Life's Greatest Questions... Answered.

Where did we come from?

Why are we here?

What is the purpose of life?

What awaits us in the hereafter?


     These are the questions that have occupied the time and attention of  philosophers since the earliest eras of mankind's presence on Earth. They are the definitive questions of mortality, and the way we answer them will drastically influence the course of our eternal destinies.

     Though finding these answers can prove to be a daunting task, it can be a great relief to understand that God has never intended for these questions to be left unanswered. In fact it is His greatest desire that the answers will be made known to every nation, kindred, and tongue (Revelation 14:6).

     God has made these answers available to us though the Bible and the Book of Mormon. These Holy Scriptures are replete with fragments of doctrine that illustrate God's expectations for our progression. If these fragments are sought out and collectively compiled, you will find that an ingenious plan begins to unfold. A plan devised by deity, approved by angelic masses, and enabled by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

     That plan is God's plan for us. It is God's plan for you. And for all intents and purposes, it will hereafter be referred to as The Plan of Salvation. 

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The Book of Mormon

        At times it may seem that an air of mystery surrounds The Book of Mormon. Many wonder what to make of this book, and yet seem to prefer to shun it rather than investigate its content for themselves.

       Anyone curious or wary of The Book of Mormon may gain a greater appreciation for it when they understand the reality of the book, along with it's origins and purposes. This is because The Book of Mormon, like the Bible, can be esteemed with dual significance when recognized as both a historical record, and as an additional book of scripture.

Read more to see how...

Prophets

    According to every standard version of the Holy Bible, the first mortal ears to directly receive the words of God were those of Adam, the patriarch of the human race.

     Though Adam had the honor of being the first to hear the voice of God, he would not be the last.
After the end of Adam’s ministry, the Lord then began to commune with Noah. He gave Noah instructions to build an arc in order to preserve his family and the whole of the animal kingdom against the impending tempests that would immerse the earth in water. Years later, an elderly and childless man named Abram received direct revelation that he had found favor with God, and that through his posterity, God would raise up a mighty nation. Abram was renamed Abraham, and was told that despite their old age, he and his wife would bear a son to ensure the fulfillment of this promise. The promise was indeed fulfilled, and the nation of Israel flourished and prospered. When that prosperity was threatened due to the captivity of the Israelite nation by the Egyptians, God spoke with Moses, and gave him the power and authority to work miracles in His name, and be a leader and liberator for His people.

     These men all share a singular commonality. They all spoke with God. And as a result of these correspondences, God was able to actuate His grand plans and designs.
     These circumstances signify that these men were prophets; spokesmen chosen by God to act as mediums of communication between this earth and the heavens. And they are only a handful of the many examples of prophets that are to be found in recorded scripture.
       
     Prophets have revealed the word and will of God since the days of Adam in the Garden of Eden. They have acted as divinely appointed authorities at the times when the world has been at its heights of confusion, chaos, and turmoil.
     The words of prophets are undiluted axioms of God’s wisdom. Once transcribed to scripture, their teachings echo through throughout the ages, and are revered as hallowed existential dogma.


     Prophets are an invaluable resource for revelation and salvation. In fact, the Holy Bible states:

“Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7)

     The advantages of having a prophet as led many to pose the following question:  Where are the prophets today?  In response to such a query, one of the most thrilling messages that we, as members of the LDS church, have to declare is that this day and age is no different than any other.

     God has prophets on the earth right at this very moment, and they are actively receiving and proclaiming his word.

Read more to know how....

The Power and Mercy of Jesus Christ's Atonement

     Before His arrest and execution, Jesus Christ chose to momentarily retire to a garden called Gethsemane, knowing that the darkest hours of His mortal existence would soon be upon Him, and still having yet more arcane messianic duties to perform before He could surrender Himself to His persecutors.

     As He led them on to the garden, His apostles took notice of their Master's morose behavior, and became increasingly aware that something was amiss. But they could not, at that time, fully comprehend the enormity of the final task that their Master was about to undertake.

     When Christ was beginning to approach His preappointed destination within the garden, He instructed His apostles to wait behind and watch before He continued to walk forward, alone, into the encompassing night. He only walked a little further, just out of immediate sight of His disciples, before He kneeled to the ground, and uttered these words:

   "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." (Luke 22:42)

      The cup that Jesus spoke of was the Atonement that he was about to make, at that very moment, for the sins of all mankind. This means that in these pivotal hours before His death, the sins of all past, present, and future penitent transgressors would be siphoned away from their adulterated souls, and pressed upon His immaculate own.
     This was a labor willingly undertaken out of love, and a task so painful and strenuous that it would cause Him to physically bleed from every pore in His body.

