Jan – Page 6 – What Do Mormons Believe?

The Abrahamic Covenant

Covenant: A two-way promise, a conditional agreement.

About 4,000 years ago, the Lord made a covenant with a shepherd named Abram. He promised Abram that he would have a particular land to live on, that he would have posterity as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, and that through him the nations of the earth would be blessed. In order to get these great blessings, Abram had to carry the gospel to the earth through bearing the priesthood of God, and live righteously.

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So Abram agreed to this covenant (of course), and his name was changed to Abraham. Eventually he had a son named Isaac and the Lord renewed this same covenant with Isaac—he would inherit the land promised to his father, he would have children as numerous as the sands of the sea and through him would come salvation for the earth. Isaac also received the Priesthood and the commission to preach the gospel. He had twin sons, Esau and Jacob, and the covenant was renewed with Jacob. Finally, with Jacob we see some major posterity. He had 12 sons and one daughter. His sons were Reuben, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Simeon, Levi, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Joseph and Benjamin. Each of these sons bore lots of children, and they had children and they had children (as it always happens) and eventually they were so numerous that the Egyptians enslaved them to keep them from taking control of the kingdom. So this is where Moses comes in, and he leads them out of Egypt to “the promised land”, as in the land promised to their fathers.

Eventually, the children of Israel were separated, and then scattered. They drifted into anonymity through intermarriages, and abandonment of their traditions and religion. The house of Judah stayed pretty cohesive and defined by their covenant, which is why the Jews are known as a chosen people. But Judah was only one of the 12 brothers—the people of Joseph, of Dan, Levi, Asher, etc. are all “chosen” as well. (When we talk of being “chosen” we are talking of their great potential because of the covenant made with their ancestors–not that they are automatically saved).

This covenant really drives the Old Testament narrative. God promised this group of people some special blessings if they remain faithful to Him. He followed through with His promise throughout the generations. We believe that He continues to seek out the children of the House of Israel. Even if they don’t know who they are, He does, and His promise is just as valid with them as it was with the descendants of Israel in Moses’ time. The earth is literally swarming with Israelites, and they have the promise of eternal blessings – land, posterity and priesthood power.

We don’t all need to move to the land of Canaan to claim our blessings, of course (there are enough people claiming it right now anyway, so stay put). This covenant extends into the next life. We are promised a place in heaven (land), an eternal increase of spiritual children (posterity), and priesthood power to act in God’s name. We are promised Eternal Life, or life like God and with God. What we have to do in return is live righteously and spread the gospel throughout the world.

So how does the LDS church figure in to this narrative? We’re the last chapter. Our missionaries are working all over the world sharing the gospel, teaching and baptizing people who are inheritors of this covenant. This is the spiritual gathering of Israel—they reconnect with God through the covenants of baptism and the ordinances of the temple. God knows who they are and where they are, and even if a person isn’t a direct descendant of Israel, if they accept the covenant, they are adopted into the house of Israel as if they had been born there.

So, are you a member of the house of Israel? You probably are. God has some special blessings ready for you if you want them. To find out about making covenants with God, contact your local LDS missionaries (or let them in the door when they come around…)

Coverup?

Q. Why does the Church not tell people that the Prophet Smith “translated” part of the [Book of Mormon] by looking into a hat using a seer stone? An Elder of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles wrote about this in the Ensign [the Church’s monthly English-language publication], but why don’t missionaries tell the whole story of the translation? It seems like the Church is hiding something.

I understand how you must feel — betrayed to learn about something that seems so odd for the first time, but it really isn’t that odd. One of the best ways to make Mormonism out to be cultish and strange is to take facts completely out of their context–just leave them standing there naked and defenseless. Learning about the process of translation is the best way to understand this fact in its context. nelson

Elder Russell M. Nelson gave a great talk about the process of translation at the Missionary Training Center, and he spoke about this process of Joseph figuring out how to translate.

It does seem supernatural, but so are most of the amazing stories in the scriptures–Moses parting the Red Sea, Joshua crossing the River Jordan, marching around Jericho seven times and the walls collapsing, David slaying Goliath, Samson killing 2,000 Philistines, Christ healing people–himself rising from the dead! etc. We come to expect supernatural things from our God and His servants. Joseph’s use of a seer stone or the Urim and Thummim to translate fits in with all the other miracles that have been documented in the scriptures.

The Church’s curriculum department must meet the needs of all members. This means everyone from the just-baptized and uninitiated to the seasoned scholars. It’s a tall order to serve milk to some and meat to others, so what generally happens is everyone mainly gets milk. I think the Church prefers that members who are prepared to get more carnivorous in their pursuit of Church history and deeper doctrines learn it through independent study. But the information is readily available to those who want to know. I searched “seer stone” on lds.org and it came up with a list of links with conference talks, manuals, explanations, scriptural citations and other information.

