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Sep. 28th, 2010 09:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lizzybennetOn Sunday, two young women came to our front door. I knew they were missionary types as soon as I saw them, but I always strive to be polite to proselyters because that's how I hope others will treat LDS missionaries.
I opened the door and listened while they introduced themselves. It turns out the premise of their message and church is the existence of a Heavenly Mother. When I told them I already hold that belief, they said, "You've found scriptural proof for that in the Bible?" As if to challenge me for agreeing with them. The stumper was that at that moment, I had no idea where the doctrinal background lies for the LDS belief in a Heavenly Mother. The only thing I could think of off the top of my head was a hymn that we sing on a regular basis:
In the heavens are parents single?
No, the thought makes reason stare.
Truth is reason: truth eternal
tells me I've a mother there.
I didn't share it with them, though. I just assured them that I shared their belief. They invited me to their church, gave me a card and went on their merry way. I wonder how much opposition they experience because of this belief? Chris and I got to talking about it last night and before I knew it he was researching all sorts of early LDS doctrine, wanting to have a deep conversation about it well past midnight (I pretty much shut down at midnight on the dot. I get grouchy about being kept awake.)
But he did pose an interesting question, in thinking about the church's stance on evolution. Many LDS scholars feel that the gist lies in the answer to this question: Was death present on the earth before the Fall of Adam?
Opinions?
I opened the door and listened while they introduced themselves. It turns out the premise of their message and church is the existence of a Heavenly Mother. When I told them I already hold that belief, they said, "You've found scriptural proof for that in the Bible?" As if to challenge me for agreeing with them. The stumper was that at that moment, I had no idea where the doctrinal background lies for the LDS belief in a Heavenly Mother. The only thing I could think of off the top of my head was a hymn that we sing on a regular basis:
In the heavens are parents single?
No, the thought makes reason stare.
Truth is reason: truth eternal
tells me I've a mother there.
I didn't share it with them, though. I just assured them that I shared their belief. They invited me to their church, gave me a card and went on their merry way. I wonder how much opposition they experience because of this belief? Chris and I got to talking about it last night and before I knew it he was researching all sorts of early LDS doctrine, wanting to have a deep conversation about it well past midnight (I pretty much shut down at midnight on the dot. I get grouchy about being kept awake.)
But he did pose an interesting question, in thinking about the church's stance on evolution. Many LDS scholars feel that the gist lies in the answer to this question: Was death present on the earth before the Fall of Adam?
Opinions?
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Date: 2010-09-29 03:15 pm (UTC)This is some really cool stuff! I love that there is a combination of science and faith and not a separation of the two, an us against them kind of thing.
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Date: 2010-09-29 03:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-29 03:27 pm (UTC)