My testimony of the Mormon Church
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Rick Tolman by staff
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Richard K Miller by richardkmiller
I am a Mormon, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I consider myself Christian because I accept that Jesus is my Savior and I am trying to be like Him.I believe there are at least three ways that the atonement of Jesus Christ saves and heals us:
1. The atonement cleanses us from sin. I believe that through the grace of Jesus, “though [our] sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” (Isaiah 1:18) I can also relate to the experience of the Book of Mormon prophet Enos, who after praying for peace and forgiveness felt his guilt “swept away” and knew that “God could not lie” (Enos 1:4-8.)
2. The atonement helps us to forgive. When David was offended by Nabal, Nabal’s wife came to David with a peace offering and asked David to forgive her, though she had done nothing wrong (1 Samuel 25.) Because Jesus forgives those who have wronged us, how can we withhold our forgiveness from them? Jesus makes a peace offering to us, though He did nothing wrong, so we can forgive others.
3. The atonement brings peace. Sometimes life is just hard, even when we haven’t done anything wrong. The atonement of Jesus Christ can heal our pains and sicknesses.
I recognize that my definition of Christianity isn’t the same as the popular definition that comes from the Nicene Creed.
My understanding of the nature of God comes from the account of Joseph Smith, who said he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ in a vision. They were separate Beings, with bodies of flesh and bone, and they spoke to Joseph personally. I believe that what Joseph said happened actually happened.
Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon. I’ve read the Book of Mormon several times and because of the way I’ve felt as I read it, I believe it is a true book. Some of the most satisfying insights and truths in my life have come or been reinforced while reading the Book of Mormon.
I believe that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord Jesus Christ’s church on the earth, and that He guides the church through prophets. The President of the Church is Gordon B. Hinckley and I believe he is a prophet, in the same sense that Moses was a prophet. I believe that he speaks for Jesus, so I consider what he says to be crucial.
I know these things are true because I feel the Holy Spirit in a peaceful way, assuring me that they are true.
(This testimony was first posted on my blog at richardkmiller.com.)
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Paul Achuff: Answered Prayers by staff
I was recently asked to give a talk by the Bishop of our ward on living the Gospel. Part of my talk was about prayers being answered in our home almost daily.Recently we came on some hard financial times which threatened the security that we’d come to expect every month. I am retired and the company that manages my disability informed me that they were going to start offsetting my check by the amount of my social security check and they were also going to be offsetting my check for an ‘overpayment’ of tens of thousands of dollars.
My wife and I prayed and prayed about a way out of this situation. In about 3 days our prayers were answered. The company called us to inform us that they would only be offsetting my check by the amount that I got from social security and would NOT be pursuing any back pay that I’d received over the last two years. I testify to you all. Prayers ARE answered and God knows each one of us and what we need. He answers prayers.
As a side note, when I first came back to Church (after being away from the Church for almost 40 years), our Bishop told us that he expected a full tithing from us in order to receive the blessings that tithing brings. We thought it would be totally impossible to pay tithing, pay our bills and build up our food storage so that we would have the necessary items to feed five of us. We initially resisted tithing and then relented and started paying faithfully every time we got a check. To our surprise, not only were we able to pay our bills, but we managed to build up our food storage so that we now have at least a three month supply of food. Another prayer was answered for us and a blessing received because we are being faithful.
Brothers and sisters, I don’t think prayers are answered, I KNOW they are. I know that Jesus Christ loves us and wishes only the best things for us in this temporal probationary state. I know that Joseph Smith was our Prophet on earth and that through him, the only true Church of Christ is now established in this, the last dispensation. I know the power of the priesthood and what miracles can be achieved in the name of Christ. I leave this testimony with you in His, Jesus the Christ’s name. Amen.
