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Mormon Belief
by Vivian Malli
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| Vivian
Malli has been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints since 1993. She currently serves as a seminary teacher
for the Church's Educational System, which provides religious
education to young adults throughout the world. |
Mormon Belief - In a Nutshell
As a Latter-day Saint, (or more commonly referred to as Mormon),
I usually get the question "What do you believe?" Visit
Mormon.org for an interactive, detailed list of Mormon belief.
Let me start with the most important belief we have, even though
it's not unique to Mormons.
An Absolute Mormon Belief - We believe that Jesus is THE Christ.
He is our Redeemer, and we believe He leads our church, which
is officially known as The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day
Saints.
Now, that I've covered that most important topic, let me give
you a brief list of our beliefs that most people think make us
stand out.
Unique Mormon Belief #1 - We believe that God's spirit of prophecy
and revelation is alive and well. We believe that prophets exist
today because God "will yet reveal many great and important
things" for our spiritual benefit.
Since the beginning of time, our Father in Heaven has had prophets
to guide His people, such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, Isaiah and
John the Baptist - just to name a few. If God is constant and
true, then doesn't it make sense that He would speak to His children
today just as He spoke to His children in Biblical times?
This Mormon belief also extends to visions and angelic visitations.
After all, God communicated to Abraham in a vision (Genesis 15:1),
and the angel Gabriel told the virgin Mary that she would bear
the son of God (Luke 1). We believe the angel Moroni visited Joseph
Smith to prepare him for God's work in re-establishing the true
form of Christianity on the earth.
Unique Mormon Belief #2 - We believe that God's priesthood authority
has been restored, and this priesthood authority is the only power
that can act in the name of God and conduct the saving ordinances
of the Gospel. To Mormons, a man can obtain and retain priesthood
privileges as long as he is ordained by the proper priesthood
authority and lives his life according to Gospel principles.
Unique Mormon Belief #3 - We believe the Book
of Mormon also testifies that Jesus is the Christ. We believe
that the Bible and the Book of Mormon stand together as dual witnesses
of the Savior's mission.
Unique Mormon Belief #4 - We believe that, prior to being born
on this earth, we existed as spirit children who lived with our
Father in Heaven. In the pre-mortal existence, we agreed to follow
Jesus Christ through life's circumstances. We come to the earth
to fulfill our pre-mortal promises and to obtain a physical body,
which is necessary for obtaining saving ordinances, such as baptism,
and for resurrection.
Unique Mormon Belief #5 - We believe that families can live together
forever through temple ordinances. Through a temple marriage,
Mormons believe that matrimony can last beyond our earthly lives.
Similarly, our children, grandchildren and ancestors can live
with us in the eternities. Our personal salvation is linked to
the salvation of our spouses, our children and our kindred dead.
We believe that's what the Lord meant when he referred to Elijah's
arrival in Malachi 4:6 - "And he shall turn the heart of
the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their
fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."
This list is by no means comprehensive, but you can learn more
about Mormon belief in the following ways:
Attend
a local chapel
Talk
to a Mormon
E-mail
your questions on Mormon belief
Check
out a searchable database of Church publications on Mormon belief
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