When Gay Rights and Religious Liberties Clash

My cousin Lori wanted me to post this article.

Why I am active with Prop 8

Why do members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints participate in this issue. First of all “We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.” With this same organization as the Primitive Church, we expect the same revelation that was received by prophets of old. “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.” The living prophet today has told us to go forth and participate with yes on proposition 8. When a new prophet is called, as members of the church we promise to support him and follow him, and when we do not we are in direct conflict with Jesus Christ.

The fact that the living prophet has told us to participate for Yes on Prop 8 is reason alone to follow, but other prophets and the Lord have told us how to act.

“I do not pretend to tell how much sorrow you and I are going to meet with before the coming of the Son of Man. That will depend upon our conduct.” (Wilford Woodruff, Mill. Star, 2 Sept. 1889, 547.)

Our conduct in the now will decide the amount of sorrow that we all will experience in the last days. Generally when the Lord talks about our conduct he is referring to obeying the commandments and choosing right over wrong. Joseph Smith also referred to our conduct in the last days, and said,

"The time will come when the destiny of the nation will hang upon a single thread. At that critical juncture, this people will step forth and save it from the threatened destruction. It will be so."

- Joseph Smith Chapter 29, Progress of Man, by Joseph Fielding Smith

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we believe that there will be a time that we need to stand for what is right within politics so that we may save the constitution. But we also believe that,

“According to the laws and constitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles; That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment.” (D&C 101:77-78)

Essentially this is a moral issue that has been placed before the citizens of the United States. We are all free to act as we wish, but like all things we will have to answer for our actions in the last day.

Protecting Marriage in California

Thank you everyone for your comments. My cousin Lori also commented on some of the points that others were wondering about, and she asked if I make a post of it here.

By Lori

Thank you for articulating your thoughts on this matter so well. As you know, in May the California Supreme Court overturned a voter initiative from 2000 which defines marriage between a man and a woman by a vote of 4-3. I recently read part of the Supreme Court’s legal opinion. I really enjoyed an argument made by one of the dissenting justices showing how the majority opinion inappropriately compares this to a civil rights issue and wanted to share it. The justice discusses how granting the right to an education or the right to vote to all races and genders did not change the nature of what means to get an education or vote. Conversely, when two people of the same gender are allowed to marry, it does change the very definition of marriage as understood since the beginning of Statehood.

The following is an excerpt from Justice’s Corrigan, J concurring and dissenting opinion from pg. 157 of the May California supreme court decision.

“What is unique about this case is that plaintiffs seek both to join the

institution of marriage and at the same time to alter its definition. The majority

maintains that plaintiffs are not attempting to change the existing institution of

marriage. (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 53.) This claim is irreconcilable with the

majority’s declaration that “[f]rom the beginning of California statehood, the legal

institution of civil marriage has been understood to refer to a relationship between

a man and a woman.” (Id. at p. 23, fn. omitted.) The people are entitled to

preserve this traditional understanding in the terminology of the law, recognizing

that same-sex and opposite-sex unions are different. What they are not entitled to

do is treat them differently under the law.

The distinction between substance and nomenclature makes this case

different from other civil rights cases. The definition of the rights to education, to

vote, to pursue an office or occupation, and the other celebrated civil rights

vindicated by the courts, were not altered by extending them to all races and both

genders. The institution of marriage was not fundamentally changed by removing

the racial restrictions that formerly encumbered it. Plaintiffs, however, seek to

change the definition of the marital relationship, as it has consistently been

understood, into something quite new. They could certainly accomplish such a

redefinition through the initiative process. As a voter, I might agree. But that

change is for the people to adopt, not for judges to dictate.”

I am not opposed to gay relationships existing, nor having gay couples with similar rights (such as visitation rights) as married couples. In fact, according to the California Supreme court domestic partnerships in California already have “all the substantive benefits” that married couples have. Because homosexual relationships are fundamentally different from heterosexual relationships and because homosexual relationships already have “all the same substantive benefits” as married couples, voters have the right to call these unions by different names- as they are fundamentally different, and in order to preserve the traditional definition and institution of marriage.

