Elder Dallin H. Oaks, member of the Quorum of the Twelve apostles, spoke at Harvard Law School on 26 February 2010. This speech was part of the annual Mormonism 101 series. In the talk, Elder Oaks addressed a number of basic principles of Mormonism, explaining that a survey showed few people really knew anything at all about Mormons, and what they did know was wrong or misunderstood. Read the rest of this entry » Read More →
In the strictest sense, the word exmormon simply refers to someone who chose to end his membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members of the Church are sometimes referred to informally as Mormons, and so an ex-mormon is a former Mormon. However, the term is more commonly used to refer not to people who simply left and moved on, but to those who then devote themselves to attacking the church. 3223 There are many reasons a person might do this. While most people who leave a religion—any religion—simply join a new one or abandon organized religion and go about their new lives quietly, a few feel a need to attack and to demonstrate hatred for the life they left behind. Some who do this had a disagreement with another member or with a leader. Some objected to counsel given to them by a leader. These people find themselves unable or unwilling to forgive or to resolve the matter in an amicable and Christ-like manner and as a result, organize their new life around... Read the rest of this entry »
Recently, Elder Russell M. Ballard spoke to graduating students at Brigham Young University, a school owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members of this church are often informally known as Mormons. He counseled them in ways to discuss their religion with others, pointing out 3004 that most topics of greatest interest to detractors are not critical elements of the current religion, but are fringe elements or practices no longer carried out. He advised them to keep the discussions focused on the core of the religion, the elements that affect salvation, rather than those that are merely interesting intellectual discussion points. “When all is said and done, the most important thing about you and your testimony is that you base your beliefs on what Jesus Christ taught, and you try to follow Him by living your life in a way acceptable to our Heavenly Father and to the Lord. This is your foundation. It was Joseph Smith’s foundation. He said: “The fundamental principles... Read the rest of this entry »
The Pew Forum, which is not affiliated with the Church in any way, did a study of Mormons in the United States. One aspect of Mormons in their personal lives involved their feelings about and relationships with God. The study found that every Mormon surveyed believed in God, which was higher than any other religion previously 334 surveyed. In addition, nine out of ten were absolutely certain of God’s existence. Ninety-one percent of Mormons believe God is someone you can have a relationship with. All these figures are well above the normal for other groups. What is it about the Mormons that makes them so likely to believe in God in a very personal way? One reason Mormons have a high rate of belief in God is that much time is spent teaching children and investigators of the church about God, and about how to find out if He is real. Those new to the faith, whether due to age or experience, are taught that they can pray to God and receive an answer to their sincere questions. They are taught... Read the rest of this entry »
701 This question is often asked by evangelicals, and is, in general, a misunderstanding of the Mormon teachings on what happens after death and how we control that. Many evangelicals teach that a person gets to heaven by being “saved.” This involves the act of accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. At the same time, they teach that acts cannot get you into Heaven. The Mormons also believe that a person must accept Jesus Christ as His Savior in order to return to God’s presence after death. Both groups agree that at least one act is required of all of us in order to be with God. The confusion over the number of acts required to be saved comes from the differences in terminology used by Mormons. Mormons believe everyone is saved through the atonement of Jesus Christ, even if they never accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. However, grace and eternal life, to a Mormon, are not the same thing. To understand this complex issue, let’s look at several essential points. Read More →
The journey to prove God’s existence is a personal journey. He cannot be proven through a scientific study, although some studies have hinted at the existence of God. Each person must take the journey for himself and find in his own way that God is real. Some who ask this question are interested in a sincere journey to find out whether or not there is a God. Others ask as a challenge, hoping to prove the faithful wrong. First we’ll deal with the concerns of the sincere seeker of truth. Then we’ll focus on the concerns of the challengers. One reason God sent us here to live on earth was to gain faith. Mormon beliefs teach that we lived with God, as spirits, 70 before we were born. Because He was with us then, we didn’t need faith. The apostle Paul, who served as Jesus‘ apostle during the Savior’s lifetime, taught, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, King James version of the Holy... Read the rest of this entry »
God is perfect, and therefore, He does nothing out of ego. Every choice He makes is with our eternal well-being in mind. Read More →