A respone to this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MFmC6BD1B4&t=258s
Me: The bible doesn't say slavery is okay. Instead, God was saying it was appropriate for a time. Then, God spoke to Abraham Lincoln to end it as well.
Opponent: But, that's an interpretation fallacy. The evidence doesn't speak for itself, but instead you are basing your argument ont he axiom that God exists.
Me: if there is not axiom, then there is no motivation. You have an axiom too. Nihilism allows evidence to speak for itself, but that may be because our minds simply aren't capable of understanding the meaning of the universe yet. Since I acknowledge my limited faculties, and a hope that makes life better, I allow God to be my axiom.
Me; By the way, your searching for a more humanistic society is axiomatic as well in its belief in human intuition and betterment for society. Both of us need an axiom, but every person has the right to posit apriori opinions, as long as they are not irrefutably dogmatic.
Opponent: Then, how much evidence do you need to change your opinion? How uncontroversial must it be? What about Hume's mandit that the evidence for a miracle must be so overwhelming tha tit would be unjust to deny the claim to the miracle. Miraculous claims require miraculous proof.
Me: To answer you first part question: There is a power in allowing things to speak for themselves, but that kind of overarching interpretation, especially considering the bible, is not an easy feat. Thus, scripture is more of a heuristic from God than it is a prescription for life. All parts of the bible must be taken within the context of the whole.
Me: secondly, I do not see the problem with believing in miracles so long as I can objectively analyze the pragmatic hope that can be derived from it.
Opponent: and how do you objectively determine the best hope? Intuition?
Me; Perhaps it's not different than the humanistic intuition that pushes you to believe in humanity and establishing appropriate laws.
Opponent: case settled, though I do not see room for the authoritarian position of the prophet in Christ's church. Who can refute his authority?
Me: I see a high level of democratic-like conduct amidst the twelve apostles and the volunteer and calling-based theocratic system of the church, so perhaps this is too abstract a question. Just because there is a possibility of tyranny doesn't mean we should remove all power. That is what the French discovered in the French Revolution: that some contract must be made, some freedoms surrendered, in order to create a more perfect union. The effectiveness of the twelve and presidency is admirable, in that it involves heavy discourse, careful collaborative decision making, and a final plea to God (or, to your intuition) for his guidance. Interpret it as you will, but we are seeking the same thing.
Opponent: But what about all the false things the prophets said in the past? There are false prophesy and false doctrine, and the latter is inexcusable for a "prophet."
Me: No prophet is perfect, not even Moses. Christ himself addressed humans through language, and not through telepathy. I believe God speaks through scripture, which is a type of telepathy that could be hindered by literal interpretation that blinds my heart and head from connecting. God guides his church through the subtleties of the individuals who humbly seek him, regardless of the evil ideas or actions of a prophet. Jonah is an example of this. Prophets are, more than anything, messengers and symbols of hope that perform the work of God, but they are allowed to mess up.
Opponent: What about direct revelation? That can't be refuted, can it?
Me: Every man is responsible for his own soul.
An LDS Guide to World Religions
A blog that seeks understanding in Politics, Academia, and Religion in an ethical dialogue with the LDS faith. My major is Psychology, and I plan on studying with Jordan Peterson at Toronto University starting in August 2020. This is my attempt to understand current political and academic norms, as well their direct application to the life of the individual.
World Religions
Topics
Buddhism
(4)
Hinduism
(4)
discipline
(4)
A Guide to World Religions
(3)
Islam
(3)
Philosophy
(3)
Taoism
(3)
Doctrine and Covenants
(2)
General Conference and Church Leaders
(2)
Muslim
(2)
Socrates
(2)
fast
(2)
Bible
(1)
Book of Mormon
(1)
Commandments
(1)
Obedience
(1)
Polygamy
(1)
Scriptures About World Religions
(1)
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Saturday, November 18, 2017
Hymns and Yoga
D&C 25
"12 For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous i a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.
