God Prepared the World to Receive His Gospel Again

For centuries, Christ's original church and Priesthood authority were not on the earth.  Many good people tried to set up churches according to the Bible's teachings, but none of them had Christ's authority and therefore weren't Christ's church.  This falling away from Christ's church wasn't a surprise.  It had been prophesied about.  When Peter the Apostle was preaching to the Thessalonians, they were concerned about when Christ would come again.  Peter answered them by saying in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition."  So essentially Jesus will not come again until there's a falling away first.  That falling away was the Great Apostasy which lasted from the time the apostles died to the time that Jesus Christ restored His full and complete gospel back to the earth in 1830 through another prophet, Joseph Smith.

God has always called prophets.  The very first man to live on the earth, Adam, was a prophet. There is a pattern of people following and rejecting the prophets in the Bible.  God has continually shown His love for us by calling prophets to lead and guide us.  During the Great Apostasy, there was no prophet on the earth since the people had rejected Jesus and His apostles and then weren't ready to have another prophet yet.

God needed to restore His church back to the earth, but the question is when?  I like to compare it to an emergency airplane landing.  Say you were flying in an airplane over a forest and something goes wrong and you have to make an emergency landing.  You wouldn't land straight into the trees or you would kill yourself and your terrified passengers.  You would start to slowly descend but not land until there was a clearing of some sort.  You would want to land as early as you safely can. It was the same way with restoring the gospel.  God needed to restore it but he waited and restored it as early as He safely could.  

The American continents were first discovered by the European world in 1492 when Columbus sailed the ocean blue.  Columbus testified that he was indeed inspired of God.  He said, "Our Lord unlocked my mind, sent me upon the sea, and gave me fire for the deed.  Those who heard of my enterprise called it foolish, mocked me, and laughed.  But who can doubt but that the Holy Ghost inspired me?" (Jacob Wasserman, Columbus, Don Quixote of the Seas, pp. 19-20)

In 1620, the first pilgrims crossed the sea to the Americas on the Mayflower in order to practice their religion freely.  Many groups followed them to set up their own colonies.  Over 150 years later, the United States of America gained independence from Great Britain and in 1788, the United States Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing religious freedom.  17 years later, in 1805, Joseph Smith was born in Sharon, Vermont.  Almost 14 years after that, in 1820, he experienced what we refer to as the "first vision." In 1829 The Book of Mormon was published and in 1830, Jesus Christ restored His church with all of the proper Priesthood authority as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Less than 50 years after the United States was established on grounds of religious freedom and human rights, Jesus Christ's church was restored.  He restored it as early as He safely could.  Now, 184 years later, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has 15 million members and is still growing rapidly.  

Joseph Smith himself said, "No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every climb, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done."

I know that Jesus Christ's true and only church has been restored back to the earth.  There are 85,000 missionaries like myself all over the world in many different countries telling people the good news that Christ's gospel is on the earth and it's for everyone. The world was in an apostasy for a time after Christ and the Apostles died just like it had been multiple times in biblical times, but just as He always has, God called another prophet to restore God's truth back to the earth.  God lives and loves us and He manifests it to us every day.  I'm so grateful for this church and for my Savior, Jesus Christ. Next post will be about how Christ restored His church through Joseph Smith.

Acts 3:19-21 "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began."

Amen.

Jesus Christ's Church and the Great Apostasy

Hello!  Today we are going to talk about Jesus Christ!  He is the Son of God and was the only perfect Man to walk the earth.  He was miraculously conceived and born of the virgin, Mary.  His birth was a humble one, taking place in a stable and only having a manger for a bed.  His whole life He lived in humble circumstances.  He loved and served without ceasing until the very end of His mortal life.  He performed incredible miracles, was an amazing teacher and friend, and was our perfect example.  He sacrificed Himself and died for our sins so that we may one day live again and return to live with our Father in Heaven.  He came into the world to do the will of His Father and never faltered.  He is my Savior and Redeemer and my Everything.  I could write hundreds of posts just about His life and teachings.  But for this post, I am going to focus on one aspect: His church. The one He set up while He was on the earth with His 12 apostles. 

