Some people who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints share some of their thoughts in response to this question.

This video from Latter-day Saints in Canada includes several people’s thoughts, including youth and children.

What brings you peace? Missionaries in Australia share some of their thoughts and invite people to do the same.

“Before I decided to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I had faith, but it wasn’t very strong. My life was not as happy. I had happy moments, but didn’t have that lasting peace that faith in Jesus Christ brings. I remember the day that I decided I was going to start growing that faith.I was going through a rough time in my life, and wanted a change. I started by praying every day. It was difficult at first, remembering to pray in the morning, but I found that as I continued to pray my faith in my Savior, Jesus Christ, was strengthened. I then wanted more so I started reading the scriptures, both the Bible and the Book of Mormon….I am [a] different person than I was five years ago, and I would never go back to who I was. I know that it’s all because of my faith in Jesus Christ.” Sister C

Krista shares how a reminder about trusting in God when struggling when family members have made hurtful decisions has allowed her to show more love to her family, and brings her peace regardless of the choices others make. “Putting trust in God, that’s having faith….I’m so thankful to know about Jesus Christ, about God. I’m so thankful for my faith, because that’s what makes life beautiful.” [Krista’s thoughts start at about 2:30 in the video]

A family from Canada shares this: “The gospel [of Jesus Christ] has brought direction and guidance to our family during these difficult times. The song, “there is peace in Christ” is one that our children really enjoy singing. The gospel and our Savior have brought peace to our family. In our everyday, we often face little challenges and family prayer has helped us spiritually and brought peace into our home. We are especially grateful for the plan of salvation which allows all families to be together forever.”

Other young missionaries share experiences that have strengthened their faith here.

A family from Australia shares this: “When the world is full of discontent and strife. I am grateful for my little family, and our home where the cares of the world disappear and we can enjoy our times together. We find peace reading from the holy scriptures each day and and discussing our eternal natures. We especially love watching the Tv series, The Chosen together. The life of Jesus is brought to life with his teachings and miracles put into real life scenarios. One of the greatest teachings that gives us peace and hope for the future is knowing that we can live together eternally. The Son of God conquered death and offers eternal life to his true disciples. If I can teach my children anything I hope they can learn that they have a Father in heaven who they can rely on. And that by following the Lord Jesus Christ and his teachings they can find true joy in living this life and eternal life in the world to come.”

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The gospel of Jesus Christ is simple. But sometimes the questions we have about it are not.

If you’ve learned about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints you probably have questions. Perhaps you have questions about why traditional marriage matters in our Church, about the priesthood, or about the plausibility of God and Jesus Christ really talking to a farm boy in New York.

And trust me, you’re not alone. People within and outside of the Church have faced various kinds of questions. I’m a lifetime member of the Church and I ​still​ have questions.

Since I believe that God wants His children to seek knowledge, let me make three suggestions for how you can find answers to your most difficult gospel questions.

1. Use Trusted Resources: This is number one on my list for a reason. Many people, when searching for answers about the Church of Jesus Christ, will turn to whatever sources they can find. Google is usually the most popular. While Google can bring up some helpful information, there is also no credibility filter. As long as someone has figured out the intricacies of search engine optimization, they can get their information out their in front of the public. This makes search engines a questionable place to seek spiritual knowledge.

In reference to God’s admonition in James 1:5, Elder M. Russell Ballard said, “God did not say, ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him Google!’” [M. Russell Ballard, “The Opportunities and Responsibilities of CES Teachers in the 21st Century,” 26 February 2016]

If you are seeking answers to life’s most important questions, it is important to use only the best and most trusted resources. So what are these resources? Well, it’s different depending on what your question is. If you’re trying to find out if the Book of Mormon is true, one of the best places to find that out is by engaging with​ the Book of Mormon. Read it. See what it feels like as you prayerfully study it. Does it draw you closer to Christ? Does it make you want to be a better person?

What if your question is about living prophets? Read and listen to their words. What type of counsel do they give? Does it align with what you know God’s prophets have said in the past [in Biblical times]? Do the words of modern-day prophets make you want to be better and draw closer to God?

