I think that my favorite thing about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the lifestyle that is taught and practiced by faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is how that makes this mortal life better. I mean how it makes people happier, gives them peace in their hearts and a sense of purpose, strengthens families, and ultimately brings joy, though always with sacrifice and challenges. The Gospel makes life better and helps people live happier, more meaningful lives.
Yes, I recognize that many people in other religions find meaning and joy in their religion, and that is one of the positives of healthy religion in general. In my biased perspective, though, I see some unusual benefits of this strange but wonderful religion, and hope you’ll give it a chance. It really is a marvelous, delightful experience to encounter the blessings that are found in the Church.
What is your favorite thing about the Church or about your own religion?
I love the peace the plan of salvation gives me.
I like many things about the gospel, but one thing that comes to mind is the way it makes me want to be a better person. It makes me want to be more kind, patient, understanding, honest, charitable, etc….
I like the doctrine of Eternal Progression: there will always be more to learn, do, and work at… forever. And we'll always have our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ at our side, directing us to continually be better, even after the grave.
I guess it helps me focus on improving myself now, seeing as that is a core purpose of existence.
Pre-existence, worlds without number and without end, continued revelation, eternal progression. The true gospel of Jesus Christ has no begining and no end. It didn't end with Paul and the apostles, it continues on and will do so forever. This makes a lot of sense to me.
Me too, and it's something that I think about a lot.
No religion here. Still finding a love for community, friends, family, and choosing a purpose to follow.
I'm glad I grew up religious, though. and I constantly learn from people who've learned from their own religion.
It can be hard to live in the bible belt like this, but the whole experience molded me into someone who can accept other people despite how much I disagree with their religious beliefs (particularly when people act out and say things like atheists have no hope or live entirely hopeless lives. it's frustrating to think that, if I came out to them about my beliefs, then that alone would be enough for them to look down on me like i'm some poor fool. fortunately, that's usually not the case. people are becoming more accepting these days. it's easy to avoid the people who take religion too seriously).
I like that despite the necessity of faith, the logic and reasoning of the gospel inside the LDS faith is very sound.
The Gift of the Atonement, i am a fellow BYU Alum that recently(better late than never) discovered the give of Repentance!
I really have enjoyed your blog and look forward to following it.
What's waiting for us after we past on from this mortal life. So many more things to learn and experience with our loved ones with us. I can't possibly imagine anything greater than that.
What is your favorite thing about…about your own religion? Who could narrow it down to just one? There's the Jewish legacy of great literary art–the Joseph story, the David story, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah–and of great writers and thinkers and statesmen and performers and scientists–Maimonides, Spinoza, Martin Buber, Karl Marx and Groucho Marx, Hannah Arendt, Albert Einstein, Golda Meir, Louis Brandeis, Al Jolson, Bob Dylan…. And heroes like Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman….
— Eveningsun
Truth.
There are many wonderful things that religion can give us, but truth is not among them.
— Eveningsun
You misunderstand. My religion is truth.
I think what I love most about my faith is the concept of loving and forgiving God. I have met many who, because of their beliefs, live in fear of a God that they believe will punish them should they stray even a little bit from the path that they should follow. I love the idea of a God that loves me no matter what I've done. A God of mercy and peace.
http://www.thespiritualandthesacred.com
I hope you can see why I believe, by reading the Bible passages I am presenting here, that the fullness of the gospel is only that Jesus died on the cross and rose again on the third day and that His death and resurrection is not just the first principles of the gospel but is the whole gospel.
Paul said this is the gospel and he didn’t say it was Jesus’ death and resurrection plus a bunch of laws and ordinances.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4
15 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures
Paul also said that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. So, again, it isn’t Christ’s death and resurrection plus following a bunch of laws and ordinances, the gospel is His death and resurrection where saved means eternal life.
Romans 10:1-4, 9-13
1Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
4 FOR CHRIST IS THE END OF THE LAW FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS TO EVERY ONE THAT BELIEVETH.
9 THAT IF THOU SHALT CONFESS WITH THY MOUTH THE LORD JESUS, AND SHALT BELIEVE IN THINE HEART THAT GOD HATH RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, THOU SHALT BE SAVED.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
I also hope you can see why I believe that eternal life is given to those who believe on the name of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and it is not something we progress to but is something we already have because of our faith in Christ.
1 John 5:10-13
10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
11 And this is the record, THAT GOD HATH GIVEN TO US ETERNAL LIFE, AND THIS LIFE IS IN HIS SON.
12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
13 THESE THINGS HAVE I WRITTEN UNTO YOU THAT BELIEVE ON THE NAME OF THE SON OF GOD; THAT YE MAY KNOW THAT YE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
By the way, I have to clarify that I don’t believe eternal life means anyone can ever be gods themselves but isn’t being in the presence of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for eternity enough?
