Saturday, April 27, 2013

Mormon=Me

Religion.  Church.  Jesus.  Scriptures. 

People wonder: Why am I Mormon?  They don’t see what I see in my religion.  Am I following just a religion or am I truly following Jesus Christ?  Am I following a man, or am I following God? 

What am I following?  Why Mormonism, Why not another religion? Do I want to explore the thought of going to another church?  Do I really have to go to church to believe in God?  Why go to church at all?  Maybe these are just some good topics for some of my postings…..maybe

So why Mormonism??? If you have read my “Why I am Mormon” Posting then you would have read my testimony of why I choose to be Mormon.  Yes I was raised in a house where my parents were Mormon.  My mother was active, while my father wasn’t.  But my road to my religion is in fact my road. It all comes down to the fact that I am choosing this way.  I could ask why are you catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, or non-denominational? What are your beliefs? Why do you believe that way?  Because, you and I believe how we believe. We are separate beings, we both have our own brain to think with.  But that doesn’t explain why I am the religion I am. 
Most people shun the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because of where it got it’s start.  From a 14 year old boy, at the time, who saw a vision of God and Jesus Christ and who told him not to join any church because none were the true church.  Now, if you believe your church, let’s say you are catholic, is the true church then you would have some trouble swallowing this wouldn’t you.  But as I have explored, pondered, studied and questioned this first vision, I have asked the same question as Joseph Smith did.  What church is the true church, is it my church I belong to or is it another church I haven’t found?  My answer has always been, there hasn’t been a true church on this earth since Jesus has left, most churches only have just a small piece of what Jesus’ church was like.  Think of it, the church that Jesus had on earth; his true church, as a sheet of glass.  Now when Jesus was crucified and returned to live with our Heavenly Father what happened to the church?  Like any sheet of glass when you drop it, it breaks.  The breaking off of the church was when Jesus died.  People took their piece of shattered glass and said I have the church.  Some has small pieces, some had large pieces, some even took  very small pieces and tried gluing them together to make a whole bigger piece.  Have I lost you yet? 
Maybe here is a better example.  Think of the…naw I am not going to use individual church names, so think of church A as a vase that has been glued together.  Somewhere, when the vase broke, some pieces were lost.  But the owner, or creator of that church, put the vase together with 10 missing pieces.  Church B had only 5 missing pieces but church D has 20 missing pieces.  They did their best to fix the vase, maybe even putting replacement pieces in the place of the missing pieces.
Okay where was I going with this?  My mind is working a million miles an hour. Now how do I justify thinking the way I was thinking?  Well it starts to show in the letters that the Apostils, who were still alive at the time, were writing to the churches.  Yes he was teaching them new things but at the same time he was correcting the error of their ways.  So already they were starting to stray away from the true church.  Coming back to now days: I think some churches out there have bits and pieces of the truth, some have larger pieces, some have smaller, and some have very bent pieces.  It just all goes back to man’s interpretation of the word. I’m not saying I know the word, in fact I know little of the Bible.  I haven’t read it cover to cover, but I can say I am kind of, sort of, reading the Old Testament. (I just get bored with it, that it’s self is a different topic.) But what I have read goes hand in hand with what Mormonism believes in. 
For example:  God makes it very clear for Moses to build a temple, or tabernacle.  And there are chapters of how to build it and how to sow the clothes, the tapestry, and how to anoint one’s self.  Has anyone really questioned why God would allow Moses to write such a long detailed account?  I have and I have also questioned why the LDS are so into their temples.  And one day it hit me.  Duh!!! So those of you who know the Mormon temples are sacred.  SACRED not secret. In the front of the temple it says “House of the Lord”.  We truly believe, as in the days of Moses, that our temples are the house of the Lord.  That is why we keep them Sacred and only allow worthy members to enter it.  After all the Temple is the Lords house and he has stated that he doesn’t allow any unclean person to enter into his house. What other churches out there put such a grand emphasis on temples like the LDS do?  There are other things also that I just can’t think of right now.
Another reason why I choose to stay Mormon is the fact that we believe in the Plan of Salvation.  When I lost my mom back when I was twelve, and it hurt so much.  I haven’t had anything happen that has hurt that much.  But I am very grateful of what the church believes in and that I have a chance to see my mom again when I leave this world. 
 I think the number one reason why I still believe in what the LDS believe in is, every other church that I have attended does not have the same spirit as our church does.  I can truly fell the Spirit in church & meetings.  The Spirit whispers to me this is true.  This is the church I belong to.  Mormon = me.

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