~by Michelle

As part of our Family Home Evening, I asked my children (all tween/teen ages) what one thing they would want to share about the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is what they said.

The fact that there are three separate Beings in the Godhead.

He loves us with more love than any other human or any other being can give. Even though He loves us all individually, it doesn’t exclude anyone. It’s not a competition.

When we have trials it doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love us. He’s helping our faith. He doesn’t just give us trials, He’s walking with us and helping us through.

God does speak through angels. Some people may think that we are strange to say Joseph Smith had angels come, but it’s true. It’s just one of the ways that God talks to us. If something is really important to Him, I think He’ll send an angel. This truth also ties to the New Testament and the Old Testament. For example, Peter, James and John came back, and Elijah, and John the Baptist.

The post Mormon tweens/teens share their thoughts about the gospel of Jesus Christ appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, recently addressed students at the Harvard Law School. [Find transcript of Elder Holland’s Harvard Law School address.] He urged students of the law to take religion seriously, and then, in response to the invitation extended him, shared some of his thoughts about what we’ll refer to here as the “Mormon moment” — for example, about seeing two Mormons running for president, and seeing New York City taxi toppers advertising the Book of Mormon musical. He quipped that the Church’s rejoinder to the musical has been: “Now you’ve seen the show; read the book!”

But his main point in this address is that the contemporary “Mormon moment” attention doesn’t mean much without understanding the fundamentals of Mormon beliefs. And the majority of his remarks focus on those fundamentals.

Mormons believe in God, in Jesus Christ, in priesthood authority, in a loss of that authority for a millennium and a half, necessitating a Restoration of such authority and of doctrinal truth lost through the time of apostasy. He references verses from the Bible, as well as explains latter-day Restoration history. But he also explains Mormon belief in a divine plan of God. We believe in a literal Adam and Eve, in the fall of mankind, in the need for a Savior, and in God’s universal love for all His children and His invitation to all to come to Christ and be saved by Him.

He concludes by addressing the question of why some think Mormons are not Christians. He concedes that we aren’t “creedal Christians” or “fourth-century Christians.” We “teach that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ are separate and distinct beings with glorified bodies of flesh and bone.” And we declare that they are also one in mind, purpose, intent, love and more. “In this manner, we differ from traditional creedal Christianity, but we do feel we agree with the New Testament.”

We also differ from traditional Christianity in that we believe the heavens and the canon are not closed. Prophets and apostles are on the earth as they were in ancient times. We believe God continues to speak through prophetic revelation. (General Conference is a time when we look forward to hearing from living prophets and apostles.)

Lastly, our Mormon beliefs are unique in the world of Christianity as we claim that priesthood authority was lost and then restored to the earth by those who anciently held the authority, restored to be able to perform authorized ordinances and sacraments. Elder Holland shares a verse that he has quoted before, so we’re taking the previous explanation of restored priesthood authority from his talk, “Our Most Distinguishing Feature” [this part of the post was written before finding the transcript of Elder Holland’s Harvard Law School address]

[M]ost people longed for priesthood sanctioned by God and were frustrated as to where they might go to find such. ⁹ In that spirit the revelatory return of priesthood authority through Joseph Smith should have eased centuries of anguish in those who felt what the famed Charles Wesley had the courage to say. Breaking ecclesiastically with his more famous brother John over the latter’s decision to ordain without authority to do so, Charles wrote with a smile:

How easily are bishops made

By man or woman’s whim:

Wesley his hands on Coke hath laid,

But who laid hands on him? ¹⁰

In responding to that challenging question, we in the restored Church of Jesus Christ can trace the priesthood line of authority exercised by the newest deacon in the ward, the bishop who presides over him, and the prophet who presides over all of us. That line goes back in an unbroken chain to angelic ministers who came from the Son of God Himself, bearing this incomparable gift from heaven.

