What if I told you there was a way to find peace amid the chaos? What if I told you there was a way to be provided with comfort despite the trials that wreak havoc on our lives? What if I told you there was a way to become closer to God more so than you are now? What if I told you there's a book that can help you find solace? What if I told you that God continues to follow the pattern that He has always followed by calling a prophet to lead His children? What if I told you there was a way to be eternally sealed to your family so death should never be feared?
Speaking from experience, when people hear the word "Mormon" they shudder at the thought of what they don't understand. Many somehow associate our very Christian religion with weird rules, cults and even, in extreme cases, Satan. However, I've seen the difference in the lives of people who initially had these thoughts and soon after listening to what members of the Church had to say, they changed.
I can't tell you how many times on my mission I was treated as if I were stupid because I've chosen to embrace Mormonism; I was told that my parents had brainwashed me into believing that Joseph Smith saw God and Jesus Christ in a forest. I was told that God doesn't show Himself to anyone anymore--that only happened in Biblical times.
I never understood why people had these perceptions about our culture, our religion. The scripture in Hebrews 13 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." Honestly, I could never process how someone could think that visions were absolutely impossible because the Bible had an ending. Here's a thought: the Bible may have a limit to its words, but the words contained therein are true and eternal. Every author comes to a point of reaching the end of their novel, but once published, the words are always there. They are unchanging. God's word is the same. He will never stray from His pattern.
In the spring of 1820, a young boy said his first uttered prayer. If you are unfamiliar with the story of Joseph Smith, let me fill you in. He was fourteen years old, and his family was extremely religious. Joseph was at the age where he could choose which religion to find membership but he became confused when he saw the Presbyterians contending with the Baptists and vice versa. He couldn't understand--if they were all preaching love and God--why they would be fighting against one another as if they needed to "prove" they were the right sect of Christianity. Confused, Joseph turned to the scriptures to find answers. He came across James 1:5. "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."
He had his answer and chose to take his question to God. He found a private place in the woods a little ways from his home. He knelt down and began to ask what sect he should join and he was overcome with darkness, as if he was trying to be kept from asking this particular question. Joseph fought through it and was finally rescued from the darkness which held him captive. He explained this sensation in the most beautiful way: "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.'" Jesus Christ then told Joseph that he shouldn't join any of the churches. Although they all seek to do good, they are missing an essential piece of the gospel: the priesthood authority.
See, when Christ was crucified and resurrected, He ascended into heaven and left His Church to be
physically led by His apostles while He remained, and continues to be, the spiritual Head of His Church. However, one by one, the apostles died and the priesthood was slowly taken from the earth. This was prophesied by Amos in the Old Testament: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it" (Amos 8:11-12). There was no prophet; there was only spiritual darkness.
This is a pattern that God has followed throughout time. He calls a prophet, then people fall into disobedience and the gospel retreats. When the time is right, He calls a prophet again, and the people disregard the words of the prophets so He takes the gospel. The pattern continues. God did this with Adam, as he was the first prophet, Enoch, Noah, Moses, Abraham, Jesus Christ, and finally, Joseph Smith.
These periods where a new prophet is appointed is called a dispensation. This is how I think of it:
Think of a gumball machine or "dispenser". The gumballs represent all the pieces of the gospel of Jesus Christ: doctrines and priesthood authority. Imagine that God picked one person to take care of the gumballs and divvy them among those who are righteous. Now imagine that all of those people disappear. The gumballs are gone. The truth is gone. The authority is gone. The Church is gone. But God remains the same and He can return the gumballs again. He just needs someone to trust with His precious gospel.
This is what happened with Joseph Smith. He did not go into the forest thinking he would be called to be a prophet when he reached the appropriate age. All he wanted was an answer, but this was it. He was given the responsibility to take care and administer the doctrinal gumballs.
Not too long after this vision, Joseph was visited by an angel named Moroni who told him of an ancient record that Joseph would begin to translate at a later date. These golden plates were buried in a hill in upper state New York where Joseph lived. These plates were written by a prophet in ancient America named Mormon--hence the name "The Book of Mormon." This book is another testament of the Savior, Jesus Christ--that He lived, that He died, and that He LIVES.
