Mormon Hunks -- Yes, Mormon Hunks!

121. Do you have any idea how all you whack jobs sound? Come on people. Get a friggin grip on reality. What a bunch of scarey crazy people. What the hell is wrong with you people?

Posted at 9:07PM on Sep 15th 2007 by athiest girl

122. I've heard the shamrock analogy before - but I keep looking for a more technical answer for those who believe it. Is God a single entity that performs 3 functions? Does God have a body? Does Christ have a body? What happened to Christ's body when he ascended after the resurrection? Does the Holy Ghost have a body?

Or, are there 3 separate entities that perform as one? Personally, I believe this interpretation.

Posted at 7:51PM on Sep 15th 2007 by somethingtosay

123. By what truth, you are proving my point...

"I never said that the OT is not the word of God, it is. BUT when Jesus came and died on the cross, the law of the OT was USHERED OUT [read: updated] by the new law. All the rules and regulations put upon believers about what to eat, wear, and cleanliness/uncleanliness as well as the blood sacrificing of animals were REPLACED [read: updated] by the sacrifice of Jesus.

"And Christ didn't limit his message to just Jews, although that is where his ministry started. In Matthew 28:18-20, he says quite the opposite..."Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

This is the passage where Jesus updates his previous order to teach only the Jews. Matthew 10: 5 -6 is what came before, where he orders his apostles not to teach the gentiles:

5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Posted at 8:04PM on Sep 15th 2007 by somethingtosay

124. Is God a single entity that performs 3 functions?
Essentially, yes. I know analogies are a little annoying, but that's the best way to express the trinity because it is an abstract concept. Another way of putting it would be to compare the trinity to an egg. The egg is one thing but it is composed of three things: the white, the yolk, and the shell.

Does God have a body?
No.

Does Christ have a body?
He did.

What happened to Christ's body when he ascended after the resurrection?
I don't know, that's a good question.

Does the Holy Ghost have a body?
No, he is a spiritual being.


And it would have been impossible for the Jews of the Old Testament to follow Jesus because the person of Jesus hadn't been revealed yet. Following Jesus is a choice. It's not something that happens by accident.

Posted at 8:09PM on Sep 15th 2007 by what's truth?

125. Dearest Brittany #75, You are so ignorant! How dare you imply that any one of God's children,aka the standard person on the side of the road, is somehow unable to grasp what you hold so dear and sacred and important as your church's "ordinances" aka rituals. Your comparisons to games or teaching are weak! PLEASE don't insult others with your arrogance! It is no better than when a child abuser tells the child that they must not tell anyone what they have done...it is their own little secret! They don't want anyone to know because they know it is wrong and that they (the abuser) should be ashamed of what they have done! It is all very sick. A young mormon that I know, who made it very clear that he was not supposed to "tell" said that the ritual performed made him feel less than human. He said he believed what was being done was wrong but felt he had no choice. NEVER should there be secrets like this in any church or organization! If it is so sacred and important and meant for only very special people, why wouldn't you want to share it with the world so that others may want to learn more and be a member of your church? You can't learn about something that is kept as a secret! Even if others did not like it or understand it, if YOU truly believe it is so important and sacred, why would you care what others think! You cannot possibly believe that there is any good reason why a certain sacred ordinance shouldn't be made public knowledge. Apparently, it really isn't such a secret any more. You have so many of your members feeling the need to talk about it, kind of like the abused child who eventually confides in someone about the abuse they are suffering. As far as your reasons for not allowing all to attend marriages in the temple, you make me laugh! Being married for all eternity? Have you looked at the percentages of divorces in your church? Maybe you should get a little more "educated" about it. The uniting of 2 people in marriage is one of the greatest celebrations on earth. Most people like to celebrate and have all who they love and care about present to witness such a joyous occasion. Usually, if they do invite hundreds of guests, it's because they want to share "their personal experience" with friends and family...of their own choosing. Not who their church dictates as worthy to attend! When you say that couples who want to marry in the temple come to understand why others are not welcome, it sounds more like they are brainwashed into believing that they have to do as they are told! No man should judge another as unworthy of entering God's house! If your temple is so beautiful, I'm sure that our Heavenly Father would want all of his children to have the opportunity to see it. Really, Brittany, no one is worthy of all that God has given to us, but he has still put all of his creations in front of us to enjoy! It is wrong for any man, any church, to judge all who do not go through the mormon "ordinances" as unworthy of entering any man made building that was meant to honor our Heavenly Father....or is it only meant to honor Joseph Smith? Secrets are never good and if you are concerned that people wouldn't understand why you do those "things" then I would suggest that you educate all who are curious about it. I would love to hear an explanation of those ordinances that doesn't sound like it is nothing more than a cult ritual. I hope you don't force that person you are thinking about marrying into choosing between marrying you as soon as he becomes a member of your church or not marrying you at all.

Posted at 8:15PM on Sep 15th 2007 by you asked for it!

126. "And it would have been impossible for the Jews of the Old Testament to follow Jesus because the person of Jesus hadn't been revealed yet. Following Jesus is a choice. It's not something that happens by accident."

This is the part that doesn't make sense to me about what you're saying. Didn't the Jews follow God? Aren't God and Jesus part of the same trinity? Are you saying that Jesus and God differ in the way they set up their churches (God setting up the jewish church, and Jesus setting up the Christian church)? Or are you saying that God 'morphed' out the Jesus bump of the trinity at some later date, and Jesus as we know him never existed before the new testament?

