User:RobertC/World religions

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General Conference quotes

"The children of God in all nations have His promise that He will manifest Himself to them. The Book of Mormon tells us:
"'He manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men according to their faith' (2 Nephi 26:13).
"Note that these promised manifestations of the Lord are to 'every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.' Today we are seeing the fulfillment of that promise in every nation where our missionaries are permitted to labor, even among peoples we have not previously associated with Christianity."
“The great religious leaders of the world such as Mohammed, Confucius, and the Reformers, as well as philosophers including Socrates, Plato, and others, received a portion of God’s light. Moral truths were given to them by God to enlighten whole nations and to bring a higher level of understanding to individuals. … We believe that God has given and will give to all peoples sufficient knowledge to help them on their way to eternal salvation.”

Scriptures

  • 2 Ne 29:7: "Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?" (emphasis added)
  • 2 Ne 29:8, 11-12: "For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write 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." (emphasis added)
  • 2 Ne 26:13: "He manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men according to their faith" (2 Nephi 26:13). (emphasis added)
  • Alma 29:8: "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." (emphasis added)


Taoism

Pu

Pu is usually translated uncarved block, although I think this discussion makes a good point. I think a better translation would be simple (but I don't know Chinese and would like to research this more). My sense, is that pu can also be used to mean childlike.

I think there is a deep connection between the concept of pu and God's response to Moses in Ex 3:14, "I AM THAT I AM." (I found this essay discussing this connection, though I don't think it fully explains what I have in mind.) I think God's response to Moses suggests not only that God transcends our ability to name or define (cf. Adam's naming the plants and animals and having dominion over them), but I think there's a certain child-like simplicity connoted by the name that also relates it to the concept of divine unity. Put in Taoist terms, becoming one with God is to be one with the way (Tao).

Excerpts from the Tao Te Ching

Peter Merel's interpolotation

25. Beneath Abstraction
There is a mystery,
Beneath abstraction,
Silent, depthless,
Alone, unchanging,
Ubiquitous and liquid,
The mother of nature.
It has no name, but I call it "the Way";
It has no limit, but I call it "limitless".
Being limitless, it flows away forever;
Flowing away forever, it returns to my self:
The Way is limitless,
So nature is limitless,
So the world is limitless,
And so I am limitless.


28. Becoming
Using the male, being female,
Being the entrance of the world,
You embrace harmony
And become as a newborn.
Using strength, being weak,
Being the root of the world,
You complete harmony
And become as unshaped wood.
Using the light, being dark,
Being the world,
You perfect harmony
And return to the Way.


32. Shapes
The Way has no true shape,
And therefore none can control it.
...
The Way is shaped by use,
But then the shape is lost.
Do not hold fast to shapes
But let sensation flow into the world
As a river courses down to the sea.


Other links

Other links

  • Urantia: "The Urantia Book, first published by the Urantia Foundation in 1955, was authored by celestial beings as a special revelation to our planet, Urantia. The book's message is that all human beings are one family, the sons and daughters of one God, the Universal Father" (from urantia.org). Paper 131 proposes that Melchezidek spread the gospel all across the world, thereby explaining the many different world religions.