Jesus Christ

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 »

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 »

by Eric Kotter, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“Mormon“), Eric is a student at BYU-Idaho studying communications. Have you ever had just a strong desire to know something? You may be confused with how to do a certain math problem, or it might be something bigger such as understanding how to find more meaning in your life. This is the same way a young 14 year old boy felt. As a young teenager, a boy by the name of Joseph Smith wondered about religion and salvation. He wanted to know and understand the things that God wanted him to do in order to return back to Him. In around 1820, Joseph Smith started to get involved with some of the religious excitement that was going on at the time where he was living in Palmyra, New York. Using his own words from Joseph Smith History it says, During this time of great excitement my mind was called up to serious reflection and great uneasiness; but though my feelings were deep and often... Read the rest of this entry »

by Eric Kotter, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“Mormon“), student at BYU-Idaho studying communications, and freelance writer. The Holy Spirit, also referred to as the Holy Ghost, was given to us by God in order to guide us and strengthen us here in this earth life. The Holy Spirit is an actual person, but he doesn’t have a physical body, He has a spirit. The Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, and Heavenly Father are three separate beings that are all a part of the Godhead. They all have the same purpose, which is to help bring us back into the presence of God so that we might have eternal life. There are two parts to understanding the Holy Spirit. There is the power of the Holy Spirit, and there is the gift of the Holy Spirit, or gift of the Holy Ghost. Before someone is baptized and given the gift of the Holy Ghost, they can feel the power and influence of the Holy Spirit testify to their hearts of things that are true.... Read the rest of this entry »

The evening before the Lamb of God was to be crucified for the sins of the world and hours before He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus was sitting with his Apostles in a “large upper room” (Mark 14:15). It was here that He first instituted the sacrament: “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples,” (Matthew 26:26). Then He said, “Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me” 1 Corinthians 11:24). Then, “After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:25). Thus, the purpose of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is to look back and remember Jesus the Christ and what He has done for each of us. Everything points “to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice [is] the Son of God, yea,... Read the rest of this entry »

The atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ “embraces, sustains, supports, and gives life to all other gospel doctrines.  It is the foundation upon which all truth rests and all things grow out of it and come because of it.”1 “The wondrous and glorious Atonement was the central act in all of human history.”2 Because of these statements, all things also point to Christ and His atonement.  Those who lived before Christ looked forward to Him and His infinite and eternal sacrifice.  Those who live after Christ look back to this greatest of all events and “remember what was done.”3 There were many different ways in which the blood sacrifices before Christ were types and shadows of the great and last sacrifice.  Note a few of the details: First, like Christ, the [sacrificial] animal was chosen and anointed by the laying on of hands. (The Hebrew title Messiah and the Greek title Christ both mean “the Anointed One.”) Second, the animal was to have... Read the rest of this entry »

The atonement of Jesus Christ is the central doctrine of Christianity, and all other Christian doctrines come out of and are appendages to it.1 Not only can these other doctrines be connected back to the Savior and His Atoning Sacrifice, but if they are not, “there will be no life nor substance nor redemption in them,” to use a phrase by President Boyd K. Packer, an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.2 It is therefore not only important, but necessary, when studying any doctrine or teaching or appendage of the gospel of Jesus Christ, to connect it back to Jesus Christ and His eternal sacrifice. When Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden, they were commanded “that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord” (Moses 5:5).  Yet M. Russell Ballard, another apostle of the Church, has said that some have wondered, “How could the slaughtering... Read the rest of this entry »

Before I say anything else, I want to make it clear that the real answer to this question is beyond the scope of this article; indeed, it is beyond the scope of mortality and all things temporal: for “this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). Furthermore, “it will be a great while after you have passed through the veil before you will have learned [all the principles of exaltation]. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 6:306-7). I am now able to attempt a basic answer to the above question. One of the most profound statements that will act as a beginning to our answer was made by the Prophet Joseph Smith. He said, “It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith,... Read the rest of this entry »