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

Personal Response by Natalie

A Glimpse Into a Mormon Student’s Values & Lifestyle

Attending Brigham Young University, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church), has helped me realize that the key aspects of my religion–repentance, revelation, prayer, and coming closer to Jesus Christ- are applicable to all areas of my life. My religion has become more than a Sunday trip to church, or an occasional reading of scriptures. The gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is my life. As I study the bones in the human skull or the process of embryo development in my anatomy class, I am reminded that God is the creator of all men and women and that He created us in His image, and that the body is a sacred gift from God. As I study American History, I am reminded that the Lord’s hand was in the making of our country and the unfolding of our Constitution so that the gospel could later be restored on this earth. As I study the behavior of atoms and molecules in my chemistry class I am reminded that God is the creator of the universe, and that everything he does is ordered. The more I learn and study science, history, and humanities, the more my knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ grows and my testimony of Jesus Christ as our Savior is strengthened. As my knowledge of physics, civilization, and health expands, so does my knowledge of who I am, who God is, and what my purpose on earth is. (more…)

Personal Response by Nathaniel

Being at BYU has allowed me to associate with students and faculty who share similar values. I do not have to worry about being pressured to do things that I am morally opposed to. Being at BYU has also allowed me to integrate my secular education with my religious beliefs. As a private university, BYU offers religion classes, together with regular college classes. There was a semester in which I had a class on the divinity of Christ, immediately followed by Calculus 1. Mormons believe all truth is related and part of one whole. The more we learn in each sphere, the better people we can become.

I have also developed associations with faculty which will continue after my graduation, and influence the course and direction that my life will take. Being at BYU has also given me a vision of how I can be a part of the world, but not “of the world.” By this, I mean that I can interact with people from all walks of life, without compromising the moral standards that I believe have been given by God.

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…)