Christ-like...........

Why, if we are Christian, can't we all get along? I see a ton of anti-Mormon blogs and web sites on the internet (but it is difficult to find one about Mormons putting down another religion, isn't it? ;-) ). One can hardly pick up a newspaper today and not see an article about how some church leaders have absconded money from the congregation, or how some church leader has been having improper sex with someone in the congregation, or how two pastors from different churches are involved in a fist-fight. All of these I have recently read in local papers, by the way. But you don't see the LDS Church or Mormons using this in a negative way against any church. Why? .......because the Mormon people don't believe that would be Christ-like, and we do strive to become like Him.

Why can't we all get along, and instead of channeling all of our energies and money toward finding fault with one religion or another, use that time and money more wisely in helping the poor and sick. I believe that is what Christ would want us to do.

Every religion has their thieves. This is no different today than in the days of Christ. But let's quit bickering about which church is Christian and which is not and get about doing what Christ would have us to do.

One of my favorite quotes is " I once read about a Man who went about doing good. It is most disconcerting to me to be just going about". Let's not just be going about, but let's go about doing some good.

In Ephesians 4:31-32 we read: Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice; and be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

In Philippians 2:14 we read: Do all things without murmurings and disputings;

In Matthew 22:37-40 we read: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself.


And last, but not least, we read in John:14:15 : "If ye love me, keep my commandments".

So the next time I read an anti-Mormon blog I am going to do two things: 1, Feel for the person who wrote the article and be Christ-like and say, "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do" and 2, remember to love my neighbor as myself.

C.S. Lewis is a favorite author of mine, (and he is NOT a Mormon), and I like this quote by him: There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilisations--these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit--immortal horrors or everlasting splendours..........Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses.

Also by him: You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.

So,let's remember to love one another and not find fault with each other. Let's go about doing good and help others than are in need. Then, and only then, can we call ourselves Christians. IMHO

Which church should I join?

In the previous blog, I discussed how some great men broke away from the Roman Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation and started their own churches that were more in line to the way they interpreted the Bible.

But these men, in spite of their good intentions, lacked two things: revelation and authority. They lacked the revelation and authority from our Heavenly Father to start their own religion.

In 1820, a 14 year old boy faced a dilemma - which church should he join? There were so many different denominations out there vying for every one's attention. Some members of his family joined one church, others joined another church. What was a boy to do?

The young Joseph Smith did what all of us need to do on a daily basis: turn to the scriptures and get on your knees. Joseph read in the Bible that if anyone lacked wisdom, to ask of God. And that is what Joseph did. He got down on his knees and asked God which of these many churches he should join. God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph and Joseph was surprised by the answer he received: he was told to join none of them, for they were all wrong. How can that be? All wrong? Why? How?

The true church as organized by Jesus Christ fell into apostasy, and there were many years of darkness upon the earth. No one on earth had the authority to perform baptisms, to heal the sick, to bless the Sacrament, or to lead the Church of Jesus Christ. Thus Joseph was told to join none of them.

During the next few years, Joseph receive the necessary authority and keys of the priesthood. In 1830 the fullness of Christ's gospel was restored to the earth as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized containing all of the doctrines and ordinances necessary for eternal salvation. The period of darkness on the earth had ended, and many important truths had been restored once again.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not worship Joseph Smith, but they do honor him as the first prophet of these latter days. Joseph Smith was persecuted all his life for having seen a vision of the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Yet he never denied having seen the vision, having said "I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it." He was eventually murdered for his beliefs. Which always amazes me. In this country that was founded on the belief of freedom of religion, it still amazes me that someone could be murdered simply for his belief in God, and the murderer never brought to trial. The Mormons, as far as I know, is the only religion in America that had an extermination degree signed by the Governor of the state of Missouri. Think about that for a minute. A Governor signed an order to exterminate an entire people simply for the religious beliefs. What other religion in America has this happened to? There is no doubt in my mind that Satan also knows that the Gospel has been restored on the earth, and is doing everything in his power to destroy it.


