BELIEFS AND STORIES FROM MEMBERS OF
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Personal Response by Steven

While serving as a Mormon missionary, I was often questioned as to whether or not we, as Mormons, were Christians. At first I did not understand why people would question the Christianity of a religion that bears the name of Jesus Christ in its title. I realized that we as members of the Mormon church, are quite different than members of most Christian churches in two main ways. We believe in a separate book of scripture to go along with the Bible (the Book of Mormon), and we believe that God continues to work through prophets in our time, beginning with Joseph Smith. I came to the conclusion that people must think that we are not Christians mainly for those two reasons. I wish to share a personal experience to show how these two beliefs led me to a strong belief in Jesus Christ.

Lost and Found - Greg Olsen

When I was 14 years old, I was a pretty average boy involved in a few of the follies of the world. I would go to church every week with my family, but wouldn’t necessarily live the things I learned the rest of the days of the week. One week I was on a family vacation, and I just happened to open the Book of Mormon and start reading (this was not a common practice to me as a 14 year old). However, in the midst of my reading I came across a scripture that sunk deep into my heart. It was a warning to live a righteous life and warned of the consequences of sinning. This scripture allowed the Holy Spirit to enter into my heart and make me want to change. I remember having a feeling of awful guilt for disobeying certain commandments. These feelings of the Spirit caused me to kneel down and say a pleading prayer to my Father in Heaven. I remember that I pleaded for forgiveness, and it did not immediately come.

I continued to pray and read the scriptures over the next few weeks. I learned about Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice. I remember one day learning that Christ had overcome the world and all the sins in the world. I learned that Christ had borne and felt the guilt that I was feeling, and that He had suffered beyond that which I was then experiencing, since his sacrifice was for all of us. I learned that Christ had overcome those feelings, and that now He was lifted up and next to His Father. I wondered then, “If the Savior had overcome His trials, could He help me overcome mine? ” The answer was an absolute and emphatic “Yes!” He did help me, He helped me feel a remission of my sins and helped me to feel peace again in my life. I felt forgiven because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

This was a turning point in my life. I was converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I didn’t want to look back. How did this great change come about? Because I was reading the Book of Mormon and the Spirit changed my heart. How did I receive the Book of Mormon? Because Joseph Smith, a true prophet of God, translated that Book for us to read today. The Spirit could not testify to me of the truthfulness of what I was reading if the Book were false. What I felt was not simply my own contrived emotion. It came with absolute conviction that the truth can come to each of us, as God’s children. Joseph could not have translated the Book if he were a false prophet. I testify that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World, and my personal Savior. He is where my faith lies. I believe with all my heart that Jesus Christ called Joseph Smith to be a prophet, and that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. The Bible and the Book of Mormon go hand in hand, both teaching about the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ. I believe with all my heart that I am a Christian, and those of my friends who are Mormons that live the way the Mormons are taught to live are also true Christians. I know this to be true.

Tags: Book of Mormon, Christianity, Mormon Beliefs, Mormons As Christians, Prayer

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 4:05 pm and is filed under Book of Mormon, Mormons As Christians, Prayer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.