Is Jesus divine?

I did not refer to God as alien to me .. a strawman pile of deception and deflection .. unable to answer a simple question. This is not about me .. not about my beliefs .. it is about the beliefs of Abraham .. and Joseph smith .. and your continued failure to answer a simple question.

What is this latest revelation from God through Joseph Smith that was not covered by previous revelations -- pertaining to how one makes it through the pearly gates ... and what is the name of this alien God you keep talking about who gave Joe this revelation.

What is this Priesthood of this true Church - are you talking about priesthood of the Order of Melchi-Zedek .. in which case what is the name of the God of this Priestly Order giving out these revelations.

 

It sounds like you consider the writings of Joseph Smith infallible since they were communicated directly by god whereas say, the experience of Moses talking to a burning bush was just hearsay. Is that right?

 

God always works thru men in this life. How else is he to achieve his purpose with men if not thru them. In all sincerity, you don't know what you are talking about when you say there is no God. Bible based religion or traditional Christianity may be a giant hoax, a criminal counterfeiting enterprise attempting to duplicate the truth. But it doesn't take anything away from the truth or vanquish God. Nor does it prevent God from carrying on his true work. That's why he restored his true Church and authority thru an ignorant farm boy named Joseph Smith.

 

Age of Reasoning.

 

Beyond interpreting scripture to suit ones own self, I can't think of a greater offense to God than presuming to elect ones self to his service as if he were non existent or a feeble old man incapable of choosing his own servants. To do anything in Gods name without his express authority is an abomination. And yet it is the mainstay of bible based religion. Abomination has become traditional. Cough up a few scriptures, put down unbelievers, love yourself, and a heavenly mansion awaits.

 

God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do you control his mouth and his work that he can say or do no more? Your reasoning is couched in the tradition of men.

 

No, I take the Bible to be true as far as it is interpreted or understood correctly. The LDS Church teaches from the Bible and the Book of Mormon, which like the Bible, also testifies of Jesus Christ.

 

Then why bother with all the others 'revelations' if god was going to appoint Smith. LDS is a giant hoax which cannot open itself to scrutiny.

 

The LDS to a T..

 

To prove his existence by comparison and the presumption of man. Your criticism is an arrival without a path in reason.

 

Not really. It has to be preceded by babel and presumption to finish in vanity.

 

Then is we are honest....instead of LDs....... it should be Church of Joseph Smith.(because they believe Jesus was created as Lucifer's brother) So I think it must make you very proud, Trevor, to believe in your own mind that you understand the world around you. You don't actually but you buy into anyone that thinks they do.

 

Does a small child understand the world around it? But with experience he learns. 5000 years ago man was like a small child with little understanding of the world around him. He had little explanation of what he saw. So he made one up. A magical being must have created it. A being he called god in a language he knew. I have 5000 years of science and explanations for events. More experience than those 5000 years ago, to know enough of the world not to believe in a god.

 

Mankind had far more spiritual wisdom 5000 years ago because his mind was not cluttered with information as well as disinformation. We see where worldly information gets us today. I understand your premise to a point. Line upon line, precept upon precept. Our knowledge builds as we gather information on top of previous information. Mixed into all of that is "human nature" which is corrupt and can be incredibly evil. Take climate change for instance....how many doomsday dates have we been given since the early seventies?? Nothing has changed. Statistics are manipulated to direct power. The science told us that COVID was a natural process. Finally we learned it was an engineered virus. History is manipulated the same way. If you are so occupied with being right in your own mind, as well as taking in all the data from others, I would suggest you would never give God a consideration. Science has done some marvelous things and I will attribute that to knowledge that has been revealed from God. I do contend that 5000 years ago there were men and women that had a far better handle on human corruption and how it drives the world. We can learn a lot from them. "Be still and know that I AM God!"

 

You don't get to change the teachings of Jesus. Your reasoning is couched in the tradition of Joseph Smith, a new religion not over 200 years old, whose minions murdered hundreds at Meadow Mountain Massacre. The disciples of Jesus never did anything close to that. Yours is a religion of works where Grace is of little value.

 

Unlike the tens of thousands of different gospels and Christs in traditional bible based religion, the LDS Church doesn't change the Saviors gospel or the Bible. The LDS Church teaches one gospel and one Christ. I don't know the meaning of a "tradition of Joseph Smith". I operate from a knowledge that God lives and the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS is his Church. And I don't understand your "grace/works" statement.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/mountain-meadows-massacre?lang=eng

 