Prop 8 news

We are going to start working together in our community to let those around know about proposition 8. Both Jim and I have signed up for both Saturdays as well as calling to let those around us know about why we want proposition 8 to pass. Again, it is not to take away the rights of those who refer to them as homosexuals who would want to be married. It is to protect the sanctity and the model of marriage, to fight back against the four judges who overturned a majority vote decision made just 8 years ago by the majority of California that we want marriage to continue to be between a man and a woman. There are rules already established between marriage now as far as who can marry who, so this is nothing new. The rules are set there to protect innocents, just as we are asking that we maintain marriage to be. We are also reacting to the fact that 4 out of 7 judges felt it necessary to overturn what the voters of California wanted. If we let them not listen to what we want now, what's to stop them from doing it again and again?

I could continue, but I think it is worded nicer in a few other articles I have found. Please check them out, especially for those of you out there who are wondering why we feel so strongly about keeping marriage between a man and a woman.

Here are the articles here and here.

Signs of the Times

Signs of the times

Although the exact time of the second coming will never be divulged unto the children of men, many signs proceeding to the second coming have been revealed. The red type are signs that have not been completed yet.

1. SPIRIT TO BE POURED OUT ON ALL FLESH

a. It was this spirit, the Light of Christ, which prepared the way for the opening of the dispensation of the fullness of times. Working in the hearts of men in the dark ages, it caused them to seek light, to translate the Bible, to break away (partially, at least) from the chains of religious darkness which bound their minds.

2. DISCOVERY AND USE OF PRINTING.

a. Without the discovery of movable type in about 1440 A.D. the barrier of gross darkness covering the apostate world could scarce have been pierced. One of the first books published was the Gutenberg Bible in 1456 A.D.

3. PROTESTANT REFORMATION AND AGE OF RENAISSANCE

a. Beginning in the 14th century

4. DISCOVERY AND COLONIZATION OF AMERICA

a. 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue

5. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AMERICAN NATION

a. The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, announcing that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were no longer a part of the British Empire.

6. TRANSLATION AND PRINTING OF BIBLE

a. Gutenberg Bible in 1456 A.D.

7. ESTABLISHMENT OF U.S. CONSTITUTION.

a. The First Amendment, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights, was adopted on December 15, 1791.

8. LATTER-DAY REVELATION

a. Spring of 1820 when a boy talked to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ

9. COMING FORTH OF THE BOOK OF MORMON

a. In the year of 1830 The Book of Mormon was published for all the world to read.

10. OPPOSITION TO THE BOOK OF MORMON

a. Even before The Book of Mormon was even fully translated, the opposition of the book and its contents were insurmountable.

11. RESTORATION OF KEYS AND PRIESTHOOD

a. John the Baptist, Peter, James, and John, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Elijah, Elias, Moses, and Moroni have all come restoring their keys, powers, and authorities started in 1829

12. RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL

a. With the vision of Joseph Smith in 1820, the fullness of times was rushing into the present.

13. MESSENGER TO PRECEDE SECOND COMING

a. "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me," the Lord said speaking of his Second Coming. (Mal. 3:1-6.) Both John the Baptist and the Prophet Joseph Smith have ministered in our day in fulfilment of this ancient prediction. (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, pp. 191-195.) The gospel itself is, also, a messenger preparing the way before the face of the Lord. (D. & C. 45:9.)

14. CHURCH AND KINGDOM SET UP AGAIN

a. The keys of the kingdom were given to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in June, 1829, and the formal organization of the kingdom took place on April 6, 1830.

15. GROWTH OF THE CHURCH

a. The Church started off with less than 30 members, but as of April 2008 there are more than 13 million.

16. GATHERING OF ISRAEL

a. The keys of that gathering were conferred upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery by Moses on April 3, 1836, in the Kirtland Temple (D. & C. 110:11), and since that day the scattered remnants of Jacob have been leaving friends and temporal pursuits in all nations, and with the spirit of gathering resting mightily upon them, assembling with the saints who comprise the hosts of Latter-day Israel.

17. TEN TRIBES TO RETURN

a. So far, the gathering of Israel has been limited primarily to the scattered sheep of Ephraim (who is ranked as the firstborn and as having the birthright), and to a few of Manasseh, Judah and other tribes. But the time is near when the lost tribes "who are in the north countries shall come in remembrance before the Lord," and shall come to Zion "with songs of everlasting joy," to be crowned with blessings by those of Ephraim who stand at the head. (D. & C. 133:26-34.)

