posted
I have, of course, read most of OSC's books and some of the moral concepts in them apealed to me and I adopted some into my own principles. I've learned that a lot of these are Mormon ideas, and so I've looked a bit into Mormonism(yes, I did visit mormon.org).
You see, I am a Lutheran, but right now, it seems a good bit of the doctrine is actually a bit repelling to me. I would like to ask any Mormon Jatraqueros on Hatrack some questions about Mormonism, mainly stuff about the, well, I suppose you could say, the meat of it.
1. What is the daily, erm, stuff? As in, Muslims pray formally I beleive three(?) times a day. When are church services and what are they like, exactly? That sort of stuff. Is there a sermon? Are they really traditionalized? That stuff.
2. Corruption. Don't say there isn't any, because I haven't found a single religion where there isn't just a little. That's one thing that bothers me sometimes--I don't like to hear a sermon about how much money the church is getting and how much they need(I've encountered these more than once).
3. Hierarchy. What is the formal structure of the church.
4. Views on the bible. Mormon.org said the bible had been somewhat altered, gradually, then quoted scripture. What's the general viewpoint as to the Old and New Testaments?
5. Good and evil. Really, the site was rather ambiguous on this but it is a large doctrinal point for me.
This is all I can think of at the moment. Thank you.
quote: What is the daily, erm, stuff? As in, Muslims pray formally I beleive three(?) times a day. When are church services and what are they like, exactly? That sort of stuff. Is there a sermon? Are they really traditionalized? That stuff.
Daily stuff depends on the individual. Ideally there should be prayers in the morning when you get up, noon when you eat lunch, and nightly before you go to bed. There should also be daily personal and family scripture study and prayer. On top of that would be a constant goal of spiritual and physical improvement; keep the 10 Commandments, charity toward others, good eating and physical habits (you may have read about the Word of Wisdom), etc. Again, such things are left to the individual and are not supervised or regimented.
Church services are on Sundays, and place and time depends on what Ward (a geographic area for congregations) you attend. Church services are, compared to all other religions I am familiar with, pretty tame and pedestrian. A Bishop looks over the administrative duties of the Ward, but hardly ever actually "preaches" to the congregation. In typical order you would have:
1. An opening song from a typically Christian hymnal. 2. An opening prayer by a member of the Congregation previously asked to offer the invocation. 3. A Ward Bishop or one of his two Councelors gives any church business announcements, such as activities for the week or upcomming. 4. Another song will be sung from the hymnal in preperation for the Sacrement (otherwise called Communion). Bread and water (seperately) will be blessed with fixed "traditionalized" prayers, and then handed out to the congregation to partake. 5. Between two and three members of the congregation will get up and give "talks," or previously prepared sermons, to the rest of the congregation. They will have been assigned typically a week ahead of time. The effectiveness of the speaker can depend on the talent of the speaker and the receptiveness of the listeners. (This portion is replaced once a month for what is known as "testimony meeting," where any congregant can get up and talk about whatever spiritual topic they wish. Again, how good it is depends on the talents of speakers and receptiveness of listeners). 6. Same as 1 and 2, only for closing, with the prayer finishing.
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quote:Corruption. Don't say there isn't any, because I haven't found a single religion where there isn't just a little. That's one thing that bothers me sometimes--I don't like to hear a sermon about how much money the church is getting and how much they need(I've encountered these more than once).
Mormons have been accused of many things, but corruption (monetary) has not been one of them, at least not within 100 years. When there has been, it has been from a localized authority and the LDS Church officials do not take lightly to that. In the mid-1990s a major Arizona newspaper (and hardly a friend to the LDS Church) did a financial report on the Church. Their findings showed there was a lot of money earned, but no signs that there was any corruption; all indications showed that the LDS Church did with its money what it earmarked. Actually, the LDS Church pays everything up-front and hardly anything on credit (and I say hardly because there might be times that projected expenses might not be the same as reality). There are some earnings they get from owning stock.
About the only sermon you will hear about money is the necessity of paying "tithing." This is a fixed amount of ten percent of your earnings (gross or net is a personal choice, and constant discussion among members) that goes to the LDS Church. It is considered a commandment of the Lord to contribute this as a member. There are no collection plates. Members send or give the tithing, or any other charitable funds, directly to the Bishop (the members get a yellow slip or tithing receipt). He gathers and records that and sends it to a central office in Salt Lake City. The top leadership of the Church determines where that goes.
Unfortunately, corruption scandals are most prominent among individual member's private endeavors.
quote:Hierarchy. What is the formal structure of the church?
Theologically it starts with God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost as the "prime authorities." Jesus Christ is considered the "head" of the Church.
