I believe in God the Eternal Father, and in his Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
For as long as I can remember I have had faith in my Heavenly Father, that I am His daughter; that I lived with him before this life; that He loves me and I can communicate with Him; that Jesus is my teacher and my Savior; that He preformed the miracle of the atonement and resurrection and He is the only one who knows me perfectly and can rescue me from sin and death. He is my advocate with the Father, giving me the opportunity for eternal life and exaltation; and that the Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead who has always been there for me, comforting my soul, guiding me to correct choices, inspiring me with ideas, enlightening my mind, and protecting me from harm. This foundation of my understanding of God and
my relationship with them is absolutely the source of my happiness in life.
I was raised by loving parents who nurtured this faith, and were incredible examples of trust in the Lord and of respect for and obedience to his commandments. They were each raised by parents who taught them the truths of the gospel and their purpose in life. I am so grateful for this heritage of faith in God and dedication to the restored church. It makes me think of one of my favorite musicals Fiddler on the Roof when Tevya says "Because of our traditions, every one of us knows who he is, and what God expects him to do." Because of the knowledge of the plan of salvation that was revealed to the prophet Joseph Smith, and the fulness of the gospel given when the church was restored, every one of us knows who we are and exactly what God expects us to do while on this earth. This precious understanding has been revealed to prophets since the beginning, with new light and knowledge given until it was revealed in its fulness.
I believe the scriptures; that the records that were kept, of how the world came to be, of Adam and Eve...that they are not myth but are true...and all of the writings of prophets through the ages testifying of the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
I believe their words; I believe in the miraculous events that they say happened. I believe in angels and in prophesying and revelations.
I’ve experienced miracles in my own life and I cannot deny the power of God.
I believe that the purpose of life is to gain experience, and to grow; particularly in our faith in Jesus Christ
I believe that love is the main lesson in the school of life that we need to learn, and to master.
I believe in grace and works. I know that without the grace of Jesus, we are nothing and could never “earn” a spot in heaven; no matter how righteous we are, we can’t gain our own exaltation. I know that the power of Christ’s redemption will cover all of our weakness and sins and imperfections, if we have faith in Him, and “do the works we have seen Him do”, obey his laws and do our best to continuously repent and follow Him. Jesus said "Repent ye, repent ye" and "if ye love me, keep my commandments." I believe that our works matter; that He tells us that they do, otherwise He would give us no instructions, or laws or ordinances that must be preformed. Another prophet in the Book of Mormon said “for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I am trying to do “all I can do” to follow him, to honor him, and to testify of him to others and share his gospel light, out of the deepest gratitude of my soul for what He did for me, for my family - that the heaviness and ugliness of the consequences of sin can be lifted, that we can be full of light and love and peace when we know the truth and live his laws; that we can receive his power through making and keeping covenants with him in the temple, and that we can live again after we die with our loved ones, with resurrected, perfected bodies.
He is the Son of God; He has imparted His wisdom to prophets from the beginning, and also from his own mouth when he walked the earth. His counsels and parables are the most significant teachings for our lives. He showed his power, healing the sick, the blind, those with broken bodies and broken minds. His works weren't just great teachings of peace and inspiration; He literally had power being the Son of God and demonstrated that. He raised people from the dead and raised himself from the dead after 3 days. He conferred this power upon his apostles and told them to use it, to heal people, to preform miracles, to spread the word about him, and build up his church. He is the God of the Old Testament who gave power unto his servants like Moses to preform great miracles, like parting the Red Sea and sending mana from heaven, or standing in the midst of fire and not being burned. He testified of his power as Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, and of his mission as the Savior of the world, as the “only way” to peace, to true joy, to exaltation in the next life. There have been too many testimonies for me to ignore, too many miracles and accounts to reject. The Holy Ghost has confirmed to my spirit that He is the Christ. I’ve felt His love and incredible peace fill my body when I’ve pleaded for his grace, in times of intense sadness and fear. I’ve felt and seen the cleansing effects of true repentance.
I've felt safety in his arms.
He is who I follow, who I put my trust in.
I covenanted at my baptism and in the temple to take His name upon me, to always remember him and to keep his commandments, and when I fail to do this, I repent and start again. He is merciful and gave us his sacrament ordinance renew our covenants weekly. I love teaching my children that repentance is a joyful thing. That it is not a feeling of punishment or shame, but that it is a beautiful gift from our loving Savior to change - continually, steadily. The gospel of Jesus Christ motivates us to change.
I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most people know us as "the Mormon church". But recently the prophet, Russell M. Nelson, declared that the Lord has asked that his people stop using this nickname and do everything in our power to tell everyone the correct name of the church - that it is in His name. It is the church of Jesus Christ.
