I usually don't do blog posts like
this. I normally reserve Xenithar's Musings for updates on my
writing and Xenithar's Lair, or for art and book reviews. However, I
feel the need to express my beliefs as a “Mormon,” or a member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and to address some
common misconceptions of our beliefs.
But I need to make a disclaimer before
we begin. First, my opinions don't necessarily reflect
the views of the Church. Second, if you really want to find out what
our church is about, please speak with missionaries; it's their job
to teach people and address questions like these. You can even chat
online with a missionary at mormon.org. You can get on LDS.org and
actually look up doctrinal topics. Also, read the Book of Mormon. I
believe if you want to learn about any religion, you need to go to
their scriptural resources and compare their fruits to their written
word, and that includes the LDS church.
So what made me want to address
misconceptions about my church that nonbelievers or even church
members themselves may have? Well, I was recently looking at review
blurbs for “Meet the Mormons,” a movie the Church recently
released exploring the lives of various Church members (which I'll
address as “Saints” from now on), and most of the reviews weren't
very positive. One reviewer expressed disappointment that the movie
didn't delve into more doctrinal stuff that outsiders may be curious
about.
That's what drove me to think about
some things “outsiders” may want to know more about, and what I
have personally learned, believe, and experienced. Please take note,
I only go into so much detail, as this stuff is very sacred to me,
but I will try to answer the questions/misconceptions and will keep
it within the doctrinal bounds of scripture and the Church. By the
way, these questions are rather random, so please bear with me.
1. Are Mormons Christians?
This may be the most-asked question
about the Saints. I get on Google and start typing “are” and one
of the first things that appears is “are mormons christians.”
To put it simply, yes. In the Articles
of Faith, a set of basic beliefs of the Church written by Joseph
Smith Jr., the first article states: AoF 1:1 - “We believe in God,
the Eternal Father, and in his Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy
Ghost.”
 |
| The Christus at Temple Square. Source: commons.wikimedia.org |
Is this the same Jesus Christ other
Christians believe in, you may wonder? I talk about this question in
another point, but yes, it is. Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the
Savior of the world, who suffered and died on the cross for the sins
of man, and was resurrected and ascended to the Father. We believe
He leads our Church today. There can only be one Jesus Christ, and
He is the Savior of us all.
In fact, our church is the only true
Christian church, both literally and spiritually. I say literally,
because we have the same organization and ordinances as existed in
the church Christ organized during his mortal ministry. To quote the
Articles of Faith 1:6 - “We believe in the same organization that
existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors,
teachers, evangelists, and so forth.”
You won't find any other church on
earth that possesses the same organization that Christ created.
2. Did Joseph Smith, Jr. write the Book
of Mormon?
 |
| source: www.pbs.org |
 |
| source: wikipedia.org |
No. Surprised at my answer? Joseph
Smith, Jr. translated the
Book of Mormon through divine
inspiration, dictating it to
scribes
as he read from the golden plates containing the ancient history of
early inhabitants of America. The
man who wrote most of what became known as the Book of Mormon was its
namesake, a prophet-historian named Mormon who compiled various
records of his people and the people of the Book of Ether into one
volume; his son Moroni finished the record and buried the plates for
safe-keeping until Joseph Smith came into their possession.
People
will scoff at the idea that Joseph translated this book. They'll say
he just wrote it to start a religion, to gain followers, to gain
power. If that's so, please tell me how a simple
farmer with a 3rd
grade education, who could barely write a letter, “wrote” a 530
page, 268,163 word
book of such complexity, that covers a 1000 year period with no
story/doctrinal
inconsistencies, in a mere 60 days? Why
would he waste his time unless he loved God, had been called of God,
and been inspired through the Holy Spirit of God?
Man,
sign me up for NaNoWriMo, because I sure can't write
something like that in so short of time,
and I have a college education and have been writing novels for 12
years!
The only way anyone
could believe that is if they believe in miracles. If you don't
believe in miracles, no one can convince you. However, I believe in
miracles, and I know that Joseph Smith Jr. translated the Book of
Mormon, Another Witness of Jesus Christ, so that the world could be
brought closer to our Heavenly Father.
3.
The Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon isn't the same as the one in
the Holy Bible.
I
haven't seen much of this misconception (I
don't go out of my way to look at anti-Mormon material),
but it is one I feel I need to explore. First, let's see what Christ
says in the Gospel of John:
John
10:16: “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them
also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be
one fold, and one
shepherd.”
 |
| source: bookofmormononline.com |
Interesting, right?
Exactly who was He talking about? Why didn't He expound on this
more while teaching that day?
The Book of Mormon
corroborates and explains this verse more:
3 Nephi 15:17-18:
“17. That other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also
I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one
fold, and one shepherd. 18. And now, because of stiffneckedness and
unbelief they understood not my word; therefore I was commanded to
say no more of the Father concerning this thing unto them.”
This
is the Savior's own testimony as he's visiting the people of America.
He quotes himself in the Old World, and even explains why He didn't
delve more into the matter (“they”
meaning the Jews in Israel).
The fact that He corroborates his teachings in the Book of Mormon
with those in the Bible (as this isn't the only verse he repeats; for
example, he goes into the Beattitudes) must mean it is the same Jesus
Christ.
4. What goes on in
Mormon Temples?
 |
| The Jordan River Utah Temple. Me and my husband, James, were sealed in this Temple. Source: lds.org. |
Those not familiar
with Temples may have heard some bad things about them, that we
sacrifice children or participate in other questionable ceremonies.
This is simply not true.
Temples are used
for two purposes: to participate in what are called saving
ordinances, needed to return to Heavenly Father's presence, and to do
those ordinances in proxy for those who have died. These ordinances
include baptism (although living members are baptized for themselves
outside the Temple), initiatory, the endowment, and sealing.
Initiatory and endowment have to do with our divine heritage as sons
and daughters of God, and the endowment in particular explains more
about the Gospel, Christ's mission to earth, and in the endowment we
make sacred covenants.
Sealings enable a
man and a woman to married and sealed together for eternity, and not
just for this life. Also, if children were not born to sealed
parents, but their parents get sealed in the temple, they are able to
be sealed to their parents into an eternal family. Because of
Christ's Atonement, we are able to receive these sacred ordinances
and live with Heavenly Father.
 |
| A Temple sealing room. source: ldschurchnewsarchive.com |
It's not secret,
really. There's sacred things I have not explained here, because
we've been commanded not to tamper with sacred things unless we want
to invoke God's wrath. However, the fact we do these things isn't
secret. You can go to a temple openhouse before it is dedicated by
our leaders –– it doesn't matter if you're good or bad, gay or
straight, black or white, purple or green –– anyone can go to a
temple openhouse, experience the beauty within, and learn about our
ordinances.
That's all for Part
1. There will be a Part 2 where I address more questions. I hope
you enjoyed this article :)
~Xen
p.s. Not to be rude to anyone reading this, but if you don't have anything nice to say about me, this article, or anything else, please don't post a comment. I'll either ignore or delete any such comments. Positive comments and questions are encouraged!
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