There is life after death. It's just not going to be you living it. One day, you'll die. After that, it's eternal nothingness. It's not so terrible if you think about it.
It is generated from my own extensive notes, using a tool linked from the homepage: http://lukecall.net
General discussion welcome if you like. I especially appreciate feedback (see site footer for example) on the usefulness and/or navigability & skimmability of the way the content is presented. (Font is the html default, so can be configured in the browser to suit one's general preference. Putting things all in one document would make it huge, and it would be unclear at any given time what should be included vs. omitted as the links go deep in many directions.)
Thanks.
(edit: Is there a link visble to you in my profile? I am of course happy to put it here also, but was only curious if that works as I thought :) All the best to you.)
2. What makes it preferrable to Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, Jehowah's Witnessing, Buddhism? Is it more correct in its doctrines?
3. Why not Paganism or an animalistic religion? Do people have a right to believe in the existence of Zeus or Thor?
4. Wikipedia says "Most of the archaeological, historical and scientific communities do not consider the Book of Mormon an ancient record of actual historical events." - is Wikipedia wrong here? What are the eternal consequences for people who get this wrong and think the Book of Mormon is baloney?
Christ is a just and merciful judge, so all will be right in the end, and we will each eventually have the necessary understanding to choose for ourselves. There are different "degrees of glory" (uh ... lifestyles?) in the hereafter, very roughly summarized as a) the Celestial Kingdom (for those who repent aka believe in Him and change their ways accordingly (usually a process as one continues to learn & improve oneself), receive essential ordinances, making and keeping covenants aka 2-way promises where He sets the terms, with God, and who can have eternal families forever etc goodness all around); b) the Terrestrial Kingdom for honorable persons of the earth who were not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; c) the Telestial Kingdom for wicked who eventually paid the price of their own sins and receive a degree of glory (which, I'm under the impression, is better than this life), and d) outer darkness, reserved I think for those who really knew Christ but severely rejected him. But don't rely on me: go to the official sources (scriptures like Doctrine and Covenants section 76, general conference talks, etc).
I am not the ultimate authority but will try. I actually think you can find those answers and much more, eventually, via the links at my site including to official and other sources, but:
1. 2nd bullet here: http://lukecall.net/e9223372036854587340.html , etc: I was born to it, but my ancestors on various branches went through a process of investigation and prayer to decide for themselves, and really I had to do the same thing to stick with it (as in the above link and its subsequent ones), as it is a significant commitment (and hugely personally rewarding: peace in this life, and hope of Eternal life in the world to come, really). Also Mormonism is a misnomer: Mormon was an ancient American prophet whose abridgment etc is called the Book of Mormon, but ... details on the name here: https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide .
2. We believe that a) Christ created this world and others under the direction of the Father (they are one in purpose and act in harmony, and both speak authoritatively since Christ has received the Father's delegated authority to speak as God to us); b) Jesus Christ is the Jehovah of the Old Testament; c) He was known to Adam and Eve and those of their posterity who chose to follow the truth, but others chose not to, and various beliefs spread among the nations at different times; d) that God has given truths to his children at different times via inspired persons, according to what they were willing to receive and what was best for them (my wording, but see https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/al... ); e) that after Christ's mortal ministry, death, & resurrection, and the deaths of the apostles, that the doctrines were changed by men and worldly philosophies, and the true authority to administer ordinances was lost until being restored (re-established) through Joseph Smith in the early 1800's as part of the preparation for Christ's 2nd coming (see https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/restoration... in various languages or just click English); f) that the Church has the authority to administer the teachings, ordinances, etc today under Christ's direction; and g) that it is the (edit: fix errant paste) only true and living church on the earth today, and guided by living prophets (as Noah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc), and apostles. We respect, love, and are engaged in various partnerships and friendships with various religious and humanitarian organizations across the world, and we appreciate all the good done by all who are sincerely trying. (Site also has links on that.)
3) As above, those are not reflecting known, revealed truth from heaven. But, from our Articles of Faith:
"11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
"12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law."
4) Each person has to decide for themselves. Many evidences have come to light since the B of M was translated in ~1830, about ancient civilizations (some collections I have linked, and I added an interesting linguistic one to Wkp about uto-aztecan ties to near-eastern languages), but I also read (and believe) statements repeatedly that such will never provide final "proof" either way, but each person needs to ask the Father for themselves, in the way He said (as noted on my site, with references), to get a reliable answer. Such as described in scriptures linked at http://lukecall.net/e-9223372036854743866.html etc.
Also importantly, we believe that everyone will eventually have the opportunity, in this life or the next, to learn truth and receive all that they are or would have been willing to follow, including the essential ordinances, and the opportunity to live in family units forever. That is why we build temples worldwide and do family history work. I believe literally in the Lord's words including "...blessed are all they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." (references linked here: http://lukecall.net/e-9223372036854581793.html )
I hope that helps. There really is a lot more info and means to answer questions if you look. :)
