LDS Frequently Asked Questions

[SoyLeche]

I'm stealing Amy's idea

Answers to many FAQs can be found here:

http://www.mormon.org/question/faq/category/0,8791,798-1,00.html

 

[Green Gaia]

Would you like me to make this a sticky thread?

 

[SoyLeche]

Would you like me to make this a sticky thread?

If you think it would be helpful. Personally, I think it would be a good idea, but I started the thread, so I'm biased

 

[cardero]

Is it true that there are older missionaries? If so, are there any special requirements needed to be met compared to the younger ones?

 

[silvermoon383]

There are older missionaries, and they come in 2 varieties: married couples and single sisters (either spinster or widowed.) The only special requirement that they have is that they be retired.

Most senior missionaries don't do the door to door stuff that us youngsters do, instead they'll fill special roles, like Church Educational System (CES) workers, military relations (we have a couple doing that in my branch right now), mission support (which usually means manning the office), health services, welfare services, and mission presidencies, among many other roles. While I'm not sure what exactly goes into what kind of a mission you get, I do know that the couple's skills are a heavy factor in the decision.

They serve for 18 months, and many don't go on just 1 mission. I've known a few who go on a mission, return home, then go right back out on a new one.

 

[Baydwin]

If someone leaves the LDS Church, maybe they even become one of those anti-Mormon types, are they still eligable for attaining a level of Heaven, or are they condemned to the Outer Darkness for first accepting God and His message and then rejecting it?

 

[silvermoon383]

No idea. That's no one's call to make.

 

[Baydwin]

No idea. That's no one's call to make.

So there's nothing about the spiritual repercussions of falling away from the faith in LDS literature?

 

[silvermoon383]

Oh, the scriptures are quite clear that those who fall away will not be able to attain the highest kingdom of heaven. But will they go to Outer Darkness? There's no one who can say.

 

[Baydwin]

Oh, the scriptures are quite clear that those who fall away will not be able to attain the highest kingdom of heaven. But will they go to Outer Darkness? There's no one who can say.

Okay, thank you.

 

[Katzpur]

If someone leaves the LDS Church, maybe they even become one of those anti-Mormon types, are they still eligable for attaining a level of Heaven, or are they condemned to the Outer Darkness for first accepting God and His message and then rejecting it?

I think it would all depend upon the situation, but I would have to say that, based upon my own understanding of who will be condemned to Outer Darkness (i.e. those who commit blasphemy against the Holy Ghost), very few of those who leave the Church would qualify. I've always understood blasphemy against the Holy Ghost ("the unforgivable sin") to mean essentially denying the existance of the Father and the Son after having been given an absolutely perfect knowledge of their existance. Since very few people have this knowledge, very few are in a position to be able to commit this sin. Joseph Smith is a person who could theoretically have commited blasphemy against the Holy Ghost since He personally talked to the Father and the Son (at least that's what we believe). Had He denied their existance, he would, in my opinion, have been condemned to Outer Darkness. Most people who leave the Church and even become outspoken critics against it never really had a strong testimony of it in the first place, and even those who may have had one but lost it were still just doing what most of the rest of us are doing, that is to say "walking in faith" to one extent or another. So I believe they would still be eligible for Heaven.

 

[Gaura Priya]

All you had to say is:

"I don't know who God is because I believe in a false Gospel clearly contradicting the Bible I lyingly profess to read and believe with my wicked tongue.

I know that we all are children of Heavenly Parents, who love us and are our origin before we come into our mortal existence. I know that our Heavenly Parents want us to come back and return to Their presence once more. I know that the Bible is true because it contains the prophecies of the Messiah, who is Christ Jesus. I know that the Book of Mormon is true because it restores the plain and precious parts of the eternal Gospel of Jesus Christ. And I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, who under the authority of God himself, restored the Everlasting Gospel here on Earth...

I know that these things are true, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

 

[dallas1125]

All you had to say is:

"I don't know who God is because I believe in a false Gospel clearly contradicting the Bible I lyingly profess to read and believe with my wicked tongue.

Ad hom

Anything else?

 

[ForeverFaithful]

Can anyone explain this sorta strange belief I hear attributed to the LDS

Was God created? If so who created that God? Does it mean God is within linear time?

So if we are all spiritual children and had a preexistence did we already choose who we will follow? Are we predestined?

is it believed planets become suns?

Are the prophets infallible?

