It's come to my attention lately that two of my nieces (ages 18 and 21), who still live at home are being subject to the same rules that I had to obey when I lived at home at that age. I understand that parents in general have set rules for their children to go by. Understand that Mormon rules are much more stringent than the average house rules that are given by non-Mormon parents.
A flood of memories came rushing in when I found out that they are in a very similar situation that I was in. Memories of isolation, rejection, non-importance, neglect, and many other bad memories came back to my mind was though it were yesterday.
Mormon young women are discouraged and purposely kept away from seeking independance from their parents. A young Mormon woman is drilled from day one that her purpose on earth (goals) are to marry in the temple, marry a returned missionary, have many, many children, and be the perfect mother, wife, and member of the Mormon church. This places huge pressure on a young woman whose desire is to please, not only the Mormon church, but her parents as well.
These goals are extremely important to her and are obviously unrealistic, but because the teachings within the church and family home are so demanding, the real potential for human development and purpose for any young woman within the church are blocked out.
A young woman in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not taught how to move away from home and learn how to be an independant thinker and decision maker. Her whole being is conditioned to be dependent on a husband. Then, and only then can she persue any type of career and/or schooling. This is contingent on the husband and his wishes.
What a waste of young lives. Shame on the Mormon church for causing this type of problem that goes unrecognized and ultimately destroys these women that deserve to know the truth about how to live in this world.
A Mormon Young Woman
Christianity vs. Mormonism
This a a very simple comparative study that I did several years ago when I didn't know that there was other studies done on the same subject. I didn't have the internet or any other resources to go by, but the bible and my own experiences. Please click on the image for a clear reading.
What's in the Meaning of Family?
I've had a lot of time to reflect and think about what it means to be a part of a family and to have a family of my own. I seem to come up with many questions. Here are a few of them.
Why do we become a part of a family anyway?
Is the family unit on earth a temporary thing?
If family is forever, why do the kids go away to be on their own?
(Doesn't that leave the parents alone?)
Mormons believe that the family will be together for all time and all eternity. I don't think that that belief makes any sense. A man and a woman (Mormon) are to become one, get sealed in the Mormon temple and then have many kids. In that whole process, the parents are leaning on the belief that they will have their children forever. How can that be at all possible if their children want to go on their own and fulfill the same dream of godhood? It isn't at all possible. Think about it. If you are Mormon and you believe that you will go to the celestial kingdom and receive your glory of becoming a god to have your own world and have an endless number of spiritual children, where does that leave your earthly children? The earthly children are off doing their own thing. They don't want to stay at home with mom and dad. They want the dream of godhood too (If they believe). Therefore, the whole thought of 'families are forever' is a joke.
God put humans in a family unit for stability and learning. Parents are to teach their children how to be adults and continue the same cycle that has gone on for centuries. I know that children are not to stay at home with their parents forever. That just doesn't go with what God intended for us in the first place. Maturing and growing is part of what God wants for all of us. Even Jesus himself said that man is to leave his father and mother and be united to his wife (Matthew 19:5).
A good portion of my life was spent in the belief that I was going to be a part of my family forever. I believed that I would never be without my brothers and sisters, my parents and grandparents, my children and grandchildren, and so on and so forth. I believed that I was going to be with my family of generations past, present, and future. The list was endless. I think of my family tree and it is huge, who's isn't?
I have my children in my heart. I don't have them physically. No one does. Children want to grow up. They want to be themselves, not what I want them to be. When they find God and turn their life over to God then they belong to God. God is the only one that has them. He always did. Their lives are in His hands. I can't do what He does and I can't possibly know what the situation in Heaven will be. Nobody knows.
The whole bottom line of all this is; teach your children well in the ways of the Lord. Show them what they need for their future. Allow them to mature and grow to become the adults they need to be. Families are a group of people that are there for that process. As far as forever is concerned - Let God do His work and forever will fall into place. All those that believe in the Lord belong to the greatest family of all...
Church News
I saved some unopened Mormon "Church News" papers that my grandmother sent me several years back. I broke open the plastic cover of one of them, pulled the paper out and unfolded it. I sat at my desk for awhile and read it from cover to cover. I put question marks in some spots and underlined others. I wrote comments all over the back page.
