Author: Contributing Author

Question Box: Prayer and Salvation

Q. Do mormons believe in salvation? Do they believe in asking God to come into your heart? Who do they pray to?

Yes, Mormons do believe in salvation. We believe that mankind may be saved through Jesus Christ and may live in the presence of God provided that we are prepared for it.

Asking God to come into your heart is a valid request but it must be noted that God has a physical body and so cannot actually dwell in our hearts. Intead, He sends the Holy Ghost to comfort us and accompany us.

Mormons pray to God, the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ.

Prophecy and Stewardship

Q: will we be caught up before the mark of the beast. I have the gift of prophesy I’ve been having dreams just wondering, something is going to happen in 5 years they told me, and were going to have over the next 5 years alot of calamities,or whatever.

The prophet Joel saw that prophecies and dreams would happen in the last days when he said, “I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. (Joel 2:28)” It’s the scope of such revelations that I’d like to talk about.

It’s true that the gift of prophesy can be given to any worthy individual, one must be careful giving these propehecies as doctrine to other people. The Lord does not run His kingdom based on revelations to one man, telling his neighbor to do something. The kingdom of God is a house of order and everything is done in order. Commandments and divine guidance are recieved and given under the proper stewardship. An individual may recieve revelation for him or herself. A husband and wife may receive revelation for their family. Bishops for their wards, stake presidents for their stakes, and the prophet is chosen to receive revelation for all the world.

At each of these levels, the revelation is given to someone who has the responsibility to care for someone else. Even then, it must be given righteously, as spoken in D&C 121:41-42.

No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—

For example, if a person were visit with his or her bishop concerning a personal problem, the bishop is authorized to receive revelation to counsel that individual. A bishop of another ward or a former bishop cannot recieve such revelation. That person can then receive personal witness that the bishop’s counsel is of God by praying to Him.

So concerning your dreams, I cannot judge how it may affect others but I can encourage you to study out the matter in scripture and in prayer and find what is required of you to prepare for these calamities.

Mormon Mommy Blogs

I read a recent letter on salon.com last week entitled Why I can’t stop reading Mormon housewife blogs by Emily Matchar. She is a self-described atheist feminist career woman with no real interest in converting to Mormonism and no plans to settle down to start a family, but there was something in these “Mormon Mommy blogs” (a blog genre that features domestic arts, child-rearing, and stories from home life) that drew her to pore over them with great interest. The reason she gave for this reading addiction was that they are “weirdly uplifting.”

I found her article interesting for two reasons:

  1. As a Mormon with many Mormon friends, I am subscribed to a couple dozen Mormon Mommy blogs on Google Reader to keep up with the lives of my family and friends. As a consequence, under Google Reader’s “Recommended items” tab, I get referred to a handful more of these Mormon Mommy blogs every day: pictures of perfect strangers, children I have never met, stories of their MLK day outings, etc. Google thinks I’m looking for more like these, but I’m actually not interested in strangers’ personal lives, and I don’t typically see anything particularly magical in them.
  2. Ms. Matchar sees something uniquely appealing in these online scrapbooks. Something otherworldly. As she says, “Enter the Mormon bloggers, with their picture-perfect catalog lives. It is possible to be happy, they seem to whisper. We love our homes. We love our husbands.” It’s an angle on traditional womanhood that it seems was never examined in her years of modernist training.

I hadn’t considered her point of view until I read her article. You see, for me, these blogs represent reality. This is more or less home life as I lived it. I had a mom who stayed home to raise her kids. There were creative hand-sewn Halloween costumes, homemade quilts, sit-down breakfasts and dinners, and brown paper lunch sacks adorned with cleverly-coded nicknames for each of us 6 kids.

I had never really thought about a life that didn’t include some aspects of gardening, potty training, or cooking. Even as a man I have always planned on getting involved to some degree in domesticity as a husband and father. For me, the home life is the whole point!