Jesus called 12 men to be His apostles.  He laid His hands on their heads and gave them the Priesthood.  The Priesthood is the authority and power that God gives to man to act in the name of Jesus Christ in all things for the salvation of mankind.  Things that require the Priesthood include baptism, blessing and administering the sacrament, giving blessings of healing, and conferring the Priesthood upon others.  God has always given His Priesthood to worthy men ever since the world began. Exodus 40:15 reads: "And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations."

The New Testament gives account of Jesus giving His apostles "keys of the kingdom" and "power."  This is the Priesthood.  "And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease"(Matthew 10:1).

In all ordinances (like baptism) it is important to have the proper authority from Jesus Christ. If you were driving down a residential neighborhood going 60 mph and a police officer turned on his lights, you would pull over.  And assuming you're a good, decent person who doesn't like going to jail, when he gives you a ticket for speeding, you'd accept it and pay it.  Now imagine you were driving down the same residential neighborhood going 60 mph and an ice cream truck tried to pull you over. What would you do?  I'd probably pull over because maybe he wants to give me free ice cream. But if the ice cream truck man proceeded to get out of his van and give you a ticket for speeding, you would tell him to get lost.  The ice cream truck driver doesn't have the authority to pull you over and give you a speeding ticket but the police officer does. "And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron"(Hebrews 5:4).

This was Christ's church. Jesus said to Peter: "...upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it"(Matthew 16:18).  Christ's original church had the Priesthood authority.  When He sent His apostles out to teach and minister and perform miracles, He gave them this Priesthood authority as well. If a church doesn't have Christ's authority, then the baptisms and ordinances performed there can't be recognized by God as valid because it wasn't done with His "stamp of approval," so to speak. "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven"(Matthew 16:19).

Just as people have rejected prophets in the past, the people eventually rejected Jesus Christ and killed Him. After Christ died, He sent His apostles out to still preach the gospel and baptize using His Priesthood authority.  His apostles did just that and were faithful and did all that Christ asked. Unfortunately, the people rejected the apostles too.  Many people tried to change the doctrine to what they liked better and stopped giving heed to Christ's disciples on the earth. And as part of this sad pattern throughout history, the apostles were all killed as well, and the earth was once again left without a prophet on the earth to lead and guide them.  

With the apostles' death went the Priesthood authority.  The world fell into what we call the "Great Apostasy." During this time there was no prophet and no one holding the Priesthood authority of God.  Doctrines were altered, the Bible was eventually assembled but was not available to the general public, and there was no religious freedom.  Many reformers such as Martin Luther, John Wycliffe, and John Calvin recognized that something was wrong and tried to bring it back to Christ's original teachings, but they were all killed and rejected as a result.  

This Great Apostasy lasted over a thousand years and during what we know as the "Dark Ages."  The earth wasn't ready for Christ's church to be restored during that time.  God's revelations had ceased as a result of the apostasy but He still loved His children and was preparing a way for when the true church of Jesus Christ with the correct doctrine and Priesthood authority of God could be restored to the earth, never to be taken away again.

Prophets of old have prophesied of a great apostasy.  In Amos 8:11-12 in the Old Testament it says: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it."  

I know that Christ has restored His church to the earth.  He loves us and wants us to have all the blessings of His gospel as long as we are willing to accept it.  The falling away from the true church and the restoration of it has also been prophesied about throughout the scriptures. This was always part of the plan.  God knows what He's doing and always provides a way.  

"Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder:"(Isaiah 29:14).

Amen.

Prophets

What is a prophet?  Other than a man that people always seem hate and try to kill in the Bible. They have rough lives. A prophet is a man that speaks for God. A prophet receives revelation from God to warn us, help us, and teach us. No one can be a prophet unless they've been called of God and given God's authority to act in His name, which we call the Priesthood.  Hebrews 5:4 reads, "And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron." God has always had prophets. They are all over the scriptures and testify of Jesus Christ. "As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began"(Luke 1:70).

We can each receive revelation from God for ourselves or our families or people that we are trying to help, but only a prophet can receive revelation for the whole church and the world.  Also, God will never tell us to do anything that is contrary to His commandments unless He tells it to His prophets.  So I can't go around telling people that God said it's OK to steal as long as the value is under $5 or that I have received the revelation that the whole world doesn't have to keep the Sabbath day holy anymore.  No one has that authority except for God's current prophet on the earth.

God's current, modern-day prophet is Thomas S. Monson.

