Did You Know This About Mormonism?

Did you know this about Mormonism?

...The Book of Mormon clearly states that Nephi built a temple modeled upon the temple of Solomon upon arriving in the Americas (2 Nephi 5:16).  In addition, the Book of Mormon says that other temples were built in the Americas (see 3 Nephi 11:1 and Helaman 3:14)...the Israelites in the Americas were trying to faithfully follow the law of Moses...

 

From a commentary:

Ne 5:16 I, Nephi, did build a temple

 

This temple was fashioned, as Nephi says, after the temple of Solomon. It is fair to conclude that they practiced the same forms of animal sacrifice that were performed in the temple in Jerusalem. The only difference between the administration of the temple of Solomon and Nephi’s temple is that the Nephites were not of the tribe of Levi, and therefore the priesthood they held was the Melchizedek priesthood (2 Ne 6:2). As Melchizedek priesthood holders, they could administer all the temple ordinances which were done according to the Levitical order.

 

And more.

 

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Romney: Lay Off 'Settlements'; It's A 'Private' Issue

Here.

It's a private manner that should not give Israel's enemies cause to use other means (i.e., violence and terror I presume)

From CNN:

The sensitive issue of Israeli settlement construction in the Palestinian West Bank is something that should be "discussed in private," Mitt Romney said in an interview with CNN Monday.

"I believe that the issue of settlements is something which should be discussed in private by the American president and our allies," Romney told Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room." "When we show diplomatic distance between ourselves and our ally, I think we encourage people who oppose that relationship to seek other means to achieve their ends."

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UPDATE

There's

...a theological dimension to his support of Israel. Along with American evangelicals, Mormons like Romney have long been hawkish on the Jewish state, as well as frequent visitors to the Holy Land, making pilgrimages to sites like the Western Wall, Mount of Olives, and the Garden of Gethsemane. Mormons share with many Christians and Jews a belief that Israel is an integral part of their own biblical-era past and humanity’s inevitable apocalyptic future. But it’s precisely their theological and social differences from other religions that require Mormons, including Romney, to negotiate a number of pitfalls whenever they are in Israel...Matthew Bowman, author of The Mormon People, explains that church historian and Mormon president “Joseph Fielding Smith adopt[ed] a somewhat Scofield-esque interpretation—the restoration of the state of Israel is a necessary predicate for the Second Coming.” But more recently, says Bowman, Mormon end-times rhetoric has become less explicit, “largely reduced to moralism… [that] the world is growing increasingly sinful.” 

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Once is Forgivable, Doing It Again is Plain Dumb

Reported:-

The latest unwitting recipient of a posthumous Mormon baptism was revealed as murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl — much to his parents’ chagrin. Pearl, who was captured and killed by terrorists in Pakistan in 2002, received the Mormon rite on June 1, 2011, in Twin Falls, Idaho, the Boston Globe reported.

...Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel called for the end of the ritual posthumous baptism of Jews after learning the names of his late father and grandfather were entered in a baptism database.

The parents of Pearl, 38, gently chided the Mormon Church for the baptism of their slain son. “We appreciate your good intentions but rest assured that Danny’s soul was redeemed through the life that he lived and the values that he upheld,” said an e-mail from his parents, Judea and Ruth Pearl.

“He lived as a proud Jew, died as a proud Jew and is currently facing his creator as a Jew,” the Pearls wrote to the Globe. “For the record, let it be clear: Danny did not choose to be baptized, nor did his family consent to this un-called-for ritual.”

Church officials, in a statement to the Boston newspaper, agreed that the submission of Pearl’s name for baptism was a violation of church protocol.

It has gone far in the past ("Genealogist Bernard Kouchel conducted a search of the International Genealogical Index, and discovered that many well-known people from within Judaism have been vicariously baptized, including Rashi, Maimonides, Albert Einstein, Menachem Begin,* Irving Berlin, Marc Chagall, and Gilda Radner.") So, how does this fit with this portrayal?

The doctrines of the Latter Day Saint movement, commonly referred to as Mormonism, teach that its adherents, Latter-day Saints, are either direct descendants of the House of Israel, or are adopted into it. As such, Judaism is foundational to the history of Mormonism; the Jewish people are considered a covenant people of God, held in high esteem, and are respected in the Mormon faith system. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is consequently very philo-Semitic in its doctrine.

