Can it be possible that the Lord allows us to believe things that aren’t necessarily true in order to fulfill His purposes? Does He allow us to believe things according to the mission we are to fulfill? It is not that He is lying to us, He is just not allowing us to remember the fullness or the complete truth, other wise we would be unable to fulfill the work that we need to do at that time. Just like everyone did not accept the fullness of the gospel before we came here, they won’t accept it here. Is it possible that the Lord wants all of His children to be reached and given hope at the level they are willing to accept? Remember that we still have scriptures (revelations) that have been kept from us because of unbelief. Would we be able to handle what more the Lord has to tell us or would we not? Just like Ghandi never could have accomplished all he did being a Mormon, neither could Mother Teresa. I believe they were sent to reach a part of the Lord’s children that Mormons would never have been able to get to. Is God Mormon? He is just God. People need religion to be organized and reminded about their covenants and what they should be focused on. God doesn’t need reminders like we do, it all comes naturally to Him.

I have learned that the Lord may allow us to be placed in a situation that keeps us from the truth in order to help others or to come to understand others and have compassion on them. I am a seeker and I ask a lot of questions. Because of this I have come to understand that there is a lot more involved in the purposes of the Lord than we could ever understand. I have found out things I never would have thought or even considered.

We just assume that the answers Mother Teresa received mean what we understand them to mean and cannot have a different meaning. Answers I have received and assumed I have understood where explained to me in a different way and new understanding came. This only happened through the Spirit opening my mind. When it comes to the Lord everything is according to His timing. His timing for Mother Teresa to learn of the true nature of marriage, the true nature of children and their innocence, etc. was after this life. Maybe part of the reason she was so determined and able to stay where she did and do what she was able to do was because of her false belief that children were sinners. If she assumed they were innocent is it possible she would have lost the will or capacity to stay her course? We cannot know for sure, but one thing I do know is the Lord is much more liberal than we tend to believe. He is not as uptight as we tend to think and I truly believe one of the reason He does not give the full truth to others is because they might more fully condemn themselves by rejecting it and/or they have a mission to complete and would not be able to do so having all the truth given to them assuming they would accept it.

Your post implies big things. If we *really* cannot understand what God is like, then you’re 1) saying Jesus was wrong (John 17:3), 2) saying that Joseph Smith was wrong (Lectures on Faith–in order to have faith in God, we must have a correct understanding of his character), and 3) by extension, that Mormon theology is deluded in thinking that it *can* understand God.

Delusion, to me, is hardly beautiful.

We’re using two-dimensional metaphors to describe a four-dimensional being. God created Mormonism, it doesn’t mean He’s Mormon.

“Religion is just our way of repeating patterns from a higher fractal level.” – Daniel Gildenlow

Alma 29:8 clearly states that the Lord gives varying degrees of “light and knowledge” to mankind. I would suppose the reason this is done is based on pre-mortal progress. I think there are other things besides just the issue of pre-mortal worthiness (Alma 13) that accounts for this. We know that the Savior is the first-born, so we can deduce that “age” and experience are part of the equation.

If Mormonism is the one true way not everyone is willing to recieve it. That’s the beauty of LDS theology is that it shows the mercy of God and the love of God in that he’ll answer and bless us to the extent we are willing to be blessed.

I wrote a post a few months ago titled “Is God Denominational?” that discusses a lot of my views on how people from many faiths and cultures can be blessed. You can view it below:

http://graceforgrace.com/2008/07/07/is-god-denominational/

…to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have. Alma 29:8.

And of course, we know that they then will be judged, according to that which they have received.

or they were onto a lot of things.

1 – “Is God a Mormon?”

No, neither the Father, Son nor Holy Ghost is Mormon – or even Christian.

2 – “Are we uncomfortable or have doubts about miracles and spiritual encounters that don’t occur in the Mormon way?”

I don’t think there is a “Mormon way”, but even if there were, “No, I’m not.” However, I know too many members who are.

3 – “Are they really from God if they conflict with LDS doctrine, such as in the case of Mother Teresa’s visions of Christ and the Virgin Mary?”

That is a question for each and every case (just as it is for those that do NOT conflict with LDS doctrine), but I believe many of them certainly are.

4 – “If God really is talking to people like Mother Teresa, who in all humility are seeking his instruction, then why doesn’t He direct them to “the only true Church”?”

Because He knows best how to carry out His will and isn’t confined the way we are.

I’m not and certainly the General Authorities aren’t well maybe I shouldn’t speak for them, BUT they quote C.S. Lewis all the time and he wasn’t Mormon.