He has been called of God and given the Priesthood authority to lead and guide the Church but he is also the prophet for the whole world, not just Mormons.  He is the president and leader of the Church as well as the prophet.  I love and respect him just like I love and respect the prophets of old.  I will talk more about modern prophets and why/how we have them in a future post.  Stay tuned!

Having prophets is a demonstration of God's love for us. Since the beginning of the world, God has sent His prophets to testify of Jesus Christ and to prophecy to us and tell us what God would have them say. "For behold, did not Moses prophesy unto them concerning the coming of the Messiah, and that God should redeem his people? Yea, and even all the prophets who have prophesied ever since the world began - have they not spoken more or less concerning these things?"(Mosiah13:33)

Unfortunately, not everyone listens to the prophets. There is a constant cycle in the Bible where God will call a prophet, the people listen, but then after a time they start to reject the prophets and not listen to their counsel. The Bible is full of this cycle. A verse in 2 Chronicles 36:16 reads: "But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy." God is always willing to help us and guide us, but if we don't listen to His messengers then he will take them away. A period where there are no prophets because the people have rejected them is called an apostasy. During an apostasy, none of God's authorized servants are on the earth and the people aren't living the principles of the gospel. But mercifully, God always calls another prophet when the people are once again ready to receive one. "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets"(Amos 3:7).

God wants us to know His will. He wants us to follow Him and to keep His commandments. He doesn't want us to be in the dark. He has given us so many things: prophets, leaders, scriptures, prayer, church, and family to help us stay on His path. We are all His servants and are here to do His will so that we can one day return to live with Him and our families forever. I am so grateful that God has given us prophets. God's word has not ceased. He still speaks to us today through His prophets and modern revelation. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He loves us today just as much as He loved the people in Biblical times. He is an unchanging God and will continue to speak to us as long as we listen to His prophets and don't cast them aside.

"What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same"(Doctrine and Covenants 1:38)

Amen.

Who Is God?

God is our loving Heavenly Father.  That is one of the first things we missionaries teach people. Out of all the names we could give to Deity, God has asked us to call Him our Father.  And why is this?  Because we are his literal spirit children.  We each have earthly parents, but our Heavenly Father is the Father of our spirits. "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God"(Romans 8:16).

God loves us more than our parents or anyone else on Earth could possibly love us.  1 John 4:7-8 reads: "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."  God is love. Everything He has ever done for us has been done out of pure love.  

Heavenly Father's ultimate act of love for us was to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us.  "For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved"(John 3:16-17). Jesus Christ was literally the Son of God, a demi-god.  His earthly mother was Mary but His biological father is Heavenly Father.  It must have been absolutely horrific for Heavenly Father to watch His only begotten Son suffer until He bled from every pore in the Garden of Gethsemane and then die a torturous and humiliating death on the cross.  How could any father possibly stand to watch his son go through that?  But Heavenly Father did, because He knew that it was necessary and that it was the only way that men can be saved. 

God is perfect.  Jesus Himself said, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect"(Matthew 5:48).  Heavenly Father is a perfect being, as is Jesus Christ. They are both perfect.  And through our obedience to Them, we can one day be perfect just as our "Father which is in heaven is perfect."

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints refers to what other Christians would call the "Trinity" as the "Godhead."  We believe that Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost (or Holy Spirit, Spirit of God) are three separate beings who are one in purpose but are not physically one person.  Our first Article of Faith says, "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost." Nowhere in the scriptures does is say that they are all three the same being.  It says that they are one, yes, but it means one in purpose. Here are a few biblical examples of them being separate beings.

The first is the baptism of Jesus.  I love this scripture.  Jesus, the most perfect man to walk the earth, asks to be baptized by an imperfect man, John the Baptist.  Why?  Because Jesus Himself taught in John 3:5 that "except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter in the kingdom of God."  Jesus was our perfect example and so was baptized to "fulfill all righteousness" and to let us know that if the Son of God needs to be baptized, so do we.  I'll talk about that more in a future post.  So let us read together the account found in Matthew 3:16-17 of Jesus' baptism: "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  

I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like one being right there.  Why would Jesus' spirit descend on Himself, and why would he also be in heaven praising Himself but calling Himself His Son?  No.  That sounds like someone with a problem.  This is a perfect example of the three separate personages of the Godhead all in one place.

