I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was baptized in February of 1996 and I have been an active member my entire life. I have studied its teachings, tried hard to live the principles I have learned, and bring my life into harmony with what I have come to firmly believe. I served a mission for 18 months in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, teaching these same principles to anyone who would listen. Three months ago, I was married and sealed in the holy temple, to a wonderful man, whose story with the Church is very similar to mine. We are not perfect, not even close, but we strive to live the gospel of Jesus Christ each day of our lives together.
With that being said, I'd like to expound a little on a thought that I had as I was responding to a comment made by one of my friends on Facebook. It seems to me that in today's media, Mormons and the Mormon Church are the subject of much interest. There is a lot of talk about not drinking coffee, "magic underwear," and baptizing dead people. There also seems to be a lot of focus on ex-members who have become disillusioned with the faith, and the attitude of members towards those who do not believe the same way we do. That's all fine and good. I could try to explain and answer all those questions, but it would like trying to explain quantum physics to someone who doesn't even understand the first laws of motion (aka, someone like me, haha).
In order to understand the more complex doctrine of the gospel (that which everyone likes to focus on), you have to understand the most basic principles. So, I just wanted to try to explain a few of those basic principles, in the simplest way that I know how.
Everything that I'm going to explain can be found on the Church's official website, www.lds.org and also the Church's website for those who are interested in learning more www.mormon.org.
Okay, so, first things first.
The Plan of Salvation
We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. We believe that they are three separate beings, but one in purpose. God is the Father of our souls. He loves each and everyone of us, regardless of choices that we may make.
Before this Earth life, we all lived with our Heavenly Father in something we call the Pre-Mortal Existence. At this time, we were only Spirits, we did not have physical bodies. However, God had a perfect and glorified body of flesh and bone, and wanted us to become like Him. Most parents on this earth hope that their children will grow up to be like them. No different with God.
God created a Plan, the Plan of Salvation or Plan of Happiness. The purpose of this plan was for us to gain a physical body, be tested according to the commandments, be happy, and return to live with God, better than we were before.
So we were sent to this beautiful Earth with this purpose. Our mortal existence is really only a small sliver of God's eternal plan. It is a very important part. Here we are able to learn and make decisions using our God-given agency (our power to choose), We will be judged according to the knowledge that we obtain and the decisions that we make.
When we die, our physical body and our spirits separate for a time. Our bodies stay here on Earth and our spirits go to a temporal state called the Spirit World. It is divided into two states--Paradise and Prison. During this time, our spirits are able to continue growing and learning according to the opportunities that we were given here on Earth. For example, those who did not have the opportunity to learn about Jesus Christ and His gospel in their mortal life, may learn about it then.
After a time, we will all be resurrected. This comes about because of the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He affected here on Earth. The atonement embarks His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane for the pains and sins of the world, His crucifixion, and His resurrection on Easter Morning.
Once our physical bodies are once again reunited with our spirits, we will receive a final judgement. Depending on the covenants (pacts or promises) we have made with God, and our faithfulness to them, we will be sent to a degree of glory. Learn more about degrees of glory here.
This is a SUPER watered down version of the Plan of Salvation. But it is what we believe. You can study it more in depth if you want. I continue to study it, despite my 16 years as a member of the Church.
Now, here's the other thing I promised I'd cover.
Baptisms for the Dead
Sounds creepy, right? We do NOT dig up cadavers and dunk them in water.
We believe that every individual, every child of God, will have every opportunity they need to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and come unto Him, whether in this life, or the next. We also believe that baptism is an essential part of the gospel of Christ.
In the Bible it says, "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" (John 3:5). He CANNOT. Sounds pretty definite to me. So, we think baptism is pretty darn important.
Baptisms for the dead is an ordinance (an established rite or ceremony) performed vicariously for others. We are NOT forcing people to be Mormon, or to accept what we believe. It is not an "automatic ticket to Heaven." It is an opportunity for those who did not receive baptism by proper authority in this mortal life. They always have their agency, and can choose whether to accept of reject this ordinance.
Baptisms for the dead is not a new concept. It was practiced in the original Church of Christ, as written in the Holy Bible. Paul was explaining to some people about the idea of literal resurrection, because there were those who did not believe that we would live again. He answered, "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?" (1 Corinthians 15: 29)
Okay, I don't know if I did a very good job explaining, but if you have more questions, just ask. Or you can read more here.
Alright, so, if you are still reading at this point--CONGRATULATIONS!! I know I wrote a lot. But this is my point. In order to understand the gospel, there is A LOT to learn. You can't simply judge a religion without having a deeper understanding of their beliefs. Everything I do in life, everything I believe and all of my opinions, are based on the understanding I have of this gospel.
I have lived these principles; I have prayed to my Father in Heaven to know if they are true. I have taught them to others, with the firm conviction that they are true. People get mad when you say you know something is true, when they don't know it, or don't believe it. That's okay. It doesn't make it any less true. Don't get mad. Just find out for yourself. Or don't. Whatever you want to do. That's the greatest thing about agency. We won't force anyone to believe what we do. We won't look down on you if you don't (or we shouldn't, I guess there are those who do.) But I won't. And I'll answer any question you have, at least to my knowledge.
Okay, I'm done for now. :)
