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Old-Timer wrote: Quote:a congratulations is nothing close to an endorsement. I am really glad they issued the congratulations, since it sent a clear message, imo, that members shouldn’t be out there predicting the apocalypse as a result of the election.
I pondered this and thanks to my awesome institute class, I have resolved that the First Presidency congratulated Obama like you congratulate a young person who graduated high school. To the First Presidency, the President has very little power compared to them. It is like congratulating your kid who can finally ride a bike without training wheels. Orson Pratt wrote against the President of the US at the time (I cannot remember who it was) and said that a 12 year-old Deacon had more power in his little finger than the President. The Priesthood teaches that when men gain a little power as they suppose they already begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. So certainly any MAN on this earth that gets power will rule not according to God’s will. I have a hard time ruling my family without unrighteous dominion. Perhaps even Romney may have lost his soul because absolute power corrupts absolutely.
I’m grateful for the separation of Church and State, because it helps me realize that I don’t have to worry about how corrupt, or how far off a government goes. I remember that the Saints in East Germany had the Frieberg Temple and were able to worship there without incident. So, if the nation goes the way of the former Warsaw nations, we would still have the freedom of worshiping in our temples where the peace of God can be found.
I’m sorry if I rustled any feathers. Wow, I even got threatened to be blocked–that is a first. I guess I am making progress. I am through my faith crisis. It is just that you grow up in the world seeing everything black and white, and the church does a great job creating that aura for you. I served a mission in the Southern States and realized I personally wasn’t that different than a lot of evangelicals in my belief in the Bible and Jesus Christ. I envied some of the ministers who could be more charismatic and cavalier in their preaching style compared to the boring LDS talks that do little to motivate at times. I also envied my JW friends who didn’t salute the flag because they saw it as idolatry, and I realized that God is supreme. So I guess they even have a point. I respect my Buddhist friend that joined the Army as a cook, because he is against war. Jesus isn’t really clear about what you give to government more than the render to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and that to God which is God’s. So, I’m sure that is why the Church takes political neutrality unless it is what the 15 apostles consider a moral issue.
Hi Jamison. I’m glad you’ve been able to find a sense of resolution and that you feel you are on your way out of your faith crisis. That’s great news.
And thanks for an interesting topic to kick off a bit of debate. It certainly got me thinking.
:thumbup: mackay11 wrote:SamBee wrote:Just been reading a book by Jehovah’s Witnesses on Revelation. It really lays into the RCs and blames them for Hitler…
Quote:I think the distinction is this: what AH and the National Socialist Party represented was a manifestation of evil. Anyone who collaborated with their political platform was abetting a crime, and in the religious context, sinning against god.
It’s easy to say that in retrospect, but it’s not how he was necessarily seen at the time.
The JWs got a hard time in WW2. They were sent to the concentration camps along with the Jews, though not the gas chambers.
JWs had the option of a ‘get out’ clause (Jews were persecuted on ethnicity). If they signed a document denouncing their faith they could be left alone. The fact that 10,000 didn’t and were imprisoned is admirable.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Jehovah’s_Witnesses_in_Nazi_Germany That doesn’t justify their accusations against the catholics.
I think we ought to have a little more respect for the JWs who are so often mocked or villified in LDS circles.
I know, I once visited a concentration camp, where there was a memorial to the poor “BIble Students” who were murdered by the regime.
I think the RC church has a lot of explaining to do about the Nazi business, although obviously some RCs did see Nazism for what it was.
Quote:I think we ought to have a little more respect for the JWs who are so often mocked or villified in LDS circles.
Probably from frequent confusion… a lot of outsiders don’t really know the difference. Having studied JW stuff, I prefer LDS, because I don’t think we can ever remain completely politically neutral. (Incidentally I think the JWs stand, as with the flag saluting business means that they aren’t completely neutral)
If you want to hear something sobering… I believe that on average, every year since 1945 to the present, there have been at least two hundred conflicts on the go, and a million people killed per annum. War is not over… jamison wrote:I personally wasn’t that different than a lot of evangelicals in my belief in the Bible and Jesus Christ. I envied some of the ministers who could be more charismatic and cavalier in their preaching style compared to the boring LDS talks that do little to motivate at times. I also envied my JW friends who didn’t salute the flag because they saw it as idolatry, and I realized that God is supreme. So I guess they even have a point. I respect my Buddhist friend that joined the Army as a cook, because he is against war. Jesus isn’t really clear about what you give to government more than the render to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and that to God which is God’s.
I agree. Most people are honorable and are doing the right according to their best understanding (dictates of their consience).
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