| Menu |
Q. I noticed that there are crosses on the temple and in this building, has this always been so?
A. Yes, the RLDS has always displayed crosses in their services. I asked why and he said because they're a Christian church.
Q. Do you believe in temple ordinances such as baptism for the dead?
A. No. The RLDS doesn't believe in eternal marriage, sealing of families, the concept of God was once a man and man may become a god, and they don't wear temple garments.
Q. What books do you recognize as scripture?
A. The Bible, Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants. I asked why not the Pearl of Great Price (PGP) and was told that the teachings in that book came from Brigham Young, not the Lord. This was the start of a trend, most teachings the RLDS reject they attribute to Brigham Young.
Q. Did /do you have a restriction on blacks holding the priesthood?
A. No. (This was consistent with their rejection of the PGP, since this is where the restriction originated.) As a matter of fact, the RLDS gives the priesthood to women, with the same authority and power given to the men.
Q. Does the RLDS have a formal missionary force?
A. No. All missionary work is done on a country basis. The church chooses a country to concentrate on and sends the Council of Twelve and the Seventies there. They baptize and ordain people from that country and turn over the work to them. It was stressed the they're not an 'American religion' but believe that conversion and leadership should be handled by the native people.
Q. Do you believe in baptism by immersion and laying on of hands to receive the Holy Ghost?
A. Yes.
Q. Did/do you believe in the principle of polygamy?
A. No. He seemed most indignant about this point. I was told that Brigham Young spent some time in Europe where he was introduced to the practice and brought it with him to the church. Joseph Smith never had more than one wife and Brigham said he did to justify it. He also said that Joseph's wife, Emma, stated that she was his only wife (and she should know.) I must disagree with this belief. There is amble evidence that Joseph Smith had many wives in his lifetime (one of them was my ancestor Zina Diantha Huntington.)
He started to grow tired with my questions and seemed relived when a group of school children arrived. He was gracious and excused himself.
I gathered some literature and walked to the NE corner, where the RLDS Temple stands.