Finally, Acts 7:55-56 reads: "But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." The man who saw God and Jesus Christ was Stephen.  He saw this vision right before he was stoned to death.  Pretty sad.  But a super solid guy who had to be really righteous to see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and then be stoned to death as a martyr.  

In conclusion, God is our loving Heavenly Father.  He is the Father of our spirits and He loves us.  He hears and answers our prayers and is actively involved in our individual lives.  Even if we can't see it or aren't looking, He is always there helping us and blessing us.  I love Him.  I am so grateful that I have a Heavenly Father who knows and loves me personally.  I'm also grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, who was willing to do the Father's will even when it was hard.  We should all follow Jesus Christ's example and be submissive to our Heavenly Father's plan for us. 

"Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?"(Hebrews 12:9)

Amen.

Are Mormons Christian?

YES.  If your definition of Christian means, "believes in Jesus Christ," then yes.  The name of our Church is not the "Mormon Church."  That's just a nickname people gave us because we read The Book of Mormon.  The official name is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  The church of JESUS CHRIST. We worship JESUS CHRIST. The Book of Mormon is another testament of JESUS CHRIST.  We also read the Bible which is a testament of JESUS CHRIST.

If your definition of Christian isn't "believes in Jesus Christ," but is "broke off of the Catholic church," then no, we aren't Christian by that definition.  The Catholic church is Christian, and many Protestant churches broke off of it.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints didn't break off of any church.  We aren't protestant or reformers.  We believe our church has been restored.  As in, it was on the earth before but was taken away.  And what church was that, may you ask?  Well it's the church that Jesus Christ set up while He was on the earth, The Church of Jesus Christ!  After Christ and His apostles died, some of the doctrines of Christ's church was altered or lost and He had to restore it.  Which He did.  The "of Latter-Day Saints" part was added because we are "The Church of Jesus Christ," but we are living in the latter-days talked about in the Bible and all members of Christ's church are considered His saints (Not Saints like St. Patrick). Hence the name, The Church of JESUS CHRIST of LATTER-DAY Saints. Matthew 16:18: "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church..."

Last point. There is one more reason why some people think we are not Christian.  This last definition of Christian isn't "believes in Jesus Christ" or "broke off of the Catholic church" but is "GOD IS ALWAYS HERE, and we will always be here."  Basically that God will always be God (WHICH IS TRUE, DON'T GET ME WRONG) and that we will never be anything more than we are now (which is where our beliefs differ). We believe that "GOD IS ALWAYS HERE, we are currently here, but we can one day be HERE WITH GOD if we follow Him and do as He asks."  I'll explain this doctrine more in a future post, but here is a scripture to help: Romans 8:16-17 : "The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."

In conclusion, we are, in fact, Christian, if your definition of Christian is "believes in Jesus Christ" because we do wholeheartedly believe in Jesus Christ.  He is our Lord and Savior.  I love Him and I know He lives and loves us and wants us all to come unto Him.  

A verse in The Book of Mormon reads: "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins" (2 Nephi 25:26).

And THAT is why Mormons are Christians.  Anyone who tells you that we aren't either have been given false information or are thinking that we aren't because we didn't break off of the Catholic church and we believe that we can one day inherit all that the Father has.  I hope I didn't confuse all of you.  If I did, leave a comment or chat with a missionary and tell them that this missionary is bad at explaining.  Amen.

Why Mormons Don't Have Horns

I consider myself to be a pretty logical person.  I enjoy being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints because it makes logical sense to me.  And also because I've prayed and have received a witness from God and His Holy Spirit that this is Jesus Christ's true church on the earth.  Unfortunately, for some reason this world likes to give precedent to science and logic more than heavenly manifestations.  But we'll cover all the fun revelation stuff later.  This post is about horns.  Do Mormons have horns on their head? Well, let's see...

I don't see any horns.  And they are in fact Mormons!  See for yourself:

 

Deuteronomy 14:2 says: "For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people..."

In conclusion, we may be a peculiar people, but peculiar doesn't mean that we have horns.  The reason why we don't have horns is because God created us in His image and God doesn't have horns either (Genesis 1:26: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...").  And THAT is why Mormons don't have horns. I have no idea where people get these ideas from. 

Amen.