Christians Have 2 Suffer Cause They Believe They Have 2 Be Persecuted And Turn The Other Cheek To

Do Mormons suffer persecution or discrimination because of their beliefs?

Yes. Yes we do.It makes sense. The world won’t believe the truth because they’ll take it to be too harsh, too raw, too much. They’ll accept it on a mental level, but their hearts will be closed to change. This is what the world thinks, contrary to our thoughts and teachings:Sure, alcohol will kill you, ruin your family and rot your teeth, but I’m not gonna stop drinking.I’ve seen this tobacco commercial 10 times and it only makes me laugh. Kill my lungs? Sure. But God knows I won’t stop because I feel so good when I just puff a little.Yeah OK, I understand that child porn is bad…Buuuuuuuut adults signed up for it….and if I watch a little on the side, then that won’t hurt anything right?Having sex with my girlfriend is the only reason we’re together. You want me to stop that because of God? Nah, fam, he sees how happy I am and how much we’re in love, He probably WANTS me to **** her!And that’s not even all of them. See, these aren’t necessarily the pitchforks and torches of the by-gone era. But they are just as important and just as lethal. These spiritually assault the teenagers in the Church everyday, sometimes every hour. They bombard the adults in every arena of life. Heck, they come at me here, and I go to school at BYU, THE Mormon school!Listen, buddy, I don’t know what context you asked this question. I’m going to guess that it was academic reasons. Just wanted to know on a whim. Pal, might I suggest going to Palmyra, in upstate New York, in the summer time. Go to the Hill Cumorah. Find out when the pageant there is and go to it. I would say get there, oh, 5 hours early? That’ll put you around the time the vans show up. Heck, they might be there earlier. And from there…just watch.If New York is too far, go to Salt Lake City, UT during the first weekend in April and/or March. Get there about 3 hours early and watch as the protesters line the streets with vulgarities and (to them) falsehoods our church espouses.Then you’ll have your answer, I guess.

How can a Christian effectively answer Gandhi's quote "I love your Jesus, but not your Christians?"

The answer to this question is very simple. Live and act in imitation of Jesus.That’s it. Forget your claims about your beliefs, most certainly throw away any idea of being “special” because you are a Christian. Consistently put others before yourself, turn the other cheek, give of yourself to all who are in pain or have needs.In other words, live the Golden Rule every day: “Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” - Matthew 7:12Or in Mark 12:28–34: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.”Nothing else will satisfy the challenge posed by M. Gandhi’s question. He had suffered at the hands of so-called “Bible-believing Christians” and had no trouble discerning the abyss between their behavior and that of Jesus. And the same is true of many millions of people from Christian and non-Christian nations, today.Never forget that the only people in the New Testament to elicit true anger from Jesus were the hypocrites and those swollen with spiritual pride.Response to this question should make a great litmus test. I’ll go so far as to say a true follower of Jesus will respond with a humble answer, with a genuine desire to do better. The “hypocrites” will stand out for their vocalic defense of their own behavior (i.e., pride) and make Gandhi a villain for daring to pose it.Pax vobiscum.

Are Mormons unfairly persecuted or just overly defensive?

Why does it have to be either/or? Why can’t it be both?Latter-day Saints have had a history of persecution, stemming from the early days of the Church. They were hounded out of Missouri after the governor signed an executive order expelling them from the state or they would be exterminated. The prophet was martyred, and the Saints were finally driven from the country into the wilderness, where they established a colony in the Great Salt Lake desert, where no one would bother them.The government bore down on them with full weight because the Church practiced plural marriage, sending many men to jail, and confiscating all the real property of the Church.There have been ad campaigns, smear tactics, and countless books written about the unsavory character of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and other church leaders. Even Broadway audiences have taken to a scurrilous and blasphemous play called The Book of Mormon which pokes so-called humor about the missionaries and their message.I think Latter-day Saints have a right to be defensive. I also think that defensiveness goes too far at times. Not every remark is intentionally meant to injure feelings. Some are made in jest, and others are made in ignorance. Of these, there should be no offense taken.Not everyone will accept the message of the religion. The Saints are urged to make friends with everyone possible, even if the message is not well received. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen, and defenses are thrown up in relationships. This especially comes about when the Mormons are in the minority and feel like they are being ganged up upon.In short, I think the answer to your question is: Mormons are persecuted, and they are defensive. Persecution is never justified, and defensiveness should be tendered with forgiveness.

Do people actually practice "turn the other cheek" as preached by Jesus in everyday life?

How about this story?Disclaimers:The story was originally recounted by Ravi Zacharias.The testimony is incorrect in two areas, as told by witnesses who were present, on 2 things:Deedat did not slap Professor Lee, claiming it would dirty his handThe university where this took place is the University of Malaysa, the oldest University in Malaysia, and it is a secular, not Islamic University.Love on TrialTurning the other cheek sounds good on paper. But what about when it actually happens?I heard my dad tell a story the other night that stunned me, and it’s had me thinking ever since.He said that several years ago, the Islamic apologist Ahmed Deedat spoke at the oldest Islamic university in Malaysia. Deedat was a brash and antagonistic speaker, and during his presentation he said that Christianity was completely unlivable.A Christian faculty member, Professor Lee, stood up during the Q&A time and asked Deedat why he thought Christianity was unlivable. Deedat told Lee to come forward. When Lee walked up, Deedat reached back and hit him soundly in the face. Then he looked at Lee and said, “Now turn the other cheek.”With his face still stinging from the hit, Lee turned. Deedat was stunned, but decided to push the argument. Next he demanded that Lee give him the shirt off his back.With an audience of students watching, Lee obliged. Deedat then ordered Lee to give him his pants, too. Lee turned to the students, gently apologized for what they were witnessing, gave his pants to Deedat and then walked out of the auditorium in his underwear.Lee went to his office, but he wasn’t alone for long. For the next several hours, students came to see him, many in tears and all apologizing for what Deedat had done.In just the span of a few minutes, the students saw love on trial — and it triumphed.The Christian life isn’t easy. The story that played out at the university that day shows us why. But when it’s lived the way Christ demonstrated and commanded, it always wins in the end.Love on Trial | Boundless Blog

Does Christianity (old or new testament) ever advocate or condone killing non-believers?

The New Testament focuses heavily on cheek-turning and peace-making.  But there are passages in the Old Testament, e.g.Deuteronomy 17: 2 If there be found among  you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or  woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God,  in transgressing his covenant, 3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun,  or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; 4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: 5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed  that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.The Christian relationship to the Old Testament is kind of confusing.  It's often cited as the Old Law that Jesus came to fulfill, relieving (for example) the dietary requirements, and lets you treat passages like this one as no longer relevant.  But Christians often cite Old Testament laws (for example, on homosexuality) so it can be a little hard to tell precisely what they believe.There are also New Testament passages cited as justification to kill non-believers, e.g. Luke 19:27:But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.As well as Matthew 10:34:Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.The Bible is a long, complex document with many conflicting interpretations.  You can find text to justify practically anything, and people have.  Mainstream Christianity focuses largely on the peaceful message of the New Testament, though obviously some today and throughout history have used it in much more violent ways.