I can certainly understand the predicament career women are in. Many of them need jobs, and they should be paid equally for equal work. A career is a laudable achievement for anyone and I’m pleased with how far our society has come in breaking such barriers. I would just caution anyone who carries the mindset that careers are the secret to ultimate joy and that men have selfishly reserved them for themselves through the centuries. I recently earned a masters degree and started my own career in earnest and…

…it’s not all that glamorous or exciting. It’s a good job; it suits me, and I’m certainly happy to have the income, the security and the professional challenge, but I don’t think I would be fulfilled if I made that the attribute that defined me. My job is really more of a means to my true end: a happy, healthy family life. And I believe it’s that attitude; that priority, so common in Mormonism, which fascinates Ms. Matchar.

The Sons and Daughters of God

While studying the scriptures recently, one particular point was brought to my attention that I would like to share with you today.  In the book of Revelation it is often mentioned that in the midst of all the plagues, destruction, and ruin, that there will be those that overcome the world.

“He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels” (Rev. 3:5).

“He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son” (Rev. 21:7).

There are numerous other references to those great people who were clothed in white, who praised God and who were blessed by Him.  What stuck out to me, however, was the statement, “and he shall be my son.”  In a previous article titled, “Is Jesus the only son of God?” on this site, the nature of our relationship between God the Father and Jesus Christ was explained.  Our opportunity to become sons and daughters of God was listed as the third point.  This is the entire reason behind our beliefs and the purpose of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  As the apostle John wrote, “Now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).  To become a son of God, in this sense, is to be like our Savior.  This is our ultimate goal for this life and all that we do ought to progress us further in pursuing that goal.

That goal, however, is impossible to achieve alone. In and of ourselves, we do not merit anything remotely approaching a return to our Father in Heaven or to be called sons of God. In spite of everything we could ever do, our mistakes and imperfections prevent us from ever returning to our God. He did not send us out from His presence for the purpose of losing us though. His perfect plan accounted for our weakness by including the infinite sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

It is through Christ’s suffering in Gesthemene and His death on the cross that He became our advocate to the Father.  Without Christ, we would have to accept all the consequences of our actions, that includes being forever separated from God.  Christ paid the price of justice on our behalf, making us debtors to Him and no longer to sin.  Sin would condemn us forever, but Christ has set His own conditions that allow us to obtain mercy.  Those conditions that He gave us are simple enough. He wants us to give Him our will, the only thing we really have of ourselves to give Him. He asked us to believe in His name, love Him, keep His commandments, enter into covenants, and to repent.

To fulfill those requirements He has given us, it first requires faith on our part.  Faith in His name and in His word causes us to follow His teachings, repenting when necessary.  Repentance leads to baptism which prepares an individual to receive the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost provides the guidance we need to further emulate Christ, particularly in serving our fellow man.

When baptized, an individual makes certain covenants or agreements with the Lord.  We agree to take His name upon ourselves and to always remember Him.  Taking His name upon us is a major step in becoming a son or daughter of God.  It means to act in His behalf and do as He would do.  If we are true and faithful to His name throughout our lives, we will become like He is.  We will be like our Father, just as we are commanded to be (Matt 5:48).

This is a great truth that has sustained me in this life.  We have infinite potential!  Even the lowest, meanest person on earth is spiritually a son of God and can become like Him.  We should all take strength in this knowledge and be faithful to it.  The greatest blessings of Heaven and Earth are available to the faithful.

Behold I say unto you, that whosoever has heard the words of the prophets, yea, all the holy prophets who have prophesied concerning the coming of the Lord—I say unto you, that all those who have hearkened unto their words, and believed that the Lord would redeem his people, and have looked forward to that day for a remission of their sins, I say unto you, that these are his seed, or they are the heirs of the kingdom of God.  For these are they whose sins he has borne; these are they for whom he has died, to redeem them from their transgressions. And now, are they not his seed? -Abinadi (Mosiah 15:11-12)

It’s not on my calendar…

Q. What scripture tells us that no one knows the final coming of the Lord not even the angels in heaven?  – jim

Jim, I believe you’re referring to Matthew 24:36

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Even today, we still don’t know the day and hour, but Jesus did instruct us to be watchful and ready.  He compared the signs of the second coming to the leaves of a fig tree that signal the coming of summer.  Those who prepare themselves spiritually will be able to recognize the events leading up to His coming.  Others will be caught off guard as when a thief breaks into a home.  Even if we aren’t counting down the days, we can prepare ourselves for it.  We can be ready.