Where did we come from and where are we going?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is often pushed to the side of mainstream Christianity because of our “extra-biblical” beliefs. True enough, we consider the Bible to be only one of many authoritative sources of the word of God. Through Joseph Smith and successive prophets until the present time, the Lord has revealed volumes of essential truths that have served to clarify the teachings of the Bible and enlighten the minds of men. What joy it brings to my soul to know that the Lord cares for and nurtures us in this way! I have great desires to share with the world these truths, so that all men may come to know the true and living God, and know of his love and tender mercy toward them!

In this posting, I will answer two basic questions you have asked yourself. Where did we come from, and where are we going? The true answers to these questions bring joy to the heart of man. How grateful I am to enjoy this light in my life!

Where did we come from? The best biblical clue to answer this question probably comes in the first chapter of Jeremiah, when the Lord, speaking to Jeremiah, says: Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

I once heard an Evangelical Christian interpret this verse to mean that the Lord was telling Jeremiah that before he created him, he thought about it first and that Jeremiah’s only existence prior to this life was in the Lord’s thoughts. Not true. Through the light of modern revelation, we know that all of us existed before this life, as intelligent spirits, and dwelt in the presence of God. The spirit body is in the form of a human being and is even made of refined matter. We acted with free agency and even exercised our faith in God in this pre-earthly life.

This belief is so strange to so many Christians, but deep down, it is a truth that any honest person yearns for, because it gives us such a great sense of identity, purpose, and importance. It is a hope that has surfaced in literature, as seen in the poem “Ode, Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood”, by William Wordsworth.

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar:
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home.


Where are we going?

What is heaven? And is there really a hell that is a literal lake of fire which exists to inflict eternal torture on those who did not accept Christ? No, of course not. Most evangelicals do not believe it, even though their pastors preach this interpretation of scripture. However, the descriptions of hell in the Bible serve an important purpose to awaken our minds to the awful sense of regret that we will feel if we do not reach our greatest potential in this life. There is a hell, and it is a lively sense of our guilt, and the punishment of those who go through it will be very real. There is a day of judgment, when each of us will stand before the Lord, and we will recollect everything that we have done. And if we have not repented of our sins, which is only possible because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we will be in hell. The lake of fire is one way to describe the guilt that the unrepentant will feel in that moment. Another description of this guilt is that it will cause the sufferer to desire that the mountains would fall upon him, and bury him so deep that the he might hide from the sight of his Maker.

But joy be to our souls, all of this is taken away from us the moment we call upon God in the name of Christ, and he will take his sins upon us, and will remember them no more! And it is reassuring to know that those who suffer hell will find that it does not go on for eternity. The wayward son who succumbed to temptation will pay for his mistakes for a time, but will then inherit a kingdom of glory, an eternal rest that is far beyond any peace or happiness that we can now imagine.

And for those who have come unto Christ and lived his Gospel to the fullest, comes an even greater reward. A higher kingdom of Glory. All that the Father hath, will be given to them. Eternal life means so much more than simply living forever. It is to have the life that God has, with an eternal companion, and to participate in the work that he does, even in the creation of other worlds, and the salvation of other souls. His gift to us that allows us to participate in the miracle of creation during this life is the beginning of our preparation to become like him. It is so plain to see, that we who have been given such great capability of learning, are destined for so much more than an eternity of idleness.

Again, I believe that humans hope for this, however deep down. I have seen it surface in secular literature. Take John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. This book tells the story of Steinbeck’s grandparents, who emigrated to Salinas, California, and grinded out their living with hard work every day, hoping only someday to rest when they made it to heaven. But his grandmother Liza, who had learned so well the dignity of work, had misgivings about the idea of heaven:

Privately there were some things in Heaven of which she did not quite approve. There was too much singing, and she didn’t see how even the Elect could survive for very long the celestial laziness which was promised. She would find something to do in Heaven. There must be something to take up one’s time—some clouds to darn, some weary wings to rub with liniment. Maybe the collars of the robes needed turning now and then, and when you came right down to it, she couldn’t believe that even in Heaven there would not be cobwebs in some corner to be knocked down with a cloth-covered broom.

