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The Abominations of the Creeds

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In New England in 1820 Joseph Smith was caught up in a fervent religious revival. Calvinism Christianity had heavily shaped the Christian understanding of God in his time. America was beginning to shifted away from orthodox Calvinist teaching in Joseph Smith’s time, which was a doctrine that about 30% of Christian believers adhered to in 1820. This shift has continued, today Christians who affirm the TULIP points of Calvinism make up less than 5% of Christians. Joseph Smith received answers to his sincere seeking and prayers over what church to join, in the form of a vision of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. He prayed fervently in a grove of trees near palmyra New York in the Spring of 1820 to seek an answer directly to God because of the great tumult of opinions and confusion and strife among the different denominations, and their contest over the creeds and interpretation of the Bible. In this state of things, Joseph records his vision: “I saw two Personages, whose brightness and g...
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In the Beginning

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Latter-Day Saints do not believe in creatio ex nihilo, creation from nothing; rather we believe in things that are eternally existent. Matter unorganized as well as intelligence unorganized. In this is an understanding that good and evil are not created, they simply exist in opposition to each other as opposite potentials. In our theology opposition is an existent principle as well. Genesis 1: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth…. And the earth was without form.” God created — formed, organized — took what was not organized, unformed, and organized it, formed it, into creation. Something created, is something useful, given order and purpose. In the beginning — we believe all things were created spiritually first, from unordered, unformed, intelligence. Afterward creation was made physical, from organized — formed — physical matter. We believe in a co-eternal principle that intelligence exists, never created, that the essence of all organized spirit is intelligence. T...
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Faith to Walk on Water

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“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone… shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” — James 2:17-18 Jacob’s ladder is a metaphor for how we climb to heaven by faith. All along the way there is divine help, because we simply can’t climb the latter alone; we must have divine help — grace — strengthening and enabling power — to do all the things we are called to do we must cooperate with Christ. We even need help to believe, if we are honest, as the father in Mark 9:23-24 discovers: “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. “And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. Another good illustration of cooperation with Christ as a work of faith, is when Peter is called by Christ to come and walk on the water with him. Peter believes it’s possible because he believes Christ has the power to help him do it, or that he can do it through Christ’...
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An Unusual Excitement on the Subject of Religion

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There is an unusual excitement on the subject of religion in the United States today!! The whole country seems affected by it, and a great online debate is creating no small stir and division amongst the faithful #Christians of different sects. There is great zeal on display from the different influencers and preachers who are active on social media in getting up and promoting this extraordinary scene of religious feeling, in order to have everybody converted to Christ. The different teachers and influencers pretend to be fine with Christians believing the tenants of whatever Christian sect they please; yet when people began to file off, some to one sect and some to another, it is discovered that the seemingly good feelings of both the influencers and the followers are more pretended than real; for a contest of confusion and bad feeling ensues — influencer contending against influencer, and follower against follower; so that all their good feelings one for another, if they ever had an...
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A Child Knows the Sanctity of Life

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My granddaughter, who is two, is anxiously awaiting the birth of her sister. Her whole family is waiting everyday for her baby to be born. She is young and probably doesn’t quite understand what it all means, but she has learned in these last months that her parents are joyfully nurturing a new life growing in her mother’s womb, and that life is real to her, she even knows her baby’s name. She decided today that she needed to read a book to her baby, she picked up her favorite picture book, climbed up next to mom, moved her shirt off her rounded belly and patted “her baby” and began to read to her baby in her two year old jabbering. A child knows without any hesitation the immense value of a baby not yet born. She knows this baby already belongs to a family. This sweet scene of pure love from an innocent child captures perfectly the precious sanctity of all human life, born and unborn, and it should make every conscience shrink from the very thought of killing the life of any unborn ch...
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The Source of Testimony

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The final and most important foundation of my faith in Christ and in my belief that The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church, the restored Church of Christ on Earth — Is the power that has come into my life through the truths taught, the ordinances provided, and enabling covenants extended through the priesthood power and authority of Christ’s chosen representatives on Earth. These principles and powers have transformed me and supported my life — becoming my strength and guide to faithfully do my duty to God, my family, and all men. My testimony results first from the witness inside my heart and mind — comes into action in my relations with my family members, and then outward from that. Of course I have seen great fruits of the gospel in other Latter-Day Saints and in their lives and I have been strengthened by many faithful followers of Christ throughout my life. — BUT I am careful not to base my convictions upon what others do and works that I can only see f...
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Free Will & Agency

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I think free will, is a verily limited power intelligent beings possess that makes it possible for them to rebel against God (against order and truth). Free will is a condition of reality that explains how Satan rebels against God in the presence of God. It explains the existence of evil, not created by God, but as a reaction to him; in opposition to him. Free will simply exists as God exists. However, I believe the principle of #agency is a gift from God, and it differs in its nature from free will in this sense: Agency is the use of free will to enter an enabling relationship with God that provides for us the ability to act for ourselves in accordance with his law to bring about our progression through his plan for the immortality and eternal life of all created souls. “Wherefore, men are free… they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh tha...
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