A different Q15 ---------- Question #3 (Restoration)

[NOWmormon]

Do you have a testimony of the restoration of the gospel in these the latter days?
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Church members are asked 15 questions during private temple recommend interviews with church leadership.
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But since you are essentially anonymous on this site, how would you answer those same questions here?
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Each day, for the rest of May, please share your honest response to each question, based on what you believe right now.

[oliver_denom]

This is one of the two big loyalty questions, and one of the big reasons why Utah Mormonism is such an all or nothing ideology. If god literally and personally visited Joseph Smith and told him that all other religions are an abomination, then there is no other organization that can rival the church's importance. It places us under their authority and justifies their right to judge our worthiness.

So, no.

There are some wonderful and inspired things within Mormonism, things which really add to the human experience, but they weren't established personally by the Mormon version of god, and they are neither unique nor exclusive in their rights, powers, and insights.

[Mormorrisey]

There are some wonderful and inspired things within Mormonism, things which really add to the human experience, but they weren't established personally by the Mormon version of god, and they are neither unique nor exclusive in their rights, powers, and insights.

Once again, a perfect response, and this is almost exactly how I answered the question the last interview I had, and of course it raised some eyebrows. I further stated that far from limiting my vision of God, knowing now that there is more to the story than the restoration, I can accept it along with a bunch of other things I think are true. So I'm not slamming the Mormon vision, just expanding it to something I feel is better, and that works for me. I use this for the "keys" question too. Sure they have keys, I just have a much more expanded vision of what I think keys are - in their mind it's authority, in my mind, it's spirituality. In that way, men and women of all religious and non-religious persuasions who are just good, moral people have keys. That's the way I look at it, and nuance my way into getting that TR.

[Corsair]

No.

I have firm evidence of the reality of Joseph Smith's restoration movement and the various faiths that hail him as prophet. But the only thing Joseph Smith was restoring was a confirmation of how it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.

[wtfluff]

3) Do you have a testimony of the restoration of the gospel in these the latter days?

3) YES!

Look at that: There's a question I can honestly answer with a "yes".

I do have a "testimony" of the restoration, which is this: The "restoration" as far as mormonism is concerned is completely MADE UP Mormonism / the restoration was founded on dishonesty, and the current leadership continue the tradition of dishonesty to this day.

As oliver_denom stated: That which is unique in mormonsim is not good; And that which is good in Mormonism is not unique. Most, if not all of what is unique in mormonism is actually harmful.

[Jinx]

Nope. Joseph Smith was just doing what a lot of charismatic people in the 19th century were doing, trying to make some money and get some power from the religious gullibility of others. I've studied the period and there was an awful lot of this stuff going on. None of it was real or genuine.

[Can of Worms]

No.

[LostGirl]

I struggle to answer this because it now seems so vague to me. But I know what they think it means and I know I don't agree with that.
I think he thought he was restoring stuff. But the more I read about JS the more complicated I find him.

[Nonny]

I struggle to answer this because it now seems so vague to me. But I know what they think it means and I know I don't agree with that.
I think he thought he was restoring stuff. But the more I read about JS the more complicated I find him.

Same here.i have no idea what this means. I know what the question is meant to get at, but why did prehistoric social practices, like polygamy, need to be instituted centuries later. Crazy stuff.

[Just This Guy]

I can say with full confidence that Mormons is completely man made. Just as a stopped clock is still right twice a day, Mormons managed to get a few things right, but a lot wrong.

[Give It Time]

Restoration of the gospel would be literally a restoration of living Christ's teachings as taught in the New Testament. Not only a good idea, but needed.

Yes.

[Silver Girl]

Ack - no, no, no! The Mormon definition of the gospel is a bastardization of all that Christian (and even Jewish) faiths hold sacred. It's a giant scam designed to control people, get access to more sexual partners, and to get rich. Nothing "Restored" or "Gospel" about it.

[Dravin]

Do you have a testimony of the restoration of the gospel in these the latter days?

Nope.

[MoPag]

Well Mormonism was definitely a religious movement, just like the thousands of other religious movements that have happened over time.

As far as a restoration of the church of Christ's time....well...I believe the Pharisees are at least making a come back.

[LostGirl]

As far as a restoration of the church of Christ's time....well...I believe the Pharisees are at least making a come back

Love it!!

[redjay]

Yes.

Many people have been brought into contact with the divine through the LDS church - so I can accept that the church, as a movement, has worked to some extent for a people of a certain time and place.

(Although - As I have pointed out to my SP - I believe I can find as much truth in the XYZ church down the road)

[Guy]

I would have to believe that it existed in the first place in order to believe it was restored. So no.

[Random]

Do you have a testimony of the restoration of the gospel in these the latter days?

Yes. I have a strong testimony of the restoration of the gospel.

Now, the question is, do I expound on that? Do I point out that my definition is that gospel =/= church (or even a trademark masquerading as a church)? Do I point out that my "testimony" is that God is in the process of restoring what was at first - i.e. Enoch's city, how they lived (Zion) - and that he gave up on the LDS Corp when they sicced a stake president on a man the Lord sent to warn and to testify? A man who got kicked out because he wrote a book on LDS history that did not flatter the leadership of the church. Do I tell them that God is working again and that they probably won't like what he is doing once it becomes obvious to them? If I were still a member and said all that, they'd probably excommunicate me and warn others to shun me.

[ulmite]

Yes.

Many people have been brought into contact with the divine through the LDS church - so I can accept that the church, as a movement, has worked to some extent for a people of a certain time and place.

(Although - As I have pointed out to my SP - I believe I can find as much truth in the XYZ church down the road)

Same, except I didn't admit anything to my SP.

[SeeNoEvil]

The answer is NO. That's 3 strikes for me! Guess I'm out!....
It's been a long time since I sat in a bishops office answering these questions. I have come far from what I used to believe in a relatively short time compared the years spent in the church. About 6 years. I was conned by the man Joseph Smith, and so were my ancestors, my family, dear friends and you. So the story of the restoration doesn't sit to well with me. I suppose there was some good that came from his made up church, but it wasn't a restoration of the gospel like he told everyone. I think that is what irks me the most is this one lie and how it snowballed into the mega church it is today. How in the world did this happen? I always say the history of the Mormon church has all the making of a good Dan Brown novel.