'Ministering to Mormons\r'

'Reflecting on I Love Mormons: A New track to Sh argon deliveryman with latter-day Saints\r\nMost throng associate the Mormon religion with the perform that is based in Salt Lake City, Utah. However, Mormonism has its root in New York State, where Joseph Smith founded the Church of latter-day Saints during the nineteenth century, when he was allegedly visited by an apotheosis that he called â€Å"Moroni.”\r\nThe principles upon which he based this church underwent many an(prenominal) changes as the founders of the opinion traveled westward, so many that quite a little great power question whether it is the same religious belief or non.  It is not unusual, however, for a young assent to undergo many changes: it ignore be argued that Christianity experience many of the same dynamics in it beginnings as it moved from its country and culture of origin and paste across the world.  David Rowe’s text suggest that individuals who would advocate Christian ity to Mormons should approach Mormonism as slight of a cult and more of a culture and will less zeal than love,\r\n divide 1: Overview of Mormon holiness\r\nAccording to its founders, the Mormon faith is based on the teachings of the descendents of ancient holy custody and the faithful who came to this stainless even before the birth of Christ.  The original teachings of the church were supposed to grant been translated from golden plates that the angel Moroni, which were granted to Joseph Smith. Some of those early teachings have fallen into neglectfulness or have changed completely.\r\nFor example, while Smith cleverness have included polygamy and believed in a priesthood surface to only a chosen few, polygamy is now discouraged, if not openly condemned by the church and the priesthood has been open to hands of all races (Rowe 2005).  Other tenets have been added or subtracted from the faith or have altered in approximately way as the Mormon faith seeks to solidi fy itself.\r\nWhile the Mormons consider themselves to be a Christian faith, a number of beliefs and practices set them apart from new(prenominal) Christian denominations.  Some of these beliefs and practices include:\r\nBaptism of the dead\r\n fadeless brotherhood, known as a â€Å"celestial marriage” performed in the temple\r\nThe belief in quartette sacred texts: the divine Bible, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of owing(p) Price, and The Book of Mormon, and\r\nTeaching that immortal, the Father and savior Christ, the son, be of depart earthly bodies (Rowe, 2005).\r\nThe Mormon Church excessively places a lot of emphasis on the family and on gender spots.  The church emphasizes the woman’s role in staying home and caring for the children, while men typically take on leadership rolesâ€although these things are not absolute.  In addition, church members are think to follow the law of chastity and to abstain from authentic food, drinks, a nd substances.\r\nChurch members are expected to proselytize.  All staminate members of the church are expected to perform a mission, which begins at 19 years of age and lasts both years.  Although women are not forbidden from going on missions, the requirements for women are different in terms of service of process during a mission.  Finally, the LDS Church tends to believe that the individual can receive revelations from God, particularly in mortalal matters.  there are many precepts of this complex faith that are not covered by this paper; however, the ones that are listed represent rough of their more important beliefs.\r\nThe Mormon faith does not have a single, large form.  Rather, it is comprised of splinter conferences.  Given the statement  in Rowe (2005) that Mormonism â€Å" may stand as an indictment to Protestants because they arose to compensate for slightly perceived failure in the Christian accomplishment” that encouraged him to egress â€Å"a single ‘ aline Church’ that he believed would unify all members and enlistment an end to denominational schism,” this fact is provoke and interesting one (pp. 18-19).\r\nIn general, the term â€Å"Mormon” is intimately accurately applied to the individuals who followed Smith’s teachings and colonised in Utah; however, the church elders prefer that it be known by the more accurate style of â€Å"Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints” (Rowe, 2005).\r\nSection 2: â€Å"Wisely and Gently”\r\nKraft (1998) reminds the subscriber that God apparently wants citizenry to be courteous of other cultures and that He gave such directions through the Holy Bible.  In 1 Corinthians 9:19-22, Kraft states, God’s purpose is indicated through Paul’s delivery about living like a Jew when among the Jews and living like a Gentile when among the Gentiles, and so being â€Å"all things to all men, that [he might ] save about of them by whatever means are realizable” (p. 384).\r\nKraft discusses the various levels of culture, which is the style in which people live their lives.  People are products of their culture, which determines the manner in which they view the world and the pressure for the individual to conform within that worldview is strong (Kraft, 1998).  In addition, Kraft reminds the endorser that Jesus worked not by attacking people or their cultures, but by working with people within their cultures to effect change.\r\nOverall, Mormonism has a number of inviolable principles behind it and yet its worshipers have been widely persecuted for their faith.   forthwith’s Mormons tend to be â€Å"thin-skinned, hypersensitive, and virtually expecting to be attacked” for their beliefs (Rowe, 2005, p. 49).  Whether or not the individual talking with a Mormon agrees with the positions of that person’s faith, Rowe states that they are merit of respect.\r\nThis position is particularly important, since Mormons typically have a certainty in the truth as preached by their prophet and the awareness of their nature as what Rowe (2005) calls â€Å"an exodus community” (pp. 48-49), both of which cause them to close the doors to confabulation more readily than individuals in other faiths.  disdain the apparent wisdom behind this statement of affairs, however, it appears to counterbalance the author’s assertion that Utah’s admittance to the Union ended the â€Å"us against them” humor that existed between Mormons and the United States government at the clock time (p. 47).\r\nSection 3: Proselytizing\r\nRowe (2005) constantly reminds the reader that the Mormons have their own culture.  For this reason, Christians are to treat them as they might adherents to Islamic, Hindu, or Buddhist cultures, as healthy as any other non-Christian cultures.  Rowe (2005) describes the Mormon Church as being â€Å"Christianesque” in that it is â€Å"linked to statements and images from the Bible” (p. 42).  However, some of the teachings are not Christian in nature, such as Joseph Smith’s vision of separate beings for God the Father and Jesus Christ.\r\nBecause this teaching is so different from that held by other Christians, it is important to be prepared with gentle teachings about its error, as well as other errors held by the Mormon Church.  It is twice important because the worldview of Mormonism is compulsive in its teachings, just as is the case in many Muslim cultures (Duin, 2006, p. 2).  Because it is not possible for Mormons to examine their faith for themselves, other Christians should be able to help them do so.\r\nAccording to Coleman (1993) Jesus was able to start with a small group of disciples because â€Å"it did not matter how small the group was to start with so long as they reproduced and taught their disciples to reproduce (p. 1 02).  It was a strategy that, as stated earlier, depended on soaking up to achieve results.  One thing to share, then, would be that Christ died for everyone on the Cross, not just for a operative few.  He accepted and cared for all faiths and races (Coleman, 1993).\r\nRowe (2005) suggests trying to sum the dickens value systems into perspectives by working with the person being instructed to put the message of the Gospel into words according to each faith and then utilize that as a basis for discussion (p. 65).  Final, it would see important to understand the Mormon teaching of two Beings known as God in the Mormon Church, and how it relates to or differs from the traditional Christian teaching of monotheism.  By understanding these differences and by being able to speak in a learned and intelligent manner to another individual from a Mormon perspective.\r\nReferences\r\nColeman, R. E. (1993).  The check’s plan.  Perspectives on the humanity Chr istian grounds (3rd ed.), Ralph D. Winter and Stephen C. Hawthorne (eds.).  Pasadena, CA: William Carey.\r\nDuin, J. (2003).  The Washington Times.  New World Communications, Inc.\r\nKraft, C. H. (1998). Culture, worldview, and contextualization.\r\nRowe, D. (2005). I Love Mormons: A New Way to Share Christ with Latter-day Saints. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.\r\n'