Have you ever been to a Hare Krishna yoga session? There are available in Utah both in South Salt Lake and in Spanish Fork -- it just takes a quick Google search to find the schedule. On my own visit, I noticed a reverence to Yoga that's different from the "work out, lose weight" attitude of modern forms of Yoga. And at the end of my first session, when I was only seventeen, I partly supressed a laugh of surprise when we did the "OMMM" as a classroom, and the teacher gave us a short lesson on how certain vibrations connect us to the divine universe.
"The syllable OM--symbol of Brahman, or God--is, to the HIndu, divine; and in their rituals it is uttered with a solemn resonance, indefinitely prolonged" (Prabhavananda, 2017, Preface to "The Upanishads: Breath of The Eternal").
"12 For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous i a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.
Have you ever been to a Hare Krishna yoga session? There are available in Utah both in South Salt Lake and in Spanish Fork -- it just takes a quick Google search to find the schedule. On my own visit, I noticed a reverence to Yoga that's different from the "work out, lose weight" attitude of modern forms of Yoga. And at the end of my first session, when I was only seventeen, I partly supressed a laugh of surprise when we did the "OMMM" as a classroom, and the teacher gave us a short lesson on how certain vibrations connect us to the divine universe.
"The syllable OM--symbol of Brahman, or God--is, to the HIndu, divine; and in their rituals it is uttered with a solemn resonance, indefinitely prolonged" (Prabhavananda, 2017, Preface to "The Upanishads: Breath of The Eternal").
Friday, November 17, 2017
D&C 88
This is a message from God to world religions. It is attitude Mormons should have towards other faiths: that the "true light that is in you" is Christ's light, and even if that manifests in different theologies and practices, it is still a part of the work of salvation (see Alma 24: 27).
The servants of the man are different world religions and their leaders/forerunners.
49 ...the day shall come when you shall bcomprehend even God, being quickened in him and by him.
50 Then shall ye know that ye have aseen me, that I am, and that I am the true blight that is in you, and that you are in me; otherwise ye could not abound.
51 Behold, I will liken these kingdoms unto a man having a field, and he sent forth his servants into the field to dig in the field.
52 And he said unto the first: Go ye and labor in the field, and in the first hour I will come unto you, and ye shall behold the joy of my countenance.
53 And he said unto the second: Go ye also into the field, and in the second hour I will visit you with the joy of my countenance.
54 And also unto the third, saying: I will visit you;
55 And unto the fourth, and so on unto the twelfth.
56 And the lord of the field went unto the first in the first hour, and tarried with him all that hour, and he was made glad with the light of the countenance of his lord.
57 And then he withdrew from the first that he might visit the second also, and the third, and the fourth, and so on unto the twelfth.
58 And thus they all received the light of the countenance of their lord, every man in his hour, and in his time, and in his season—
59 Beginning at the first, and so on unto the alast, and from the last unto the first, and from the first unto the last;
60 Every man in his own aorder, until his hour was finished, even according as his lord had commanded him, that his lord might be glorified in him, and he in his lord, that they all might be glorified.
The servants of the man are different world religions and their leaders/forerunners.
49 ...the day shall come when you shall bcomprehend even God, being quickened in him and by him.
50 Then shall ye know that ye have aseen me, that I am, and that I am the true blight that is in you, and that you are in me; otherwise ye could not abound.
51 Behold, I will liken these kingdoms unto a man having a field, and he sent forth his servants into the field to dig in the field.
52 And he said unto the first: Go ye and labor in the field, and in the first hour I will come unto you, and ye shall behold the joy of my countenance.
53 And he said unto the second: Go ye also into the field, and in the second hour I will visit you with the joy of my countenance.
54 And also unto the third, saying: I will visit you;
55 And unto the fourth, and so on unto the twelfth.
56 And the lord of the field went unto the first in the first hour, and tarried with him all that hour, and he was made glad with the light of the countenance of his lord.
57 And then he withdrew from the first that he might visit the second also, and the third, and the fourth, and so on unto the twelfth.
58 And thus they all received the light of the countenance of their lord, every man in his hour, and in his time, and in his season—
59 Beginning at the first, and so on unto the alast, and from the last unto the first, and from the first unto the last;
60 Every man in his own aorder, until his hour was finished, even according as his lord had commanded him, that his lord might be glorified in him, and he in his lord, that they all might be glorified.
