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- General Conference April 2013
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- Woman leading closing prayer at General Conference
The Saturday morning General Conference didn’t provide any new insight into Mormonism for those hoping to hear something they hadn’t heard before. However, it did give a false sense of worldly hope to those who believe the Church needs to loosen its grip on male dominance.
For the first time in the history of the Church a woman led a closing prayer at one of the meetings. After an online and very public petition was written by a feminist group within Mormonism asking that females be allowed to give the opening or closing prayer at the conference, the Church acquiesced.
While it may seem they’re making progress with such a bold move, a speech given by one of the female leaders of the Church squashed that theory in a hurry.
My heart literally hurts for those caught in the lies of this organization. Believing the things they do and leading others to believe the same one generation after another is oppressive indeed.
Elaine Dalton, the Young Women’s General President delivered a speech for one of the Saturday morning sessions telling her audience their virtue is the most powerful and important thing they have.
???????????????
The apostle Bednar reiterated the same philosophy as well in his speech.
Where in the Bible does it say these things? Where does God tell us that our virginity is the most precious thing above all? Why is the Church so hung up on sex? Just about everything they do revolves around this. Argh!
What about the person who’s been raped? Are they not worthy to be in God’s presence?
While God does tell us to not commit adultery and to abstain from drunkenness, there is nothing in His word telling us that our virtue is the most precious thing we have.
The most precious thing we have in this life is life itself and His Spirit that dwells inside of us when we’re saved!
In all sincerity, for those who don’t know –
God doesn’t require virginity for you to be lovable or worthy of Him. God wants your heart, not your virginity.
If you’ve been violated by someone else’s actions or even if you’re not a virgin by your own choices, God still sees you as His creation, He still loves you and His death on the cross is still valid for you – regardless of your physical condition.
The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Cor 10:5 to hold all thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. This means your thought life is what’s important! Jesus likewise told His audience in the Beatitudes the pure in heart will see God. If you’re angry with someone and say “Racha” in your heart, you’re guilty of murder.
Matthew Henry made the insightful comment that while there wasn’t much of the credenda of Christianity in the Sermon on the Mount, it did include the things we should do. In knowing these things we’ll know the doctrine of God.
Jesus said the pure in heart will see God (Matthew 5:8) –
Those who are pure in heart are fully and totally ascribed to the Lord. They’re mindful of His teachings and carry with them a healthy fear of the Lord. It is spiritual harmony with the Lord and seeing others as God see us as Oswald Chambers stated.
If we live this type of life and are mindful of wanting the things God wants for us, our outer self will reflect our inner beliefs. However, by no means does our physical condition (especially when violated against), determine whether or not we have the blessing of being in God’s presence.
And for the Mormon, being in God’s presence in the ultimate sense of the word means temple worthiness.
How sad for those who listen and believe the false teachings that were aired today in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Here’s an excerpt of what Ms. Dalton said;
““Your personal purity is one of your greatest sources of power,” she taught. “When you came to the earth you were given the precious gift of a body. Your body is the instrument of your mind and a divine gift with which to exercise your agency. This is a gift that Satan was denied and thus he directs nearly all of his attacks on your body. He wants you to disdain, misuse and abuse your body.”
Immodesty, pornography, immorality, tattoos and piercings, drug abuse and addictions of all kinds are all efforts to take possession of the precious gift, Sister Dalton explained.
“Keep yourselves pure and worthy and guard that which is ‘most dear and precious above all … [your] virtue and chastity.”
Be not moved in being worthy to make and keep sacred covenants.
“Virtue is the golden key to the temple,” she said. The covenants individuals make at baptism will tether them to the path of virtue and happiness. By taking the sacrament each week, individuals are renewing their baptismal covenant.”
If you’re LDS, know that we’re praying for you and we hope you open your Bible to compare what Jesus has to say about your physical condition to what the Church says about you.
With Love in Christ;
Michelle Grim
As a faithful Mormon, I thank you for your sympathy and lack of disrespect, but would like to respectfully answer a few of the questions presented in this post. We do highly value our virtue, and believe that one should only have sex after marriage. We simply feel that sexual intercourse is a sacred act used to create life in order to create a family, and that by violating this, one violates God’s sacred commandment. The LDS Family Proclamation (https://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation) states:
“The Family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity.”
To your question “Why is the Church so hung up on sex?” The speakers of General Conference earnestly fast and pray in order to discover what they are meant to speak on and what many people need to hear at that time. Because of this, their talks often address current issues and pressing problems of the time, whether it is a problem with many people in the church, or simply a problem surrounding many people that the speakers wish to warn us against. Apparently sex before marriage was deemed a current problem necessary for people to hear about, and that is why the Church seems to be “hung up on sex.”
