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Any Mormons in this thread interested in a non-confrontational, non-flame war dialogue? Purely from a comparative religion standpoint. I'm a Protestant Christian in the Reformed theological tradition.
A little backstory: about a year ago, I had some Mormon missionaries drop by my house. I figured they were probably pretty tired of rude folks shutting the door in their faces, so I invited them in. We had a nice chat. I ended up inviting them back for dinner since I also figured they were probably sick of bachelor food. I really enjoyed talking about our respective faiths with those guys, and think we all appreciated the chance to learn about each others' beliefs. That's what I'm looking for here, if anybody's interested.

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Hello Charlie,
I served as a missionary. Thank you for your Christian act! It is pretty disheartening to spend so much time trying to share something you care about so much, and the result is that you are often taunted or cursed for it.
I would be happy to play a compare and contrast game. I am of the core opinion that what unites the worlds religious traditions is very much more than what seperates them.
A question for you to start?
I know what a Protestant is. I had always thought they divided into 2 basic camps, Evangelical and Charismatic. Where does Reformed fit?

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Hello Charlie,
I served as a missionary. Thank you for your Christian act! It is pretty disheartening to spend so much time trying to share something you care about so much, and the result is that you are often taunted or cursed for it.
I would be happy to play a compare and contrast game. I am of the core opinion that what unites the worlds religious traditions is very much more than what seperates them.
A question for you to start?
I know what a Protestant is. I had alwyas thought they divided into 2 basic camps, Evangelical and Charismatic. Where does Reformed fit?
Christians that call themselves Reformed draw upon the theological traditions of Protestant Reformers such as Calvin (especially), John Knox, Ulrich Zwingli, and Luther. "Reformed" has fallen into usage as a kind of a shorthand for "Calvinist." Reformed theology holds that the Bible is the sole basis for faith and practice; that mankind, though made in the image of God, is completely separate from God, sinful, and unable to choose to follow God on his own; that faith and the spiritual regeneration accompanying conversion are entirely the work of God within a believer; that good works, while not effective toward salvation, necessarily result from the heart change; and that salvation cannot be lost. Those are the salient points of Reformed theology regarding salvation, which is generally considered the core doctrine.
Reformed Christianity falls within the evangelical camp, by which I mean that it teaches that Christians have a responsibility to share their faith with others. Reformed Christianity does tend to be less confrontational due to the belief in predestination. We evangelize, but we recognize that not everyone is going to believe. It's our job to tell the gospel, but only the work of God in somebody's heart can make that person believe it. There are a few mildly Charismatic strains within the Reformed tradition, but historically and as a whole, Reformed Christianity holds that miraculous gifts ("charismata") were only for the establishment of the early church and are no longer needed.
Among American denominations, Presbyterians are generally considered Reformed. Reformed Baptists are too, natch; they're pretty much Presbyterians that don't practice infant baptism. Congregationalists, iirc, have historically had Reformed theological leanings.
America's First Great Awakening was distinctly Reformed in character (the Second Great Awakening was distinctly Charismatic). Johnathon Edwards is probably the most famous American Reformed preacher.
The Westminster Confession of Faith is a concise statement of the Reformed creed. It was written in 1646, so the language is archaic. If you're interested in reading more, you can Google any number of commentaries on the Westminster Confession. Note that we don't consider the Confession authoritative; it is itself a commentary on the Bible, which we consider the only authoritative text.
Hope this wall-o-text answers your question.
Clearly Protestant Christianity and Mormonism have many beliefs in common--so much so that many people consider Mormonism to be just another Protestant denomination. I don't think that's true, and I suspect that Mormons don't either. Christianity acknowledges its roots in Judaism, affirms that the God who is the Father of Jesus is also the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who spoke through the burning bush, and considers that its teachings complete or fulfill Judaism rather than supplant it. Yet Christianity also considers itself separate from Judaism such that they are in doctrine and practice two separate religions. What does LDS teach about itself in relation to Protestant Christianity?

