I found two wonderful quotes today as we were doing our scripture study. They are both from Latter Day Prophets:
"The nearer man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire for sin."
Joseph Smith
and...
“Learn to like your work. Learn to say, ‘This is my work, my glory, not my doom.’ God has blessed us with the privilege of working. When he said, ‘Earn thy bread by the sweat of thy brow,’ he gave us a blessing. Men and women have accepted it. Too much leisure is dangerous. Work is a divine gift” David O’ McKay
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
On Being Mormon
I discovered the gospel through my husband in 2000. I am a recent convert and have lots to learn. When I asked Robert about his religion he answered me in such a simple way, but it resonated with me and struck a chord with I later learned to recognize as the whisperings of the Holy Ghost.
This is what he told me,
"We believe that the Savior Jesus Christ brought his ministry to the earth. He established his church during his lifetime on earth and when he left, he left the Holy Ghost or the Spirit to guide and comfort those he left behind. He gave his apostles authority to baptize and perform other ordinances in his name. After the Savior returned to his father, his apostles worked to spread the gospel or the good news of the atonement, the resurrection; the gospel of repentence.
But, many people were wicked and they killed the apostles. With the death of the apostles, the keys to administer in the name of Jesus Christ were taken from the earth. There was no more authority. The earth spiraled into a time of apostasy; A time when good people tried to 'interpret' the scriptures they had. Many churches evolved as people's beliefs and interpretations varied. There were still evil people too, of course. They did their best to obscure the scriptures and to remove many 'plain and precious truths'.
This dark and confusing time lasted nearly 2000 years. In the 1800s, the Lord called a new prophet to usher in the final dispensation - the Latter Days. We believe that Joseph Smith was called to restore the gospel to the earth and to restore the keys of authority to the earth so that the Lord's work in its entirety can go on and so that we can prepare for the second coming of Jesus Christ. He also brought forth additional scripture to support the Bible and to give us the fulness of his gospel - the rest of the information we need to complete his work on earth."
That was it. I know it sounds simple and it is. But it rang so true to me and it still does. That was how I began my journey.
This is what he told me,
"We believe that the Savior Jesus Christ brought his ministry to the earth. He established his church during his lifetime on earth and when he left, he left the Holy Ghost or the Spirit to guide and comfort those he left behind. He gave his apostles authority to baptize and perform other ordinances in his name. After the Savior returned to his father, his apostles worked to spread the gospel or the good news of the atonement, the resurrection; the gospel of repentence.
But, many people were wicked and they killed the apostles. With the death of the apostles, the keys to administer in the name of Jesus Christ were taken from the earth. There was no more authority. The earth spiraled into a time of apostasy; A time when good people tried to 'interpret' the scriptures they had. Many churches evolved as people's beliefs and interpretations varied. There were still evil people too, of course. They did their best to obscure the scriptures and to remove many 'plain and precious truths'.
This dark and confusing time lasted nearly 2000 years. In the 1800s, the Lord called a new prophet to usher in the final dispensation - the Latter Days. We believe that Joseph Smith was called to restore the gospel to the earth and to restore the keys of authority to the earth so that the Lord's work in its entirety can go on and so that we can prepare for the second coming of Jesus Christ. He also brought forth additional scripture to support the Bible and to give us the fulness of his gospel - the rest of the information we need to complete his work on earth."
That was it. I know it sounds simple and it is. But it rang so true to me and it still does. That was how I began my journey.
On Faith
I have been thinking a lot about my faith lately; about my testimony of God and of Jesus Christ. What can I do to strengthen it? How can I share my love of the Gospel with others?
These are important questions to me. Equally important to me is the idea that people often have strange ideas about Mormons. Right now, a Mormon is trying to run for President of the U.S. While Mitt Romney isn't my idea of the 'perfect Mormon', I'm grateful he is running and bringing an LDS person into the limelight. My hope is that he will help clear up a lot of misconceptions about our faith and start a discussion about Mormonism.
I love the gospel and I love our church. I hope to share my insights with anyone who is interested. I hope to answer questions and learn and grow. I want to be able to post things that impress me as I search the scriptures and ponder my life and the life of our Savior.
These are important questions to me. Equally important to me is the idea that people often have strange ideas about Mormons. Right now, a Mormon is trying to run for President of the U.S. While Mitt Romney isn't my idea of the 'perfect Mormon', I'm grateful he is running and bringing an LDS person into the limelight. My hope is that he will help clear up a lot of misconceptions about our faith and start a discussion about Mormonism.
I love the gospel and I love our church. I hope to share my insights with anyone who is interested. I hope to answer questions and learn and grow. I want to be able to post things that impress me as I search the scriptures and ponder my life and the life of our Savior.
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