Talk to me about Mormons?

[PrammyMammy]

I don't know anything about the religion, but two friendly young men came to my door today, we chatted for a while, then they asked me for my old sofa. It has been in the garden 2 weeks waiting for an uplift. They told me that they had been living in a flat that has not been touched since the 60's. They have no furniture or TV as they don't buy anything.
The sofa has been outside for a fortnight, in Scotland. It has been rained and snowed on, but they happily put it in their car.
Both the men were very smartly dressed, with appropriate ID. They had a new looking big car. So why can't they buy furniture?

I think its just my terminology that needs changing from religion to church, sorry

I think that TV is okay with most Mormons, certainly okay for some of them to go on Reality TV programs.

I think that Mormon communities can be very nice places to live, as long as you don't severely violate their social expectations. BIG families.

There was a very funny MN thread way back about their strange underwear habits, mind.

My Dad was involved with the LDS whilst I was growing up and I have to say that I was a bit sussed about them from the age of about 8. As far as my experience has evidenced to me, they seem like a branch of christianity until you start really looking at their beliefs in detail. These are my observances and I know that there are equally as many problems with mainstream Christianity - but for me they simply didn't add up.

For instance, we got taken on a Sunday School trip to the natural history museum and we weren't allowed to go to a couple of the exhibitions because they had evolutionary teachings. They teach that our soul comes from a planet called Kolob. The Cola (but not other caffeinated drinks) being allowed appeared to coincide with a major purchase of shares by senior church leaders in the US. Their divine revelation about the permissitivity of polygamous marriage was divinely overturned when Utah wanted to federalise and join the US which rather stretches the concept of apologetics to me a bit too far. They advocate choice (free agency) in belief, but then "baptise" the dead (claim their ancestors who may not have had the opportunity to hear about the mormon faith as being Mormon). They don't have a trinitarian understanding of God (like mainstream Christianity). They teach there are three levels of heaven which to me denies the doctrine of Grace at its most absolute that to me is a major theme in the New Testament. Their translation of the standard bible perpetuates mistakes made in the King James translation but as their version was a "divine revelation" as opposed to a scholastic work, then it is generally perceived as inerrant. Black people have only been admitted to the church in very recent history. Women have only recently been allowed to play a part in church leadership and growth (e.g. being going on mission, being anything more than a Sunday school leader).

These are just a few things that made me question the framework of their faith. I would encourage people to do their own research and make their own minds up. Mormons, and indeed anyone, are of course, perfectly entitled to believe and worship how, what or where they wish - the same right that they afford me in their articles of faith.

Despite my (major) theological differences with the faith, Mormons are lovely, sincere people with a real passion for living in community and in a responsible way that is to be commended and the more traditional expressions of Christianity could well learn from their approach to life and faith.