May
29
The Rev. Al Sharpton toured Mormon facilities last Monday and dined privately with Elder M. Russell Ballard, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles — the second-highest governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Al Sharpton received some criticism a few weeks ago for his remarks about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Sharpton, is a Pentecostal minister who recently urged the firing of Don Imus after the radio host’s racially insensitive remarks. Sharpton said that his comments about the Mormon Church were taken out of context and he immediately called the Mormon Church to apologize.
“He’s simply here to learn more about us,” church spokesman Mike Otterson said of Sharpton’s visit. “We want him to know what the church does, what its work is.”
Talking to reporters after his tour, Sharpton said his visit was an effort to find “common ground†and “things we should know about each other that we did not know and areas, possibly, we can work together for the betterment of humanity.â€
I am sure that Rev. Sharpton will be more careful in the future when commenting about the Mormon Church. Now he knows better!
May
29
Um Templo da Igreja Mormon em Manaus?
May 29, 2007 | 8 Comments
Um amigo me disse que foi anunciado um novo templo da Igreja Mormon em Manaus. Porém me parece estranho que não tenha sido anunciado em Conferencia Geral. De qualquer maneira espero que os membros daquela região tenham o privilegio de ter um templo cedo, considerando as longas viagens que eles devem enfrentar para chegar até o templo mais proximo.
Eu tenho o privilegio de visitar o templo quase todas as semanas, pois moro perto de dois templos mormons mas posso lembrar quando era necessario viajar mais do que oito horas, de Londrina, Paraná, para chegar até o Templo de S. Paulo. Ainda me lembro das historias dos membros da Igreja que moravam no Nordeste ou em Manaus que tinham que viajar por varios dias para chegar até ao templo. Eles tinham e ainda têm muita fé e dedicação, e espero que um templo mais perto possa chegar logo para eles.
May
22
Il Palo di Alessandria
May 22, 2007 | 1 Comment
Il Palo di Alessandria sta per nascere. Il 10 di giugno di quest’ anno, 2007, si terrá la Sessione Generale della domenica mattina alle ore 9:30. Tale conferenza sarà presieduta dall’ Anziano Francisco J. Viñas, membro del Primo Quorum dei Settanta
Questo sará il quinto palo in Italia e suppongo – o spero – che sia il preambolo alla costruzione di un tempio mormone in Italia.
La Conferenza si terrá al Teatro Comunale di Alessandria, Viale Repubblica (di fronte alla stazione FS).
Io sono particolarmente felice che finalmente una palo della Chiesa di Gesú Cristo dei Santi degli Ultimi Giorni (Chiesa Mormone) sua creato nella regione in cui mi battezzai piú di 20 anni fa, e nella cittá in cui abitai per alcuni anni prima di andare in Brasile.
Per maggiori informazioni potete visitar il nuoo website, Palo di Alessandria
May
15
Testimonies: Glenn Beck and Marie Osmond
May 15, 2007 | Leave a Comment
We should all try to use the means available to us to spread the gospel and defend our faith. Yesterday I did something that I usually don’t do. I started watching TV at night, skipping through different channels. While I was looking for something interesting, I found Glenn Beck’s show. I was struck by what he was saying and by his tone. This is what he said right in the beginning:
Tonight’s program is deeply personal. For the first time since I’ve been doing this show, I have no idea how it’s going to play out, what’s going to happen. I do know that the show will be honest and, hopefully, include an example of integrity. Here is the point tonight…
Earlier this week Reverend Al Sharpton, who has appeared on this program many times, was involved in a debate about atheism with the author Christopher Hitchens, himself an atheist.
When Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith was introduced into the debate, Sharpton said, quote, “As for the one running—the one Mormon running for office—those that really believe in God will defeat him anyway. So don’t worry about that.
Wow! I thought, this is going to be really interesting! And it was. Glenn Beck was really sincere and straighforward as usual. At times he used a tone a little bit too aggressive for my taste, but it was according to what people are used to in those kind of shows.
I am not interested here to comment on what Al Sharpton said or intended to say about Mormons, but I want to underline something about Glenn Beck. He said, among other things:
I’m a Mormon. I’m a Christian, and I’m not a bigot and I am offended.
I know that we should not be easily offended according to the gospel and the teaching of the prophets, but in that case I think it was mostly a way to stand up for his faith. And he was bold enough and willing to take a risk in his personal career to defend his faith. He gave his testimony of what he knows by defending the Church several times. For example, in response to Al Sharpton’s comment on the status of blacks in Mormonism, he said,
And to go back and say, “Were you a part of this? Are you still a bigot?” is very offensive, especially . . . especially since most of America has no real clue as to the history of the Mormons. We’re the first religion—the only religion —to have an extermination order against us in the United States of America. Until 1978 or ‘79, it was legal, in Missouri, to kill a Mormon. It was removed after 19— the ’70s.
They (the Mormons) left—the reason why they were chased out of Missouri, one of the main reasons, is because they were abolitionists. They were fighting and standing up against slavery. And then to be called bigoted and, “Were you a part of that” is offensive.
I loved this. I think that experienced leaders in the Church would have been more gentle and persuasive instead than so straightforward, but again I liked his sincerity and committment.
However, I am sure that Glenn Beck has not been the only one to stand up for the Mormon faith with Al Sharpton. Others must have talked with Reverend Al Sharpton in the past few days because during the program he admitted,
Now, in the last 48 hours, I’ve heard a lot about Mormons that I didn’t know.
We all need to talk. There are many people that really don’t know what they are talking about when they discuss Mormonism. I am used to read the most fancy stories and interpretations about Mormon Doctrine or history.
