When I was watching General Conference and the Korean children’s choir started singing “I Love to see the Temple” in a language I did not understand, something amazing hit me.
I don’t know why this thought was spurred by this song from these children.
That feeling was this-
I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ.
How blessed I am to not only be on this earth at a time when His church exists, but to be a member of that Church. Jesus Christ’s Church. His Church!
As I listened to words I didn’t understand but music I could never misplace, and as the spirit filled me and tears filled my eyes, I realized something.
If I lived during a time when the Church of Jesus Christ did not exist on the earth, I would have forever lived my mortal existence with a hole in my spirit and my experience. It occurred to me that if I lived in any other dispensation, I would have felt a distinct emptiness within me. Maybe this realization happened at that moment because at that particular moment, I was so filled to the brim with a spiritual feeling that I’ve come to rely upon so heavily.
What a challenge it would have been to live in a world without the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness.
We live in a difficult and challenging world. But amidst that challenge I am a 30-minute drive from 3 different temples.
How blessed I am.
I am so grateful to live today, with the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ fully present, and His Church in full force.
What would I have done without it?
Maybe God knew I could not endure that emptiness. Maybe that’s why I’m here at this moment.
For whatever reason I am here now, today, I am grateful for it. Grateful beyond measure.
I write this with as much humility as possible. Fully knowing and understanding my weaknesses have given me perspective. It is my faults and errors that make me feel like I can write this letter.
I remember when I came back to church I was asked to not take the sacrament for three weeks. It was one of the more difficult things I had to do, although it doesn’t sound like much. I think it was the moment I realized I had changed. Something that in the past might not have affected me too much, really hurt. It was difficult coming back and immediately feeling like maybe I’m not enough. Maybe I could have gone the route of resentment. Instead I realized how much I didn’t want to have to go through that again.
I don’t in any way imply I’m better than someone who can’t take the sacrament and does feel resentment. We all have our own paths. Mine was of being completely away, coming back, and realizing I deserved my three weeks. Some are never officially away so that state of probation seems unfair or not right. I understand that.
This is my letter to the sinner. A reminder, that includes all of us. This is the sinner who has made mistakes. This particular sinner might come from a perfect family and part of their struggle is feeling like they don’t fit in in the one place they should feel welcome. This sinner might feel judged by the very people that should love them the most. It doesn’t matter if those family, friends, and caring loved ones are right or wrong. It matters how the sinner interprets things. We all live our own experiences and encounter the world in different ways. We must, to the best our abilities, see the world in perfect light and perfect truth.
Here is my letter to a hypothetical sinner:
You will never be like the “perfect” people you see around you. You won’t. Your path has been set. Your path has been set partly by different “luck,” different experiences. Partly by your choices. My life was set by very bad choices. But now that I’ve come out of the other side, my joy is greater than I could have ever imagined. You won’t be “perfect”, but you’ll be who Heavenly Father sees you can be. You won’t be “better” than those who never made the mistakes you made, but you might be stronger. Your path will lead you somewhere wholly different. And if you decide you want to come through to the other side: to truly know your Savior, to know forgiveness, to know what being welcomed home feels like even if you don’t think you’ll ever deserve it – if you come to that other side with that relationship with your Savior, your testimony will be welded in steel, as hard as diamond. You’ll have gone through the refiner’s fire and come out united with He who gives all strength. This is no excuse to continue to sin. You know the light. You’ve seen and felt the light. I knew the light and I turned from it. I hope to help anyone not make the same mistake.
You will make mistakes. You will sin. But no matter what, you have to remember Jesus Christ. Because while the world will judge you and you’ll have to struggle with that, He will judge you with a perfect love and comprehension. Remember that those around you are trying to judge you with love. They’re trying to love you righteously. Jesus Christ doesn’t try. He is perfect love. Don’t forget it. Don’t forget that those around you whose points of view you can’t understand, they’re trying to be like Jesus Christ. They may be falling short. But that’s not for you to judge. Just as they can’t judge you, you can’t judge their intentions or efforts. Just love and do your best.
I’m sorry you have to go through trials. But do not lose sight of Jesus Christ. Do not. He is the only person true peace can come from. Whatever you do, whatever mistakes you make, do not forget HIM. He won’t forget you. I promise.
At this point I must apologize. Throughout this letter I’ve referred to you as “the sinner.” I know that phrase hurt the whole way through. I know it because I’ve felt it. I did it throughout the whole letter to get to this point. I want to remind you, “sinner” is not who you are. It will never be who you are. We all sin but that’s not what God and Jesus Christ see in us. No matter how many mistakes we make. No matter how many slip ups or downright wrong things you do, you are not a sinner. You are a child of Heavenly Father. You are growing. You are learning. I reiterate something I said earlier, this does not excuse your sin. Sin is wrong, you know that. Christ will see your sin. What means much more to Him is your repentance. He doesn’t see who you were but who you will be.