As I looked through the many different articles, stories and pictures, I noticed that there was only three quoted scriptures from the Bible(KJV). Each one of these bible verses were on the back page of the one newspaper I had read. I then, took the plastic off of all the other newspapers and took a look through all of them. Here is a list of several topics that are contained in each of the newspapers:
Church History
Music
Plays
Pageants
Sports
Parades
Games
Church Growth in other Countries
Work
Education
Geneologies
Church Leaders
Church Conference
Temples
Church Buildings
I'm sure that I missed a few other topics.
After reading all of the papers that I had, I sat and pondered about what I had just read, or didn't read. These writings were not all what I was taught that they were. For a paper that was to be kept always on hand and never to be mistreated in anyway, the context of the newspapers do not have anything for growth in the spirit. These papers do not put any importance on our Lord and Savior, nor do they give any substance or guidance toward a spirit-filled life.
I was always told that good upstanding Mormons will keep their subscription going year after year and consider the papers to be part of God's word. (To obtain and keep a temple recommend, a worthy Mormon must have these in their home.) I remember being taught out of several of these papers when I was a kid. I always read them and looked forward to their arrival in the mail.
These Mormon newspapers merely boast about the Mormon lifestyle with emphasis on member growth rather than substance for the heart.
Truth Restored.....?
I came across a web site last night and thought I would check it out. On one of the web pages within this site, it has the title, "TRUTH RESTORED." I spend quite a lot of time on that particular page reading all of the questions that were contained within it. Not to my surprise, all of them were leading questions that try to produce the reader to convert to Mormonism. One of the questions asked was, "What is my relationship with Jesus Christ?" I was very disappointed after watching a short video clip accompanying this particular question that it didn't even come close to providing an answer to the question. There were no questions relating to Jesus being the answer to the truth.
Out of all 26 questions, only two use the name 'Jesus Christ' and over half of the other questions do not address spiritual matters. They refer more towards self-love and self-gratification. None of the questions mention how a person needs Jesus in their life, or how reading God's word is what they need for their life.
The title of the web page does not fit the questions. The truth is, Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, and we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. According to Christianity, we need to acknowledge that He is the Savior and that he is the only one who can fill us with love, joy, and peace.
Not one human is good according to the scriptures, not one. Only God is good.
Matthew 19:17
And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God......
America's Non-Christian Christians
(These writings were taken from a book called, "One Nation Under Gods" by Richard Abanes. pp 375-400)
Quote: "According to Mormonism expert Jan Shipps-emeritus history professor at Indiana-Perdue University---Latter-day Saints may be at best be able to trace their roots to Christianity, but after that must be considered members of a new religion."
Now, when I was growing up, I never considered myself to be a Christian. For that matter, the term 'Christianity' only came up in church when the first vision of Joseph Smith was being taught in Sunday School, Sacrament Meeting, or Seminary. Plus, it was talked about among the Mormons I grew up with as one of those "other" religions. I know for a fact that Mormons consider themselves a religion above all other religions.
Quote: "The well-known Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod denomination asserts without reservation that Mormonism is definitely not Christian, explaining:
The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, together with the vast majority of Christian denominations in the United States, does not regard the Mormon church as a Christian church. That is because the official writing of Mormonism deny fundamental teachings of orthodox Christianity.
A rigid delineation between Christianity and Mormonism was originally drawn by none other than Joseph Smith."
This was the teaching I grew up with.
Quote: "According to the First Vision, God told Smith that the churches of Christendom "were all wrong;" that "all their creeds were an abomination;" and that Christian ministers "were all corrupt... having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof." Smith maintained that Christianity existed only for a very short time after its emergence 2,000 years ago. The faith then allegedly disappeared from the earth through the wickedness of men, who proceeded to erect a false/corrupt Christianity - a product of what Mormons call the "Great Apostasy.""
My dad told me and my siblings that it was during the Shakespearian times the "Great Apostasy" occurred.
Quote: "Smith claimed that he restored, under God's direction, the pure church, its doctrines, organizational structure, practices, rituals, priesthood, and ceremonies. As for all other churches, Smith said they were founded by the devil; representations of the "great and abominable church" of the satanic world system. Smith made this all very clear through his Book of Mormon, which reads: "Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil,... the whore of all the earth.""
I was always taught that the LDS church is the only true and living church on this earth. I have sat through countless 'Fast and Testimony' meetings listening to each member say the same message. Here is a typical testimony by a typical Mormon believer; "I know that this church is true that God restored the priesthood upon this earth. I know that Joseph Smith is a true prophet and that there is a true prophet on this earth now. I know the Book of Mormon to be the true word of God..." There might be slight variations in what is said, but usually it is all about the same. I have stood and said these things myself.
