No.
This line of thought comes from our belief that it takes a man and a woman to procreate. Procreation occurs in the higher levels of heaven, then a man and a woman must be together for it to occur. Procreation only lawfully (for our beliefs) occurs within the bounds of marriage. If a man and woman are procreating in heaven they are married prior to that point. So men and women are married if they are in those levels of heaven. This can occur in heaven as well, by our beliefs. Procreation is a major part of our belief as to the purpose of existence in this life and in the afterlife.
Originally posted by Regret
So men and women are married if they are in those levels of heaven. This can occur in heaven as well, by our beliefs. Procreation is a major part of our belief as to the purpose of existence in this life and in the afterlife.
Yeah but I always thought that the only way a Mormon woman could get to heaven was by her husband......so this isn't true then?
Originally posted by Echuu
Yeah but I always thought that the only way a Mormon woman could get to heaven was by her husband......so this isn't true then?
We believe in three degrees of glory in heaven.
Celestial Glory, Terrestrial Glory, Telestial Glory
Hell is a realm we term Outer Darkness. From our understanding only people that have a perfect knowledge of God or Christ and then deny him are able to make it here. As to our knowledge, there are only a handful of people to qualify for this over the entirety of history.
Celestial is where God is. Terrestrial is better than this mortal existence, but not as good as the worst parts of the Celestial. The Telestial has been described as better that this mortal existence, but not as good as the Terrestrial. We know that marriages are held in the Celestial, but we don't know for sure if marriages will exist outside of it. They are symbolized as such - Celestial = Sun, Terrestrial = Moon, Telestial=Stars
The Celestial is broken into three degrees as well. In the top one is where man can become like God, probably as many people get here as make it to Outer Darkness (but then again that's my opinion.) The top area of the Celestial Kingdom is the only one where marriage is prerequisite to entrance. The other two levels in the Celestial Kingdom haven't been described, at least not that I am aware of.
So the only place in heaven that requires marriage is that upper level of the Celestial. You could also say that a man can't get in there without a woman.
We do believe that men and women will want to be married in heaven. Given this most men and women will marry, either here or there.
Originally posted by Echuu
Alright. And what about the whole 'unlimited wives' thing?
I'm not sure where this idea comes from exactly. Solomon was condemned in our beliefs for going overboard with the wives.
We do believe in polygamy. We do not practice polygamy at this time. Polygamy was only practiced by a small number of Mormons when we did practice it, so the requirements surrounding it are somewhat vague. I do know that polygamous marriages were only entered into through a revelation from God allowing the marriage to occur.
It is fairly commonly believed that there will be more women than men that make it to heaven, so there may be some form of polygamy in heaven. But, given the odds of male and female birth being equal it seems to me that it would be unlikely that by virtue of anything other than an inequality in the ratio of righteous men to righteous women polygamy would occur. So even if it occurs I cannot believe that the ratio would be such as to allow a large number of wives. Given the marriage requirement for the highest level of the Celestial each man must have the opportunity as well.
Also, it is commonly believed that polygamy was condoned in an attempt to increase the population of the Church, if this were the case I am unsure if it would hold in heaven.
Originally posted by Regret
🙂 I figure this can be said of nearly everything in existence. I'd probably change it slightly though:Anyone who only takes the bible literally is missing the truth that is within it.
Yes, that is true. I am a Nichiren Buddhist and my main text is the Lotus sutra. If I were to take it literally, I would be a nut case. The stories in the Lotus sutra are superhero like, but they were not written as a history book, but rather as a way of conveying the truth about being human.
I believe the bible was written the same way. No one is supposed to take the stories literally, or they would be a nut case. 😆
Originally posted by Shakyamunison
Yes, that is true. I am a Nichiren Buddhist and my main text is the Lotus sutra. If I were to take it literally, I would be a nut case. The stories in the Lotus sutra are superhero like, but they were not written as a history book, but rather as a way of conveying the truth about being human.I believe the bible was written the same way. No one is supposed to take the stories literally, or they would be a nut case. 😆
I believe that the Bible is a layered book. I feel that the majority of it can be taken literally, the problem is when the literal reading doesn't say everything that is needed to understand it properly. I also believe that there is little if any of the Bible that does not hold some symbolism and or more subtle meaning, perhaps layers of meaning.
Mormons believe that everything eternal has a symbol in the temporal. Examples would include: my symbols shown in one of the previous posts where the visible brightness of the sun, moon and stars (when observed from the earth) are symbolic of the differences in glory held in our heaven; Parents are symbolic of God, Children of man; Everything temporal is a symbol of something eternal, and everything eternal has a temporal symbol.
Originally posted by Regret
And just what do you believe? Without reference to your beliefs, your statements are lacking in credibility. There must be some point of reference for a response to come from.
I am sorry if I can not provide reference to the passages in the Bible I speak of. But if you are a Christian, you would know that the Bible condemns homosexuality.
I don't believe in God. My belief is, if you can't see it, it ain't real. I don't know what I believe. There may be a God out there-but can we really know for sure? All we can do is have faith. 🙂
Re: For Christians, is the Bible infallible?
Originally posted by Regret
For a Christian, is the Bible correct and without error? Is the text of the Bible always correct as we know it?I have had debates with people that claim that the Bible is absolutely correct, and that its words should be taken as accurate due to the Holy Spirit aiding in maintaining accuracy over the numerous writings and translation. I believe that if inaccuracies are found in the Bible the text must be used judiciously and more errors may exist, particularly in sensitive areas of doctrine.
Here are some examples of error found in the Bible. In quotes to separate them.
Don't sweat the little stuff friend...God is bigger than this. 😎