If you have a question about Church history, go to a reputable source. The Church has multiple essays and resources, and there are many faithful scholars who might be able to help shed light on this. You can also search through historical records and witnesses who lived during the time that you are concerned about. However, searching a random blog will likely not provide the best answers you can find, nor will searching “anti-Mormon” literature.

Find information from the most reliable sources you can and then go to the ultimate Source — God — for the final answer on what is true and what is not. He is a Source you can absolutely rely on.

2. Go Back to the Basics: One of the things that people find most unbelievable about the Church of Jesus Christ is that God and Jesus Christ would really appear to a farm boy in New York. When friends ask me about this, I don’t testify to them about Joseph Smith. Instead, I like to answer the root of their question, which is really about ongoing revelation and the nature of God.

● Is God the same yesterday, today, and forever? Yes.

● Has God revealed himself to humble servants in the past? Yes.

● Does God love His children and reveal His gospel to them? Yes.

If I believe and understand those things, then it is easier for me to accept the account of Joseph Smith seeing God and Jesus Christ. It will still require prayer for me to know if it really happened, but getting to the root of the question helps me settle some of the concerns I might feel about even considering it.

This is true for almost any question you can ask. If you are concerned about the Church’s policies then you should get to the root of that question, which might look like considering the following: Does God lead the Church through a living prophet who speaks His word? Asking why bad things happen to good people may be more a question of whether God is real and has a plan for each our lives and if He has made provisions for the difficulties and tragedies of life. (He has through His Son, Jesus Christ!)

Over time, as you continue asking questions, you will find that most of them may boil down to just a few root questions:

1. Is God real?

2. Does He have a plan for His children?

3. Is the Atonement of Jesus Christ real?

4. Does God still speak to His children through prophets?

5. Do prophets have the authority to speak in God’s name?

I have come to know that almost every single question I have about the Church can be answered by revisiting the answers I have received to those five root questions. Perhaps the same can be true for you.

3. Hold On To What You Do Know: If you come upon a new question about the Church that you can’t find an answer to, don’t give up what you already know simply because you don’t understand everything right now. Do you believe that Jesus is real? Hold onto that! Do you believe in God and that He can answer your prayers? Hold onto that! There are so many in the world who don’t believe those things, who can’t say that they know or even believe that God and Jesus Christ are real. So hold onto what you know and realize that you can know even more.

If God chose to reveal to you His reality and the reality of His Son, then He can reveal much, much more. It may take time–it probably ​will​ take time. But this is a quest to know things of eternal value, so it is worth it. Wait patiently until further light comes and hold on tightly to what you already know.

I can personally testify of the value of seeking for spiritual knowledge. I have spent a lifetime earnestly seeking to know if the Church of Jesus Christ is true. I have asked so many questions, and have found the answers for myself. I know God will answer your questions, if you seek him diligently and if you truly want an answer, He will speak to you.
 

Postscript: Some references you can read that relate to the three points above.

• Is God the same yesterday, today, and forever?

Hebrews 13:8

1 Nephi 10:18

● Has God revealed himself to humble servants in the past? Moses “slow of tongue”; Fishermen apostles 

● Does God love His children and reveal His gospel to them?

Isaiah 6:5

Matthew 5:8

1 Kings 11:9

● Is God real?: https://www.comeuntochrist.org/beliefs/god/is-god-real 

● Does He have a plan for His children? https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/topics/plan-of-salvation/earth-life?lang=eng&old=true 

● Is the Atonement of Jesus Christ real? https://www.comeuntochrist.org/beliefs/jesus-christ

● Does God still speak to His children through prophets? https://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-9-prophets-of-god?lang=eng

● Do prophets have the authority to speak in God’s name? https://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-9-prophets-of-god?lang=en

● Hold Onto What You Know: “Lord, I Believe” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/lord-i-believe?lang=eng; “You Know Enough” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2008/10/you-know-enough?lang=eng

● Closing testimony in the Book of Mormon about God’s ability to answer prayer: https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/moro/10

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Deseret News
Published: Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012 7:00 p.m. MST

David Letterman knows how to get a laugh.Like most comics, he riffs on the day’s news, deadpans the camera and revels in audacity.”Oh, did you hear about this?” the host of CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman asked his audience recently. “A campaign staffer on the Newt Gingrich campaign was fired because he was making negative comments about Mormons. I thought, now, wait a minute — isn’t Newt in favor of multiple wives?”
Laughter rumbled from the audience followed by applause. The polygamy punch line is a familiar one when it comes to poking fun at Mormons — as though Mormons and polygamy are synonymous in mainstream media. Ironically, the practice that’s most linked to Mormons is a practice most Mormons oppose, according to a groundbreaking new study of Mormons in America released Thursday by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life.

