Death.. Then what?

[ARTgames]

man your a fine example to back up what i said.  Now i know for sure this all boils down to opinion and what its popularity is amongst groups of people.

[NotoriousM4^]

With deepest respect for your beliefs, why is it that you follow Mormonism? I'm only asking this because I am deeply interested in the reason for one's beliefs regarding religion (especially ones that I know little about).

I follow it because I beleive that it will lead me to salvation, I have been happy as long as I've done the things which I beleive are right, even if it's challenging and I can't be perfect, I'm happy, that is something that cannot be described, happiness is what we all, as human beings want, and I know that I have it. It's a feeling that strengthens your faith, the Holy Spirit, he confirms the truth in a way that you can rely on. I've studied the scriptures, and I ask God if they are true, and I have received an answer every time, and that is the only thing we encourage other people to do. We want to bring souls unto Christ.
And the reason I follow mormonism is because I want to return to Christ, with all my loved ones, and be happy for the rest of eternity. All that is required of me is to work with as much effort as I can expend until the end of my days, and though this may seem like alot, it is the least we can do for what Christ suffered for us. We have a fullness of the Gospel, while other Christian churches are incomplete, and they hate us, we are despised by the world, and we endure their persecution, and that makes us stronger.

I have a testimony that these things are true, because they are my life, they are all that I know, and I hope that you will find it useful.

Well, according to you, can't you do all that without still being mormon if everybody is going to be saved anyways?
And, exactly what "wickedness" did these black ancestors supposedly commit. And if your God is so forgiving why is it right for him to punish them because of something their ancestors had done? And if they are black because of what their ancestors did doesn't that make the actual ancestors who committed these acts white? I also don't see how having skin of color is a "curse".

[HamsterPants]

With deepest respect for your beliefs, why is it that you follow Mormonism? I'm only asking this because I am deeply interested in the reason for one's beliefs regarding religion (especially ones that I know little about).

I follow it because I beleive that it will lead me to salvation, I have been happy as long as I've done the things which I beleive are right, even if it's challenging and I can't be perfect, I'm happy, that is something that cannot be described, happiness is what we all, as human beings want, and I know that I have it. It's a feeling that strengthens your faith, the Holy Spirit, he confirms the truth in a way that you can rely on. I've studied the scriptures, and I ask God if they are true, and I have received an answer every time, and that is the only thing we encourage other people to do. We want to bring souls unto Christ.
And the reason I follow mormonism is because I want to return to Christ, with all my loved ones, and be happy for the rest of eternity. All that is required of me is to work with as much effort as I can expend until the end of my days, and though this may seem like alot, it is the least we can do for what Christ suffered for us. We have a fullness of the Gospel, while other Christian churches are incomplete, and they hate us, we are despised by the world, and we endure their persecution, and that makes us stronger.

I have a testimony that these things are true, because they are my life, they are all that I know, and I hope that you will find it useful.

Well, according to you, can't you do all that without still being mormon if everybody is going to be saved anyways?
And, exactly what "wickedness" did these black ancestors supposedly commit. And if your God is so forgiving why is it right for him to punish them because of something their ancestors had done? And if they are black because of what their ancestors did doesn't that make the actual ancestors who committed these acts white? I also don't see how having skin of color is a "curse".

I don't know a whole lot about the matter of color, but I do know that being cursed is a good thing, because it means that you are a strong character that needs greater challanges in order to be equal to all other human beings. And you are not being punished for their mistakes, but your curse is their punishment, because they will look upon their their seed, and feel terrible guilt for what they caused for their descendants, causing them to turn inward on themselves in sorrow, that is the equivalent of hell, it is as much as you knowingly put on yourself witout trying to fix the problem.

But I honestly don't know much about the things which you have asked me, I will have to ask you to allow me some time to study and reflect until I have the answers to your questions.

[Jake]

With deepest respect for your beliefs, why is it that you follow Mormonism? I'm only asking this because I am deeply interested in the reason for one's beliefs regarding religion (especially ones that I know little about).