Yes, it is a limitation, but one that no mortal can help. It is part of the veil, part of the price of agency. All we can do is pray for the veil to be lifted when and how the Lord wills.

I agree with Steve’s second paragraph, as well.

About a year ago, I wrote down some inspiration I had about the Church of the Devil and the Church of the Lamb here.

I don’t think the LDS Church is true because it’s completely accurate; I believe it is true because it is led by God. That makes a profound difference to me, and resolves many of the conflicts people have with the Church.

“[I]ndividual orientation to the Church of the Lamb or to the great and abominable church is not by membership but by loyalty. Just as there Latter-day Saints who belong to the great and abominable church because of their loyalty to Satan and his life-style, so there are members of other churches who belong to the Lamb because of their loyalty to him and his life-style. Membership is based more on who has your heart than on who has your records.” Stephen E. Robinson (Ensign magazine)

“* Is God a Mormon?”

No. I don’t believe he is a Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, or whatever else either. God is God, it is His children that are counted in the various churches that worship Him.

“* Are we uncomfortable or have doubts about miracles and spiritual encounters that don’t occur in the “Mormon way?””

I am not uncomfortable though sometimes I have doubts. I take each one individually. For example the old lady that sees Jesus on her toast is going to get a scoff from me every time. “Angels” appearing in hospital hallways? Maybe if it wasn’t so obvious that it was sun glare from a window around the corner. However other things like the United State’s Declaration of Independence and Constitution I consider very much to be divinely inspired though I don’t think they occurred in the “Mormon way”.

“* Are they really from God if they conflict with LDS doctrine, such as in the case of Mother Teresa’s visions of Christ and the Virgin Mary?”

Let’s take the quote about “How it hurts, if you only knew, to see these poor children soiled with sin.” We teach that small children are sinless. That we accept as Truth. However the chances that these children in those slums, once reaching an age of accountability will remain thus is very very slim. If this conversation did occur I believe it’s more concerning to teach the children and rescuing them from their futures then it is to nit pick about how old they are when they are baptized or saved. You can bring someone to Christ, or even Christ to them without the act of baptism. Baptism is one of the steps towards salvation of course, but not required before knowing Christ.

I believe in baptism at accountability, but I also believe that age can be different for each person. The LDS Church says eight and that’s a good general number for most. However I’ve known younger that probably were past the age of accountability, and some older that weren’t (usually special-needs) and may never be.

Back to the slums. Some of these children have seen and experienced more then many adults in first world countries ever will. Their age of accountability might be lower then we accept because of this, course on the other hand given their survival situations might be higher. We don’t know and probably never will.

That said though infants and toddlers I would still consider baptizing them wrong as they wouldn’t be making any choices. Not sure I would condemn the baptizer for it though, especially if they thought they were doing the right thing.

“* If God really is talking to people like Mother Teresa, who in all humility are seeking his instruction, then why doesn’t He direct them to “the only true Church?””

I think God directs people who listen to him to where they are needed most. In some cases that may not be to “the only true Church”. Had Mother Teresa been direct to be a member of the LDS Church would she have been able to accomplish her work? I’m not sure she would have been able to.

Some time ago I read about a Catholic priest who has his own testimony about the truth of The Book of Mormon but he has not been baptized into the LDS Church nor is he a member. He converses with the missionaries often. He simply says something like “I feel I am still needed here” when asked why he hasn’t converted.

I think that God has many in his flock that are not members of the physical “true Church”. I say “physical” because I believe there are two “churches”. The true physical church (The LDS Church) and the true spiritual church. The true spiritual church can and does include individuals of other faiths (ie Mother Teresa) and can and does exclude individuals of our faith. Where your body goes is the physical church, where your spirit and heart dwells is the spiritual church.

Apologies if I am repeating someone elses remarks.

I think many mormons think that if God heals someone from another religion its either of Satan (because the don’t have the priesthood which has been restored back to the earth) or its a public show. I actually do agree a bit with the later for some religions.

But there are aproximatly 6.7 Billion people on the earth and 3 4 million active mormons its hard to graph how miniscule that dot or mormons would be on a 7 billion graph. So either God allows others to be healed or he is terribly inefficient with the rest of his children or the ones that are being healed are being healed under Satans power

good point, but at a certain problem, it’s kinda like, “Why did you give me reason if you intended its use to be foregone?” At some point, we do take a stand on certain contradictions. Obviously, people pick which churches are true (or…”most” true, so to speak).