The Church isn’t trying to hide anything–if it isn’t spoon fed into your mouth each week at church, seek it out on your own through prayer, scripture study and other resources (like lds.org). The Lord will readily teach a searching mind (see Matthew 7:7).

What Do Mormons Believe? – Repentance

Several months ago, my toddler son found a lot of joy in ripping the internet cable out of the wall. Not just the cable, mind you, but the entire faceplate with the cable still attached. I started having him sit on my lap with his arms forcibly folded right after he did it. He totally hated it, so I knew it was working. After a half-dozen “time outs” (that lasted like 5 seconds each), he stopped pulling the cable out of the wall.

Do I remind him of how he used to pull the cord out of the wall? Do I continue to punish him retroactively for how he was disobedient before he figured it out?

Heavens no. I’m just glad that he is catching on to things and becoming a better, smarter, more obedient boy. Because that is the reason why he was born–to learn these kinds of things.

In fact, that is the reason that all of us were born. Our Heavenly Father sent us down here so that we could learn about how the world works, how relationships are made strong, how our bodies operate, and how to have faith in Him and serve His children. We all make mistakes–sometimes because we don’t know any better, and sometimes even if we do. But that is part of the program. Our whole earth experience is involved in this learning process, and Heavenly Father has given us a lot of help to know what is appropriate and what is not.

Mistakes do count against us, though. So God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to take upon Him all of the sins and mistakes, sicknesses and temptations, suffering and injustices of the whole earth so that we can ask Him for help and forgiveness when we mess up. Since Christ already paid for our mistakes, we can be made clean again through Him. It is such an amazing and merciful plan. But we have to do our part. We have to repent.

Repentance has kind of a dour connotation. Like dressing up in sackcloth and ashes,

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flagellating ourselves (or hitting our faces with boards),

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hating our mortality and never forgetting how lowly and evil we are. This is how we feel we should react when we’ve messed up royally, but that isn’t repentance. That’s how Satan wants us to feel, so that we never get around to the actual repenting. Think of my son and the cable faceplate. That is how God sees us. When we do those really stupid things, He corrects us. Sometimes we are thicker than we should be and it takes a long time to realize that what we are doing isn’t good. But when we figure it out, what we need to do is:

1) Recognize that we have been wrong. Ask Christ for His atoning power to make it right.
2) Change our actions. Ask Christ for the strength everyday to make the change.
3) Make it right, if we have wronged someone else. Ask Christ how to do this–He suffered their pains (perhaps inflicted by you) as well as your pains.
4) Promise not to do it again and then not do it again. Ask Christ for help all along the way.

It is a simple process, but it can be extremely difficult. Addictions, habits learned through the years, and even doing things that go against the natural man’s tendencies have to be pulled out by the root. Its hard. But it is possible, everything is possible with Christ’s help. He’s already overcome it, so He knows how to help you do the same.

It’s just a process of changing ourselves to become better. God wants us to be better. He wants us to figure it out. He wants us to be healthy and at peace with our neighbors, ourselves and Him. And He wants us to learn this as quickly as possible. And once we figure it out and change, God doesn’t keep reminding us of it. He doesn’t say, “Well yes, you are sober now, but remember how you used to drink and drink until you couldn’t even stand up?” He says, “Well done. You’ve figured that out. I’m proud of you. Now to the next thing.” So we should forgive ourselves too.Repentance is really one of the most merciful and kind blessings that our Heavenly Father has given to us. He allows us to change. He expects us to become better and to really (eventually) keep the commandment that Christ gave to us to “Be ye therefore perfect.” He has got everything in place through His Son’s sacrifice to make it possible for us to move on past our mistakes and be forgiven, if we can just be obedient and not fight the “time outs” He gives us.

Truth

Q. I’ll throw a quick question at you. How can you claim your church tells “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” if historically they have changed their beliefs because of social pressure? (i.e. polygamy, blacks receiving the priesthood, and even changing the Book of Mormon from “cursed” to whatever they changed it too.)

Good question. The essence of what you’re saying is “if you say you belong to the TRUE church of Jesus Christ, then why isn’t that truth unchanging?” Right?

We’ll get to the “social pressure” in a minute.

Well, the thing is, God commands and His servants obey. Sometimes God tells His servants to do one thing, and then tells someone else to do the opposite. Both things are commandments, though, and both things are right in their context.

Examples?

How about when Jesus came and overturned the ENTIRE system of Mosaic law? It must have really made some people mad when Christ started saying,
“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time. . .
don’t commit adultery,
don’t kill,
divorce is okay with the proper documents,
don’t swear by your own self–swear oaths in the Lord’s name,
an eye for an eye, and tooth for a tooth,
love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

But I say unto you . . .
don’t even lust,
don’t even get angry,
divorce isn’t okay unless the reason is fornication,
don’t swear oaths at all,
resist not evil and turn the other cheek,
love your enemies.