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Can I glorify God through snowboarding?
Click Here or copy and past the following link to see a great video by the Bible Project defining the word "Nephesh" which is often translated into english as "soul". https://youtu.be/g_igCcWAMAM
The first great commandment is to love God with all of our heart, might, mind, and living being, meaning all my actions are meant to glorify my God.
So, can I glorify God snowboarding? I think so, but it has to be done in a certain manner. There is a Buddhist saying that says "Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water." In the same light, I think Christ is not saying "change all your actions", but rather "change the nature of all your actions." By choosing to do things mindfully, prayerfully, always in remembrance of Christ, we keep this commandment. What we do sometimes matters less than how we do it; as in those situations are often day-to-day needs, wants, and tasks.
Do you agree, disagree? Please comment below!
Labels:
Bible,
Buddhism,
Commandments
Saturday, September 17, 2016
A Letter to My Vegan Sister and Carnivorous Family
Hey Family :)
Sadie recently asked me about my opinion on 1 Timothy 4: 1-4, and all those scriptures that have been floating around and building in my mind these last few months were anxious to finally get written down! In other words, my answer was a bit too long for text, so the following is what I emailed to her.
This is my opinion, but its as close to the truth as I've gotten so far.
How do I understand 1 Timothy 4: 1-4? This is obviously an indirect way of asking "how do you justify being vegetarian with the scriptures" and the deeper question "what does God actually want us to do?" I'll try to answer both in this article.
This scripture is a prophecy of the latter days, and is a warning for the saints in the last days. Its definitely helped open my mind about extreme diets, and other modern modern people "speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron" which is definitely how I felt when I first became Vegan. Still, I prefer being an non-extreme vegan, in that I see nothing wrong with drinking milk and eating eggs. In fact, I see nothing wrong with eating meat! Why? Because I believe God made it that way. But I'm still a vegetarian, why?
"Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:"
And let us also consider D&C 89: 13-15, "and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth; And these hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger.
In order to understand this seeming contradiction, lets relate it to a concept that most Mormons seem to accept more easily: the Word of Wisdom acknowledging the negative effects of alcohol and making it a commandment to no longer drink it. Fermented juice had been used as a clean source of water and a necessary part of living since the early days of human existence (See Youtube Crash Course on Human Migration). But today its unnecessary for us to drink it, unless you were in an area in the world with no resources for clean water except through alcohol. So now a days, "conspiring men" use its effects to create addictions, when really we don't need to use it at all anymore--society has progressed both temporally and spiritually.
The purpose of the word of wisdom is not to create a law that we cannot keep (See vs. 1-4 of D&C 89, and also A Students Study Guide to Doctrine and Covenants: The Word of Wisdom), but later became a commandment as the saints adjusted to the change and were able to more fully keep the law according to their faith. Thus, by a collective progression of Mormon society, the Word of Wisdom became a commandment during the era of Brigham Young. The word of Wisdom prepares the Saints to live a higher law.
Another example of progressive commandments is the law of consecration: we don't keep it now, but we will as soon as its possible. I'm willing to, you're willing too, but the majority of people aren't. So is it a sin to not live the law of consecration? No, but we have to be prepared to live it in our hearts.
Both of these concepts of surplus and spiritual maturity, or societal progression, apply to modern day meat. We once needed it, but the more we live in a surplus of food, the more opportunity we have to not have to take other animal lives. I'm not going to go into the scriptures of the sanctity of animal life, that would be missing the point anyway. I'm not trying to convince you of something with scriptures like a law book; the purpose of scriptures is not to create a dogmatic law, but to open our minds to the will of God and to prepare us for His coming. Scriptures are like an alarm clock for the world, waking us up from a carnal sleep and giving us spiritual insight. That is the beauty of making the bible available to the public in the Enlightenment Era, inspiring people like Martin Luther and other Protestant churches that paved the way for the Restoration of the gospel. In that light, even Buddhist and other world religion scriptures have fulfilled a similar purpose of awaking people in ignorance toward thinking about spiritual things.