According to the study, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unequivocally reject polygamy — only 2 percent said the practice is morally acceptable — evidence of a yawning gap in what Mormons believe and how they are perceived. Mormons’ opinions are overwhelmingly conservative, the study shows, but in many ways, their views are also surprising — especially when it comes to opinions on moral issues, divorce, homosexuality and polygamy.

Morality

Mormons also take a significant stance on moral issues in other areas, such as divorce, sex outside of marriage and consumption of alcohol.
Although teachings from the LDS Church emphasize the importance and eternal nature of t

he family, only 25 percent of Mormons surveyed said divorce is morally wrong, according to the study. That means Mormons are slightly less morally opposed to divorce than the general public.
“For Catholics, divorce does not exist. They think it is not only wrong but it is impossible,” said Matthew Bowman, member of a board of expert advisers to the Pew Research Center for the study and author of “The Mormon People,” a book on the history of the LDS Church. “That has not been true for Mormons. There is theological space for divorce within Mormonism. It is undesirable, but Mormons recognize it is sometimes necessary and sometimes the right thing to do.”

Other moral views revealed in the survey — 54 percent said drinking alcohol was morally wrong, compared with 15 percent of the general public — set Mormons apart, Bowman says. The assumption on the part of non-Mormons is that if Mormons think drinking alcohol is wrong, then they must think everyone who imbibes is morally flawed. That apprehension can make people suspicious of Mormons, and wary of an elitist attitude, he says.

Differences in moral viewpoints can create a stumbling block for Mormon acceptance — not only in high-profile arenas, such as a presidential election, but also in communities.
“What you find throughout the report is a tension,” said David Campbell, assistant professor at Notre Dame and an adviser on the study. “Mormons like to use the phrase, ‘Be in the world but not of the world.’ They are certainly living their lives in the world. They are active and involved in their communities, but they have these beliefs and practices that set them apart a little bit, and sometimes there is conflict.”

Homosexuality

Mormons have some of the most conservative opinions when it comes to homosexuality. The survey asked Mormons if homosexuality should be accepted by society or discouraged by society, with an option for neither, both or “don’t know.” The response — 26 percent said homosexuality should be accepted, 65 percent said it should be discouraged — puts Mormons as the least likely to say homosexuality should be accepted by society. But a 26 percent acceptance rate, with roughly 1 in 4 Mormons saying homosexuality should be accepted, might be surprisingly high to some.

Of particular interest is the fact that only 8 percent of Mormons surveyed identified themselves as liberal, and 66 percent said they were conservative. That means some of those who said homosexuality should be accepted also identify themselves as politically conservative, Bowman says. That distinction illustrates the complexity of Mormons’ opinion on sexuality — that it is rooted more in religious precepts than politics.
Still, it’s difficult to draw a conclusion about Mormons’ views on homosexuality based on the study, says Pew Research Center adviser Terryl Givens, professor of literature and religion at the University of Richmond.

“Results need to be viewed cautiously,” Givens says. “Official LDS pronouncements insist there is a distinction between (sexual) orientation and behavior, but the survey blurs that difference, probably leaving many Mormons unsure how to answer that question. What is clear, however, is that Mormons are trending toward greater acceptance of same-sex relationships, just as society as a whole is, although by a much smaller percentage.”

Polygamy

At one point 120 years ago, some Mormons practiced plural marriage, hence the association between Mormons and polygamy. The practice was discontinued in 1890, but the cultural association persists, perhaps in part because Mormons are sometimes confused with members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church, a polygamist group not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In the October-November 2011 study of a national sample of 1,019 Mormons, 86 percent said polygamy is morally wrong. That’s a number that surprises Bowman.

