Mormonism per Request from AhmadJoyia

I am starting this thread based on a request from AhmadJoyia to know more about my faith.  I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, otherwise known as Mormons.  First off, we usually call ourselves LDS for Latter Day Saint.  This is because of the Misperception that we worship Mormon.  We do not, Mormon was a prophet and a he compiled one of our Scriptures from the texts of his people the Nephites.  Thus, Mormon though a term we accept, its not really a term that gets alot of respect.  Now, how I thought I would start this thread is with the Basics, the Articles of Faith.  A newspaper once asked our Prophet Joseph Smith to write down what Mormons believe in a few words.  The following is the substance of the letter sent to the newspaper.  From that I will answer any questions and respond to any thoughts. 

Articles of Faith:

1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.

3. We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.

6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.

7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.

8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.

11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul--We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

These are the very basic concepts.  Each one obviously has alot more too it, but its a start.

Well, the Book of Mormon was neither in Hebrew nor was is reveal IN a dream.  But, I see what you are trying to ask, I think.  What is to stop everyone from becoming Prophets?  Coincidently, this was actually a problem in the early church.  We believe the mantle of Prophet and the Keys to the Church (Matt 16:19) are only held by one person at any given time.  Currently Gordon B. Hinkley is the only man who holds all the keys at the same time.  Each of the Apostles hold a key, but not all the keys.  Revelation is a key that can only be held by the Prophet who gets his authority directly from Jesus Christ.  The golden plates from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon from were indeed seen by 11 other men.  Three of them having been given the privilege to handle the book and another 8 men saw the book and were able to examine it while Joseph turned the pages. (Some of these men later left the Church for various reasons, NONE of them ever recounted seeing the book.  Not even the ones who sought the Church's destruction.)  We also have an additional Scripture called the Doctrine and Covenants, this contains revelations given our prophets as recently as 1978. 

Also, there are ways one is told to look for the Truth.  Is it not true that you believe your book to be the ministrations of Angels to the Prophet Muhammed?  When Joseph was 14 years old, he prayed for an answer to which church he should join.  God answered that prayer by manifesting with his Son and directing Joseph to join none.  A detailed account by Joseph's on hand is in the Joseph Smith History (http://scriptures.lds.org/js_h/1) as to how he came by the plates, etc.  Also, we are taught to pray and allow the Holy Spirit into hearts so that we may know the truth of the matter.

James 1:5    5 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and unbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Moroni 10:4-6  4 4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

<>document.write(drawVerse(5,140211)); 5 5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

<>document.write(drawVerse(6,140212)); 6 And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.

We are not taught to just believe, but we must first ask of God and know in our hearts that the Book of Mormon is true.  Also, I must remind you that Joseph Smith had a 4th grade education when he received the plates and translated them through the power of God.  I don't know about you, but most 4th graders I know have a hard time writing simple things, let along a 500+ page manuscript complete with 1000+ years of history contained in it.  Interestingly enough, while searching for hard doctrinal evidence, I stumble across an anti-mormon and anti-islamic site that was kind of laughable and somewhat insulting, but it addresses the tone of your post, so I'm adding the link. Mind you, I read over the Mormon claims on this sight and some of them are completely wrong.  There were witnesses to the book and such, Joseph was not the one to repeal Polygamy that was President Woodriff and a number of other errors.  So don't take what this site says as fact.  I'm sure its completely off base for Islam on a number of points.

http://www.bible.ca/islam/islamic-mormonism-similarities.htm

The fact is you really can't use the arguement that our religion is obviously wrong simply because we believe that our book was gifted by a Prophet.  A simple answer to your query is that not everything claimed to be from God is......in the end you must pray sincerely to God and only he can answer you.  Its like the practice you Muslims have of praying before making a really big decision, so that you can feel which is the right path.  That is what we are asked to do.  Pray.  If you don't feel it, then obviously your not going to believe it.  That's the part of Article 11 that comes into play.  You're allowed to believe what you want and we're allowed to believe what we want.  I'm not saying Islam is not the True religion.  I honestly don't know enough about it to say that.  But, I will say, though there are big differences there is alot that we have in common as well.  So, who am I to say Muhammed wasn't a prophet.  In my belief structure, that was entirely possible?  I'm actually going to email the church and see what the official stance on Muhammed was so I know better when answering these types of questions.  So, can anyone claim to have a book that is scripture revealed, yes.....does it make it scripture or the truth, no.

