Thank you jesuswantsme4asucker for bringing this up in the "Church attendance DOWN!" post. I wanted to ask this for a while. It's a fairly simple seeming question but I don't think it's necessarily answerable. It changes too much and they never give a specific definition, other than "whatever is the Lord's will."

The "gospel" is the theoretical underpinning of the reason why
the leaders can demand obedience on anything.

wow, that is a good answer.

I'm agreeing with baura. You'd think it would be the teachings of Christ as in "Gospel according to Mark". But it is the teachings of the church leaders. The emphasis is loyalty to the church and obedience.

But it sounds much more noble to "true to the Gospel" than to "obey Boyd K Packer".

Consider this...
What the gospel was to Adam it wasn't to Noah and what the gospel was to Noah it wasn't to Moses and what the gospel was to Moses it wasn't to the Sadducees and Pharisees at the time Jesus was born and what the gospel was to the Sadducees and Pharisees it most definitely wasn't to Jesus.
When you think of what the gospel may have been in the time of Jesus, consider what we have in the NT and consider the statement that if all that Jesus did was written the world couldn't contain the information.
There has never been an answer for what is the gospel of God.

Well, this is a problem, idn't it? I mean, "the Gospel" is whatever they want it to be at the time they invoke the word, almost tangible, but just out of reach. Almost defined, but remaining constantly wobbly and two-dimensional. Actually, part of my original complaint was that "The Brethren" purposefully kept "The Gospel" from being defined, so that we were always just a little off-balance and unsure of ourselves. It wouldn't be worth much if it was something we could see written down and refer to time and again.

cludgie Wrote:
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> ..."the Gospel" is whatever they want it to be at the time
> they invoke the word...


It is also whatever a faithful Mormon imagines it to be. It is whatever makes him feel good, whatever motivates him, whatever keeps him attached to the church. If there are 14 million Mormons, then there are 14 million versions of "the gospel."

I always said I believed in "the gospel of Jesus Christ" - very carefully NOT saying the "gospel of the Church....". When I would be asked in interviews if I believed "in the gospel", I answered "Yes" because the so-called church "gospel" is phony and is not a gospel at all, so the ONLY "gospel" I recognized was that of Jesus Christ in the NT almost 2000 years ago! Similarly, when asked about "belief of the restoration", I could answer "yes" - but my belief was: It was phony and unnecessary. Now is the question were phrased as "in" instead, I would have answered: "NO!".

One should be precise.

Keeping the gospel undefined keeps the leaders from being held accountable for just about anything.

according to professor John A. Rush,
http://www.clinicalanthropology.com/bio.html

the word "Gospel" is derived from and literally translates to "God's spell"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihN2iOlyqp4

and more specific to the MORmON Gospel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbwHYJ_S6OE



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/21/2013 07:06PM by lucky.

lucky Wrote:
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> according to professor John A. Rush, http://www.clinicalanthropology.com/bio.html
>
> the word "Gospel" is derived from and literally translates to "God's spell"

Sorry. I have to disagree with Dr. Rush. He may be an anthropologist, but he is not a historical linguist.

The word "gospel" is a literal English (Anglo-Saxon) translation of the Greek word 'eu-angelion' (meaning "good news/message") via Late Latin 'evangelium' using the Anglo-Saxon words 'god' ("good") and 'spel' ("message, news").



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/22/2013 09:24AM by RPackham.

If you want to know what Jesus told the Nephites about what his 'doctrine' was (which I assume is the same as the 'gospel'), see 3 Nephi 11. He says there that his doctrine is faith, repentance and baptism, and anything more or less is of the devil.

I can't think of a more damaging passage in Mormon scripture for condemning the Mormon church.

The official church website listed the doctrines of the church to include much more:

1.Godhead
2. Plan of Salvation
3. Atonement of Jesus Christ
4. Dispensation, Apostacy, and Restoration
5. Prophets and Revelation
6. Priesthood and Priesthood Keys
7. Ordinances and Covenants
8. Marriage and Family
9. Commandments

(https://www.lds.org/youth/learn/guidebook/doctrinal?lang=eng)

From the horse's mouth (lds.org)

The gospel is our Heavenly Father's plan of happiness. The central doctrine of the gospel is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “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” (Articles of Faith 1:4).

Additional Information
In its fulness, the gospel includes all the doctrines, principles, laws, ordinances, and covenants necessary for us to be exalted in the celestial kingdom. The Savior has promised that if we endure to the end, faithfully living the gospel, He will hold us guiltless before the Father at the Final Judgment (see 3 Nephi 27:16).

Stumbling Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> From the horse's mouth (lds.org)
....
> Additional Information
> In its fulness, the gospel includes all the
> doctrines, principles, laws, ordinances, and
> covenants necessary for us to be exalted in the
> celestial kingdom. The Savior has promised that if
> we endure to the end, faithfully living the
> gospel, He will hold us guiltless before the
> Father at the Final Judgment (see 3 Nephi 27:16).

In other words, all the hoops the LDS Church sees fit for you to jump through in order to be "worthy".

During my process of disaffection, I began to realize what other posters have pointed out. Mormonism and "the gospel" as Mormons speak of it boil down to obedience to leadership. There is no other principle, or authority greater than the current prophet that members can hang their hat on.

The gospel is the documentation of nightmares played out in Real life.