Which leads me to blog briefly on the current presidential election. Honestly - is the world going to fall apart if the President is LDS? Why all this talk about Romney being a Mormon? All the talk about whether or not Mormons are Christian amaze me...........really. I am surprised at how many people are bigots in this day an age. If memory serves me correctly, wasn't here someone by the name of Lieberman running for president in the last election? A Jew I believe..... and the Jews crucified Jesus Christ. They don't even believe that Jesus is the Christ! Yet I never saw the bigotry against Lieberman as I do against Romney. Obama is running for president this year, and I have no idea what religion he is! Sometimes he claims to have been raised a Muslim, and sometimes he's some kind of Christian. Where are the bigots now? This is just more justification to me that Satan also knows which church has restored the gospel in these latter days, and he will do whatever it takes to destroy it. Even if it means bringing out the bigots in full force. If you don't vote for someone simply based on their religious beliefs, how different is that from not voting for someone due to the color of their skin or their gender? Bigotry is bigotry. Period.

Ok........ I'll get off my band wagon now. ; -) I watched football most of the day, and I am in a good mood since LSU lost today. Unfortunately, Boise is losing to Hawaii as I write this. I will be in a better mood if my Buckeyes get into the BCS Championship game again this year. Go Buckeyes!!! IMHO.

The Restored Church of Jesus Christ

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not have, nor has ever had, any connection or relationship with any other church or religious group. This position among the Christian denominations of the world is unique. The Mormons are neither Protestant nor Catholic.

I think that this is what irks the other Christian religions, i.e.,the Baptist, Lutherans, Catholics, Methodists, etc. more so than the issue of whether the Mormons are Christian or not. The other religions simply do not know how to attack the LDS church on the "restored" issue.....so they go after the "Mormons are not really Christians" issue. It is simply easier for the others to deal with.

And for good reason. When Christ organized his ministry in Palestine, did He not call twelve men to be Apostles? Were they not called to help Him in His ministry, and especially for the purpose of carrying on the work after He left? The New Testament gives much evidence of men called and ordained for this very purpose.

The Apostle Paul speaks of a "falling away" or apostasy of the members of the church, or "saints", as he called them.

Also, the church at the time of Jesus Christ was known as The Church of Jesus Christ, not the "Church of the Daybreak", or "Church of the Cross", ( I just now made these names up ;-) ), but it was known as His church. It was not called The Church of John, or Paul, or Peter, or Church of the Apostles. As it should be. I imagine that it is difficult for the other religions in the world to explain the name of their church, especially if it is named after a common man. (Notice that the restored church is not called The Church of Joseph Smith.) If a church is truly His church, then it should bear His name.

The church as established by Christ was taken from the earth because of the continued persecution and apostasy. The Roman Empire that ruled the civilized world at this time was a pagan government who worshiped pagan deities. The Christians were forced to meet in secret, and many were persecuted for their beliefs. Long story short, within the Roman Empire, the Roman Catholic church became the all powerful church of Rome, primarily through Constantine and The Nicene Creed. (Google Nicene Creed as it makes for interesting reading.) Soon, favorites of the Emperor were installed as bishops of the church without the proper divine authority that had come down through the Apostles. The dark period of apostasy of the Church of Jesus Christ was beginning.

The dark ages rolled on for centuries until there rose a few men to challenge Rome's authority in the church. Men like Calvin, Knox, Luther, and others tried to reform the powerful and corrupt Roman church, but were not able to do so. Thus the great Protestant Reformation took form. Out of the protesting movements have come the hundreds of different churches of Christianity found today in the world. What is amazing is that each of these different churches believe that the new one has improved the old one.

So the big question is, which of these different religions and denominations are correct? They can't all be correct. God is not the author of confusion.

I guess that we can really rule out all of the various religions that broke away from the Catholic church during the great Protestant Reformation as the true church on earth as established by Jesus Christ. After all, these were started by men who literally, in many cases, had the church named after them! They claimed no divine intervention - they simply didn't agree with the Catholic church - so they started there own.

I guess that we can also rule out the Catholic church, since it was started by Constantine and his hand-picked bishops during the Nicene Creed.

So which church is right? Which church should I go to and believe in it's teachings? Which church do I give my complete support to?

The answer to that age old question will be forth coming in the next posting of this blog. IMHO

A Covenant Making People.............

God's people throughout the history of the world have been a covenant making people, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are also a covenant making people. What is a covenant? In the gospel sense, a covenant is a binding compact, agreement, or promise between man and God. Both the old and the new testaments of the Bible reveal many such covenants. The Lord covenanted with Noah that He would never flood the earth again. Abraham was given the covenant of circumcision that was to remain in force until it was fulfilled in Christ. And there are many more examples in the Bible.

