Utilisateur:InProgress/Common questions page 1

Common Chat Questions

1. What’s different about the Mormon faith?

• The two things that probably most distinguish us is that we believe God continues to talk to prophets, and that he provides us with scripture in addition to the Holy Bible.

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Option #2

• Another approach, etc.

2. Polygamy questions…Do Mormons really have more than one wife?

• Some Mormons practiced polygamy in the nineteenth century because they believed God had commanded them to. This practice was stopped more than a century ago, and is forbidden to modern Mormons.

3. I’m depressed . . . how can I find happiness?

Depression can come from many causes. Some causes of depression include:

a) medical illness - if we have a medical illness, we may wish to consult a physician for help; b) sins - if we do things we know are wrong, this will make us feel guilty and unhappy. Freedom from sins comes by repenting, receiving forgiveness through Jesus Christ, and living righteously afterwards. c) sometimes we feel depressed because we feel our life has no purpose, or because the burdens and challenges of life are overwhelming. A deeper personal relationship with Jesus Christ can help us have peace in this life, and joy in the life to come.

Virtually everyone's life can be improved by repenting, and following the teachings of Jesus Christ. As Jesus taught, service to others also has a wonderful way of lightening our own burdens. For some, professional treatment may also be needed.

4. Can you prove the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon to me through archeological evidences?

• There is some physical evidence that is compatible with the Book of Mormon. We believe, however, that conversion to Jesus Christ will come only when people receive a spiritual witness of the Book of Mormon's truthfulness.

5. How do I know the difference between my own feelings and the Spirit?

• The Holy Ghost does not speak to us just through feelings. The Lord tells us that "you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. 9 But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong"

This tells us that the Holy Ghost speaks to our mind and our feelings--they both must be in agreement.

6. Why is Lucifer Christ’s brother?

Lucifer was a spirit child of God, as was Jesus. Lucifer rebelled against God; Jesus was perfectly obedient and united to his father. Saying that Lucifer and Jesus are "the same" because they are both spirit child of God is like saying that Gandhi and Hitler were "the same" because they were Hitler. They became very different beings because of the choices they made.

7. Why did Joseph Smith marry a fourteen year old?

oseph was sealed to Helen Mar Whitney with her consent and the consent of her parents. This sealing seems to have been intended to create a bond between Joseph and the Whitney family. In the early days of the Church, "sealings" were carried out not just between parents and children (as they are today), but also between other family members, or even non-related close friends.

There is no evidence that the marriage with Helen was consummated.

8. Why isn’t eternal marriage mentioned in the Bible?

There are some scriptures that discuss the importance of marriage in God's plan. The apostle Paul taught, "neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord." (1 Cor 11:11). However, we believe that some important doctrines were hidden or removed from the writings that later became the Bible by those without authority from God. This is why having modern prophets is so important--God can teach us what it is important for us to know today.

9. Why do you believe Christ is separate from God the Father?

Christ is a separate personage from the Father, but he is united to him in will, in attributes, and in character. (Jesus prayed for the disciples to be "one" as Jesus and the Father were one--and yet, the disciples are clearly not one in "essence" (see Jean 17:11,21-22). We believe they are separate because the Bible teaches this--Jesus prays to his Father, he pleads for his will to match the Father's will, he ascends to his Father, and so forth. Finally, we believe the testimony of modern prophets, who have seen the Father and the Son, and bear witness of them (Joseph Smith—Histoire 1:17).

10. Why do you believe that you can become a god?

We accept the Bible's teachings that those who are saved are given our Heavenly Father's kind of life: "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne" (Revelations 3:21).

This does not mean we will be separate or independent of God.

11. Do Mormons believe that they get their own planet?

We know very little about what the life of the redeemed will involve. We know that they will be in God's presence, and we know that they will remain together in families. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him," taught Paul (1  Cor. 2:9).

12. I’m already saved. Why do I need the Mormon baptism?

We believe that anyone who already has faith in Christ would be anxious to learn more about him and more about what he has told us today. We would not expect you to be rebaptized unless you were convinced that God wanted you to do so. Baptism is not the first step; first you must learn what we believe God has revealed about Jesus in our day, and decide if it is true.