Truth

It has been interesting to see how I have changed over the course of my life, and especially the last year on my mission. In Alma 32 it talks about faith and how it grows and what it can become. At different times I felt like my faith was pretty strong in parts of the Gospel, and especially in the Gospel as a whole.

Just recently I have found a completely new perspective on things. Have you ever seen someone in denial about something. I used to hate it when the football or basketball team that I was rooting for lost. I would make excuses and blame it on other things. I conviced myself that they didn't really lose, they just got a bad deal from the refs, ect... But that doesn't change the truth that they did lose.

 I always knew that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints was true for me and other mebers, but didn't understand that it is just as true to everyone else. It is as true to those who don't believe it yet as it is to me. Sometimes we try to tell ourselves that a certain situation changes things (ie: bad calls by refs), but no matter the justification truth doesn't change because someone doesn't want it to be true.

When you can accept truth, no matter what it means, and be happy about it; it will change your life. You will find greater peace, happiness, and self assurance. The truth (especially of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Plan of Salvation) gives us something solid to hold to our whole life. There is nothing better than the assurance that we have a loving Heavenly Father who is watching over us, and the knowledge that if we obey, we will return to live with him and our families!

I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is Christ's church on the earth today. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet, and we have prophets speaking to us today. I know the Book of Mormon is true. It is true for us all. Let us continue to share this great truth with everyone!

Online Missionary Work

Why in the world are missionaries online? This question is one that is really similar to what I was thinking when we found out that we would be working on Facebook and trying to share the Gospel through the internet. Facebook is something that has always been forbidden to missionaries, along with almost every website. So you can imagine our suprise when they told us about this. I was actually so shocked that I thought maybe they were playing a prank on us or something!

After about a half hour it started to sink in, and I started to think about all the possibilities this could present. The internet might be the best tool we have right now to get information out to people. Why not use this as a way to help people understand the happiness we all recieve from the Gospel? This could be a great way to get the truth to everyone!

The internet is full of things that will dull our spiritual sensitivity. It had many things that will turn people away from the truth because they do not completely understand. Over the last six years there was a study that has shown that internet searches of the word "mormon" have gone from 80 percent negative, to being 80 percent positive in some countries. The reason for this is that positive information about the Church is being spread across the web.

This is another effort to show the good. There are so many great websites that the Church has out right now: mormon.org, lds.org, youtube.com/mormonmessages, ect... We as (full-time and member) missionaries have an obligation to the Lord to share these things with our friends. This is an easy way to "...invite others to come unto Christ..." You can read more about this at Church News .

We can all do our part and share this wonderful message. Let's get the Lord's invitation to come unto him to all the world through the internet!

The Book of Mormon

There are many who claim to be a prophet. Christ even told us in the Bible that false prophets would come. He said, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Matt 7: 15). With this warning, how are we to know what to believe? Christ gives us the answer later on in this chapter, "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."

One of the fruits that we have from Joseph Smith, so we can know that he was a true prophet, is the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is an ancient record of the dealings of God with the people in the America's. It is a history that begins in Jerusalem about 600 B.C. A prophet named Lehi is commanded by God to leave Jerusalem and he would be led to a promised land. They leave, cross the ocean, and eventually come to the land promised to them. Time passes, people listen to and learn of God. Many also reject the teachings of Christ. Prophets were called of God to teach the people and guide them to salvation. These prophets all testified that the Son of God would come and suffer the sins of all mankind. They also promised these people that Christ would show himself to him and visit them.

While Christ was on the earth he told the people in Jerusalem, "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd."  (John 10: 16) After his resurrection Christ came to these people in America, he taught them his gospel, he established his church among them. They had peace and prosperity for hundreds of years.

Eventually the people began to reject Christ's teachings again. They became wicked and killed Christ's followers. One last prophet named Moroni had the records of these people, written on gold plates. He buried these plates with the promise from God that they would be revealed to the world in the future.

Joseph Smith was shown by an angel where these plates were buried. He was able to translate them by the gift and power of God. It became evidence that God had called Joseph to be a prophet, to restore Christ's church on the earth today, and to lead all of God's children!

There is a promise in the Book of Mormon. Moroni tells us, "And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost" (Moroni 10:4).

I can promise you the same, if you want to know if Joseph Smith is a true prophet, pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true. You will receive the answer that it is. I know it is true. Our loving God has reached out to us once again. He leads us with a prophet that he has chosen. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is his church on the earth today!

The Restoration

I mentioned in my last post that the Lord promised us that even though there would be an apostasy, he promises a restoration in the "Dispensation of the Fullness of Times."(Ephesians 1:10) In the year 1820 this happened.

At the age of 14 a young boy named Joseph Smith lived at a time of "unusual excitement on the subject of religion" (Joseph Smith History). There were many faiths who contended with one another over converts. During this time of confusion, Joseph Smith wondered which of all the churches was right. He wondered which was the "one Lord, one faith, one baptism," that Paul talks about in Eph 4: 5.

Because of the difference in opinion, Joseph couldn't decide which church to join. He says, "the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible" (JSH). In his search for the truth he came across the scripture in James 1: 5 that says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." This scripture "seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of [his] heart.[He] reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, [He] did; for how to act [He] did not know..."

Joseph determined that he must ask God which church is true. So one spring morning, he went to a grove of trees and knelt down and prayed. In an answer to his prayer he received a vision from God and Jesus Christ! He says, "I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me... When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!"

His prayer was answered an he was told that while each church had truth in them, none of them had the whole truth. After centuries of being lost, the Lord's gospel would once again be revealed to his children. He was also told how he would be the Lord's servant in this work, he had been called by God to be a prophet. He was given the authority to restore Christ's church to the earth today.

This event has a great importance for the world! Christ's church is back! We have a prophet on the earth speaking the Lord's will to us today! I know this is true and you can as well!