What is a Mormon? And Why?

Foster mom. Fighting chronic illness. Small business owner. Opera singer. Baker. Artist. Wife. Teacher. Rocker of the mini van. Seamstress. Huge children's party host. Horrible Gardner. Emergency Prep Expert. Awful bed head in the morning. Insomniac. Really bad at sports. Love to do rehabilitation with children with special needs. And I'm a Mormon.

This is my handsome husband Ken.

" Mormons" is a nickname given to people who belong to my faith. We belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  We are often called "Mormons" because we read The Book Of Mormon, which is another testament of Jesus Christ. It is a scriptural account of the people here on the American Continent, and adds to what the Bible teaches.

Yes, we believe in and read the Bible.

Our Church is the same Church the Savior established while on the earth. We have a living Prophet named Thomas S Monson, and 12 apostles. We hear from the prophet and apostles 2 times a year in a world wide broadcast. We also get to read talks and revelation from the Lord in a monthly magazine that is available online or in print called the Ensign.

Most importantly, we believe that Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer. Because of Him and through the atonement, we can return to live with our Father in Heaven again. This means we must repent for our sins, say sorry to those we have hurt, and try not to repeat the sin. We take the sacrament each week. This is bread and water that symbolizes the Savior and renews our covenants we made with the Lord at baptism. We believe children under 8 do not need to be baptized, children under 8 are not accountable for sin. When they turn 8, and choose to be baptized they are baptized the same way Jesus was by John the Baptist.

By being baptized, we covenant with the Lord to do our best, help those in need of help, comforting those in need of comfort, and trying our best to be like the Savior.

We also believe in temples, just as in ancient times. Many people get frustrated or angry that they cannot come inside and see someone they know get married in our temples. Our temples are sacred and special. We learn of the Savior, do baptisms for our dead ancestors by proxy, and get sealed. Being sealed means not just being married here on earth, but being bound together for all eternity in Heaven. When a new temple is built, we have open houses so that anyone can go in and see how beautiful the temples are, and where we learn and what the beautiful rooms look like. Once a temple is dedicated, only members who live worthy of the highest standards set in the scriptures can enter.

Here is a compilation of the basic things we believe in, called the 13 Articles of Faith.

We all serve in our Sunday worship and youth programs without getting paid. We are given callings, or jobs to do in our congregation. Mine is to teach songs about the Savior to the children. I love my calling. I get to hear the beautiful voices of the children bearing testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ, and I absolutely love it. I love being able to serve.

We pay 10% tithing just like in the Bible. This money is used to build church buildings, buy teaching supplies and materials, and to build temples. All around the world each Sunday, Mormons are taught the same lesson. So no matter where you go, you will lean the same truths.

 

We believe in being kind to all people. Not everyone is perfect, not everyone is always at their best. But we try. And we believe that the atonement of Jesus Christ allows us to do more than repent. We believe in personal prayer and receiving personal revelation through the Holy Ghost. We know from the Bible that the Savior took all of our sorrows, pains, trials and sins and suffered so that He could know how to succor us. We believe in developing a strong personal relationship with our Savior.

We believe in the power of prayer, miracles, and that God has not stopped talking to us. He speaks to us through our prophet and apostles. He speaks to us as we pray individually, and we can receive many blessings and miracles and we strive to keep the commandments and do what is right.

We believe that a young boy named Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and the Lord used him to restore the fullness of Christ's original church on the earth. Joseph Smith was a true and living prophet who brought about the restoration of the Gospel. We do not worship him or pray to him, we love him and are grateful for what he did.

We believe in the Plan of Happiness. We lived in Heaven before we came to earth, we came to earth to gain a body and be tested and tried. And when we die we will live with our families and our Father in Heaven once more because the Savior broke the bands of death. We are Christians. We love the Savior, and we love our Father in Heaven.

We do not have multiple wives. We do not do weird or secretive things in our temples. We do not worship idols or rocks or alters or shapes or signs. We do not pray to anyone other than our Father in Heaven.

I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that He is our Savior and Redeemer. That he knows what we are going through, that we can turn to Him to have our burdens made light. I believe in the Bible. I believe in the Book of Mormon. I believe Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. I believe that we have a true prophet of God who leads and guides us today. I believe that families can be together forever, and am so grateful to be sealed to my amazing husband Ken. I believe that the power of the Priesthood has been restored, and that this is the Savior's true church. I know that Heavenly Father hears our prayers and loves all of us, no matter what our religion.

If you want to know more, ask a Mormon you may know! or check out Mormon.org Also the movie
"Meet the Mormons" is now available on Netflix if you want to see what some other Mormons are like.