Quote:
Originally Posted by UtahDan
I think you are wrong about this. Someone I respect a great deal has often said to me that even if none of it is true (the church) it certainly provides a wonderful framework for ones life, a community, a place where others will help you raise you children to be moral people. I can respect that fact that some conclude that the BOM is non-historical on the one hand, but that its teachings and the church built around it can help a person have a happier life on the other. I do not think that Joel Olsteen, for example, is a prophet. But I like to listen to him because I have often heard something there that made me think and helped me be better and happier. Many people view the church this way and I don't see why a belief that the BOM is fiction requires a contrary conclusion. I don't fault your point of view because I think that point of view I am describing is only a choice and not required either.
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That's the way I feel about the Church. I choose to accept that Mormon and Moroni were real people, but if someone came to me tomorrow and gave conclusive proof that they were not real people, it wouldn't change a thing for me.
I like being Mormon, and I believe it's a great way to live. I believe it makes me a much better person than I would be otherwise (which is scary), and that's what makes the Church so true to me. It also is important to me that the Church advocates searching for truth, "let it come from whence it may." (JS)
It's like the Genesis story. If someone proves to me that the Earth wasn't created in 6 days, or that God really didn't keep a dude alive in the belly of a whale for three days, I'm not going to get all bent out of shape over it. I like being Mormon, and I have had enough spiritual experiences in my life to make it unimportant whether something was written to describe literal events or written as a parable.
I'm not saying that I automatically accept scripture as a parable...nor do I automatically accept scripture as literal. I'm merely saying that the distinction is unimportant to me. I'm also not saying it should be unimportant to RockyBalboa or anyone else. It's just the way I feel personally.