“God cares a lot more about who we are and who we are becoming than about who we once were. He cares that we keep trying.”
Elder Dale G. Renlund in April 2015 Conference talk “Latter-day Saints Keep on Trying”
It’s amazing to read the Book of Mormon and compare those people to our day. One story from the Book of Mormon that recently stood out to me was the story of the Zoramites and the rameumptom.
The Zoramites were a people who corrupted religion in many ways. They built a large tower. This tower was called a rameumptom and it was used for prayer. People would go to the top of the tower and loudly proclaim a rehearsed prayer. In the prayer they would thank God that He chose them. They would thank God that He had enlightened them and saved them while He would damn all the others to hell for their false beliefs. They would say their prayer, leave the tower, and go about their week without another thought towards God. They would use their week to serve no one but themselves.
Let’s compare the many false beliefs of the Zoramites to our society today.
First, praying on the rameumptom. What good deed is done today without proclaiming it to the world? We’re all guilty of it. Social media is our modern day rameumptom. It is where we proudly shout our greatest deeds for the world to see. Prayer and good deeds should be done in private. Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.
Second, the Zoramites had a temple that only the rich were able to go to. Churches today have become much more about prestige and power than about humility and kindness.
Third, rehearsed prayer. The Zoramites used a rehearsed, scripted prayer to talk to God. There are many problems with this. It takes any effort from the procedure. The prayer has no thought or feeling to it, it’s like reading in class. There’s no genuine questions, no genuine requests, no genuine gratitude. It is a script. We see this in many churches today.
Fourth, prayer without action. This is a byproduct of rehearsed prayer. What does prayer without effort lead to? Life without effort. The Zoramites loudly spoke their prayers from their tower, stepped down, and that was the extent of their worship. They wouldn’t speak to God again until the next week when they would give their five minute rehearsed prayer and move on with their life. This is the worship of our society today. With all God has given us we can’t even give Him a day of worship in return. Most don’t go to church at all. Many who do go, go on Sunday, listen for an hour, and the rest of the week don’t do a selfless act. Christ was our example. He taught us to pray always, serve others, and love others. If we aren’t doing that, we aren’t of Him, no matter how loud our prayer.
Fifth, the Zoramites thanked God that they were chosen by Him. They thanked Him for enlightening them and turning them away from the foolish traditions of their fathers and neighbors. They were selected by God and would be saved. All others were fools who would burn in hell. Sound familiar? Many churches today believe you will only be saved if you follow their beliefs or belong to their church. What kind of selective God is this? It spits in the face of a loving, caring Heavenly Father who is no respecter of persons. This is a blasphemous and poisonous teaching that goes back to the pride and selective nature of churches. God loves all His children and will provide a way for all of them to attain as much glory as they desire. The doctrine of Jesus Christ taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that there are many mansions in heaven and God’s wonderful plan has provided a way for a vast majority, almost all of His children to go to Heaven. All that repent, follow His commandments, and believe in His Son will find a place worthy of their righteous hearts. This is truth.
I have a close friend of a different Christian faith. We have many good religious conversations. One day the topic of heaven came up. He told me that surely I didn’t believe he would go to heaven as he wasn’t a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, my church. This made me so sad. I told him with complete sincerity and 100% certainty that I knew he was going to heaven. Whether he joined the Church (my church) or not, I knew he was a good person. I knew he loved Jesus Christ. I knew he tried every day to seek Christ and to do good. I knew he sought God with all his heart. I knew he was kind and liked to help people. I know, without a doubt in my mind, that there is a place in heaven for him. I know this because I know God. I know he loves all of us. I told this to my friend, and I’ll never forget the look on his face. A little shock, a little awe. I know that he believes I am going to hell, he has told me so. He believes I have been fooled and I will have to pay for my ignorance.
I know that God loves him, and I know that God loves me. I know that Jesus Christ is the perfect judge. We will be judged perfectly. Even those who are fooled will be given mercy and love from God. That’s the God I know. I feel sad for those who don’t know that same God.
False teachings have corrupted and destroyed religion. False teachings have turned many away from the truth and light that religion should provide.
I have an invitation to anyone who read this and thought “I do hate how churches say everyone who doesn’t do this or that is going to hell,” or “I’ve never understood rehearsed prayers,” or “I can’t stand the hypocritical church goers who are the meanest people during the week.” My invitation is to come and see. Come and learn of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Come and learn what Christ intended for us. Come and learn true principles and ordinances of Christ’s gospel. Come serve with us, come worship with us, come pray with us, come be with us. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not perfect, not yet. Not until Christ returns. We can still be hypocrites but we’re trying. Christ’s Gospel is perfect and we’re working toward it. Come and see.
