What Do Mormons Believe? – Page 29 – "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost."

The Standard of God

I have often found in this wide world, that many people don’t understand the Mormon way of living. This is evident based just on the question, “what can’t Mormons do?” as if restrictions on behavior is something strange. Well, first off, it isn’t to me. Not very much. It isn’t strange to me that I don’t smoke, drink, gamble, cheat, or steal and that I do go to church, pay tithing, read scriptures, stay chaste and so forth. That is the standard by which I live. Everybody has a standard, or guidelines by which they make their decisions. So then, why did I choose my standard? Let me explain it to you.

First and foremost, God has a standard. He has a way of living that He wants for us. He has revealed, and continues to reveal, that way of living to prophets throughout the ages. Through Moses, He instructed the children of Israel to obey a strict set of laws. Jesus Christ instructed the Jews a different (and better) way of living that relied more on developing a good heart that dictates good actions. I don’t doubt that that same Being inspired Buddha, Mohammad or Confucius to teach their respective peoples a better way of living.

Here’s the important part: God does this so that His own children might be happy. That’s right; God gives rules for you to be happy. If He can persuade His children to lift their way of living to a higher level, even on just a single point, it brings Him joy because they are living up to a standard that is naturally better. It isn’t so much that God will punish those who break commandments; the commandments are there to prevent actions that cause damage. If I do action “A” then “B” will be a result. If “B” is good, then God wishes us to do “A,” otherwise He must forbid it.

There are several problems people see with this standard. First, they don’t see beneficial results from supposedly good actions, nor do they see bad results from bad actions. Then they wonder why the standards are there in the first place. Patience. That’s why we believe in personal revelation. We can ask our Heavenly Father if such a thing is for us. After receiving an answer, we trust in that answer and believe that someday, somehow, that trust will be for our good.

Second, many people find themselves not living in harmony with their beliefs. That is, everybody eventually finds themselves where their actions don’t line up with what they know they should be doing. They then have a choice. They could change their actions, or change their beliefs. Either will relieve the situation and not doing either will always result in misery. You would be the most wretched person if you constantly wish to be unchaste while acting in celibacy. Or you could be miserable believing that you ought not to drink alcohol while sitting at the bar getting drunk. The key is to alter the action that is keeping us from God instead giving up His standard.

Third, when we make a poor decision, we naturally are loathe to accept the consequences for that action. We would like to get the benefit of something we didn’t do and avoid the penalty for something we did do. It is true that Christ’s atonement allows us to repent and avoid the dire consequences of our actions, most especially being separated from God, but it is definitely easier to prevent making a mess of our lives than to work through the repentance process. The time spent destroying spirituality could be spent building it up instead. God’s standard helps us reap blessings with the time we have and not to spend it in trials and pain.

So in light of all this, it is imperative that each of us keep to the standard of God and stick to it. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is there for us in our moments of weakness and to pick us up at our worst moments, if we are just willing to accept help. It will be uncomfortable, there is no doubt there, but growth means growing pains. The path of least resistance is quite comfortable, but doesn’t lead to the desired end. We desire a better end, a more excellent way and one that brings a life of real joy and satisfaction. That is why we do the things we do and try our best to live according to God’s standard.

Pleasure versus Happiness

In the Book of Mormon, a prophet declares, “Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy.” Indeed, the Plan of Salvation that our Father in Heaven has prepared for us is often referred to as the Plan of Happiness. We also learn that Nephi and his people “lived after the manner of happiness.” But what is happiness? What qualities are found therein?

In recent years I have been amazed at how consumerism continues to expand indefinitely. From iPhones to the food we eat, life is a never ending torrent of advertisements telling us that “it is okay, you deserve it.” As if to say that we are “entitled” to let go once in a while without consequences. Unfortunately, this has translated into us feeling that we should be able to “let go” whenever, wherever, and for how ever long we please.

Those who buy in to this subtle deceit are led to waste so much of their time, money, and other resources that they become trapped by consequences that are now out of their control. These consequences come, among other things, in the form of broken homes and marriages, poor health, debt, and perhaps the most fearsome, they become enslaved to the ever-powerful chains of sin. In my mind, it stems from the person not being able to forego the easy pleasures of today, for the hard-earned happiness of tomorrow. I see so many people whose whole goal in life seems to be focused on one thing and one thing only–pleasure and the more the merrier. They are so consumed with the newest fashions in clothing, or having that new car, or the latest technology in televisions or game stations, or what they are going to do Friday night, that when they wake up late Saturday morning, they have nothing but fading memories that only leaves them hungering for more. It is like eating Kix; you can eat 10 bowls at eight AM and by nine you are hungry again.

