Not My Usual Post

****  Fair warning, this is long.   ****

      Perhaps we all hope that when we are faced with an important question or conversation, we will be able to coolly and calmly participate without getting worked up and blowing it, or have difficulty finding the words because we weren't prepared for or expecting it.  Knowing what you want to say doesn't guarantee it'll come out right. Sometimes we can even think we are prepared with the perfect response/answer, we've rehearsed so we don't flop or we've experienced it before so we think we will do just fine. Then, if you are like me, that critical moment comes and you stutter and stammer and and can't remember how to spell your own name, what year it is, or where you are. Temporary Sudden Onset Acute Amnesia has struck!         *I made that up, probably not a real thing.*
       
      No, you have never experienced this? Then it very well could be a problem all my own, but let me assure you, it is very real, and very frustrating.  What I have to say is important, and I want to say it, but for the life of me, my panicked brain won't load the stupid files I need and I'm left saying whatever words I actually can get my mouth and spit out, and they often don't link let alone flow.  The more important the information I want to share, the more severe the attack.  Later, after all is said and done, as surely as the Earth revolves around the sun, my clouded thoughts clear, my tongue works again, I remember everything I wanted to say... and there is no one there to hear it. I'm left stewing over my flop for days and mad that I messed up. This phenomenon occurs in many venues, but today I post in relationship to just one.


"Audrey, what in the heck are you going on about!?"

Patience, hummingbird. Namaste.


     Yes, yes, getting on with my point.  I'm not looking for haters or antagonists, I simply want to share my beliefs in writing, my best medium (I'm not claiming to be a professional, I simply write better than I speak).  You may choose to read on in an effort to see what I have to say out of pure curiosity, you may read to understand me or my beliefs better, you may read to pass time, or you may even choose to not read at all; do what works for you, all choices are acceptable.  I have never been one that was good at verbally sharing things, so I've decided it is high time to share in writing, for anyone who chooses to see.  I'm not doing this to win your approval, so attacking me if you disagree will do no good.  You don't have to agree, but please be respectful.

    If you are looking for a laugh, you probably won't get a lot of that on this post, sorry.

    I'm also not pretending this blog post will be all inclusive and tell you every things there is to know, or answer every question you may have, it's just me sharing what I feel I need to share.  If you happen to be interested in knowing more, we have amazing, knowledgeable full time missionaries that can be of service, and you can find some near you at the link below, or chat with them at through the second link.

Missionaries
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      You may already know that I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, often referred to as "The Mormon Church" because of our use of the Book of Mormon.  Some people call The Book of Mormon, "The Mormon Bible" (yes, there are lots of nicknames), but it's inaccurate.  We believe in the Bible, we use the King James version of the Bible (we believe it to be the most correct translation), and we don't not believe the Book of Mormon replaces it in any way, we use them hand in hand.

      The Bible and the Book of Mormon teach the same things, they compliment each other and build upon the same principles, both testifying of Christ.  The Bible contains writings from prophets in and around Jerusalem, while the Book of Mormon contains writings from prophets in the Americas. The Bible gets interpreted (let alone translated) so many different ways by so many different people, but the Book of Mormon helps clear that up. If they both teach of Christ and the same principles, then only the interpretation that is in harmony with both books can be the correct one.

       It makes perfect sense to me.  The people spoken of in the bible were not the only ones living on the Earth, and why shouldn't the people living on a distant continent have just as much access to their God, and why wouldn't God bless them with the same knowledge and spiritual opportunities?  In John 10:16 it says "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." He will bring all his sheep to the knowledge of Him and He will be shepherd to all of them, not just those around Jerusalem.

      John isn't the only book that shows evidence that the Book of Mormon is a real and true book of scripture and a testament of Christ, more evidence is found in Ezekial 37:15-17:

15 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, 
16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: 
17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

        Two sticks, or books, one for Judah and the children of Israel (the Bible), and one for Joseph and Ephraim (the Book of Mormon), and we are to join them and they are to become one in our hand. We have, we've brought the two together and we use them as one.

