Stewsburntmonkey wrote:Actually not quite. A Baptist does not claim to be a Catholic nor do they follow Catholic teachings. The polygamous groups being talked about claim to be Mormons and follow Mormon teachings (even if the teachings are not the current teachings). Technically they are more Mormon than you are I would imagine. The term "Mormon" is only supposed to be applied to Joseph Smith era practice which included plural marriage.
No, they do not follow Mormon teachings, either past or present. The whole purpsoe of the Church being here is it's claim of being restored through Priesthood authority through living Prophets and Apsotles through the Prophet Joseph Smith, with one of the crowning tenets being continued revelation. Those groups have openly rejected the system of Priesthood Authority setup by Joseph Smith. They have ignored teachings (predating their own creation) of Priesthood keys, and lines of authority. The have rejected the teachings on Church government of every governing body prior to thier split.
You can say they are "more Mormon", but the reality is that they dogmatically cling to one practice while rejecting the means by which it came (and as a result, the more important practices).
xander wrote:Would you care to elucidate?
I'm not sure how much clearer I can be.
xander wrote:
Both of these come from reading the Torah (or First Testament, or whatever you want to call it), and come from a Jewish tradition, though extended a bit. Is this incorrect? Rather than mocking my ignorance, would you perhaps care to first mock it, then cure it?
I did not intend to mock you, and if you felt I had done so then I apologize. I percieved your respose to be an attack (due to the repeated us of the phrase "do you deny"), and I responded as such. If I was mistaken in your intentions, then I apologize for that as well.
As I said in my response to Stewsburtmonkey, our Church is founded upon the idea that Prophets and Apostles have been called in our day to provide continuing revelation. This process has provided many things, amoung which is a better understanding of who we (humanity) are, why we are here, where we are coming from, and where we are going. Central to this plan is the family, which we feel to be one of the greatest gifts that we have in this life.
A true understanding of why it was practiced can't really be reached with out an understanding of that plan, and careful study of our modern Scriptures (Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants). I assure you however that it was not started simply becuase Abraham did so, nor was it stoped for an equally arbitrary reason. It had a purpose, it served it, and it is no longer used.
Again, I apologize if I misinterpreted your response, and for any miscommunication that resulted from such.
xander wrote:Ace Rimmer wrote:Abraham wasn't Jewish for starters.
The Jews consider him to be the proto-Jew, father of their line. He is regarded as a moral character in the Bible. Does it matter if he was Jewish or not? Or perhaps you should ignore Jesus because he was Jewish, and not Christian?
xander
I see your point and agree with you. But, since Jews are decended from his great grandson Judah (as opposed to those decended from his other grandkids through Jacob, such as the Levites, Ephriamites, etc., who were not Jews, but collectivly called Isrealites) he could not be a Jew. You are right though in your assertion.