Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Taking a Stand

You know what is hard? Having the things you believe and hold so dear, the very things that define you, be mocked, criticized and ridiculed. Having someone come out and tell the world that you are not christian and that you are a member of a cult. To see books published and websites dedicated to twisting the things you believe into lies. To have a broadway play written to point fingers at your standards and make others critical of your beliefs. Then to have people see all of the above material and then pass a harsh judgement about you without any thought of "I wonder if all of this it true...

Well it's NOT!

I can not believe the amount of attention The Church is getting right now. Between Mitt Romney and John Huntsman running for the Republican Presidential ticket, the broadway musical "The Book of Mormom" and the "I'm a Mormon" campaign I feel like that is all I see these days.

It is hard to stomach sometimes, hard not to jump up and scream "YOU'RE WRONG!! You idiot! Do your research!" But that wouldn't be very Christ-like, would it?

On the bright side there have been many not of our faith who have began to "stick up for us" if you will. Journalist like Anderson Cooper calling out the Rev. Robert Jeffers on his claims that Mormons (who by the way prefer to be called members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints) are an unchristian cult. Others who write negative reviews of "The Book of Mormon" musical because no faith should be under such scrutiny.

So this is what I say. If people not of my faith are willing to stand up for me and my brothers and sisters of the church, than so will I. I'm not trying to "convert" others to the LDS faith but rather educate them. So when someone tried to tell them, "those mormons are weird because they don't drink alcohol." They might say something like "While I enjoy drinking myself, mormons aren't weird. They live a high health code which includes not eating/drinking any substance that might prove addictive or harmful. In fact, I think I'll skip the wine with my dinner tonight." LOL. Ok, fine. Maybe they wouldn't say it quite like that, but you get the picture.

Also why do people make fun of us or find it so hard to believe that Joseph Smith received a book of scriptures (the Book of Mormon) from an angel on a hill. While the rest of christianity has not problem believing that Moses received stone tablets (the 10 commandments) from a burning bush on the top of a mountain?

So to those people who say we are not Christian I say this: #1 Go listen to this guy, Jeffery R Holland, tell you why we are Christians. I would like him to be my 3rd grandfather (along with the rest of the 1st presidency and quorum of the 12.) #2 One of our number one beliefs is "We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in his Son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost." We also believe that it is through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ that all men are saved. That seems like a solid Christian belief to me.

My next few blog posts I plan to highlight the articles of faith . I know 99.9% of the people who read my blog are LDS but for the .1% who stumble upon my blog I want them to be clear on what we believe. I want to do my part is spreading the truthfulness of the things we believe. I want to have my testimony recorded, so that there will be no doubt in the generations to come, That I knew with a surety that Christ LIVES. That he died on the cross to take away my sins. He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane so that I might be redeemed from my sins. He knows and loves me personally. He is aware of all of us, not just me. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God. Just as the heavens were open to the prophets of old, they are open once again. It doesn't make since for our loving Heavenly Father to leave us with no modern revelation in a world that is so consumed with wickedness, pain and suffering. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, it does contain the record of the people on the Americas. It goes hand in hand with the Bible. There is no way a boy with a minimal education could have compiled that book. I also know because I have read it, many times, and I have prayed about it. I have received my own personal witness of its truthfulness and you will too. If you read it then pray about it with sincerity having a real intent to know for yourself, you will receive the same witness, and then you too will not be able to deny it.