This has led me time and time again to contemplate on the difference between pleasure and happiness. What types of activities and pursuits do I have? Do they bring only pleasure, or will they bring lasting happiness. More often than not, happiness demands sacrifice and large amounts of it. Nevertheless, happiness is always sweeter and more desirable than pleasure. For me, happiness is akin to vine-ripe strawberries. One must water and weed, fertilize and wait, but there is nothing quite like that sweet taste at the end of June after two months of hard work. Here is a quote by James E. Talmage (a leader of our church at the turn of the 20th century) comparing pleasure and happiness. I hope that you will take the chance to reflect on what you spend your time pursuing and, if needed, change. You will never be sad you did when you eat the sweet fruit, fresh off the vine and hopefully you will never want to go back to that nasty, store-bought stuff.

“The present is an age of pleasure-seeking, and men are losing their sanity in the mad rush for sensations that do but excite and disappoint. In this day of counterfeits, adulterations, and base imitations, the devil is busier than he has ever been in the course of human history, in the manufacture of pleasures, both old and new; and these he offers for sale in most attractive fashion, falsely labeled, Happiness.

“. . . Happiness includes all that is really desirable and of true worth in pleasure, and much besides. Happiness is genuine gold, pleasure but gilded brass, which corrodes in the hand, and is soon converted into poisonous verdigris. Happiness is as the genuine diamond, which, rough or polished, shines with its own inimitable luster; pleasure is as the paste imitation that glows only when artificially embellished. Happiness is as the ruby, red as the heart’s blood, hard and enduring; pleasure, as stained glass, soft, brittle, and of but transitory beauty.

“Happiness is true food, wholesome, nutritious and sweet; it builds up the body and generates energy for action, physical, mental and spiritual; pleasure is but a deceiving stimulant which, like spiritous drink, makes one think he is strong when in reality enfeebled; makes him fancy he is well when in fact stricken with deadly malady.

“Happiness leaves no bad after-taste, it is followed by no depressing reaction; it calls for no repentance, brings no regret, entails no remorse; pleasure too often makes necessary repentance, contrition, and suffering; and, if indulged to the extreme, it brings degradation and destruction

“True happiness is lived over and over again in memory, always with a renewal of the original good; a moment of unholy pleasure may leave a barbed sting, which, like a thorn in the flesh, is an ever-present source of anguish. (James E. Talmage, Improvement Era, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 172-73. Quoted in: Jesus the Christ: A Study of the Messiah and His Mission According to Holy Scriptures Both Ancient and Modern [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1983], 230.)

Why Can’t Mormons Swim on Sunday?

Q. Why can’t Mormons swim on Sunday?

Swimming is something we do mainly for recreation, like sailing, golfing, four-wheeling, and going to the movies. The Lord has asked us to spend one day of our week in worship. Recreation often distracts from this goal. We prefer to find activities that focus our thoughts on the Savior and bring us together as families.

Is there something inherently evil about swimming? No, but we can lose our spiritual balance when we overfill our time with fun-seeking.

The Lord instructed Joseph Smith, “That thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day; for verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High” (D&C 59:9–10). Notice that there is a blessing associated with Sabbath observance, and you can choose to claim it or not. Freedom from the ‘spots’ or moral pollutions of the world is more important to me than swimming.

The blessings of closer communion with God easily outweigh the pleasure I might get playing Marco! Polo! in the community swimming pool (called the ‘Municipool’ where I live), especially when I can enjoy a swim on six other days of the week.

The blessings are not reserved only for Mormons, either. Give it a try and see how you feel. See David’s excellent article on Sabbath Day worship to learn how.

How do we ‘know’?

Today at church we had a testimony meeting. This is a somewhat unique sermon style where the bishop invites the people in the congregation to come to the microphone and share their testimonies or personal witness stories. They simply go up to the front if they feel like they should, and it is usually very uplifting and enlightening. You can learn how the gospel impacts a person directly.

You’ll often hear phrases like, “I know that God lives,” and “I know Jesus died for my sins,” and “I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.” Sometimes visitors come away from these meetings non-plussed by our uber-confident ‘knowledge’ of things. It got me thinking.

