OCS,

You forget that we all have the same origins...Jesus Christ. What happened after his time on earth is what's open to debate...if not then there would not be Protestants, for the Catholics would have the right of it!

It really matters not as to the TRUTH of the LDS position of the need for a RESTORATION as to just what St. Augustine thought or wrote...but it's interesting as "circumstantial" that not all post-Jesus era Christians felt or thought the same about a number of things...don't you agree?
BSH

Posted by: BringSenseHere | February 23, 2008 1:33 PM

BSH; I asked you to answer your own question quite a few hours ago. Are you, or are you not, going to answer the question YOU posed?

By the way; Did you know that Jesus coined the phrase Hypocrite? He meant actor. someone who acted like something they were not.

I didn't think so, since you don't know my savior.

Posted by: OCS | February 29, 2008 12:47 AM

It's always interesting to me that those who criticize The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as being non-Christian are not Catholic, but seem to come from the Protestant wing of "mainstream" Christianity.

Although centuries of persistence has worn away at that long lasting title given to Protestants of "heretic", the bottom line is, Protestants cannot justify their inclusion in the Christian community because the many churches they are baptized into and take communion from have no authority to even exist.

Either the Catholics are right or the Mormons. No one else has any valid argument.
So Protestant critics of the LDS church: Why are YOU not Catholic? It's a "mainstream" Christian church, right?

When my ancestors, followers of Jan Huss, split from the organized Catholic Church, they felt the Catholic priesthood had been corrupted and the priesthood authority to baptize, hear confessions, administer communion to the congregation, and preach the gospel had been lost. How could they “come unto” Christ without being baptized by someone with authority? Without an officially ordained priest, how could they follow Christ's commandment to remember him by meeting together often and partaking of communion in remembrance of Him? Who among them could make himself or another a teacher, a minister, a priest?

After Huss was deceived by the pope and burned at the stake, his followers sent groups of men, two by two, around the known Christian world looking for a priest who could prove that his priesthood ordination drew it's authority from an unbroken, uncorrupted chain back to the early apostles. They gathered after two years to report. Although valiant in their efforts, they were unsuccessful in their search. They tried again. Again they were unsuccessful. These early Hussites later became the Unitas Fratrum - the United Brethren and later in America, the Moravian Church. Not finding what was essential to their worship, they rationalized their separation from the Catholic church and took upon themselves the claim of priesthood - that which cannot be bought or sold - to avoid having to go back to a dead church with a corrupt and fallen priesthood.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands separate from what was called a heresy for centuries by Kings, the Pope, the Cardinals, the Bishops and the priests of the Catholic church. The LDS church and the Catholic church both claim that the authority to fulfill Christ's commission to take the gospel to all the ends of the earth has been given them by Jesus Christ himself.

The Protestants who criticize either the LDS (which they love to do) or the Catholics (which they are afraid to do) cannot undergo the same inspection or ridicule they heap on others. (And there is much that can be criticized.) If they really had anything of true value to offer, why the need to criticize others? How many Protestant Sunday school classes teach about other religions and specifically teach against the Mormons? Their Protestant system would be able stand on it's own if it had any true, unique value to offer. As it is divided into innumerable factions with an infinite number of differing beliefs, what do they mean by "mainstream". Oh yes, the Nicene Creed! It took, what, four centuries after Christ for men to decide who God is? More a politically expedient creed than a religious one, wasn’t it? What about "I believe in the one and true Holy Catholic church? I guess the Protestants can forget about that creed. Whatever is convenient, I suppose.

Does "mainstream" mean so watered-down that "one size fits all" or "whatever is convenient and suits the moment"? A house divided against itself will eventually fall. Protestant beliefs relieve followers of personal accountability - all are saved who simply confess their belief in Christ - good works are dead - just do whatever as long as you believe. Makes the world a much better place. They seem to have no standards other than being pro-life. Gone are the inconvenient Sabbath day observance standards of yesteryear. The ministers cannot insist on the moral behavior of their congregants (especially the youth) for fear of losing their power and their paycheck. Much easier to tolerate gays than to preach moral virtues. Too, too inconvenient….

Protestants!!! Your options are Catholicism or Mormonism!

In the middle you are the lost sheep. The Savior himself defines who is a Christian. He taught us that He is the good shepherd and His sheep know His voice. Not all will answer. He comes to divide, taking one from the field and leaving the others, one from a family, setting brothers at difference with another. Hence the division we see today.

My family left the Catholic church in what is now Belgium in the 1400's (just before the plague arrived) when one brother left his other brother who was wealthily employed by the Prince-Bishop of Liege, fled to England to save his life and eventually the family moved on to America and to the Wachovia settlement of Moravians in North Carolina in the 1700's.

Christ did not mean for the confusion to last forever. Now, as we near His glorious return and reign on earth, He calls to His sheep.

I found the true, restored Church of Jesus Christ. I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and Redeemer and have been baptized by one having true authority from Jesus Christ. I am imperfect. I repent of my sins and partake of the sacrament of the Lord's supper which is administered in both kinds by someone having authority from Jesus Christ. I am weak but I am blessed to be taught the gospel of Jesus Christ in my native tongue by someone having authority from Jesus Christ himself.

My calling as a husband and a father came from God. The calling and authority to baptize, administer the sacraments and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ come as they always have in the scriptures, from the Savior, not well intentioned men who ordain each other or from a book.

All of this bickering about interpretation of the scriptures or doctrines or practices is moot. It underscores that no one with true authority from God is in charge. The true church of Christ teaches truth with authority and offers no apology.

I have found the church that my ancestors sought for so long ago. The true Church of Jesus Christ.

Posted by: NCwachovian | August 24, 2008 11:05 AM