Q&A with Paulo Coelho discussion
Mormonism
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i'm sorry but i fail to see where Mormonism comes in... forgive as i don't know much, but where is the false religion, reading this book, and i know i have not finished, but i see many biblical references in this book... please explain...peace, blessings & mercy
c.
Hi. I'm a Mormon and I'm reading the Alchemist. I don't appreciate you talking about my religion like that. You have no right calling it a "falso religion" seeing as you have no clue in what we believe in.
We believe in the Holy Bible, as well, as the Book of Mormon. The Holy Bible is, as we all know, made up of the Old and New Testaments. The Book of Mormon is just ANOTHER testament of Christ after the New Testament.
If you would like to claim a religion "false" before you understand it, then please tell me how that is Christ-like.
Stephanie wrote: "Hi. I'm a Mormon and I'm reading the Alchemist. I don't appreciate you talking about my religion like that. You have no right calling it a "falso religion" seeing as you have no clue in what we b..."
sadly, debunking joseph smith takes about five minutes of research. also feel free to explain exactly how rejecting black people was righteous in 1977 and inappropriate in 1979.
there will always be naive people that will write and preach false information about our church and joseph smith, but the LDS church has never denied african-americans their membership of our church. granted, we did go through a period where we did not allow african-americans to hold the Aaronic and Melchizedek preisthood, but if you really did your research, then you would know that african-americans, knowing the policy of the church, still joined because they knew that what we believed in and taught was true. we do not support that policy anymore.
and you supported it when you did because...? or is that confidential information that only members can comprehend?and you're harping on 'false' from another angle. fair enough, it's apparently what prompted you to get defensive in the first place.
do you really want to stand up for the "truth" of your religion on social issues? go ahead and quote a rational or compassionate excuse for the anti-homosexual agenda. i'm sure it will be above the simple heads of naive nonbelievers.
before you trot out something like "but even [insert conservative literalist movement here:] believes x!"... my point is not whether any religion is 'false' (relative to other religions or otherwise) - my point is that defending nonrational beliefs to someone with opposing beliefs (rational or otherwise) is absurd. it's noteworthy that you're trained to do so fairly calmly (other than your 'naive' dig, a step in the direction of personal attack that i hadn't been willing to make), but get real. your support organization is the only bubble you need; condescension doesn't actually strengthen your case. (not that you are likely to think it needs strengthening, which makes the condescension all the more petty.)
apologies to everyone for the derailment.
In the original thread in 2008 discussing The Alchemist, there was an open forum to ask Paulo any questions. I had asked him if he had ever read the book of mormon as many things in this book reminded me of it. He said he had never heard of it and asked what it was about. This was my response. Not sure if this thread is related or not, but there aren't many Ginger's or mormons for that matter. Thought I'd share my response from original thread:You've apparently never met a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints aka "Mormon" before. If you had, you would know this is a dream question to be asked! To be able to invite someone to talk/read about The Book of Mormon is every Mormons dream. As you might have heard, we try to share our beliefs as often as possible.
As you've already been told by a couple of people already, the Book of Mormon testifies of Jesus Christ and is a companion to the Bible.
Latter-day Saints believe in the Book of Mormon and other books of scripture which support and authenticate the Bible and testify of the ministry and divinity of Christ and of God’s ongoing revelation to man. It is "Another Testament of Jesus Christ.”
In the Book of Mormon, you'll see the complete circle of being faithful, becoming prideful, being humbled, and becoming faithful again. You'll also read about those searching for truth, trials of faith, revelations given to man that you can relate to and apply in your life, as well as peaceful, beautiful scriptures to guide your life by.
I highly recommend reading it if you haven't started to already. Obviously, you've already done a lot of religious study. If you read it and accompany your reading with prayer, you will feel of it's validity. The holy spirit will testify to you of it's truthfulness.
For more information, visit www.mormon.org.
Thanks again for asking!
I'm trying to make sense of the "Mormon" issue here in this thread...because the only question I'm wondering about is the reference in The Alchemist to two seperate and specific "Mormon" references; which are 1). Melchizedek 2). Urim and Thummim although I no longer believe in Mormonism, I was a long standing member, and when I read both of those strong Mormon references, I was "triggered," into making an assumption that you had read the Book of Mormon. In the LDS church, Mormon men hold the "Melchizedek priesthood" and the Urim and Thummum were the vessels Joseph Smith claimed to have interpreted the gold plates with, which Mormons believe to be considered the second Testament of Jesus, alongside the Bible...but I didn't see the comment where anyone explained this. The Alchemist is fantastic, thank you, it was just jolting to then realize that you had not read it, even though those are such strong attaches' to Mormonism...Love the mysteries of the Universe! Can't wait for your next wonderful gift of the written word.
Jody Hakkola
Ginger, I appreciated your response and will be meeting with a group of Mormon readers tomorrow night to discuss "The Alchemist". It will be interesting to hear what connections they might make. The cycle of pride and humility, seeking for truth, relying on scripture in life, inspiration (dreams) all remind me of things I have read in the Book of Mormon. I took many notes from "The Alchemist" as it relates to my life. I find it a very wise book. I hope Paolo will read The Book of Mormon sometime. I think he would enjoy it and find truth in it as well.
Keep your eyes on Christ. Keep our Lord and Savior in your heart. Read Matthew 24. There is only one good book: The Holy Bible.
Love everyone, but be careful of false religions.