From a 'Documentary Film Producer', slightly paraphrased:
While traveling through northern Arizona with a full camera crew we stopped for petrol and refreshments at a town deemed a "Mormon Town". While getting back into our van my wallet containing $1200 [need cash for trips] fell from my pocket; the loss going unnoticed until much further down the road. Upon discovering the loss, we turned back to the logical location where I could have lost my wallet. We searched and searched, but found nothing anywhere. So went inside and inquired if anybody had turned in a wallet. Someone had! Upon confirming my name, the gentleman [who had actually also found the wallet] returned it to me. Upon checking the contents, I found the whole of the funds completely intact. I offered a reward to the man who replied, "No, but thank you. I could not possibly accept any reward for it would lessen my reward from Jesus Christ." [words to that effect.]
Just thought you'd like to hear something GOOD for a change.
Nice of you to post it but I still prefer these words from "The Rubiyat of Omar Khayyam": "Ah, take the cash and let the credit go..." . I'm not big on distant drums either :)
Similar happened to me years ago when traveling through rural Mexico with s mall son. Left my &*^^%$))^^%$ WALLET somewhere - can't remember where. We nt back in fear & trembling -- was told me a young man had found it and tak en it home, leaving his address. We went there; he had it; I had to practi cally twist his arm to accept a small thank you. Whew! Restored my faith i n people's decency.
Historically, I've had my share of 'learned' bad experiences from Hispanic community. Examples: freshly poured concrete sidewalk in front of home being defaced by young children ACCOMPANIED by their mothers on a walk! Mothers saying nothing in spite of me charging out and yelling at them to stop it. Out about in public, being subjected to attitude towards me, attitude uncalled for, more like getting a 'pre-emptive' attitude. Or, enjoying an extremely private area along the beach, when suddenly being imposed upon by huge group, plopping down within 20 feet, on an empty beach that goes for over 1000 feet - why next to us? etc etc.
Then, late one night while driving through the bad sections of the dreaded 'east side' I ran out of gas! had to walk to a service station, yes, even late at night the station was occupied by a roudy crowd that immediately took umbrage at my presence as I walked in. Almost like What are YOU doing here? When I told them I ran out of gas at so-and-so intersection, they became very concerned. The lady station attendant handed me a plastic gallon can to go fill with gasoline, and told me to bring it back when I'm done. She never even asked for a deposit on the can, nor payment at that moment for the contents. She just said come back and when you get more pay then. One of youths said he was on his way home and had to go by where I had abandoned my car so he could drop me off, which he did. I 'primed' the car with the one gallon can the lady had given me [could have completely left that neighborhood], drove back to the station, gave her back the can and paid for the gasoline. Where upon I profusely thanked her and went on home not too much later than expected due to all the help I had received.
That experience completely erased the bad impression of the Hispanic community I had formed, ...up until that event. Now I realize, if you NEED help, you'll probably get a shirt off someone's back.
The attitude of folks living in rural America is quite different from that of people living in urban areas. If you had lost your wallet in Washington D.C. or New York City, the money and credit cards would have been removed then the wallet tossed into the nearest trash can. If the wallet had been found by a congressman, you would have gotten the wallet back with taxes taken out of the money. ^_^
Nice to hear of good experiences. I think that some public figures do try to whip up the racial discontent. Glad to hear that some people are still kind to each other.
Around Birmingham, it really depends on the area and the individual. I found a new Motorola cellphone and belt clip in a trashcan where I was doing some work where me and JH were moving some equipment to a the new location of a women's clothing store. I got home with the phone and had a charger that would fit so I charged it up, found it was working then discovered a phone book entry labeled "Mom". I called the number, got voice mail, left my name and number explaining that I had found the phone. I later got a call from a young woman who had lost the phone in the clothing store. I met her at a service station nearby and returned it to her. Someone asked me why I returned the phone and my answer was, "It wasn't mine." Simple huh? ^_^
One time when I was working at a factory, a woman lost her eye glasses. She put out the word, and we searched the trash barrels, dumpsters, etc. The factory found four or five pair of Rx eye glasses, none hers. Not sure if she ever got them back.
RTFM. One's reward comes from believing that Jesus is the son of God, that he was a real man, that he came to Earth, and that he died on the cross to take away our sins so that we might have eternal life. Those who accept this, and his teachings will reap the rewards. No amount of good deeds can get you into heaven. (This is one of the major different points between Mormonism and Christianity, where Mormons believe that their good deeds and temple rituals get them their own planet in the heavenly universe.) And no modified doctrines or "new" prophecies will create new rules and/or change the Word of God. Galatians 1:6-9, Rev.