Or this:

there is an important place for the Jews in Mormon theology. I found this out years ago when, walking down the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, I happened on a tenderly cared-for plot of land called “Orson Hyde Park.” Hyde was one of the elders of the church, who in the 1840s had gone on a mission to the Holy City. Jews were not only a plurality of the sacred place; they were a majority. (So much for how much Muslims cared for the town back then! Islam cares for Jerusalem only when Christians and Jews are its governors.) Hyde had a vision that emerged from the arrival of increasing numbers of the People of the Book in Zion, that is, in Jerusalem. He prophesied that this was the beginning of the Jewish return. My memory tells me that right there in the park commemorating his long visit was a letter to Joseph Smith envisioning a Jewish commonwealth a hundred years later, just about in 1948, which would make his prediction a revelation.

They really should get their act together.

P.S.

on the meeting between [Israeli Prime Minister Menahem] Begin and the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Bailey Smith

who had said that God doesn’t hear the prayers of a Jew. That’s a big theological rift already. But Begin tried to finesse the history. When questioned, he said, “Look, about religious truth, we’ll wait and see. When the Messiah comes, we’ll ask him, ‘Is this your first visit or your second?’ He’ll surely be honest with us.”

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Comment on Mormons Baptizing Dead Jews

My cousin-in-law Chaim commented to me on the story:

I find it amusing that I may have a grandmother who is Mormon.

Can my grandfather become a polygamist?

Another friend wrote me:

Well, should Jewish leaders dig up dead Mormons and give them circumcisions?

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UPDARE

Told to quit.
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More Than One Way to Get to Heaven

AP is reporting that a Jewish group wants Mormons to stop proxy baptisms

Holocaust survivors said Monday they are through trying to negotiate with the Mormon church over posthumous baptisms of Jews killed in Nazi concentration camps, saying the church has repeatedly violated a 13-year-old agreement barring the practice.

Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints say they are making changes to their massive genealogical database that will make it more difficult for names of Holocaust victims to be entered for posthumous baptism by proxy, a rite that has been a common Mormon practice for more than a century.

But Ernest Michel, honorary chairman of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors, said that is not enough. At a news conference in New York City on Monday, he said the church also must "implement a mechanism to undo what you have done...We ask you to leave our six million Jews, all victims of the Holocaust, alone, they suffered enough."

What I do know is that the LDSers are obtaining valuable and critical genology records from places in Easter Europe from the past century and a half which otherwise wouldn't be available.

As I don't believe in Christian theology, I wonder if it would make a difference what wand the Mormons are waving? If a human can be a god, why can't a dead soul become Mormon? I don't believe in the first part nor the second.

One Way to Solve the Temple Mount Issue

Have the Temple rebuilt in...Missouri.

Well, that's Mormon doctrine:-

2 Yea, the word of the Lord concerning his church, established in the last days for the restoration of his people, as he has spoken by the mouth of his prophets, and for the gathering of his saints to stand upon Mount Zion, which shall be the city of New Jerusalem.
3 Which city shall be built, beginning at the temple lot, which is appointed by the finger of the Lord, in the western boundaries of the State of Missouri, and dedicated by the hand of Joseph Smith, Jun., and others with whom the Lord was well pleased.
4 Verily this is the word of the Lord, that the city New Jerusalem shall be built by the gathering of the saints, beginning at this place, even the place of the temple, which temple shall be reared in this generation.
5 For verily this generation shall not all pass away until an house shall be built unto the Lord, and a cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud shall be even the glory of the Lord, which shall fill the house.

More:-

Audrey Godfrey, a historian who has written books with her husband, Kenneth, said of Romney, "If I were one of his relatives, I would be upset with him."

Another case arose when George Stephanopoulos of ABC News asked Romney about a Mormon teaching that Jesus will come to the United States when he returns to reign on earth. Romney responded that the Messiah will return to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, "the same as the other Christian tradition."

Grover said some of his radio listeners were astounded.

"They were just in disbelief, saying, 'That's not true; Jesus is coming back to Missouri,"' Grover said. "It's the LDS Church's 10th article of faith that Zion will be built upon the American continent."

And more:-

79. Rev. 21:2-5 The descent of the New Jerusalem.
80. Rev. 21:10-27 The description of the holy Jerusalem.
81. Ether 13:9-12 The descent of both cities is described.
82. Rev. 21:10 The descent of the holy Jerusalem.
83. Rev. 21:16 The holy Jerusalem will be cube-shaped: 1,500 miles long, wide, and high.

