For those who wish to attack Mormonism, or those who simply don't understand or completely disagree, the most common cause of their dislike is the role of the prophet Joseph Smith. In my opinion, the second greatest problem people have with Joseph Smith is misinformation (often if not usually willfully acquired, or at least gathered under complete bias), but the REAL problem, the reason they are so willing to believe the outlandish stories, or unwilling to objectively seek out the truth, is because of his claim to the prophetic calling.
Others have also claimed to be prophets, but in almost all cases, they have not made much of an imprint, and so they are easy to shrug off (Mohammed being the obvious exception). IF Joseph Smith was a prophet, called by God and Christ, then his message and all of the consequences thereof are real, important, and "true." That means, plain and simple, that you'd have to become a member of His church, enter into His covenants, and bear the yoke. It's not easy--that's why it's a yoke.
It's much easier instead to pass on Joseph, and thus believe whatever one will about Christ. I know a lot of Christians who are better people than I am, but they have admitted to finding great comfort in the simplicity of modern Christianity. Faith alone, Christ alone, Bible alone--it's pretty vague and you can do what you want with it. Yes, many do with that as much as I do with mine. Some more. We'll be hanging out in heaven if I can make it. The problem is that this is simply not God's plan. His house is a house of order, not a free-for-all. It is a yoke, not an event or a statement. We, as society and individuals, need much more structure than modern social philosophies promote. We need covenants and priesthood and revelation and ritual and expectations and Church. Joseph restored all of that.
Christ taught that no one can reach the Father except through Him (John 14:6). It is not exactly the same, but a similar message I would share about Joseph Smith. No one (and I mean that) can get to the truth about Jesus Christ except through the teachings from Christ about Himself and the Father, which were restored by Joseph Smith.
Just think about it--NO major religion in the entire modern world teaches that God has a physical body. The last groups who understood that were from the ancient world (among whom we would include the early Christians, obviously, since Christ--God--had/has a body). NO major religion in modern times believes in Revelation. NO major religion believes in (near) universal, though graded salvation. NO Jewish or Christian group have much resembling the Temple. Catholics and Orthodox retain some extremely distant similarities, but it takes an expert to relate fragmented practices and beliefs to the real thing in the House of the LORD. Those are just a few examples, but none of these things would be possible without Joseph Smith. In addition to these beliefs and practices, he also restored the Priesthood and the way it should be organized here on Earth.
As Christians, our faith in Christ is everything. However, the entire Christian world believes incorrect things about Christ. This does not mean that they aren't amazing and sincere and ... , but it does mean that they do not have the accurate knowledge of what Christ is saying to them at this very day. Latter-day Saints are the only ones who claim to receive His word now. Who Christ is, or is not, what He teaches, or does not, and what He expects, or does not, should be the greatest desire of every Christian to learn. Good friends of mine would obviously agree, but would say that He gave us the Bible, and that is enough. Who said so? Who said that the Bible is it, and God would never speak again. Clearly those to whom He did not speak.
No--Even with the Bible, and even with the Book of Mormon, God must reveal Himself or remain unknown. We cannot comprehend His truths, we are too weak, finite, etc. He must reveal himself, and do so often. His love for us is proven by the fact that He does. Without His constant revelation, no amount of past writings would keep us strong and teach us truth.
And that is why Joseph Smith is necessary. God is revealing Himself again, and it began with Joseph Smith.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Monday, July 21, 2014
6 Things You Need to Believe to be a Mormon
1. God in heaven, the ruler of all that concerns us, is your Father. More real than any earthly father, our Heavenly Father is aware of us, our needs, our situations, our past. He knows us, and our eternal welfare is his constant concern. This is not just a cute phrase or a nice warm fuzzy thought designed to help us in dark moments. This is a statement of doctrinal import that literally rearranges the cosmos (or at least, lets us know that since the days of Augustine/Athanasius/Plotinus our view of the cosmos was seriously flawed). Not only is He our Father, but He is flesh and bone, as tangible as man, simply perfected. There is no religious philosophy on earth that dares make such a statement (which I've always casually thought leant it more weight). In addition, this places family firmly at the center of the structure of the universe. Family just became everything. Everything.