Houshou Rattengod |

I just saw this thread, and thought I'd post up.
I was born and raised in St. George, UT. I grew up Mormon, but shortly before my 20th birthday I joined the USAF. I am currently on OKinawa, Japan.
The religion itself has not really played a large part of my adult life, as I've seen a few others have mentioned. But I base that off of my own personal understanding of the scriptures. I don't know if I could ever sit through another session in church, because of how I feel and what I have determined through reading and prayer. Which surprisingly is what the church wants... So yeah.
If you would like to know more, I'd be willing to discuss it in personal messaging. Other than that.... I'm a DM for Second Darkness Campaign. And am currently involved in 3 PbP threads. One for Council of Thieves, Savage Tide, and when the DM gets the first book in the Kingmaker set, that one will be underway.
I've been playing Table-top RPG's for sometime now. Started with Second Edition D&D, moved on to [3.0E], Westend Games d6 Star Wars (Spent a lot of time with this one), [3.5E], played a couple games of: Big Eyes, Small Mouth; Mutants & Masterminds Second Edition; Whitewolf's World of Darkness
I had a lot of fun with almost all of them (Didn't really like BE/SM).
Pleased to meet you all!

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Any Mormons in this thread interested in a non-confrontational, non-flame war dialogue? Purely from a comparative religion standpoint. I'm a Protestant Christian in the Reformed theological tradition.
A little backstory: about a year ago, I had some Mormon missionaries drop by my house. I figured they were probably pretty tired of rude folks shutting the door in their faces, so I invited them in. We had a nice chat. I ended up inviting them back for dinner since I also figured they were probably sick of bachelor food. I really enjoyed talking about our respective faiths with those guys, and think we all appreciated the chance to learn about each others' beliefs. That's what I'm looking for here, if anybody's interested.
Heh. Sounds like my uncle. He's an atheist, but any time Mormon missionaries or Jehovah's Witnesses would come to the door, he'd invite them in for tea and sandwiches and talk about religion.

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Any Mormons in this thread interested in a non-confrontational, non-flame war dialogue? Purely from a comparative religion standpoint. I'm a Protestant Christian in the Reformed theological tradition.
A little backstory: about a year ago, I had some Mormon missionaries drop by my house. I figured they were probably pretty tired of rude folks shutting the door in their faces, so I invited them in. We had a nice chat. I ended up inviting them back for dinner since I also figured they were probably sick of bachelor food. I really enjoyed talking about our respective faiths with those guys, and think we all appreciated the chance to learn about each others' beliefs. That's what I'm looking for here, if anybody's interested.
I would be up for talking. As a former missionary, and a social sciences nut, I love learning about other religious beliefs.

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Heh. Sounds like my uncle. He's an atheist, but any time Mormon missionaries or Jehovah's Witnesses would come to the door, he'd invite them in for tea and sandwiches and talk about religion.
See that's the hard part. You want to invite them in for coffee, but then you remember they can't drink coffee, or tea, or hot chocolate.... So here's a practical question for starters: what do Mormons drink on a cold day?
And another one: I know Mormons aren't supposed to drink alcohol. Is it permitted to eat food made with alcohol, like beer-battered fish, Kahlua cake, or pasta in a white wine sauce? Just curious so if I ever do get some more missionaries over, I know what I can feed them.

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The Eldritch Mr. Shiny wrote:Heh. Sounds like my uncle. He's an atheist, but any time Mormon missionaries or Jehovah's Witnesses would come to the door, he'd invite them in for tea and sandwiches and talk about religion.See that's the hard part. You want to invite them in for coffee, but then you remember they can't drink coffee, or tea, or hot chocolate.... So here's a practical question for starters: what do Mormons drink on a cold day?
And another one: I know Mormons aren't supposed to drink alcohol. Is it permitted to eat food made with alcohol, like beer-battered fish, Kahlua cake, or pasta in a white wine sauce? Just curious so if I ever do get some more missionaries over, I know what I can feed them.
We do drink hot chocolate, and herbal tea. Food cooked with alcohol is a personal preference although I would suggest not serving it to missionaries. I try to stay away from it myself, but that has more to do with being a recovering alcoholic....

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We do drink hot chocolate, and herbal tea. Food cooked with alcohol is a personal preference although I would suggest not serving it to missionaries. I try to stay away from it myself, but that has more to do with being a recovering alcoholic....
Thanks, good to know.
Clearly Protestant Christianity and Mormonism have many beliefs in common--so much so that many people consider Mormonism to be just another Protestant denomination. I don't think that's true, and I suspect that Mormons don't either. Christianity acknowledges its roots in Judaism, affirms that the God who is the Father of Jesus is also the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who spoke through the burning bush, and considers that its teachings complete or fulfill Judaism rather than supplant it. Yet Christianity also considers itself separate from Judaism such that they are in doctrine and practice two separate religions. What does LDS teach about itself in relation to Protestant Christianity?
Anybody care to field this one?