He also entertained questions in a Q&A session following his remarks, which allowed him to clarify about our beliefs in the divinity of God and His Son, about the Holy Ghost as part of the Godhead, our views about other faiths (we don’t think we are the only ones who are good Christians or who teach truth or who have had divine connections and private religious experiences throughout history; we do believe that the issue of priesthood authorization for ordinances is an important difference to make clear), and other issues (including an apparent question about women’s issues and respecting the dignity of women).

The post Mormons believe in God, Angels, Revelation, Restoration appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

A Mormons Woman’s story of conversion

~by Becky

I sat staring at the surf as I listened to the hypnotic rush of the waves.  My feet were going deeper into the wet sand as it disappeared and then covered them again.  It was one of those quiet moments, when, like it or not, my thoughts ran deep. It had happened before many times as I climbed the trees and sat up high staring at the sunset. Sometimes, it happened as I stared at the clouds as they formed into thunderheads or just floated into funny shapes as I gazed at them.  It was in those quiet moments that eternity seeped into my consciousness. What I didn’t understand was the strange feelings that always accompanied these thoughts. It was a combination of a longing, a deep questioning, a yearning for something unidentified. Strong, sure beliefs of my own had formed in these meditative moments. I was absolutely sure that I did not just become me when I was born.  Any other idea seemed absurd. I felt it in every fiber of my being: I am eternal. I also knew that somehow, some way I would have an eternal family of my own someday. The family I was born into never discussed either of these beliefs and it was not part of the doctrine of the church I had attended all my life. I also knew without a doubt that God was not some floating spirit out there who wasn’t real or who wasn’t interested in His children. I just knew that he and His Son, Jesus Christ, whom I loved dearly, were real and full of love.

I had read the Bible many times and it was as clear as anything could be to me that Jesus was talking to His Father, not to himself, in the scriptures. In fact, this was so obvious to me that I was shocked later to find out that my church, pastor, other believers, believed in a very incomprehensible thing to me; that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were all one being. How could that be? The Bible was clear-Jesus talked to His Father, His Father spoke to Him at his baptism and the Holy Ghost descended as a dove. To me,  this was as clear as anything could be.

Even though I had these thoughts and beliefs of my own at the young age of 17, I wasn’t particularly unhappy or unsettled about it. I was going on in my church and didn’t imagine that the answers were even out there. The only thing that couldn’t stop disturbing my peace were those strong feelings!  The deep emptiness and longing that I felt at times became the one thing I could not ignore. I didn’t expect the answer to these deep questions to come in the way that it did.

I was given a book with a name I had never heard of before, by a young man I was dating. It was blue with an angel blowing a trumpet on the front and the title was  The Book of Mormon. When I opened the book and read it, I felt such an incredible feeling! I was filled with a burning peace and light like I had only felt once before. I had felt this same incredible feeling when I had come to know and accept Jesus was indeed my Lord and Savior. Now, as I read this book, I felt it again-this book was testifying of Him! This book was an ancient record from people that had lived on the American continent who had come from Jerusalem. They kept a record of their lives. Most of the record covers from 600 B.C. to 421 A.D. But, the part that was the most exciting was that Jesus Christ came to visit these people after His resurrection. I had always wondered about the scripture in John 10:16-who were these other sheep?  Then I read in this new book of scripture where Jesus told them they are one of the “other sheep” he spoke about in the Bible.  This book was scripture like the Bible!  I was so excited!

Due to many persecutions and trials, it took me years to finally do something about my new-found knowledge that this book was true. In fact, I tried to go on without it. I tried to put it out of my mind. The price was so very high if I did do something about it. Due to many circumstances, I was not able to do anything about it until many years later. After 13 years of living without it, I knew I could no longer bear the emptiness, the cavernous hole inside of me. I knew I had to find the church that had this book. I did and was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was in my lessons to be baptized that I discovered the answers to those deep questions I had held all my life. Where did I come from? Why I am here?  Where do I go after I die?  All those questions were answered in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  It is glorious!  It is incredible!  Now, I look out at the clouds and no longer wonder-but I know with a knowledge that only the Holy Ghost can give.  Yes, you are eternal; yes, you can  have an eternal family; and yes, God, who is Heavenly Father, IS the Father of us all and Jesus Christ is His Son and the Holy Ghost testifies of all these truths. It is so wonderful, so sublime!