When supposed contradictions arise in scripture, the goal is to find out what God intended by giving the scripture in the first place: To help us become aware of 1. The nature of the world around me and how I'm supposed to live in it and 2. The nature of heaven and how I should prepare to live in it. In other words, scriptures show us how things are and how things are supposed to be, how to live presently and how to prepare to meet God.
The prophecy of 1 Timothy 4 teaches us how things are and how I should react to it. When someone offers me meat and I am living in my parents house with little money, of course I accept what they give me with a thankful heart. However, D&C 89: 13-15 is still true, so in my heart I'm willing to give up meat. Though I don't see the consumption of it as wrong, the cruelty of the meat-packing industry is still real and needs to be improved. While the most ethical way of improving that system is another topic, I will say that if I had the capacity, I would not buy meat, and I would sparingly buy eggs and milk. Why?
2 Nephi 30: 12 - 13 "And then shall the wolf dwell with the lamb; and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling, together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox." This scripture makes it appear that the celestial kingdom will be a vegetarian one, and one without violence or fear. But, since "its better that one cow perish than an entire nation dwindle in hunger" (see 1 Nephi 4:13, words obviously changed to apply the concept of obedience to the spirit here) I would say that its also better that "one meal of meat be eaten in gratitude than a family dwindle in a divide of misinterpretation of scripture."
And while we should stand for truth without fear, there is a difference between standing for "a law" and being wiling to suffer the will of God. Only for the second should we be willing to separate from our family. While being vegetarian may be the will of God, I hope I've shown that it's also the will of God that we progress towards that in moderation. Being vegetarian is not the goal, but helping society become the kingdom of God is the goal, and that is done by individually understanding and living the law within our present circumstances. I will emphasize this final point with this last scripture:
JST Romans 7: 6-19 "But now we are delivered from the law wherein we were held, being dead to the law, that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not Covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.... For we know that the commandment is spiritual, but when I was under the law, I was yet carnal, sold under sin. But now I am spiritual; for that which I am commanded to do, I do; and that which I am commanded not to allow, I allow not.
"For I know what is not right, I would not do; for that which is sin, I hate.
"If then I do not that which I would not allow, I consent unto the law, that it is good; and I am not condemned. Now then, it is no more I that do sin; but I seek to subdue that sin which dwelleth in me.
For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me, but to perform that which is good I find not, only in Christ.
These words of Paul to the Romans are interesting, because in my World History class my professor showed us how much our mindset today in modern America is because of the Romans, and how much we relate to them. They too, surely, had a hard time between the spirit of the law vs. the letter of the law, but I feel that Paul in this verse has confirmed my points: That scripture awakes us from our carnal nature and sin, but the law is not the letter, the law is the Holy Ghost, and obedience is not just "the way I feel", but is overcoming the carnal man and living in this world with a heart consecrated to God, and preparing to meet God by developing Christlike attributes and cleansing my heart from sin. And that spiritual law, and our overall happiness within society, depends on the collective progression of society. (As demonstrated in 3 Nephi and 4 Nephi, and the rise and fall of the Nephite and Lamanite society throughout the Book of Mormon.)
Does that make sense?
And I'd like to give thanks to Buddha and Gandhi, whose perspectives have helped me find these scriptures and to take a new approach to understanding and living scriptures.
Sincerely,
Lucas
Sadie recently asked me about my opinion on 1 Timothy 4: 1-4, and all those scriptures that have been floating around and building in my mind these last few months were anxious to finally get written down! In other words, my answer was a bit too long for text, so the following is what I emailed to her.
This is my opinion, but its as close to the truth as I've gotten so far.
How do I understand 1 Timothy 4: 1-4? This is obviously an indirect way of asking "how do you justify being vegetarian with the scriptures" and the deeper question "what does God actually want us to do?" I'll try to answer both in this article.
This scripture is a prophecy of the latter days, and is a warning for the saints in the last days. Its definitely helped open my mind about extreme diets, and other modern modern people "speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron" which is definitely how I felt when I first became Vegan. Still, I prefer being an non-extreme vegan, in that I see nothing wrong with drinking milk and eating eggs. In fact, I see nothing wrong with eating meat! Why? Because I believe God made it that way. But I'm still a vegetarian, why?
"Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:"
And let us also consider D&C 89: 13-15, "and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth; And these hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger.
In order to understand this seeming contradiction, lets relate it to a concept that most Mormons seem to accept more easily: the Word of Wisdom acknowledging the negative effects of alcohol and making it a commandment to no longer drink it. Fermented juice had been used as a clean source of water and a necessary part of living since the early days of human existence (See Youtube Crash Course on Human Migration). But today its unnecessary for us to drink it, unless you were in an area in the world with no resources for clean water except through alcohol. So now a days, "conspiring men" use its effects to create addictions, when really we don't need to use it at all anymore--society has progressed both temporally and spiritually.
The purpose of the word of wisdom is not to create a law that we cannot keep (See vs. 1-4 of D&C 89, and also A Students Study Guide to Doctrine and Covenants: The Word of Wisdom), but later became a commandment as the saints adjusted to the change and were able to more fully keep the law according to their faith. Thus, by a collective progression of Mormon society, the Word of Wisdom became a commandment during the era of Brigham Young. The word of Wisdom prepares the Saints to live a higher law.
Another example of progressive commandments is the law of consecration: we don't keep it now, but we will as soon as its possible. I'm willing to, you're willing too, but the majority of people aren't. So is it a sin to not live the law of consecration? No, but we have to be prepared to live it in our hearts.
Both of these concepts of surplus and spiritual maturity, or societal progression, apply to modern day meat. We once needed it, but the more we live in a surplus of food, the more opportunity we have to not have to take other animal lives. I'm not going to go into the scriptures of the sanctity of animal life, that would be missing the point anyway. I'm not trying to convince you of something with scriptures like a law book; the purpose of scriptures is not to create a dogmatic law, but to open our minds to the will of God and to prepare us for His coming. Scriptures are like an alarm clock for the world, waking us up from a carnal sleep and giving us spiritual insight. That is the beauty of making the bible available to the public in the Enlightenment Era, inspiring people like Martin Luther and other Protestant churches that paved the way for the Restoration of the gospel. In that light, even Buddhist and other world religion scriptures have fulfilled a similar purpose of awaking people in ignorance toward thinking about spiritual things.
When supposed contradictions arise in scripture, the goal is to find out what God intended by giving the scripture in the first place: To help us become aware of 1. The nature of the world around me and how I'm supposed to live in it and 2. The nature of heaven and how I should prepare to live in it. In other words, scriptures show us how things are and how things are supposed to be, how to live presently and how to prepare to meet God.
The prophecy of 1 Timothy 4 teaches us how things are and how I should react to it. When someone offers me meat and I am living in my parents house with little money, of course I accept what they give me with a thankful heart. However, D&C 89: 13-15 is still true, so in my heart I'm willing to give up meat. Though I don't see the consumption of it as wrong, the cruelty of the meat-packing industry is still real and needs to be improved. While the most ethical way of improving that system is another topic, I will say that if I had the capacity, I would not buy meat, and I would sparingly buy eggs and milk. Why?
2 Nephi 30: 12 - 13 "And then shall the wolf dwell with the lamb; and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling, together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox." This scripture makes it appear that the celestial kingdom will be a vegetarian one, and one without violence or fear. But, since "its better that one cow perish than an entire nation dwindle in hunger" (see 1 Nephi 4:13, words obviously changed to apply the concept of obedience to the spirit here) I would say that its also better that "one meal of meat be eaten in gratitude than a family dwindle in a divide of misinterpretation of scripture."
And while we should stand for truth without fear, there is a difference between standing for "a law" and being wiling to suffer the will of God. Only for the second should we be willing to separate from our family. While being vegetarian may be the will of God, I hope I've shown that it's also the will of God that we progress towards that in moderation. Being vegetarian is not the goal, but helping society become the kingdom of God is the goal, and that is done by individually understanding and living the law within our present circumstances. I will emphasize this final point with this last scripture:
JST Romans 7: 6-19 "But now we are delivered from the law wherein we were held, being dead to the law, that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not Covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.... For we know that the commandment is spiritual, but when I was under the law, I was yet carnal, sold under sin. But now I am spiritual; for that which I am commanded to do, I do; and that which I am commanded not to allow, I allow not.
