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PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   23230 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of May 5, 2025

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You asked for what we believe. That link describes what we believe. Nothing is being hidden.

Those links reference somebody with the name Jesus, but what they fail to mention is that they're talking about an entirely different person (who just happens to have the same name) as the person that Christians are talking about when they say Jesus.

Well, no, we believe they're the same person. You can argue they're not, but that's not our belief, which is what you asked for.

No it isn't. There is a historical person who actually existed named Jesus, and he did not write a testament called "The Book of Mormon". This isn't a debate about theological interpretations, it is a historical fact.

Yes, we agree on this. I think you misunderstand what a testament is. Jesus didn't write the New Testament either.

It doesn't. It contains some things written by Joseph Smith in the 1830s in what he thought looked roughly like ancient egyptian.

OK. You asked for our beliefs, you have them.

Yes this is true, but what they're not mentioning on this page is that it was written in the 1830s by Joseph Smith.

OK. It sounds like when you say "it's a bit tough to actually find what the Mormons believe" what you mean is that it's a bit tough to track down the apologetics addressing contradictory evidence. For that I'd invite you to check out https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/. Or, again, just ask me. You're not going to see every piece of evidence for and against a claim addressed in a post called "Mormonism 101".

OK. It sounds like when you say "it's a bit tough to actually find what the Mormons believe" what you mean is that it's a bit tough to track down the apologetics addressing contradictory evidence. For that I'd invite you to check out https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/. Or, again, just ask me. You're not going to see every piece of evidence for and against a claim addressed in a post called "Mormonism 101".

Yeah I think that for me, and many other Mormon-skeptical Christians, the truth claims of Joseph Smith and his status as a prophet are the big breaking points. It seems @Stellula is stuck on the same place.

That's fair, but getting something wrong isn't the same as keeping it secret. I'm happy to debate the truth claims (sometimes... it's quite time-consuming) but first we have to agree that they're truth claims, not lies concealing what Mormons actually believe.

Fair point! I do think that Mormons are relatively up front about things at least from my interactions. I disagree but haven't personally seen a lot of dishonesty, just focus on the more 'normal' parts. Which every religion does, hah.

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