I hope you will seek out these answers too. They are right there before you!  Go and find them, as I did–the greatest treasure you can have!

The post Portrait of Mormon Women: Becky appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

I have a goal to laugh more with my family. Recently, for part of our Family Home Evening, I pulled out a binder of old family letters and read a few of what we call “Notable Quotables.” These are precious and funny things our children said when they were little that I actually had the presence of mind to record. (It only makes me wish I had done more. Note to young moms: Write those precious things down!)

Here are some of the gems we got a kick out of. (You know, that we are going to ask you to share some, too, so start looking for or remembering some good ones from your world — family, friends, neighbors (adults’ funnies are OK, too — just keep them clean, please)).

From 2004:

Background: #1 (a son, then age 5) loved to draw. One thing that he loved drawing for a while was a “dotted-line” representation of the Holy Ghost (you know, because he has no body).

My husband decided to take advantage of a teaching moment with #2 (then age 4).

Dad: Does Heavenly Father have a body?
#2: Yes.
Dad: What does Jesus have?
#2: A body.
Dad: What about the Holy Ghost?
#2: Just dots.

——–

Background: Our son and his dad had (and still have) a few favorite joint pastimes. At the top of the list is checkers (chess is now added to the list).

Hubby and I were hugging in the kitchen (and, FYI, that is all that happened!)….

Son sneaked a peek at us hugging (he should have been in bed).  We sent him back to bed, and he went, but not without this comment:

Son: “I know what you guys are going to do!” (With a hint of ‘you can’t fool me!’ in his voice….) —

…”You’re going to play checkers!” [Ahhh…the true sign of a loving relationship? To a five-year-old boy, yes, I suppose it was.]

——–

As we discussed how Laman and Lemuel (rebellious sons of Lehi, the prophet whose story is the first in the Book of Mormon) were not obedient, #1 and #2 gave us their interpretation of what they must have done to be disobedient:

“They probably stole candy!”

——–

A few from #3 (who was then only two):

Background: In preschool, #1 was learning little rhymes for the colors, like “Red, red forgot his head” and “Yellow, yellow, sat in jello” Anyway, one day, #3 was chanting:

“Yellow, yellow, sat in jelly. Red, red, sat in jelly….”

**

Dressed in one of her outrageous outfits (I often let her choose what to wear; her combination choices were something else!):

“Look! Dokey-dots!” (Both her shirt and her pants had polka-dots.)

Another time when someone was sitting too close to her or something (and she was wearing polka-dotted clothing), she exclaimed, “You’re squishing my dokey-dots!”

———

One day, #1 burst into spontaneous song. It was impossible for me to capture this all when it was spontaneous, so you get an idea from what I wrote after I asked him to do it again, for posterity’s sake. (Picture a four-year-old with his fist up to his mouth like a microphone.)

If you obey your mom,
You will feel happy inside,
And you will do some more.

If you want to be good,
Then you’ll be gooder;
More kind, more faithful
More, more love-ish.
If you will love your parents
Then you will love them more.

If you obey your parents,
Just, just love them all the time,
Be faithful and do good things.
For you and for me,
For you and for me,
For you and for me.
Yay, yay, yay, yay, yay!

If we just do these things,
Then we’ll be more more good,
More more good.

If we just, if we just
Do it s’more,
Then we will be more faithful
And love each other
All the time.

———

Another attempt at a teaching moment, this time from me.

#3 was pretending that I was a dad. So I explained that daddies are boys and mommies are girls, so Mommy couldn’t be a dad because she is a girl. “And someday you will be a mommy, too.”

