I am studying John 17, tonight. So out of curiosity, I googled “sons of perdition”.
Amazing. Five of the ten entries on my opening search page are LDS related.
http://www.mrm.org/sons-of-perdition
http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/basic/afterlife/perdition_eom.htm
http://ironrod.wordpress.com/2005/07/13/how-many-sons-of-perdition-are-there/
ho houios tes apoleias
A cross-reference verse is 2 Thess. 2:3
I’d say the LDS have a lot to say about sons of perdition because of the restoration of the Gospel and the plain and precious truths through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Todd — what’s your take on the son(s) of perdition?
Rob, it looks like a lot of others are thinking about “sons of perdition”:
http://mormonmatters.org/2009/11/13/what-is-the-final-destination-for-apostates-and-ex-mormons/
I will clearly say this . . . ex-Baptists are not sons of perdition. The authentic disciples that the Lord Jesus talks about in John 17 are not defined by denomination.
Jesus gives the powerful descriptions of His own in the prayer – those given to Him by the Father. And Judas never lived any of this.
Aren’t denominations just an indication of man’s inability to get along and agree upon the truths revealed by the Holy Ghost? In John 17:22, Jesus expresses his deep desire for us to be one with him even as they are in the Godhead (i.e. one in purpose).
As far as the comments over on the referenced posting at Mormon Matters — whew! It’s enough to make your head spin — everyone with their own opinion!
So rather than worrying about who and how one might be or become a son of perdition — I would just prefer to avoid the desire to worry about that and instead focus on *trying* to be “one” with the Savior and being full of love and compassion as he taught and exemplified.
Not “staying away from the edge” because of fear, but instead loving the opposite so much that there is no fear – absolutely none.