Hell in Mormonism is called Outer Darkness. They believe in it but believe that few people will go there (Mostly just people who break their Temple Covenants).
If you resign prior to "breaking temple covenants" doesn't this avoid "outer darkness". Upon resignation or upon excommunication aren't the covenants voided? Hence, if one were even to join another church, it is not apostasy. Similarly with calling out the TSCC authorities for lying.
One more point: the "covenants" were entered under duress.
BTW, I do believe in Hell - it is where one would find JS, BY, etc.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2015 11:49AM by rhgc.
They are focused on the "after-life"/ (so called) "eternity"/ (aka future), and forgetting about right now.
They are so deluded that they generally rarely consider that eternity has no beginning or end, therefore hell does not begin in the future and heaven might be right now or it may never come.
"Denying the Holy Ghost" will get you a ticket to outer darkness with the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth for eternity!
Do murderers and rapists and con men go there? No. The engineers of genocide? Those who torture and maim? Kidnappers? No. Will Hitler be there? No.
It's place for those who were simply against the Mormon church.
Outer Darkness is reserved for those who used their own brain, trusted their intellect, and examined the Mormon church and saw what it was. Their reward. Extreme pain forever from their loving Heavenly Father.
I'm trying to think of what says CULT more than this but I'm not getting any ideas yet.
. . . Outer Darkness (which is hell with Lucifer and his body-less hosts) is reserved for those who have had their "Calling and Election Made Sure" also known as "The Second Anointing" and then he/she commits one of two sins: murder and denying the Holy Ghost (whatever that means). Jesus' atonement can't save you in that scenario.
Why?
(1) Because Jesus allegedly tells the prophet who can have their SA (because of your righteousness) and if you then commit one of the two UNPARDONABLE sins, you're toast! and
(2) Because of your righteousness Jesus cannot withhold himself from you. If you have then received a "sure knowledge" (a personal visitation) from Jesus, he then can't save you from one of the UNPARDONABLE sins.
Just ask Tom Phillips.
Of course, that is not what the Book of Mormon teaches. It teaches the heaven/hell concept. This other convoluted doctrine was invented later by Smith & Co. when the three degrees of glory was added. I guess God FORGOT to tell the BoM prophets to write down the real story. (sarcasm)
This is what I remember being taught. Besides Satan and his minions, there MIGHT be a handful of people in outer darkness...only those that had a sure knowledge and then denied it...prophets that had seen Jesus and then turned around and said he didn't exist. If I were God, hell would be reserved for false prophets.
From my perspective, I see 2 god's either he loves us conditionally (Fear Based) and the other unconditionally (Love Based).
It isn't hard for me to split these into the traditional Jesus and Satan model.
Mormonism is clearly a Fear based religion, ergo God of the Mormon Church is Satan.
The unconditional love (Jesus) just wants us to be nice to each other and evolve spiritually. No interference unless you ask for guidance. But then I'm not even sure about that.
For now I am comfortable with that paradigm.
I don't believe in Heaven or Hell. I believe there is an afterlife but nothing like religion teaches.
So basically, if Mormon theology is correct, I need to avoid joining the Mormon church at all costs, as getting baptised Mormon is the only way I can possibly end up in hell. Have I got that right?
Yep, that was my MP and that's what he said. I smiled back after he said it. I thought to myself "Wow, I accomplished something and he noticed!" I wrote the dialogue in my Journal so I could remember the moment.
I do admit, I was a lazy missionary, I didn't like the experience.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2015 01:55PM by cognitivedissonance.
The doctrines of outer darkness and blood atonement are to gain control over the members. In Mormonism even Atheists go to the lowest degree of heaven but ex-Mormons go to outer darkness. Mormons say that the higher a person goes the harder they fall therefore outer darkness is only for Mormons who have received the "blessings" of Mormonism but have rejected it.
Mormons complain about the "cheap grace" of Christianity but in Mormonism you don't even have to be a Mormon to get into heaven. You don't even have to believe in God. They have a universalist idea of salvation which means that basically everyone will be saved. Outer darkness (hell) exists in Mormonism but it is more of a political prison for ex-Mormons who dared to leave the cult.
In Mormonism there are 2 unforgivable sins. They are murder and denying the witness of the Holy Ghost. Mormons assume that after a person receives their Endowments in the Temple then they leave that is denying the witness they received from the Holy Ghost about the Mormon Church. Yet there is the problem that a person could be re-baptized after resigning or being ex-communicated from the Mormon Church.
My problem with Mormon theology is that it is very convoluted and contradictory so it is mostly unintelligible.