The Official "Ask A Mormon" Thread

[The Black Swordsman]

No one answered my question yet (((((((( It is literally the only thing I'm worried about, most everything else can be answered by Book of Mormon or google search

 

[colton]

Does it come from the family or did you guys choose to be a Mormon? Of course it can be both but we shall count those in the first category this time.

My parents are both Mormon also. I've been in wards (congregations) where most of the members' parents were also Mormon, and I've been in wards where the majority of the members were 1st generation converts to the church. So it just depends.

 

[Harambe]

Mr Hartsock, I grew up in Utah as well. I was one of only a handful of male Seminary graduates that did not go on a mission. Only my best friend waited until he was 26 to get married(the one). I can name five that are already divorced, three of which had children during the first go at marriage. On top of that, 3 gentlemen in my graduating class who came back "playing for the other team".

One of us is clearly the minority.

I don't think this post is in line with the spirit of this thread.

You're probably right. And I apologize if I've hurt any feelings. Question withdrawn.

 

[colton]

1. Magnets; how do they work?

2. Joseph Smith said that there are men living on the moon who dress like Quakers and live to be nearly 1000 years old. Since he was wrong about the moon, is it safe to trust him regarding the way to Heaven?

https://en.fairmormon.org/Joseph_Smith/Moon_inhabited

3. Why does the church continue to handicap our young men by sending them on a mission instead of getting them an education first?

I don't think it's a handicap, nor do I think the church leaders consider it so.

 

[Hartsock]

Mr Hartsock, I grew up in Utah as well. I was one of only a handful of male Seminary graduates that did not go on a mission. Only my best friend waited until he was 26 to get married(the one). I can name five that are already divorced, three of which had children during the first go at marriage. On top of that, 3 gentlemen in my graduating class who came back "playing for the other team".

One of us is clearly the minority.



You're probably right. And I apologize if I've hurt any feelings. Question withdrawn.

I think your question is fine. One of us is in the minority, tough to tell who though. I really don't know hardly any returned missionaries that got married very soon after getting home. Maybe I just hang out with the less weird mormon crowd. Who knows.

 

[colton]

Why are Mormons, for the most part, only white?

Because the church was started in a mostly white area of the country, then moved to Utah with that mostly white group of people. Then missionaries didn't proselyte much to blacks until 1978 because until that time the church didn't allow black men to be ordained to the priesthood.

 

[Harambe]

https://en.fairmormon.org/Joseph_Smith/Moon_inhabited

Thank you, Mr Colton, now if you would draw us all a horse, I'll continue with perhaps some better questions.

 

[colton]

Okay, seriously.. why does the LDS church feel that Jesus needed to be rescued? Meaning, God so loved the world that He ga e his only begotten Son so that we may not perish.

Jesus experienced a horrible death, a miraculous resurrection.. yet God felt it wasn't enough? That without the intervention of a new church organization in the 1800's, His work would remain unfinished..

The Mormon view is that the restoration was part of God's plan all along. It wasn't part of any sort of rescue attempt.

I'm not in any way hating.. at all. I just don't get where God's plan was to say, "yes, you believe upon my Son.. "
And then follow it up with "BUT" for the fullest of glory you must be a Mormon.

A more accurate way of looking at the Mormon view is to say "BUT for the fullest degree of glory, you must follow the teachings of His Son, which among other things include being baptized by someone with the proper authority."

Also please keep in mind that Mormons believe that the gospel is being taught in the hereafter, so it's not like we think only Mormons will be saved. But we DO think that only those that accept Christ through baptism--be it in this life or in the next--will be saved. It's just that in the here and now, the authority to baptize is only present in the LDS Church.

 

[colton]

Is Jason a Mormon?

Yes, I believe so.

 

[franklin]

The social agenda within the church after you get married is to have kids ASAP(deny it if you want, but it's reality). So now, before you have a chance to get back into school to get an AA, AS, etc(2 year degree, pretty much required for a respectable job) you have two mouths to feed other than your own.

How is that fair?

Back in the 1800's, that was fine, as most people weren't college educated. It's a vastly different world now.

I don't know why anyone would doubt that. The last unofficial official counsel I heard from the pulpit was in paraphrase "don't put off family for worldly treasures", followed with discussion of children being blessings and don't wait to have them. I find this particularly obnoxious, and have been told by some members that they agree.

 

[colton]

How can I get myself into those YSA meetings?

Just show up. Or, if you don't know when/where, you may need to visit your local congregation first for a regular meeting and ask someone.

Once I get in what strategies you think will get me the honies?

Convert to Mormonism.

 

[Dr. Jones]

The Mormon view is that the restoration was part of God's plan all along. It wasn't part of any sort of rescue attempt.



A more accurate way of looking at the Mormon view is to say "BUT for the fullest degree of glory, you must follow the teachings of His Son, which among other things include being baptized by someone with the proper authority."

Also please keep in mind that Mormons believe that the gospel is being taught in the hereafter, so it's not like we think only Mormons will be saved. But we DO think that only those that accept Christ through baptism--be it in this life or in the next--will be saved. It's just that in the here and now, the authority to baptize is only present in the LDS Church.

I knew all of this and am very impressed you stated it so plainly. People I have known for years try to dodge the question .. primarily, the last sentence. Kudos for sharing your belief without spin.