 

[Katzpur]

Was God created? If so who created that God? Does it mean God is within linear time?

We have no official doctrine pertaining to God’s beginnings. Joseph Smith and one other early LDS Church President, Lorenzo Snow, both made comments about a time when God the Father, like His Son Jesus Christ, lived a mortal life. Neither of their comments were ever canonized, however, and you could attend LDS worship services for a lifetime of Sundays (as I have – 63 years’ worth) without ever hearing a single solitary sermon or lesson on this topic. If there was a time when God the Father walked on another planet such as ours, it would have been before the time described in the Bible as “the beginning.” In other words, it would have been before the clock started ticking, so to speak, prior to the time covered within the pages of the Bible. If that is the case (and I say “if” because this is purely conjecture), then it would not contradict anything the Bible says, because the Bible does not say one word about what was happening before “the beginning,” and we both believe that God did, in fact, exist before He created our universe. Furthermore, the idea that God was “doing something” before “the beginning” did not originate with the Latter-day Saints. It was taught for several centuries after Christ’s death and resurrection – not by heretical Christians but by some of the Church’s leading theologians. I can provide some of their quotes if you are interested.

Having that that, I believe I can probably anticipate your next question, since you certainly wouldn’t be the first to have asked it: If Joseph Smith said something, how is it than you can deny that it is Mormon doctrine. This would probably be a good time to post something that is very important for people to understand when studying Mormonism.

In a 2007 statement issued by the Church, the following guidelines were given as to what constitutes LDS doctrine:

Not every statement made by a Church leader, past or present, necessarily constitutes doctrine. A single statement made by a single leader on a single occasion often represents a personal, though well-considered, opinion, but is not meant to be officially binding for the whole Church. With divine inspiration, the First Presidency (the prophet and his two counselors) and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (the second-highest governing body of the Church) counsel together to establish doctrine that is consistently proclaimed in official Church publications. This doctrine resides in the four “standard works” of scripture (the Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price), official declarations and proclamations, and the Articles of Faith. Isolated statements are often taken out of context, leaving their original meaning distorted.

Some doctrines are more important than others and might be considered core doctrines. For example, the precise location of the Garden of Eden is far less important than doctrine about Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice. The mistake that public commentators often make is taking an obscure teaching that is peripheral to the Church’s purpose and placing it at the very center. This is especially common among reporters or researchers who rely on how other Christians interpret Latter-day Saint doctrine.

This statement probably more or less addresses your question...

Are the prophets infallible?

If it doesn't, then the short answer would be "no." Prophets are fallible human beings who can have opinions of their own. There is, however, a process in place by which official doctrine is determined, and we believe that this process allows us to be able to determine what is merely one man's opinion, and what is God's truth. I hope that makes sense.

 

[Katzpur]

So if we are all spiritual children and had a preexistence did we already choose who we will follow? Are we predestined?

I apologize in advance for a kind of lengthy response, but I don't know how to condense it and still adequately answer your question. So... I'll begin with some background material.

We believe that prior to our earthly existence we lived as spirit children of Heavenly Parents. We did not have physical bodies at that time, but were conscious entities with feelings and personalities. In His perfect wisdom, God knew that were we to remain forever in His presence, we would be unable to progress beyond where we were at that time and would not be able to reach our potential as sons and daughters of deity. He therefore prepared a world in which we could experience mortality. It would be a place where we would be subject to physical temptations, as well as disease, aging and ultimately death. It would be a place where we could be tested, where we could learn to walk by faith. It would be a place where we could be part of a family unit and where we could find the companionship of an eternal partner. God promised to never abandon us, but He would cause a veil of forgetfulness to restrict our memory of our heavenly home during our time here on earth.

Because our Heavenly Father loved each of us so perfectly, it was His desire that we be given the choice as to whether or not we wanted to participate in this great adventure. He called us all together and explained to us what we have come to know as the "Plan of Salvation." We were all given to understand that our sojourn on earth would not be particularly easy. We realized that we would be tempted to disobey His will and that, sooner or later, each and every one of us would make choices that would distance us from Him. But, how then would we have the reassurance that we would not remain separated from Him forever?

One of our spirit brothers, a rebellious, arrogant son of God known as Lucifer, "son of the morning" presumptuously stepped forward to offer his "services" on our behalf. He would, he explained, save us all. He would make sure that not one of us was lost, but that all would return to our Heavenly Father's presence. There were, however, two "gotchas": (1) We would not be granted our agency (or free will) and would consequently be denied the blessings associated with learning to choose good over evil, and (2) He would gain all of the glory for having successfully "saved" all of his spirit siblings. Exaltation and honor would be his and his alone.

