Posted by a TBM on FB today. Blech.


"SMART MORMONS?"
By Mike Jensen Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Mormons have intrigued me ever since Mike Huckabee back in 2007 claimed that Mormons believe that Jesus and Satan are brothers. With the recent election over, I decided to check out Mormons a bit more.

My hope in doing this was to explain to readers who Mormons are and whether or not 22 percent of the people were justified in opposing having a Mormon president.

But instead I’m going to share an intriguing bit of Mormon theology I learned that I think makes them perhaps the most politically wise human beings on the planet. Ironically, this story stems from that Huckabee quote about the relationship between Jesus and the devil, but the lesson to be learned is one that, regardless of our political or religious views, we would all be wise to consider.

So here’s what I learned: Mormons, unlike most other Christian sects, believe that all humans lived a life before mortality. They call this the pre-existence or pre-earth life. At birth a veil is placed over our minds so that we don’t remember it (you’ll see why in a minute).

In this pre-earth life, we were all in the presence of God as His spirit children. Jesus was there—the first-born of God’s spirit children, and a leader in the councils in Heaven. Lucifer was also there, and was another leader among the children of God. He was called a "son of the morning."

At some point in this existence, the Father called all of His children together to explain how things worked. All of His children would have to leave His presence and come to earth for a period of testing. The goal was to see if we would live a righteous life even when we had to live by faith, as we would no longer be able to remember God or heaven (that’s the reason for the veil).

If we would live a righteous life, we would be given the opportunity to return and live with God forever. Otherwise we would forfeit that chance, because no unclean thing can live in God’s presence. However, God knew that we would all make mistakes, so he would provide a Savior for the world. This Savior would live a sinless life, and because of that, he would qualify to pay for the sins of the world through what would be called the "Atonement." If people would sincerely repent of their sins, then the Atonement would essentially erase their sins, and they could still return and live with God. The Father called for volunteers to be this savior, and two stepped forward: Jesus and Lucifer.

Lucifer said that he would be the savior and he would force everybody to live righteously, thus guaranteeing that all of God’s spirit children would return to Him in heaven. Jesus said that He would follow the Father’s plan and allow God’s children their free agency. They could choose for themselves whether to live righteously and take advantage of the Atonement or whether to live in sin and forfeit the opportunity to return and live with God.

God rejected Lucifer’s plan, causing Lucifer to rebel and declare war on God. One-third of God’s spirit children joined Lucifer in this rebellion. In the end, the rebellion failed and Lucifer and his followers were cast out of heaven. They came to earth without bodies and now, continuing the war they started in heaven, they tempt men to do evil to one another and lose out on the chance to return to God.

PAY ATTENTION HERE; THIS IS THE GOOD PART

Now, any traditional Christians reading this will see similarities to their own belief system. Most traditional Christians believe that Lucifer lived in heaven as an angel, but then declared war on God and was cast out.. However, the causes for that war are not necessarily clear in traditional Christian theology.

That is where Mormon theology is so intriguing. For Mormons, the greatest of all battles, the war in heaven, was fought over LIBERTY—or as they call it, "free agency." Lucifer wanted to take it away, while God demanded that humans have it.

Although a Mormon might balk at my making comparisons between their religious beliefs and modern politics (and as I said earlier, every Mormon I’ve ever known was a very good person, so I apologize to any I offend), I see a direct correlation here. For a Mormon, the battle for liberty is not unique to this life; it is the core battle of the ages. Lucifer lost the war in heaven (he really thought he could beat God?), but the war continues on earth. So seeing the government become more and more tyrannical is not just a political concern; it’s a fundamental, eternal concern.
I’m inspired by this Mormon theological idea: God intended for humans to be free to make our own choices and live with the consequences of those choices. The Founding Fathers of this country said essentially the same thing in the Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evidence, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

My study of Mormonism has not only given me newfound respect for this people and their religion; it has also made me evaluate my own attitude towards the liberty that seems to be slipping through all of our fingers. Is this just something that is nice to have, and for which I thank the Founding Fathers? Or is it really something that is endowed by God, and that He expects me to fight for. According to Mormon theology, I already fought for this once. The fact that I’m here says that I was on God’s side in the war in heaven, and fought for liberty.
A Mormon might ask, why should any of us be less willing to fight for it here than we were there?