       In case you are unsure how we came to have the Book or Mormon, let me explain that.  Actually... I will let Joseph Smith's account of the events do the talking, because he was there, and he can do a much better job then my second hand retelling.  Also, I just love reading his account, the spirit is so strong when I read it, that there is no doubt in my mind that it is true.  The following link will take you to Joseph's full account.

Joseph Smith's Account of First Vision

      I've decided I will paraphrase after all.  Joseph didn't know which church to join so while reading the Bible, he came across James 1:5, which says: "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."  Joseph Smith decided to go to a secluded area of the nearby woods and do just what James said, ask of God.  While there, Joseph we first attacked by the powers of Satan, and then was delivered from those powers by God the Father and Jesus Christ.  When Joseph made his inquiry about which church to join, he was informed that he should join none of the churches.  After several angelic visits, he was guided to a hill where he found the gold plates on which the records had been written and later hidden, not to be seen again until Joseph was directed to them.  Years later Joseph was given the opportunity to finally begin translating the records, and they are what we now know as The Book of Mormon. 

      Okay, so a couple things here; first of all, many try to claim that Joseph Smith made it all up, but that makes no sense.  Joseph Smith had a... 3rd grade education I believe, and was not good at reading and writing, so how could he come up with the incredible writings found in the Book of Mormon? The style of writing and language is also far from something that Joseph could logically come up with.  Furthermore, Joseph suffered greatly for his claims and beliefs, he had nothing to gain from telling a tall tale, he was tortured, imprisons, hated, persecuted, and eventually killed for his beliefs, but he never once denied the truthfulness of it all.

      Second, I was a teenager once, I've known many teenagers in my life, and I've never known any that would hold to a lie so tightly as to make their lives incredibly miserable by doing so.  Yes, I've known liars, and yes lots of kids lie, but when faced with incredible opposition those lies fall apart and stories change.  Joseph Smith's story didn't change, he feared changing/denying his story and offending God more than making the people that hated him happy and removing the trial from his life, and this was just when he was still just a boy. Not to mention, the story is too good to be made up by a kid, let alone a kid with little education.

      Many falsely believe that we worship(ed) Joseph Smith, this too is incorrect.  We have never believed, claimed, thought, pretended, etc., that Joseph Smith was deity in any way, shape, or form.  Joseph Smith was a good and righteous man that was trusted by God and used as an instrument in his hands to bring about the restoration of the gospel.  Joseph was imperfect (being human does that to a person), but he was a great and respectable man.  If your goal is to go out and try to find flaws he had and mistakes he made, you might find some, but don't forget, he was a man not a god, but he was chosen by God to do a work on this Earth, and he did it well.

      Like Joseph, the rest of the members of this church are very human and very imperfect, and if you think that we think differently, you are mistaken.  Well, I'm sure there are narcissistic people that happen to be members of our church, those people exist and are not banned from joining our church, but that doesn't mean every member of this church shares the same flaws and imperfections, we all have our own.  Like all religions you will find, this church is made up of imperfect people with a need to repent, learn and grow on a daily basis.  Besides, it's hardly fair to generalize any group of people based on one or many members of that group who are making poor choices, no one wants to be categorized.  That being said, thank you for your patience and understanding. I would love to be able to say you could hold us all to a higher standard and we'd all live up to it flawlessly, but that's not reality.

     "And, to be perfectly frank, there have been times when members or leaders in the Church have simply made mistakes. There may have been things said or done that were not in harmony with our values, principles, or doctrine.

