Ask a Mormon....almost anything.

What exactly goes on in all those secret ceremonies?

 

Don't take it too personally. I was wondering the same thing about the person with the hubris to start that "Ask a Christian Anything" thread. Just wondered why anyone not already inclined toward your belief system would rely on you as an authority. Is there some reason they should?
If this antagonizes you I have to think you are aware that it's a fair question.

 

Well, they aren't exactly secret, but they are sacred. Hence I'll not discuss them. See OP. That being said, the information is out there if you care to look long enough for it. But you'll have to sift thru mountains of misinformation to find it. But even if you did find it, you wouldn't know because you hadn't gone through it yourself.

Helpful? Didn't think so. Sorry man.

But what is done in the temple that I can briefly discuss is this:

Baptisms for the dead,
Endowments for the living and the dead,
Sealing (temple marriage) for the living and the dead,
And lots of praying, but that part isn't really a secret now is it?

But some common myths include the hidden orgies, blood sacrifice, and other weird things.

 

Suppose you die. Can your wife remarry and get sealed to some other man? If so, which man is it exactly that she will be sealed to for time and all eternity??

 

I'll give you source material if there is any. If asked for. If I can't find it, I won't claim it. Plus you can fact check it yourself. The LDS church is fairly well organized and you have access to all the data I do - to see if I am fudging things.

But at the end of the day it is up to you as the reader to decide what you feel is true and what isn't, and really, I'm just a dude on a keyboard that originates from somewhere in the ether. Credibility is in the eye of the beholder.

I know, not to worry, it is hard to take many people on this thing seriously, even the serious ones. It is one thing to ask a legit question, another to ask an obnoxious question, you likely understand this better than I do given how long you've been here.

 

From my understanding, only two Christian religions are allowed to operate in Laos legally, Catholicism and Evangelicalism,, and both religions are well patronised. This also means Laos does not have the religious freedoms was we know it in the West. Having said this, Theravada Buddhism is the state religion, but about 30% of Lao still practice animism or a blend of Animism and Buddhism.

I'm thinking Mormans in Laos arrived through the backdoor. Knowing the "reputation" some Christians groups have had in the country with their "Food for Faith" mantra, I can see Mormans facing the consequences. They will be tolerated for a short time.

 

I find I get accused of being obnoxious when I ask questions that make people uncomfortable. Then they frequently don't answer the question that has been asked.

 

If I die, my wife cannot be resealed to another man. She remains with the man who she was sealed to despite having multiple husbands while in mortality.

D&C 132:15-21 covers this in more detail. This same section the main thing that people think about when they think of Mormons - polygamy. And it outlines it fairly well, although later in the section.

 

I am aware of the back door you are talking about. There are places where open proselyting is not allowed, but practicing in private is still okay. How well they adhere to these things is not my expertise. But you can guarantee if there is a way to get in, they will find it. I am sure they are operating under a loophole somewhere. But the law is the law they say...

 

What if your one and only wife that you will ever have during your mortal existence had previously been sealed to another man?
Will you have a wife after you die? Who will it be?

Or what if the wife you get sealed to apostatizes and ends up spending eternity in the telestial kingdom? Will you spend the rest of eternity all alone far away from your spouse?

 

Well now that we've cleared the air, what questions do you have? I'll do my best to answer them. Just keep in mind the OP if you would.

 

I thought I did.
Why should we depend on your authority to answer these questions?

 

Than she would belong to another, and I hit the dating scene when I enter the next world to procure marriage. In addition, all the children produced in that marriage would belong to the other man as well.

 

what if the wife you get sealed to apostatizes and ends up spending eternity in the telestial kingdom? Will you spend the rest of eternity all alone far away from your spouse?

 

Never thought I would quote myself...

As for authority? I am just a man, trying to clear up myths without the aim of conversion. If you have further questions or interest in that topic, I suppose you could always call missionaries. I'll let you do that if you are so interested.

 

No, I would be seeking marriage in the next world. The only way break the sealing is unworthiness, or going through the arduous process of temple divorce, or excommunication.

 

So, just a guy. No particular authority of any kind.
Fair enough.

 

Well, no church representative authority, priesthood authority within the church is another matter entirely. But that is something which I am sure the world would dispute until judgment day and the trumpets sound.

I try to be.

 

I'm sure they do.

 

So there are situations where you can get unsealed?

Is there a ceremony for that?

 

Here's one.
Are any of the galactic stories cited in the other thread actual doctrine of your church? They seem well documented.

 

Some yes, but most are either so butchered as to be wholly inaccurate in the current context. That being said, I haven't even finished addressing a ten of that monstrous block of information. I was kind of hoping they would parse it out a bit, I'm only one guy after all. And some of the stuff is junk I've never even heard of, and I've been in the church for 28 years. I suppose you could stay tuned while I piece through it.

 

Yes.

Not really a ceremony as it is paperwork. Also depends on whether or not the other was excommunicated or not, because once that is done it is as if you were never a member and have to start all over again. Baptism, priesthood ordination - the whole kit. Being excommunicated basically means whatever covenants you have made are now unmade because of your own actions.

And since marriage is a covenant, it kinda renders it moot.

 

My question: Why?

Why does any religion need all these rules and ceremonies and complicated explanations and rigid controls ?

I know people who believe in god, they are kind, decent , respectful of others, law abiding...and do not belong to any religion.

Why do others need a rigid set of complicated multi-interpreted rules, a "control", to behave?

 

Could you recognize and discuss some of them that are bonified doctrine of your church?