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.)

I would like to share my testimony by telling anyone who’s going to read this that I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter – Day Saints is true. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ did appear to the young Joseph Smith and that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. I know that Heavenly Father loves each and everyone of us and that He knows us by name. I love the Savior because I know that He sacrificed His life for you and me. I know that the more we read our scriptures, its the more we will draw closer to Heavenly Father.I know that Gordon B. Hinkcley is the True Prophet of God and that the church is directed by God and His only Begotten Son, even Jesus Christ. I love the Savior so much. I say and write all these words in the Mighty Name Of our Lord and Savior, even Jesus Christ. Amen.

Here are the basics of my testimony:

I have a testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know that we have a living prophet on the earth today. I know that Gordon B. Hinckley is that living prophet of God and the leader of God’s church on this earth. And I am so grateful for him. I know, through very personal revelation from the Holy Ghost, that this Church is truly the only way to eternal peace and happiness. I know that Jesus Christ, through the Atonement, has all the power to heal and save us if we will humble ourselves and turn our wills over to our Lord and Savior. I also know that the Atonement makes it possible for me to be with my family forever. It doesn’t end here.

I was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but like all people, whether “born in the church” or not, I had to find out the truth for myself. I don’t ever recall really questioning what I had been taught in church or by my parents, but I will always remember one Sunday in particular. I was 12 years old, and one of my Young Women’s teachers was discussing the importance of gaining a testimony for yourself. She talked about how we couldn’t always lean on the testimony for others and how we cannot have blind faith, but that we needed to know the truth for ourselves. She challenged and pleaded with us to go home and to pray to find out the truth for ourselves. At church I thought her message was nice, but I didn’t understand the importance of it… yet. After church her face kept coming into my mind, pleading for me to find out for myself. The more I though about it, the greater the need I felt to do just that. So I went to my bedroom and thought about what I wanted to know, and I knelt down and prayed. I will never forget the amazing power that filled my entire body, how full my heart was, and how close I felt to my Heavenly Father at that moment. I knew that God was there, listening to me- and ready and waiting to answer my prayer. Since then I have never doubted.

I know that my Heavenly Father lives, and that He knows me and every person individually, and that He loves me. I know that my Savior lives. I know that He lived a perfect life and that He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and again on the cross for me, that He died and was resurrected that I may not only live again, but that I may become clean and pure through the power of the atonement. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, that he was an instrument in God’s hands in restoring the fullness of the gospel on the earth again. I know that this is the Church of Jesus Christ. I know that President Hinckley is a prophet today, that he, under the direction of the Savior who stands at the head of this church, is His spokesman for the world. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, that it is scripture, that it has the power to change lives, and as we follow the teachings of Christ and the prophets we find in all scripture, that they will work together to lead us to God. I know that there is a great plan of salvation and that plan truly is a plan of happiness, and as we follow that plan, as we follow Christ and keep the commandments, we will find peace and joy in this life and in the life to come.

I recently received an email from a visitor to my blog who is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the email, this person talked a little about the problems his church has been facing in recent years to keep people, especially youth, active in participation. Curious as to how The Church of Jesus Christ has so much success in cultivating the activity of its members, he asked:

How do your ecclesiastic leaders encourage young people, such as yourself, to remain members? Why is the commitment in the LDS Church so much harder, yet significantly higher than other denominations?

My response is as follows.

1. Continuing Revelation

Modern revelation is a wonderful thing. In his wisdom and mercy, God has ordained prophets and apostles to guide His children. We are not left with only the Bible to guide us. Nephi taught:

Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written. (2 Nephi. 29:10)

God knows that the challenges we face today are quite different from those that the Israelites and early Christians faced. Any time He has been able to establish His church on the earth, He has called witnesses to testify to the people about what they see and hear from Him. So it is today. We are not left to interpret previous scripture in councils and committees, but instead are given prophets and apostles to give us new scripture for our day, guiding us back to God’s presence.

