Why am I a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly known as the Mormon Church)? It was sometime ago that my mom tried to share what we believe with her brother and sister-in-law. The missionaries contacted them at my mother's request. A short time later, she got a letter from my aunt. In the letter, my aunt shared her concern for us. She feels that we were deceived and that it is mainly because we hadn't really understood what our Church teaches and that our faith was unexamined and based solely upon "subjective" feeling. We believed our Church to be true because we wanted it to be so. Now to be fair, she didn't say it quite so bluntly but that was the gist of the message.
Well, I am starting this blog in response to that letter because of Peter's admonition to "give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15-16). I hope to be able to do so with meekness, as he directs. Another reason for the blog is because of the invitation by Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to share our testimonies and defend the faith using new technologies that allow us to extend our reach. I thought, "Why just answer my aunt's question when I can share what I believe and why with any and all that may find this site." If I can do a good job writing what I really feel (a true challenge for me, I assure you), then hopefully I can direct people here to learn more about what I personally believe (although the Church's Websites--see the list to right--are still the best place to get the most reliable information).
I do not believe that I am in procession of all truth (nor do I even understand everything He has reveled). This is because I don't believe that God is done with his work or that the Heavens are closed. I believe, despite what those who oppose the Church try to tell me, that we can go to God to learn truth (but that is the subject of a future post). Yet, I would like to share what I have learned and do know to be true. I would then ask that you study it out in your mind. Really go to the scriptures and see what they say, check into what the Church really teaches (rather than just believing what others purport to be what "Mormons" believe). Then with a sincere desire to know and follow what God wants for you, ask and "Ye shall receive" (see Matthew 21:22; John 16:24; James 4:3; 1 John 3:22).
What I want to say in this post is that I do believe in God; that He is our Eternal Father. That He loves us, so much so that He sent His Only Begotten Son, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to come to earth to atone for our sins and die for us and resurrect so that we all could resurrect. Christ has overcome the effects of the fall of Adam and redeemed mankind and thus we are responsible for our own sins. Yet his Atonement makes it possible for us to repent and be cleansed of our sins and through His grace and our faith in diligently following Him, to be sanctified and "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4). We are responsible for our choices.
I testify that that the Father and the Son appeared to prophet Joseph Smith in the spring of 1820 and ushered in this latter-day dispensation of the Gospel. I believe that God has continued to call and authorize prophets and apostles in our day and that the heavens are still open. Not just to prophets, but to all. We can approach God in pray and He will answer. He will give us direction for our lives and help us in our responsibilities. He will, through his Holy Spirit, guide us into all truth (John 16:13). I testify that the Bible and the Book of Mormon are the word of God, but that does not mean that God has finished saying all that he has to say.
Again, I testify that God loves us and that Jesus is the Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. He is my Savior and Redeemer. My purpose is to invite all to come unto Him and be partakers of His love. I hope that in my exuberance that I don't offend, but that I can share the truth in love. At the very least, I hope that readers will learn more about what I believe as a Latter-day Saint (rather than what others not of my faith try to define my beliefs to be).
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