18. TIMES OF GENTILES BEING FULFILLED

a. The dispensation of the fullness of times we find the gospel message going first to the Gentiles, with a promise that it will hereafter go to the Jews. Thus the first shall be last and the last first. (1 Ne. 13:42.)

19. RETURN OF JUDAH TO JERUSALEM

a. In 1964, Israeli Rabbinical authorities accepted that the Bene Israel of India were indeed Jewish and most of the remaining Indian Jews migrated to Israel. The 2000 strong Jewish community of Cochin had already migrated in 1954.

20. JEWS TO BEGIN TO BELIEVE IN CHRIST

a. In 1866, the Hebrew-Christian Alliance of Great Britain was organized, with branches also existing in several European countries and the United States. The belief of Jesus Christ with Jewish background is now called Messianic Judaism.

21. BUILDING OF LATTER-DAY TEMPLES

a. Isaiah foretold that the house of the Lord would be established in the tops of the mountains, in the American Zion, and that scattered Israel would flow unto it just before the Second Coming. (Isa. 2:1-5.) Micah repeated the same prophecy. (Micah 4:1-7.) Ezekiel foretold the placing of a similar holy sanctuary among gathered Israel in Palestine in the last days. (Ezekiel 37) And the Lord has given us renewed assurance that this same temple is to be erected in "the mountains of the Lord's house" in Jerusalem. (D. & C. 133:13.)

22. A TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM

a. And the Lord has given us renewed assurance that this same temple is to be erected in "the mountains of the Lord's house" in Jerusalem. (D. & C. 133:13.)

b. This temple is where the temple of Herod was, which causes a problem because the dome of the rock currently is. For many years the dome of the rock has be a central part of many religious conflicts.

23. LORD TO COME SUDDENLY TO TEMPLE

a. An event which actually took place, as far as the Kirtland Temple is concerned, on the 3rd of April in 1836. (Mal. 3:1; D. & C. 110:1-10.)

24. SPIRIT OF ELIJAH AND GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH

a. The time when genealogical societies were first organized to any appreciable extent ties in so closely with the time of Elijah's return that it constitutes competent and relevant evidence that Elijah actually came. (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 2, pp. 117-128.) Elijah came and visited and passed the keys to Joseph Smith on April 3^rd, 1836. (D&C 110:13)

25. PERSECUTION OF THE SAINTS

a. Where the gospel is, there will be opposition and persecution, for Lucifer will not stand idly by while the work of God rolls forward. Hence, the saints have been tormented, pushed about, persecuted, and reviled. The Missouri persecutions are one of the blackest pages in American history.

26. PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS

a. From the time that Christ was crucified and even until today we can see a constant persecution of the Jewish people.

27. TRUE GOSPEL TO BE PREACHED IN ALL THE WORLD

a. Some of the countries that still have not had missionaries there are:Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan

28. WORLDLY KNOWLEDGE TO INCREASE

a. Never in the entire history of the world has there been anything to compare, even in slight degree, with the great flood of worldly knowledge that has swept the globe in modern times. Marvelous advances have taken place in every field — scientific, historical, sociological, artistic, medicinal, governmental, economic, inventive, atomic, judicial, and so on ad infinitum — all of which has been according to the great foreordained plan for man on earth.

29. SCIENTIFIC AND INVENTIVE PROGRESS

a. We have already seen the discovery and world-wide use of radio, television, telephones, and wireless; of steam engines, automobiles, airplanes, and railroads; of electricity, atomic energy, and destructive weapons; of medicinal advances, surgical achievements, and wonder drugs. Apparently some of the ancient prophets were even permitted to see the latter-day use of airplanes and armored tanks (Rev. 9:5-10), of trains and automobiles (Nah. 2:3-5), and perhaps other achievements, and to make records of their visions in such descriptive terms as were then available to them.

