Expert: Carl Fuglein - 12/10/2007

Question
QUESTION: this is more just answering some things you said. by the way, that's not fair to test me without me knowing it. i'm 14 by the way.

i don't know how to answer the first one. it's not that we will be the one God that created us all but we will be perfect like him.

since marriage and families are big things in our church, it is a requirment that you be married to enter in the highest degree of glory. you don't have to have the priesthood to go there. i'm not sure why women can't hold the priesthood but that's the way it's always been in our church.

Jesus Christ is our brother in spirit. have you ever heard the expression "only begotten of the father"? it means that Christ was the only physical son of Heavenly Father. we are his spirit children and he created us but Jesus Christ is his actual son and we are not.

can i ask what i'm being secretive about? with the temple, again, you need to be as close to perfect as you can. yes we can't be perfect but we can try our hardest and repent. the temple is the Lord's house and we feel like only those who are worthy to go there can. you can ask questions about the temple all you want but there are some things that are too sacred to be talked about so you will find out for yourself when you are prepared to go in the temple. again, the temple is a reward that says that you are doing your best. heaven is the actual goal but while we're here on earth it's good to get something too. it's also a way for you to make yourself better. if you want to go to the temple some day you need to be prepared and so you will do the right thing as best you can.

something more on secrecy, in Ether 8 verse 18 it says that secret combinations are "abominable and wicked above all, in the sight of God;" it says more in the nest few verses and i encourage you to read them so you can understand that we are not trying to be secretive at all.

have you ever been given a gift that you don't feel like you deserve and you don't know how to say thank you? do you think that there is something you could possibly do for someone that saved your life? i don't think there is, unless you saved their life. that's how it is with Jesus Christ. he saved us. he gave us a gift that we have no way possible of saying thank you. so for as a way to make up for that, we do service. that's how it works. you may ask "how does that say thanks?" well in matthew 25:40 it says, "  40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." since God can't come down here every time someone needs something we are asked to help people. if you don't give sevice then it's like taking the present and walking away without saying anything. that doesn't feel very good. (look up james 2:24 too)

i found an answer for your #18. (this one can work for the answer above this too sort of.) the scripture that you referenced is meaning that you can't do enough to get yourself into heaven. we needed help and we got it. after everything we do right we still have done wrong things. it is impossible to get to heaven by ourselves. this is saying that after we have done everythning we can we still need help. in the cross-reference james 2:24 it says that the word "do" is our works and our service and stuff. so no matter how hard we try we need help to get to heaven and we got it. it's not saying that we can earn it. it's saying the opposite. it's saying that after everything we try to do right, we still won't be worthy of what was given for us.

thanks for answering my questions and for listening to a kid go on and on about about what she thinks about her religion. thanks.



ANSWER: Hi Jaycie-

No problem about you asking questions and going on and on.  It's how you learn, and that's why I'm here - to help you learn.

Let's talk about some specifics:

Sorry about testing you.  There's no harm intended - I always ask hard questions, whether I agreee with you or not, because when you have to answer the questions, then you better understand your own position and have to back it up.

As for perfection - we're probably not all that far apart.  Only Jesus was perfect while human - we become perfect in heaven, but only because of Jesus.

At 14, you probably don't see or understand the inequality of women (and black people) in your church.  It may not mean much to you, but it does to me - I think women are equal to men, and blacks are equal to whites - and all should be able to lead.  I know you won't see any female bishops in the Mormon church, and I don't think there are many black ones, either.  I think that's wrong.  My opinion.  You're entitled to yours.

We're not that far apart on being "spirit" children of God.  That may just be semantics.  But I DON'T believe that Satan, in any shape or form, was or is Jesus' brother.

You, Jaycie, are not being secretive, but your church is.  Only selected members get to go to the temple, right?  You said, "only those who are worthy to go there can."  What gives US (i.e., humankind) the right to determine who is worthy of God's love and who isn't?  We can't make that decision, only God can.  So whenever you have humans making decisions about who is worthy, who can and cannot go to the temple, who can and cannot know what's in the temple, is being secretive in my mind, and it's just wrong in my mind.  The temple ceremony is not shared by your church, although ex-members have shared it with others (thank the Internet for that).  I have read the entire temple ceremony, and I know what goes on in the temple.  But whenever I ask a Mormon about it, they always use the answer that it's "too sacred".  If God's love is that important, why won't they share it?

