Comments on: Is the Book of Mormon one-sided?

By: Melanie

Melanie — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:45:35 +0000

I believe it is one sided, I believe that the Bible is the book of truth, and truthfully there are a lot of his thoughts that do not line up with what the bible has to say.

By: Doc

Doc — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 04:48:55 +0000

Here an answer beyond because. Heaven is about what we become. God does give us a way to keep improving through the savior. He gives us the information we need to become Celestial beings. We are all going to fall short. Hence the need for a savior. However, the point of the atonement is not to cover our misdeeds as much as make it possible to lift us beyond them.
Whether or not we embark on the path or continue on the path when it gets difficult is our choice. God wants us there. He shows us the way. He gave us the savior to cover our shortcomings. The act of moving forward on the path itself transforms us into more Godlike beings. We become something Celestial.

But can God really force us to become something better? No.

Can we become this without the use of faith? Apparently not. It is the first principle of this path. I think even in the next world if we tend to see his plan as capricious, we still aren’t going to trust him enough to be transformed.

Rick, the world is Gray, by design, in fact. We need an opposition, and a fact of opposition is that we will succumb. The miracle of the gospel to me is that because of Jesus Christ, we can have the best of both worlds.

We learn through our experience. We make mistakes. We pick up, repent, and keep going. Through experience and through spiritual cleansing we become something greater, our understanding increases, our power to do good increases, continuing on ad infinitum. It really has a beautiful symmetry to it.

By: JM

JM — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 21:22:03 +0000

There was… and if I have anything to do with it, it may be resurrected, although we didn’t beat drums, we programmed them.

By: Larry

Larry — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 21:09:05 +0000

Hey, is there a band out there I haven’t been included in?
Just because I have no musical talent is no reason to exclude me from beating the drums.
LOL…

By: rick

rick — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 20:44:16 +0000

Ah JM, you both flood me in reminiscence and bury me in embarrassment.

By: JM

JM — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 04:37:33 +0000

“Well in a world of black and white, I choose the gray.

If that makes me blacker than I am whiteâ€¦so be it. =) ”

Perhaps that explains why you could always come up with killer bass lines and drum patterns! ;-)

By: Mary Siever

Mary Siever — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 22:31:49 +0000

Yes, I respect Rick’s right to question too, just to make it clear. The nice thing is, he is able to debate in an intelligent way, always refreshing, when talking with those who don’t have the same beliefs.

By: Larry

Larry — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 22:23:55 +0000

It should be made clear that it is not God that says one won’t live with Him. It is justice, which is the opposite of mercy offered through the atonement.

The atonement is the Father’s plan (an eternal plan) and we should not lose sight of it.

We should also be clear that you and I don’t set the dimensions of the atonement. God does. And His mercy will extend further, and run deeper, than any of us can imagine.

It is a moot point to argue scripture to one who does not believe in God. Rick can argue that there is no god, and be fine with that, ven in God’s eyes. It’s my hope he doesn’t close his mind to the possibility that God might exist.

“Why postponed was Saul’s conversion?” (read “Love and the Light” p117, by Orson F. Whitney)

I respect Rick’s right to question.

We need to come up with better answers than “because”. Remember Paul’s point about being able to defend the truth.

That point holds true for any point of view on any subject any of us hold.

In the end, as Orson F. Whitney said: “truth doth itself defend”.

By: rick

rick — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 21:41:52 +0000

Well in a world of black and white, I choose the gray.

If that makes me blacker than I am white…so be it. =)

By: JM

JM — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 21:18:04 +0000

“so why would He blame us for making decisions based on our admittedly limited perceptions?”

We believe that God deals in absolutes. Black and White. Right and Wrong. The perfect and absolute definition of justice. One small error makes us guilty.

If God is unable to accept any degree of sin, then the smallest imperfection will keep us away from him, regardless if it was intentional or not.

Personally, that seems logical to me and I accept it as gospel truth.

That’s also what I love about the gospel, Christ, and the plan of redemption. It allows for me to make mistakes, figure things out for myself, and change who I am. Christ will fill in the blanks created by my sins if I do my best to obey his commandments. That way I get a clean slate and make it back to HF.