"It's impossible!"

[Random]

Why aren't people from around the world eager to teach Mormons? What would it be like if Mormons sent out missionaries to inquire if others had any great truths to share with us? We cannot learn anything new when the only sound in the conversation is our own voice. Mormons are a very hard audience, hard of both head and heart. Most Mormons "know the church is true" and so what else could possibly matter to them? It calls to mind Hugh Nibley's observations about BYU's students:
pages 11-12

Think about the impression we have made upon the Native Americans with our traditional Christian rivalries and contentions. It was Christian behavior that provoked Nez Perce Chief Joseph to declare: We do not want schools: They will teach us to have churches. We do not want churches: They will teach us to quarrel about God. We do not want to learn that. We may quarrel with men sometimes about things on this earth, but we never quarrel about God. We do not want to learn that. Mormons have not distinguished themselves as being any more tolerant or interested in learning Native American wisdom than the contentious general rank of Christians out of which Mormonism emerged.
pages 12-13

Here's the link to the pdf to verify my source, or if anyone is interested in reading it.
http://denversnuffer.com/wp/wp-content/ ... e-2017.pdf

[Newme]

What would it be like if Mormons sent out missionaries to inquire if others had any great truths to share with us? We cannot learn anything new when the only sound in the conversation is our own voice. Mormons are a very hard audience, hard of both head and heart. Most Mormons "know the church is true" and so what else could possibly matter to them? It calls to mind Hugh Nibley's observations about BYU's students:
pages 11-12

Thanks, Random. I really like that quote - and it seems that earlier in the church - there was more of a desire to search for truth and embrace it, no matter where it came from. But now, it's become a church of tradition which is damning it - holding it back from learning any more.
There's even this quote by some old GA - "An egoist will never get anywhere because he thinks he's already arrived." That sums up damning beliefs the church pushes.

It's interesting that you quoted people suggesting Hinduism and Mormonism have aspects in common. This family member I mentioned has suggested this same thing, because she has become acquainted with some Hindu beliefs and customs. Maybe her verbally lashing out on me was projecting - like she's telling herself, "Yes, Hinduism and other ideas have some good, but you have to stick with Mormonism!" But because it's subconscious - she took it out on me. Initially, I think, she was trying to fit Hinduism inside Mormonism by the fact that Hinduism is the oldest religion - so if there are similarities, it testifies of the truthfulness of Mormonism. But maybe she's beginning to see that maybe it's the other way around - that Mormonism might partially fit inside Hinduism - and that maybe there are other truths out there that the "fullness of the gospel" lacks.

After reading your posts, I studied a little about Hinduism (I've already seen many similarities with Buddhism, & no doubt Jesus was influenced by it). There are some interesting similarities between Mormonism and Hinduism, primarily with the idea of God and man's potential. They believe in a type of eternal progression, God is both male & female, though this isn't as focused on in Mormonism. The Hindu trinity is Brahma (Creator), Vishnu (preserver - like spirit/divine essence in all) & Shiva (Destroyer - regenerative - what the death & resurrection of Jesus may spiritually symbolize). They both give authority to scripture (Vedas - though with Hinduism there is much more leeway for interpretation). A major difference, & plus for Hinduism, is that: "Hinduism accepts the idea that anyone in any religion can attain salvation/enlightenment through perseverance, devotion, and personal experience in deep prayer or meditation. Instead of closing off to many religions, they have opened themselves up to it."

One thing I really like about Hinduism and really any polytheistic religion (which Catholicism could be with the many saints) is that they seem to organize God better. Yes, most if not all, have a supreme God - but the lower gods help explain God - they personify aspects of God, "allowing individuals an infinite number of ways to worship based on family, tradition, community and regional practice and other considerations." I think it was Jung who said there ought to be 7 billion (or however many human beings there are) different religions because each resonates and interprets uniquely. And Buddha encouraged cherishing inspiring aspects of the religion of your youth because that's how you tend to resonate best. IMO, spirituality is all about resonating - most of us already have lower gods - we imagine "grandpa in the sky" or whatever to resonate - when really God is much more than that.

[Random]

I remember when the Church was more open to finding truth.

That Sunstone talk really opened my eyes. Before then, it had never occurred to me that Mormonism, if there was any truth in it, was part of some great whole that encompassed religions like Taoism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Now I am more interested in getting copies of their holy books; the earliest versions I can find in our language.

I used to wonder if these other religions had truth and, if so, what. It seemed to me that God could have spoken to their ancestors and that some form of the truth spoken would have been handed down but, like I said, the reality of it all being one great whole never occurred to me.