Elder Holland, one of the Apostles, said that “it is no trivial matter for this Church to declare to the world prophecy, seership, and revelation, but we do declare it. It is true light shining in a dark world…”

Much like a sitting body of water grows stagnant over time, so does old revelation begin to age. Like a river, revelation must continuously be running and streaming in to wash over us and carry us in its current back to God.

I testify that God has called such men in our day to be His special witnesses. We have a prophet on the earth, like unto Moses, Jacob, Isaiah, and the rest. His name is Gordon B. Hinckley.

2. Priesthood Power

And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. (Hebrews 5:4)

The priesthood of God is the power and authority to act in His name. Such an authority is not to be obtained by going to school, studying the scriptures, or simply going forth and performing acts in God’s name. In fact, we learn repeatedly in the scriptures how unlearned men were called to lead God’s people. In order to obtain the priesthood we must be called of God, as this scripture indicates.

How, then, does one obtain this calling of God? Our fifth Article of Faith declares:

We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.

Those who have the authority are the only ones who can bestow it, by the laying on of hands, on another. Joseph Smith, the first prophet in Christ’s latter-day Church, received such authority at the hands of angelic ministers. He received the Aaronic (or lower) priesthood from John the Baptist. Later, he received the Melchizedek (or higher) priesthood from Peter, James, and John. Being so called of God, the Prophet was then able to bestow this power upon others, and it has continued in His church until this day.

The priesthood, as I said earlier, is both the power and authority to act in God’s name. In 1842, the Prophet Joseph said:

It may seem to some to be a very bold doctrine that we talk of—a power which records or binds on earth and binds in heaven. Nevertheless, in all ages of the world, whenever the Lord has given a dispensation of the priesthood to any man by actual revelation, or any set of men, this power has always been given. Hence, whatsoever those men did in authority, in the name of the Lord, and did it truly and faithfully, and kept a proper and faithful record of the same, it became a law on earth and in heaven, and could not be annulled, according to the decrees of the great Jehovah. This is a faithful saying. Who can hear it?

With the power of God, miracles have been performed. Some are too sacred to share. Some easily testify of a God who knows us, cares about us, and wants us to be happy and prosperous.

I testify of the power of the priesthood. Holding the Melchizedek priesthood myself, I have acted in the name of God on several occasions. I have been able to bless several people with varying needs. It is a marvelous thing to act in God’s name and strive to live worthily of such a responsibility. I know that we have his priesthood here on earth today.

3. Covenants

We Latter-day Saints [/blog/the-way-of-the-covenant| are a covenant-making people]. In the ordinances of the gospel there exist several promises we make to God, for which He has promised us blessings in return. Such an active, participatory gospel cultivates personal responsibility and accountability in each of its members. We live up to the promises we make. We are assigned callings in our local congregation to help build up the kingdom. None of the leaders in our church are paid; everybody who serves does so voluntarily.

The scriptures are replete with examples of God’s people making covenants with him. These covenants can only be admistered by the priesthood, thus indicating the need for God’s official power to be restored as it has. A covenant is an official promise, and to be binding and official it must be administered by one who has the authority to do so. God has said:

…I will prove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy.
For if ye will not abide in my covenant ye are not worthy of me. (D&C 98:14-15)

Indeed, to return to God’s presence one must make covenants with Him. Baptism, the sacrament, and other covenants allow us to make promises to our Heavenly Father. One does not renege on a promise to God—hence the desire Latter-day Saints have to be active and live up to such promises.

President Brigham Young taught:

Let me give you a definition in brief. Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the house of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being enabled to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the holy Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell. (Discourses of Brigham Young [Deseret Book Co., 1941], p. 416.)

I testify that covenants are a crucial part of the gospel. They facilitate the progression in the gospel that is necessary to gain our eventual exaltation and return to God’s presence. Upon living up to them, we are blessed in abundance.