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Charlie Bell wrote:Clearly Protestant Christianity and Mormonism have many beliefs in common--so much so that many people consider Mormonism to be just another Protestant denomination. I don't think that's true, and I suspect that Mormons don't either. Christianity acknowledges its roots in Judaism, affirms that the God who is the Father of Jesus is also the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who spoke through the burning bush, and considers that its teachings complete or fulfill Judaism rather than supplant it. Yet Christianity also considers itself separate from Judaism such that they are in doctrine and practice two separate religions. What does LDS teach about itself in relation to Protestant Christianity?Anybody care to field this one?
The Church teaches that we are apart from the Protestant tradition. The difference primary lies in the definition of what makes a Protestant. The Protestant tradition is that they come from a Reformation, or reforming Christ's church. On the otherhand the LDS Church is a Restoration, meaning that it came about through the irect efforts of God and Christ to restore what was lost following the death of the ancient apostles without using an existing framework rather than rebuilding an existing church into a new one.

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The Church teaches that we are apart from the Protestant tradition. The difference primary lies in the definition of what makes a Protestant. The Protestant tradition is that they come from a Reformation, or reforming Christ's church. On the otherhand the LDS Church is a Restoration, meaning that it came about through the irect efforts of God and Christ to restore what was lost following the death of the ancient apostles without using an existing framework rather than rebuilding an existing church into a new one.
So, LDS is to Christianity what Christianity is to Judaism, rather than what Lutheranism is to Catholicism. Is that more or less right?
If I asked if you were Christian, would you answer, "No, I'm a Mormon" or "Yes, I'm a Mormon"? Or, in the spirit of asking open-ended questions, something else?
To reveal the thinking behind this line of questioning, I am interested in finding and exploring both points of convergence and points of divergence.

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David Fryer wrote:The Church teaches that we are apart from the Protestant tradition. The difference primary lies in the definition of what makes a Protestant. The Protestant tradition is that they come from a Reformation, or reforming Christ's church. On the otherhand the LDS Church is a Restoration, meaning that it came about through the irect efforts of God and Christ to restore what was lost following the death of the ancient apostles without using an existing framework rather than rebuilding an existing church into a new one.So, LDS is to Christianity what Christianity is to Judaism, rather than what Lutheranism is to Catholicism. Is that more or less right?
That is correct.
If I asked if you were Christian, would you answer, "No, I'm a Mormon" or "Yes, I'm a Mormon"? Or, in the spirit of asking open-ended questions, something else?
If you were to ask if I was Christian, the answer would be a simple yes. I believe in Jesus Christ, strive to follow his teachings, believe he is the Son of God, etc. In fact the name of the church reflects that fact, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. On church buildings and documents the words Jesus Christ are written at least twice as large as the rest of the name to emphasize the importantance of Christ in ourt lives. From there we will definately have theological and doctrinal differences, but at the end of the day we support the concept that anyone who accepts Christ as the Savior and strives to live his teachings to the best of their ability is a Christian.

Doug Greer |

If I asked if you were Christian, would you answer, "No, I'm a Mormon" or "Yes, I'm a Mormon"? Or, in the spirit of asking open-ended questions, something else?
To reveal the thinking behind this line of questioning, I am interested in finding and exploring both points of convergence and points of divergence.
That's a difficult question for me to answer, but I'll give it a shot. I'd have to say that the answer, for me, is both yes and no.
I feel that I consider myself a Christian in the fact that I believe in Christ and try to live a Christ-like life. Of course, being human and prone to making mistakes, causes me to fall short of that goal, and that is one of reasons He came to earth and sacrificed Himself for us all.
And while all the Christian faiths may have doctrines in common. As David stated, it is our belief that there was a need for a full restoration of the truths that were lost during the apostasy that separates us, the LDS church, from the other Christian faiths.
So, as I said earlier, if you asked me if I was a Christian, I would have to say, "I am a member of the LDS faith, and I believe in Jesus Christ and His teachings."
If you don't mind doing a little reading, and would like to know more about how our basic beliefs match with yours, you could look here and see for yourself. I'll also try to answer any questions I can.
Hope this is along the lines of what you were looking for.

