The Miracle of Forgiveness

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Summary: Masturbation leads to homosexuality?? Bigfoot is Cain?!?!
Review: Ah yes, this is the book that every bishop in every Mormon office has hiding in his polished desk. Bishops give them out free to their "sinning" worshippers. Do you want to know what's REALLY in this book? A few good horror stories if you're ready for them!

Here's a few, just for your sampling pleasure:

1)SEX OUTSIDE the bounds of marriage is second only to murder in seriousness. That's right. Getting it on with your sweety is so terrible that the only sin greater is MURDER. I kid you not.

2)MURDERERS are not sent to hell (what they call Outer Darkness.) They get to live in God's lowest kingdom. Seems like Saddam may even have a chance!

3)IF YOU DENY that the Holy Spirit every touched you (a burning in the bosom or some personal revelation from the Spirit) since joining the Mormon Church, there is NO forgiveness for that and you will be sent to Hell. No amount of repentence can reverse this. By this logic, terrorists and other murderous tyrants have a better chance at being redeemed than a Mormon who says "I've never been touched by the spirit"!

4)PRACTICING HOMOSEXUALITY is a sin, end of story. This sin is also "second only to murder." However, if you're gay and you don't "do it" with others, then you're okay. In Heaven God will take away your gayness and perhaps everything that ever made you YOU in the first place.

5)YOU MUST FORGIVE EVERYONE or you won't be forgiven. That's right! No matter what was done to you: kidnap, rape, holocaust, or some killer murdered your spouse/child/dog while you watched, you MUST FORGIVE THEM AND LOVE THEM or God won't forgive you! There's just no way around this one folks...in Heaven you have to love and forgive EVERY human being that ever was or else!

6)MAKING OUT (French kissing) is a sin. What? You think I'm joking? The book condemns making out, necking, and squeezing your lovie's buns--or else!!!

7)EVEN THINKING ABOUT SEX or noticing someone's shapely legs is a sin. That's because the Devil has convinced humans that it's alright to look at the beautiful human form. *I KID YOU NOT!!* It's in the book....don't buy it, borrow a copy from someone and check the index for anything relating to "sex" and "thought". You will be surprised at what you find!

8)MARRIAGE IS MANDATORY! Oh, you thought marriage was a choice? HA HA HA HA HA HA are you in for a surprise! God commands that *all male members* must find a wife in this life, NO BUTTS ABOUT IT! Or else, he can't go to the highest level of Heaven. But what about the women?

9)GOD'S MORE LENIENT WITH WOMEN in the marriage scene. If for any reason they don't find a hubby in this life, they can find one in the next life. Of course you do realize that most people in Heaven will be women and only a few men, which necessitates POLYGAMY IN HEAVEN. How comforting to know that single women can join the harem up above.

10) AND FINALLY, THE BIG ONE OF THEM ALL: YOU MUST PAY TO ENTER HEAVEN. The book doesn't say that directly, but it DOES state that to get to Heaven, you must go to the Mormon Temple. To go to the Mormon Temple, you must pay a tithing of 10% of all your earnings for at least one year before entering. If you don't pay, YOU DON'T GO TO THE TEMPLE AND HENCE YOU DON'T GO TO HEAVEN.

I'm being a bit comedic here, but in all seriousness the strange teachings of this church can potentially enslave people and cause them to go through horrible guilt trips about small things like masturbation or things that are none of their business like being gay. Being in this church is like being on a 100 calorie diet--you will starve emotionally, not to mention physically. Mormons leaders like to put strict rules upon their members, which they ALWAYS break, and is why every bishop has stacks of copies of this book ready to distribute to the unrepentant soul. If you feel iffy about this church, do yourself a favor search the net for "exmormon". You'll find plenty of forums packed with people recovering from Mormonism.

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Summary: THIS BOOK LITERALLY CHANGED MY LIFE
Review: I first read this book when I was 14 or 15 years old (back in the late 1960's). No book has helped me to appreciate the Atonement of Jesus Christ more, besides the scriptures themselves. His step-by-step explanation of what constitutes sin, the importance of recognizing it, the necessity of NOT rationalizing it away, taking responsibility and making restitution, (and other important points) literally helped me to see where my life needed changing and how I should go about making those changes.

If you love the scriptures and want to follow Christ, and be as much like him in your daily actions as possible, and if you want to rid yourself of the baggage of sin, this book may just be the book you need to read next.

