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Not sure if we did this. It would be interesting to see what people select from this list. Don’t have faith in a lot of doctrine and therefore not many of the items you list. But I do have faith that this church made me a better person, provides an environment conducive to stable families, and promotes service. I have partial faith/belief in some of them and none in some others. For instance, I do believe in faith, repentance, baptism but not necessarily in priesthood authority or that they are all required. I believe JS did have a profound spiritual experience in the FV, but not necessarily his other revelations. I agree with DJ! If the list was worded as Ray does in his signature line then I could agree with alot more.
Even the “eternal progression towards Godhood” that I generally like might read better as “eternal progression towards our ultimate selves (with or without Godhood)”
I personally very much dislike the “Word of God” descriptor because I believe that it strongly implies inerrancy, was borrowed wholesale from 18th century Christianity, and flies in the face of such Mormon concepts as “transmission” and personal agency.
I had similar thoughts when putting the list together…but didn’t want to deviate from traditional Mormonism. Perhaps a second thread eventually that doesn’t paint the doctrine as black and white will work…eventually. I do not have belief in any of the doctrines or historical claims of divinity, at least as they are presented. I do have faith in the people. As I heard someplace, the members are true the church is not. I am not certain, intellectually, in much – but I have “faith” (hope in the unseen) in quite a bit – as long as I am allowed to interpret as I choose. Quick summary…it seems that the most dominant cluster of faith in this group is that God exists, and that we are all progressing toward godhood (whatever that means, and interesting subsequent thread). There is some minor support for the book of Mormon as the word of God. 22 people voted, but 8 indicated they believe in some kind of eternal progression. So that means about 1/3 believe in eternal progression, and the others do not. And given the fact that no one indicated they believe the church is the only true one, or in priesthood authority, it sounds like the Achilles heel of commitment or testimony in the church may have to do with its status as the only true church, led by people who have the literal authority of God. When this crumbles, so do many other beliefs. Yet belief in God and some kind of eternal progression appears to persist more than the other features of our religion.
Roy wrote:Even the “eternal progression towards Godhood” that I generally like might read better as “eternal progression towards our ultimate selves (with or without Godhood)”
I personally very much dislike the “Word of God” descriptor because I believe that it strongly implies inerrancy, was borrowed wholesale from 18th century Christianity, and flies in the face of such Mormon concepts as “transmission” and personal agency.
I also think if there is life after mortal death there must be eternal progression …or the idea of God doesn’t make sense.
Personally I don’t view “Word of God” as implying “Exclusively words of God.” I take anything that may be even partially inspired to be “the word of God.” As we must receive anything divine through the filter of our mortal state – everything we comprehend is prone to error, whether it’s origin is divine or not. If I speak through love I can speak words of God. If I am inspired through truth I can speak words of God. Many good books can share things of God. For me the Book of Mormon easily qualifies for “the word of God” and historicity is irrelevant to that description.
My *positive* thoughts on priesthood authority are complex and not black and white. Some of your options I would have picked but there was always a “but” … in my mind. I think the opposition in all things principle presented in the BoM has expanded my thinking and understanding more than anything Ive ever read even though it is a very small part of the book. It helped me get over the anger at God for allowing evil and injustice in the world. I now look for paradoxes in truths instead of an “either or” black or white mentality (which was appealing in my youth). Like if you divide something over and over until it reaches the planck length, it loses the property of locality. Now it is so small that it is virtually omnipresent. It became bigger by becoming minuscule.
I also wonder whether I would be either an aetheist or an occultist person. In mainstream Christiandom you burn in hell for not knowing about Jesus. I would not be able to worship a cruel god that makes salvation dependent on getting a guessing game right when we see see through the glass darkly.
SamBee wrote:My *positive* thoughts on priesthood authority are complex and not black and white.
So before 1978 where your thoughts only white? Sorry – bad pun.
LookingHard wrote:SamBee wrote:My *positive* thoughts on priesthood authority are complex and not black and white.
So before 1978 where your thoughts only white? Sorry – bad pun.
No, not quite. Unintentional pun. Definitely don’t support the anti-African doctrine! I don’t think I was even much aware of Mormonism in 1978!
I think women can have it, and non-members can have it. Priesthood authority comes from God, not an organization.
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