We do not condone those who are unwilling victims of rape or assault, as we do know that it is not their fault. We believe that they can still enter the presence of God, as long as they sincerely were not at fault in the situation. However, we do encourage people to try to avoid situations where they could be at risk of sexual assault if they can, and especially encourage them to never do it willingly before marriage. However, we believe that even if someone does commit this sin, they are still able to enter the presence of God, so long as they earnestly repent through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, because as you say, God does love us and still sees us as His Creation, despite any sins we may commit.
Finally, as we also do read and believe in the Bible as well (as far as it is translated correctly), I encourage you to read Proverbs 31:10 as proof of the great value God places on virtue. It states, “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.” There is also evidence of Christ teaching about virtue, including 2 Peter 1:3, where it states, “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” God wants us to be clean and virtuous, for this is part of our divine calling.
I realize this is a website designed to convert Mormons away from Mormonism, but I would just like to say that I truly believe this church is true, and through it we can learn to be our best selves. I also sincerely believe that if we follow the commandments and the teachings of God, we will be able to live with God after death, and that we can live with our families for eternity.
Again, I thank you for your sympathy and prayers, and especially the respectful manner in which you phrased this article. Most Anti-Mormon articles that can be found today are not nearly as kind. I also highly appreciate the fact that you knew most of your facts and did your research before spitting out obscene untruths about us as others have been known to do. I believe I speak for many of us when I say that we sincerely appreciate this.
Michelle,
Why are you so hung up on sex? You correctly reported that Sis. Dalton said that a woman’s virtue is very important. But it was you who said it was about sex.
From the Oxford Dictionary of the English Language the definition of virtue is this:
vir·tue
/’vәrCHōo/
▶n.
1 behavior showing high moral standards.
2 a good or useful quality.
3 old use virginity or chastity.
– synonyms
1 goodness, righteousness, morality, integrity, dignity, rectitude, honor, probity.
2 good point, good quality, strong point, asset, forte, attribute, strength, merit, advantage, benefit; informal plus.
– antonyms
vice.
– phrases
by virtue of because or as a result of.
Copyright © 2010 Oxford University Press
Considering the first defintion this dictionary gives virtue is not about sex, which it says is an old useage, reveals more about you than about us.
Marvin
Her point was that there was nothing to glorify Christ in the Conference. The Bible clearly states that Jesus thought women very important and did not think of them inferior. Lastly, bettering your life, body, etc. won’t get you salvation.
God wants you to see your sin then see His redemption only in Jesus. This is a difficult concept for Mormons to comprehend but with reading the Scripture alone, without Mormon notes, you can begin to see. Only the Holy Spirit can lead you to the truth and knows your heart.
I am disappointed that you would say that there is nothing in the Conference to glorify Christ. You obviously haven’t read or listened to these conference addresses or any others for that matter. Every speaker testifies of Jesus Christ to some degree. Many speakers use incidents in the life of Christ to illustrate or make a point. Every speaker seeks inspiration and guidance from Christ in preparing their talks. Each session of conference is opened and closed with pray to God in the name of Christ. But you don’t see Christ.
The LDS church has never considered women to be inferior. The Utah territory was the first to grant suffrage to women but had to give it up to become a state.
While you said, “bettering your life, body, etc. won’t get you salvation.” But do you believe that keeping the commandments of God will? After all, if you keep the commandments of God you will have a better life. I find it difficult to understand why you would make this criticism after the example of Daniel in the Book of Daniel.
I know that I am not perfect except in Christ. I find it no problem to know and understand that I am not perfect. After all, the Book of Mormon teaches (Mosiah 3: 19) “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.” So if I believe the Book of Mormon (which I do) then I have a clear understanding of my ‘sin nature’, as you call it.
One of the major differences between our beliefs is that you walk through your life backwards, looking at all the times you failed to follow Christ and lament about how weak and sinful you are. This is evident from your many statements about how sinful man is. I walk through life looking forward to see what I can do with faith in Christ. I may not be perfect, but with faith in Christ, I know that I can be better today that I was yesterday and every day I can be accepted of Christ because of my faith in his Atoning sacrifice.
Marvin
No, keeping the commandments will not get you salvation You cannot earn salvation in anyway. That’s a thought of Mormonism. I did say in a previous post’s answer that the Old Testament is the Old Covenant. Pls. read that again. Remember, you are here to find out about Christianity and how it compares with Mormonism. Again, if you are not here for that reason but as a ” Mormon Soldier” , then I won’t waste my time.
Well we don’t choose our commandments or consequences. And yes God is our judge, but He knows us and knows that we are imperfect and carnal. That is why we need a Savior. Someone who could mediate for us and take the burden of sin off of our shoulders. But it was also said that if we choose Gods plan and choose Christ that we must also show Him by our words and deeds. God said, “if you love me keep my commandments” It is our respnsibilitt to get Baptized and repent or change our hearts. I love God and I am sorry for my sins. I ask Him to help guide me ti a better way of life and eternal happiness. God bless us all and help us become more Godly.