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Summary: Hard to understand if you're not LDS
Review: If you aren't LDS this book might alarm you rather than educate you. Some of the reviewers have proven that right here, with grossly misleading statements. I know, I have the book right here on my desk. So if you think you picked up some evidence of some more screwy mormon beliefs, think again. For example: While it's true that masterbation IS HIGHLY discouraged, and a caution is issued (in the book), the book does NOT say you'll end up a homosexual if you do it. So I guess the moral here is: If you're gonna review a book, don't lie about it. While you may think it makes you look smarter, it doesn't. This book promotes how to avoid some of the pitfalls, we could "fall" into, if we don't make an effort to watch out (Again, this is for MORMONS.) It is important that our youth especially, know that our God is forgiving and loving. That is explored in this book. IF non LDS find it helpful, that's wonderful. If NOT then you might want to find something more suitable to your beliefs. I would never pick out a book INTENDED FOR ANOTHER RELIGION then post a argumentative or misleading (excuse me, humorous) review. Other mistruths: Not "every" Bishop has "stacks" of these books in his office for mormons who "always" break the rules. Mormons are given the gift of the Holy Ghost at baptism. We are FAR more spiritually guided than Bishop guided. Folks who intentionally mislead others should be ashamed of themselves. I believe that lying is against "the rules" in most religions. It should be.

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Summary: Helped me
Review: Many people read this book with a closed mind. If you aren't looking for help, this book won't help you. It's teachings come from scriptures and from God. I was in a terrible place in my life, and reading this book helped me get out of my own personal darkness and to where I am now.

Rating:
Summary: Helped me
Review: Many people read this book with a closed mind. If you aren't looking for help, this book won't help you. It's teachings come from scriptures and from God. I was in a terrible place in my life, and reading this book helped me get out of my own personal darkness and to where I am now.

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Summary: The wonderfully malefic classic on repenting and forgiveness
Review: No matter what you do, man cannot achieve perfection. Man has a sinful nature because of Adam and Eve's disobedience. You can never rid yourself of the baggage of sin unless you put total faith in Jesus Christ alone. Jesus died on the cross for man's salvation and no amount of "good works" is going to get you anywhere. Only Jesus Christ. Man cannot become a god as it very clearly says in the Bible. Besides, the author of this book is a total Mormon nutcase, he claimed to always having conversations with the dead Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, and he even wrote about his experiences traveling in the spiritual world among Joseph Smith and other dead Mormon prophets and leaders. Get out of Satan's cult and find the real God, the real Jesus, and the real Holy Spirit.

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Summary: Masturbation leads to homosexuality?? Bigfoot is Cain?!?!
Review: One of the most outrageous, hilarious, ignorant Mormon books I've ever read. Spencer W. Kimball actually teaches in it that the legendary Bigfoot is the biblical Cain, still wandering the earth after somehow surviving the flood. Cain, as Mormons used to teach, is the ancestor of the black race, who are cursed with a dark skin because of Cain's eggregious sins. In fact, Mormons denied their priesthood to blacks and wouldn't allow them to worship in their temples as recently as 1978. Yes, this book is still in print by the Mormon church.

But that's not all! Kimball also teaches that masturbation leads to homosexuality. That's right. Masturbation leads to mutual masturbation, which leads to full-blown homosexuality. How he knows this, he does not say. Kimball also condemns birth control. This from the same church known for its Pro-Life stance. (Well, except for Mitt Romney.)

Kimball's book is an arrogant, guilt-inducing diatribe obsessed with sex. Of course, this was written during a time when Mormon garments were intended to be worn by married couples during sexual intercourse. Naturally, they don't like to talk about that today. Very few of the younger members are likely even aware of this fact.

Surprisingly still in print today by the Mormon church, Spencer W. Kimball's "Miracle of Forgiveness" is a proud memorial to myths about sex. It's surprising that more Mormons aren't outraged by it, as they should be.

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Summary: a wonderful book
Review: The message of this book is very plain and simple: let go of your pride, recognize your weaknesses, repent of your sins, and you will be happier. Spencer W. Kimball was a great man and Prophet of God who tackled a very difficult topic. Nobody likes hearing that they have sinned. But what this book points out is that most sin is made up of little things, adding up over time, slowly taking control of our lives until we cannot escape without recognizing what we have become, and changing how we live our lives. This book is not about guilt, and its not about arguing over worldly views of what is right and wrong. Its about humility and Christ-like love. Its a very moving and inspirational read, and I highly recommend it to LDS and non-LDS alike.