Mormon Church

A personal account and explanation from Keith, of Annapolis, Maryland.

Walking in the Newness of Life

Romans 6:4 reads, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

The fourth Article of Faith states: “We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

The Savior revealed the true method of baptism to the Prophet Joseph Smith, making clear that the ordinance must be performed by one having priesthood authority and that it must be done by immersion. In Doctrine and Covenants 20:73-74, we are taught, “The person who is called of God and has authority from Jesus Christ to baptize, shall go down into the water with the person who has presented himself or herself for baptism, and shall say, calling him or her by name: Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Then shall he immerse him or her in the water, and come forth again out of the water.”

The act of immersing a person in water is symbolic of that person’s sinful life being buried and their being reborn or receiving a new life—a spiritual life—a life dedicated to serving God and others. Immersion is also symbolic of the death and resurrection of the Savior. In Romans 6:3-11, we read these words, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

I was born and raised as a baptist. As such, the method of baptism by immersion was not a new concept to me. I had read the New Testament gospel accounts of the baptism of Christ numerous times, and I fully understood that being baptized by immersion was indeed following the example that the Savior had set before us when he was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River (See Matthew 3:13-17). I also understood the symbolism that Christ’s baptism represents and teaches us. I did not have a real issue with having to be baptized again because even growing up in the Baptist church, if I transferred from a church that was a part of one sect or convention to another, re-baptism was often required before membership would be accepted. What did concern me for some time was the idea of having to be baptized by one who had proper authority. The question in my mind was “Were not those who baptized me before authorized to do so?” It took a lot of soul searching, pondering the scriptures, and prayer to finally come to terms with the matter.

I had no doubt in my mind that this is the Lord’s true Church and that becoming a member of His Church was indeed the right thing to do. I also came to the realization that if I were to become a member of His Church I had to be willing to be obedient to the things which He has commanded and one of things which He commanded was that baptism was to be done by immersion and the ordinance must be performed by one having priesthood authority.

To help settle many of my concerns, I made a commitment to read all of the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price prior to being baptized. I had already read the Bible in its entirety several times, so I was very familiar with its teachings. As I read the Book of Mormon in particular, I came across some verses in Mosiah 18 that really made me stop and think and helped me in making my decision to be baptized. In Mosiah 18:8-10 we read:

“And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light…

“Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life…

“Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?”

I further came to realize that if I were to become a member of His Church, I had to be willing to take His name upon me and be willing to follow His example because when we are baptized we enter into a covenant with God to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, to keep His commandments, and to serve Him to the end (See Mosiah 18:8-10; D&C 20:37). Each time that we partake of the sacrament, we renew the covenant that we made at baptism (See D&C 20:77-79).

The question is asked in 2 Nephi 31:10, “Can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?” Verses 11 to 13 continue:

“And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son.

“And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do.

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.”

Eleven years ago in the far away land of Iceland, where I was stationed in the Navy, I made the decision to be baptized into the Mormon Church. That decision started me on a whole new path in my life. I am convinced that had the Lord not taken me out of the main stream of things and sent me to a place as far away as Iceland, I probably would not be standing before this congregation this morning. My goals and my priorities where definitely a lot different than what the Lord had in mind. After being baptized in the Mormon religion and becoming more learned of the Gospel, and because of my willingness to take upon me His name, to follow His example, and to be obedient to His commands, I have seen and continue to see blessing after blessing in my life. Many doors that I once thought would never be opened to me are now beginning to open, and I have been blessed in so many ways with new opportunities to help me grow and mature in the Gospel.

I believe the words of President Joseph F. Smith best describe how I felt after being baptized: “When I [was] baptized for the remission of my sins, the feeling that came upon me was that of pure peace, of love and of light. I felt in my soul that if I had sinned—and surely I was not without sin—that it had been forgiven me; that I was indeed cleansed from my sin; my heart was touched, and I felt that I would not injure the smallest insect beneath my feet. I felt as if I wanted to do good everywhere to everybody and to everything. I felt a newness of life, a newness of desire to do that which was right. There was not one particle of desire for evil left in my soul . . . this was the influence that came upon me, and I know that it was from God, and was and ever has been a living witness to me of my acceptance of the Lord” (CR, April 1898, p.66).

I leave you with my testimony that I know the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know the Bible and the Book of Mormon are the word of God. I know God lives and Jesus is the Christ. I know Joseph Smith was and is a Prophet of the Lord. I know The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) is the Lord’s true Church upon the earth today and that His Church is being led by a living prophet, President Thomas S. Monson.

God never promised life would be easy. In fact, trials are one reason we were sent here to live on earth. Through our trials, we learn to trust God and to

turn to Him for comfort and hope. A new website by the Mormons offers counsel and inspiration for those seeking to hold on to hope in the most difficult of circumstances. (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.