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Hello Charlie, sorry to leave you hanging for so long!
I agree with everything that David has written so far.
Philisophically, it might be helpful to understand something of the Mormon mindset.
We are a people that believe in continuing revelation from God. That is, we believe that the Bible is the word of God, and we believe that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. We have a several other books of scripture that we also believe to be the word of God. A new book of scripture emerging would not ruffle us, in fact it would almost be expected.
The flip side of this, is that we believe we might not have all the answers right now. eg Evolution... Some in the church leadership have called it blasphemy, and some have called it truth, but at it's heart we believe that God has not spoken definitively on the subject.
Another thing that might make us seem a little different is that we are very serious in our interpretation of Philippians 2:12 "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." (KJV)
That is, while we believe that some truths are universal, others are to be worked out individually. eg, We do not believe that anyone will be saved who is not baptised, but on the other hand, some LDS will not drink Coke or Pepsi and others will. It is important to us to be consistant with the teachings of the Spirit within our own hearts.
I know this sounds like a dodge, but it is really how we approach things.
If I could take David's answer about who we see as Christian's a step further... We do not believe we are to be judges of men. We might also be unique because we do not think we will be the only ones saved.
A question for you... What differences do you see, if any between the "determinism" school of philosophy and your belief in predestination.
One thing I really liked in what you wrote, that I wish more of my faith understood, was this:
"We evangelize, but we recognize that not everyone is going to believe. It's our job to tell the gospel, but only the work of God in somebody's heart can make that person believe it." Well said!

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I see. Thanks you both! The link Doug sent was very helpful in answering my question, especially the section about the Apostasy. I found it interesting that it cited Luther and Calvin as "inspired." The idea that other religions contain truth, but not the entire truth, resonates well with me. My own belief structure (which I'll call Reformed Christianity for specificity's sake, since LDS considers itself Christianity) claims to teach the truth insofar as it pertains to its primary subject matter, the relationship between man and God, and admits silence on many other matters. That allows a lot of room for other religions/worldviews/science/what have you to make non-contradictory truth claims.
Followup question: What does LDS teach about non-LDS Christians? Does LDS consider itself the true Christianity, and everything else is not? After death, what becomes of, say, Lutherans? Is it required to follow LDS teachings in order to be saved (I recognize we may have different beliefs about what salvation is and entails; here I mean a good eternal outcome instead of a bad eternal outcome)? Is it possible for non-LDS Christians to be saved? I promise I will not be offended if you tell me you believe or your church teaches that I am going to hell; no need to apologize or sugar coat it if so. Quite on the contrary, I appreciate you both taking the time to engage.
EDIT: Some of my questions were semi-ninja'd by Sigil.

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We are a people that believe in continuing revelation from God... A new book of scripture emerging would not ruffle us, in fact it would almost be expected.
Here's a point of divergence. Reformation Christianity teaches that the canon of Scripture is complete and sufficient on the matters about which it teaches. That's one of the distinguishing marks between us and Charismatics; they also believe in ongoing revelation. We believe that once the canon was complete, we had everything we needed in terms of revelation, and miraculous gifts of prophecy, speaking in tongues, etc. ceased to operate. As a Calvinist I am particularly suspicious of anything that purports to be a new revelation because I am convinced of man's inherent sinfulness: qui bono?
our interpretation of Philippians 2:12
Right on! A lot of folks don't realize that freedom of conscience is historically a Christian idea. We take it for granted in the West, but it isn't an assumption shared by, for instance, Islam. But we agree that freedom of conscience is necessary because individuals must be free to work out their relationship with God, whatever form that takes.
We do not believe that anyone will be saved who is not baptised
Does the LDS church recognize only LDS baptism? Baptism is a point of divergence even among Protestants. Some believe baptism is necessary for salvation, some believe it is merely symbolic; some baptize infants and other only adults; some recognize Catholic baptism and others do not. My church practices infant baptism and, following Colossians 2:11-12, considers it to be a seal into the community of faith in the same sense that circumcision was the seal of joining the nation of Israel. We teach that every believer should be baptised, as should their children, but that in a corner case like somebody who converted but died before they could be baptised they wouldn't lose their salvation.
If I could take David's answer about who we see as Christian's a step further... We do not believe we are to be judges of men. We might also be unique because we do not think we will be the only ones saved.
Who else qualifies? I don't mean for you to make individual judgments, but what are the criteria?
A question for you... What differences do you see, if any between the "determinism" school of philosophy and your belief in predestination.
I've done quite a bit of reflection on the topic. I'd wager most Calvinists have since it's a pretty contentious topic among Protestants. Deterministic philosophy is pretty compatible with Calvinist teachings about the nature of man, which is that man, though made in God's image, is inherently sinful and incapable of choosing good on his own. Economics teaches that human beings act according to what we perceive as our own best interests. Even altruism is motivated by the demands of reproduction; we love our children because we have a biological drive to see our genes passed along. The Calvinist will say that this is evidence both of "common grace," the mercy of God by which even unbelievers can sometimes accomplish good, and of man's sin nature. In other words, biological determinism supports the idea that humans are inherently selfish (sinful). What differentiates believers is that work of the Holy Spirit upon our hearts, by which we are converted (the theological term we use for it is "regeneration,") changes our perspective so radically that we realize that God's will for us is, in fact, in our best interests. Therefore there's a kind of economic determinism even in conversion; this idea in Calvinism is called "irresistible grace."
The above answer addresses the free will vs. determinism aspect of the question, but TBH there's also the issue of God's sovereignty involved. I may not have answered the question you were asking. I could expound on the topic but I imagine you have limits on wallotext tolerance. I'd be happy to look at it from a different angle if there was something else you were driving at with that question.
Again, thanks, this discussion is exactly what I was looking for.