...and I hardly think it useful to champion a belief system for the purposes of promoting the idea ofliberty that makes one attend a specific church building on Sundays and enforces the use of cards with bar codes to get into their most secret (eh, I mean sacred) rites.

After being on both sides of the fence I'll take my "freedom in Christ" to the Mormon version of liberty any day.

"We hold these truths to be self-evidence, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Unless you are black. If you are black, that means you were a fence sitter in the pre-existence and therefore unworthy here. Oh wait, no, we have to change our minds about that one because we're about to lose our tax-exempt status.

Oh and don't forget that the key word in the Declaration of Independence - which is totally based on Mormon values - is MEN. All MEN are created equal. Women have such sweet spirits that we couldn't possibly let them hold the priesthood, give blessings, or wear pants in church.

Seriously though, that article is really glossing over a lot of core Mormon mythology to get to the point that "Hey, we should like Mormons!"

"I have solved this political dilemma in a very direct way: I don't vote. On Election Day, I stay home. I firmly believe that if you vote, you have no right to complain. Now, some people like to twist that around. They say, 'If you don't vote, you have no right to complain,' but where's the logic in that? If you vote, and you elect dishonest, incompetent politicians, and they get into office and screw everything up, you are responsible for what they have done. You voted them in. You caused the problem. You have no right to complain. I, on the other hand, who did not vote -- who did not even leave the house on Election Day -- am in no way responsible for what these politicians have done and have every right to complain about the mess that you created." -- George Carlin

I guess whitey Carlin was a fence-sitter along with all the darkies in the pre-existence, where you had a choice between God's way or the highway to outer darkness. Liberty, my ass.

I'll simply reject all theology and deities, walk by the light of nature and live life for the Now. I'll realize that there's no expressed or implied purpose to the universe or our existence and that it is up to each individual to define his or her own purpose. I will not worry about an afterlife, as I have no way of knowing anything about it, and neither does anyone else.

I believe in trust, honor, loyalty that's earned and hope. None of these is faith, and I reject faith outright, as it is only a tool used to con the gullible. Faith is pretending to know things you do not know.

My purpose is to be happy, and the best way to be happy is to make others happy. I will accord all people the right I reserve for myself, and that is to think as I please, believe what I please and value liberty above all. I will refuse to obey blindly, never accepting obedience to any priests, prophets, seers, revelators, saviors or gods, as I believe they have no more knowledge or ability to obtain truth than I do.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/2013 03:31PM by rationalguy.

Me too!

Me too.

Thanks, we all need love!

What you just described as your philosophy of life, is largely exactly what "mormons" are taught.

. . . but the opposite of what they practice.

gee, Mormon thought mirrors late 18th and early 19th century American thought - who woulda thought?

he clearly wrote this article after reading LDS.org instead of researching ALL avenues like a real journalist would. If he had come here or to mormonthink his article would have read very differently. Either that, or he's just a complete moron or possibly a paid shill.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/2013 03:42PM by Tupperwhere.

The writer is Canadian. You know how they always try and get along with everyone and see the bright side.
No I guess he isn't. He's from Colorado. I have no excuse for him.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/2013 04:56PM by suckafoo.

"If I use the word 'wonderful' twice in the subject line people will DEFINITELY be interested..."

(kolobian thought bubble)

Mormons use the preexistence to justify racism and elitism. Here is Mark E. Peterson:

"Is there any reason to think that the same principles of rewards and punishments did not apply to us and our deeds in the pre-existent world as will apply hereafter? Is there reason then why the type of birth we receive in this life is not a reflection of our worthiness or lack of it in the pre-existent life? We must accept the justice of God. He is fair to all. His is not a respector of persons. He will mete to us according to what we deserve.

With that in mind, can we account in any other way for the birth of some of the children of God in darkest Africa, or in flood-ridden China, or among the starving hordes of India, while some of the rest of us are born here in the United States? We cannot escape the conclusion that because of performance in our pre-existance some of us are born as Chinese, some as Japanese, some as Indians, some as Negroes, some as Americans, some as Latter-day Saints. These are rewards and punishments, fully in harmony with His established policy in dealing with sinners and saints, rewarding all according to their deeds."

Mark E Peterson was wrong in his description. He was expressing his opinion there (I'm presuming your quote is accurate).

When the General Authorities of the church speak, they are expressing their opinions.