22:18-19. It is interesting that almost the last word of the Bible is a warning against adding to the Bible or changing it. Many strong warnings are given against people who want to be false teachers, or just followers who are easily lead. James 3:1. The Bible is full of warnings of the coming churches, many passages aimed directly at the LDS faith. In Titus 1:5-9, the requirements for a deacon are spelled out. It describes a fully grown married man with children. In the LDS faith, boys are made deacons automatically at age 12.
But the Mormons say, " The bible is true as far as it is correctly interpreted." That statement converts to strike out anything that contradicts Mormonism. Well, if you strike chapter and verse that are directly copied from the Bible to Book of Mormon, you'd have a skeleton left. And if the Bible is not true, and the Book of Mormon is based on the bible, then it, too is not true. You can't have it both ways.
So far, no trace of the ancient Mormon civilization they created in the New World has been found. Not one inscription. Not one potshard. The Smithsonian has stated that on paper. And their numbers were described "as many as the grains of sand on the beach." This is a direct plagiarism from a Bible verse. Recent DNA studies of 3500 North and South American Indian tribes shows that only .05% of all the current Indian tribes in North and South America came from the Middle east, the area where the founders Laman and Lemuel came from. Most came from the areas of Siberia and Mongolia. The Mormons had been claiming all Indians as descendents of the Mormons, until the Indians took exception, and took them to task legally. They were also baptizing victims of the Holocaust, and the Jewish faith took that to task. Essentially, it amounted to changing the faith of a Jew to a Mormon by the baptism of a young proxy temple worker at a LDS temple behind locked doors. But, hey, until you're caught, it's okay, right?
Put it this way: A decent honest person would have returned the wallet just because it was the right thing to do. No rewards expected. Christian, Hindu, Mormon, Taoist, or Shintu. Right is right, and we don't get any points for doing what is right. Especially if someone finds out about it. Anonymous good deeds are the only pure ones.
Deborah Laake - Secret Ceremonies ........ a book of a Mormon woman. An interesting read, but sometimes it takes three months to get one at a local library, as Mormons check out the book for a year at a time, and pay the fine to keep it out of public circulation.
Steve ex-Mormon
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Hear it from people who BTDT
And whatever you believe, investigate it thoroughly.
That's an excellent admonition. No offense intended but one of the things that people might want to check is how the bible came to be (if it pertains to you). The origin of the book of Mormon could stand some scrutiny too.
CY: Nope, but good deeds sure can improve things once you get there. Unlike binary (are you a 100 or a 0?) Christians, Mormons believe that hard work and keeping the commandments has its reward.
(This is one of the major different
CY: Which was put there in about 1,000 AD by King James men. But, it didn't say that God has finished speaking.
Many strong
CY: Says you....
In Titus 1:5-9, the requirements for a deacon are spelled out.
CY: You don't know much about the Mormon faith, I see?
CY: I've heard that old bit about "no trace". It's a crock, plenty of trace.
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Recent DNA studies of 3500 North and
CY: Be curious to see some evidence of this.
They were also baptizing victims of the
CY: You display your ignorance, again. The ordinances are optional to the deceased. They don't have to convert. Yes, the Jews did object, and the practice has been discontinued.
CY: hear it from people who lost their faith, and have become antagonists. Not any chance of objective truth, here.
In the spring of 1842, the Prophet Joseph Smith sent a letter to John Wentworth, who was editor of a newspaper called the Chicago Democrat. This letter contained an account of many of the events of early Church history. The document also contained thirteen statements outlining Latter-day Saint beliefs. These have come to be known as the Articles of Faith, which are given below.
The Articles of Faith are official doctrine of the Church and have been canonized as a part of latter-day scripture. They are clear statements of belief that help members understand the basic beliefs of the Church and explain these beliefs to others. They are not, however, a complete summary of Church doctrine. Through living prophets, the Church is guided by continuous revelation and inspiration.
We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.
We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
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.
We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul--We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
At my high school's "homecoming bonfire" someone suddenly said "Nobody move! I just dropped my contact!" So all the people in the little group got down and started hunting. After a little bit, I heard him say it again--somewhere else. The people near me either weren't paying attention or couldn't hear as well as I could and they kept on hunting.
I didn't say anything for a while, and he did it several times more, till there were several small groups in all parts of the field looking for a contact lens in the dark.
The Book of Mormon does include some quotes from the real Bible, but they are only a small percentage of the whole thing. I find it interesting that the book of Mormon contradicts some of Joseph Smith's later writings:
3 Nephi 24:6 ? "For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Jacob 2:24 ? "Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord."
Compare that to
Now, did God really give David something that was abominable before Him?
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