Whenever someone says they know something, they are saying they have high confidence that their belief coincides with objective truth. We do this all the time. You say, “I just know the dentist is going to lecture me on flossing” because 1) he’s done it before and 2) you still haven’t been flossing. Your previous experience and the evidence of your behavior lead you to this prediction. There are many ways we gather knowledge; I’ll list a few here for illustration:

Personal experience (five physical senses, sense of balance, pain, hunger, etc.)
Emotion and intuition (love, fear, instinct, etc.)
Experiences of others (advice, anecdotes, biographies, etc.)
Logical and mathematical proofs (a priori)
Found evidence (archeology, historical documents, paleontology, forensics, etc.)
Robust scientific experimentation that controls for all variables (physics, chemistry, etc.)
Scientific experimentation/observation that controls for variables where possible (sociology, political science, economics, etc.)

We all tend to have some level of confidence in these methods, some more than others, depending on many factors, but each of these can lead a person to say “I know…” if the learning method is compelling enough. Even so, many would argue that none of the methods I listed above are capable of producing reliable knowledge of things as transcendent as God. Archeological digs might lend credence to a religious belief, but surely not firm knowledge. These critics have a point, so I would add one more item to the list:

Revelation from God

God speaks to His children in various ways. He gave Joseph prophetic dreams that came true; He spoke to Moses from a burning bush (and also face-to-face). He sent an angel to Mary to announce the birth of Jesus. Joseph Smith saw and listened to the Father and the Son in a grove of trees.

To Joseph of Egypt, Moses, Mary, Smith and many others, those experiences were indisputable. They had every right to declare, “I know” instead of “I believe,” and they did.

For most of us, though, the glorious visions and visitations of heavenly beings haven’t yet happened. For us, God has promised another form of revelation: a personal witness of spiritual truths through the power of the Holy Spirit. He is available to bear witness of the Father and the Son. “By the power of the Holy Ghost, ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:5). This witness may be less dramatic or conspicuous than an angelic visitor, but its convincing power may be even more sure than a vision (see Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, 2:151; 1 Nephi 17:45-46). Because of His subtlety, it may take many prompts for you to hear the Holy Ghost and again many more before you trust them enough to say “I know.” But it can happen. This is how I know God lives and that Jesus is the Christ.

You can know, too. Like other modes of learning, it won’t necessarily come in an afternoon of mild curiosity, but it will with dedicated seeking, knocking, and asking over the course of weeks and months and years. Begin now and you will taste the deliciousness that is the knowledge of God.

Listening to a Prophet of God

This upcoming weekend (April 3-4), Mormons everywhere will take some time to listen to the prophet of God, Thomas S. Monson. Each year, during the first weeks of April and October, Mormons have a special meeting called “General Conference.” This is where we can hear from living apostles and the prophet.

Yesterday, I was thinking about being able to listen to a modern-day prophet, so I e-mailed a few of my friends about it. I asked them a couple of questions, and below I’ll share some of their responses.

Do you believe there is currently a prophet of God on the earth?

Yes

Yes, I do.

Yes. I believe it’s an act of God’s love.

Is it important for there to be a prophet today? If so, why?

Yes, because the world is ever changing and while principles may remain the same, applications are varied.

Yes. We need God’s direction today more than ever before. People that want to do the right thing don’t know what the right thing even is, or even if there IS a right thing, because of all of the false ideas (that are often combined with some half-truths) that are so widely propagated. As a result, too many good people wander around and get lost in life because they have no direction. A prophet of God can teach us what is right and what is wrong, and help us avoid dark paths and find the true way to happiness.

Yes. I picture him as the liaison between God and us in a more literal sense, than just by prayer and personal revelation alone. He directs the world as a whole because they are all under his care

What does it mean to you to be able to listen to a modern day prophet?

It means so much more to me the older I get. They give council and advice that applies to my modern day problems. The older I get the more problems I get. I love listening to the modern day prophet to see what the Lord wants me to do today.

I probably do not appreciate it enough. Sometimes hindsight shows me that I should have listened better.

Any other thoughts or comments?

I know that God lives, and that He loves us. He is our Father. We can return to live with Him again after this life. This is possible because Jesus Christ atoned for our sins, which enables us to repent and become better people when we make mistakes. I know that Jesus lives today.

I know that there is a modern day prophet and that he is called of the one true God.

The Prophet directs us to follow Jesus Christ, who is our Savior. If you are interested in hearing what the Prophet of God has to say, take a look at the following website.