4. Holy Ghost

The Gift of the Holy Ghost is the promised companion reserved for those who are baptized. When one in authority lays his hands upon the recipients head, the gift of the Holy Ghost is given. Explaining the difference between the Holy Ghost and the gift of the Holy Ghost, the Prophet Joseph Smith said:

There is a difference between the Holy Ghost and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Cornelius received the Holy Ghost before he was baptized, which was the convincing power of God unto him of the truth of the Gospel, but he could not receive the gift of the Holy Ghost until after he was baptized. Had he not taken this . . . ordinance upon him, the Holy Ghost which convinced him of the truth of God, would have left him. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 199)

The Holy Ghost serves multiple purposes. It helps us to know the truth of all things. It is also a comforter and a guide.

This special gift—reserved for those who enter Christ’s church by covenant—is the method by which we obtain daily divine help in treading the path back to God’s presence. Having this constant companion (if we live worthy of it) allows us to more easily discern between truth and error and know what we should do to fulfill the covenants we have made.

I testify that the gift of the Holy Ghost is real and powerful. Having received this gift, I have had occasion to use it repeatedly throughout my life. Through it, I feel God’s hand guiding me in my daily life. I feel His love and interest in my life. I treasure this gift immensely.

5. Comforting Doctrine

Our modern prophet has said:

Circumstances change, but our message does not change. We bear testimony to the world that the heavens have been opened, that God, our Eternal Father, and His Son, the risen Lord, have appeared and spoken. We offer our solemn witness that the priesthood has been restored with the keys and authority of eternal blessings.
—President Gordon B. Hinckley, “We Bear Testimony to the World”, October 2006

When the circumstances of the world shift with society’s [/blog/moral-relativism| moral relativism], many people get caught in the rip current. Some of the other churches follow society’s trends and begin to adopt what becomes the “norm” in order to find more acceptance and adherence among their members. Some do it so as not to offend their members.

The message of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints remains constant. God personally visited Joseph Smith, and with the aid of angelic visitors restored the gospel to the earth in all its fulness. Along with this restoration came the priesthood, temples, and all ordinances and covenants necessary to provide the opportunity for exaltaton to all of God’s children.

These doctrines are comforting. They are palatable. I love knowing that my family and I can live together forever in God’s presence. I love knowing that God has a place to “rest his head”. I love that, since God loves all His children, He has provided a way whereby those who have already died may saved as well. I love knowing that God still speaks to man.

I testify that these doctrines are true, and that they are comforting. They attract people all over the world who are hungering and thirsting for them.

6. Letter from Heaven

Further illustrating the reassuring truth that God knows and loves each of us, He has provided patriarchs who, like their predecessors of old, can provide partiarchal blessings to worthy members of the Church.

President Ezra Taft Benson has taught that “a patriarchal blessing is the inspired and prophetic statement of your life’s mission together with blessings, cautions, and admonitions as the patriarch may be prompted to give.”

In times of uncertainty, tribulation, or indirection, my patriarchal blessing—a veritable letter from heaven—serves as a guide to remind me of my divine potential and foreordained mission. Reading it frequently helps me to make sure my priorities are aligned with what I should be doing in my life.

The Core

And 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)

At the core of all these reasons I have listed is a burning testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ. If all these other things I have previously mentioned were not part of the gospel, I still would participate and remain active because I have a knowledge that He directs this work, that He was resurrected and lives, and that He will come again to rule and reign on this earth. I know that He leads and guides the Church in our day through His chosen servants, and that He suffered for our sins, infirmities, and sicknesses.

Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot. (Mormon 10:32-33)

Why am I active in the gospel? Why do I come each week, and strive to obey God’s commandments every minute of every day?

I do it because Christ lives, and through His messengers He has instructed me that it’s what I need to do in order to return to my Father’s presence and inherit eternal glory. And that’s what I’m after. Nothing less will suffice.

I was born into a family that had been members of The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints.
Some would say that would make it really easy to feel that the church is the church of Jesus Christ restored because it was what I was raised with.
That couldn’t be further from the truth.