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Paulo Neves – my conversion to the Mormon Church by staff
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Patrick Loss by staff
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Ott Dameron: becoming a member of the Mormon Church by staff
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Noel Hudson by staff
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Nathan Gwilliam: Why I Believe in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints by staff
Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon Church or LDS Church)is not easy. We pay tithing, attend at least 3 hours of meetings on Sundays, obey the law of chastity, don’t drink alcohol or smoke, visit other members each month, and serve in volunteer church assignments. How then can we explain how this Church, which requires so much from its’ members, has grown to nearly 13 million members since the Church was established less than 180 years ago?At any given time, there are more than 50,000 full-time Mormon missionaries serving around the world. These are young men and women who are generally 19-23 years old who leave their colleges, jobs and loved ones to volunteer to teach the gospel of Christ. These missionaries do not date, watch television or go to the movies on their missions. Missionaries and their families generally pay for their missions, and many missionaries contribute to a fund to help support missionaries who do not have the financial resources. These missionaries work about 12 hours a day, 6 1/2 days a week. They often serve in third world countries and live in very meager circumstances among the people they are teaching. Where else in today’s world can you find 50,000 young men and women who are willing to sacrifice so much at a young age for their faith?
However, I do not believe the LDS Church is the restored church of Jesus Christ because others believe. James 1:6 says “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not and it shall be given him.” I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true because I have put this promise from God to the test. I have asked Him, and I believe because my prayer was answered, and continues to be reaffirmed on a regular basis.
Matthew 7:20 says “By their fruits ye shall know them.” In other words, the Lord has given us a mechanism to know whether the Mormon Church is of God or not. If the fruits (results of Church teachings in the lives of its’ members) are good, then we can know that the tree (Church)is of God. I have observed how the lives of many individuals and families change for the better when they join the Church and live its’ teachings. I have seen families and marriages strengthened. I have repeatedly observed that lasting joy and happiness are the results of living the teachings of the LDS Church.
The Mormon Church is lead today by prophets and apostles, as in Biblical times. Knowing there are living apostles and prophets on the earth today is crucial because there is so much confusion in the world about Christian doctrines. Why would God want us to be confused? The Bible clearly shows a pattern of God calling prophets, revealing his truths to the prophets, and then the prophets teaching those messages to the people. Amos 3:7 says “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets”. If God followed that prophetic pattern for thousands of years, why would he not have prophets and apostles today? Aren’t the wickedness, confusion and need for a prophet just as great or greater today than ever before? I know that God leads His Church on today through modern prophets, just as he did anciently.
I began by saying that being a member of the Mormon Church is not easy. It is not easy from a perspective outside the Church. However, I do not feel that the responsibilities involved in being a member of the Church are very hard. The Savior said in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me… For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” The requirements of being a member of the LDS Church are not a burden because we know that this is the Church of Jesus Christ. They are the wings that give us the freedom to attain the Celestial happiness that a loving Savior and Heavenly Father desire for us.
I know that Jesus Christ is my Saviour for I have felt the power of his atonment in my life.
I know these things are true. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Mormonism answers questions of the soul. by staff
In May 2007, Time magazine had a cover story on Mitt Romney, and PBS ran a four hour special on Mormons. Although both purported to be ‘fair and balanced’, I didn’t quite find that to be so. Time had the following quote, in regards to Mitt Romney and his Mormon beliefs:Slate editor Jacob Weisberg threw down the challenge after reviewing some of Joseph Smith’s more extravagant assertions. “He was an obvious con man,” Weisberg wrote. “Romney has every right to believe in con men, but I want to know if he does, and if so, I don’t want him running the country.”
I wanted to tell you briefly why I believe in Mormonism. When I was a boy of about 11-13 , I had a singular experience. I went to church, and the lesson was on how everyone must be baptized to go to heaven. It seemed true, but at the same time deeply disturbing. What about the billions of people in India and China that haven’t even heard the name Jesus Christ, let alone had the chance to be baptized. How could God be fair if this was true? With this on my mind, it was either the same day or the week after, my two older brothers expressed similar doubts. One said something like ‘if God is God of the whole earth, why did he only speak to people in Israel?’, and the other said ‘what bothers me is, in the Old Testament, God is a vengeful god, even ordering the extermination of entire cities, while in the New Testament, he is described as a God of Love. That sure doesn’t sound like he’s an ‘unchanging god.