     "I suppose the Church would be perfect only if it were run by perfect beings. God is perfect, and His doctrine is pure. But He works through us—His imperfect children—and imperfect people make mistakes."  -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency

     "If you expect to find perfect people here, you will be disappointed. But if you seek the pure doctrine of Christ, the word of God “which healeth the wounded soul,”⁹ and the sanctifying influence of the Holy Ghost, then here you will find them. In this age of waning faith—in this age when so many feel distanced from heaven’s embrace—here you will find a people who yearn to know and draw closer to their Savior by serving God and fellowmen, just like you. Come, join with us!"   -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency

     "So be kind regarding human frailty—your own as well as that of those who serve with you in a Church led by volunteer, mortal men and women. Except in the case of His only perfect Begotten Son, imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but He deals with it. So should we. And when you see imperfection, remember that the limitation is not in the divinity of the work. As one gifted writer has suggested, when the infinite fullness is poured forth, it is not the oil’s fault if there is some loss because finite vessels can’t quite contain it all.¹⁰ Those finite vessels include you and me, so be patient and kind and forgiving."  -Jeffrey R. Holland, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

     I can't say it any better than these two men have. Don't refuse to learn about or take part in something that is great just because other people who you don't get along with or agree with already do.  If we avoid things just because we think we are rebelling against other people who already partake or participate, then we might find we miss out on a great many things we might otherwise enjoy in our efforts to show we are nothing like that person we don't particularly like.  Why not live a better life despite them? Some people like me, some people don't, some of them are in the church, some aren't, but I'm not going to give up something great just because of them! No, sir, not this lady!

     You may or may not have noticed that we also believe in latter day prophets and apostles.  If apostles and prophets were important in ancient times, then dare I say, we certainly need them now.  This world is in chaos and we are most certainly in need of prophets who commune with God and direct us.  God has not abandoned us to get through this life alone, He has given us so much direction and so many tools to get through this life, and the apostles and prophets are some of the most important of these tools along with the scriptures, we'd be remiss not to use all that our Heavenly Father has provided for us.

     It's interesting when people say that "all we need is in the Bible", and yet others say "the Bible is an old irrelevant book".  In truth, both are sides are wrong. We need prophets and apostles now to help us navigate this modern world of discord and confusion, but we also need the word of God from long ago.  Many of the words of God were given to us once, we shouldn't disregard them and hope that they will somehow change, because it won't, the Bible is still very relevant, and so are prophets and apostles for modern day revelation.

     Here's the part that might earn me my very own lynch mob, but I will proceed anyway.  As I said, we all sin, we are all imperfect.  Each sin does vary in degree however; murder being on the most severe and grievous end of the spectrum, vanity (let's say) being on the the less severe end.  Now just because we all sin doesn't mean we should accept sin, but we should still love the sinner.  We all need to try to do better and be better, and we shouldn't have to allow sins to be legalized or pretend they aren't sins in order to justify our own choices or the choices of other's.

     I know a lot of people think that if society changes, so does right and wrong, but I'm going to have to disagree. We don't tell God what we want to be considered a sin or not. We don't get to say, "Excuse me, God, I know this is currently considered a sin, but it no longer suits me to have it be a sin, I like it too much and I won't give it up. This other sin too, it more convenient for you to allow me to do it without recourse, so let's change this one too." Nope, God sets the rules and commandments, for our own good mind you, and we are expected to follow what He says.  We follow God, God doesn't follow us.

     So... yes, sorry if it offends you, but that means we still believe that things like homosexuality and abortion (among other things) are sins and are not to just be an accepted thing.  I know that society says it's okay, but God doesn't and He's the boss.  Now before you light that torch and sharpen the ol' pitchfork, keep this in mind; never has the church and its leaders condoned anything but love for those who sin, even the big sins.  It is not intolerance, it is not hatred, we still love those people, we just don't love the sin. 

    When someone commits a crime, generally their family doesn't loose love for them, but they also can't accept or allow the bad behavior of their loved one.  Yes, you may find intolerant members of our church that choose not to practice love, but I'll beat the dead horse one more time, we are not perfect, but we are not all imperfect in the exact same ways.

    What about all those strict rules we live by? I know someone is wondering.  Well, first of all we are on this Earth to learn and practice our free agency, so no one is forced to do anything.  The commandments and guidelines we are asked to follow are here for our own good, and if we choose to do things that are harmful or contrary to what we are taught, there are consequences, just like with anything else, and those consequences aren't necessarily carried out or leaders, it's often all up to our Heavenly Father to dole out or let nature take it's course.  You don't obey traffic laws, you get in an accident, you get hurt, you get tickets, your insurance goes up, and you may even lose you license or car.  So, it shouldn't be a surprise that God expects the same.  If you don't follow His rules, why should you still get all the same blessings? But remember, you can always repent.