     Why then, we must ask ourselves, did He do it?
     The Bible enlightens us with this this one simple explanation:

"God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the World to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:16) ".. And the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin." (1John 1:7)

He is Risen

         As we bask in the reverent afterglow of our most recent Easter Sunday it would no doubt do us all well to remember the sacred purposes behind our festivities.
        We should never get too swept up in the distracting frivolities of colored eggs and chocolate bunnies and forget that one thousand nine hundred and seventy eight years ago, Jesus Christ, the Lord, Savior, and Redeemer of the world, conquered death. And, in doing so, He ensured that we could follow in his stead, and have hope for salvation for our souls after our own inevitable descent into the grave.

       The most miraculous story in the history of the world is as follows:

       Three days after Jesus Christ's cruel and savage crucifixion (a humiliating and excruciatingly painful method of Roman execution)  at Golgotha, a small group of women, all earnestly loyal disciples of Jesus Christ, journeyed to a tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea, which was the location where the body of Christ was laid to rest. When they arrived at the site, and were just beginning to contemplate how they would manage to move an immense boulder that was blocking the entrance to the sepulcher, they were met with a shocking scene. For they observed from afar that the boulder had already been rolled away, and the threshold to Christ's tomb was exposed.

The First Vision

      In the spring of 1820 at Palmyra, New York, a young boy named Joseph Smith retired to a secluded grove of trees with private intentions to pray to God. It is impossible to determine exactly what Joseph expected, if he indeed expected anything at all from his prayer, but there can be no doubt that he never could have expected what he received: An answer.

        Not only an answer though, but an answer that was given in the most direct and personal way possible. An answer that, though it would dramatically alter Joseph's personal life, and set him on a course for humiliation and persecution, would bring salvation to innumerable souls.

An answer from the lips of God Himself.

What took place that day in a humble grove of trees would bring spiritual light to a world that for centuries had been clawing and clamoring for truth in benighted darkness. It would become an entreasured juncture in the annals of history, as the day that God broke His silence to once again commune with men.

This is the story of the first vision:

My Testimony of Christ

I feel there would be no better way to begin a new gospel-oriented blog than with this, my solemn and personal testimony.

First, I believe in Jesus Christ.

I know that He is my Savior.

I know that He suffered and died for my sins,

and that knowledge, for me, is overwhelming. I cannot even attempt to fathom the full weight of Christ's sacrifices for me alone without finding myself struggling to fight back tears. He suffered through persecution, agony, humiliation, and death so sinners (the company of such that you and I are not exempt from being associated with) could have a chance. Just a chance to repent of our sins and return to God's presence. A chance that He undoubtedly knew many would turn down; ignorant or apathetic of the fact that their souls are not their own, and have been bought with their Savior's blood. Indeed, Christ gave his life so that even the very men who drove the nails into His palms would have a chance to be forgiven, if they would only repent and accept Him as their Savior.

          Therefore I know that there is not one soul that Christ does not personally know and love, regardless of their sins and shortcomings.

      I know that Christ lives, and I know that He leads and guides His church to this very day. I know that in answer to an adolescent boy's humble and unassuming prayer, the true gospel of Jesus Christ has once again been restored to the earth, no different now than it was when Christ himself established it Himself, during His own earthly ministry. I know that Joseph Smith was called as a prophet of God to restore His true church to the earth. I know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ, and serves to further affirm His divinity as the Son of God, and the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind.
        I know that we are all part of one eternal family, and I consider everyone who reads these words to be another brother or sister, who came from the same God that I have come from, and who will return to Him after death.

        I could go on, but there is more power in brevity. So suffice it to say this. First and foremost God exists. He is our spiritual Father, and He resides as a glorified and perfected being in a state of paradise that we know as Heaven. Jesus Christ is His Only Begotten Son in the Flesh. These supernal progenitors of the human race love every soul that ever has, does, and ever will exist.

 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is God's true church.

      Jesus Christ lives, and He has invited everyone to come unto Him, and receive His gospel, fully restored and reinstated through modern day prohets, and all blessings therein. Through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism into His true church, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end, I promise you will find a new and perfect peace and joy in life, and a greater understanding of your place and purpose in God's eternal plan. I promise you blessings as you endeavor to learn more of Jesus Christ, your friend and advocate in life and death, and His gospel. If you so desire, you can begin right now to gain a testimony of God's love for you with earnest and sincere daily prayer. I declare this in the name of Jesus Christ, and conclude with an affectionate amen.