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Home » The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints » Current Church Doctrine » Article of Faith 11 (What does this mean to us today?)
Article of Faith 11 [message #502] Sun, 17 June 2012 12:13 Go to next message
Seeker is currently offline  Seeker
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"Article of Faith 11"
"We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may." - Article of Faith 11


"Joseph Smith"
"Elder Pelatiah Brown, one of the wisest old heads we have among us, and whom I now see before me, has been preaching concerning the beast which was full of eyes before and behind; and for this he was hauled up for trial before the High Council.

I did not like the old man being called for erring in doctrine. It looks too much like the Methodists, and not like the Latter-day Saints. Methodists have creeds which a man must believe or be asked out of their church. I WANT THE LIBERTY OF THINKING AND BELIEVING AS I PLEASE. IT FEELS GOOD NOT TO BE TRAMMELED. IT DOES NOT PROVE THAT A MAN IS NOT A GOOD MAN BECAUSE HE ERRS IN DOCTRINE." - History of the Church, Vol. 5, p. 340


How does the church maintain this freedom of thought today?


~ Seeker
Re: Article of Faith 11 [message #2037 is a reply to message #502] Sun, 20 January 2013 21:03 Go to previous messageGo to next message
zephyr is currently offline  zephyr
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Seeker wrote on Sun, 17 June 2012 14:13
"Article of Faith 11"
"We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may." - Article of Faith 11


"Joseph Smith"
"Elder Pelatiah Brown, one of the wisest old heads we have among us, and whom I now see before me, has been preaching concerning the beast which was full of eyes before and behind; and for this he was hauled up for trial before the High Council.

I did not like the old man being called for erring in doctrine. It looks too much like the Methodists, and not like the Latter-day Saints. Methodists have creeds which a man must believe or be asked out of their church. I WANT THE LIBERTY OF THINKING AND BELIEVING AS I PLEASE. IT FEELS GOOD NOT TO BE TRAMMELED. IT DOES NOT PROVE THAT A MAN IS NOT A GOOD MAN BECAUSE HE ERRS IN DOCTRINE." - History of the Church, Vol. 5, p. 340


How does the church maintain this freedom of thought today?


I hear false (IMO) doctrine almost every week and no one is punished for it. From my exposure to leadership positions I have learned that the only time someone gets in trouble is when they have been officially corrected by a bishop or stake president and they continue to teach the false doctrine.

For example, on my mission I encountered a man who was excommunicated for insisting that Christ had a body of flesh and bone before he was born. He wouldn't stop teaching it and was then excommunicated.

On the other hand, I knew someone who rejected all the prophets after Brigham Young, and taught that to his family, but still had a temple recommend until the day of his death. So, it seems what is taught in the home is our business, but if we teach something at church it needs to conform.
Re: Article of Faith 11 [message #2101 is a reply to message #2037] Sun, 27 January 2013 22:28 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Called to Serve is currently offline  Called to Serve
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But that is exactly what Joseph Smith is condemning. He is condemning the notion that a person must believe a certain way or be kicked out of the church. How can any of us learn truth if we are required to believe specific things? True learning comes from truly questioning everything.

In the Book of Mormon, the requirement to be baptized is nothing more than a desire to repent of all your sins. Things like whether or not Jesus had a body before He was born on earth have nothing to do with whether or not a person is repentant, so why not allow a person to believe that and even teach it in church? We aren't in church to be indoctrinated but to discover truth. If we allowed people to teach alternate ideas, thoughts and discussion would flow and we'd all be a lot closer to understanding the nature of God. AND church would be way funner than it is now!
Re: Article of Faith 11 [message #2105 is a reply to message #2101] Sun, 27 January 2013 23:44 Go to previous messageGo to next message
JulesGP
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So Seeker, are we talking about the ORIGINAL 11th Article of Faith, or the new - revised one? Wink

index.php?t=getfile&id=177&private=0


~Jules
Re: Article of Faith 11 [message #2108 is a reply to message #502] Mon, 28 January 2013 09:18 Go to previous message
Called to Serve is currently offline  Called to Serve
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Registered: December 2012
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Awesome, Jules! I love the eighth article on that list.

But of course, I'm wondering. Did someone revise the Wentworth letter or did Joseph just not include the same stuff in it? Or maybe it was a work in progress? And where did these articles of faith come from?
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