There is no doubt in my mind that Mother Theresa was one of the most divinely inspired people to ever walk the face of the Earth. And I don’t feel that belief causes me to believe her conversations with Christ were completely untainted by at least some self-generated dialogue. Mother Theresa doesn’t have to be 100% deluded or 100% accurate in her revelations. It can be a mixture of both. God can be inspiring her to help others, and she may interpret those promptings to do good by putting them into words in her mind that make sense according to her Catholic upbringing. Moreover, I’m inclined to believe that when we are told God speaks to all nations in their own language, that includes the “spiritual language” they have been taught in their various churches, temples, synagogues, etc. So for me it’s not outside the realm of possibility that God would give a Catholic a vision of the Virgin Mary for the purpose of communicating something important, because God will know that the Catholic will interpret a message from Mary as being divinely inspired.

The bottom line is that I think God will communicate with his children by any means necessary. He is our father; we are his children. What loving Father would withhold communication from sincere seeking souls because they commit technical errors in their beliefs, mode of prayer, conception of deity, etc. etc. etc. As a father of four children, I know I would communicate with them in whatever means possible, even at the risk of possibly reinforcing some false notions about me. After all, what’s the alternative?

Does it have to make sense to us (humans) for it to be the order of the universe?

We ridicule those who for so long believed the earth was the center of the universe. Maybe we are doing the same thing in our ideas of God.

I’m also inclined to believe that Mother Theresa’s mission in life may not have been to be a member of the LDS church, regardless of whether the LDS church has the fulness of the gospel. She was able to do much good as a Catholic nun–work she wouldn’t have been capable of doing as a member of our church in India–and perhaps the Lord works upon the net good we all can accomplish in our own existence, and let the question of ordinances of salvation play out later. Maybe the point is to do the best with what you’ve got, and to honestly follow the inspiration you feel you receive that encourages you to lift yourself and others up.

I think asking difficult questions is part of being in a fallen world. What I have trouble understanding is why so many of us don’t realize the “easiness of the way” and embrace those things the Lord has given us with all our hearts. For example, obtaining the gifts of the Spirit. They are readily available, but most of us ignore the invitation the Lord has extended. Seeking after office and looking beyond the mark are more attractive to our fallen natures. When we’re baptized we’re commanded to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. How many of us are really interested in acquiring this gift?

With that said, I’ll share a few thoughts on the questions asked in this post:

1. Is God a Mormon? Not now, because he is an exalted being. At one time he was, on whatever planet He had mortal birth on. He progressed and eventually became a member of the Church of the First Born (http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Church_of_the_Firstborn)

2. * Are we uncomfortable or have doubts about miracles and spiritual encounters that don’t occur in the “Mormon way?”

* Are they really from God if they conflict with LDS doctrine, such as in the case of Mother Teresa’s visions of Christ and the Virgin Mary?

* If God really is talking to people like Mother Teresa, who in all humility are seeking his instruction, then why doesn’t He direct them to “the only true Church?”

These three question are basically redundant and ask: Does God only work through His restored Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints?

The answer to this question is NO!!, in my opinion. However, we need to understand that the birth and life we have here didn’t happen by chance (this is true for all mankind). God is our Father and each of us are given life for a reason–to progress. We are all at different stages of development. That is why we see such diversity.

The Lord hasn’t revealed everything. There is much we don’t know. But he has given us enough to fulfill are purpose in life. “We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. Article of Faith #9.

One day all the difficult question we can ask will be answered, just as stated in the 9th AoF.

We all have imaginations, why not have faithful imagination as opposed to critical ones. For example, I image that a person like mother Teresa was given a call to come to earth to be who she was in this life-a special help and light to those in a culture like India (and to the whole world for her example). She was told that when life was over the Lord would see to it that she would have all the ordinances for exaltation done for her by the Mormons–from His restored church.

Until then when she needed help He would be near to her an provide manifestation to her based on the traditions of the church she was associated with.

I like Jeff’s observation:

To me, it is never a question of whom God speaks to. He speaks to everyone. The real issue is: Who listens?

. If b) is true, then it is in conflict with the scripture from Matthew 7 that I quoted earlier.

Just a thought: I’m not sure that teaching/believing infant baptism and a godlike intercessory position of Mary can count as “good fruits.” It *might be* that relieving the suffering of the poor is the sheep’s clothing that disguises doctrinal ravenous wolves. At best, it makes her an honorable woman of the world, blinded by the craftiness of men.
I guess I just think that using Matthew 7 as a litmus test is more complex than it first appears.