How many others have these private misgivings? Do you ever feel that deep down, you know that all the dots don’t connect? That there is something more to life and eternity than what you have been taught? I invite you to know the truth. Ask yourself first if you want to know. Study it out in your mind. Then summon your faith and ask God to help you find the truth. I invite you to read the Book of Mormon. It will awaken your soul. You will come to find that you have hungered and thirsted throughout your life. And whatever you have put in place of the truth, you will come to feel that it is as if you had gone to sleep with a desperate thirst, and that in your slumber you had drunk water, only to awaken someday and find your thirst unquenched. The Book of Mormon will quench that thirst for the first time in your life. I am a witness of its truthfulness. It is of God. What more can I say? Come, find the joy that I have found!

Origins of the Church

While in Mexico as a missionary, I was once asked the question: What is the single most important thing that you have to tell people? I think the answer to that question would make a good inaugural post to this blog.

The single most important message for every person on the earth to hear is of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It is to know that Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins and is therefore the only source of Eternal Life, which is the greatest of all of God's gifts. This is the overall message of the bible and of every true prophet called by God. All of them have testified of Christ since the time of Adam. Christianity is not a 2,000 year old religion. It has existed since this world began and even before then.

The second most important message for every person on the earth right now is the news of the restoration of the Gospel. I am referring to the calling of the prophet Joseph Smith in the early part of the 19th century. Since the time of Christ, there has not been a more important event in human history than Joseph Smith's vision, which came as an answer to his prayer about which church he should join. Being much troubled on the subject, he had gone into the woods in western New York to follow the counsel of James, and "ask of God who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not." In answer to his prayer, 14 year old Joseph was visited by God the Father, and the Son, Jesus Christ, whom he observed to be two distinct personages, each possessing bodies of flesh and bone, and having glory beyond the brightness of the sun.

To read Joseph's personal account of the vision, click here.

As a prophet of God, Joseph Smith restored sacred truths that had been lost since the church established by Jesus Christ fell apart in the first few centuries A.D. He also re-established the Church of Jesus Christ and restored the Priesthood authority to teach the Gospel and administer ordinances such as Baptism and the conferring of the Gift of the Holy Ghost, which are the saving ordinances of the Gospel.

Three years after the first vision, Joseph Smith was visited by an angel, or a resurrected being sent by God, named Moroni. Moroni instructed Joseph Smith to translate an ancient record known as the Book of Mormon. This new book of scripture is another testament of Jesus Christ, that sits side by side with the Old and New testaments. It contains the word of God and the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now some of you will doubt the veracity of the statements I have made in this article, but if you were to just imagine for a moment that everything I have said is true, it would be easy to see why these are the most important truths for every human being to know. As for myself, I doubted these things for many years while growing up in the church, until I did the same thing as Joseph Smith and asked God about it directly. And now you have my testimony before you that these things are true because I received a powerful assurance in the moment that I went before God to ask Him.

And if you have read these words, I feel to warn you against casting them aside. I urge you to read the Book of Mormon, and hear the plea of Nephi:

And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.

And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things, notwithstanding my weakness.

And I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day.

Invitation to learn about Mormonism

Greetings.

I am launching this blog to offer a glimpse into the life of a believing and observant member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It is something I feel compelled to do. In light of knowledge that I have been given, my conscience can not be clear unless I make every effort to spread the message of Jesus Christ to any who have ears to hear.

My goal is to give an honest, sober perspective on what I believe as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, and how it encompasses and defines my life. From the many religious forums I have seen on the web, it is clear that my beliefs are frequently misrepresented and misunderstood. For those interested in hearing a believing mormon's perspective, I welcome your comments and questions.

To introduce myself, I am a 29 year old husband and father of two, residing in Los Angeles. I was born into the church, went on a two year mission to Mexico at age 19, and married my wife in the Salt Lake City temple. Pretty standard story. My wife is from eastern Europe, and was converted to the gospel at age 16. She remains the only church member in her family. We go to church every week and we both have leadership responsibilities (callings).

I love the church and I can't imagine my life or where I would be without it. It is the essence of who I am and how I think and act every day.