Add on to my last post, I would like to point out that being saved (having eternal life) by faith alone in Christ does not mean I am saying it gives anyone a license to sin but that when we are saved we are born again and we become new creatures in Christ with a new heart and desire to live moral lives and if someone is living a sinful lifestyle as if he or she has a license to sin, it could be evidence that they are not true believers in Christ at all.
Note the passages below:
2 Corinthians 5:17
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Can people see, in my posts here by the Bible passages I have quoted why I believe what I believe?
One more thing, God's grace is not after all we can do because if it requires any works, than it is not a free gift and it is not grace anymore.
Consider the following scripture from the Bible. This shows why I believe this is the case.
Romans 11:6
And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
@Kent, we do not believe we have to "work" to get to heaven or have eternal life. We believe we have to show good works, as in deeds and actions, I.e. paying tithing, obeying the commandments and so on. Read Romans2:5-10. Talks bout the "works" we need to do. We believe it is by the grace of God we are saved, but we also believe as it says in our book of Mormon, after all we can do. We will fall and come up short but thats the point of the atonement! We will be held accountable for our actions, or works, after this life before God! That is truth!
But if works have anything to do with grace, then if we fail, even once, then we are guilty of the whole law.
James 2:10
10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
And if righteousness comes from what we do (works, the law) than Christ died for nothing.
Galatians 2:21
21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Again, it is either grace or works, not both, one or the other.
Grace is a free gift which is exactly that, free, and it doesn't come after all we can do.
Romans 11:6
And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
Yes, good works are evidence of faith but they follow from faith, they don't contribute anything to faith.
James 2:18
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
You can know now, not later, that you can have eternal life if you have the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
It isn't a matter of progression but of faith so saved=eternal life but minus ever becoming gods ourselves.
But isn't being in the presence of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ forever enough? It is for me!
Again from 1 John 5:10-13
1 John 5:10-13
10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
11 And this is the record, THAT GOD HATH GIVEN TO US ETERNAL LIFE, AND THIS LIFE IS IN HIS SON.
12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
13 THESE THINGS HAVE I WRITTEN UNTO YOU THAT BELIEVE ON THE NAME OF THE SON OF GOD; THAT YE MAY KNOW THAT YE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
Can you at least see why I believe what I believe based on what the passages I am presenting here are saying?
Kent, this post is not about the old, tired grace vs. works issue, and regurgitating long lists of scriptures on peripheral topics is not helpful here. Looks like threadjacking. Latter-day Saint theology is very compatible with the teachings of Christ and the earliest Christians which emphasized gaining access to the grace of God by entering into a covenant relationship that includes the requirement to keep the commandments. This is why Christ could say, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments" (Matt. 19) – not because we EARN salvation, but because we accept Christ and follow Him. Rev. 22:14: Blessed are they that keep his commandments – they gain right (access) to the tree of life. They don't earn the tree of life, but meet the simple conditions on how to receive that gift. Yes, Kent, gifts can have conditions. I've got a gift for you here. You just have to come to Shanghai and knock on my door and ask for it and it's yours. The fact that some work (travel, knocking, asking) is needed does not mean you earned it and that it's not a gift.
Eternal life and resurrection are amazing, miraculous gifts, and nothing we could ever do could make those happen on our own or make us earn them, but if we repent of our sins and lay them at Christ's feet and seek to follow Him instead of our old ways, He rescues us and saves us. If we wish to enter into life, we keep His commandments. Nothing is earned by following Him, but everything is gained, thanks to the covenant of mercy Christ offers.
This is the only gospel there is, the whole fullness of the gospel. It didn't have to be restored as it was never lost.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures
This is what we must do to be saved, have eternal life.
Acts 16:30-34
30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
This is how we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved, have eternal life.
Romans 10:9-13
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
SAVED=ETERNAL LIFE
BY NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS
Jeff, I am not hijacking any thread I am merely sharing with people the gospel, the whole gospel, that I believe God wants me to share.
I have one question for you at this time, I believe that what you consider the fullness of the gospel cannot be shown by using the Bible alone without the extra body of works of the LDS church and the teachings of your various church leaders.
Do you believe that what you consider the fullness of the gospel can be shown by only using the Bible? Beyond what I believe is the whole gospel, that Christ died for our sins to save sinners who can never save ourselves and by His rising again on the third day.