LDS General Conference - Apr 2015
- Thread starter colton
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Witty Username
Well-Known Member
There's not going to be any gospel that appears to you after you die that allows you to turn into a glorious Mormon, so there's that. The sanctimonious reprieve in that logic is staggering. I've lived among them them long enough to get the gist of that psychological scapegoat concept. You're either with us, or you're against us, so in the end just go all in and be with us while you're here! That'll be 10%, please
I don't think it will be as simple as that. This is just all my opinion, so keep that in mind.
I think when we die we will essentially be the same people we are now, yet we will be alive as spirits but without a body.
There will still be spirits that are LDS, that are Catholic, that are no religion, etc. Everyone will still have their ideas about what to believe and what to not believe as to what stage you are or what comes next.
There will still be a faith aspect of what to believe and what to not believe there too. It won't be cut and dried immediately many of us imagine it to be.
So basically I'm saying I don't think it will be "in front of me and I can see it".
After the very end of all of this where we are finally "judged" and all that... that is when it will all be "in front of me and I can see it" so to speak.
Does that make sense?
I have no preference as to the diversity of the next apostle. It doesn't matter to me.
If I were to guess, I would say that every year the odds seem to increase that there will be one as there are more and more members and more and more leaders as general authorities in the other quorums that are "minorities". I'm not sure they can be considered minorities though. There may be more members of the LDS church that are not white than are white, so I guess I'm not sure what a minority would be considered if you look at total church membership. But if you go by the ratio in the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve, I guess there is still an argument.
Joe Bagadonuts
Well-Known Member
No it does not make sense. If I don't believe in an afterlife and then I suddenly find myself living one that particular belief is going to change pronto.
You may very well be correct. More mormons out side the U.S. than in it. But in many places the LDS church is seen as a white church. Having an apostle that is not white would go a long ways towards changing that. Since one can argue that since only white men have ever lead it that it is a white church. I one day hope to see a Quorum of the 12 with no more than 4-5 white members.
Not to mention that any apostle that is not white would more than likely have a very different up bringing and some new blood is always good.
I'm not disagreeing with you. I guess my main thought is just the hope/desire to get the right person no matter the heritage, as opposed to pulling for someone that is not white just for the sake of getting someone not white in the position. It would from a world point of view be viewed as a positive, but that shouldn't ever be the reason for something to happen.
Even if that changes, does that mean you from there will choose the LDS view of the afterlife, or some other view of life after death?
There will certainly be other groups that believe in the afterlife that continue with their beliefs after they die.
That would just be one fork in the road, so yes I agree that would be a sudden change but is so far toward the beginning of the road it is only a beginning.
I disagree. The Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. Perhaps choosing an apostle from say Kenya would open up the hearts and doors to the Church in Africa at an expanded rate from goodwill.
Either way we mostly agree. Always get the right man for the job. I just hope the right man isn't white this time (or next time either for that matter).
You'd presumably believe in an afterlife, then, but I think my previous statement is still valid: "I can totally see responses like this occurring as people there are being taught the gospel: "Yes, apparently I didn't cease to exist when I died, but that doesn't mean that accepting Jesus is the path to salvation. Why should I believe that?"" Why would you convert to Christianity/Mormonism just because you continue to exist? Maybe you would, maybe you wouldn't.
And, for what it's worth, the way I see it is that to some extent religions are verifiable. You can live the tenets of the religion and see the impact on your life. In the LDS case, you can read the Book of Mormon & Bible, pray, refrain from smoking/drinking/etc., attend church services, and so forth. That's basically how the LDS missionary program is set up--the missionaries teach people these principles and invite them to live accordingly to see how it impacts their lives. My anecdotal experience has been that of the people who do attempt to verify the religion in this manner, a very large percentage (more than 90%) become believers. Granted that's not 100% like you would have in a true scientific experiment, but it's not to be scoffed at.