30. DISEASE, PLAGUE, PESTILENCE TO SWEEP EARTH

a. Despite medical advances, people are to suffer from diseases, plagues, and pestilences of undreamed proportions in the last days. Men's hearts shall fail them. (Luke 21:26.) New and unheard of diseases will attack the human system.

i. Bird flue, Aids and more to

31. ELEMENTS IN COMMOTION

a. This is the day when we shall hear "the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds." (D. & C. 88:89-90.) In our day there are to be dust storms, whirlwinds, tornadoes, floods, and "a great hailstorm sent forth to destroy the crops of the earth." (D. & C. 29:16.)

i. Tsunamis (India 2006)

ii. Hurricanes (USA Katrina 2007, USA Fay 2008)

iii. Floods (USA 2008)

iv. Earth quakes (China 2008, Turkey 2007)

32. DISASTERS AND CALAMITIES TO ABOUND

a. "For I, the Lord, have decreed in mine anger many destructions upon the waters; yea, and especially upon these waters .... Behold, I, the Lord, in the beginning blessed the waters; but in the last days, by the mouth of my servant John, I cursed the waters. Wherefore, the days will come that no flesh shall be safe upon the waters." (D. & C. 61:4-5, 14-15.)

33. STRIKES, ANARCHY, VIOLENCE, TO INCREASE

a. "The whole earth shall be in commotion." (D. & C. 45:26.) Signs of this commotion are seen daily in the untempered strikes and labor troubles that rock the economic world; in the violence, compulsion, and destruction of property that attend these strikes; in the unholy plots against our freedoms and free institutions; in the anarchy, rebellion, and crime that flow from great political movements which seek to destroy the agency of man and overthrow the governments of the world by force and violence. Communism and every other brutal and evil association or form of government are signs of the times.

34. LATTER-DAY WICKEDNESS

a. Murder, robbery, rape, whoredoms, every form of sex immorality, and all forms of crimes against persons and property truly abound. Juvenile delinquency is a problem of substantial magnitude. Birth control is one of the great evils of the day.

35. SPIRIT CEASING TO STRIVE WITH WICKED

a. Today we can see the Spirit ceasing to strive with the wicked in the church. As proposition 8 continues to be discussed in the California stakes, we can see that members of the church are no longer following the prophet like men of old.

36. PEACE TAKEN FROM EARTH

a. On November 1, 1831, the Lord said: "The hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion." (D. & C. 1:35.) Later Elder George A. Smith left us this apt statement: "Peace is taken from the earth, and wrath and indignation among the people is the result; they care not for anything but to quarrel and destroy each other. The same spirit that dwelt in the breasts of the Nephites during the last battles that were fought by them on this continent, when they continued to fight until they were exterminated, is again on earth and is increasing." (Journal History, Sept. 23, 1855.)

37. ANGELS NOW REAPING THE EARTH

a. In a revelation given January 2, 1831, the Lord announced: "The angels are waiting the great command to reap down the earth, to gather the tares that they may be burned; and, behold, the enemy is combined." (D. & C. 38:12.) A similar announcement was repeated on December 6, 1832. (D. & C. 86:5.)

b. These angels have now begun their work. This we learn through the spirit of inspiration that rested upon President Wilford Woodruff. June 24, 1894, he said: "God has held the angels of destruction for many years, lest they should reap down the wheat with the tares. But I want to tell you now, that those angels have left the portals of heaven, and they stand over this people and this nation now, and are hovering over the earth waiting to pour out the judgments. And from this very day they shall be poured out. Calamities and troubles are increasing in the earth, and there is a meaning to these things. ... Great changes are at our doors. The next 20 years will see mighty changes among the nations of the Earth." (Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, p. 230) It is interesting to note that almost 20 years later to the day, June 28, 1914, the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated, thus initiating the first World War.

38. WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS

a. "I have sworn in my wrath, and decreed wars upon the face of the earth," the Lord has said as pertaining to our day, "and the wicked shall slay the wicked, and fear shall come upon every man." (D. & C. 63:33.)

39. FAMINES, DEPRESSIONS, AND ECONOMIC TURMOIL

a. In 2008 we were told that our country has been in a depression. Famines still stricken Africa as well as other countries throughout the world. It is highly evident that this sign of the times is very evident.

40. APOSTATE DARKNESS COVERS EARTH

a. "The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (2 Tim. 4:3-4.)

b. Why do you think they were called the dark ages?

