children of God – What Do Mormons Believe?

Belonging in Heaven

Q. What happens if I feel like I don’t belong in the Celestial Kingdom?

A. If my friend*, Johnny Depp, invited me to a red carpet event, I would feel out of place. Even if everyone knew I was there with him, and that I could be there–I would still be completely uncomfortable. Even if I tried to blend in with a designer dress and shellacked hair, I would feel like everyone knew that I was an imposter. I’m a housewife, for goodness sake! In a similar way, in order to feel like we belong in heaven, we have to be worthy and we have to have confidence in our presence there.

The first obstacle is that we aren’t worthy. We are mortal, God is immortal. We are flawed, He is perfect. We are dull, His glory would blind us. We are soiled with sin and hatred. He is clean and full of love. We truly don’t belong there. And if it was just up to us, we would never get there.

For this very reason, God sent His Son to bridge the chasm separating us from our Creator. Jesus Christ can take us to immortality, perfection and sinless glory. He can make us heavenly. It is up to us to accept His help. That’s it. To be humble in acknowledging our utter dependence on Him in taking us from our current state to feeling comfortable in His presence.

There is no sin so bad that He can’t atone for it. He can take the blackest soul and wash it clean–if we will let Him. He forgave Zeezrom after Zeezrom’s arguments resulted in a group of women and children being killed by fire. (Alma 14). Surely, you have done less than that. zeezrom

He forgave Paul after Paul assisted some others in stoning Stephen to death. Stephen was Christ’s own apostle. Surely, you have done less than that. He wants to help us and forgive us. That’s what He is all about.

And while Christ’s cleansing sacrifice does fit us for heaven, we can still feel a complete lack of confidence in our presence there. Johnny might walk around so graciously, introducing me to everyone, but I would still be shrinking and sweating. There is a scripture that talks exactly about this issue, D&C 121:45-46

45. Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.

46. The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.

This tells us how to acquire the confidence necessary for us to stand in the presence of the Lord (without shrinking or sweating).

1) Be charitable towards everyone. Be kind, watch for ways to help those around you. Pretend you are an angel, always on an errand of the Lord. Not only towards strangers, but members of your congregation at church (the household of faith).

2) Let virtue garnish your thoughts unceasingly. Think good, clean thoughts. Be happy and optimistic. Be grateful for things you have. Virtuous thoughts are in line with the commandments. Follow the teachings of the prophets, and look for ways to be obedient to the counsel that God has given us.

If you live this kind of loving, happy life, it makes you a loving person–a person like Christ. You start to feel more comfortable around the valiant. In my church meeting on Sunday, the speaker talked about people who don’t want to be thought of as too “churchy”. They like to stay up on the latest trends, and give their devotion half-heartedly on Sundays so that they aren’t seen as the archetypal Molly Mormon. They are cooler than that. But what usually happens when a person tries to keep one foot in the world and the other in the Kingdom of God, is that they get pulled toward the world and away from the church. He observed that even if “churchy” people seem overzealous, heaven is full of “churchy” people. And the more you get to know them and become like them, the more familiar heaven will be.

Even if you don’t feel like you would fit in there now, you are made of heavenly stuff. It is your eternal heritage and your eternal inheritance. The whole plan is designed to ensure that we return to our Father in Heaven–better, stronger, and smarter than we were when we left. Have confidence in that plan, too.

*I feel like Johnny Depp and I could be friends, given the chance.

Modest are Hottest

“Modest are hottest” was a popular saying among the young men at my high school. They used the slogan to encourage the young women to live and dress in a way that showed that they respected themselves and those with whom they associated. My girlfriends and I totally bought in to what those guys were advocating because they were the guys who were worth being around.

Modest Prom Dresses

This was especially true when we would help each other get ready for school dances and other group dates and social events. In accordance with the standards in the For the Strength of Youth Pamphlet, we didn’t wear strapless gowns, low cut necklines, belly shirts, short skirts or short shorts, etc. Instead, we covered our shoulders and cleavage, and avoided tight-fitting and sheer clothing. This freed us up to dance or do other activities and enjoy the company of our dates and friends. We cared about looking fashionable, but also emphasized being comfortable and sufficiently covered.

