Many years ago a learned man, a member of the Roman Catholic Church, came to Utah and spoke from the stand of the Salt Lake Tabernacle.
One day he said to me: "You Mormons are all ignoramuses. You don't even know the strength of your own position. It is so strong that there is only one other tenable in the whole Christian world, and that is the position of the Catholic Church.
The issue is between Catholicism and Mormonism. If we are right, you are wrong; if you are right, we are wrong; and that's all there is to it. The Protestants haven't a leg to stand on. For, if we are wrong, they are wrong with us, since they were a part of us and went out from us; while if we are right, they are apostates whom we cut off long ago. If we have the apostolic succession from St. Peter, as we claim, there is no need of Joseph Smith and Mormonism; but if we have not that succession, then such a man as Joseph Smith was necessary, and Mormonism's attitude is the only consistent one. It is either the perpetuation of the gospel from ancient times, or the restoration of the gospel in latter days."
2007-03-26 10:07:53 · 8 answers · asked by juanes addicion 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I like it! :-) I've heard it before, and it sums up the issue of authority very well.
2007-03-26 10:16:09 · answer #1 · answered by Open Heart Searchery 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's a loud yet false dogma either way.
Neither is right, considering all three desecrate the holy concept of God and place it upon a physical body, then hoist that body up into the air and say, look, this is what God gave us, a bloody corpse, all the while forgetting that it is the imperishable, unseen and eternal force that guides us all towards perfection. There is no right or wrong but that which is, the very soul. This is the holy teaching that Jesus and many other prophets have passed down to us. This is the noble truth that gives all mortal creatures salvation, and gives human beings divine forms of contemplation. All those that see the soul never bicker, they understand well the meaning of God's word, and do not fall victim to the literal word or definition, but the implied meaning the words and the messages contain.
2007-03-26 10:18:49 · answer #2 · answered by Julian 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It sounds pretty myopic to me. Catholics rely on and defend an unbroken historical procession of apostolic leaders for their authority. The Protestant charge is that the Roman church abandoned its Christian principles and that Protestantism restored Christianity to its Biblical roots. The LDS church claims the Bible itself is defective and in need of repair.
A Jewish point of view would be that all Christians have distorted the Torah and prophets into polytheistic unregnizability. And Muslims believe they are the ones who finally got God's revelation right.
Each party has its own carefully thought out justification, equally as probable as any other. The piece you quote is obviously a Mormon apologetic piece, attributed to an LDS apostle. The "Catholic" cited is anonymous and no historic reference for his "speech" is ever made. So we have only this elder's word that it ever happened. And even if it did, the reasoning is nonsense. No "case" is stronger than any other.
2007-03-26 10:37:38 · answer #3 · answered by skepsis 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do you really believe that people are keeping score to this level? Who cares? There is truly no way to know the Unknowable until it is too late to matter - and your faith isn't going for a win in the World Cup for goodness sake.
Thank your lucky stars that you have found a religion that uplifts and enriches you - and surrounds you in a community of like minded others - and mind you own darn business. You people act like it's a basketball pool in your office or something - it's sickening.
That's what I make of it - it's infuriating nonsense to me.
Peace!
2007-03-26 10:16:24 · answer #4 · answered by carole 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I do not have any problems with the idea that God can make a Church and not lose it in all these years. As a matter of fact I would say that he didn't because he says in Scripture "The gates of Hell shall not prevail over her".
2007-03-26 10:27:19 · answer #5 · answered by Midge 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like he's having issues about whether one tenet is right when so many others really see that it is wrong (to them). Guess he's finally 'seeing the light'.
2007-03-26 10:21:16 · answer #6 · answered by strpenta 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Remember this saying? "There are only 2 certain things in life: death and taxes"
Here's a modification: "There are only 3 certain things in life: death, taxes, and religious battles."
2007-03-26 10:13:44 · answer #7 · answered by Rapunzel XVIII 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am glad to be an Atheist.
2007-03-26 10:10:42 · answer #8 · answered by Jason Bourne 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