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Followup question: What does LDS teach about non-LDS Christians? Does LDS consider itself the true Christianity, and everything else is not? After death, what becomes of, say, Lutherans? Is it required to follow LDS teachings in order to be saved (I recognize we may have different beliefs about what salvation is and entails; here I mean a good eternal outcome instead of a bad eternal outcome)? Is it possible for non-LDS Christians to be saved? I promise I will not be offended if you tell me you believe or your church teaches that I am going to hell; no need to apologize or sugar coat it if so. Quite on the contrary, I appreciate you both taking the time to engage.EDIT: Some of my questions were semi-ninja'd by Sigil.
Charlie, I think this will answer your question quite nicely. It is from the Doctrine and Covenents, a collection of Revelations give to the Prophet Joseph Smith and others.
7 Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God;
8 Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom;
9 For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.
10 And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven.
So the short answer is that people are "saved" based on their actions and how well they lived the gospel of Jesus Christ as they have it, rather than based on what religion they were. However, we also do work for the dead because the gospel of Christ is being preached to spirits who have passed on and they must have the ordinences done for them by the living.

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Sigil wrote:We do not believe that anyone will be saved who is not baptisedDoes the LDS church recognize only LDS baptism? Baptism is a point of divergence even among Protestants. Some believe baptism is necessary for salvation, some believe it is merely symbolic; some baptize infants and other only adults; some recognize Catholic baptism and others do not. My church practices infant baptism and, following Colossians 2:11-12, considers it to be a seal into the community of faith in the same sense that circumcision was the seal of joining the nation of Israel. We teach that every believer should be baptised, as should their children, but that in a corner case like somebody who converted but died before they could be baptised they wouldn't lose their salvation.
Yes, we believe that when the apostles were killed and died off that the authority to perform ordinances was lost. Since one can only recieve authority from one who has it, part of the restoration was the return of the Priesthood to the Earth. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdrey were visited by John the Baptist and the apostles Peter, James, and John who restored the authority to perform all priesthood ordinances to the Earth.

fopalup |

Just saw this thread and thought I'd pop in. Hi everyone! Another mormon here, in this case in Calgary Alberta Canada. Went on my mission in San Bernardino California. Am presently the facilities rep for my building. Anyways it's cool seeing all the responders to this thread.
Edit: To Charlie Bell: South Park actually had it right! The Mormons will be the ones in heaven with all their jello-y goodness. (Sorry, couldn't resist the bit of levity.)