"For I know what is not right, I would not do; for that which is sin, I hate.
"If then I do not that which I would not allow, I consent unto the law, that it is good; and I am not condemned. Now then, it is no more I that do sin; but I seek to subdue that sin which dwelleth in me.
For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me, but to perform that which is good I find not, only in Christ.
These words of Paul to the Romans are interesting, because in my World History class my professor showed us how much our mindset today in modern America is because of the Romans, and how much we relate to them. They too, surely, had a hard time between the spirit of the law vs. the letter of the law, but I feel that Paul in this verse has confirmed my points: That scripture awakes us from our carnal nature and sin, but the law is not the letter, the law is the Holy Ghost, and obedience is not just "the way I feel", but is overcoming the carnal man and living in this world with a heart consecrated to God, and preparing to meet God by developing Christlike attributes and cleansing my heart from sin. And that spiritual law, and our overall happiness within society, depends on the collective progression of society. (As demonstrated in 3 Nephi and 4 Nephi, and the rise and fall of the Nephite and Lamanite society throughout the Book of Mormon.)
Does that make sense?
And I'd like to give thanks to Buddha and Gandhi, whose perspectives have helped me find these scriptures and to take a new approach to understanding and living scriptures.
Sincerely,
Lucas
Islam Sharia Law and Missionary Rules
The Islamic Republic of Iran is not merely a dictatorship or that its merely repressive. If it is, then so is the mission. Int he mission, the mission president has authority to create rules as he pleases and feels according to his understanding of the scriptures and according to the spirit dictates, which can sometimes be by his “feelings”, or sometimes inspiritation. Either way, we follow him and support him. Thus, though we sometimes feel oppressed, we also support him as our religious leader and line of revelation for guidance from God, and any disobedience is harshly dealt with either by ejection from the mission or some other form of structural punishment. Of course, the punishment of disobedience in Islam is often death, but to them that is the way it should be (they still live a type of the law of Moses.) Are we repressed? No, because we choose our repression as the will of God. Is it a dictatorship? No, because it is the will of God and we support His callings.
Is this good or bad? Its only bad when we don’t live close to the spirit. The condition o fthe state of Islam and the state of a mission are directly correlated to a correct understanding of scripture and application of such. The success of an LDS mission by its president or Islam is by its Shia Clergy is based on its enlightnement through the scriptures that comes from a broken heart and a contrite spirit: thus the scriptures become refuge, and as we keep that attitude, we will see things as they truly are and as they truly should be.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
the Qur'an and the Book of Mormon
Here is an amazing connection. Though I cannot agree with the entire Qur'an (for example, ) The similarities of muslim and mormon scriptures on religious tolerance would make Gandhi smile.
Alma 29: 4, 5, & 8 (order changed)
For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true.
I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.
Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience.
2 Nephi 29: For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written.
12 For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shallwrite it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it.
Now compare it to some verses from the Qur'an, (excerpt from http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/prophhs.html, pg. 1):
Qur'an 35:24
Verily We have sent thee (Muhammad) in truth as a bearer of glad tidings and as a warner:
And there never was a people without a warner having lived among them (in the past).
Qur'an 16:36
For We assuredly sent amongst every People an apostle (with the Command) "Serve Allah and eshew Evil":
Of the people were some whom Allah guided and some on whom Error became inevitably (established).
So travel through the earth and see what was the end of those who denied (the Truth).
These verses of the Holy Qur’an testify that Allah (the One True God) has sent prophets to every people.Qur'an 4:164
And Messengers (Prophets who received revealed books) We have mentioned unto thee (Muhammad) before
And Messengers We have not mentioned unto thee;
And Allah spake directly unto Moses.
Though not all prophets are like Moses or Muhammad, enlightened men have been found among people of all ages and peoples. Surely among these are Buddha, Plato, Mahavira, Zoroaster, Guru Nanak, and Bahá'u'lláh.
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