Religion
I’m a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormons). We believe we’re literal spirit children of God the Father, and that through the Atonement of His Son, Jesus Christ, we can overcome sin and death and eventually go back to live with Them in heaven. We also believe that God calls and ordains prophets and apostles to lead His church here on the earth; as a natural outgrowth of this, we believe in modern revelation and in miracles. For a brief history of the Church, please see The Restoration.
My Beliefs
God
I believe that God does exist and that He is omnipotent and omniscient. I believe He has a body of flesh and bones. I believe He is the literal Father of our spirits and that He loves us beyond anything we can ever imagine. I believe that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to atone for the results of the Fall.
Jesus Christ
I believe that Jesus Christ is a real personage and that He literally came down to earth in the meridian of time and took upon himself a body of flesh and blood. I believe that He is Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament. I believe that the events depicting His life are historical and not mythological. I believe that His Atonement in the Garden of Gethsemane was and is real. I believe that He was crucified and I believe that He was indeed resurrected after the third day. I believe that He will come again in clouds of glory and that He will reign over the earth during the Millennium. He is my Savior, my Redeemer, my Lord. The story told of Him is not a mere figment of the imagination; it is real, it is true, and He will come again.
The Holy Ghost
I believe that the Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead and that he is our connection to God while on this fallen world. I believe that having the gift of the Holy Ghost is one of the most sacred things we can possess. It is, to me, more important even than life itself.
The scriptures
I believe that the Bible and the Book of Mormon are inspired works written by prophets of God. I also believe, however, that the Bible has been altered through centuries of translation, introducing doctrinal errors and other corruptions. Having read the Book of Mormon seventeen or eighteen times, I have come to know that it is true and inspired and good. It is not a story written by an uneducated 14-year-old farm boy; it is the word of God as given to His prophets. It is the most important book on earth. Through it I have come to know Jesus and the love of God. To those questioning whether it is true, please follow Moroni’s exhortation in Moroni 10:4-5 and pray about it. When you read the book, do you feel that it’s false? Does it feel hollow or empty? It does not — that much is certain — and that should make it clear that the book is not a hoax. There is much evidence proving the Book of Mormon to be true. No amount of evidence, however, can substitute for the testimony of the Spirit. Read the book sincerely, really wanting to know if it’s true, and then pray and ask God. He will let you know whether it is true.
Joseph Smith
I believe that Joseph Smith was an inspired prophet of the Lord and that no man, save Jesus only, has done more than he for the salvation of mankind. Does this mean he was infallible? Of course not. Jesus Christ was the only perfect man; this means all the others are imperfect, to one degree or another, which means they all must make mistakes. Joseph himself admitted as much many times. It is rather puerile — and hypocritical — to condemn everything a man does and says just because he slips up a handful of times. Yes, Joseph made mistakes. But that does not make him any less a prophet. I know and believe with all my heart that he was indeed what he said he was. Anyone who reads his words with a heart open to the Spirit of the Lord can surely tell that Joseph is not lying. Dishonesty and falsehood have a decaying odor that accompanies them everywhere. This sick spiritual smell is not present in Joseph’s writings; he was telling the truth, for he was a man of God, and the appointed one to restore His church to the earth in these latter days.
Gordon B. Hinckley
I believe that Gordon B. Hinckley is God’s living prophet and that he leads the Church under the inspiration of the Almighty. The armies of the evil one will inevitably attack both him and Joseph and all the other prophets, for no other reason than that they are men of God. (Keep in mind that they won’t actually say that’s why they’re attacking the prophets; the enemy is too cunning and slick for that.) I believe that President Hinckley is the president of the Jesus Christ’s church and that he is called of God. And because he is called of God, his word is God’s word — he is God’s spokesman to the Church. And that means that I believe in obeying the prophet fully. To fail to heed President Hinckley’s counsel is to disobey God.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
For more information on my beliefs, go to my church’s website (www.mormon.org). We are most emphatically Christians, contrary to popular myth. We believe in modern revelation, in a Godhead with three separate distinct beings, in baptism by immersion, and in salvation by both faith and works. The headquarters of the church are in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Articles of Faith
The following are articles of our faith, penned by LDS prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., and they provide a basic summary of what we believe.
- We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
- We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.
- We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
- We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
- We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
- We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
- We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
- We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
- We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
- We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
- We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
- We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
- We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul — We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
Tolstoy on Mormons
Count Leo Tolstoy, the great Russian author, statesman, and philosopher, held [this] opinion as to the possible future destiny of the “American religion” founded under the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Thomas J. Yates related an experience he had while a student at Cornell University in 1900. He had the privilege of meeting Dr. Andrew D. White, former president of Cornell and, at the time, U.S. Ambassador to Germany. Upon learning that Mr. Yates was a Mormon, Dr. White made an appointment to spend an evening with him, at which time he related an experience he had had with Count Tolstoy while serving as U.S. Foreign Minister to Russia in 1892. Dr. White visited often with Count Tolstoy, and upon one occasion they discussed religion. We quote from Elder Yates’ account of this discussion, as related to him by Dr. White:
“Dr. White,” said Count Tolstoy, “I wish you would tell me about your American religion.”
“We have no state church in America,” replied Dr. White.
“I know that, but what about your American religion?”
Patiently then Dr. White explained to the Count that in America there are many religions, and that each person is free to belong to the particular church in which he is interested.
To this Tolstoy impatiently replied: “I know all of this, but I want to know about the American religion. Catholicism originated in Rome; the Episcopal Church originated in England; the Lutheran Church in Germany, but the Church to which I refer originated in America, and is commonly known as the Mormon Church. What can you tell me of the teachings of the Mormons?”
“Well,” said Dr. White, “I know very little concerning them. They have an unsavory reputation, they practice polygamy, and are very superstitious.”
Then Count Leo Tolstoy, in his honest and stern, but lovable, manner, rebuked the ambassador. “Dr. White, I am greatly surprised and disappointed that a man of your great learning and position should be so ignorant on this important subject. The Mormon people teach the American religion; their principles teach the people not only of Heaven and its attendant glories, but how to live so that their social and economic relations with each other are placed on a sound basis. If the people follow the teachings of this Church, nothing can stop their progress — it will be limitless. There have been great movements started in the past but they have died or been modified before they reached maturity. If Mormonism is able to endure, unmodified, until it reaches the third and fourth generation, it is destined to become the greatest power the world has ever known.”
(From The Improvement Era, February 1939 [vol. 42], p. 94.)
Because of his discussion with Count Tolstoy, upon his return to the United States Dr. White secured a set of the Church works and placed them in the Cornell University Library.
(LeGrand Richards, A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, pp. 412–414)
