Re: LDS Church in Sweden, etc.


"Gregg Smith" <soccerman_wa@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:11h784kgfsjdha3@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Paul <bucolic101@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>>But we would like YOUR opinion on which are the best (esp. of the most
>>recent) works.
>
> For fairly accurate representations of LDS beliefs
> I would recommend "Gospel Principles" which is
> published by the Church and "The Encyclopedia of
> Mormonism" which is not.

I guess it is time to show that not all Latter-day Saints agree. I would not
recommend "Gospel Principles. It is not a bad book, and does contain some
thngs that have raised some questions here as to interpretation. It is my
opinion that it is not really prepared for self study, but that it is better
to use it in a class situation.

I am not sure what I would recommend instead, but there is a little book
called "True to the Faith" which I have not read especially carefully, but
what I have seen I have liked. It is newer than the Gospel Priniciples book,
having been publiched forst I think, in 1994. At one time it was to be given
to all new converts, I think. It is available from Church Distribution for a
small amount of money. Or perhaps you could get the missionaries to provide
a copy to you.

If you are truly interested in learning about the Church and our beliefs, of
course, I recommend that you contact the missionaries and start attending
the various meetings as if you already were a member. The best way to learn
what something is, and is about is to immerse yourself in it, not simply to
sit on the side lines and discuss it. <G>

> However, if you want to decide whether this is a
> church you should join you should be prayerfully
> studying the Book of Mormon rather than reading
> books written about the Church or its doctrines.

I agree, but I emphasize once again, you cannot really learn until you
start to participate. I think that is one of the reasons that we have as
many who join and go astray right away.

I think I would also suggest that after some sincer prayer for truth and
understanding, that you read prayerfully and humbly starting at about
Chapter 32 of Alma and about verse 27. Read on through the rest of the
chapter.

> As far as books critical to the LDS Church go -
> beware! I have yet to find a book critical to
> the LDS Church that didn't have clearly
> identifiable errors on almost every single page.
> If you carefully parse the text of these books
> you will find that they contain more innuendo
> and hearsay than fact. If you check the reference
> material for the claims you will find that the
> books often misportray their reference works,
> worse yet you will sometimes find that the
> reference works don't even exist.
>
> Worst of all, if you read these books you will
> find that you are spiritually dragged down
> irrespective of your position regarding the LDS
> Church.
>

That can happen. But I have another experience to relate. I had been married
nearly 15 1/2 years when in early (January) 1966 my wife obtained a divorce.
We had six children, the youngest not much over a year old. This was not to
be undone and in June 1967 she remarried a man nearly 20 years her senior. I
honestly don't know if I would have married again if she had not, but there
was no need that I saw to refuse to do so. A few months after she was
remarried (well actually it was not until late 1969) I met a young woman
from Idaho, who was a graduate of Brigham Young University. She was the
second member of the Church that I remembered meeting in my 17 plus years in
the United States Air Force. We were married on 2 September 1970. I had been
sure that I would not ever become a member of the Church. I did not believe
it. I said often that I wish it were true, but it just could not be.

I retired from the Air Force at the end of July 1971. I enrolled in math
classes at Southern Illinois Universty at Edwardsville. I discovered that
they had quite a few books on "Mormonism". I think they had the complete set
of the History of the Church and it has been too long to remember what else,
but of course they had some "anti" books as well. I read all that I could
get. And it stayed as it had been. I would never join. I sure sished it
could be true. Such wonderful beliefs. But certainly not possibe. God just
did not work that way.

Well, it is a long story, but in 26 February 1984, I was baptized and became
a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Now all was not
finished by any means, but that was a start.

I will testify that I knew that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and that
the Church had been restored for some time before I was ready to accept what
I knew to be true. That might happen to you as well.

> If I have failed to persuade you to not waste
> your time with anti-LDS literature then I'd be
> happy to spend the few minutes it would take me
> to demonstrate that any anti-LDS book you find
> is so full of inaccuracies that it cannot
> reasonably be considered a reliable source for
> truth.

But in my own case, it was so blatant and obvious that it convinced me of
the truth.

Gene

.

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