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.
Question: It seems that Christians are polytheists, worshiping three Gods. Do Mormons believe in one God?
A polytheist is someone who worships multiple gods. Generally, polytheism refers to a group of gods each working independently of one another and often, in the case of hard polytheism, in conflict with one another.
Mormons believe there are three Gods, but who function as an entirely unified body. Together, they form the Godhead and fulfill the complete mission of God. The Supreme God is God the Father. He is generally the One the Christian Bible refers to when it speaks of God, although in some cases, including in the Book of Genesis, Jesus is referred to as God during the creation of the world. Mormons teach that God’s Son created the earth, under the direction of God the Father. However, it is God the Father that Mormons call God and worship as such. He is the one they consider their Heavenly Father, while Jesus is their brother, the Son of God.
Mormons teach that God the Father is the Father of all things and is male, while the Jewish people teach that God does not have gender. He created the spirits of everyone who ever lived and oversees everything that happens, ruling over Heaven and Earth. We teach that He is very literally our Father, and view Him as a loving, caring Father who watches over His children and wants them to return home to Him.
Jesus is the Messiah, but not the Jewish Moshiach. While many Jewish people believe there will one day be a Messiah, they are watching for a political leader. The Jewish Moshiach is not a god, but a fully mortal human being. Mormons teach that Jesus had a mortal mother, Mary, but that God was very literally His Father. Jesus was His firstborn-the first spirit to be created, and was begotten of the Father. This gave Him a combination of the mortal and the divine, which was essential for him to be able to carry out the task He had undertaken, to live on earth as a mortal, and then to die, but only by His own choice. Mormons teach that no one could take the Messiah’s life from Him; He could only choose to give it.
Mormons teach that the Messiah’s mission was a spiritual one, with hearts won in a spiritual fashion. When He comes the second time, this is when He will rule over the world and be recognized as the Messiah by all, but again, it will be accomplished by spiritual means, not political or military ones.
The third member of the Godhead is the Holy Ghost. The New Testament in the Christian Bible tells of Jesus promising his disciples, in His final days, to send a comforter to them after He was gone. This is the Holy Ghost. This third personage in the Godhead does not have a perfected body of flesh and bone, as do God and Jesus. He is a Spirit. His role is to teach truth to those who are willing to hear it.
Jesus and the Holy Ghost honor God the Father and do only His will. They completely subject their own will for His and give Him the honor for all that happens. This is the meaning of the Christian Bible’s statement that God and Jesus are one. They are entirely unified in every way.
While the Mormons do teach there are three Gods, these are Gods working in perfect harmony, not at cross purposes, to carry out the work of God the Father for His children. It is God the Father who is worshipped as God.
Mormon children can be confirmed members of the church at the age of eight. Converts older than eight are confirmed soon after their baptisms.
The confirmation is a very simple procedure. The person being confirmed sits in a chair, with arms folded for the prayer that is about to begin. Men who hold the proper level of Mormon priesthood and who have been invited by the person being confirmed, gather around the seated person. They each place one hand on the child’s head, and one on the shoulder of the man next to them. The child will have previously decided who will confirm her. Since all worthy male members of the church of the proper age can hold the priesthood, this is usually the child’s father. If the father doesn’t hold the priesthood or isn’t living, any other priesthood holder can be selected.
The confirmation is done formally, with the priesthood holder simply confirming the child a member of the church in selected language, and then telling the child to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. The child does not publicly respond to this, but does so in her own heart. Then a special blessing is bestowed on the child. There is not a prescribed method for this. The priesthood holder offers the blessing in whatever words are given to him by God. Often these include words of advice from God or a bit of information about God’s plan for that person. The confirmation concludes in the name of Jesus Christ. Then t
he child (or anyone being confirmed) stands and shakes hands with the men who participated, and usually hugs the family members.
After everyone has returned to their seats, a church leader invites the new member to stand and he or she is presented to the congregation as the newest member of that congregation. Members are invited to raise their right hand to demonstrate their welcome and their commitment to supporting the new member in her church membership.
Confirmation is most often done in church the Sunday following the baptism, but is occasionally done right after the baptism.
A convert (anyone who joins the church after his ninth birthday) prepares for this moment by meeting with missionaries to learn about the church. They are expected to make an informed decision. While they won’t know everything at baptism, they need to know how to pray to learn God’s will concerning this choice, and they need to have a basic understanding of the church’s teachings. They are taught about God, Jesus Christ, the scriptures, and a few basic principles of the religion. They must also attend church several times to find out what it is like.
A child who joins will have been preparing for this moment from birth, or since his parents became members of the church. They learn gradually more complex gospel principles in formal church instruction on Sundays beginning at the age of eighteen months. They are also taught at home. Families are encouraged to hold a family home evening each Monday, in which family members teach each other their religion. They also have family prayer and daily scripture study together. By the time the child is ready to be baptized, he has a firm foundation in his religion and knows how to pray.
Even at the age of eight, children are expected to pray and to ask God if they should join the church. They, like adult converts, must demonstrate a basic understanding of their religion and to have a testimony of their own.
Personal Response by Todd
“I know the Church is true…” I’ve heard the phrase many times growing up in the Mormon Church. Thousands of members of the Church say those words each day and millions each year. When I was in high school I started to doubt. I didn’t remember ever having spiritual experiences like so many talked about. It was hard to believe that my family and friends were really experiencing what they claimed. I grew up in South East Texas where the Mormon Church was a minority. I remember wanting so desperately to fit in, to be just one of the guys. However, one day as I was with a group of friends, I felt a powerful impression to befriend another kid at school who no one talked with. It kept pushing and pushing me. Of course I fought back. I’ve since come to recognize that impression to be the Spirit “which inviteth to do good…, and to persuade to believe in Jesus Christ…wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God” (Moroni 7:16).
That was the first time I felt something different. Simple I know, but it was the grand beginning of a witness. I will never forget the feeling of something beyond me encouraging me to ignore the attitudes of worldliness and seek for the world of a better. I knew at the very least that God was out there. Over the years I started to see God’s hand in my life. The principles of the gospel began to make more sense and I became addicted to learning and absorbing the doctrines taught over the pulpit and in the scriptures. My life seemed perfect. I found that I was much happier. Life’s burdens seemed lighter as I was trying to live like Jesus Christ. (more…)
Personal Response by Rachel
I have summed up the most significant lesson I learned on my mission in six words: “Come unto Christ and be happy.” This phrase has become a personal motto for the rest of my life. Each morning of my mission we had an hour to do personal study of the scriptures and Preach My Gospel. The more I studied the words of Jesus Christ through His ancient and modern prophets and apostles, the more I came to love Him and believe in Him. My growing belief and faith in Christ led me to follow His teachings, develop Christlike attributes, and testify of Jesus Christ’s restored gospel. As I obeyed the commandments of the gospel and became more like Christ, I felt the Holy Ghost’s influence more abundantly in my life. I felt the fruits of the Holy Ghost, which include “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22-23). I learned that “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them” (John 13:17). Every day of my mission was an opportunity to do the things Jesus Christ has asked of us. When I chose to follow Christ, I was blessed with happiness, joy, love, and peace. My dad has often told me that he can always tell when I am happy and acting in a way that is pleasing to the Savior. “You have a sparkle in your eyes,” my dad has said. “So, I know that you are on the right path.” (more…)