On Earth, there is a Prophet/President, who acts as the leader of the whole; much like a Catholic Pope. He has two Councelors who help him. These three constitute a "First Presidency."
Below that is 12 Apostles who are also considered Prophets, and leaders, under the authority of the First Presidency. If the Prophet/President dies, the First Presidency is disolved and the 12 is given the authority held by him until another is chosen to lead the Church.
Below them is a Quorum of the Seventy (presided over by seven men), who are given regional assignments and authority.
Below them is Stake Presidencies who preside over a number of Wards (or congregations).
Below them are Bishops, who preside over Wards. There is also a central Presiding Bishop and his councelors who are in charge of the temporal affairs of the Church. In each Ward you have various people who are called to do various duties from within the congregation.
Then you get into the Melchezidic and Aaronic Priesthoods that all of these things go under and it gets even more complicated. I don't have the time or energy to get into that. Not to mention the Relief Society that is the Women's organization.
Lets just say that, depending on how you approach the question, it can look like a line or a spidergraph.
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quote:Views on the bible. Mormon.org said the bible had been somewhat altered, gradually, then quoted scripture. What's the general viewpoint as to the Old and New Testaments?
This can be very complicated. The least complicated is the statement by Joseph Smith, "we believe the Bible to be the Word of God, so long as it is translated correctly." What that means has been debated, but it seems to be more than simply a good rendering. It also means properly understood by revelation from the Holy Spirit.
Through the years of tranlation and transmission, many things of both text, and spiritual and intellectual understanding has been left out and corrupted. The original autographs have long since disappeared leaving only duplicates of duplicates. What we have left is as good as possible at this time, but far from perfect. Joseph Smith sought to recover some of the purity of the Bible through revelation, but this never became an official version as the LDS Church primarily and exclusively uses the KJV (reasons include tradition and consistancy). This goes for both the Old and New Testaments.
To shorten things down; The Holy Bible is considered Sacred Scripture, but not without flaws that might never be recovered. Nonetheless, Mormons are mostly literalists with little to no "Higher Criticism" leanings. Any "recovery" must be done through revelation as it is through revelation that the Word first came.
Of course, Mormons believe in other Scriptures: The Bible, The Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. Conference Talks by General Authorities are considered Scripture of an immediate nature.
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quote:Good and evil. Really, the site was rather ambiguous on this but it is a large doctrinal point for me.
Not sure how to answer this. The concept of "good" and "evil" is complicated, yet simple. There is definantly a concept of evil; anything that goes against the will of God. There is definantly the concept of good; whatever follows the will of God. We believe in the ultimate goodness of God, and the ultimate evilness of Satan (not to mention the reality of both as individuals). However, we also believe that "good" and "evil" are concepts that are beyond the simple wishes of both God and Satan who are the facilitators of Universal Laws of Morality (my own name for the concept). Actually you could say that Satan doesn't follow the laws.
Beyond that you might have to ask more specific questions on the matter.
posted
Oh, see, by corruption, though that was the example I used, I didn't necesarily mean monetary. I mean stuff like leaders playing to positions that aren't meant to be good for anyone but themselves or aren't good for the congregation. That sorta stuff.
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posted
I'm not sure what you mean by "playing to positions." Do you mean ambition, like someone trying to become an Apostle or something by politicking and networking?
We have a system that works hard to discourage ambition of that type; everyone in the Church has a calling (job), and we change callings every so often; there isn't really a ladder to climb. Someone who is the Elder's Quorum President this year (a big, responsible job) might be teaching the 8-year-old class next year, or hanging out in the nursery.
Callings are given by inspiration, we believe; before giving anyone a calling, the leaders pray about various people and try to get the person the Lord wants for the job. I've been involved with this on a small scale and had it work for me.
In addition, it is generally felt within the Church that the sort of person who actually wants to be a Bishop (or other responsible position) is slightly off, and probably not the person for the job. A person is supposed to serve where they're called--but very few people actively hope to be called to something difficult like Bishop.
Or perhaps you meant something else. Do you mean like leaders saying they hold a certain position on an issue, when they only think it will gain them admiration?
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posted
Anthro, coming from a non-LDS who knows next to nothing but assumes a lot, I don't think you can really ask questions like "Is there corruption in your church? And don't tell me there isn't." Not only is it a completely broad category, but what's corruption to one dude might not be corruption to the next. Besides, you're asking somebody to point out the flaws in something that is nearest to their heart. I've found it's best to just research their history, or if you're brave enough, attend the church (or maybe LDS need you to "investigate" first, I'm not sure). Also remember that while corruptions may be present, they're probably, as with most religions, exceptions to the rule.
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