Today, the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints make many covenants with our Maker. At our baptism, we make a covenant to come into the fold of God and be called his people. He must be willing to bear one another's burdens, mourn with those that mourn, comfort those in need of comfort, and stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places, even until death. Mosiah 18:8-10 states " Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour his Spirit more abundantly upon you?" As a Latter-day Saint, this is perhaps the first covenant we make with God.

When we as Latter-day Saints partake of the sacrament each Sunday, we are renewing those baptismal covenants that we made at our baptism. By taking the sacrament, we once again covenant to remember and rely upon the atoning sacrifice of our Savior, to take his name upon us, to keep his commandments, and to remember Him always. In turn, He promises that we will always have His Spirit to be with us.

Tithing is a covenant that we make with the Lord to assure us of temporal and spiritual blessing. As of old, at least one tenth of all we have goes to the Lord to the building up of His kingdom upon this earth.

Sabbath observance is also a covenant that was first observed in the old testament and that the LDS follow today.

The Word of Wisdom is yet another covenant that we make with the Lord. We covenant to abstain from the use of alcohol, tobacco, coffee and tea, and conformity to this covenant assures both strength of body and mind, and also spiritual blessings will follow. In the House of The Lord, the holy temples, several covenants are made. They include the covenant and promise to observe the law of strict virtue and chastity, to be charitable, benevolent, tolerant, and pure. We covenant to devote both talent and material means to the spreading of truth and uplifting of the human race.We also covenant to keep these covenants sacred and to "trifle not with sacred things."

"And this shall be our covenant - that we will walk in all the ordinances of the Lord." D&C 136:2-4

Covenants make members of the Church, individually and collectively, distinct.

Covenants bind a person to God and to one another.

Covenants build unity.

Covenants provide stability.

Covenants set standards of behavior.

Covenants bind believers to the past, present, and future.

The members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are a covenant making people, and we, though imperfect, try diligently to keep these holy covenants.IMHO.

(The information from this blog was taken from various sources.)

The House of The Lord.............

There are 134 temples throughout the world either in operation, under construction or announced. The members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are a temple building people.

Temples serve as the only place where ceremonies such as baptism and eternal marriage can be performed in behalf of those who have died —a practice that Latter-day Saints believe was followed in New Testament times but that later was lost.

Baptism is a sacred covenant that we make with our Heavenly Father, and is essential to our salvation. In Luke 7:29-30 we are taught.....Those who refuse baptism, reject the counsel of God. In John 3:3-7 we learn that "Except a man be born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God".

This brings us to one of the ordinances perform only in the temples - baptism for the dead. As far as I know, this practice of baptizing for the dead is only perform in the sacred temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe that this was a common practice in the old and new testaments of the Bible, for we read in 1-Corinthians 15:29 " Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?" There is a very provoking thought about those who died without baptism. What about them? What will happen to those who died without baptism? We know that baptism is essential, so what happens to these who died without baptism? Non - Christian religions outnumber all the Christian religions put together, so what happens to all of these people who never heard the word baptism? I cannot believe the God would simply write off the majority of the people who ever lived on this earth simply because they didn't know about baptism. Yes, we of the LDS faith do baptisms for the dead. We search for our dead ancestors and are then baptized in proxy for them. The dead then have the option of accepting or rejecting the baptism in the spirit world where they reside.

As mentioned in an earlier posting, the Latter day Saints believe that marriage can be an eternal blessing, and not one of until death do you part. In the sacred temples of the Lord, husband and wife can be sealed together and with their families for time and all eternity. This is most comforting, because Heaven would be Hell without my lovely wife beside me. Let's face it honestly.........I depend on her so much here on earth that I just know that I will need her in the next life! ;-)

Other ordinances performed in the holy temple are endowments, sealing ordinances, and ordinations. But not all who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can enter into The House of The Lord.

Only a member in good standing holding a temple recommend can enter in The House of The Lord. First, a member must meet with a Bishop and will be asked several standard questions . The answers to the questions are not only being heard by the Bishop, but by the Lord also. Then you must sign the recommend yourself. By signing the recommend you make a commitment to the Lord that you are worthy of the privileges granted to those who hold such a recommend. We must be morally clean, paying a full tithing, keeping the Word of Wisdom, living in harmony with the teachings of the Church, and not have any affiliation or sympathy with apostate groups. Once given a temple recommend, you need not apply for another for two years.

