jesus was brutally murdered. I have enough on my plate living day to day, taking care of my brother (metaphorically), living a character life, treating others as if my grandmother were looking over my shoulder, and doing my best to raise my children to do the same. I refuse to apologize for a mistake God made in creating a fallible creature. If man is not perfect, his Creator is capable of mistakes. I am responsible for my own actions/mistakes, but not those of an error-prone deity. I'm not Adam so I'm not going to stand trial for his actions. He (and Eve, let???s not forget Eve! The basis many churches use for subjugating women!) ate the apple. I like apples too, but I wasn???t even there that day.
(3 parter, con't below)

The best I can be is the best I can be--husband, father, citizen. To suggest I am responsible to shoulder the sins of others is pushing the buck. Do no harm, I say. And I apply that to other consenting adults as well. Those who DO harm to others must accept their consequences and suffer the punishment. Those who murder, rape, molest children, etc, have no place in our society and must be removed for the good of society (I have no problem with the death penalty, as long as guilt is beyond a doubt. Let???s start with those who acknowledge responsibility or are caught red-handed, then work our way through the rest by giving them a FAIR TRIAL). Those who kill or harm to protect others will have their day in court (as do the rest). Those who do not, however, may or may not be judged when they become wormfood (the jury's still out on whether a soul proceeds beyond, in my humble opinion). It is not my place to judge those...consequently, I will NOT (caps fully intentional) be judged for my private actions that aren't considered acceptable by "God's laws I read in a book" regardless of the title on the cover.
Allow me to be clear---I'm not attacking Christianity or any other belief system. I'm merely drawing a line--keep your filthy paws off my silky drawahs (yeah, a Grease reference...sue me. Have a sense of humor.) I won't attack yours, you don't attack mine. You don't tell me I'm going to Hell, I won't assure you your kind is already making THIS Hell.
(con't below)

con't from above

I'm not trying to be a god, nor do I care to be. Just the best man I can be. The best father. The best husband. Not perfect, mind you...there's only one fella in history who had that reputation and you saw what they did to Him! Poor guy...I sure hope Christians are right and He IS the son of God. Cause he sure got persecuted for it.
Mark Twain (again, paraphrasing) said he???s sure that if Jesus came back today, there???s one thing he???s certain he wouldn???t be???a Christian.
Granted, many others were treated the same, or worse. And still are.
Maybe everyone should sit back a minute, take a deep breath, and have a cuddle. It can't possibly make the world a worse place, can it?
I'm going to go cuddle my wife and kids...and tomorrow I'll get up and continue to do my part to make the world a better place. I'll begin by not hating anyone, whether they're different from me or not, in words, beliefs or deeds unless they (mess with kids...those nimrods are going DOWN) or harm others. I'll continue to try to make every interaction with another person a positive one. And I'll continue to teach my children to do so as well.
I ask that you do the same...but I won't force it on you. I won't insist you're not a good person if you don't. And I won't tell you that you're going to Hell.
I will say this: If you're going to preach it, LIVE IT. No more passing the buck. Step up and be a man (or woman). Quit forcing your belief system down my throat.
I'm not a Mormon, nor do I care to be. But I'll say I think you have a good thing going. Y'all LIVE IT. Missionary service. Help your brother. Etc etc. I admire your level of faith.
I wish I shared that level of faith in something other than myself. But I???m pretty happy the way I am.

Whoops! I slipped into all-caps. I wasn't angry or anything....so, uh, ignore that bit. Lol.

Quote from "The Road Less Traveled" by M. Scott Peck, M.D. (non-Mormon), bottom of page 269.

"If we postulate that our capacity to love, this urge to grow and evolve, is somehow "breathed into" us by God, then we must ask to what end. Why does God want us to grow? What are we growing toward? Where is the end point, the goal of evolution? What is it that God wants of us? It is not my intention here to become involved in theological niceties, and I hope the scholarly will forgive me if I cut through all the ifs, ands, and butts of proper speculative theology. For no matter how much we may like to pussyfoot around it, all of us who postulate a loving God and really think about it eventually come to a single terrifying idea: God wants us to become Himself (or Herself or Itself). We are growing toward godhood. God is the goal of evolution. It is God who is the source of the evolutionary force and God who is the destination. That is what we mean when we say that He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end."

