Are We Children of God?

I am not a representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Members of said faith are often refered to as Mormons or LDS, I am not. These hubs include ideas, concepts, and precepts that I was taught that may or may not be official church doctrine (people like to teach what they feel, often times not in line with official doctrine).

If you try to strike up a debate in the comments section, I will likely allow it if you are not racist, sexist, or militantly vegan. No threats, though I find condemnation a little funny. "F-bombs" will not be tolerated, even though it is my favorite four-letter word. Keep in mind this is the internet and people will say what they want to say, to whom, and when they see fit. If you get your panties in a wad, start a hub and tell people about your feelings.

One of the core beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons or LDS) is that we are children of god. They even have a song for children that starts "I am a child of god and he has sent me here".

Brainwashing is most successful when you start them young!

Anyway, Mormons glorify the innocence of children. They don't put children on pedestals or anything, but they promote the idea of loving unconditionally like a child, unquestioning like a child, innocent and pure emotions like a child.

If you can't remember much of your childhood and need a reference for how children think, start having babies!

What is the end motive? Debaters of theology might say allegiance to god is the motive. They will describe the many ways people pledge their allegiance and point as how you can do these pledges for god. There is a pledge of words, there is a pledge of time, a pledge of money, and a pledge of property, to name a few. People who feel allegiance will pledge it. Who do you pledge the greatest allegiance to on a subconscious level? Your family! Your mom and dad.

Mormons will tell you that you are in god's family, the intent is to foster a feeling of allegiance. Now pledge it with your money. Allegiance can be argued as the root cause, but I believe it is for money. A sick trick to lure the gullible into wasting away their own living. Any organization that exists upon a transaction exists for that transaction. No selfless religion would ask for money. If your current religion asks for money, that is their end goal and I'd seriously recommend you reconsider your religion.

Besides, wouldn't the one true religion be able to just magically conjure up money? If god turned water into wine, why can't he turn lead into gold? Just sayin.

And if you are on the verge of believing a religion that tells you to think and feel like a child, I beg you to grow up. For your own sake first and for the people around you second, grow up. Use your head.

I was taught many things when I was a kid that I had no reference for. Now I look back on what I was taught and scratch my head in complete confusion. How did I ever see that as logical? How did I not see through this deception? I believed what!?

Some aren't so shocking, others are more shocking. Mormons subscribe to the King James version of the bible, along with the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C). These four are often carried around together and called the "quad" and are officially part of scripture.

Let's start with the Pearl of Great Price. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was organized at a time when Egyptology was not very advanced. Untranslated texts were floating around by various thieves or institutions. Joseph Smith supposedly got his hands on a couple papyrus scroll sets that just happen to be the words of Moses and Abraham. This is particularly valuable as the Bible speaks of Moses and Abraham but is clearly not scribed by either. The Pearl of Great Price is the name given to the translated texts and contains their words. Why is this such an oddity? In the Pearl of Great Price is a sketch of an image contained on the papyrus that was copied into modern printing. This "facsimile" shows a sacrificial alter and is supposedly Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac. At the time of Joseph Smith, there was no one to counter him if he bullshitted his way with that. Now, Egyptology has advanced far enough to where all the images can be interpreted and texts can be translated. You know, that whole Rosetta Stone thing. Anyway, modern Egyptologists have completely debunked the facsimile as described in the Pearl of Great Price. That whole section has been proven a hoax. Yet Mormons will claim that Egyptology is wrong or that the ceremony performed in the image is not properly described by those who enscribed it. Nevermind that two people (Abraham and Moses, that is) hundreds of years apart from each other in history write with similar word choices, sentence structure, and meter.

Doctrine and Covenants. D&C is a particular crazy batch of scripture. Joseph Smith wrote down most of them and claims that they are God's direct communication to him. Word for word. There are some bat-shit crazy notions contained therein. It is "Prophecied" that the American Civil War would start in South Carolina. Wow. How divine is it to tell that an internal war would break out in the most radical of all southern states. Fort Sumpter is in SC.

The Word of Wisdom is a revelation contained in D&C that outlines a diet code for the saints to follow. When it was recorded, it was a recommendation for a healthier lifestyle. Decades later, the members voted to make god's suggestion into church law and now anyone breaking certain aspects of it are barred from entering the temple. Interesting how I am denied my right to enter the temple based on the fact that I choose not to follow god's suggestion. Whether I do or don't should be none of their business and should be between me and god only. Regardless, the Word of Wisdom declares no hot drinks, no tobacco, no alcohol. Meat should be eaten in winter or famine. This is, of course, a crude run-down of the Word of Wisdom. This is where most Mormons get their superstition of coffee, tea, and caffeinated beverages (even though caffeine is not mentioned in D&C anywhere). This is why most Mormons don't smoke or drink.

I was later taught that God allowed the American Civil War to take place as punishment for the martyrdom of Joseph Smith. The government should have protected him under the first ammendment. The punishment for their failure is that they had to endure the Civil War. Yeah. Way to play the blame game. Punish a nation for the death of a man most had never heard of. Punish the nation for the actions of just a few men.