The temples are beautiful and peaceful on the inside. When a new temple is finished being constructed, and before it is dedicated, the general public may enter and view a temple. Many people have been converted simply by having been through a temple before its dedication. Once the temple is dedicated unto the Lord, only those members holding a valid temple recommend may enter the Holy Temple.

The temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are the most sacred edifices on the face of the earth today. Revelations are being received in them. The dead are being baptized in them. Marriages are sealed for time and all eternity in them. Holy covenants are made in them.

Much of this posting has been taken from one of my favorite books entitled " The Holy Temple" by Boyd K. Packer. This is an excellent book for believer or unbeliever. IMHO.

For more information on temples, visit this link: LDS.org and click on Family history and temples.

Do Mormons celebrate holidays?

While surfing the web, I occasionally see where someone questions whether Mormons celebrate holidays such as Christmas. They question this because many don't think that Mormons are not Christians. This always baffles me, and I want to ask these skeptics if their church has the name of Jesus Christ in it, as does the Mormon church. The Mormons belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Again, how many other churches are named after our Savior?

There are LDS Temples all over the world, and I challenge anyone to drive by a Temple at night during the Christmas season and observe all the lights being displayed. At the Temple in Salt Lake City over a million lights will be displayed on Temple Square alone. There will be displays everywhere on Temple Square with Christmas scenes. Christian Christmas scenes. Yet, while surfing the web, I'll still see the uninformed saying not to vote for Mitt Romney because he is not a Christian, and that Mormons are not Christian. And some of these uninformed people saying this are ministers of other faiths, whose church does not even bear the name of Jesus Christ. This simply amazes me.

Yes, we who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints celebrate Christmas just like everyone else. And Thanksgiving, and Easter, and the Fourth of July. Mormons are as Christian as Baptist, Catholics, Lutherans, or any others out there who calls themselves Christian.

Sometimes, I feel like the other Christians are jealous that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the fastest growing churches in the world. And that it is one of the wealthiest churches in the world, primarily because of their belief in tithing. And that they, the other churches, are jealous that they don't have the name of our Savior in the name of their church. IMHO.

One reason for my blog...........

WASHINGTON 6 November 2007 Two apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have completed a first round of visits to the Washington, D.C., editorial boards of major American newspapers and magazines.

The visits by Elder M. Russell Ballard and Elder Quentin L. Cook are part of a series of initiatives to more clearly define the Church in the public news media at a time when its beliefs and practices are being widely discussed.

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Elders Ballard and Cook, who both serve on the Church’s Public Affairs Committee, generally spent about an hour each with the editorial boards of USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal (in New York), the New Republic and the National Review. Editorial boards typically include opinion-page writers and other senior columnists and journalists.

Questions were wide ranging and varied, but all included discussions of the Church’s core beliefs as well as the differences from other Christian churches. The Church leaders emphasized the Church’s political neutrality and said that they would not discuss political questions associated with the current presidential campaign.

U.S. News & World Report, which reports the visit in a full-page Q&A feature this week, wanted to know what the biggest misconceptions were about the Church. The same topic came up in a variety of ways almost everywhere.

Elder Ballard said that the biggest misconception was probably that “Mormons” — a common term for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — are not Christian.

“We can’t understand that, when Jesus Christ is at the center of all that we teach and believe,” Elder Ballard said.

The two apostles repeatedly emphasized the Church’s unique position as “Restored Christianity” — meaning that it is not Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox but holds a unique position as the restored church of the New Testament, including apostolic organization and authority.

Elder Ballard said that the Church embraced all the truths that other Christians share but also offered “additional information” from new revelation.

Another widespread misconception was that the public cannot join Mormon worship services. Elders Ballard and Cook discussed a typical Latter-day Saint worship service in some detail, emphasizing that any one of the Church’s 22,000 buildings across the world are open to everyone.

Although it seems some confusion has arisen from the fact that the Church’s 124 temples are open only to members in good standing, it was also apparent that people sometimes have the impression that chapels and regular services are also closed to the public. (Later this month, Newsroom will present a feature package describing Mormon worship practices).

Last month several video clips were placed on Newsroom, featuring Elder Ballard addressing commonly asked questions. More such clips will be posted, with comments from other apostles.

In addition, video materials on commonly asked questions are being placed on YouTube, Yahoo, Google Video and other Internet sites. Online news conferences are now also being planned for invited journalists to explore more about the Church.

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Style guide note: When reporting about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please use the complete name of the Church in the first reference. For more information on the use of the name of the Church, go to our online style guide.