Were it not for the confusion surrounding Mormons and the FLDS Church practice of plural marriage, Bowman says that statistic might not be as high.

“It’s my experience that Mormons have a fraught relationship with polygamy,” Bowman said of the study results. “There is a sense that rejecting polygamy identifies a member of the LDS Church and distinguishes us from the fundamentalists. That is a cultural signifier as much as a theological statement.”

Some who responded to the survey, 11 percent, said polygamy is not a moral issue.
Email: achoate@desnews.com

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My name is Tequitia and I have been a member of the Mormon church for 13 years. My husband introduced me to the church when he told me he wouldn’t marry someone unless she was a member of the Church. At the time we had been dating almost five years and I had no idea he was a member.  I wanted to marry him, so I called up the missionaries to find out what this church was about. I had the first discussions and honestly, didn’t feel anything from it.

I didn’t continue with the discussions after that. However, I believe that that was the turning point for me in my life. I wasn’t a religious person. I believed in God and Jesus Christ, but I had no formal teachings about Them and my purpose in life.

A few months after meeting with the missionaries, I experienced many changes. I was having financial problems, family issues, employment issues, etc. I was experiencing adversity that eventually led me to discover my faith. I began to have a strong desire to learn about God and live the way he would have me live. I started going to the church of my youth. I started reading the Bible.

At the same time, my boyfriend (now husband) started going back to his ward [congregation]. One day he asked me to attend church with him. I didn’t think of it as him trying to convert me, but as me being supportive, so I went.

Soon I was coming to church with him every Sunday and afterwards having the discussions with the missionaries in a member’s home. One fast and testimony meeting, I felt the Spirit so strongly. I had been reading the Book of Mormon and praying about the church. That evening, the Spirit was so strong amongst us, I knew that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was where the Lord wanted me to be. I got baptized and hold strong to that testimony that the Lord blessed me to receive.

My husband and I were married in the Washington, D.C. Temple a year later. We have been blessed with four beautiful children. I have served in several wonderful callings over the years, but currently serve as the Enrichment Counselor in my ward Relief Society. Besides being a wife and mother, I write a bi-monthly column, East Meets West, for Mormon Times. I fancy myself as an mixed-media artist and enjoy singing, crocheting, sewing, and reading.

I always tell anyone interested in the church to read the Book of Mormon and pray about for themselves. If you ask the Lord earnestly, really having the desire to do what He wants you to do, He will answer.

—

For more Portraits of Mormon Women, please click here.

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Karen attended Brigham Young University and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education. She has taught school for 32 years. She said: “I always had the support of my husband and children, and I always felt that I was supposed to be a teacher.”

Right now, Karen serves as the Relief Society President in her ward. She has served in many areas in the Church, and she says that the more she serves in the Church, the more she realizes how important each calling is –how each one was the experience she needed. However, if she could pick, she would serve as the Primary (children’s Sunday classes) pianist!

Karen loves to read almost every kind of book –from Jane Austen to Harry Potter. She also loves to relax by watching movies with her husband. She enjoys hiking and skiing, although she doesn’t do either very often. Some of her other favorite things to do include: scrapbook, spending time with her family, doing family history, and traveling.

One time, Karen had an experience which changed her life:

“I remember one time when I was pregnant and had a miscarriage. I prayed for someone to come and my visiting teacher showed up. My husband was out of town, and I was hemorrhaging pretty badly. My visiting teacher was a nurse and she had her husband give me a blessing. She stayed with me all night, because I wouldn’t go to the hospital because my insurance wouldn’t cover it. She took me to the doctor’s office the next morning. I was in pretty bad shape, but I felt the Lord with me through the night in the form of that wonderful visiting teacher.”

For Karen, the Plan of Salvation is so wonderful! She says that only a loving Heavenly Father would have such a plan. She also knows that she is a child of God who knows her and loves her. On being a Mormon woman, Karen says:

“I have never felt that we as women were less important than men in the eyes of our Father in Heaven. He has blessed us with the power of creation. He has given us the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the Priesthood is such a blessing in our lives. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ and I love the peace it brings into my life. I’m grateful for that blessing and I wish everyone could hear about the gospel and could know what I know. It gives my life such purpose!”

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