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I am just curious where the church fits for you. I am not trying to analyze any particular doctrine or historical claim. I just am curious where I fit in with this community. As I have stated before I believe the church is man made but contains truths common to all people and religions. Nothing really exclusive. Maybe unique but not exclusive.
I think the Church might be true. So I don’t fit into any of those categories. I guess I’m “agnostic” when it comes to Church doctrines, living my life as if it might be true. However, I think the Church may well have truth that doesn’t exist in other religions, so I picked that option. I think the Church (and Mormonism as a religious / theological construct) contains some things that absolutely are unique within Christianity – and I personally see some of those things as “true” (as in the “true north” application). In many ways, I see Mormonism as closer to much of Buddhism than much of Christianity – kind of an interesting amalgamation of different religions. I see “bitter fruit” that needs to be pruned, but I also see unique and delicious “good fruit” – both in practical and theological terms. More options please. 
I just don’t consider it in terms of universal or absolute truth. I think of it in terms of applicable truths for my personal growth curve. Yes, I think there are some truths there that will serve me better than what other religions offer – something unique, but I don’t feel religion or a specific form of spirituality can be a one-size-fits all-proposition. If you start talking in terms of “required for every soul on earth” it just does not compute. I can’t talk about it in that way because when I try to bring up the topic on my mental computer all I get is a blank screen.
Having said that, yes the church is true. I don’t look at it as having fallen away in any part because I don’t believe it has ever fully developed. Yes there are both divine rays of light and philosophies of men preached from the pulpit, I don’t think you can get away from that if you exist on earth.
I put that it is totally a construct of man and it has truths exclusive of others. How’s that? Tom
I don’t think I quite fall into any of the options either. I think it has
sometruths. I don’t think it was ever fully correct but
mayhave been more correct in the past.(how could I know, I wasn’t there) It’s
probablyequally as correct as every other religion. I think there is a how lot of man made filler. I have a hard time imagining that God would want there to be a bureaucracy like the Church is. I don’t think there is anything divine about authority.
I voted for two: 1. The Church is true. Period. (But I would prefer to just say it’s true and leave it at that)
2. The Church is completely a construct of man.
So there you go. I believe the Church is completely man made, and it is true, even if it is wrong sometimes. Have fun with that.
(I am being serious for once)
I voted for: The Church was true but has fallen away partially or completely
Sure some of the things I find out about Joseph Smith Jr. is a little bit shocking, however I am for some reason able to look past it.
When I read and hear about Brigham Young I feel sick and angry.
I felt so displeased with Brigham Young that I have been looking into the other Mormon churches who had claimed to be the successor of Joseph Smith Jr.
I will say that part of the reason that I choose to stick around is my favorite Apostle is now the Prophet.
However I have participated in the online church chat room of the Community of Christ.
I am aware of the fact that there is a Community of Christ church house near my house. Maybe one day I will visit them.
Brian Johnston wrote:I voted for two:
1. The Church is true. Period. (But I would prefer to just say it’s true and leave it at that)
2. The Church is completely a construct of man.
So there you go. I believe the Church is completely man made, and it is true, even if it is wrong sometimes. Have fun with that.
(I am being serious for once)
Nice Brian, I wondered who was the one who voted for, “the church is true period” lite the fuse and run like hell!!!
😈 P.S. me to, I know with every fiber of my being that this church is true!
f4hf1
Brian Johnston wrote:I voted for two:
1. The Church is true. Period. (But I would prefer to just say it’s true and leave it at that)
2. The Church is completely a construct of man.
And your favorite shrub is the hedge.
I don’t think I could ever say “The church is true” again. I’m not exactly sure what that even means. The church as an instituton which has undergone radical changes form its inception and continues to undergo changes routinely? The church as in the body of saints who are noticeably imperfect? The general leadership of the church who publicly acknowledge their own fallibility? Do I think the church was restored by inspired means? Yes.
Do I think it is the only path to truth? No. Even our own theology allows for exaltation without ever entering an LDS building.
Do I believe the church has some exclusive truths that make it fundamentally superior to other religions? Yes.
And that’s how I voted – some exclusive truths…
Bump mercyngrace wrote:Do I think the church was restored by inspired means? Yes.
Do I think it is the only path to truth? No. Even our own theology allows for exaltation without ever entering an LDS building.
Do I believe the church has some exclusive truths that make it fundamentally superior to other religions? Yes.
And that’s how I voted – some exclusive truths…
So did you vote for “The Church was true but has fallen away partially or completely” and for “The Church has some exclusive truth not had by others”? Or just the second of these? I voted for those two. I’m thinking of starting a thread to explore these two options in more depth, but am kind of busy with other pressing issues right now, so I don’t know how long it will be till I get around to it. But, in a nutshell, I’d have to say that I believe the Church founded by Joseph Smith was essentially a reestablishment of the ancient Church as instituted by Jesus Christ. I’m not all that sure that I can say the same about the Church that exists today. To the extent that Joseph Smith introduced certain doctrines that no other Christian Church has (i.e. our understanding of the nature of God, a pre-mortal existence for all of us, a time after death but prior to the resurrection when conversions and changes of heart can still take place), I believe we’ve still managed to hold on to certain exclusive truths.
I’m just curious as to why so many people voted for The Church has only those truths common to all religions, because the only such “truth” I can think of is that Jesus Christ was our Savior. True, that’s a pretty big truth, but that’s about all most Christians can actually agree on, so which truths (plural) are you all thinking of that we have in common with “all religions”? That depends. Is there a difference between: A truth
- A belief
- A teaching
E.g. a church might have a semi-unique teaching but does that make it a “truth” other churches are missing? Could another church have a comparable teaching that uses a different story or rite that points to the same fundamental truth?
Example:
We do baptisms for the dead but people in China place food on an altar for the deceased. Is the actual baptism itself the truth or is there some more fundamental truth at the root of the practice, reverence towards ancestors, that is shared by many faiths but perhaps through different cultural practices?
I always get hung up on things like this. What does it mean for the church to be true? The thought of a church, any church, being “true” is kind of a foreign concept to me, so I didn’t pick any of the options.
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