C. S. Lewis

C. S. Lewis was on my mind today, and I'm not sure why. I have read only a few quotes by him, and know of him, but I have never read anything by him. But I am going to read a book by him entitled , Mere Christianity, one of C. S. Lewis's best known books widely credited for changing lives.

Two of his quotes that I really enjoy are: "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen­—not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

Lewis was at one time an atheist. It has been said that the two most difficult kinds of people to convince of Christ and His teachings are the wealthy and the intellectual. If you are wealthy, then you have every thing and you don't need religion. If you are an intellectual, or simply someone who thinks that he/she has all the answers, then you don't need religion because you have never seen any proof that God exists. That I why I like the above quote......I'm not wealthy and certainly not bright, but I do observe things around me that convinces me that God exists.

My all time favorite quote of C.S. Lewis is taken from his essay "The Weight of Glory":

There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilisations--these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit--immortal horrors or everlasting splendours. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn: We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously--no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner--no mere tolerance, or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbour he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat--the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden. ~C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, (1949)

This is an easy to read essay that can be found here: http://www.doxaweb.com/assets/doxa.pdf

Lewis has some other essays and books that I will need to become familiar with, and a good web site to learn more about C. S. Lewis is : http://www.cslewisinstitute.org/pages/about/about.php

I'll end today with one more of my favorite quotes by Lewis: You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.

I encourage believer and non believer alike to read a few of his books, starting with Mere Christianity..........I don't think that you will be disappointed. IMHO

The Godhead

I grew up attending various churches....Baptist, Lutheran, and even attended the Catholic Church with my wife. But none of these churches could come close to answering the questions that I had. Only The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints answers my questions in a way that not only makes sense, but the Spirit has testified that it is indeed the truth.

I could never understand the other churches version of God. Their God always seemed to be mysterious, unknowable, and not easily understood. I had difficulty loving someone who I had no idea what they even looked like!

The LDS church believes that the Godhead is made up of God the Father, (Elohim), the Savior, (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Ghost. Each is a separate entity-one in purpose-but not in body. There were three beings present at the baptism of Jesus Christ, according to Mark 1:10-11; Luke 3:21-23; and Matthew 3:15-17. "And straightway coming out of the water, He saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit, like a dove,descending upon Him: and there came a voice from heaven saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." There are many other verses in the Bible which speaks about the separate beings of the Godhead.

Two members of the Godhead - God the Father, and his Son, Jesus Christ - have bodies like ours and have passions like our own. Knowing God's nature is very important in knowing God and loving Him. IMHO, that when people don't know the true nature of God, that is when they start making idols or animals to worship. Something that they can see and understand.

So how do we know that God is like us and we like Him? How do we know that God has body parts just like ours? Genesis 1:26-27; 5:1-3 states "God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He them." A useful God, unlike an animal or idol, must have a mouth, or how can he speak? Exodus 19:9; John 12:28-29. He must have eyes, or how can he see? Psalms 94:7-11. He must have a nose, or how can he smell? Genesis 8:21. He must have feet, or how can He stand? Job 19:25. God must have passion, or how can He love? John 3:16. Or how can He be suffering, merciful, and gracious? Exodus 34:6.

The true knowledge of God has been restored once again to the earth. This is what the Prophet Joseph Smith stated: "However, it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a ^avision. I have thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light, and heard a voice; but still there were but few who believed him; some said he was dishonest, others said he was ^bmad; and he was ridiculed and reviled. But all this did not destroy the reality of his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all the ^cpersecution under heaven could not make it otherwise; and though they should persecute him unto death, yet he knew, and would know to his latest breath, that he had both seen a light and heard a voice speaking unto him, and all the world could not make him think or believe otherwise.

25 So it was with me. I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two ^aPersonages, and they did in reality speak to me; and though I was ^bhated and ^cpersecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me ^dfalsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not ^edeny it, neither dared I do it; at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God, and come under condemnation.

The above quotes can be found here: http://scriptures.lds.org/en/js_h/1

The Spirit of God has testified to me that what Joseph Smith saw and heard is true - he saw two separate Beings, that looked like the Holy Men that they are, and that we are created in Their image.

I know that for some, it is difficult to believe that we have prophets once again on this earth...but I know that it is true. Ask yourself, why not? Why is it not possible to have a living prophet once again an this earth? The church of Jesus Christ HAS been restored once again in these latter days and we DO have a prophet to lead and guide us. The great apostasy has come and gone, and once again the Lord is leading his church through prophets which He has always done in the past.