Angela

So in which language and in which form the Book of Mormon was revealed?

The Book of Mormon was kept in a form of Egyptian.  Lehi was an olive trader who spent much of his time in Egypt before he was commanded to build a boat and sail to parts unknown.  Which we believe to be South America or Possibly Central American, in the region that was later dominated by the Incas, Olmecs and Aztecs.  Since Egyptians had a way of writing that was pictographal in nature, they could contain more information in less space than Hebrew.  Or at least that was the explaination I was given.

But then you say "Each of the Apostles hold a key, but not all the keys." So, what are you actually trying to convey here?

I asked the same question once.  Lot is not considered a Prophet, instead he is a faithful man.  The events at Sodom and Gamorrah are as a result of Abraham's request, not Lot's.  When told that the wicked cities were to be destroyed, Abraham pleaded the case asking the righteous to be spared.  Unfortunately, only Lot's family were found to be righteous and so they were spared.  (With the exception of Lot's wife who disobeyed and looked back, becoming the pillar of salt)  I also asked about the Prophetess Deborah once and was told, she was called only because at the time there were no worthy males to give the message that she gave.  Also, because we believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God, everything was reorganized after the fulfilling of the prophecy of the Messiah.  Jesus organized the church in the manner is should be with apostles, prophets, excetra and so forth.  Peter was the first as he is the rock Jesus built his church on, it passes from there.  Peter was given the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and the ability to seal upon earth and in heaven. 

Matthew 16:18-19 <>document.write(drawVerse(18,75419));

 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

<>document.write(drawVerse(19,75420)); 19 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Which part of Bible (NT or OT) says this? I thought, NT talks about "Holy Spirit" to take care of this job. Isn't it?

The scriptures you seek I think are in the NT. 

Romans 16:25-27

  25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
<>document.write(drawVerse(26,91944)); 26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

<>document.write(drawVerse(27,91945)); 27 To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.

Also, another good one is, 1 Corinthians 14 the entire chapter, but I won't post the whole thing.

This is the trickiest one to answer, because you get into the nature of Revelation and the Holy Spirit.  By the Holy Spirit, we can all have personal revelation.  This is because the Holy Spirit is the warm burning in our chest that lets us know what is right and what is wrong, its that thing when heeded lets us know if we are doing the will of God.  One needs to listen to its promptings and know which path to take or be warned of some danger ahead.  But, for most people, Revelation is only for you as an individual.  Such things as, should I have another child, should I take this job that will move my family 2000 miles, should I accept the calling of Bishop, etc.  For the Prophet, revelations affect all of the church.  Who should be called to Apostle when one dies, should the Church continue polygamy even though the government is going to take everything the church has, should blacks hold the priesthood.  These great revelations can only be given to the Prophet, only he has been chosen by God to lead the people in the direction God wants.  Coincidently, one of the previous Prophets of our church once said that if he were to even consider leading the church astray with false visions, in the moment he considered it, he would die. 

Did any of the prophets of the past used these kind of methods for people to believe their Prophethood? Secondly, does this new edition of Doctrine provide any thing new which is already not covered in the Bible (OT and NT) and the book of Mormon? Can you give any example of such new thing?

The Prophet Elijah called the very fires of Heaven down to prove the God(dess) Bhaal to be false.  Abraham turned his staff into a snake.  Joseph's miracle was to bring forth the lost record of the Nephites.  The testimony of the witnesses arose from the scripture in Matthew from the NT.