     If you aren't sure what some of those "crazy rules" are, I will share some.  We still follow the 10 commandments (yep, the ones from the Bible), we don't take harmful and addictive substances into our bodies (coffee, tea, tobacco, drugs, alcohol, etc), no premarital or extramarital sex, no pornography, and we dress modestly.  I know, I know, we have no fun.... actually we do. I think it's safe to say you can see why we avoid most of this stuff.  Oh, and we pay tithing too, not forced by the way.

     I could continue about the things we do and don't do that are different that other people, but in reality, none of it it that far fetched.  Many things we do you find in the Bible and other religions share many of our same practices, so I'm sure you've heard of most of it in other places.  Why do we do so much?  Do we really do it all?  Why would we do it?  I shall tell you.

      First, as far as if we really do it all, there is that dead horse again, we have our choice, we have our favorite sins and things we keep messing up on (and some people just don't care), we are imperfect people, but in general, yes, we do.  Why? Why so much and why do we do it?  Nothing worth having is attained or maintained without effort.  Think about it a minute.  You want a fit body you work hard you eat well, you avoid certain things and do others to accomplish it. If you never push, you either stay where you are or you digress, if you stop all together, you certainly will digress.  This is how it is with all aspects of our life, we want to be smarter, skinnier, richer, more social, you name it, and we put all sorts of effort into it, we work hard, we give things up that hinder us and pick things up that help us.  Somehow, despite this common and accurate line of reasoning, so many of us don't want to follow the same principles with our spirituality and exhalation.

      We can't expect to grow and become better or build our relationship with God if we aren't willing to put in the time an effort.  It's sad to me, because all the things that I named before that people work so hard on to improve are good things, and they help us in this life, but what about the life to come? Is being skinny going to get us into Heaven? How about being rich? Nope, but we work hard for what we want most, and for some, those things don't include spiritual growth.

     Speaking of becoming stronger, I think we can all agree that life isn't easy, and it's harder for some than for others.  In the most recent General Conference of our church earlier this month, Elder David A Bednar did a great job relating a story to the trials in our life.  He told of a man who's truck became stuck in the snow, and not until he added weight to the bed of the truck was he able to get the truck unstuck.  He said, "It was the load. It was the load of wood that provided the traction necessary for him to get out of the snow, to get back on the road, and to move forward."  Like this truck, sometimes the weight and burdens of life are the things we need most to grow and move forward.  Easy has never done a lot to elitist change in anything.

     I get so excited when I hear stories about people who have trial after trial, burden and burden heaped upon them, and in the end they persevere and they are stronger and better than most people who never had to go through that stuff.  I also love that in almost every story I hear like this, those people are closer to God because of their trials and they recognized Him as a source of strength in their life.  I can only hope that when the going getting that tough for me, I'll be as strong and amazing as those people.

     I don't want to forget to mention the reason for trials. Trials don't mean God hates you or is punishing you, trials can happen for many reasons.  Yes, sometimes they are a direct result of our choices, that's justice, and the atonement is mercy (remember we can repent), but that doesn't mean no consequences will occur at all. Sometimes we just have to deal with the problems we created.  Often though, trials are meant to make us stronger (hopefully all trials make us stronger and we learn from them), some times they are due to other people's poor choices, sometimes it not about us at all but the trial becomes ours as a loved one goes through it, and there are other reasons as well.  Remember Job in the Bible? He was a good man, but he endured more trials than most of us will ever see, and he proved his faithfulness and became stronger with every trial. 

