Hi, GoldDustWoman,
I wish I could cut and paste so it would be easier to make responses to what you posted, but please bear with me since I'm not up to that high-tech challenge yet! Suggestions gratefully appreciated!!
You said:
1) All males, regardless of standing in the church, itself, are considered "priests" and can give blessings.
Well, no, not so. Priests are first of all, ordained to that calling. Having the right anatomy doesn't make one a Priest. Second, they can only be ordained if they have demonstrated a worthiness to serve God and an understanding appropriate to that level. Most Priests are teenagers. Third, they can only function as Priests when they are living worthily. If they choose not to live as they know is right, they cannot function as Priests until their lives are back on track.
5) Mormons are considered the most healthy in the American population, and are often used as a control group for medical studies.
True! Thank you! Funny, though, how it is the clean lifestyle that makes this so, and yet people insist those very leaders who advocated that very lifestyle were not inspired of God. Hmmmm.
6) They believe in three levels of heaven. The top being reserved for "good" Mormons. The middle for "bad Mormons and the rest of christians. The bottom for what's left over.
Basically accurate, though many people will be in the "top" level who were not Mormon in this life. It's not really a matter of religion, but of the heart. What kind of person were you? How did you choose to live your life? That's the key. And that's the doctrine. The "good" people of all faiths will be in the "top" level, where, FINALLY, there will be no petty doctrinal differences.
7) Mormons, unlike JW's, are very mainstream. In fact, they are very active in law enforcement and government.
Yes, totally true. Thank you again!
8) Strongly encourage higher education. Even building their own universities. All the Mormon kids I knew ALWAYS went to (BYU).
Yes again! Brigham Young insisted upon education for the young women in the Church. He sent 12 women back east to attend medical school, something unheard of in his day. A hillarious (now) account in an eastern newspaper declared this educating of women to be the death knell of Mormonism because "all the blood will go to the women's brains instead of to their bellies so they will be unable to produce a new generation of Mormons!" Such was the state of men's thinking at the time. The education of women was just not done.
Brigham Young, upon building the university (which was the first college west of the Mississippi), announced, "If you can only afford to send ONE of your children to this new school, send your eldest daughter, for your sons may work in the fields, and with his hands, but your daughters will be the mothers of the nation." Pretty advanced thinking for back then.
9) Mormons put a very strong emphasis on tithing...The more given, the more prestige.
Half true. We emphasize it as an important part of Christian life, yes. But prestige has nothing to do with it. Nobody knows how much anybody else gives. Only those few who are called to keep an accounting of the finances of the congregation know, and they can never speak of it. Like the widow's mite, those who have much are expected to give more, as 10% of what they earn would naturally be more than 10% of what a little child earns for an allowance. But as long as it is a full tithe given, that is all that counts in anybody's eyes. The dollar amount matters not at all, to anyone.
10) Large families are encouraged. More kids, mean more Mormons. Also, they believe that the more children one has, the better chance there is to get into the top level of heaven.
Again, partly true. Large families ARE encouraged. The family is the central unit of the Church. All our focus and emphasis is to be on our family, and on building a family so tightly united in love and faith that it is eternal and unbreakable. For anyone who has ever had a child to raise, you know this is a challenge. The more children, the greater the challenge. And the greater the fun! We believe in enjoying life, having fun, and teaching our children to enjoy life also.
More children doesn't, however, equate with better chances of getting into heaven. Not everyone can have children. Not everyone SHOULD have children. Not everyone can raise more than one or two, or should try to. It is better to raise one child well than 12 hooligans with scruffy clothes and dirty faces who can barely spell their own names. For those who can raise 12 children well, good for them. I couldn't, and wouldn't want to. Considering the serious obligation and responsibility it is to raise a child, we never encourage anyone to become a "baby factory". The actual doctrine is for every child to be well born, meaning, wanted, welcomed, provided for, having two parents, loved, educated, nurtured physically, emotionally, and spiritually. For anyone who hasn't ventured into parenthood yet, it's tough!!!!
May I say one thing that might enlighten some on this "Mormons and large families" thing? We believe that there are many spirits yet waiting to come to earth, who WILL be born somewhere, to someone. Every child brought into a good home, whether Mormon or some other good home, means one less child that has to be born to heartbreaking conditions elsewhere. Haven't we all seen children suffering because of the circumstances of their birth (poverty, child molestation, abuse, etc.)? If only there were enough good homes for those children to have been born to instead of where they are.
I hope this helps clarify some things! Thanks for this opportunity.
SUSAN