I loved being modestly dressed on dates in high school because I didn’t have to constantly readjust my outfit. I could simply go from mini-golf to dinner to the dance without worrying about exposing myself. It kept the dates fun and engaging without any embarrassing wardrobe malfunctions.

While it is sometimes difficult to find modest clothing, it is definitely possible. There are all sorts of ways to modify current fashion trends to keep them cute and modest. We have to be creative sometimes! There are some trends, however, that will require personal judgement on whether or not it is acceptable. In those cases, consult with your friends, parents and the Lord to know if following the style would measure up to His standards.

While these guidelines seem targeted mostly at women, men should also keep from wearing clothing that is too tight or too baggy. We have also been counseled by the Latter-day prophets to stay away from tattoos, extreme hairstyles and piercings (one modest pair of earrings for women is fine). Modesty in speech is also important. We are counseled to avoid swearing, gossiping and inappropriate jokes and anecdotes.

5 Browns

I’ve been out of high school for several years now, but the idea that “modest are hottest” has stayed with me. I have found that dressing modestly helps my dates feel more respected and at ease. They are able to focus on our conversations rather than being distracted or tempted by my body. Being modest keeps me and my friends from objectifying ourselves and giving in to the worldly notion that guys want slutty girls. We know that we are intelligent, humorous and have great personalities–so we put that on display instead!

I dress and speak modestly out of respect for myself, the people I’m around and for God, who created my body in the first place.
See Prophetic Prophets for more on modern counsel

Does God Know Me?

One of the most amazing blessings that came to me when I was a missionary for the LDS Church was feeling an intense amount of love for perfect strangers. When I had been in one place only 3 weeks, I remember having this epiphony: “God knows everyone! He knows their problems, He helps them in their lives. Everyone is interesting. Everyone has a story and a path.” I think in my 21 year old selfish brain, I had really only considered that I and my family and friends were important to God, because that was all that I knew. I couldn’t fathom that He would know everyone in the entire world. It was enough that He took care of several dozen people in my little universe.

But as I committed to doing His work for a year and a half, meeting with people who were strangers to me, but beloved to Him, it became so clear to me that He really does know everyone. And He doesn’t just know you. He loves you. I was humbled to feel that love on many occasions, it was perfect and gentle and caring. I know that it came from God because these were people that I didn’t know–I had nothing in common with them, no ideas of becoming life-long friends–they were literally strangers. But the love that I felt for them was powerful and it made me want to hold them tightly and take away all their problems. Like a parent. Like a loving, all-powerful heavenly parent.

If you are curious to know if God knows you too, invite the LDS missionaries over for a sincere talk. Be open to them and they will be open to you. Ask them to pray with you about this question and you will know, from the source, that He does know you. You will see the love reflected in their eyes that God has for you, and you may feel the same sort of compassion and love for them. It all comes from the same source. And then you’ve got to realize that if God loves these two little 19 year old boys from southern Idaho who haven’t seen much of anything in the world yet, He loves you too.

Question Box: self-harm

Question: I was curious if we believe in self harm (cutting and slapping yourself) and I was also curious to know if we believe in having eating disorders?

A: I don’t fully understand the question. I think we believe that these are problems and we should be treating our bodies as sacred gifts from our Heavenly Father given to us to house our spirits while we are on this earth. So…don’t do self-harming. Keep your body healthy and strong so you can serve others and your Heavenly Father. We understand that these problems do exist, and we fully support getting therapy or other needed help. We don’t look down on those that struggle with these problems, but we care about them and encourage them to get the help they need to overcome these problems. If you’re not sure where to stop, visit your Bishop for some advice and counsel.

How Can A Belief in Jesus Christ Help Me?

Faith, or a belief, in Jesus Christ gives purpose to our lives: “Our purpose in this life is to have joy and prepare to return to God’s presence.” (A Guide to Missionary Service – Preach My Gospel, pg. 50) We do this by following Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our great Exemplar. His words and actions teach us how to have happy, productive lives. As we learn and keep His commandments, we become more like Him and prepare to return to God’s presence and enjoy eternal happiness. “One cannot study about Jesus Christ and His teachings without being affected and changed for good. As you develop a testimony of the Savior, you want to become like Him and to follow Him.” (Ronald T. Halverson, Ensign, Nov. ’04, 33)