Talk about changing policy!

You would respond (as I would) that it was the necessary evolution of the religion–that Jesus came to FULFILL the Law of Moses, as part of the grand design of the earth and our salvation. You would say that it is God’s will that Jesus came and taught us the Higher Law. I agree. I also agree that God can keep doing that. When we tell God that He can’t keep giving us higher instruction, we damn ourselves.

How about the revelation that Peter received on the housetop that he should start preaching the gospel to Gentiles? That shook some people to the core. It was such a departure from the way it had been before! But God’s timing was (of course) infallible and the church grew.

You ask about changing beliefs because of social pressure, which I think is an important point to examine. Plural marriage was introduced in the church by Joseph Smith and then discontinued by Wilford Woodruff, the 4th president of the Church. This was the scene in the Church after the Edmunds-Tucker Act was passed in 1887:

“The church was disincorporated, the Perpetual Emigration Fund Company was dissolved, and all property belonging to the Church, with the exception of buildings used exclusively for religious worship, was escheated to the government. Hundreds of men who had contracted plural marriages were heavily fined, and imprisoned. All persons who could not subscribe to a test oath which was provided especially for those who practiced or believed in the practice of plural marriage, were disfranchised [lost political power, voting, etc.]”. (Clark, James R., ed. Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 5:320. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965-1975).

It seems to me that if social pressure was going to sway him to change course, he would have done it before the Church fell down around him.

Woodruff said, “I should have let all the temples go out of our hands; I should have gone to prison myself, and let every other man go there, had not the God of heaven commanded me to do what I did do; and when the hour came that I was commanded to do that, it was all clear to me. I went before the Lord, and I wrote what the Lord told me to write”

The same kind of scenario was repeated with the Priesthood being made available to all worthy male members of the Church. The fact is, not until God said go, did the church go. This is not to say that the Church didn’t uphold the Civil Rights movement, or believe that all people should be given equal rights. This just means that God hadn’t told the Prophet to extend the Priesthood to everyone yet (see the Peter example, above). But it was time to extend it to a broader population. He still hasn’t given the Priesthood to everyone, though. Women still don’t hold the Priesthood and there is plenty of social pressure currently to make that happen, but it hasn’t. And it most likely won’t. The Church doesn’t do things because “everyone is doing it”. We do things when God commands.

So I end this post with a question to you: People may accuse us of “flip flopping”, but can you find a church that is honestly more consistent with the church that Christ formed when He was on the earth? With prophets, apostles, teachers, priests, elders, missionaries, miracles, healing, continued revelations, fasting, tithing, temples, ordinances and priesthood ordained from God?

The only way to really know is to pray about it.

Women and the Priesthood

Q. What is the LDS position on women as priests/pastors/leaders/whatever they are called?

woman-preacher Well, the Church’s position is that women are very capable leaders. The women’s organization (Relief Society) is led by 4 women (president, 1st counselor, 2nd counselor, secretary) with the same organization in the Primary (children’s classes). Women also lead the teenage girls (Young Women Organization) in the same fashion. Women give sermons for the whole church, and they teach Sunday school lessons. However, the main body of the congregation (called a ward, or a branch) is led by men.

As far as women being priests, pastors, or whatevers, that just isn’t women’s job. Okay, that sounds sexist, but it isn’t, just hear me out (and know that I am a woman).

See, God isn’t running a democracy and He doesn’t have to give His power to everyone to be fair. He is running a theocracy; and it works well because He knows everything, understands what we need, and is completely Good.

So He has assigned the worthy men the role of carrying his authority to preside over the church, give Priesthood blessings, and serve as God himself would serve. This is really good for men, in general. It gives them the opportunity and responsibility to take care of others, serve, and become selfless. Men sometimes have a hard time looking outside themselves, and with this responsibility solely on their shoulders, they are solely responsible to God for how they do. If they don’t do what they are supposed to bad things can happen. That’s how apostasy comes about.

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He gave women an equally responsible job–they are in charge of raising their children to be God-loving, respectful, and well-balanced. This is a huge job: like the Priesthood, they are accountable to God for how they do; and, like the priesthood, the responsibility helps them take care of others, serve, and become selfless. If they don’t follow through with their duties, and their children grow up without knowing God, or keeping His commandments, bad things can happen. That’s why the earth was flooded.

Both men and women are heading for salvation, but since our natures are so different, God has given us different responsibilities to round out our weaknesses and accentuate our strengths. That’s why God’s theocracy works–everyone in His kingdom is working toward the same goal and He has tailored their roles to get them there.