I follow it because I beleive that it will lead me to salvation, I have been happy as long as I've done the things which I beleive are right, even if it's challenging and I can't be perfect, I'm happy, that is something that cannot be described, happiness is what we all, as human beings want, and I know that I have it. It's a feeling that strengthens your faith, the Holy Spirit, he confirms the truth in a way that you can rely on. I've studied the scriptures, and I ask God if they are true, and I have received an answer every time, and that is the only thing we encourage other people to do. We want to bring souls unto Christ.
And the reason I follow mormonism is because I want to return to Christ, with all my loved ones, and be happy for the rest of eternity. All that is required of me is to work with as much effort as I can expend until the end of my days, and though this may seem like alot, it is the least we can do for what Christ suffered for us. We have a fullness of the Gospel, while other Christian churches are incomplete, and they hate us, we are despised by the world, and we endure their persecution, and that makes us stronger.

I have a testimony that these things are true, because they are my life, they are all that I know, and I hope that you will find it useful.

I envy your faith, because believing in something that gives such comfort (whether right or wrong), is pure bliss. That being said, do you not find it hard to commit your life to the assumption that Joseph Smith wasn't lying? Your entire religion is based on one mans word (who was convicted of fraudulent charges and lying). What puts Mormonism ahead of religions such as Islam, Christianity, and Judaism in terms of being the right choice?

[HamsterPants]

, he

With deepest respect for your beliefs, why is it that you follow Mormonism? I'm only asking this because I am deeply interested in the reason for one's beliefs regarding religion (especially ones that I know little about).

I follow it because I beleive that it will lead me to salvation, I have been happy as long as I've done the things which I beleive are right, even if it's challenging and I can't be perfect, I'm happy, that is something that cannot be described, happiness is what we all, as human beings want, and I know that I have it. It's a feeling that strengthens your faith, the Holy Spirit, he confirms the truth in a way that you can rely on. I've studied the scriptures, and I ask God if they are true, and I have received an answer every time, and that is the only thing we encourage other people to do. We want to bring souls unto Christ.
And the reason I follow mormonism is because I want to return to Christ, with all my loved ones, and be happy for the rest of eternity. All that is required of me is to work with as much effort as I can expend until the end of my days, and though this may seem like alot, it is the least we can do for what Christ suffered for us. We have a fullness of the Gospel, while other Christian churches are incomplete, and they hate us, we are despised by the world, and we endure their persecution, and that makes us stronger.

I have a testimony that these things are true, because they are my life, they are all that I know, and I hope that you will find it useful.

I envy your faith, because believing in something that gives such comfort (whether right or wrong), is pure bliss. That being said, do you not find it hard to commit your life to the assumption that Joseph Smith wasn't lying? Your entire religion is based on one mans word (who was convicted of fraudulent charges and lying). What puts Mormonism ahead of religions such as Islam, Christianity, and Judaism in terms of being the right choice?

These are questions that I like to be asked, you guys are really helping me grow.
For the first question, I do not find it difficult to commit my life to the beleif that Joseph Smith was not lying, I have studied things that people have done to him, and things that he has done, and what he has said thorughout his life. For one thing(and this is something that I always use towards people who say that he wrote the Book of Mormon), he had a second grade education, if you read the Book of Mormon you will realize that he couldnt have written it with such a poor education. The Book of mormon, if not true, is certainly a masterpeice of a book to have fooled millions of people into beleiving in it for the past 200 years. Asking me if I find it difficult to beleive in Joseph Smith is like asking me if I find it difficult to beleive that I am breathing. That is why, though this is just me, I find it difficult to beleive that so many people can despise him, and my only explanation would be that he was a good person, because if he was really as evil and power hungry as people say he was, then why are his followers so loving and Christ-like?