You consider the Egyptians Therianthrope gods as 'spiritual' wisdom. The Aztec/Inca gods as spiritual wisdom with the sacrifices of live human beings as 'spiritual' wisdom.
Covid has not been proved to be an engineered virus. Many theories abound but no proof. Even reputable organisations disagree.
Climate change is different to Global warming. Climate change occurs of long periods of time as the earth circles the sun on its axis. That axis 'wobbles' over certain periods of time causing different parts of the earth to face the sun. Climates therefore change in different parts of the world over time. Global warming occurs when the atmosphere above is full of matter that allows the suns rays to penetrate and warm the earth but does not allow the excess heat to disperse back into space. This has happened only a few times in History. For instance a constant period of volcanic activity can fill the atmosphere with fine dust which can remain in place for a long time. It has the same effect as today. The fact is that the Antarctic is shelves are melting fast, the sea is warming up, the Sahara desert is extending south. Because of change species are dying out. Weather patterns are changing due to the heat from the earth. You will discover this when more powerful typhoons and more regular typhoons, start to hit the USA.
At present there is a suggestion to build a wall on the ocean bed in the Antarctic to stop warm underwater currents melting an ice shelf. If this shelf continues to melt completely the oceans levels will rise several feet.
Human nature is an extension of our animal nature which has yet to be eliminated from humans. The urge to survive, eat, drink, propogate (sex) are found in most creatures, and to a limited extent, plants.
You believe god created man. I don't. I believe in evolution. I don't believe every scientific 'discovery' until it is proven. Recent discoveries show the possible way life came into being but no way a supernatural god came into being. We shall see. Well, you may. At nearly 85 I may not.

 

One cannot escape ones character. So it is counter intuitive to declare that upon dying, one ceases to be. The truth is inescapable. If we did not exist before we were born, and cease to exist upon death, then mortality is illusory. But we know we live and that we are more than our body and mind and nature. Those who have gone before and who propagate the past, precede us thru that passage. Therefore they are ahead of us when it comes our time to put off our lives. So they are the future. And this mortal experience is a destination rather than a point in history. It is circular and fruitful rather than straight and fruitless. We gain experience in mortality. Is it for naught? If we bequeath it to our posterity, is it vain that they should honor us in remembrance of all that we have sacrificed for them? Who then do they honor if we cease to be. Should they sit aghast in consideration, with no place to send homage. What is the point of pointlessness. It is madness and the repetitive babel of the insane. God does live.

 

???????????

 

And the seas apparently have been rising since the 70's and leftist politicians are still gobbling up beach front property!

 

Mankind is fallen. Our hearts and minds consider wickedness continually. So it becomes us to push away the wickedness for the cause of the truth. It does not become us to push away the truth for the cause of wickedness. But it is what men have always done, to attempt to uninvent God for a comfy burrow and lurk in the shadows.

Joseph Smith didn't do what he did for himself but for the living God. I'm not a convert to Joseph Smith, but to the spirit of the living God whom Joseph Smith served as a vessel. I know this by way of reason. I know that God lives by the visitation of his spirit to me who I recognized and remembered. His spirit showed me in vision that the LDS Missionaries are his acceptable servants. They represent the Church which was restored or established by Joseph Smith. Therefore Joseph Smith is the prophet of the restoration. And his testimony of his first vision is true. Likewise all Church doctrine, the Book of Mormon and the Bible, as well as the current General Authorities of the Church. In my case, this is all based on the visitation of Gods spirit who I recognized and remembered, even though I never knew him in my life. My conversion was strictly spiritual from God, not by any intellectual gymnastics or by hearing, reading, etc. I had never read the bible or even heard of Mormons or their book. I was sort of a blank slate.

 

To be a temple Mormon or even a layity Mormon there are a list of must do's that have nothing to do with loving God or loving your fellow man. Those are works that one must do whereas Christians are saved by Grace, not works.Works are an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and have nothing to do with Salvation. Denominations generally speaking, are the same Gospel with different emphasis. Some denominations have splintered and gravitated to the "Age of Reasoning" (embracing same sex unions etc.) which is a great falling away. Jehovah Witnesses and Mormonism have a great common denominator in that they depart from the Gospel entirely and have a different description as to who Jesus is and his purpose that denies true salvation entirely. Both of them developed within a hundred years of each other claiming new revelations that deny the Gospel.

Within Christian denominations there have been quibles about water baptism, sprinkling, infant baptism, pre-trib, post trib and others but as I pointed out earlier, these have absolutely nothing to do with the Salvation Jesus gave Himself for. They are not Hills to die on. They are merely evidence of human nature creeping into Church doctrine and there is no excuse. As far as the Salvation message, we do not compromise. There are things of which we can speculate and reason together but we do not part fellowship over.

 

JW’s are strictly biblical but they interpret it differently than other branches of Christianity. JW’s are closer to Seventh Day Adventists and share a common root with them. They are far different than the LDS with the exception that they believe, as do the LDS, that their organization is the established Kingdom of God on Earth. They base that on their interpretation of biblical prophecy, not on a separate volume of history like the LDS base their belief on.

 

I thought you might say that.

 

That's their problem. I suspect that both sides of the political spectrum are doing so. If they want to deny what is clearly happening around them - well - that's what politicians are known for. It isn't until recently that science has realised just how serious things are.
(cnn.com)https://www.bing.com/search?pglt=2081&q=increase+in+hurricanes+and+typhoons+in+2020
Thats just up to 2020. If people close their eyes to what is happening that's their problem. Weather patterns are changing all over the world. I have relatives on the opposite side of the world and they tell me the same.
Certainly on this side of the Atlantic we are taking is seriously. It is suggested that $400bn damns be built to protect the low lying countries by blocking the Atlantic from from affecting the North Sea level.
If you have children, grandchildren or even greatgrandchildren you owe it to them to protect the climate.