I am sure that Reverend Al Sharpton is learning more about the Mormons in these days. And while I think that his comment was not completely innocent, I also believe that in part his wrong perceptions are due to lack of true knowledge. When I say true knowledge, I mean testimonies coming from members of the Mormon Church, as opposed to misleading information coming from people who don’t really know what they are talking about or that try to mislead on purpose.
I hate commercials on TV, so as soon as the first commercial started I changed the channel. Interestingly enough, Marie Osmond, another famous Mormon, whose brother Alan is by chance my good neighbor, was on Larry King’s show.
She was also great in defending his Church, as when she said that obviously Mormons are Christians, in fact the name of the Church is Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! Duh!
So now what? I think we should all be bold enough and share our testimonies every time we can, to help people like Al Sharpton (and other, less famous people) to understand what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints really is and what it really stands for. We need to show the light to dispel darkness.
To help you with this, we have created MormonTestimonies, a site that needs your help. Go now and write your testimony and/or make a short video. Also, share this idea with your family and friends, with your ward mission leader, your bishop, your stake president, and so on.
Here there are a few video testimonies for you to see . . . and you can do even better!
May
11
Mormon Jokes: A Mormon for President
May 11, 2007 | Leave a Comment
I heard a joke. It goes something like this: if the Americans wants a president who is an African-American, a woman, and a Mormon they should consider try Gladys Knight, the famous singer, she is all of that.
May
10
The Pope, the Limbo, and the Mormons
May 10, 2007 | Leave a Comment
As a previous member of the Catholic Church, and a Mormon now for more than half of my life, I can’t avoid being very intrigued with this announcement by the Catholic Church.
Pope Benedict XVI has reversed centuries of traditional Roman Catholic teaching on limbo, approving a Vatican report released Friday that says there were “serious” grounds to hope that children who die without being baptized can go to heaven.
Although Catholics have long believed that children who die without being baptized are with original sin and thus excluded from heaven, the Church has no formal doctrine on the matter. Theologians, however, have long taught that such children enjoy an eternal state of perfect natural happiness, a state commonly called limbo, but without being in communion with God….
(The document) stressed, however, that “these are reasons for prayerful hope, rather than grounds for sure knowledge.”
I am so glad that in the Mormon Church we know for sure that children are saved thanks to the Atonement of Jesus Christ and that they don’t need to go to hell, or to the limbo, because they have not been baptized.
The Book of Mormon clearly explains that
repentance and baptism unto those who are accountable and capable of committing sin; yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little children, and they shall all be saved with their little children.
But little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world; if not so, God is a partial God, and also a changeable God, and a respecter to persons; for how many little children have died without baptism!
Behold I say unto you, that he that supposeth that little children need baptism is in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; for he hath neither faith, hope, nor charity; wherefore, should he be cut off while in the thought, he must go down to hell.
May
7
Il Papa, il Limbo e i Mormoni
May 7, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Il Papa ha deciso di abolire il limbo. La Repubblica (online) spiega:
Nella tradizione popolare, il limbo è sempre stato il luogo dove si raccolgono le anime dei bambini morti senza battesimo. Non ci fu mai definizione magisteriale della Chiesa ma nel Catechismo di Papa Pio X è scritto chiaro che il limbo esiste “proprio per quei bambini che non meritano il paradiso ma neppure l’inferno o il purgatorio”. Era il 1904; cent’anni dopo, il suo successore Papa Ratzinger si appresta a cancellare quel luogo dove, per usar parole di Dante, “infanti e gente di molto valore eran sospesi”.
Sono proprio contento che anche la Chiesa Cattolica abbia deciso che condannare i bambini morti senza battesimo al limbo per tutta l’eternitá é un pó troppo. Il Libro di Mormon é molto chiaro a rispetto,
Ecco, io ti dico che dovete insegnare questo: il pentimento e il battesimo per coloro che sono responsabili e capaci di commettere peccato; sì, insegnate ai genitori che devono pentirsi ed essere battezzati, e umiliarsi come i loro bambini, e saranno tutti salvati con i loro bambini. (Libro di Mormon, Moroni 8:10)
Da circa duecento anni la Chiesa di Gesú Cristo dei Santi degli Ultimi Giorni (Chiesa Mormone) insegna che i bambini che muoiono senza battesimo sono salvi grazie al sacrificio espiatorio di Gesú Cristo.
Molto chiaramente il libro di Mormon insegna che
Ecco, io ti dico che chi suppone che i bambini abbiano bisogno del battesimo è nel fiele dell’amarezza e nei legami dell’iniquità ; poiché non ha né fede, né speranza, né carità ; pertanto, se dovesse essere reciso mentre pensa così, dovrà andare all’inferno. (Libro di Mormon, Moroni 8:14)
Sono parole forti, ma sembra che finalmente anche la Chiesa Cattolica abbia deciso che condannare i bambini morti senza battesimo al limbo non tiene conto sufficientemente del potere di salvezza di Gesú Cristo.
La Repubblica peró spiega che
La Chiesa vuole abolire il limbo: sembra un’indicazione oramai certa, suggerita già da Giovanni Paolo II e ribadita più volte dai teologi del Vaticano ma il Papa prende ancora tempo e rimanda l’annuncio ufficiale di altri due anni.
Insomma, non sono ancora troppo sicuri, o vogliono prima di tutto considerare le conseguenze di tale cambiamento. Infatti, perché battezzare infanti se il limbo non é piú un problema? Sono sicuro che troveranno delle spiegazioni appropriate per soddisfare tutti.
Da parte mia, sono contento che nella Chiesa di Gesú Cristo, certi principi fondamentali siano stati decisi per rivelazione una volta per tutte e non sono soggetti a dibattiti tra teologi. Rivelazione diretta da Dio a un profeta é un cammino piú sicuro che anni di dibattiti teologici.