New LDS 'schismatic' group gaining major following

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Barbara
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New LDS 'schismatic' group gaining major following

Post by Barbara »

Ever heard of the Orthodox Church 'canonizing' Scripture ??
It sounds wacky, but this article originally from the Salt Lake City Tribune insists that such a weirdo sounding event occurred in the late 17th century. Might the spokesman interviewed be referring to the Council that convened in Moscow in 1666 which confirmed all of the reforms made by the great Patriarch Nikon [ whose day of repose was 2 days ago ] ? Even if so, no Christian would term that 'canonizing Scripture'. Perhaps it is an exclusively LDS term but it is highly confusing for any reader.
The remarks of the representative of "The Remnant", as they call themselves, sound delusional.
Read the pertinent section here below.
If interested in everything there is to know about this weird new faction and its leader, a graduate of Brigham Young University Law School with the unlikely name of Denver Snuffer [-!-] the link is at the very bottom :

"....it was the Sandy, Utah, lawyer’s account about a supposed face-to-face meeting with Jesus that branded him a prophetic figure in the first place. And his 2013 excommunication from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for “apostasy” — arguing that after the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, the faith he founded no longer had the exclusive truth or divine authority — seems to have made Snuffer more popular with segments of dissatisfied Mormons.

Before long, hundreds of like-minded seekers were traveling to hear him speak — in St. George, Utah, Phoenix and Boise — and poured out of their respective LDS pews to form “fellowships,” or small groups, usually gathering in houses and yearning for, well, something more.

For Labor Day weekend, Snuffer is in Boise at what the group is calling a Doctrine of Christ Conference, where hundreds of voters are expected to canonize a new set of scriptures, including a reworking of Mormonism’s foundational text, the Book of Mormon, and its Doctrine and Covenants, a collection mostly of Smith’s revelatory writings.

Whatever his listeners’ personal issues, Snuffer’s message has hit home: Mormonism’s hierarchical and bureaucratic structure abandoned Smith’s heavenly visions and clarion calls to build Zion. Anyone, he said, could a have mystical encounter with deity — like early Latter-day Saints trumpeted — not just the guy at the top.

The Remnant, as some began to call themselves, would be radically democratic, a “federation of fellowships” with no clear leader, no rigid rules, no prescribed offices, no formal organization — setting themselves apart from what they see as the ultracontrolled and controlling LDS administration operating out of a grand old building and a skyscraper in downtown Salt Lake City.

By some estimates, the schismatic movement now includes between 5,000 and 10,000 followers in 49 states and several countries — mostly former or current members of the LDS church. Some have been disciplined by the church; others continue to participate in the Utah-based faith, while sneaking off to fellowships on the side. Now a large group of them is expected in the Boise area.

“The last known major canonization was in 1672 by the Eastern Orthodox Church, so nothing like this has been seen in orthodox or Protestant Christianity in nearly 350 years,” Chris Hamill, a spokesman for the project, said in a news release. “Not even the Mormon church, or any of its offshoots, ever formally canonized (or accepted by common consent of the membership) all of their scriptures. … This is a very important historical development.”

http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/loca ... 03077.html

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Luke
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Re: New LDS 'schismatic' group gaining major following

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Could he be thinking about the Jerusalem Council in the 1600's?

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Barbara
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Re: New LDS 'schismatic' group gaining major following

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I don't know anything about the Jerusalem Council to which you referred, Luke. I did study all about the Moscow one, and the evil, duplicitous major figure in it, Paisios Ligarides, a fake. An imposter Bishop of Gaza. I haven't thought about all this in years, however. Nonetheless, some of it is so engraved in my mind as to be more vivid and real than ... lds 'church' politics - not to mention all other politics - in my region today !

It's difficult to imagine how an lds person would know about the Moscow Council. It does seem more likely that he would read about a Jerusalem one. Also, the spokesman says "Eastern Orthodoxy", not Russian Orthodoxy. Then he - or the reporter - didn't even bother to capitalize Orthodoxy in the next reference. Naturally, Protestantism is not missed for capitalization.
Of course, this error could easily have been a copy editor's mistake. Still, the Salt Lake paper ran a piece on how Mormons are converting to Orthodoxy not long ago. So the topic is not completely new to that area.

Indeed I was surprised that that article left out the Russian Orthodox parish right in Salt Lake, a Rocor-MP affiliate.
However, the newly built - miraculously quickly thanks to a million dollar gift from one donor - St George parish did receive a full article when it was consecrated a few years ago. Nonetheless, this newer article focused on Greek, Antiochian and any other jurisdictions in the area. Apparently some LDS are finding their way to Orthodoxy.

This is useful information, since parishes in Utah, Idaho and Nevada [ where Lds is strong too ] might try to do much more outreach. The one thing of value from the article I posted about this new faction is that Lds are yearning for mysticism which is entirely lacking in what I imagine to be Plain Jane mainstream LDS movement.

So - why not let the LDS know about Orthodoxy, particularly True Orthodoxy ? They would have NO WAY to find out about it if there isn't publicizing with attractive, well-presented brochures on Orthodoxy like that flyer created by Fr Irineos for his visit to the state of Georgia [ see this thread to get some inspiration and ideas http://www.euphrosynoscafe.com/forum/vi ... =2&t=12151 ].

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