I like to think about what critics would say as proof against the Book of Mormon. I think it helps to have responses to honest concerns about its validity. I always hope something I read, know, or especially my testimony can one day help someone to see what I see, the truth of this ancient record.
The Book of Mormon makes a very important claim. The claim is that many plain and precious truths have been removed from the Bible over time. When Joseph Smith first translated the Book of Mormon this was an outlandish and inflammatory statement. Even more so than today. Christianity in the early to mid-1800s had a firm belief that the Bible was infallible.
“Richardson, Richardson and Bentley write that while the Book of Mormon testifies to the authenticity of the Bible, it does not claim that the Bible is without error. It specifically states that there were many “plain and precious things” that were deleted from its pages through the evil works of men. (See 1 Nephi 13:20-32; 19:10-12; 20:1-3; 2 Nephi 3:5-22; Alma 33:3, 13, 15; 34:7; 46:23-27; Helaman 8:19-20; 15:11; 3 Nephi 10:14-17; 12:13, 17-19, 22, 29-30; 14:1.)
Scholars of the Bible have found indisputable evidence that the Bible has indeed suffered many deletions. Non Mormon scholarship has concluded that the gospels found in the New Testament have also been manipulated.”
Critics may ask for specific examples of any “plain and precious truths” found in the Book of Mormon that are not also found in the Bible.
The website I mentioned above goes on to list 24 plain and precious truths removed from the Bible and where they are laid forth in the Book of Mormon. I’d like to go over an extremely important one.
Baptism is only for those who are accountable (Moroni 8:5-23).
I know of nowhere in the Bible that lays forth the age of accountability. Should children be baptized? We know baptism is of the utmost importance:
John 3:5 “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
What does the Book of Mormon teach us on the subject of baptism? Moroni chapter 8 is full of profound truths found nowhere in the Bible. I will quote portions of the chapter here but encourage everyone to read the chapter and ponder its truthfulness.
8 “the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me (Jesus Christ), that it hath no power over them”
9 “I know that it is solemn mockery before God, that ye should baptize little children.”
10 “repentance and baptism unto those who are accountable and capable of committing sin; yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little children, and they shall all be saved with their little children.”
11 “And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism.”
12 “But little children are alive in Christ…if not so, God is a partial God, and also a changeable God, and a respector of persons; for how many little children have died without baptism!”
15 “For awful is the wickedness to suppose that God saveth one child because of baptism, and the other must perish because he hath no baptism.”
19 “Little children cannot repent; wherefore, it is awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God unto them, for they are all alive in him because of mercy.”
20 “And he that saith that little children need baptism denieth the mercies of Christ, and setteth at naught the atonement of him and the power of his redemption.”
Who can read this and deny the truth that speaks to your heart and soul? It is so clearly laid out. So perfectly explained.
What about how to baptize? There is so much confusion in the world on not only when but how. Does the Book of Mormon provide an answer? Of course! 3 Nephi 11:24-28.
24 And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying:
25 Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
26 And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water.
27 And after this manner shall ye baptize in my name; for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one.
28 And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been.
How lucky we are to live in the dispensation of the fullness of times. I’m grateful for the Book of Mormon. I’m grateful that it clarifies what has been a point of contention within Christianity for centuries.
Christ was our ultimate example.
2 Nephi 31:5 And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized yea, even by water!
Click below to learn more about baptism as it has been perfectly restored through the Gospel of Jesus Christ by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Hopefully to uplift someone, anyone. Believer, nonbeliever. Member of the Church of Jesus Christ, member of any church, member of no church. I’d like to teach people who know nothing about this faith some of what I believe. I’d like to share with members of my faith the things that have impacted my testimony.
Recently a new motivation has emerged. With a daughter on the way I realize one day she can read all this. Whether or not anyone reads any of this. One day my daughter might.
Right now, I’m posting individual posts that are unrelated to each other. Mostly my thoughts and musings. As I post more, I plan on categorizing posts into certain sections. If someone could come to this page and read a quick one to two-page entry and leave slightly uplifted, that’s my ultimate goal. Most of my writing I hope to be somewhat thought provoking. Just things I’ve thought about or ideas and concepts that have really impacted me and changed the way I’ve looked at life.