41. MANY FALSE CHURCHES IN LATTER-DAYS

a. I visited Brazil and in a 5 mile radius there were over 35 churches. It seems that men are truly taking it upon themselves to teach their own doctrine instead of searching for the truth.

b. "Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be churches built up that shall say: Come unto me, and for your money you shall be forgiven of your sins." (Morm. 8:26-41.)

42. REFUSAL OF MEN TO BELIEVE SIGNS OF TIMES

a. The very fact that men refuse to believe the many signs of the times is itself one of the signs promised to precede the advent of our Lord. Peter prophesied of this, saying: "There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." (2 Pet. 3:3-4.)

43. SIGNS ON EARTH AND IN HEAVENS

a. "And it shall come to pass that he that feareth me shall be looking forth for the great day of the Lord to come, even for the signs of the coming of the Son of Man. And they shall see signs and wonders, for they shall be shown forth in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath. And they shall behold blood, and fire, and vapors of smoke. And before the day of the Lord shall come, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon be turned into blood, and the stars fall from heaven." (D. & C. 45:39-42; Joel 2:30-31.)

44. THE CONSTITUTION WILL DANGLE BY A THREAD

a. "The time will come when the destiny of the nation will hang upon a single thread. At that critical juncture, this people will step forth and save it from the threatened destruction. It will be so." - Joseph Smith Chapter 29, Progress of Man, by Joseph Fielding Smith

45. LAMANITES TO BLOSSOM AS THE ROSE

a. As part of the Lord's covenant people, a part on whom a curse fell because of the iniquity of their fathers, the Lamanites are yet to stand as a sign that the end is near. In March, 1831, the Lord revealed: "Before the great day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall flourish in the wilderness, and the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose. Zion shall flourish upon the hills and rejoice upon the mountains, and shall be assembled together unto the place which I have appointed." (D. & C. 49:24-25.)

b. Some Lamanites, gathered into the fold of Christ, have already blossomed forth with all the fruits of righteousness appertaining to the gospel; the scales of darkness have begun to drop from their eyes, according to the promises (2 Ne. 30:6); and they will yet, as a people, become as white, delightsome, and desirable as their Nephite brethren ever were. Already Jacob (with Ephraim at the head) has flourished in the wilderness where Brigham Young led her, a wilderness which has since also begun to blossom as the rose. And already Zion has flourished upon the hills, rejoiced in the mountains, and commenced to assemble together in the appointed places.

46. THE GATHERING AT ADAM-ONDI-AHMAN

a. Before the great and dreadful day when the Lord is to return — "In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thess. 1:8) — there is to be an appearance at a place called Adam-ondi-Ahman. There Adam, the Ancient of Days, will sit in council with his children; there Christ will come, and to him shall be given "dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." (Dan. 7.)

47. FINAL GREAT WAR TO ATTEND SECOND COMING

a. All nations will be gathered together at Jerusalem. The armies of the earth will be assembled in the Valley of Decision. Apparently those engaged in the conflict (possibly counting those in direct support of the fighting forces, meaning those making the armaments as well as these using them) will total 200,000,000. This will be the day when again the abomination of desolation will be fulfilled. (Zech. 12; 13; 14; Joel 3; Ezek. 38; 39; Rev. 9; D. & C. 29:14-21; Jos. Smith 1:32.)

48. SORROW AND FEAR PRECEDE AND ACCOMPANY SECOND COMING

a. Fear of the future shall increase in the hearts of the wicked until they shall call on the rocks and the hills to fall on them and hide them "from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" (Rev. 6:12-17; Luke 23:30-31.)

49. FALL OF THE GREAT AND ABOMINABLE CHURCH

a. One of the final great events of our age is to be the fall and utter destruction of that great church which is not the Lord's Church, that great church "which is most abominable above all other churches." (1 Ne. 13:5.) "That great church, the mother of abominations, that made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, that persecuteth the saints of God, that shed their blood — she who sitteth upon many waters, and upon the islands of the sea — behold, she is the tares of the earth; she is bound in bundles; her bands are made strong, no man can loose them; therefore, she is ready to be burned." (D. & C. 88:94; 29:21; Ezek. 38; 39; Rev. 17; 18.)

