prayer – Page 5 – What Do Mormons Believe?

Ye Receive No Witness Until…

We (on this website) have emphasized the role of prayer in learning truth from God, but I must admit we have been leaving something out.

Some may get the impression that if any question arises, a good Mormon will kneel, ask God, and then ‘pop!’ the answer appears in their heads. This approach does work sometimes:

I knew a guy named Seth that couldn’t for the life of him remember the name of an essay he was trying to explain to me. He was agonizing over it. You know the feeling — it’s on the tip of your tongue… I suggested he pray about it. At first he thought that was a silly idea. Then he went into another room and came out a few minutes later, beaming. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” Seth said triumphantly, “I said a prayer and it just came to me.”

This process is very similar to the scientific method: identify a problem, devise a test (prayer), perform the test, document the results, and adjust your actions to fit your new knowledge. The issue is that sometimes God wants to see (or wants us to see) how well we will adjust our actions before he gives us the answer. For example, it makes little sense for Him to affirm that Jesus is the Christ if you don’t intend to ever become His disciple.

The Book of Mormon puts it like this, “…I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.” Ether 12:6

leap-of-faith

Thus, the action comes before the answer. This is called a ‘leap of faith,’ and shows God a token amount of trust in Him and His messengers. Elder David A. Bednar, an Apostle in the Church, gave this illustration:

Recall how the Israelites came to the river Jordan and were promised the waters would part, and they would be able to cross over on dry ground. Interestingly, the waters did not part as the children of Israel stood on the banks of the river waiting for something to happen; rather, the soles of their feet were wet before the water parted. The faith of the Israelites was manifested in the fact that they walked into the water before it parted. They walked into the river Jordan with a future-facing assurance of things hoped for. As the Israelites moved forward, the water parted, and as they crossed over on dry land, they looked back and beheld the evidence of things not seen. In this episode, faith as assurance led to action and produced the evidence of things not seen that were true. (Seek Learning by Faith, David A. Bednar)

So, when you ask God if the Book of Mormon is true, do it with real intent. Read it. Invest some time in it. Show the Lord that you are willing to step into the baptismal font if this really is His church. These are the prayers that receive mighty answers.

‘You must learn to walk to the edge of the light, and then a few steps into the darkness; then the light will appear and show the way before you’
– Harold B. Lee, 11th president and prophet of the LDS Church

What Do Mormons Believe? – Prayer

Are we allowed to ask God for things? What can we ask for?

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
James 1:5

Looks like we’re promised wisdom if we ask for it. He’s giving it out liberally. You may even ask him specific questions about life, relationships, a verse from the scriptures, etc. (Alma 34: 24-25). When He says He won’t ‘upbraid,’ it means he won’t scold you for asking.

“Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”
Matthew 7:7-10

Hmm. So if we want something to eat he won’t get all indignant on us and take us out to the tool shed for asking for it.

Some people are afraid to pray. I call it the Monkey’s Paw effect. In the short story by W. W. Jacobs, the monkey’s paw granted its owner £200 to pay for his house, but it cost him his son’s life. The moral is loud and clear: be careful what you wish for. But, when it comes to our Father, we know He doesn’t play games like that. He will not give us a stone when we ask for a loaf of bread. If we ask for something we shouldn’t (like any good father), He will help us understand why, rather than scold us.

What Do Mormons Believe? – The Book of Mormon

bom The Book of Mormon is remarkable.

The book is filled with amazing histories, noble people, and fascinating doctrinal insights, but the aspects I’ve thought about most are two promises, one at the beginning, and one at the end:

1) From the Introduction :

“[The Book of Mormon] puts forth the doctrines of the gospel, outlines the plan of salvation, and tells men what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come.”
(emphasis added)

It isn’t just about some far away pearly gate. We can have peace now. And those who read the book do feel peace. It isn’t a conspicuous leap into serenity. It’s gradual, so you have to pay careful attention.

I recall one particular week I got busy and every single morning I overlooked my usual study of the Book of Mormon. By Friday I was in a notably sour mood, and when I went to give a friend some spiritual advice nothing came. I couldn’t think. The well I was used to drawing from had gone dry.

2) From Moroni 10:3-5

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

Countless sermons have been given, dissecting every word of these three verses, but I just want to point out the obvious:

This book claims to be scripture; it claims that holy prophets transcribed it under God’s inspiration.
God knows whether this claim is true or false.
It matters to Him: if it’s false he’ll want to warn you against it; if it’s true he’ll want you to read it.
He will wait for it to become important enough for you to ask Him yourself.
He will give you the answer by the power of the Holy Ghost.

This promise has stood against the test of my experience. For two solid years I introduced hundreds of strangers to the book and pointed them to this promise. A large proportion did not read it at all, and fewer people prayed about it. But out of every single person who did pray, 100% told me that they felt the answer was yes.

You can find out too. Get a copy for yourself. You can order a free copy online here, or read the entirety of it online here. You can even download mp3’s of the audio book here.