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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

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. (more…)

Revelation is how God communicates with us, His children, while we’re away from His presence. There are many different levels of revelation and many different ways it can be received. (more…)

The intellect is very important. God gave it to us and expects us to use it. We can take it with us when we die and the knowledge we gain in each stage of life will also go with us. However, the intellect is not the most important part of us, nor is it the source of absolute knowledge of truth. (more…)

Personal Response by Bethany

Yes!  You can have faith and still believe in science.  The scriptures clearly and repeatedly verify that God is the Creator of the earth, the heavens, and all things that are in them.  They also attest that the elements of which the earth consists of are eternal.  As a current biology major I am constantly tying science and religion together as I continually study the science of life and its spiritual connection with religion.  As I increase my studies, my faith also increases as I see the hand of God in every aspect of life.

Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stated that, “the essence of the gospel is the doctrine of trying…and that, of course, is the essence of science, also: the doctrine of trying, testing, and proving.  That’s the kind of procedure that makes science what it is.”  The point is that the gospel teaches us to experiment with the words of the Savior and to do as a scientist would do to find the truth. (more…)

This question is often asked by people who prayed for something they didn’t get or who didn’t feel they received the comfort or help they expected during difficult times. There are several aspects of the gospel that must be understood in order to know why this happened.

It’s important to remember we can’t control God, particularly not without incurring great suffering. Early in Mormon Church history, Joseph Smith‘s scribe wanted to take the translation of the Book of Mormon-116 pages so far-to show his family. Joseph prayed and was told not to allow it. However, the scribe continued to plead, and Joseph gave in and continued to ask God to change His mind. Eventually, God told them to go ahead, since they were clearly determined to do it, anyway. The scribe took the manuscript home and it was stolen. Both men realized they needed to repent for their decisions. From this, Joseph Smith learned not to nag God. God is perfect and His first answer should be enough. God knew what would happen; they did not.

God can see further into the future than we can. While we make decisions on what is currently happening, and what we think will happen, God is looking at the larger picture. There might be consequences far into the future we can’t see. When we pray, we’re always to ask that God’s will be done. He wants us to tell Him what we want, but we must always do it with the understanding that we might not get what we think we want. God always answers prayers, but there are three possible answers: Yes, no, and not yet. God will answer our prayer in the way that is best for everyone concerned, and sometimes others will be affected by what we do, so their needs must be considered as well.

It can be upsetting when we are certain we know what’s best and God doesn’t give us what we want. It may be the trials we face will give us something we need in the future. All deaths can’t be prevented, because people do have to die, and only God knows the reason for the timing. All sadness or pain can’t be avoided if we want to grow and progress, or even to develop faith.

To make it easier to accept God’s will, we must develop a close and personal relationship with Him. We need to spend time in prayer and study long before the crisis begins, so we can recognize His “voice.” This isn’t to say He speaks to us in a voice we can hear. It’s a figurative statement. We need to know when what we’re feeling and experiencing comes from God, and we do that by spending time with God in prayer, scripture study, and contemplation.

Building a relationship of trust is also important. Trust takes time to develop and we can’t wait for a crisis to gain our faith. Over time, as we learn to recognize God’s hand in our lives, and see how well His decisions work out, we begin to trust Him, and know that what he decides to do is always the best decision. Then, when the most serious problems arise, we are able to turn them over to Him and feel safe and cared for.

When we think God is missing from the critical moments in our lives, it’s always really a matter of not recognizing Him. He is always there, but unless we know Him well, we won’t be able to see Him there, and won’t be able to feel the comfort available to us through the Holy Ghost. That comfort comes only when we completely trust God and take the time to sit quietly and feel His presence, even when He isn’t doing our will. The test of faith isn’t in making God do our will, but in our willingness to do and to accept His.

Personal response by Jack

At age 50 I was body surfing with my 16-year-old son and his friend at Laguna Beach, California. I took one “last wave” and accidentally hit by forehead on a submerged rock, my neck was broken, and my spinal cords severed between the second and third cervical vertebrae. I was instantly paralyzed, lost consciousness, and woke up two hours later in the Laguna hospital surrounded by doctors and nurses. One of the nurses noticed my eyes were opened and said to me, “Jack, if you can understand what I am saying, blink your eyes once.” I blinked and there was a collective sigh of relief in the room. That began for me a new way of life that has continued on for the past 19 years.

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Personal response by Jack

This is a very good and thought-provoking question. I would imagine that many people, at one time or another, have felt that perhaps there is a major conflict between science and religion. The age of the earth, how it was created, evolution, the dinosaurs, and a host of other seemingly knotty questions seem to preclude having faith in God and accepting evidence gleaned from the scientific method of discovering truth.

I just recently read a most fascinating book that for some reason I had missed over the years that helped me make sense out of this supposed science vs. religion conflict. It is Reflections of a Scientist by Henry Eyring. The book was published in 1983 and may be difficult to find but is well worth reading if you can find it.

Henry Eyring was a world renowned chemist who taught for a number of years at Princeton during the late 30s and through World War II. Albert Einstein was also on the faculty and they shared a number of experiences during those years. (more…)