2. God sent his oldest son, Jesus Christ, to atone for our sins and die for us ALL. Because we are flawed, we could not return to God without help. This is the core of Christianity, but general Christianity is missing several important pieces. Christ died for ALL. This means that everyone makes it to heaven. Yep, everyone. Hitler will be there, so will Stalin, and so will that crazy kid at school that you make fun of (but obviously shouldn't). Everyone who has every lived will receive Christs' grace to an extent, and live in eternal happiness well beyond what the various religions of the world dare to talk about in their views of heaven. The trick is, there is more. Again, the family comes into play. Everyone will be saved, but not to the same extent--those who truly believe, exercise faith in Christ, enter into covenant relationships with God, and endure (or enrich) to the end, will be saved as families. There is an open invitation to all who have ever lived (indeed, we all received this invitation before we agreed to come to this mortal life on earth) to come unto Christ. This invitation is currently being extended to those already in the afterlife. Indeed, in the end, everyone will have an equal chance to develop faith in Him and follow him. Christ is not building up a country club or personal entourage, but is working hard, even desperately, to rebuild his fractured family.
3. God revealed His Plan of Salvation, including Christ, to prophets in ancient times. Some of these revelations, but not nearly all, were written down in various books, letters, etc, that were eventually collected into distinct volumes--the Old and New Testaments. Beginning with Adam, God revealed His truth, covenants, and gave personal advice to many. He has not abandoned us, though the story of man's history is mostly us abandoning Him.
4. God has spoken to Prophets again in our day. In 1820, Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ, ushering in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. God rebuilt His Church and organized revelation, ordinances, etc, began again. This obviously means that the world lost God's truth for a while, but it was not His doing, it was ours. The world often pictures a God who can do anything, but this is not the case. He does not override our agency--our free will. The Hebrews and then Jews rejected their prophets, as people in the pre-diluvian times had, and as the early Christians later did. Man is constantly in danger of apostasy, and God allows us to make our own choices. His design is that we become free and independent beings, as capable as He is. This does not happen through force. Luckily, when the time and circumstances were right, foreordained men and women rebuilt His Church under His direction.
5. Proof of God's modern revelation and Restoration is found in the Book of Mormon. Just as the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, or the miracles of Moses, the translation of the Book of Mormon provides us with physical evidence of God's interaction with man. We know God lives because He speaks. In less than a college semester, Joseph Smith dictated, under divine guidance, over 500 pages of holy scripture. It proves the Bible true, it proves Christ's resurrection, it proves revelation, and it proves God's love for us. When in doubt, go to that book and read. Read it over and over and over. Pray about it--force God to prove it to you, for the book actually tells us to do just that. If you want to know if the Book of Mormon is revealed from God, then the amazing thing is, He has promised that He will give you personal revelation to prove that very thing. (Moroni 10) No other book contains this same promise, or challenge.
6. God has restored His Priesthood to man. The Holy Priesthood is one of the greatest blessings He has given to us. Through it we enter into covenant relationships with Him in His specific way. Through it we, both men and women, serve each other and the world. It gives us power to lead and direct His Church, and to bless all the world. It provides validity and order to our actions and revelations and ordinances.
I am so grateful every day that my mother and father raised me with a knowledge of God and His Son and Spirit, and the prophet Joseph Smith. I am grateful that to this point, I haven't messed it all up through pride and worldliness. I know that almost daily, the world thinks less and less of all of these 6 beliefs and many others, but who cares? If God be with us, then who can be against us? He has revealed His truths and clarified His gospel.
What else matters?
Nothing.