If you look at your Bible and study the Jewish customs, only the High Priest was able to go in the "holy of holies", that holiest most sacred part of the Jewish temple.  That part of the temple was covered by a veil.  When Jesus died on the cross, there was an earthquake, and the temple veil ripped from top to bottom (see below).  We in the Christian church believe that the ripping of the veil is both physical and literal - we believe it physically happened, and it literally means that Jesus has opened up the temple, visiting God in the holiest of holies, by dying for our sins.  There is no more secrecy, God is available to all.

(Mat 27:50 NLT)  Then Jesus shouted out again, and he gave up his spirit.

(Mat 27:51 NLT)  At that moment the curtain in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart,

(Mat 27:52 NLT)  and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead

(Mat 27:53 NLT)  after Jesus' resurrection. They left the cemetery, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.


The Book of Mormon indeed says that secrets are wrong, but if a non-Mormon were to ask what goes on in the Temple, a Mormon leader will not answer them.  That, to me, is contradictory.  There is nothing that goes on in a Christian church that is a secret ceremony.  If you decide to marry someone who is not Mormon, but decides to convert to Mormonism and wants to marry you in the temple, did you know that his parents and his family will not be permitted to go to the ceremony?  You can't tell me that the marriage of a man and a woman is so sacred that it should not be supported and witnessed by their own family members.

I actually don't think we disagree that much on the service part.  You are very right, we do not deserve God's grace.  And because of God's grace, we get to go to heaven and we SHOULD provide service to others in his name.  The big difference between your religion and mine is simple - you religion puts much more emphasis on the service - a 2 year missionary servive is "required" for young men - not so in my church, nor is it even expected.  Young people, indeed, all of us are encouraged to provide service, but we don't "have to" before we're considered "worthy" enough to go to the temple.  And that's a big sticking point for me.  I have the free will to perform whatever and whenever I want - God's going to love me whether I do or not, and He's not going to love me less if I just sit on my butt.

hugs,
carl



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: i totally agree with you on the perfection thing.

on the leadership thing, women can't lead because they don't have the priesthood. i think that women can't have the priesthood because Jesus and his deciples had it and they were all men so we still kind of believe that only men should have the prieshood. women can lead in the women's orgaizations and they can hold callings in the Church. there are black bishops in the world. the black men didn't get the priesthood until the late 70's because the world wasn't ready for that. there was still the feelings of segregation and the civil rights movement so that had to wait until that all died down some so those people would be safe.

the one who makes the decision if you can go to the temple is yourself. if you know you did something wrong it's up to you to make it right. you can always lie in your interview. no one but you and God will know if you are being honest. there's no one watching you to see if you can go to the temple. it's all based on how you feel. the temple ceremony is something that you get to hear and see when you are ready. again, if you feel you are worthy you can go there anytime. there are somethings that people don't know how to explain so they say it's too sacred. God's love is very important and i feel that it's very hard to describe. we have something called "gospel chocolate". you can't describe fully what chocolate tastes like. you have to have a little bit yourself for you to know. that's how the temple is for us.

there is a room where only the prophet can go in the temple. somethings are not meant for everyone to hear and see. as you become better and more righteous you can go more places. as i said before, it's a motivation to be better. if you want to know what it's like, you have to do your best.

the leaders will answer them but it won't be what they want to hear. they will most likely be told that it's "too sacred". we are not allowed to say certain things to certain people. like when the Book of Mormon was being translated, only 16 total people were able to see them. when people found out about them they tried to kill Joseph Smith many times when he was trying to get the plates. when Martin Harris told his wife about the book she wanted proof. that's when he lost the 116 pages(the book of Lehi). when things are talked about bad things can happen to if we are being secretive it's for the Chruch to be kept safe and for all the records to be safe.

it is not required for men to serve a mission. they are asked to but it is not required. my dad and one of my brothers haven't served missions. many of my cousins haven't either and most of them are members of the Church. you don't have to serve to go to the temple either. you will still be loved.

Answer
My comment about the black bishops is that I believe the church changed their position only because of pressure from civil rights.  I know you weren't around when that happened, but I was.  The scriptures were changed.  Not a good thing, in my opinion - either they're right or not, this was not really an interpretation.

I guess we're just going to have to agree to disagree on the temple and the secrecy thing - I think it's wrong, you think you just have to be better.  I think God loves you just as you are, and you shouldn't have to try any harder than you already do.

Keep an open mind Jaycie, and keep asking those questions.

hugs,
carl