| Tessellation |
09-28-2002 09:27 PM |
The Mormon Faith:
bear in mind that every form of organized religion is crap, but:
The Articles of Faith were written by founder Joseph Smith as a brief description of the Mormon faith. Many LDS beliefs are similar to those of Evangelical Christianity. These ******* the truthfulness of the Bible as it was originally recorded by the books' authors, atonement, resurrection, tithing, the widespread influence of angels and of Satan and his demons. They oppose both equal rights for homosexuals and women's access to abortion (except in rare circumstances, like rape or a life-threatening pregnancy). On other points, the Church differs significantly from the beliefs of most conservative Christian denominations.
Racism: The Church originally taught that persons with any black ancestry could not be ordained into the priesthood. This was because blacks were believed to have been cursed by God with the "Mark of Ham," and were to be perpetual slaves. This was a very common belief shared by both Mormons and many other Christians in the 19th century. It was derived from a biblical passage: Genesis 9:20-27. A second revelation from God in 1978-JUN terminated this limitation. Male Afro-Americans are now regarded as full members of the LDS and are eligible for consideration for ordination.
Sexism: The LDS Church, along with many other conservative Christian faith groups, remains sexist: all women of all races remain excluded from the priesthood.
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