     I'm finding I have more to say than I thought, but this is still not all inclusive, there is so much more, I'm almost done though.  I want to mention quickly that yes we believe our church to be the true church, but that doesn't mean we have issues with other churches (again, as whole, don't base anything off of misguided individual's behavior). We believe that all religions have truth, but that they are missing some parts which keep them from the entire truth, and yes, that is our bold claim, that we have a fullness of the gospel.  We don't want to fight with other religions, we want to celebrate what we have in common and be friends. If someone come on strong and gets passionate about our church and sharing it with you, it's likely because they love it and they want others to know what they know. Please, try not to be too upset be them.

    One last thing, and perhaps most important, we are in fact Christian.  It's true. We believe that Jesus Christ was more than just a good man, He is our Lord and Savior.  He lived, died, and lived again, and He still lives. We follow His teachings and strive to be like Him.  He is our exemplar, and our brother who loves us more than we can even fathom, and without Him we can not make it back to the presence of our Father in Heaven.  He is our Redeemed.

      "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."  2 Nephi 25:26

     Okay, I'm ready for it, I've laid my foundation, I've touched on many things, and I'm ready for the meat and potatoes, so to speak. Here is the grand finale.

      I know with all my heart that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true and restored church on the Earth today, and it IS lead by true prophets and apostles.  I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet who saw God the Father and Jesus Christ and they did reveal that the true church was not on the earth at that time and that through Joseph Smith the gospel was restored in it's fullness in these modern days. I know that we have living prophets still on the Earth today, and that President Thomas S. Monson is our prophet today and he leads and guides us as directed by God.  I believe that both the Book of Mormon and the Bible are the word of God, as far as they are translated correctly.

    I know that this life was never intended to be easy. We are going to have trials, some worse than other, and we are going to face temptation and have to make choices, but that's what it's about, how we handle what comes our way and how we live our lives everyday. We can grow and learn and live up to the potential that our loving Heavenly Father knows we are capable of if we seek His help to lighten our burdens and strengthen us.  If you ask me, if I have to go through a trial, there is no one better to seek help from than those who love me most and know EXACTLY what I'm going through, my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ.

     I know that in our lives we can't sit back and not do anything and expect God to be pleased with us for not working to improve ourselves, nor can we expect results from not doing our part. We must always be striving to be better and be more Christ like.  We aren't all in the same place, but we should all be trying to move forward.

     I KNOW that Jesus Christ is our savior, I KNOW that he was the only perfect man to live on this Earth, and I KNOW that he died for us because he loved us so very much. The love our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for us is more deep and abiding then any other love we can ever experience, no one else can love us as fully and completely.

    I know that through the atonement, all of our sins can be forgiven and we can return to the presence of our Heavenly Father.  I also know that the atonement is not just about sins, our Savior suffered for all of our pains and sorrows, ALL of them, no one else can fully feel and understand all that we go through.  He felt EVERYTHING that EVERYONE who ever has and ever will come to this Earth has felt.  It's impossible to fully comprehend because we would have not been able to do it, but He could and He did. He suffered and bleed in the garden of Gethsemane and on the cross at Calvary and did all of it for all of us, you and me, and if we don't use the atonement in our lives, the suffering He did for us individually is wasted. I also know that Christ rose again on the third day, and He lives, I know He lives!

     I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father that hears and answers our prayers, I have experienced it numerous times and I can not deny it.  I know that if we need anything, answers, direction, help, anything at all, we can pray to our loving Heavenly Father and he will hear and answer our prayers. When James said "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.", he meant it for all of us, even today, we have not been abandoned.  If we will speak with God as much as we do other people we associate with, I know we will see a difference in ourselves and our lives, He should be our best friend. 

     I know that if we put our trust in God, we can do all things.  I have been blessed for following the commandments and doing what I know I should, and I have likewise experienced the pain and loss of blessings from not doing what I know I should. Christ was perfect and He was still persecuted and hated, and it gives me the strength to do what is right in the sight of opposition.  The easy thing isn't always the right thing, but I know that if I do what is right it will all be worth it in the end.





A more eloquent speaker then I, Elder Jeffery R. Holland, shares his testimony of The Book of Mormon as well our Savior and what He did for us. Both videos are amazing.

Testimony of The Book of Mormon
None Were With Him