Now for the second question, the thing that would put mormonism ahead of other religions is that you can have a knowledge that it's true, God governs the church, we all comunicate with him to a certain extent, to what extent however is between the individual and the Lord. We have something more than other religions, if you havent noticed, most religions seem pretty incomplete, and alot of Christian churches are full of people who are extreme, that is, when I think of my grandfather, and about a thousand other people i've met who are exactly the same as him. Latter-Day Saints are happy people, that is what makes us stand out, we are different because we love all human beings, and we comfort and support eachother, we also stand out because we are hated so much, people try to argue by saying that musilims were persecuted as much as we are so that isnt proof of anything, but have you noticed how strong they became in their faith? When Hitler was killing the Jews, did they give up on their faith? No, they held their heads high in the pride of their beleif, even until the moment of death, pain makes us stronger in what we beleive in, and that is a firm part of our religion, suffering and self-sacrifices that ultimately lead to eternal happiness, and insomuch as we dont make self-sacrifices, we will not be fully rewarded.

[Torch]

With deepest respect for your beliefs, why is it that you follow Mormonism? I'm only asking this because I am deeply interested in the reason for one's beliefs regarding religion (especially ones that I know little about).

I follow it because I beleive that it will lead me to salvation, I have been happy as long as I've done the things which I beleive are right, even if it's challenging and I can't be perfect, I'm happy, that is something that cannot be described, happiness is what we all, as human beings want, and I know that I have it. It's a feeling that strengthens your faith, the Holy Spirit, he confirms the truth in a way that you can rely on. I've studied the scriptures, and I ask God if they are true, and I have received an answer every time, and that is the only thing we encourage other people to do. We want to bring souls unto Christ.
And the reason I follow mormonism is because I want to return to Christ, with all my loved ones, and be happy for the rest of eternity. All that is required of me is to work with as much effort as I can expend until the end of my days, and though this may seem like alot, it is the least we can do for what Christ suffered for us. We have a fullness of the Gospel, while other Christian churches are incomplete, and they hate us, we are despised by the world, and we endure their persecution, and that makes us stronger.

I have a testimony that these things are true, because they are my life, they are all that I know, and I hope that you will find it useful.

I envy your faith, because believing in something that gives such comfort (whether right or wrong), is pure bliss. That being said, do you not find it hard to commit your life to the assumption that Joseph Smith wasn't lying? Your entire religion is based on one mans word (who was convicted of fraudulent charges and lying). What puts Mormonism ahead of religions such as Islam, Christianity, and Judaism in terms of being the right choice?

Christianity is based on the assumption that Jesus wasn't lying.

[HamsterPants]

With deepest respect for your beliefs, why is it that you follow Mormonism? I'm only asking this because I am deeply interested in the reason for one's beliefs regarding religion (especially ones that I know little about).

I follow it because I beleive that it will lead me to salvation, I have been happy as long as I've done the things which I beleive are right, even if it's challenging and I can't be perfect, I'm happy, that is something that cannot be described, happiness is what we all, as human beings want, and I know that I have it. It's a feeling that strengthens your faith, the Holy Spirit, he confirms the truth in a way that you can rely on. I've studied the scriptures, and I ask God if they are true, and I have received an answer every time, and that is the only thing we encourage other people to do. We want to bring souls unto Christ.
And the reason I follow mormonism is because I want to return to Christ, with all my loved ones, and be happy for the rest of eternity. All that is required of me is to work with as much effort as I can expend until the end of my days, and though this may seem like alot, it is the least we can do for what Christ suffered for us. We have a fullness of the Gospel, while other Christian churches are incomplete, and they hate us, we are despised by the world, and we endure their persecution, and that makes us stronger.

I have a testimony that these things are true, because they are my life, they are all that I know, and I hope that you will find it useful.

I envy your faith, because believing in something that gives such comfort (whether right or wrong), is pure bliss. That being said, do you not find it hard to commit your life to the assumption that Joseph Smith wasn't lying? Your entire religion is based on one mans word (who was convicted of fraudulent charges and lying). What puts Mormonism ahead of religions such as Islam, Christianity, and Judaism in terms of being the right choice?

Christianity is based on the assumption that Jesus wasn't lying.

That's a fair point to make, but actually other Christian Churches have decided that mormons dont beleive in the same God, however, we insist that we do beleive in the same God, and that they are only doing that so that they can accuse of of worshipping false gods.