Doug Greer |

I see. Thanks you both! The link Doug sent was very helpful in answering my question, especially the section about the Apostasy. I found it interesting that it cited Luther and Calvin as "inspired." The idea that other religions contain truth, but not the entire truth, resonates well with me. My own belief structure (which I'll call Reformed Christianity for specificity's sake, since LDS considers itself Christianity) claims to teach the truth insofar as it pertains to its primary subject matter, the relationship between man and God, and admits silence on many other matters. That allows a lot of room for other religions/worldviews/science/what have you to make non-contradictory truth claims.
Charlie, I guess it's my turn for a "Wall of text".
I'm glad that you found the information in the link useful. We (members of the LDS faith) believe that many people including Luther, Calvin, the founders of the USA, contributed to allowing the condition to be right, to cause Joseph Smith to ask the question, which of the churches at the time taught all the truths of Christ gospel. The answer of course that he received, is that none had the complete truth and that it was to be restored through him.
I don't know how much of what you read on the link I provided earlier, but if you read past the section on the Restoration then I think that other areas on the site may answer some of your follow-up questions. If you don't mind, I'll provide some links to other pages on that site that may help answer some of your questions.
Followup question: What does LDS teach about non-LDS Christians?
In the early days of the LDS church, Joseph Smith wrote the Articles of Faith as a basic statement of what the church members believe. The 11th Article of Faith is as follows.
11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
If you would like to read all thirteen, you can find them here.
Does LDS consider itself the true Christianity, and everything else is not?
I dislike it when members of the LDS church say that it is the only "true" church, especially when comparing it to the other Christian churches. As I have said before, the other Christian churches has some of the truth, but not the complete truth. I made the same mistake myself when I was younger and had first joined the church (I'm a convert to the church). I feel that a much better way to state it is, that we, as members of the LDS faith have the fullness of Christ's gospel as it was restore to Joseph Smith. We also have the Priesthood authority to perform the ordinances necessary for our eternal salvation. The fourth Article of Faith discusses the first ordinances and principles of the gospel.
You may think that my statement is just arguing semantics, but I feel that telling people that what they believe in is not the truth doesn't invite the proper spirit in to the discussion and causes contention.
After death, what becomes of, say, Lutherans? Is it required to follow LDS teachings in order to be saved (I recognize we may have different beliefs about what salvation is and entails; here I mean a good eternal outcome instead of a bad eternal outcome)? Is it possible for non-LDS Christians to be saved?
To answer this for the most part, I'll give you another link. If you will go here, and read the whole section "Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness", in particular the pages starting at "Life After Death" and going through "Heaven and Eternal Reward".
I think that those web pages will answer your questions.
We believe that Christ's atonement did two things for us. First, it saves everyone born on this earth from death. Meaning that after we die, our spirits will be rejoined with our mortal bodies, that have been made perfect and we will live eternally in that perfected physical state. This is given to all who have lived on this earth regardless of how you lived your life.
Second, is that Christ atoned for our sins. Although Christ has already done this for us we still have to work for this one somewhat. We have to live the commandments and try to be like Christ, as close as we can in our mortal state. When we fall short, we can use the principle of repentance, to gain forgiveness for our sins and thereby come closer to Christ. If we die unrepentant of what we have done wrong, then we must pay for those sins in the afterlife.
Again, I hope that the information that I am providing to you is helping to answer your questions.

Readerbreeder |

Another Mormon checking in after seeing the OP; I had no idea there were that many LDS gamers out there! I had a guess that David Fryer was after seeing some of his other posts, but that was based almost entirely on geographic assumption.
I'm currently (and for the forseeable future) living in Perris, CA. I grew up in Orange, CA, and I've been gaming for almost 30 years (since the ripe old age of 9). There are currently no other LDS members in my gaming group; I haven't known any since I left high school, hence my surprise at finding so many here.

Daelkyr |

Nothing to add theologically, it appears others have awnsered well. Just wanted to say that I am also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Born and raised in California for most of my life, spent high school in rural Utah, and as of this year have again settled down in the Washington County area after a three year stint in Nevada.
There is two Mormons in my group, my wife and my friend Dave. The other two are a Christian and an Atheist. We play the 4th Edition of the worlds most popular roleplaying game, but I own the Pathfinder pdf.

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There is two Mormons in my group, my wife and my friend Dave. The other two are a Christian and an Atheist. We play the 4th Edition of the worlds most popular roleplaying game, but I own the Pathfinder pdf.
Where in Washington County do you live and do you have any openings in your game? I am looking for a new group after mine has mostly dried up.

Daelkyr |

Sorry about taking so long to post back... I live in Hurricane, which I believe is a bit of a ways from Cedar City to Hurricane (40.7 mi – about 48 mins according to Google Map).
Anyway, I wasn't actually looking for a new member, but I'll mention it with the group. (We game on Thurs. nights.) What happened to your old group?
- Josh

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Sorry about taking so long to post back... I live in Hurricane, which I believe is a bit of a ways from Cedar City to Hurricane (40.7 mi – about 48 mins according to Google Map).
Anyway, I wasn't actually looking for a new member, but I'll mention it with the group. (We game on Thurs. nights.) What happened to your old group?
- Josh
Three of them packed up and moved to Idaho. One just stopped coming. Two of them show up sporadically when there is not a Magic tourny or a White Wolf game going on. Two still show up almost every week but it is hard GMing for two people.