I know these things to be true. IMHO

Eternal marriage

Early this morning I dropped my wife Jeannine off at the airport. She will be in Chicago for two days on business, and I already miss her.

On the drive home, I was pondering the relationship between a man and a wife. I find it amazing, in a way, that someone will be born and live with their parents who will then provide for them for roughly 20 years. Then they will meet someone, fall in love, and in a relatively short period of time, marry this almost stranger from another family, and in some cases, from another state or country. They will never look back, and never go back home again. They will remain together, as my parents and Jeannine's parents , for 50+ & 60+ years. Man, that is a LONG time for two strangers to live together. But we are no longer strangers. On the way to the airport this morning, on two occasions I said something, when Jeannine looked over and said that she was just thinking that. That happens all the time between us. We are so close that at times we don't need to talk. It has been said that marriage is the best method ever devised for becoming acquainted.

Andrew Jackson said "Heaven will not be heaven to me if I do not meet my wife there." Jeannine and I were married in a civil ceremony where the words "until death do you part" were said, as in most ceremonies. We were then sealed in the Bountiful Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for time and all eternity by one who held the keys and the Priesthood. Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, believe that marriage can be forever. Matthew 19: 3-6 states, "Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh.What therefore GOD hath joined together, let not man put asunder." This is a clear statement that the marriage covenant, when properly performed, is eternal. The person performing the marriage ceremony must have the authority from God to seal up the marriage for time and all eternity. Everyone who performs a marriage ceremony in the House of the Lord can trace their authority back to the Prophet Joseph Smith, who received the keys and authority from the ancient Prophet Elijah.

For me, this is a huge comfort. Knowing that Jeannine and I will be together forever throughout the eternities, is one of the greatest gifts of all. IMHO

FLDS

I'm going to segue from the original topic I was going to comment on today, that of eternal marriage, and comment instead on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Warren Jeffs made the newspaper and USATODAY online today, so I thought it would be a good time to comment on the FLDS, as Warren Jeffs followers are known. Warren Jeffs is the leader of this polygamists sect who has made recent headlines with his conviction of two counts of rape as an accomplice, and could face up to life in prison.

The FLDS church is no more a part of the LDS church as the Protestant church is part of the Roman Catholic church. I am not a scholar by any stretch of the imagination, but I do believe that the majority of the different churches and denominations in the world today evolved from some other mother church....except for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This is what I believe as a Mormon. Jesus Christ organized His church during the latter part of His life on this earth, and just before He ascended into heaven, He left Peter, James, and John as the "head" and gave them the "keys" of divine authority and designated other Apostles also as leaders of His church.

A few years later, all the Apostles were persecuted and killed. At this time, the "Apostasy" of the church started, and the "Apostasy" became complete under the reign of the pagan Emperor Constantine. Constantine adopted the idea of Christ and the cross and mixed in some pagan rituals and doctrines when he developed a state church for the Roman Empire that was under the direct control of the Emperor. This church later split, and now we have all kinds of churches out there. The Protestant Reformation was actually a break off of the Roman Catholic Church, and from the Protestant Reformation came the Lutherans, the Church of England, Methodists, Baptists, and the list goes on. The only church that I know of that does not fall into this category is the LDS church. Why? Because the LDS church is the restored church of Jesus Christ. God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph Smith and restored all the keys and ordinances. The LDS church is not a break off of any other church, but the restored church of Jesus Christ in these latter days. This was foretold in the Bible, but that is another topic.

The FLDS church is a break off of the true church of Jesus Christ, and a very informative web site on Fundamentalism can be found here: http://www.mormonfundamentalism.com

Warren Jeffs is not a prophet of God. He said so himself on Jan. 24 in telephone calls to his family, and said, quote, "the Lord had revealed to him that he was a wicked man". But the paper says that Jeffs abandoned his statements about not being a prophet and said that he had experienced a great spiritual test. This abandonment came about in February after his health improved. Hey, I'm just quoting from The Seattle Times newspaper dated November 1, 2007.

Bottom line? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints usually makes the news media whenever Warren Jeffs and the RLDS church makes the news media..........most of the time because the media gets confused and think that the RLDS church is part of the church based in Salt Lake City, Utah. But that is ok with me, because we of the Mormon faith simply get more exposure, and with more exposure, I feel we get more converts. IMHO.