If an all knowing, wise, kind God actually speaks to his chosen prophet, there may be justification for a theocracy. Surely we can trust such a God to have our best interests at heart, so no need to debate.

Two problems though:-

(1) God obviously does not speak to his Mormon Prophet (unless it is Warren Jeffs) as admitted by Joseph F. Smith, Ezra Taft Benson and Gordon B. Hinckley to name but a few. Also past prophets have been accused by TSCC as merely 'speaking as men' on important doctrinal matters.

(2) If the Mormon God did speak to his prophet what would he say? He has shown himself to be a murderer, racist, misogynistic, pro slavery, homophobic and proudly displays his erect penis while sitting on a throne (Book of Abraham facsimile). Why would we listen to such a psycopath?

The Church of England could teach TSCC a thing or two. They have just approved the ordination of women as bishops, 2 decades after to agreeing to the ordination of women priests. See http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/church-of-england-approves-women-bishops-for-first-time-9605599.html

How was this achieved? Through democracy not theocracy. It was voted on by 3 governing bodies - 3 houses of the Synod - Bishops, Priests and Laity. Equivalent in TSCC would be GAs, ward bishops and ward members.

Now why didn't the so called true church, led by God, think of that? Their 'errors' of polygamy, racism, slavery and misogyny would have been corrected earlier and there would not be the opposition to SSM.

The OW movement would have been heard and acted upon.

So, the Anglican Church, supposedly apostate or 'Church of the Devil' according to Mormonism (after all it was started by an adulterous, murdering king, not unlike JS) are way ahead of TSCC on important issues.

Tom Phillips

anointedone Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So, the Anglican Church, supposedly apostate or
> 'Church of the Devil' according to Mormonism are way ahead
> of TSCC on important issues.

I doubt the LDS Corporation see it this way. The suits will monitor it and the reaction and hope it provides proof to their stability and superiority.

Its a real balancing act for the men with the spreadsheets at the Church Office Building.

Avoiding change (such as ordination of women) to keep the existing conservative hard line tithe payers happy and maintain a differentiating USP.

v

Initiating change at the right time (Blacks and the priesthood, essays, I am a Mormon campaign) to not seem completely out of touch.

There probably is a vote - in what is effectively the marketing department - as to what to run passed the First Presidency. I'd love to be a fly on the wall at some of the meetings!

I expect 'divine revelation' plays a pseudo role in suggesting the options and their impact.

In any other creative business the marketing department and executives would be using inspiration, intuition and imagination.

The Mormon God always waits until there is a lot of negative public pressure before he makes a change. It's not like when Joseph Smith heard from God everyday when Joseph wrote the Doctrine and Covenants. Every little question Joseph had was answered by God. Since then, nothing.

Tom, I am a member of the Anglican Church of North America. The ordination of women to the priesthood is a point of contention within different jurisdictions in Anglicanism. Some view that the Church of England will one day regret the fact that they have allowed women into Holy Orders. Many in England and in other countries do not hold women clergy to be a manifestation of orthodox Christianity. I was a member of the LDS church for thirty years, nothing for thirteen and an Anglican the last five.

I know it is a point of contention in the wider Anglican Community. As is same sex marriage and gay priests, especially among the bishops and clergy in Africa who are far more traditional.

However, the point I was trying to make was the democratic function in the Anglican Church as opposed to the false theocratic dogma in the Mormon Church.

At least the Church of England (a part of the Anglican Community) has the sense to accept gender and sexual orientation equality as a basic human right.

If I had remained Christian, I would have been Anglican. I attended a few funerals when my boss' wife lost her parents within a year of each other.

I felt really comfortable there and I liked the atmosphere. I went to the Anglican Church briefly when I was a child. I think I would have gone back there.

But I'm just not religious at all anymore, so it doesn't matter now anyway.

the CofE - at first - embodied everything to me that I had been taught about the apostasy.

Then I attended an Easter Candlelight Vigil service at a cathedral as a guest of one of the deacons and my perceptions of the CofE - and indeed of the LDS Church - were forever altered.

Its ironic to me now that the church (Episcopal here in the USA) that I once looked down on with such derision I now find to be the most Christian of them all.

I think its great that women can be priests and bishops. There sure are a whole lot of asshat men pretending to be.

"The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ELCA is the largest Lutheran body in the USA. The church bodies that formed the ELCA in 1988 began ordaining women in 1970 when the Lutheran Church in America ordained the Rev Elizabeth Platz. The ordination of women is now non-controversial within the ELCA."

Others here:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordination_of_women_in_Protestant_churches

Children on the playground are way ahead of TSCC on important issues.

That's wonderful news, Annointedone. The first time I saw a female priest was in an Episcopal Cathedral. It blew my mind (in a good way!) For the first time, I saw femininity embodied in a religious authority figure. I believe that it is critical for women to see themselves in all positions of authority within a given church. The CoE is making remarkable progress in this regard.