R. Hyrum Savage Super Genius Games |

David Fryer wrote:Edit:OWC's Diomin campaign setting also drew from the Book of Mormon quite a bit. From the main evil racebeing the Gadianti to an evil Zeridite empire, to King Coriantimur, to the gods Akish, Nebo etc. there were lots of BoM refernces. Plus a few references to the movie Hot Shots as well.IIRC, I believe Hyrum is LDS, so it shouldn't be coincidental.
Yep, I'm LDS, born and raised. :)
Grew up in LA, now in the San Diego area. Currently I'm the Cub Master and Gospel Doctrine teacher for the 12-14 year olds. Slowly corrupting them. :D
And yeah, Diomin (from Adam-ondi-Ahmen), is my homage to the Book of Mormon. If it isn't clear, the Zeredites are the Lamanites and the Tirasim are the Nephites. Even borrowed Nephite coinage for the 3.0 version. :D
Best thing about my name is that it's a clear giveaway. Either I'm LDS or a Mason, and since I'm not a Mason...
Hyrum.
Super Genius Games
"We err on the side of awesome."

Tanner Nielsen |

I realize this is an older thread, but I thought I'd post. Born and raise in SLC, a few years in Argentina, living in the NorthWest now. DM'ing an Eberron/PF mixed campaign, 4 other LDS players and some non-LDS players. Recently called to the bishopric, wish me luck.
Good luck with the bishopric calling, brother. I certainly hope it leaves you with time to run that game!

MormonYoyoMan |
Stumbled into this thread while studying the background of Pathfinder. (I'm always late! I didn't stumble into D&D until June 1977!) So I guess I should raise my hand and say, yup - an LDS boy (or old man) here, since May 1990. Currently in Houston and currently teaching Gossip Principles. Youngest grandson getting baptized next year, which certainly shows my age.
*jeep! & God Bless!
--Grandpa Chet

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...and the former owner of my FLGS checks in from timeto time. He was one of the missionaries I mentioned who got to game with Tracy Hickman when Tracy was a ward mission leader.
This guy sounds familiar. Do I know him? :p
OK, "from time to time" can be forever! But I'm checking in. Our group is mostly LDS: myself, my daughter and her husband, my son, a couple of good friends, and the lone evangelical. We're in SE Idaho. For a couple more weeks...
So, is anyone here in Star Valley Wyoming? I'm moving again, and looking for a group.

Lloyd Jackson |

Another Oregonian! LDS grew up in southern Oregon. Served Idaho Pocatello English. Currently BYU Food Science. DM two groups. One is on hiatus for summer. The other we just finished the troll lair in Kingmaker's RRR. One of the players from the hiatus group is going to start DMing his own game with some other friends over the summer and another player has been making characters for idle fun, so I think he's got the bug too.
Oh, first group, currently disbanded as two are on missions, was all girls. D&D not for religious people? Bah. D&D not for girls? Bah. I had a party of Sisters.

pious aeneas |

So yeah this is three years old and the last post was a year ago...
Introduced to 2e in JH and loved it. Gamed all with non-mormons and loved it. Still miss those days sometimes but also the nostalgia of carefree times, too.
Picked it back up in HS and gamed with a couple of mormon kids in my ward along with one nonmormon who we gave a book of mormon to. Great kid. Transitioned to DMing and had a blast.
College left little time for roleplaying, though.
Recently graduated after years of graduate school and picked up the DL chronicles for [guilty] pleasure. Again, took me back to JH and my old buddies. After taking a decade off of roleplaying(during which time I got three degrees, married, four kids, and a mortgage), I suddenly jumped into a local PF session. Not sure where this will go but it has been fun so far.
Currently ward mission leader.

Dustin Ashe |

Mormon in Indiana. Nice to find this thread, even if I'm a tad late.
I'm currently GM-ing a game with two Mormons, one lapsed-Mormon atheist, and one non-Mormon. I know of at least three other people in my ward who would play but one is too busy and the other two just moved away for the summer.
Turns out Mormons can be just as nerdy as anyone else.