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

Personal Response by James Faulconer

From early in its history, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) have valued education. In 1832, two years after the Church’s official founding, a revelation to the first Prophet of the Church, Joseph Smith, says:

I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom. Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand; of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms. (Doctrine and Covenants 88:77-79) (more…)

Personal Response by Richard Neitzel Holzapfel

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) revere Biblical prophets and apostles such as Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Peter, James, and Paul. They believe the Lord continues to call prophets and apostles in this modern day. Among those prophets God has chosen today is Joseph Smith (1805-44), the first modern prophet.

In addition to reverencing prophets and apostles, Mormons believe, like all Christians, that “there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). Therefore, Mormons truly and sincerely worship God, the Eternal Father, in the name of the Jesus Christ-God’s unique Son. They worship no other man or women no matter who they are or what they have done. (more…)

Personal Response by Richard Neitzel Holzapfel

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is often identified as the Mormon or LDS Church. LDS, in this case, is an acronym for Latter-day Saints, a part of the official name of the LDS Church. When religious bodies use similar names to identify themselves, such as FLDS and LDS, there may be and often is some confusion about the relationship between them.

Just as there are many Christian denominations which believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the long anticipated Jewish Messiah and the Savior of the world, yet disagree upon other significant doctrinal points, including the nature and composition of the Bible, there are individuals and groups who accept the message of the Restoration (the calling of Joseph Smith as a prophet and coming forth of additional scripture, including the Book of Mormon) yet disagree on some rather key doctrines, policies, and practices. (more…)

Personal Response by Karen Merkley

You can know the truth for yourself. It is possible. It is more than possible. We were born to know our purpose and to live for it.

While there is a crisis of knowing in our day, truth is in fact knowable, and we have an inborn capacity to know and recognize the truth. That knowledge is discernible, and it is real and absolute. All knowledge is not, as many claim in our day, just a social construct or a relative idea, equal to every other. Truth matters. Truth exists. So you are on the right path if you desire in your mind and heart to know it. It comes to us through the voice of the Spirit, God’s voice to us, His children.

As we desire to know what is true, we search for it by reading, thinking, pondering what we can find that pertains to that truth. We are enlightened in the process through the light of Jesus Christ, which brings understanding to us. We can recognize that burst of light as we connect ideas and thoughts in a way that exceeds our own ability and as we see that we feel and know has come to us from an outside source of revelation in a language we understand and that penetrates us in an unmistakably clear way. As we act on whatever we learn, we are guided further to greater light. (more…)

Personal Response by Karen R. Merkley

By divine will, there is an order of leadership that the Lord has laid out for us in modern revelation. That pattern means that the one called as Prophet and President of the Church, Stake President (leader of a large congregation of members), Bishop (leader of a smaller unit of members), Relief Society President (leader of women in a designated area), Young Women or Young Men’s President (leader of youth), Primary President (leader of children) and other leaders will prayerfully select two counselors to serve with them in their respective calls. Together these presidencies seek specific inspiration for the needs of those they serve. They counsel together, review matters at hand and move forward with decisions and activities to lift, inspire and encourage individuals and families only after they have come to a unity of mind and heart on those matters. This is the way the Lord prescribed. It is a safeguard, a help, and a blessing to those who serve and are served in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Additional Resources:

General Conference broadcast transcript, forthcoming, April, 2008 at www.lds.org.

Personal Response by Richard Neitzel Holzapfel

Like Jews, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons or Latter-day Saints) accept the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) as the word of God. Like other Christians, Mormons also accept the New Testament as the word of God (see Article of Faith 8.)

However, just as Christians do not believe that the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) is God’s final scripture, Latter-day Saints also do not believe the Bible (Old and New Testaments) is God’s final scripture. Nevertheless, Latter-day Saints carefully and prayerfully study, read, and draw inspiration from the Bible. The Bible is an important part of their regular course of Sunday School curriculum and is a required course of study at the Mormon Church’s universities and in their weekday religious education programs. Most Latter-day Saints will own several Bibles in their lifetime, having worn copies out through their regular use. (more…)

Personal Response by Karen Merkley

The lights aren’t always green. The bread isn’t always fresh. Tires go flat. Bills mound. People take ill and die at every stage of life. People struggle. Others starve. Wars go on.

Grief is part of the human experience. Opposition is necessary for growth, according to the Mormon view of our mortal experience, revealed by the Lord through modern prophets. It can, however, be lifted through the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Mormons believe that the Savior not only died to pay for our sins but also to take upon Himself our sorrow, grief, and infirmities (Alma 7:11-12). (more…)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) is against all forms of abuse–spiritual, physical, and emotional. Abuse is any hurtful form of treatment of another, including humiliation, domination, physical, psychological or spiritual harm inflicted on another person. The Lord never condoned any like behaviors but was and is an Advocate of peace and harmony for His children. (See Abuse)

In an interview with LDS practitioners discussing “spouse abuse,” John Nelson describes what is deemed inappropriate behavior: (more…)

Personal Response by Karen Merkley

Mormons partake of the Sacrament of the Lord’s supper–initiated by Jesus Christ–every Sunday, as Catholics partake of Communion. The LDS ordinance, however similar in purpose to that of the Catholics’ Eucharist, differs in a couple of profound respects. The Sacrament, we believe, is an ordinance that can be performed only in a given prescribed manner revealed by the Lord. Only holders of His authority or priesthood, as present in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, can actually rightfully administer the emblems of the Sacrament. The true manner of blessing the Sacrament is found within revealed modern scriptures: The Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants.

The prescribed manner of administering the blessing of the bread is set forth as follows:
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Personal Response by James Faulconer

Developing faith requires that one have faith, but how does it come in the first place? Answering that question requires us to remember that the word “faith” means primarily “trust.” The question of how to have faith is the question of how to learn to trust God.

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