I hope for this to be informational. I was greatly impacted by the writing of a man, John Pontius. As I read more, I’m impacted by the writings of many people who took the time to put thoughts on paper. Maybe something I write one day will help someone. I also hope to discuss what I feel makes the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ special. I hope for people not of my faith to read, and maybe have something stirred in their souls. Something that reminds them of where they came from, and maybe have a desire to learn more about Christ’s Church and what makes it so important.
As I write I’ll share a lot about me. I wanted a section to describe, briefly, who I am and how I got here.
Anybody reading on my page will immediately notice the strong religious theme. It’s what I think about most. For a portion of my life, it was not this way.
About me:
I was born in Payson, Utah in 1990. I moved to St. George, Utah when I was ~5. I moved to Las Vegas, Nevada when I was ~9. I lived in three houses from ages 9 to 18 in Las Vegas. We moved a lot and that was always difficult for me while growing up.
Payson, UtahSt. George, UtahLas Vegas, Nevada
In 2009 I moved to Arizona to go to Arizona State University. I decided early on I didn’t want to go to UNLV (University of Nevada Las Vegas) or UNR (University of Nevada Reno). I wanted to get out of Nevada, I wanted a fresh start. I had no family in Arizona. Las Vegas wasn’t far, but I would be completely on my own.
I still remember when I was driving to Arizona for orientation with my mom. She got sick on the way and we stopped. I think we were in Boulder City, about an hour into the drive. I took her to the emergency room. My dad drove there to be with my mom. I had to be at orientation the next morning. I drove to Arizona by myself. It was the first time I’d driven that kind of distance alone and was symbolic of me becoming independent.
I went to ASU for five semesters. I studied construction management. I always did well in high school with minimal effort. I’m one of those obnoxious individuals who brags about never studying in high school. Boy did I learn my lesson once I got to college. My grades, with zero work ethic and desire, quickly reflected my effort. It didn’t help that I soon realized I wasn’t interested in what I was studying. Construction management can be interesting, but it wasn’t for me. There’s only so much I could take learning about the strength of concrete.
Like if you get the reference
My junior year I officially dropped out of college with (of course) the intention of going back and finishing once I found my passion. I say “of course” because that’s what we all say. During school I found that I was much more interested in parties, poker, and basketball than I was in learning about safety standards of construction sites. When I stopped going to school I continued to live on campus and enjoy college life, minus the higher education part. I spent a full year couch surfing. I’m sheepish to admit now, but I look back fondly on that year. It was a year spent staying up until 5am, waking up at 1pm, sneaking into the student rec center to play basketball, getting food, finding a party, rinse/repeat. It may sound like a pathetic use of time but it’s something I think I needed to experience.
If my daughter ever reads this – not everyone needs to experience this. That’s part of why I’m writing. To show that I made mistakes and lived life a certain way. Ultimately, I can’t regret it because it eventually got me to where I am today. I have learned through my own experiences where true happiness exists. True happiness comes from serving others, giving yourself to something bigger than yourself. True happiness comes from loving others. I had to go a round-about way to learn what’s important in life. Not everyone has to make things as difficult as I made things for myself.
During my time couch surfing, I was working odd jobs here and there to have enough money for food and extra-curricular activities. I went to Utah near the end of this adventure for some “soul searching.” After “finding myself,” or not finding myself, I ended up back in Arizona working as a helpdesk tech for two companies. I went with one of those companies 3 years later when they switched offices and took over as the Systems Administrator. I now (as of 2020) work for a managed services provider supporting various companies with their technology needs.
As I write this blurb about my journey and my past, many thoughts come to mind of what I learned along the way. I might refer back to this when I need a topic to write about. Like my lack of desire studying something I wasn’t passionate about or the years spent partying and what that taught me about what I want out of life.
Faith-wise, I started falling away from the church, due to my choices, when I was 16. I always had a testimony of this restored church, of Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and Jesus Christ. That never changed. Despite my many mistakes and many wrong decisions, I always knew it was true. When I went to ASU I lost contact with the church completely. It amazes me to look back and realize I didn’t even know where the church building/institute building/anything related to the church was on campus. It’s like I’d lost connection with that part of me.
Throughout the years I’d attempt half-heartedly to return to church. It never stuck. I was completely inactive from about 18-25. Seven long years of inactivity.
As of this year, 2020, I’ve been back at church for four years and never been happier. I hope to express through my writing the joy the gospel has brought me and share some of my experiences that can maybe help others. That’s the hope. I’ve felt drawn to writing these entries so if one person is helped it’s a major win.
And if all these hopes fail, I’ll at least be able to look back on everything I’ve written. One day I can show my daughter and she can know I always believed. She can see it wasn’t always easy. She can see life has ups and downs, but it will work out. Have faith. That makes this worth writing.
No Coincidences 