I don’t know what I expected her response to be, but I didn’t expect to hear:

“Big feet?”

In other words: “When I grow up and I’m a mommy, that means I will have big feet.”

——-

#1 said, “Mom, you’re the bestest cook!” But…before I had a chance to respond, he said, “Well, actually….Grandma.”

——–

OK, now it’s your turn. What are some fun or funny Notable Quotables from your world?

——-

For more Family Friday posts, see here.

The post Family Friday: Notable Quotables, Issue 1 appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Our First Article of Faith reads: We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

I don’t remember the first time I felt God’s reality. I remember coming home from Primary (the organization for children up to age 11), and telling my parents what I learned at church that day: “God loves me.”

My father asked me how I knew that. The answer to my five-year-old mind was clear, “Because my teacher told me so.” My dad, always pushing his children to develop their faith further, even when we were so young, said something to the effect of “That’s good that you listened to your teacher, but how do you know?” He then told me I should pray to feel it myself. This I did and learned for myself that God is there and loves me, personally.

Many years and experiences later, I had to learn that lesson again. I sat across from my mission president while he asked me the question: “Sister, do you know that God loves you? Really know it?” Even now, a lump comes to my throat thinking of that moment. At the time, I had forgotten the lesson my father had me learn when I was five. I no longer knew in my heart that God loved me, though I still knew He was there. I was fighting my way through my mission, thinking I had something to prove, that somehow I had to earn His love and approbation. It was several days before I could bring myself again to kneel and ask Him to show me how He felt about me. He did. I have never been the same since.

These experiences taught me that I had Father in Heaven, the Father of my spirit.

As I ponder what it means to come to know Jesus Christ, the literal Son of God, I think that can be both easier and more difficult. Christ follows our Heavenly Father in all things. He, Himself, has been delegated the role by God to be the Father of this earth, and the Father of salvation. He, in essence, is the Father of our third life, that life where spirit and body become inseparably connected. He has become so by obeying and following our Heavenly Father in all things.

After my experiences with God the Father, knowing I could ask Him all things, I could pray about them and ask for a confirmation of their veracity in my heart.

These facts about Christ, and even a conviction of them, have not been enough to fully come to Him. For that, I have had to pore over accounts of His dealings with past people in the Bible and other scripture. I have read accounts of His life and teachings. I have had to listen to others’ accounts of His dealings. In the end, I have had to live. It is only through life—through experiencing the pain and evil of this life that Eve and Adam’s choice set into motion — that I am coming to know and understand my Savior.

In raising a child, I have learned what it means to love someone enough to do anything for them, even give life. In learning compassion for others — even as they may inflict pain on me — I have learned what the Savior feels that has led Him to forgive all the pain I have inflicted on Him by my imperfection. And, in learning to forgive myself, I have learned to forgive others in humility, gratitude and deep caring for them, rather than just out of indifference.

The Holy Ghost is an even more intimate relationship for me in many ways. I feel He knows what’s in my heart, both the ugly and the beautiful. He is the one who ties me together with my spiritual siblings. All my convictions rest in his incorporeal hands. I been trained as a horse is trained, with love and firmness, to rely increasingly on His guidance. His presence is like a cozy down comforter on a cold winter day. I am deeply grateful for His guidance.

The Holy Ghost has also given me a witness of Joseph Smith, who saw God the Father and Jesus Christ standing side by side. I am convinced in heart and mind that his account is honest and true. I’m glad for the surety and solidity of our doctrine on this matter. One in purpose, though separate in being, my LDS view of the Godhead to me is a model for how I should strive to unite with my fellow man, my spiritual brothers and sisters. Like a family, we each fill a purpose to contribute to one great whole. May we, mortal children of God, and potential heirs to His glory, also achieve such unity. Together in God, our power is limitless.

—-

For more We Believe posts, please click here.

The post We Believe: One in Purpose, Separate in Being appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.