We beleive in Christ, first and foremost, Joseph Smith was just a prophet, like any other in the Bible, except he was destined to restore the Church, the same one that is centered in the Bible, and this concept offends many people to the point of anger and hatred, to the extent that they would assault us in mobs, rape and murder us, and steal everything we have, and yet we remain, thusfar, steadfast.

[Jake]

With deepest respect for your beliefs, why is it that you follow Mormonism? I'm only asking this because I am deeply interested in the reason for one's beliefs regarding religion (especially ones that I know little about).

I follow it because I beleive that it will lead me to salvation, I have been happy as long as I've done the things which I beleive are right, even if it's challenging and I can't be perfect, I'm happy, that is something that cannot be described, happiness is what we all, as human beings want, and I know that I have it. It's a feeling that strengthens your faith, the Holy Spirit, he confirms the truth in a way that you can rely on. I've studied the scriptures, and I ask God if they are true, and I have received an answer every time, and that is the only thing we encourage other people to do. We want to bring souls unto Christ.
And the reason I follow mormonism is because I want to return to Christ, with all my loved ones, and be happy for the rest of eternity. All that is required of me is to work with as much effort as I can expend until the end of my days, and though this may seem like alot, it is the least we can do for what Christ suffered for us. We have a fullness of the Gospel, while other Christian churches are incomplete, and they hate us, we are despised by the world, and we endure their persecution, and that makes us stronger.

I have a testimony that these things are true, because they are my life, they are all that I know, and I hope that you will find it useful.

I envy your faith, because believing in something that gives such comfort (whether right or wrong), is pure bliss. That being said, do you not find it hard to commit your life to the assumption that Joseph Smith wasn't lying? Your entire religion is based on one mans word (who was convicted of fraudulent charges and lying). What puts Mormonism ahead of religions such as Islam, Christianity, and Judaism in terms of being the right choice?

Christianity is based on the assumption that Jesus wasn't lying.

Atheism is based on the assumption that you're not living in one big dream world. Any belief (or lack of one) is based off assumptions. It's the credibility of those assumptions that's important.

That's a fair point to make, but actually other Christian Churches have decided that mormons dont beleive in the same God, however, we insist that we do beleive in the same God, and that they are only doing that so that they can accuse of of worshipping false gods.

We beleive in Christ, first and foremost, Joseph Smith was just a prophet, like any other in the Bible, except he was destined to restore the Church, the same one that is centered in the Bible, and this concept offends many people to the point of anger and hatred, to the extent that they would assault us in mobs, rape and murder us, and steal everything we have, and yet we remain, thusfar, steadfast.

If you look at Christian denominations, they all try to follow the bible as it was written from day one (whether or not they are doing so is moot). I think they generally believe that because of the alterations Mormons have made to the bible (which they believe to be the entire core of Christianity), it refutes your religion of holding the name of Christianity. This is actually kind of ironic, because Joseph Smith held the belief that the Bible was corrupted through translation and changes, meaning both Mormons and Christians accuse each other of altering the bible (correct me if I'm wrong on this one). Technically, Mormons are Christians simply because they are followers of Christ, but because of the social taboo that goes along with changing the bible so drastically, current denominations of the Christian religion want to separate themselves from Mormons, and would hate to think that Mormons could be apart of what they believe to be Christianity.

[HamsterPants]

That's a fair point to make, but actually other Christian Churches have decided that mormons dont beleive in the same God, however, we insist that we do beleive in the same God, and that they are only doing that so that they can accuse of of worshipping false gods.

We beleive in Christ, first and foremost, Joseph Smith was just a prophet, like any other in the Bible, except he was destined to restore the Church, the same one that is centered in the Bible, and this concept offends many people to the point of anger and hatred, to the extent that they would assault us in mobs, rape and murder us, and steal everything we have, and yet we remain, thusfar, steadfast.

If you look at Christian denominations, they all try to follow the bible as it was written from day one (whether or not they are doing so is moot). I think they generally believe that because of the alterations Mormons have made to the bible (which they believe to be the entire core of Christianity), it refutes your religion of holding the name of Christianity. This is actually kind of ironic, because Joseph Smith held the belief that the Bible was corrupted through translation and changes, meaning both Mormons and Christians accuse each other of altering the bible (correct me if I'm wrong on this one). Technically, Mormons are Christians simply because they are followers of Christ, but because of the social taboo that goes along with changing the bible so drastically, current denominations of the Christian religion want to separate themselves from Mormons, and would hate to think that Mormons could be apart of what they believe to be Christianity.

