I have been a little perplexed since the summer of 1998. The moment I heard about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the feedback was negative. But that wasn't my personal experience. How could I ever forget the power I felt that day when those two young men Elder Yarrington and Elder Roberts, where sitting in my living room. I was a complete mess! When they showed up I was on my way to my daily party. Had I not had to wash clothes that day they would have missed me. I was home only because I didn't have a clean shirt. The timing of the Lord is always right on time!
My experience that day was that I had finally felt the Holy Spirit. He was testifying that they had been an answer to my constant prayers and the dream I'd had just a year prior. The Spirit testified to me that day the Jesus had called a prophet even Joseph Smith, and that the little blue book they had was also the Word! I decided to stay home a bit that day and take a chance on the Book of Mormon. How can I ever forget what I felt when reading it? I cannot. I was so excited to go tell my friends what I'd found and learned, they knew I had been looking. One of them believed too.
There has been so much opposition to the Church, one complaint is that we do not leave others alone, that we send missionaries to knock on others doors to attempt to convert them. We have to do this, we are commanded to! Jesus' last words to his Apostles before he left them were these, "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature...."
It may be that we are not doing a good enough job on explaining what we are preaching. We are preaching the abundant life. What we are saying is the way of Christ is good. Our leaders under the direction of Jesus Christ teach basic principles that if followed would indeed change the whole world.
Answer me this, what is the harm in teaching; Abstain from sexual relationships outside of marriage, or love your neighbor We can clearly see the effects of these two. Fatherless homes, STD's unwanted children either aborted or literally thrown in garbage's. War!
What of the doctrine to stay out of debt? Or the fact that you and your family can remain a family forever? Is it really a bad idea to ask others to give of their time and energy to clothe poor and feed the hungry, or to visit the widow and the orphan? Can it really be called evil to teach others to take one day of the week to spend in worship and in the service of others, or what of the council to dedicate one evening each week where you gather your family together to spend time with only them to strengthen your relationships?
But still the critic says, "what of your teachings, that you can become like God?" I say did not Jesus teach this when He said, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Or when Paul taught, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." From these two scriptures we learn that indeed we are to become like God, not in a sense that He is diminished but that in order to live where He lives and to inherit that kingdom we have to be like Them. Our Father has promised ALL to the faithful. We cannot enjoy ALL if we do not possess the same attributes, of love, and patience, and sacrifice that They possess perfectly. Again I ask what harm is there in this? What evil do these teachings have? They are good!
It is true that if the world adopted these principles, all wars would cease. Selfishness would cease. Poverty would be eradicated. Knowledge would grow. In other words we would have made a kingdom of heaven right here on earth. And this is what Jesus prayed for and asked that we do the same. So we will keep teaching and preaching these principles because they are what will lead us home to that God who gave us life.
I know that Jesus is the Christ and that the Book of Mormon along with the Bible are witnesses of His divinity. They are here to help us understand that we must have faith in Him so that He can heal us, clean us and change us so that we are prepared to live with our Father, forever!