Blind Obedience

Some people worry about our strong adherence to the directions from our prophet. One of our biggest mottoes is “Follow the Prophet.” We Mormons are known for our strict abstinence from coffee, alcohol, smoking, and premarital sex, and all these rules came through these prophets. I’m glad people worry about us because they worry with good reason. There are many examples of leaders in the world abusing their power and garnering support with slogans, while repressing genuine education.

So, are we being blindly obedient? We could just as easily bring up blind disobedience. The term “blind” here indicates that a decision is made with little or no knowledge on the subject, especially in the context of doing something just because we were told to do it. We Mormons don’t believe in this. We are taught to heed the words of the prophets, but to do this with our eyes wide open. Not all obedience is blind.

We know the reasons that a prophet’s words have greater weight than some Joe off the street. They communicate with God and become His voice on the earth. This whole idea is the crux of the Old Testament and the reason we read it. We listen to and follow the prophet because he knows about the plagues of locusts; because we want to be on the safe side of the Red Sea; because they know what we can do to be truly, honestly happy.

charlton_heston_plays_mosesjpg

Nearly every member of the Church can tell you a story of how obeying the prophet’s direction to pay tithing, or attend the temple, or to fast and pray for a specific purpose has resulted in real, tangible blessings. These Mormons have had personal experiences to urge them into further obedience — it is not blind.

Should a false or misleading message ever be preached from the prophet’s pulpit there are safeguards against it. Every member is encouraged to seek personal answers from God himself to confirm or deny in their own hearts the truth of a prophet’s words. These Mormons are obedient, but they know why.

What Do Mormons Believe? – The Restoration

What is it that makes us different? Why do Mormon missionaries knock on the doors of Christians if they preach the gospel of Christ? It is more than a desire to gather sheep into our flavor of worship.

Since the Garden of Eden the Lord has given us instructions on what we ought to spend our time doing in life. His pattern is to choose a mortal man, call him a prophet, and dispense the information through him. He needs two things: access to truth and authority (priesthood) to preach it. It’s simple and efficient. At least, it is when the people listen to him.

Invariably, the backlash against the prophet leads to a revolt against him and against God. When the prophet is killed, the dispensing of gospel truth is thwarted and the people are left in the dark. We Mormons call this “apostasy.” Fortunately, the Lord has always followed apostasy with a new prophet and a new dispensation, beginning with Adam, then Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Elijah, etc.

Case in point: John the Baptist was called as a prophet to prepare the way for Jesus’ ministry. He and Jesus taught the gospel truth, restored the priesthood power, and organized the Church of Jesus Christ. Jesus called Peter and the other apostles to lead the flock after His departure.

Up to this point you probably feel comfortable. Here comes the primary theological difference between Mormons and most other Christians:

John the Baptist was beheaded, Christ was crucified, and the apostles were rejected and murdered. They who held the authority of the Lord were eliminated and the world became apostate again. This time it lasted for over a millennium, allowing a smattering of false teachings from non-prophet church leaders to creep in.

Reformers such as Martin Luther, John Wycliffe, Roger Williams, and others saw problems in the religions of their days; they did their best to correct them, but lacked the capacity (and the authority) to fully revert to Christ’s original church. They could not authoritatively speak for God, since he had not spoken to them or given them permission, and many of these reformers recognized that fact.

This dark apostasy came to its end when a young man of 14 years prayed in seclusion in a grove of trees in 1820. Joseph Smith was looking for the true church. Not a nice church, or a charismatic church, or a ceremonial church, but the church that God himself directed. As he searched the Bible he read,

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” James 1:5

He felt that if anyone lacked wisdom he did, for what to do he did not know. And unless he could gain more wisdom he would never know. In a grove of trees near his country farmhouse, he knelt and prayed. In his words:

“I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me…

“When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

“My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right…—and which I should join.” Joseph Smith-History 1:16-18

Joseph received an answer from the lips of the Savior himself: That his Church was in apostasy. There were no prophets on the earth and there hadn’t been for over a thousand years.

However, even in these demoralizing words was a message of hope: the apostasy was now broken, and Joseph was receiving direct communication from God. Over the course of Joseph’s life, he was visited by the Lord, and also by other angelic messengers, many more times. He was chosen to be a prophet and through these visitations the priesthood authority was restored. The church was reorganized upon the foundation of apostles and prophets.

Now, we carry this amazing message of hope to all nations of the earth. We are honest in our desire for others to know that the Lord’s work is restored. His successor, Thomas Monson, is the living prophet today. We know it, and we want you to know it too.

How? It’s simple. Pray.

God knows whether this is all true, and I daresay he has an opinion on the matter. Ask him yourself. I have, and so have millions of now-Mormons. You may not receive as glorious a visitation as Joseph did, but he will answer you. Often it comes as a feeling from the Holy Ghost, or an idea you hadn’t thought of. Maybe in a word from a neighbor. Ask and ye shall receive. If you won’t ask, you don’t receive.