I think part of my problem with grasping what you're saying is that I believe that God and Jesus have always existed, even if Jesus didn't come to the earth in human form until the New Testament.

Posted at 8:21PM on Sep 15th 2007 by somethingtosay

127. It was the very beginning of Jesus ministry. When he said to only spead the word of his ministry to Jews he was only speaking to that particular journey. He never says "This is just a Jewish thing" (or how ever Jesus would have said it). Basically the disciples were to go out and let the Jews know that the Messiah that the OT had prophesied had arrived. That news wouldn't have meant too much to someone who wasn't a Jew.

Additionally during that time, Jews would not have mixed with Gentiles (non-Jews) -- as evidenced by the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus didn't issue the "Great Commission" that I referenced above until the end of his ministry for that very reason.

Posted at 8:25PM on Sep 15th 2007 by what's truth?

128. by you asked for it! - you're being shamefully disrespectful to Brittany, asking someone - who believes that the commitment she made before God is the most holy thing to her - to tell you what is most meaningful to her just for your idle curiosity. Shame on you. Why don't you tell us your social security number, phone number, and bank account number? You shouldn't keep secrets, you know. We want to know everything about you or else how can we judge you properly?

Posted at 8:29PM on Sep 15th 2007 by somethingtosay

129. #124, you asked for it!~~~way to tell her what she needed to hear!! The forcing her lover to choose thing is exactly what I thought when I read her message. Poor guy is going to be set up for heart break.

Posted at 8:30PM on Sep 15th 2007 by ksgirl

130. "It was the very beginning of Jesus ministry. When he said to only spead the word of his ministry to Jews he was only speaking to that particular journey. [I think that this is a difference in interpretation, I don't agree with you here.] He never says "This is just a Jewish thing" (or how ever Jesus would have said it). [But why, then, did he specifically say to not go to any gentile or Samaritan communities? I think it was just a Jewish thing at first.] Basically the disciples were to go out and let the Jews know that the Messiah that the OT had prophesied had arrived. That news wouldn't have meant too much to someone who wasn't a Jew.

Additionally during that time, Jews would not have mixed with Gentiles (non-Jews) -- as evidenced by the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus didn't issue the "Great Commission" that I referenced above until the end of his ministry for that very reason."

There were social issues at the time that influenced the way Jesus spread the gospel. But, that's my point - Jesus was astute - not 'convenient'. To say that it was 'convenient' for Jesus to open up the gospel for everyone at the end of his ministry is a slap in the face. If he were around today, wouldn't Jesus be just as astute?

Posted at 8:36PM on Sep 15th 2007 by somethingtosay

131. somethingtosay: jews don't believe in the holy trinity. And the "shamrock analogy" originated from St Patrick, the patron saint of ireland. Ok, if you don't understand what medieval peasants understood, how about a crowd? It's ONE crowd, made out pf SEVERAL people. There are plenty of things that are several things at one time. ONE couple consists of TWO. Bouquet of flowers, school of fish, COME ON, it's not that complicated!!! I think you're just being obstinate.

Posted at 8:38PM on Sep 15th 2007 by Mona

132. the holy spirit, OBVIOUSLY does not have a body. It's a spirit........

Posted at 8:38PM on Sep 15th 2007 by Mona

133. Lol Mona, you are telling me what I already believe. I think that God and Jesus and the Holy Ghost are three distinctly separate entities who act as one in purpose, just like you said, as my spouse and I are one. Mormons use the marriage analogy all the time to describe how we see the godhead.

However, this is not what a lot of protestant/evangelical Christians believe. My argument about the trinity isn't with you; it's with those who think that God and Jesus are essentially the same person. You are really mis-interpreting my posts. I hate to say it, but you have an LDS view on the godhead if this is what you believe...

Posted at 8:46PM on Sep 15th 2007 by somethingtosay

134. Look guys - I know you sincerely believe what you believe, as do
I. And I can respect that. No one posts on a message board to change
what they believe - they post to state what they believe. And,
everyone is going to believe what they WANT to believe - people are
stubborn that way.

If you came to the board thinking 'mormons are a
bunch of dumb ignorant people', you're going to leave saying to
yourself 'see, I was right after all, mormons are a bunch of dumb
ignorant people'. And, vice versa. All of the LDS people are going
to say 'geez there's a lot of ignorant people out there, I've got to
set them straight'. And, in the end, they'll have 'proved their
point' that there are a lot of ignorant people out there - and
they'll still feel that they need to set the record straight. It's a
never-ending cycle. Engaging, but never-ending.

Posted at 8:48PM on Sep 15th 2007 by somethingtosay

135. One last comment, and then I really have to go - the missionary pictures are 'before' (or during mission) pictures, and the shirtless ones are 'after' pictures. I am willing to bet that these guys submitted pictures of themselves from when they were on a mission to accompany their photo shoot picture. If you look at the quality of the 'before' pictures, you can tell that they were taken at different times. It's not as sinister as TMZ is making it out to be. These are goofy guys who are willing to take their shirt off for a good cause. And yes, they're hot, too. Is it outright wrong? Probably not. Is it at least questionable? Probably.

Posted at 8:53PM on Sep 15th 2007 by somethingtosay