Core theology:

Mormonism is a cult, if you define cult as "Any religious group that deviates from orthodox teachings of historic Christianity, while claiming to be "true Christians" by way of some special revelation or privilege". There are lots of cults out there, Mormonism being one.

Sure, maybe by YOUR church's definition.
John Jay said "REAL Christians will abstain from violating the rights of others."
Jacob Henry said "Governments only concern the actions and conduct of man, and not his
speculative notions. Who among us feels himself so exalted above his fellows as to have a right to dictate to them any mode of belief?"

I pose the same question to you. Do you feel so exalted above your fellows as to have a right to dictate to them your mode of belief? Or to suggest your way is the right way and theirs is the wrong?

Fact is, though, regardless how you answer that question---whether you're Christian, Mormon, Jew, Muslim...there is only ONE God. There may be different interpretations of His word, but there is only ONE. For you to suggest otherwise is blasphemy.
SINNER.

Ahhhh, Christians (and Mormons and Muslims, etc etc) are SO quick to judge. Passing judgment is not your role, sinner. Perhaps to humble yourself is the best remedy.

It is so much easier to preach it than it is to live it.

I find it comical that the religious backgrounds and denominations play such a big part in y'all's determination on who the best candidate for office is. Oh, to go back to the good ol' days...not 50 years ago, of course, but back to the Founding Fathers, the majority of whom did NOT believe in the judgments proscribed by most Christian churches (regardless of whose teachings you subscribe) and had no intention of having "In God We Trust" on every dollar printed by our treasury. What a buncha hokey. Do your research, vote your conscience. It's a heckuva lot easier to preach it than it is to LIVE it.
You want a work of literature to help you decide for whom you should place your vote? Try the Constitution.
"It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are 20 gods, or no God. It
neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson

For those who would like to know what The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints believes go directly to the source. You can ask some missionaries (most are in white shirts and ties and have a black name tag on), you could go to LDS.org, or you could talk to any of your friends or associates who are members. In our last worldwide meeting one of the apostles of the Church addressed many of the subjects that were brought up in this article and in these posts. Here is a link to what he said: http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-775-9,00.html. If you would rather watch it, here is a link to a page where you can choose a video format: http://lds.org/conference/sessions/display/0,5239,23-1-775,00.html. The address that I am referring to is titled "Faith, Family, Facts, and Fruits" by Elder M. Russell Ballard. I would hope that any sincere seeker of knowledge would take the time to go straight to the source for accurate information as opposed to going to someone else.

Your quotes of early Mormon leaders is surprising in this regard--they only attacked the doctrine and not the folks who caused them so much grief. This shows a true spirit of forgiveness as Christian ministers were behind the vitriol and mob violence that resulted in early Mormon settlers being kicked out of their homes in three states, murdered and raped. Efforts at government redress resulted in more violence with Governor Boggs of Missouri passed the infamous "extermination order" giving citizens permission to shoot a Mormon no site. I am unaware of any Christian minister who opposed this law. I notice your qoutes are about a hundred years old. Mormons for the most part have moved on. Many of those who say "Lord Lord" and say they are Christians continue to fight Mormonism. Contrary to the approach of Jesus to teach a proactive, non critical gospel, they go negative as did the pharisees and the saducees. It is so sad when we should be mutually aligned against the evil in the world.

Some similarities between Mormon and Evangelical beliefs: We are all children of God, Brother and Sisters of a Supreme Being. We believe Jesus is the Redeemer of mankind and through His sacrifice and resurrection we can be saved. We believe in loving God, and our neighbor. We believe in helping those less fortunate an thanking God for our blessings. We believe in the ten commandments. We believe marriage is ordained of God and is strictly between a man and a woman and that homosexuality is a sin in the sight of God. We believe in not doing drugs and getting drunk. We believe in morality and saving the sexual experience for marriage.
The press will go on and on about differences between the two faiths because the conflict will sell for papers and is more intriguing to the average person. If we stop and think - Evangelicals and Mormons have more in common than most people will ever give credit in the press. Politically speaking, we hold true almost all of the same beliefs and values.