Christ is at the Center of our Faith

Some people  have worked very diligently to spread the claim we are not Christian.  Since Christ is at the center of everything we believe and my motivation for all that I do, I really don't understand their claim but it apparently has to do with two doctrinal differences (1) we believe in an open cannon of scripture meaning God has revealed more to His children than is contained in the Bible and (2) we believe that God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are three distinct individuals (which I will address in other posts).
Let me state what we believe about Jesus Christ and you can judge whether or not we are Christian.

• The name of the church is "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" because we do believe it is the same church the Christ organized when he was on the earth, restored again to the earth after a time of apostasy, through a living prophet. 
• We believe that Jesus Christ is literally the Son of God.
• We believe Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer and it is only through Him that we can hope to return to live with out Heavenly Father because Christ paid the price of our sins and broke the bands of death.
• We believe that Jesus Christ was the perfect exemplar and my desire is to do my best to follow Him.
• Our main church meeting (Sacrament meeting) is focused on Jesus Christ--we take the bread and water to remember his sacrifice for us;  most of our other classes also focus on Christ and His teachings, His life, His purpose (which is to bring to pass our salvation).  Indeed we: 
• .... talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.   2 Nephi 25:26 
• Our prophet and Apostles published a document called "The Living Christ".  I invite you to read it (see sidebar on right) and see for yourself that truly we are Christian.  We have far more in common with our fellow Christians than differences. 

I know that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. He is our elder brother.  He loves us and willingly came to earth to set an example, organize His church, and, most importantly, to live a perfect life as the Son of God, so that he could pay the price that justice demands for our sins through his suffering in Gethsemane and on Calvary and then break the bands of death so that all of us can live again.   I love my Savior and Redeemer.  He is at the center of my faith, my worship, my home and my purpose in life.   The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is His church restored to the earth with His priesthood authority.   I hold my membership in His church as a priceless gift of infinite worth.   I invite all to learn about the church with an open mind and a soft heart.  He will reveal the truth of all things through the Holy Ghost. 

God's Plan of Happiness Gives Me Purpose and Direction

We believe that God is literally the Father of our Spirits, that we lived with Him before we were sent here to earth and that our loving Heavenly Father has a plan for us.   We chose to follow His plan in that pre-existence, we came to earth to receive a body and to learn and grow in ways we couldn't there with Him as spirits (not unlike sending our kids away to college).  Here on earth, we are separated from Him which requires faith.  Here on earth, we each have a body which allows us to serve and experience things in ways that we cannot without a body and gives our spirits the opportunity to develop self-discipline in the face of carnal desires, appetites and passions.    Here on earth we are subject to temptations and sometimes we will make mistakes (sins) but those temptations give us the opportunity to grow.  If we choose to exercise faith and learn and grow, then we will be ready to return to live with our  Father in Heaven, ready to meet the challenges of the next step in our eternal progression (not unlike graduating from college and being ready to embark on a career).  We will find purpose and happiness in this life and in the next life.  I love this doctrine because it gives me purpose in my everyday life and helps me to know what I need to teach my children.
This Plan of Happiness is also called the Plan of Salvation, because mortality and sin, separate us from God, and we needed a Savior to bring us home.  Jesus Christ is central to the Plan of Salvation become He alone can Redeem us from our sins (because He was perfect)  and He alone was able to break the bands of death (because He was physically the Son of God).

Here is a great quote by an Apostle of the Lord about the Plan of Salvation:

"Every day, every hour, every minute of your span of mortal years must sometime be accounted for. And it is in this life that you walk by faith and prove yourself able to choose good over evil, right over wrong, enduring happiness over mere amusement. And your eternal reward will be according to your choosing.

“A prophet of God has said: ‘Men are that they might have joy’—a joy that includes a fullness of life, a life dedicated to service, to love and harmony in the home, and the fruits of honest toil—an acceptance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ—of its requirements and commandments.

“Only in these will you find true happiness, the happiness which doesn’t fade with the lights and the music and the crowds.”   Elder Richard L. Evans

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

I love the Book of Mormon because it makes sense to me.   