2. God sent his oldest son, Jesus Christ, to atone for our sins and die for us ALL. Because we are flawed, we could not return to God without help. This is the core of Christianity, but general Christianity is missing several important pieces. Christ died for ALL. This means that everyone makes it to heaven. Yep, everyone. Hitler will be there, so will Stalin, and so will that crazy kid at school that you make fun of (but obviously shouldn't). Everyone who has every lived will receive Christs' grace to an extent, and live in eternal happiness well beyond what the various religions of the world dare to talk about in their views of heaven. The trick is, there is more. Again, the family comes into play. Everyone will be saved, but not to the same extent--those who truly believe, exercise faith in Christ, enter into covenant relationships with God, and endure (or enrich) to the end, will be saved as families. There is an open invitation to all who have ever lived (indeed, we all received this invitation before we agreed to come to this mortal life on earth) to come unto Christ. This invitation is currently being extended to those already in the afterlife. Indeed, in the end, everyone will have an equal chance to develop faith in Him and follow him. Christ is not building up a country club or personal entourage, but is working hard, even desperately, to rebuild his fractured family.
3. God revealed His Plan of Salvation, including Christ, to prophets in ancient times. Some of these revelations, but not nearly all, were written down in various books, letters, etc, that were eventually collected into distinct volumes--the Old and New Testaments. Beginning with Adam, God revealed His truth, covenants, and gave personal advice to many. He has not abandoned us, though the story of man's history is mostly us abandoning Him.
4. God has spoken to Prophets again in our day. In 1820, Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ, ushering in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. God rebuilt His Church and organized revelation, ordinances, etc, began again. This obviously means that the world lost God's truth for a while, but it was not His doing, it was ours. The world often pictures a God who can do anything, but this is not the case. He does not override our agency--our free will. The Hebrews and then Jews rejected their prophets, as people in the pre-diluvian times had, and as the early Christians later did. Man is constantly in danger of apostasy, and God allows us to make our own choices. His design is that we become free and independent beings, as capable as He is. This does not happen through force. Luckily, when the time and circumstances were right, foreordained men and women rebuilt His Church under His direction.
5. Proof of God's modern revelation and Restoration is found in the Book of Mormon. Just as the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, or the miracles of Moses, the translation of the Book of Mormon provides us with physical evidence of God's interaction with man. We know God lives because He speaks. In less than a college semester, Joseph Smith dictated, under divine guidance, over 500 pages of holy scripture. It proves the Bible true, it proves Christ's resurrection, it proves revelation, and it proves God's love for us. When in doubt, go to that book and read. Read it over and over and over. Pray about it--force God to prove it to you, for the book actually tells us to do just that. If you want to know if the Book of Mormon is revealed from God, then the amazing thing is, He has promised that He will give you personal revelation to prove that very thing. (Moroni 10) No other book contains this same promise, or challenge.
6. God has restored His Priesthood to man. The Holy Priesthood is one of the greatest blessings He has given to us. Through it we enter into covenant relationships with Him in His specific way. Through it we, both men and women, serve each other and the world. It gives us power to lead and direct His Church, and to bless all the world. It provides validity and order to our actions and revelations and ordinances.
I am so grateful every day that my mother and father raised me with a knowledge of God and His Son and Spirit, and the prophet Joseph Smith. I am grateful that to this point, I haven't messed it all up through pride and worldliness. I know that almost daily, the world thinks less and less of all of these 6 beliefs and many others, but who cares? If God be with us, then who can be against us? He has revealed His truths and clarified His gospel.
What else matters?
Nothing.
Why this blog?
I've started this blog in my mind several times. Each time I sit in a fast and testimony meeting with tons to say but the unwillingness to go up every month (used to be gospel doctrine teacher--they've heard me lecture before) and take the time for myself. Each time I see how many others successfully reach people online with their testimonies of Christ. Each time I make a personal review of my study methods and how I can make them more effective. I live in Utah, and almost everyone I see daily is active LDS. Perhaps through this blog I can reach out to someone else.
However, as I state in my introduction, this is mostly for my sons. I need them to see someday how important this is to me. They are going to face challenges that I've never had to, and they'll have questions I won't be there to answer. I can't beat them over the head with every gospel or philosophical thought or Book of Mormon "A-ha!" moment I have--it would drive them nuts. But if in a distant future they occasionally allow themselves the humorous activity of wandering through my wanderings, they will see what I would love to tell them all day long. In a way, this becomes a public conversation with my boys that is not confined by time. It will, however, be incredibly one-sided for a while.
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