Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration

Joseph Smith was the man through whom God restored His gospel. Joseph gave his whole life to the work of God. When he was 14 years old he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. From that day forward his focus was on restoring the gospel. Ultimately he was killed because of what he stood for. On June 27, 1844 Joseph Smith was murdered in Carthage, Illinois. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continues to grow and we owe the knowledge that we have to this wonderful man, Joseph Smith. A new movie recently came out highlighting events in the life of Joseph Smith and showing what he did to bring God's doctrine back to His children on earth. It's about 1 hour long and is a very touching film. We recommend that you watch it and we hope that you will feel the peace of the Spirit as you do so. Click here to watch this movie (or you can find it on radio.lds.org)

Nutrition: The Word of Wisdom

Mormons are often known as people who don't smoke or drink alcohol, coffee or tea. This is part of our church because of a revelation Joseph Smith received in about proper nutrition of the human body. This revelation was far ahead of its time and teaches about wisdom in taking care of our bodies. It came to be known as The Word of Wisdom. You can read the revelation here (Doctrine and Covenants Section 89). We believe that our bodies are gifts from Heavenly Father and that we should do all we can to take care of them and honor them. This doctrine that our bodies come from God is also the reason we avoid tattoos and excessive piercings. We believe that one of the main reasons we came to this earth was to gain a body. Our ultimate goal is to become like our Heavenly Father and we cannot do this without a physical body. He has a body that is perfected and glorified. Someday ours will be too and until then we must try and take care of it as best we can.

Trials

People often wonder why God lets good people go through bad trials. I don't have all the answers but I would like to share my experience with a very real, very recent trial. Craig and I have been excited about having children and raising a family together even since before we got married. One of the reasons I married Craig was because I knew he would be an excellent father. We started trying to get pregnant just a few months after we got married. We tried and tried and tried. We waited and waited and waited. At first we weren't too worried, couples hardly ever get pregnant in the first month or two. But then the months started adding up. After about a year of trying to get pregnant we decided that maybe we should go see a doctor.
I was absolutely heartbroken. I was devastated. I didn't understand why we weren't being blessed with a baby. I didn't understand what God was trying to teach me. I wasn't opening my heart to His plan and I was in pain. I can't even describe the emotions that I felt during that time. I was completely overwhelmed. It wasn't until I turned to Heavenly Father, got on my knees, opened my scriptures, and opened my heart that I started to understand. Craig helped me turn to the Savior and the Atonement and helped me know how to unload my burden onto Christ's shoulders. Christ has offered to take my burden, He has already suffered for my pain, now it is up to me to turn to Him and let Him take that burden from me.
I didn't immediately understand everything or immediately feel alright about the whole situation. But I did immediately feel love. I felt Heavenly Father's love for me more deeply than I ever had before. I turned to Him many, many times. I stopped asking "Why me?" and started asking "What do I need to learn from this?". I learned so much and even though this trial was the hardest thing I've ever gone through, I wouldn't trade it. I needed it to become who God wants me to be.
We recently were able to get pregnant and we couldn't be more excited. Many prayers have been offered on our behalf and I know that God has heard all of them. He was hearing them the whole time, it just wasn't time to answer "yes" yet. The answer for two years was "wait".
Trials are not given to us because God likes to see us struggle. They are given to us because God wants to see us become the best person we can and He knows that trials can make us that person. Trials are meant to turn us towards Him and help us remember the suffering of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Trials are meant to help us and build us.
I'm grateful for this trial that I went through. It was incredibly hard, but it was worth it.

The Godhead

One of the major differences between our doctrine and that of many Christian faiths is our belief in The Godhead as three distinct beings. We believe that Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and The Holy Ghost are three individual beings; united in purpose but as distinct as you and I. The best way I can think of it is like thinking about my parents. My Mom and Dad are totally unified in what they do. They make decisions together, they follow the same rules, they share the burdens of raising a family, but they are two individual people.
One of the best talks that has been given on this subject was by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in October of 2007 (click here to read). He talks about the scriptural basis of this belief. Jesus Christ spoke of His Father on many occasions, and spoke of His Father as a separate being. One example of this is found in John 6:38 which reads, "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." Our Savior, Jesus Christ, followed everything that Heavenly Father asked Him to do. He paved the way for us to return to our Father in Heaven. He is unified with Heavenly Father on everything. But They are individuals. I hope this helps clear up any confusion about our belief in Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and The Holy Ghost. If you have any other questions please let us know.

The United States of America

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are taught to be "subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates" and believe "in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law" (Articles of Faith 1:12, click here to read).

We also believe that the Founding Fathers were prompted by our Heavenly Father to create a country in which He could restore His church. In order for His church to gain root on earth again, it needed to happen in a country that gave its citizens freedoms and rights. The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, Joseph Smith first saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, in 1820. Only 44 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence the Restoration had begun! Pretty amazing isn't it?

A Modern Prophet

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is led by a man whom we believe has been called of God and presides as the prophet over the earth. Our prophet today is Thomas S. Monson. Every six months (the first weekend of April and the first weekend of October) we have the opportunity to hear him speak to us. This is called General Conference. The whole church listens to the prophet, his first and second counselor, members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and other general leaders of the church. We are able to watch this on TV, the internet, listen to it on the radio, and read their words in the church magazine. It's a wonderful opportunity to hear what the Lord wants us to hear. We believe that the prophet explains the will and the guidance of the Lord. When we hear President Monson speak it is as if God is speaking to us.

The talks that are given are usually 10-20 minutes long and are about a variety of topics. Topics are not assigned and it's interesting to note that there seem to be some themes for each conference. For example, a few weeks ago we had General Conference and there seemed to be a theme about keeping families strong and teaching our children about the truths of the gospel.

If you are interested in reading, listening to, or watching any of these talks, please click here.

Why the emphasis on families?

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints place a heavy emphasis on the importance of family. One of the reasons for this is because "the family is ordained of God" and anything ordained of God is important to us (The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Click here to read).
One of the other reasons is that we know families are not only given to us in this life but forever. If a man and woman are married in the temple under the proper Priesthood authority their marriage is not "till death do us part." It lasts forever. They will be husband and wife forever, they will be the parents of their children forever. Because this family unit is not merely a mortal thing we want to make sure and make strong family bonds here in this life so that we will have those close bonds in the next.
A third reason that families are so important to members of our Church links back to our main purpose in coming to earth: to become perfect like our Father in Heaven. None of us are perfect here, but eventually, through time and repentance we can all be perfect. One of the best places to learn how to become perfect is in the family. Elder Dallin H. Oaks, one of our current Apostles, gave us this council, "family relationships...are the setting in which the most important part of that development can occur.... Exaltation is an eternal family experience, and it is our mortal family experiences that are best suited to prepare us for it.” " (The Challenge to Become, 2001).
Families teach us things that we need to know in the eternities and give us a place to experience love, joy, safety and comfort. As members of our Church we try and do all we can to make sure our family ties are strong.