For the uninitiated, here's Mormon theology, the short version:-

Bible history tells us that Zedekiah began his eleven-year reign over Judah about 600 BC. For years the prophets of the Lord warned God’s people to repent or surely the Lord would destroy Jerusalem. Because of their failure to heed the warnings, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians about 588 BC. The temple was destroyed, the walls torn down, and the people were either killed or taken captive into Babylon.

The story in the Book of Mormon begins here — in Jerusalem during the first year Zedekiah was king of Judah, about 600 BC.

Three groups of people came from the East to the New World. And spiritually speaking, the Book of Mormon means "Book of the Restoration of the Covenants."
Mormon (310-385 AD) was the "chief editor" of the record. The book of Mormon begins its narrative by centering on the Prophet Lehi and his family.

In Jerusalem, during the reign of King Zedekiah, there lived a man named Lehi. Lehi, a prophet, took his family and left Jerusalem in 600 BC, just prior to the fall of the city to the Babylonians. He had been warned of God to flee. Traveling south, making their way eastward, the family eventually came to the shores of the sea.

Lehi and his wife, Sariah, had four sons: Laman, Lemuel, Sam and Nephi. God had commanded Lehi to bring with him brass plates on which was written a record of the Jews and their forefathers. The brass plates contained the writings of Isaiah and much of what is now known as the Old Testament.

While leaving Jerusalem, Lehi and his family were joined by another family whose father was named Ishmael. Ishmael had five daughters, besides two sons who had families of their own. Both families were descendants of Joseph, the son of Jacob [Israel]—that same Joseph who ended up in Egypt a slave. These two families intermarried and gave birth to children, which eventually became two great nations.

Lehi’s son, Nephi, was given instructions by the Lord on how to build a ship—of which carried the two families to the Americas, a land "…choice above all others." The families landed up and down the coasts of Central and South America. By revelation they realized they had come to the Land of Promise. The land called "Joseph’s Land." They arrived about 589 BC and began establishing their culture and colonies.

The father, Lehi, died and his sons split into two factions: Laman and Lemuel sided together and Sam went with Nephi. Followers of Laman became known as Lamanites and followers of Nephi became known as Nephites. The Lamanites were wicked warriors; prophets of God led the Nephites. They were the more righteous group and their story is contained in 14 of 15 books making up the Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon tells of the struggles, the wars, and the interrelationships between these two groups.

Approximately 320 years later, the people of Zarahemla were discovered. They were the Mulekites. Mulek was the son of King Zedekiah of Judah and left Jerusalem for the New World around 586 BC. His people also journeyed in the wilderness and were directed of the Lord across the ocean to the Americas. The Mulekites, as a people, merged with the Nephites around 200 BC.

Jesus comes to the New World

Twenty-five hundred people gather at the temple in the Land of Bountiful to see Jesus descending from heaven. All people feel the wound in Jesus’ side and the nail prints in his hands and feet. The place? The land Bountiful. Today known as Mesoamerica. (The Land of Mormon, today known as Mesoamerica, covered two-thirds of Mexico, Guatemala, and parts of El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.)

Another Temple Mount Interest Group

Students, faculty and guests gathered to hear BYU professors discuss the modern day importance of Solomon's Temple at the House of Learning Lecture hosted by the Harold B. Lee Library.

Professors William Hamblin and David Seeley spoke Thursday to over 60 listeners in the library auditorium about the importance of Solomon's Temple in history and its significance today. The lecture was based on a book previously published by the professors called "Solomon's Temple in History and Myth."

"It is the idea that God can dwell with us and that this dwelling is symbolically represented by his temple," Seeley said. "Solomon's Temple epitomizes the idea of the sought-for golden moment when God dwells among us."

Professor Hamblin, a professor in the Department of History, continued the lecture by bringing in the concept of the Dome of the Rock and its sacred location. The Dome of the Rock is believed to be in the location of Solomon's Temple as well as the site where Abraham took Isaac in faith as a commandment from God. The Dome of the Rock has become a political and cultural issue today.

"Right now we are left with a political problem of what to do with the temple mount," Hamblin said. "We have this paradox of this struggle for sole control of the temple mount." Both professors agreed that Solomon's Temple has significant meaning to Latter-day Saints and to all students on campus, because its history and modern day relevance affect everyone. "The temple mount of Jerusalem is the key to how we'll resolve the issue of peace," Hamblin said.