Genealogy is NOT of God??

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_jo1952
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Re: Genealogy is NOT of God??

Post by _jo1952 »

No wonder Joseph taught us to look for truth everywhere!!! He knew that we weren't going to find it very easily inside of religion or inside of their scriptures which contained fables and commandments of men, which effectively turned us away from truth. WOW!!!

No wonder, when I DID start looking for truth everywhere, that searching is what finally allowed me to start finding it! And it lead me right of religion!!!
_jo1952
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Re: Genealogy is NOT of God??

Post by _jo1952 »

Ether 4:16 And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed.

17 Therefore, when ye shall receive this record ye may know that the work of the Father has commenced upon all the face of the land.


Inasmuch as the Church hasn't presented John's unfolding of the Book of Revelation, then how can she think genealogy is the work of the Father?
_Amore
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Re: Genealogy is NOT of God??

Post by _Amore »

Hi Jo, :smile:
I think you have a point, but I wouldn't call it all-or-nothing.
"Let the dead bury the dead. I AM not a god of the dead, but of the living."
God is love. Love is our purpose.
Although love we feel for someone who's passed on may be of God, it is not as powerful as actively loving someone who is alive.

There are almost 1,000,000,000 (1/7) of our world's population who are chronically hungry (according the W.H.O.).
Wasting time doing "work for the dead," when people are starving to death and in desperate need, seem anti-Christ.
It is like an excuse for people to FEEL like they're doing good without the risk of rejection, or failure or other natural opposition when it comes to truly loving others, and doing God's will.

Still, someone mentioned a GA explaining that genealogy work was the way to keep people active tithe payers, according to marketing research.
_jo1952
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Re: Genealogy is NOT of God??

Post by _jo1952 »

Amore wrote:Hi Jo, :smile:
I think you have a point, but I wouldn't call it all-or-nothing.
"Let the dead bury the dead. I AM not a god of the dead, but of the living."
God is love. Love is our purpose.
Although love we feel for someone who's passed on may be of God, it is not as powerful as actively loving someone who is alive.

There are almost 1,000,000,000 (1/7) of our world's population who are chronically hungry (according the W.H.O.).
Wasting time doing "work for the dead," when people are starving to death and in desperate need, seem anti-Christ.
It is like an excuse for people to FEEL like they're doing good without the risk of rejection, or failure or other natural opposition when it comes to truly loving others, and doing God's will.

Still, someone mentioned a GA explaining that genealogy work was the way to keep people active tithe payers, according to marketing research.


Hello Amore! :smile:

It is deplorable that so much money is spent on Temples; then, ironically, they are used the majority of the time for performing work for the dead. So much money being spent to build large and spacious buildings using the finest materials money can buy. Meanwhile, the living suffer agonizing conditions of mortal existence. I believe this is anti-Christ; even while the Church proclaims "here is Christ". By wrapping something that is not of God into what she proclaims to be of God, the Church is able to get members to pay their way into heaven. They also believe that their works in no manner match what Christ warned about. As such, she calls something which is actually evil, as being good. The iniquity (the desire to appear special and chosen) of the Church has become a stumbling block.

Matthew 7:21 ¶Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.


What is doing the will of the Father? The doing and living the way which Christ taught...which can be found in Matthew 5, 6, and 7; and again in the 3Nephi 12, 13 and 14. The Father's will can be summed up in the two great commandments, and here:

John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
_Amore
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Re: Genealogy is NOT of God??

Post by _Amore »

Jo,
We're on the same page.
I've often quoted that parable of the sheep & goats.
It's been years since we've payed money to the church in exchange for worthiness. And when I was younger, but still striving to be TBM, I had unanswered questions about church tithes.
Still, it took many more years to fully realize what a scam it is.
Sad that many will die bankrupt and depressed never realizing it.

I've tried to help people see it, but people only see what they're prepared to see.
And I'm not responsible for others' - though at times I've felt I was.
_jo1952
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Re: Genealogy is NOT of God??

Post by _jo1952 »

Amore wrote:Jo,
We're on the same page.
I've often quoted that parable of the sheep & goats.
It's been years since we've payed money to the church in exchange for worthiness. And when I was younger, but still striving to be TBM, I had unanswered questions about church tithes.
Still, it took many more years to fully realize what a scam it is.
Sad that many will die bankrupt and depressed never realizing it.

I've tried to help people see it, but people only see what they're prepared to see.
And I'm not responsible for others' - though at times I've felt I was.


I love this, Amore!!

We indeed can only see what we are prepared to see. I used to desire that people believed what I believed. Now, however, I see that this desire brings me into the same trap in which I had been caught. In order to truly do unto others as I would have others do unto me, I simply cannot go around trying to convert others to what I now believe. I don't want them doing that to me....so I don't do it to them.

We are only responsible for ourselves, our choices, and how we treat others. However, I will share experiences on a board like this only because this a public forum where people are already coming for the purpose of sharing their beliefs.

I no longer believe that there is a right or a wrong thing to believe; just different. Whatever we believe cannot help but be our own personal truth. If our belief makes us happy, than who is anyone else to try to take away that happiness from us?

I keep remembering the narrative about how Christ offered to follow Father's plan, and it was Lucifer whose plan it was that would ensure people would be able to return to Father's presence. In recognition of his accomplishment, Lucifer wanted the glory. That is how I now see the Church....claiming that only she has the power through the "authority" she holds, to get us back into Father's presence. In stating to be the only Church to have this power and authority, she is effectively claiming the glory for accomplishing that very thing which Lucifer offered through his plan---both through the plan itself, and in claiming the glory.

It was hard for me to deal with this recognition. I loved the Church and her culture. I had been TBM through and through. I now believe the Church is absolutely serving a purpose for God/the Father; just not the one she claims to serve.

I now believe that we are here for the experience, and to prove to our higher self whether we will treat each other humanely while in mortality. As such, it is ultimately for the good of our divine self. Though I still believe that Joseph WAS a true Prophet (even more so than ever before)...and I still believe that the Book of Mormon is the "word of God"; now neither definition matches what the general world believes when they use those terms.
_Amore
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Re: Genealogy is NOT of God??

Post by _Amore »

Jo,
Thanks for your kindness & glad we can relate im several ways.

I was thinking similarly as I attended adult Sunday school today.
Usually I'm hiding in primary, with distractions.
Part of me wants to shout about how WAY off they are, but the important thing is the spirit and progressing - even if it is at a snail's pace.

Last night, as I watched a band get a very apathetic unexcited audience out of their seats & shaking their booties, even the band singer was amazed & recorded it. Being so spiritually moved to move physically is something more signigicant than many might think! Even if it involved some peer pressure, it still moved a lot of people in major ways.

So, like you, I've come to realize that specific belief is not as important as consequences of that belief. "Functional illusions are priceless." But many religious, anti-religious & political herd mentalities are NOT functional, but filled with cognititve distortions that lead to mental illness & other types of harm.
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