Can anyone please clear me up on Mormon Canon?

Question

I have done some reading and I can't get over the ideas of a celestial waiting room, a dedication of a personal planet for those who are really extra-special good, and the Origins of Poligamy within some sects.

Answer 1

You went right to the fringes of their religion didn't you... The celestial waiting as you put is they call Paradise and Paradise prison. Good Mormons go to the good side and do mission work to the bad side. There everyone is given a second change to except Mormonism.
The personal planet is a planet that Mormons can create for themselves after they have received exaltation (they actually believe they may become Gods themselves) This becoming divine is one of the biggest problems christains have with Mormonism we see it as blasphemy.
The practice of polygamy was the idea of Joesph Smith he thought the patriarchs old Old practiced this why shouldn't the church today... It actually goes hand in hand with the idea that Mormon believe they have to create spiritual bodies for all the souls that will populate a world they will create (The Mormon God just organizes matter that has existed forever, they don't really create anything.) They believe that having spiritual children happens the same way that people have their children of flesh and blood. Through sexual union with one of the Mormon God's wives.. So to have to have many, MANY children. a male Mormon God will need to have lots of wives... Jim

Answer 2

The scriptures for the LDS church consist of the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. Are we safe to assume that your reading was not from one of those books? Ok, then.

I will do my best to address your questions except for the celestial waiting room because I am not exactly sure what your specific concern is about that (and I have heard a lot of anti-mormon rhetoric). It could be referring to a room in the Temple, which would then be symbolic of entering the celestial kingdom. It could also be referring to the period of time between our death and our resurrection and judgement. However, without more information, I can only speculate.

To find the origins of polygamy, if you are Christian, you need only read the Old Testament to discover that many of God's prophets had more than one wife. Some of the greatest prophets such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had more than one wife and children from more than one wife.

I will answer your last question with a scripture (one I seem to be referring to a lot lately) and a question. Romans 8:16-17 states: The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God: And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ: if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

So, what do you think those who inherit everlasting life will be doing for all eternity? What exactly do you think an heir of God and a joint-heir with Christ would do after being glorified together?

I hope that this at least provides another perspective. If you have any other questions, please let me know.

Answer 3

What parts of the Mormon Church are you comfortable with?

In addition to your "some reading", have you talked with Missionaries, or members of the church?

Answer 4

Not sure what you mean by a celestial waiting room. Are you referring to the spirit world following death? Not sure what you are referring to regarding a "personal planet" for "those who are really extra-special good." I will help you out with an opinion on polygamy. But first it might help to see if you understand the concept of eternal marriage and the law of compensation first. We believe that a man may be married to a woman not only for the time they spend on earth, but also into eternity. There are blessings associated with being sealed in a temple that cannot be obtained in any other marriage ceremony. The missionaries can explain that another day. Now there is such a thing as the law of compensation, which is not a literal law that we live by but it is a spiritual law. It might help if you refer to the book of Job to get an idea of what I mean, in the Old Testament. In Job 38 God talks about how things were organized in the time before the world was created. He is trying to get Job to trust in Him, and in the plan He has for Job and all of His other children, although Job cannot remember what happened in the time before his earthly life. You know Job lost his entire family (except his wife) to terrible events, but all of that was restored to him because of his righteousness. It was a pattern for what will actually happen following the Resurrection. What we have lost or what we never had will be restored to us, due to the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Now let's go back to when polygamy (really, polygyny) was instituted in the 19th Century. Joseph Smith received repeated commandments to live the law of plural marriage, but at first he didn't want to do so. However, finally, he started to comply. Later on he received a revelation about a future war, the Civil War, on December 25, 1832. It is my opinion, and this is an emphasis on the word "opinion" - that the real reason polygamy was reinstated for a TEMPORARY period of time was to cover the period of time preceding and following the Civil War. Think of how many men died in the Civil War, and there were many who did not get married. I believe there were more faithful LDS women than men in this time, and by 1860 almost all Mormons had migrated west to Utah, by the time the Civil War started. In other words, they were on the other side of the country far away from the Civil War. Since God in His foreknowledge knew the Civil War was going to happen and told Joseph Smith so 28 years before it happened, He would also know how to compensate for the loss of possible future Church leaders in that war. It would have been mean to tell the other women, "The reason you're not married is because your future husband is going to die in a civil war." It would also have been mean to tell them to try to find someone with completely different standards from their own in the West. It is my OPINION that if there had been no Civil War, there would have been no need of polygamy to raise up a strong generation of future leaders during this time. The reason I have this opinion is because at least 1 or 2 plural wives in Utah obtained a divorce and married soldiers who came through Utah later, who had not been with the original groups of Mormon pioneers. It is my OPINION that there is someone for everyone, and eventually it will all be worked out, with one wife per husband, as is the Lord's standard. With regards to modern polygamy, anyone who preaches or practices it is not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I knew a great lady who had a relative who started a break-away polygamous sect in the early 1970s, and her family dropped all contact with those people altogether, which was a wise decision because that particular sect's leaders ended up involved in all sorts of murder plots. It is my opinion that NONE of the current polygamous sects have divine sanction whatsoever, in spite of the other wars going on around the world. Anyone who continues to preach or practice polygamy is subject to Church discipline and will be ex-communicated. I know you have possibly run into OLD discourses on the subject, but again, the law of compensation comes into effect, and it is still my belief that there is someone for everyone, and if a person does not obtain the blessings of marriage in this life, but is still righteous and faithful, those blessings will be granted to them in the Milennium, or when the Savior reigns after the Second Coming and Resurrection. I would like to point out that polygamy was officially ended in 1890 by a revelation received by then-prophet Wilford Woodruff, and in my opinion it had very little to do with statehood, but rather that 30 years had passed since the Civil War began, and the imbalance of more women than men had already evened out by then. Have a good day.

Answer 5

I am pleased to try, but these are core doctrines in the church.

Answer 6

There is 'no' Mormon canon.

Answer 7

Unless you are a white Nazi, stay away from mormons,they believe all people of color were cursed by God.