Plan of Salvation... Lesson 2

So, last week I had my second lesson with my Mormon missionary teachers....sigh...I think I am more confused than ever...and I haven't felt like the truth has slapped me in the face.

The topic of the lesson was The Plan of Salvation. Here are some of the points they covered with me along with some of my questions...and their answers. Here we go.

• The Fall- According to Mormonism, Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit and being kicked out of Eden is something to celebrate (I think). It was God's plan for them to commit this sin...without it we would have been too innocent to have sex and make babies, experience pain so that we would know happiness, and given agency (or the right to make our own decisions.

Okay, I am not an expert on theology...but this kind of really confused me. I asked them about the whole fact that God commanded them NOT to eat it...if he wanted them to eat it, then wouldn't he have told them that they could?

They really tried to dance around this point, and I told them that a lot of what they are saying makes sense...except for the point where God wanted them to eat it...he is God...he said DON'T...to me that seems really clear. They actually couldn't answer this question and said that they often wondered the same thing.

• The Atonement of Jesus Christ- A lot of what they said here made a lot of sense, and they explained it really well. So, I actually highly encourage people to meet with the missionaries to learn more! They do know their Bible peeps.

My problem with this point was that they said that Jesus was chosen as our Savior...not that he just is...Indeed Jesus is our older spirit brother (along with Satan), and he volunteered to go to Earth for this mission...hmmm.

• Tithing- You must pay 10% of your income to get into the highest kingdom of heaven...I have major hang ups here..why does God care about money...though...we haven't fully gotten into this topic yet, so I let their explanation slide about showing our devotion to God...I get that...but a requirement for heaven...I'm not sure.

• God was once a man and we can become like God (our own planet and all) - This is probably my most major problem with Mormonism. Yes, it is true...they believe that more than one God does exist (though we only worship our God) and we can become Gods too! Exaltation is the goal. There are some passages in the Bible that could support their ideas, so you can click on the link and read more.

Here is my problem though...I told them that maybe we can become LIKE God, but we cannot become a God...we are human. They then said, but God was once also like man. I said...this is impossible in my mind. 

They then explained how caring and loving God is. He is so smart, so perfect, etc...he had to learn this from somewhere...and he learned it through his experience as a man.

My answer...God need not learn anything...he is all knowing...he is eternal...he is GOD...the end.

They had no idea what to say, so we moved on.

Finally, I left them with some questions that I wanted them to answer during our next session. They weren't sure of the answers, and I didn't want them to feel rushed or attacked...but I do have some major issues:

• The Book of Mormon: How did horses get in there and all of that other stuff when they didn't exist in America at the time it portrays?
• Why would God ever command racism? Blacks weren't allowed in the temple up until the 1970s. They tried to say that that was because it was a different time and our generations were different. Yes, I understand...but their prophets commanded it...and they speak from God...God doesn't change with human social movements. I hinted that maybe their prophets made a mistake...and that is fine because no one is perfect...they weren't ready to admit to that...so, a discussion for next time.
• Why do they encourage single mothers to give their children up for adoption to temple worthy Mormons? I explained that I thought that this does not fit with the idea that families can be together forever. They said that this mainly applies to teenagers...I told them my mom was a single, teenage parent and found this offensive....silence.

Finally, no Book of Mormon. They have asked me if I have read it, and I said no...but they didn't give me a copy...what the F people. Maybe they haven't found me worthy of their book yet.

Anyway, so when I think about all of these points...my stomach turns...and I just know that they are not the true church.

However, if I could close my eyes and ignore all of these (huge) points, I could so become a Mormon. I LOVE what they stand for folks, and I would rock Mormonism so hard...but there are just to many things that I find to be...wrong...with it all.

Maybe our next lesson will help me understand more....I hope.