As a young teen, I wanted to know for myself if the church was true.
I wanted to have a personal testimony.
I read The Book Of Mormon, The Holy Bible, and studied many different world religions.
As I did this, I came to appreciate all that these different beliefs and cultures added to our world.
One day, when I was fourteen, I decided that I had studied a great deal, and it was time that I ask God about the church.
I remember that I had just finished reading in the Doctrine and Covenants about Joseph Smith’s prophecy about the Civil war, and had written about it in my journal as I knelt down to pray.
I asked God, in the name of his son, if Joseph Smith truly was a prophet of God, and I immediately felt this wonderful warm and comforting feeling within myself.
It was so warm and so good, that it brought tears to my eyes.
It was that moment that I gained knowledge from God that Joseph Smith was a prophet.

I always wanted to have my own light, and not have my testimony hinge on what my parents or others believed, so I sought out to gain a testimony of anything and everything that I was taught and read about in the scriptures.
I gained a testimony of the blessings of tithing, by exercising my faith, and paying it.
So many times I had everything covered when I had no idea how I was going to do it.
Or when food was low, someone brought more to me.
Our Father in Heaven truly loves us, and he will provide for us.

I gained a testimony of fasting with a purpose when I was about 16.
My best friend Billie was being sent to live with her sister’s father because her mother didn’t want to raise children anymore.
My friend Billie was a new member in the church, and I loved her very very much, still do.
I did not want her to have to go and live away from me and her other friends, so I called up some of my friends, and asked that they fast with me that Billie’s mother would have Billie come back home, and that is exactly what happened.
By the end of the week, Billie was back.
I have since fasted for many causes, and have had wonderful blessings poured out upon our family.

I gained a testimony of temple attendance after I had lived in an area where I could not attend as often.
The peace and blessings that the temple brings are so wonderful.
I enjoyed my time there so much!
It was so special to get to be in a place that is so holy, so peaceful and feel that love that my Father in heaven has for me, and for all of us.
Leaving the stresses and worries of the world behind for those moments I will forever cherish, and I look forward to my next opportunity to attend.

I gained a testimony of the priesthood from so many personal experiences in my life.
As a teen I suffered from Endometriosis, and blessings of healing helped me deal with that painful condition.
I have also experienced blessings that helped me carry my children far enough that they were able to survive their births.
I have been given blessings that have comforted me a great deal through many trials that I have experienced.

I have a testimony of forgiveness.
With all that I went through as a child, I think this was the hardest testimony to receive.
It happened about two years ago, when I actually forgave what others had done, even though they never said they were sorry.
I was amazed at how much this changed my life!
I was able to love others much more deeply, I stopped worrying about getting hurt, and I was willing to express to others how much I care about them.
I became even more compassionate, and felt so much joy!
I wish I had learned this earlier in life, but I am so thankful that I learned it!

I have an unshakable testimony in my Savior Jesus Christ.
There are so many experiences that I have had and they are so sacred to me that I will not share them.
I will say that I know that he lives, and there is nothing that would ever be able to make me deny that.
I would rather die then deny him.
I know that he lives, I know that he loves all of us, and I am so amazed that he loved us so much to do all that he did for us.

I know that miracles happen today, and they occur all around us.
I have experienced many.
I am thankful that I have.

I know that the Bible and the Book of Mormon contains the word of God.
That this is Christ’s church restored on the earth.
I have not only gained a personal testimony of this, I have literally studied all that I can, and I know without any doubt that this is Christ’s Church.
There is no other church that has the authority of God, that has all of the principles and Ordinances in effect today.
I am so thankful to be born in a time when I can be blessed to be a member of Christ’s restored church.

I know that there are prophets and apostles on the earth today, and that they speak to us the word of God.

I have a testimony that we can be together forever, bound together as eternal families.

I am so thankful for the knowledge that those who did not have a chance to receive the gospel in this life, are able to have the opportunity to choose or deny it for themselves, that we are able to do vicarious work for them, and on their behalf, fulfill those required ordinances.
We live in such a wonderful and glorious time.
I am not certain why I am so blessed as to have been able to be right here right now, but I am ever thankful for it.