To add to this perspective, how many people who claim to be true Christians:
1. Visit the sick.
2. Visit people in prison.
3. When they have a feast they invite the halt, lame and the blind.
Stacy.
At 05:56 AM 12/02/2002 -0900, you wrote:
After much pondering, Jon Spencer favored us with:
If someone (a) takes on the name of Christ, and (b) keeps His commandments
which he has given them, then that person IMVHO is a true Christian.
The first thing a person must do to qualify as a true Christian is to
believe in him. Then he must keep the commandment to be baptized. Unless
he does at least these two things he cannot qualify as a true Christian.
One cannot keep the commandments of Christ without an authorized baptism
because such a baptism is the first commandment that must be kept after a
person professes a belief in Christ.
They may not have as many commandments given to them as we have, but then
again
the Nephites didn't have all the commandments given to them that we have had
given to us, and neither has anyone else that I have a firm knowledge of.
This point is not relevant in my opinion. Each people has to keep the law
that they have. The Lord does not expect anyone to live a law that he
does not have. But in the case under discussion, the full law of Christ
is available to anyone to accept or reject. This has been true since the
Church was organized in 1830. One cannot reject the gospel and claim to
follow Christ. It is an oxymoron.
Of course, I haven't read a "real" definition of a "True Christian" so I
guess we may each have our own.
A true Christian is one that follows Christ in thought, word and
deed. And that means accepting the gospel from our missionaries. Those
who claim to accept Christ and refuse his only baptism are either
dishonest or confused.
But in any event, I am not going to go around telling people that they
are not "true" Christians, and I know that you are not going to do that
either. I think that we will both do our best to get as many of our Bros
and Sisters to do all their own work, and not leave it to someone else
later on to complete.
I agree that we shouldn't "go around telling people that they are not
'true' Christians. Nor did I suggest such a thing. But we need to
understand the truth even if others reject it. Besides, here on this list
I am speaking to a converted, Mormon audience. I'm not talking to some
hypothetical "people" who are not members of the Church.
John W. Redelfs [EMAIL PROTECTED]
*******************************************************************
"...by proving contraries, truth is made manifest" --Joseph
Smith, History of the Church, Volume 6, p.248
*******************************************************************
All my opinions are tentative pending further data. --JWR
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