Knowing that this was not in any way the plan His Father had in mind, God's firstborn spirit child (we know Him as Jesus) responded, "Here am I. Send me." Like His Father, this Son was perfect in every regard. He had been with His Father from "the beginning" and had, in fact, under His Father's direction, created the Earth that was to be our new home. He stood and, in complete contrast to Lucifer, offered to be the means by which we might be forgiven the sins we would invariably commit, and return to live with God throughout eternity. Unlike Lucifer, Jesus was "one in will and purpose" with His Father and supported His Father's decision to allow each of us to have our free agency. We would be given commandments, and would be instructed by living prophets as to what God expected of us, but we would have the opportunity to choose for ourselves whether to obey or not. As mortals, we would undoubtedly not be up to the challenge of living perfectly righteous lives, but because He loved us far beyond our ability to comprehend, He would willingly offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, provided we would acknowledge His hand and do our best to follow the example He would set during His own time on Earth. Most importantly, He wanted none of the glory Himself, but insisted instead that it all be His Father's.

A war ensued between those who aligned themselves with Lucifer and those who chose to follow Jesus (under the leadership of the Archangel Michael). Fully one third of the host of heaven rebelled against their Heavenly Father and, as a result, were cast out of heaven with their spirit brother, Lucifer. They would be known forever more as "Sons of Perdition" and would spend all of their days seeking to draw God's other children into a state such as their own. Salvation would be eternally denied to all of them.

God, our Heavenly Father, accepted the offer of His Firstborn, Jesus, and the Plan of Salvation was put into motion. One by one, each of His spirit children would be born to earthly parents and would experience mortality. Each would gain a physical body and each would be tried and tested. Some would leave His presence sooner than others. Michael, who became known thereafter as Adam, was the first to go, along with the woman, Eve, who was to become Adam's wife. Others, including Jesus Christ, would not come to earth for several thousand more years. And finally, the rest (you and I) would wait until the "last days." But each would have his or her turn here on earth.

We believe that our free will (agency) was operative even in the Pre-existance, and that everyone who has been born or ever will be born made a choice as to who he or she wished to follow. We were not pre-destined to choose one way or the other and no one is pre-destined to make either right or wrong choices in this life, either. We are not pre-destined to be either saved or damned, but are given the opportunity to choose for ourselves.

 

[Katzpur]

is it believed planets become suns?

I've never heard anything remotely like this. (Usually, when I get a question from someone about LDS doctrine, I have a pretty good idea where it came from, but I've got to admit, I'm clueless as to what you might have heard about planets becoming suns. )

 

[zomg]

I've never heard anything remotely like this. (Usually, when I get a question from someone about LDS doctrine, I have a pretty good idea where it came from, but I've got to admit, I'm clueless as to what you might have heard about planets becoming suns. )

He may have gotten it from this in D and C 130-

"6 The angels do not reside on a planet like this earth; 7 But they reside in the presence of God, on a globe like a sea of glass and fire, where all things for their glory are manifest, past, present, and future, and are continually before the Lord.
8 The place where God resides is a great Urim and Thummim.
9 This earth, in its sanctified and immortal state, will be made like unto crystal and will be a Urim and Thummim to the inhabitants who dwell thereon, whereby all things pertaining to an inferior kingdom, or all kingdoms of a lower order, will be manifest to those who dwell on it; and this earth will be Christ’s."

 

[Katzpur]

He may have gotten it from this in D and C 130-

"6 The angels do not reside on a planet like this earth; 7 But they reside in the presence of God, on a globe like a sea of glass and fire, where all things for their glory are manifest, past, present, and future, and are continually before the Lord.
8 The place where God resides is a great Urim and Thummim.
9 This earth, in its sanctified and immortal state, will be made like unto crystal and will be a Urim and Thummim to the inhabitants who dwell thereon, whereby all things pertaining to an inferior kingdom, or all kingdoms of a lower order, will be manifest to those who dwell on it; and this earth will be Christ’s."

Hmmm. Interesting. That seems like kind of a stretch, but you may be right.

 

[zomg]

Hmmm. Interesting. That seems like kind of a stretch, but you may be right.

Or the supposed quote from Brigham Young about the sun being inhabited by people.