Jesus Christ

Written by Ashley Bell, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as a “Mormon”). Ashley and her husband are expecting parents, for the first time, and are very excited for the life that is ahead. Finding Happiness Is a Constant Journey, Not a Destination or Graduation Thanks be to my parents who both found happiness even though they came from backgrounds that did not cultivate the feeling, for various reasons. My dad came from a Greek family who wanted him to have a Greek wife. My mom came from a Mormon family that ideally would have had her marry someone with a similar belief system (even though they weren’t active Mormons at the time). Despite their parents opposition they were married because they felt right about it. For their financial income they ran and owned a local bar. They didn’t feel happy there so they gave up their good income and moved to where they thought they might find happiness-... 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 »

This weekend, the Twelve Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ will be speaking to the world during the worldwide General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members of the Church, who are also known as Mormons, will gather in meetinghouses and homes to watch and listen via TV, radio, satellite, and internet. The broadcast originates in Salt Lake City, Utah, where the Church has its headquarters. It is a unique opportunity to learn from the living representatives of Jesus Christ on the earth today. Jesus Called Twelve Apostles to be Special Witnesses During His mortal ministry, Jesus called twelve apostles to bear witness of Him to the people. He chose, from among His disciples, Twelve to whom he gave special priesthood authority: And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease (Matthew 10:1). Jesus... 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 »

Written by Brittany Spencer, a BYU student, studying a volume of scripture known as the Pearl of Great Price, which is written by prophets; members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “Mormons” revere it as sacred text. This post comes from a book within the Pearl of Great Price known as The Book of Moses; it is an extraction from the translation of the Bible as revealed to Joseph Smith the Prophet, June 1830—February 1831. We Are All Blessed by Being Children of God the Father In a book of scripture, held sacred by Latter-day Saints “Mormons”, known as the Pearl of Great Price, we learn in Moses chapter one, that a vision Moses had begins after he has been caught up to a mountain. The phrase caught up seems to imply that Moses did not reach God’s presence entirely of his own accord. In addition, Moses could only endure God’s presence because “the glory of the Lord was upon [him]” (See Moses 1:31). These versus seem to... Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Daniel Derricott, a BYU student, studying a volume of scripture known as the Pearl of Great Price, which is written by prophets; members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “Mormons” revere it as sacred text. This post comes from a book within the Pearl of Great Price known as The Book of Moses; it is an extraction from the translation of the Bible as revealed to Joseph Smith the Prophet, June 1830—February 1831. Moses Learns about His Relationship With Heavenly Father In Moses’ vision of God in the Pearl of Great Price (a book revered as scripture by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and in the account of Moses 1:1-23, he learned a great deal about his relationship with God. Moses’ learns it is one of Father and son and of the familial relationship he has with the Jesus Christ, the Messiah. At least four times in these verses, Moses is referred to as a son of God, three of which come from... 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 »

Just after Jesus Christ ascended into heaven after His resurrection, angels proclaimed to His disciples that He would return again one day to reign on the earth for 1,000 years. From that time to this, Christians throughout the world have eagerly awaited His return. The period of time just preceding Christ’s return is called the “last days.” It is the specified time, period, or age in which the necessary prerequisites to the Second Coming will occur. The Last Days The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently referred to at times as “The Mormon Church” by the media) teaches that we are now living in the last days. The last days are the days of the dispensation of the fullness of times that is referred to in Ephesians 1:10, when God will gather together in one all things in Christ. Through Joseph Smith, the founding prophet of Mormonism, all the truth that was made known to all the holy prophets since the... Read the rest of this entry »

As I reflect upon my youth, I remember partaking of the Sacrament at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called the “Mormon” church by the media). The young men, who held the Priesthood of God, would bless the broken bread and then pass it to the congregation; they then would bless the water and likewise pass the little small cups to those in attendance. I also remember my mom wisely putting away my crayons and handing me a picture book so that I could look at pictures of Jesus during this sacred time. I didn’t yet understand the symbolism behind the sacrament (in Catholicism, and in other faiths, it may be known as Communion, or Holy Communion), but I remembered thinking that the bread tasted better than any bread I could eat at home. Not even being old enough to be baptized (age 8 for Latter-day Saints) I tried to replicate this good tasting bread in my own kitchen, by pulling a slice of bread apart into small pieces... Read the rest of this entry »

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes inadvertently nicknamed “The Mormon Church” by the media), like all Christians, believe in studying God’s word in the scriptures daily. The Holy Bible and The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, along with other books containing God’s revelations to ancient and modern prophets, make up the canon of Mormon Scripture. We should feast our minds daily upon the word of God as contained in the scriptures. Sometimes, however, we let worldly voices take over our minds, crowding out the word of the Lord. The World or the Word? The world and the Word offer two different paradigms for living the good life. We all need to pause and see how much time we’re spending in each, and which sources of information fill our minds. How much time are we spending each day listening to the worldly view of the world’s media? How much time do we spend reading... Read the rest of this entry »