Receiving God's Law
The following was posted in a Mormon-based Facebook group to spur discussion:
according to mormon doctrine (still looking for the scriptural reference, so bear with me, and the following does not depend on this being the case) we are only accountable to the law (of god) that we have "received. that begs the question, what does it mean to "receive" the law? does simply hearing someone say it, like a preacher, qualify? must it be read in scripture? must it be heard over and over and over again, a certain number of times over a certain number of day/years? or, must it be communicated to us explicitly by God himself (or an agent that can objectively show their agency from God)?
since I've read non-Mormon scriptures and heard non-Mormon preachers, if anything but the latter, than I must be accountable to disparate laws of god. that seems like an irrational requirement, and simply put, i'm not interested in existing in an irrational world/universe. (or, if our universe is irrational, I don't care to exist in it any longer.)
the only rational definition of "receive" then is an explicit communication from God himself. since I have not had that, I have not "received" any of god's laws. therefore I am not accountable to them. and for him to hold me as accountable to them would be irrational, and therefore unjust (my opinion). I can't accept that a god would be either irrational or unjust. therefore, i feel that I, as a non-recipient to god's law, stand accountable only for my own actions toward others.
and i see no reason to assign myself the duty of seeking communion with god. I may want to, sure, but not as a matter of duty or law or divine requirement.
if there is an after life with its own nature, then that depends on what that nature is. but if god were rational and just, then he must give us the same opportunities after death as before, or at any time after we "receive" his laws.
according to mormon doctrine (still looking for the scriptural reference, so bear with me, and the following does not depend on this being the case) we are only accountable to the law (of god) that we have "received. that begs the question, what does it mean to "receive" the law? does simply hearing someone say it, like a preacher, qualify? must it be read in scripture? must it be heard over and over and over again, a certain number of times over a certain number of day/years? or, must it be communicated to us explicitly by God himself (or an agent that can objectively show their agency from God)?
since I've read non-Mormon scriptures and heard non-Mormon preachers, if anything but the latter, than I must be accountable to disparate laws of god. that seems like an irrational requirement, and simply put, i'm not interested in existing in an irrational world/universe. (or, if our universe is irrational, I don't care to exist in it any longer.)
the only rational definition of "receive" then is an explicit communication from God himself. since I have not had that, I have not "received" any of god's laws. therefore I am not accountable to them. and for him to hold me as accountable to them would be irrational, and therefore unjust (my opinion). I can't accept that a god would be either irrational or unjust. therefore, i feel that I, as a non-recipient to god's law, stand accountable only for my own actions toward others.
and i see no reason to assign myself the duty of seeking communion with god. I may want to, sure, but not as a matter of duty or law or divine requirement.
if there is an after life with its own nature, then that depends on what that nature is. but if god were rational and just, then he must give us the same opportunities after death as before, or at any time after we "receive" his laws.
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