• Most people think that the only history of God’s dealings with men is the Bible, yet there have been so many more people on the earth than just the Hebrew nation and it makes sense to me that there would be more records.

• In a court of law, the testimony of two witnesses is  powerful proof.  It makes sense to me that God would provide two witnesses of his Son, His gospel,  and His plan of happiness for us so that there would be no doubt.   The Book of Mormon serves as that second witness to the Holy Bible and was brought forth, through the power of God, as part of the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ to the earth. 

• When I read the Book of Mormon, I know that an uneducated young man in his early 20’s could never have written such a book.  I can 'hear' the voices of the different prophets who did write the book.  Joseph Smith records that the original plates were given to him by Moroni, the last prophet to write on the plates, and that he was given the means to translate the plates into English by the power of God.  When I read the Book of Mormon, I believe him and conclude that he was a true prophet of God, called to be God's instrument in restoring Christ's church back to the earth after a long period of apostasy.   I have felt the still, small, voice of the Holy Ghost confirm that truth to me.

This same Moroni who was the last prophet to write on the plates that would become The Book Of Mormon made a promise which held true for me.  He said,

"When ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of  the Holy Ghost.  And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."  (Moroni 10:4,5 on page 529 of the Book of Mormon)

There is the promise to ALL of God's children.  Read the Book of Mormon and get on your knees and sincerely ask Heavenly Father if it is true record and He will answer your prayers  and you will recognize it for what it is:  personal revelation from God to you through the Holy Ghost.   When you know that it is a true book of scripture, then you know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he saw all that he said he saw (see the blog about the First Vision).

(The Book of Mormon is available in 107 languages.  To request a free copy go to www.mormons.org)
 

Mormon Congregations are Like Extended Family

Mormon Congregations are called "Wards".   Each ward is a geographical entity made up of about 300 members plus all the non-members who reside therein.  If you live in the geographical boundaries of the ward, you are a member of that ward.  You belong.  Your name is known.  You are needed--we are a lay ministry and everyone has a job--(more about a lay ministry later)!  When you aren't there, it is noticed and you are missed.  When something goes wrong in your life, you have this whole "extended family" to support you, and when things are great, they celebrate with you. It so so clearly inspired of God and a manifestation of His love for us.

There is no shopping around for favorite congregations, pastors, etc.   There is no sitting in the back in complete anonymity.  No ward is perfect but there is great potential in the idea of being assigned to a geographical ward family.  If you move, you have a new ward family.  Your church records move with you and if you don't come to church the leaders of the ward will come to you and invite you to be a part of your new ward family.  Our two married daughters both recently moved out of state (Texas and California);  they were immediately enfolded in the arms of their "ward family".   It warms my heart as mother to know that they have "family" when their own family is far away.

A really cool way that a Ward Family takes care of each other is through "Home Teaching" and "Visiting Teaching" which is basically monthly visits to everyone to make sure all is well with each individual in the ward.

There are wards or "branches" (small wards) everywhere in the world.  They are made up of different individuals but they are all organized exactly the same way and the same truths are taught throughout the world.  When we travel, we love to go visit the local ward.  It feels like home, even when they are speaking in a different language (ie Italian and French).

Here is a link to a great talk (speech) given by a general authority in our church about the strength that comes with being part of an LDS ward:  https://lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/enduring-together?lang=eng&cid=email-shared.


Invitation: Come visit a an LDS church near you.  Everyone is welcome!  Find a LDS church near you at Mormon.org.  (LDS Temples are different from a LDS Church--temples are closed on Sunday).  I can help you find one!

FYI: In order to preserve family time, we hold all of our meetings together in one block.  On Sundays, we have (1) Sacrament meeting in which we take the emblems of Christ's sacrifice to remember and worship Him.  We sing Hymns of praise and usually have two youth speakers, and two adults speakers prepare and share messages to about Gospel Doctrines and Principles to uplift and edify;  (2) Sunday School--we split into age groups and study the scriptures together;  (3) Then  we split by gender for Relief Society (women),  Priesthood (men and young men), and Young Women's (12-18 years olds).  The children stay with their age groups for the third hour. You can come to just one meeting or all three!  I love all of them!