You are correct, however, we do not beleive that we altered the bible, we beleive that we restored some of the scripture to it's original state. For example, "The Gospel of John", actually used to be called, "The Testimony of John", ofcourse, actually knowing this would be impossible without divine influences, and if you dont beleive that, then that's where the arguments are born. But you are most correct, we are accused of altering the bible, and we defend by calling them hypocrates.

I just want to thank you guys for the respectful dialogue, I really appreciate it.

[Chaos]

I just want to thank you guys for the respectful dialogue, I really appreciate it.

That's exactly what this topic is for.  I mean, originally, it was just a discussion about what might happen after death.  Now it has evolved into so much more, and I'm glad that it has remained a respectful, knowledge-based discussion.

I just want to take a moment to thank everyone that has offered their insight into this topic thus far, while remaining civil all the while.

[Lingus]

I think it's kind of silly to argue between faiths. It's all a matter of he said/she said. No one can ever prove that their religion is "right". It is simply right for them. I say live and let live. Be Mormon, Christian, Muslim, Jewish... whatever. So long as you don't tell other people that what they believe is wrong.

I mean, you're saying that the Mormon religion is accused of altering the Bible when in reality the Christian religion altered or appended the Jewish religious scriptures. It's really not fair for anyone to say they hold the rights to any of that. Sure, they are sacred texts, but over the many many centuries that have past, things have been altered just through translation error alone. If someone came along and says, "You know what, I want to change some of this around, maybe add on a bit here and there... anyone who agrees with me can join me..." So what? Go right ahead. Anyone should have the right to do that if they want. And anyone has the right to agree with them or not. If they disagree it doesn't mean they have to persecute the person though. Let them make their changes and believe what they want to believe. Even if it's that those changes were ordered by God. There's no way to prove that it wasn't.

PS-I would also like to point out that this is by far the most civil topic on religion I've ever seen.

[Torch]

Christianity is based on the assumption that Jesus wasn't lying.

Atheism is based on the assumption that you're not living in one big dream world. Any belief (or lack of one) is based off assumptions. It's the credibility of those assumptions that's important..

"do you not find it hard to commit your life to the assumption that Joseph Smith wasn't lying? Your entire religion is based on one mans word"
My point was that Christianity works the same way. I don't see how Jesus has more credibility than Joseph Smith.

[HamsterPants]

Christianity is based on the assumption that Jesus wasn't lying.

Atheism is based on the assumption that you're not living in one big dream world. Any belief (or lack of one) is based off assumptions. It's the credibility of those assumptions that's important..

"do you not find it hard to commit your life to the assumption that Joseph Smith wasn't lying? Your entire religion is based on one mans word"
My point was that Christianity works the same way. I don't see how Jesus has more credibility than Joseph Smith.

Is the credibility of either determined by themselves, or by your personal opinion? If you dont want the beleive that they worked miracles and were destined for great things, then you will not beleive, not even if you see it happen before your very eyes; if you go to arrest Jesus, and you get your ear cut off, and he picks it back up and heals it, it wouldnt mean anything to you if you didnt want it to. So what do you personally consider credible?

[Lingus]

Hamsterpants, that's a bold assumption. Saying that because someone doesn't take someone elses word for something that they won't believe something when they see it taking place is not necessarily true. I personally don't believe in miracles, but I would have a hard time logically explaning someone being healed as in your example if I first hand experienced it.

[ARTgames]

I think it's kind of silly to argue between faiths. It's all a matter of he said/she said. No one can ever prove that their religion is "right". It is simply right for them. I say live and let live. Be Mormon, Christian, Muslim, Jewish... whatever. So long as you don't tell other people that what they believe is wrong.

Well its more than right or wrong to anyone. its also personal preference. MAC vs PC comes to mind.