Over the next several years, I became an agnostic as a result of these doubts. When I came in contact with Mormonism years later, I found it had plain and simple answers to these questions. If you are interested in what I believe those answers to be, I have links below which explain my beliefs.
I agree somewhat with Mr. Weisberg: either Joseph Smith was a con man of the first degree, perhaps the greatest on record, or he was who he purported to be. There can be no middle ground. Jesus said ‘beware of false prophets’, then went on to say ‘by their fruits, ye shall know them’. Most, if not all churches interpret this to mean that there would be no more prophets at all, but clearly, this is not what he said. The Book of Mormon is the fruit by which we can know the truth of Joseph Smith. It is convincing evidence that he was truly a prophet of God.
There are many, many criticisms of Mormonism, but it all comes down to whether the Book of Mormon is what it claims to be, or if it is a fake. It is the keystone of our religion – if it is a fake, so are all of our beliefs. The opposite is also true. I encourage people to be as skeptical as humanly possible when reading it. I tell them to ask themselves with every page, whether Joseph Smith, or anyone else could have made up the book, then ask God if it is true, and that somewhere between the first and last page, they will come to know with absolute surety that it is a true record. There are many theories as to the origin of the Book of Mormon. Had Joseph or anyone else written the book from ‘whole cloth’, it would have been infinitely more miraculous than the account of its divine origin, as given by Joseph Smith. As one man said ‘A wicked man couldn’t write such a book. A good man wouldn’t write it, unless he was commanded to do so.’
If you are interested, here are the answers to my questions:
What about the requirement that you be baptized to enter heaven? (Mormons believe in baptism for the dead, which is performed in our temples. Everyone will have the chance to hear and accept the gospel in the next life, and accept or reject these ordinances done in their behalf. See 1 Cor. 15:29 )
Why did God only speak to people in Israel ? (This is the message of the Book of Mormon , a record of his dealings with people in the Americas – see http://scriptures.lds.org/en/3_ne/15/14-17,21#14 )
How can God be the same yesterday, today, and forever, yet order the extermination of cities in the Old Testament, and be a God of Love in the New Testament. (see http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_ne/17/32-45#32 , When nations ripen in iniquity, the Lord destroys them. ( 1 Nephi 17:37-38, 2 Nephi 1:7 , Alma 45:16 , Ether 2:8-12 ). Before destroying them, he sends prophets to warn them ( 2 Nephi 25:9 see also Amos 3:7). In the case of the Canaanites, parents were sacrificing their own children to false gods, and there was no hope for breaking this cycle. God is a gardener, of sorts, and he sends prophets to weed those gardens, but when the weeds totally overcome the garden, he uses Roundup. The same principle applies in our day, especially with reference to the Second Coming. )
If there is a God, would He be a fair and just God if he wouldn’t provide a way to prove that He existed? Likewise, if the Book of Mormon is scripture, wouldn’t God provide a way to know of a surety that this was truly scripture? (see http://scriptures.lds.org/en/moro/10/3-5#3)
The Book of Mormon makes the audacious claim that it would contain many plain and precious teachings that were once in the Bible, but were removed, either deliberately, or by error. There is an article on the internet that lists over a hundred of these plain and precious Book of Mormon teachings. (see http://www.fairwiki.org/index.php/Plain_and_Precious_Book_of_Mormon_doctrines )
I know this is the work of God. Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet of God. The Book of Mormon is convincing evidence that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that the Church has been restored to the earth.
Brian Palmer
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Mikel-French by staff
Je ne parle pas le français très bien mais j’essaierai d’exprimer mes pensées de l’Eglise de Jésus Christ des Saints de Dernier-jour. La connaissance de l’évangile et mon Sauveur me donne la paix pendant les temps difficiles de vie. Je suis réconforté par l’amour de Jésus Christ. Je sais gré pour le prophète Gordon B. Hinckley. Je sais qu’il parle pour Dieu. Je sais que Joseph Smith a vu Dieu le père et le fils et par le pouvoir de Dieu il a traduit le Livre de Mormon. Je sais que l’Eglise est vraie.