In the beginning days of the church hostile mobs called the saints Mormons because of the Book of Mormon, an ancient record that Joseph Smith translated through the gift and power of God. The name has stuck for nearly two hundred years. There has been a ridiculous amount of confusion as to what we believe, who we worship, what kind of religion this is, and in part it is due to people not using the right name, which makes clear that we follow Jesus Christ. If you do a google search of anything to do with the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you will find a list of questions like "What's the difference between Mormon and Latter-day Saints?" "What is the biggest difference between Mormonism and Christianity?" "Do Mormons celebrate Christmas?" "Do Mormons celebrate Easter?" "Who do Mormons worship?" "Who do Mormons say Jesus is?" "Do Mormons read the Bible?" "What is the Mormon God called?" and "Who invented the Mormon religion?" as well as a super long list of silly questions about what we can't do, eat, wear, say, love, or celebrate. There is an incredible amount of false information online about our church, and a lot of hostility from people who have left, or fellow Christians who misunderstand and attack the doctrines. I'm fascinated that there are Christian churches who actually teach what (they think they know) our church teaches, to their congregations. Why do people speak so definitively on a subject that they have no idea about? Why is it that so many who leave can't leave it alone? Why are we made fun of in tv shows, talk shows, and on broadway? Why are facts taught in schools and in museums about our religion that aren't true? While there are a lot of people who are clueless, and some curious, there are also a lot who are hateful, and spread lies. I personally believe the reason for it is because this church is true; and because it is the true church of Christ and contains the fulness of the gospel and the saving ordinances God wants his children to have to progress in the next life, the devil wants to deceive people and prevent them from finding it. He wants to make it look ridiculous, and controlling and evil. He takes things that are sacred and twists them to look crazy, or things that are straight up false and presents them as fact. If you aren't a religious person and don't believe in the devil then that belief will sound like foolishness to you. But I believe the adversary is as real as God is real. I believe the purpose of our life on earth is to be tested to see whether we will listen to the Holy Spirit or to the evil spirit; to follow the light of the gospel of Christ and progress on our journey, or to remain in darkness and stunt our growth.
Many people today believe that religion is unnecessary, and even evil. I believe that all religions or practices that bring you closer to God are good. But I also believe Jesus when he said there is "one Lord, one faith, one baptism". There are many Christian churches, and having different interpretations, doctrines, and different ways to administer ordinances, like baptism, is confusing. If the purpose of Jesus starting a church was for his followers to be united, strengthen each other in doctrine, gather together regularly to partake of the sacrament to remember him and renew their baptismal covenants, and make additional covenants in the holy temple, why would he want there to be many churches with conflicting doctrines? and churches that are incomplete, with no priesthood ordinances and no temples to make covenants in? If you study the Bible you will find that covenants have always been God's way with his people. That is how he lifts them to higher ground. This is a pattern. Temples have been around since the beginning, but after Jesus and his disciples were killed, the priesthood ordinances of baptism, confirmation, and temple ordinances, and also blessings of healing, casting out devils, and other miracles, came to an end. The priesthood authority was lost. It must be passed from one having this authority to another, through the laying on of hands, (hands to head), as Jesus did with his 12 apostles, and as Paul says in Hebrews 5: no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. That Aaronic priesthood, and the priesthood of Melchizedek, had to be brought back, restored to earth when the time was right.
I believe that God has an organized plan that he invites his children to participate in, in order to grow to become more like him and inherit his kingdom and ultimate joy. This plan is a plan of salvation, a plan of happiness, and it includes covenanting with him to abide by certain laws in order to receive more light and knowledge and blessings; more of his power in us. Throughout the history of the world God has given instruction to his children through angels and through prophets, and those who wanted more light and understanding and power in their lives became his covenant people. They made covenants with him in holy temples.
I believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ’s original church restored to the earth after that time of apostasy when the apostles were killed and the authority was lost. I believe he called a prophet to begin his church again when the time was right, in this land of the free, including freedom of religion. That prophet was Joseph Smith, and since him there has been a prophet and twelve apostles on the earth, as Christ organized it originally, and there will continue to be until Christ comes again.
Sometimes I think it would be nice to have my beliefs be simply: I believe in Jesus and I try to be a good person and love my neighbor. But Jesus taught us that the two greatest commandments are to love our neighbors (be good citizens; be kind, be decent, don't judge) AND also to love God, with all our might, mind and strength. And God wants us to have a relationship with Him. More than just communication through prayer. He has so much wisdom and light he wants to give us; He wants to lift us to higher ground; that is why he gives laws and instructions and invites us to make covenants through sacred ordinances, in his holy house, to help us progress into the next life, and become more like Him. I love the temples where we receive this light and knowledge, make these covenants, and bind families for eternity.
I am so thankful for my understanding, although limited, of the nature of God; that He is our Father and that He weeps when his children weep; that He sacrificed his only begotten son to erase the suffering, to right the wrongs and the injustices, and to be there with us through every challenge, because he experienced it too.
I owe everything to God. One of my favorite hymns says "He lives and grants me daily breath. He lives and I shall conquer death." Because of Him I live every day and I will live again after I die. He deserves my total loyalty and respect, to be obedient to every word He gives, even if I don't understand the reasons for it. Because of the love of God I have felt, the miracles I have witnessed, and the countless experiences of the spirit confirming truths to my soul, I hang on to my faith, and I trust. All will be made clear and all will be made right in the end. But for now I "trust in the Lord with all my heart, and lean not unto my own understanding."