Jesus Christ

By Jan Mayer, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .  As a “Mormon woman,” Jan is a graduate of BYU and mother of five children. She has written for numerous publications,  including The Denver Post, The Villager and NorthStar. I worked in a small office area with a woman who had great disdain for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed “Mormons”). We had been briefly acquainted before she recommended me for a job. Although she knew I was a Mormon, she thought I had been deceived and that she could change my beliefs. When she learned that I was a devout Latter-day Saint (Mormon)—truly converted–she was appalled. When I asked where her information had come from, she told me she had taken classes at her church. Shocked, I told her that I couldn’t understand why one religion would teach against another—that it didn’t seem very Christ-like. She told me that the world... Read the rest of this entry »

Easter is coming in just a few days. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (a Mormon), Easter means much more to me than spring flowers and chocolate bunnies. I am a Christian, with a deep and abiding love for Jesus Christ. As always at this time of year, I feel both profound sorrow and profound joy as I contemplate the sacrifice of our Savior when He took upon Himself all the sins and evil of the world, suffered, and was crucified. It is almost unbearable to remember His sufferings. Yet my heart is filled with overwhelming joy at His resurrection, which brings with it the incredible promise of eternal life. The Doctrine and Covenants, which contains revelations from God given through modern Mormon prophets, uses a beautiful image to describe Jesus’ atonement.  Jesus has “descended below all things, …that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth” (from The Doctrine and Covenants,... Read the rest of this entry »

by Nora Moore Hess The Men of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir have made a truly exceptional recording of the following Mormon hymn. I heard it yesterday on their broadcast, and then I listened to it on iTunes again and again:   Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy Brightly beams our Father’s mercy From His lighthouse evermore, But to us He gives the keeping Of the lights along the shore. Let the lower lights be burning; Send a gleam across the wave. Some poor fainting, struggling seaman You may rescue, you may save. (“Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy,” Hymns #335) Someone I love very dearly is back in jail again. He gets into trouble, usually small things, and then just waits for it to go away. He always seems genuinely surprised when it doesn’t. When I heard he had been arrested again, I felt my usual combination of sadness and relief. Jail is not always such a bad place. He has a place to sleep and three meals... Read the rest of this entry »

by Nora Hess Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, frequently nicknamed “Mormons,” are avid followers of Christ. A scripture from The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, which is the religious record of an ancient native people who lived in the Americas for thousands of years both before and after Christ’s birth, puts it this way: And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins (The Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 25:26) A typical Mormon does indeed spend much time every day talking of Christ, studying His words, expressing gratitude and praying to the Father in Christ’s name, thinking about Him, and teaching children and others about Him. Every week during Sunday meetings, committed Mormons partake of the sacrament, where they... Read the rest of this entry »

The Book of Mormon, another Testament of Jesus Christ, is the religious history of a people that inhabited the Americas from around 600 BC to 400 AD. It was translated by Joseph Smith from an ancient record by the gift and power of God. As its title indicates, its teachings about Jesus Christ combine with the teachings of the Old and New Testaments to help form the foundation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; the nickname “Mormons” comes from its title. In the Book of Mormon, Jesus himself talks about how He no longer requires animal sacrifices. Instead, He requires the sacrifice of a broken heart: I am the light and the life of the world. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings. And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto... Read the rest of this entry »

by Nora Just before His crucifixion, Jesus Christ kept the passover with His disciples. He spoke to them with great love as He comforted them concerning His impending death. He blessed them with His peace: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27). After washing their feet, sharing this special meal with them, teaching them, expressing His love for them, and praying for them, the Lord Jesus Christ left for the Garden of Gethsemane, where the suffering of the Atonement began. Jesus’s disciples, who did not really understand that He was about to suffer and die for mankind, felt great anguish and despair as they watched Him die and be laid in the tomb. Where could they find peace? Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (nicknamed “Mormons“) believe that true peace can only be found by following... Read the rest of this entry »

Hurricanes rage and tsunamis flood, killing people and destroying homes. Dictators oppress their people; destitute children beg in the streets of major cities throughout the world. Loved ones die, and family members suffer. If God is loving, we may ask, why is there suffering in the world? God Himself has answered these questions in the scriptures. Every moment of every day, He remembers us: Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands… (Isaiah49:15-16) But still the question remains: if He remembers us and loves us so completely, why does He allow us to suffer? God loves us, so He sent us to earth to choose between good and evil The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called “The Mormon Church” by the media) teaches that God has a plan for us. In The... Read the rest of this entry »

As a young member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (inadvertently called “The Mormon Church” by the media), I learned about the atonement of Jesus Christ at a very young age. I prayed in His name, was baptized in His name, and partook of the bread and water of the sacrament weekly, just as He did with his disciples before his crucifixion (Luke 22:18-19). In my prayers, I promised God that I would follow Jesus and serve Him with my life; if I had broken one of His commandments, I asked forgiveness. I worshipped and asked for help every day. In my early 20′s, I went to the temple, where members of The Church of Jesus Christ (Mormons) covenant to follow Christ, keep His commandments, and sacrifice all they have to Him. Yet it was not until I reached the age of 31 that I truly came to understand what Jesus did for me when He suffered in Gethsemane, died on the cross, and was resurrected. Needing the Savior I spent Christmas... Read the rest of this entry »

Experiencing Our Debt The realization of our powerlessness without the Lord Jesus Christ‘s divine help allows us to rely on His grace as our true source of strength. The words of the hymn “Come, Thou Fount of every Blessing” emphasize how easy it is for human souls to stray and how indebted we are to our Savior’s grace to bind our wandering souls to Him. O to grace how great a debtor Daily I’m constrained to be! Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the god I love; Here’s my heart, o take and seal it, Seal it for thy courts above. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called the “Mormon Church” by friends of other faiths), we believe that we are all debtors to our Savior’s infinite grace—a debt we can never repay. We are all lost sheep in need of our shepherd’s constant guidance. Even as members of Jesus... Read the rest of this entry »

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths, the “Mormon Church”) believe that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer and Lord over all mankind. He was born of the virgin Mary and was conceived and brought forth by the power of God. Latter-day Saints believe that Jesus Christ was the literal son of God in the flesh, and that Jesus Christ suffered for all the sins of mankind so that all people might be able to repent and be made clean from their sins in order to return back to live with God our Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ came forth as the resurrected Lord on the 3rd day after His death. He lives today, and leads and directs the affairs of His kingdom on this earth. Read the rest of this entry »  Read More →