50. SPECIAL MISSION IN JERUSALEM OF TWO LATTER-DAY PROPHETS

a. There are to be "two witnesses, ... two prophets that are to be raised up to the Jewish nation in the last days, at the time of the restoration." They are "to prophesy to the Jews after they are gathered and have built the city of Jerusalem in the land of their fathers." (D. & C. 77:15.) "And I will give power unto my two witnesses," the Lord says, "and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth."

b. Revelations 11

51. WICKED TO BE BURNED AS STUBBLE

a. As the final sign of the times, the final event incident to the ushering in of a new age, the vineyard (earth) is to be burned. The wicked shall be as stubble; every corruptible thing shall be consumed; the elements shall melt with fervent heat; only those living at least a terrestrial law will be permitted to remain on earth. (Mal. 4; D. & C. 29:9-10; 63:34,54; 101:23-31; 133:63-64.)

52. FINAL RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS TO BE COMPLETED

a. With the ushering of the millennial era, the final restitution of all things will be completed. We will have a new heaven and a new earth — a paradisiacal earth, one in which the sea has returned to its place in the north, with the continents becoming one land again. (D. & C. 101:23-31; 133:22-25; Isa. 65:17-25.)

53. CHRIST TO REIGN PERSONALLY UPON EARTH

a. I will reveal myself from heaven with power and great glory, with all the hosts thereof, and dwell in righteousness with men on earth a thousand years, and the wicked shall not stand." (D. & C. 29:11.) This will be the final consummation of the age; the world (as now constituted) will end; for "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever." (Rev. 11:15.)

Out of 53 things to show the signs of the times, eleven of them have not been completed. Some of these will happen right before the second coming. The last two that are in blue will happen when Christ is here. It truly shows that we are in the last days and that this is the time to prepare. We all need to be prepared to meet that great and dreadful day of the Lord. No one knows better then you yourself if you are ready and prepared. I hope that if you do not feel prepared then you can search for yourself what you need to do.

I accepted Christ but that’s not all

The other day I was reminded of a question that I had heard once, and decided to relate my experience here. I was approached by a gentleman and he asked me if I have accepted Jesus as my savior, and I said yes. He continued to tell me that I have not accepted Jesus and that I need to do so to be saved. The way this gentleman responded to me and treated me gave me a concern about his belief about me and my salvation. There are two main issues that I would like to address in this blog.

The first is about the belief is our belief in Christ. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been accused of not believing in Jesus Christ. This however is not true. To me at least this is something that I have never understood. The name of the church alone reflects the belief in Christ and his centered roll in our lives. One of my favorite scriptures in The Book of Mormon is in the book of 2 Nephi chapter 25 versus 26, and it 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.”
Jesus Christ is the center and chief corner stone of the gospel of the LDS faith. Nothing can be more important to a member then the savior of the world. “For there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)”

The second thing that I would like to address is the fact of the “accepting Christ and then you’re saved” doctrine. This is something that I cannot understand. I really don’t like to be mean or to “bash” on other peoples belief or doctrine, but I cannot accept this as a true doctrine of God. It just isn’t fair or makes sense. One thing that I think all Christians can agree on is that our Heavenly Father is fair to all of his children. He does not like one more than the other because he loves us all the same. To say that all that we have to do to be saved is accept Jesus Christ as our savior would be to say that God is not just or fair.

To explain this I will use a simple example. Let’s take one person that accepted Christ when they were in their teens and lived close to the commandments for all of their life. Then we take another person who also accepted Christ when they were young but then continued to do wicked things, like murder for the rest of their life. Would it be fair to allow both into the kingdom of God? I personally believe that this would take away from the justice of God. This is why James explained that “… faith, if it hath not works, is dead… (James 2:17)” This is the reason why God gave us commandments and why he has asked us to obey them. We will be judged by our works which is influenced by our faith.

Finally, this is why finding the correct doctrine is so important. Without the true church and the correct doctrine we could not be guided back to our Heavenly Father. I have not always been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but the reason why I am is because of their teachings. They always taught to pray about what they taught and earnestly ask for an answer and you will receive one. It may not be the first or second time, (because faith without works is dead) but when we truly want to find the answer and we do not have preconceived answers in our head, we will find the true answer for Heavenly Father. This is my testimony, that it works and that we anyone can receive these answers.