Matthew 18:16

But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

1830, was a far different time from the times of the Prophets of old.  Witnesses of the Truth were needed, Oliver Cowdrey was present for many of the physical manifestations of glorified beings such as John the Baptist, Peter, James and John the Beloved, Elijah, etc.  Just as there were witnesses to Jibreel teaching Muhammed.  Now, one other thing.  Joseph had followers who believed in him before the presenting of the book to the witnesses.  Why the choice was made to show the plates to the witnesses?  I cannot answer that, I am not a historian knowledgeable about the events in Harmony, Pennsylvania and Palmyra, New York.  I can ask, and I have a book at my home on History of the Church.  I can see what that book says as well.  I won't be able to respond again until late Tuesday night.

So, at the minimum, your Prophet shall either declare that these scientific riddles are the un-revealable secrets of God or shall provide the answer. Isn't it? Then hopefully, one day, if any of these riddles are solved scientifically prior to the revealation through your Prophets, the truth shall menifest itself to everyone. Isn't it logically to think?  

Personally, I believe that god gave us intelligence and curiousity because he wanted us to figure somethings out for ourselves.  Our thirst to grow and learn is one of his many miracles.  If all we had to do was go to the Prophet and say, teach us the miracles of Nuclear Science, then we would never be tested or challenged.  The revelations of the Prophets pertain to our souls and our faith, not for things temporal.  I would think that President Hinckley would want to know what was the purpose of the question before he asked for an answer from God.  I have personally been in the presence of President Hinckley, he is a 95 year old great grandfather or is it great great grandfather *shrugs*, he is small in stature and carries with him a peace.  I have been in a crowded auditorium when he has entered, there was no announcement of his arrival, but suddenly thousands of voices died and everyone turned to watch in silence.  He waved his cane at everyone and quietly took his seat, no fanfare, no cheers, just a feeling of peace.  Its something I never felt when in the prescence of any other human being on earth.  No Cardinal, Patriarch or Priest.  I have stood in Holy places and yet never felt the fires of the Holy Spirit as I did that night when he spoke.  To be honest, I would not ask the man a question of science, instead I would pose him a question pertaining to my own salvation.  Could he answer your question.  I do not know.  He might?  Would he?  Again I don't know.  I guess that falls under Article 9. 

I hope I answered your questions.  I'm sure I raised many more.  If my answer to Israfil was too harsh, I apologize.  I think the question he asked is the most frustrating one asked of the LDS.  Now today is Pioneer Day in Utah, we are celebrating the arrival of the Saints into the Salt Lake Valley.  Hence, I have the night off work.  I won't have access again until late tuesday night, early wednesday morning.  So if I don't respond right away, that's why. 

Angela

MY sis Angela, thanks for your replies and as you have already pointed out that this has resulted in more questions; obviously.

So lets begin with very simple question and that is what is ether in the title of your post "THE BOOK OF ETHER"?

Also, though I don't agree with your statement "Lot is not considered a Prophet, instead he is a faithful man", but nevertheless, there are many other examples to look at. e.g. Prophet Ibrahim and his both son were Prophets. Similarly Prophet Jaqob and Prophet Joseph were Prophets, on the more, Prophet Moses and his brother Haron were both Prophets. What do you say about them?

So you mean "Holy Spirit" can't answer all your requests?? And other members of the "Trinity" have to be called in for this specific job?

So, is your Phrophet able to show some miracles as you gave the examples of the past, though your comment "Abraham turned his staff into a snake." does not seem to be correct. It was Prophet Moses whose staff turned into snake in the court of Pharoh. Isn't it?

Alright, my sis Angela, no asking of curosity laden questions of science, but what about pure humantarian relief questions? Like cure for the diseases such as AIDS, Cancers etc? Aren't they worth asking?

One last question, how is next prophet selected or appointed?

Thanks for your patience.