This is a record of the people who came to America 600 years before the birth of Christ. It's a compilation of stories, much like the Bible, of those who exercised faith and were delivered from bondage. It's about following the Savior and not giving up. It's about learning to understand the workings of the Spirit. Most importantly, it's about the hope of a Savior coming to redeem mankind. This book is another testament or witness that Jesus is the Christ. "But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established" (Matthew 18:16).
I know it can sound weird, but that's where prayer comes into play.
You've heard your Mormon friend say, "Pray about it. I know God will hear you." Prayer is huge in our faith because we know that is how we can directly communicate with our Heavenly Father. Of course, sometimes it seems as if it's only a one-sided conversation, but God answers all prayers in various ways.
Before I turned sixteen, I was a very devious child. I went against practically everything my parents taught me because, to be frank, I thought they were ridiculous for believing the Joseph Smith story. See, I was like you once. I thought the Word of Wisdom (no alcohol or coffee) rule was ridiculous, that wearing booty shorts shouldn't affect my journey back to God. It didn't make any sense until one night I felt a burden of guilt for all the things I've done weigh me down.
I couldn't comprehend why I even felt bad. I didn't believe in Mormonism so why did I feel so awful for the things that only the Church advises against?
I had remembered a Sunday school teacher saying something about the Atonement of Jesus Christ: something I had never quite understood. I decided to pick up my copy of The Book of Mormon and coincidentally (or maybe not) I flipped to Alma 7.
"And he shall go forth suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind. And this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people. And he will take upon them their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities."
I read this and literally burst into tears. In that moment, I knew that Jesus truly was--is--the Christ. I knew that He loves me and that's why I was feeling guilt. He was reeling me in because it was time for me to receive a witness of the truth. I was changing. I knelt down at my bedside and I prayed. Up until that point, I had never asked God if Joseph Smith was a fraud, and I did and I received an answer that I never thought I would:
He was called to be a prophet. The Book of Mormon is true. The leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hold the keys of the priesthood. This is it.
Following the prayer, I couldn't believe what I felt. The guilt was gone. The burden was lifted. It was as if someone literally lifted a weight off my shoulders. I had never felt more peace than I did right then.
I knew it wasn't made up in my mind because I wanted it to not be true. I so wanted to stop being made fun of for believing in a kid who saw God. I wanted to stop being ostracized for being against gay marriage. I wanted to feel okay about not defending the Church, but I couldn't because I knew for myself.
This Church may have rules that may seem silly to many, but to me, they have been the greatest boost in my eternal quest. The story of Joseph Smith may seem far-fetched, but it is true, and I don't know what I would do without this gospel had that boy not asked God that question. I know I would be so lost. I wouldn't be nearly as close to God as I am at this moment in time.
The Bible is wonderful, and it's true. The Book of Mormon is just as true and it offers even more reasons to have faith in the Savior. Why not read it? What's the worst that can come from it? I thought it would be a waste of time when I began to read five years ago, but I was quickly proven wrong. With the Bible and the Book of Mormon, even the words of modern day prophets, I have all I need to come to know God. Who wouldn't want more? Who wouldn't want to embrace the same gospel that Jesus Christ established during His mortal lifetime? Who wouldn't want to be even happier than they already are?
God lives. I testify that He is there and that He loves us. Because He loves us, He has provided us with more truth and men to lead us to ensure that we make it back into the arms of the Father. That is the purpose of the Church. It isn't to see how many people we can get to convert. It's here for us to learn how to make it back to God through faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. I testify that through this gospel, we can be eternally sealed to our loved ones. I bear testimony that life doesn't end here. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's Church re-established for the last time, never to be
taken again.
If you have any questions about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ask me, your Mormon friend, or take it straight to the source: God. He knows the truth. If you think this isn't the true Church, but you are truly curious, He'll give you the answer.
