Quote:
Originally Posted by ErikJohnson
You can come up with a million what-if scenarios and ask me whether such a person is really a believer in the God of the Bible. I don't think it's worth time to play that game. We can judge bad fruit, of course, including theology that openly contradicts Scripture. But ultimately only God can discern the human heart.
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I could not agree more.
Yet, I still believe there are many individuals out in the Christian world who still have a hard time believing that Christ's original intent was to have one church, united under one doctrine. Paul made it extremely clear that there was room for only one doctrine in the early church. If it was the case then, why is that not the case now? That would bring us to the question that Joseph Smith had: Which church is true?
Regarding your comment about "theology that openly contradicts scripture," this argument has been batted around for centuries between many, many denominations. So, if this is your argument against the LDS theology, are you willing to consider other "denominations" heretical as well (you seem to imply that LDS doctrine is heretical)? At what point does a theology become heretical? Who draws that line? (The obvious answer is God) However, who on this earth can draw that line? If there is such a person, how and why do they have the authority to declare one doctrine or another heresy?
As I agreed with you earlier, I believe only God can judge a man's heart. I do not declare other churches heretical. Just the opposite. I understand that many other churches are full of honest people who are doing their best to live a Christ-centered life. This does not conflict with my belief that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Days is the true Church of Christ, as originally established by Christ himself.
Respectfully,
JMS