As can be seen in this video, Oak & Gail Norton joined the LDS church and willingly changed their lives, giving up activities that interfered with their ability to fully follow the Lord.
Metal Plates Found
A few years ago in a cave in Jordan, 70 metal books were found that contains writings and hieroglyphs that date to the 1st century A.D. Not only is this a wonderful find for the world, but also negates one of the criticisms of the Book of Mormon where some scholars have said the book couldn’t be true because nobody was writing on metal plates anciently. Joseph Smith also claims to have translated the Book of Mormon from ancient plates as delivered to him by the prophet Moroni who lived on this continent around 400 A.D. Moroni appeared to him and showed him where they were buried near Joseph’s home in Palmyra, New York, and Joseph translated them by the power of God into the Book of Mormon. Part of those plates were sealed and Joseph was instructed not to translate them yet.
These images come from the article linked to above at the Daily Mail. There is more about them and an image of the cave they were found in at the Daily Mail website.
What is going to a Mormon church like?
I stumbled on some great little videos at http://www.mormonsmadesimple.com that explain basic things about the church and thought I’d post them here. This video shows what a typical church service is like in a Ward. We refer to 3 types of “units” in the church which are based on size and geography: Branches, Wards, and Stakes. (See Units on the Jargon page for an explanation)
On Following a Prophet
Someone just forwarded me an interesting article from USA Today entitled, “Mormon president can do no wrong to religion’s members.” The author discusses how we have 15 men in the hierarchy of the church (3 in the First Presidency and then the Quorum of the 12 Apostles) that we regard and sustain as “prophets, seers, and revelators” and how some members hold them in such high esteem that they may believe them infallible. The church has never taught that these men were anything but imperfect men, chosen by God to this high calling. Jesus Christ is the only perfect person to walk the earth. What does “prophets, seers, and revelators” mean? A basic approach is to view this as a prophet is one who is called to be the spokesman for God right now. He gives us counsel concerning the will of the Lord that we need to hear in our day and age. A seer is one who is able to translate ancient languages through the power of God and know the past. A revelator is one who reveals the future as inspired by God to know it. The scriptures contain many examples of prophets. Just like Moses, Noah, and Isaiah, Mormons believe there were prophets among the people of the ancient Americas as recorded in the Book of Mormon. We also believe in modern day prophets because God loves all of his children and wants them to have his guidance. In the scheme of things, when in the history of earth has a prophet been more needed than in our day today? Why would God abandon us when he provided prophets in the past eras? He hasn’t abandoned us. You can listen to a prophet any time by going to this link to the LDS church’s General Conference page. Thomas S. Monson is the Lord’s prophet on earth today.
Who is Joseph Smith?
Joseph Smith was the founder of the Mormon church. Born in Vermont, December 23, 1805, his family later moved to rural New York. This video is an overview of his life and was produced by the LDS church. In it, you will see a glimpse of the boy who became a prophet of God just like the ancient prophets God called such as Samuel, Moses, and Malachi. God does speak to his children and he does call men to be His prophets today, just as in ancient times. I hope you enjoy this movie. Grab some popcorn and Kleenex.
First Post
This site is just getting started but we hope to provide some insight into the lives of some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (AKA “The Mormons“). We’ll share some things put out from the church, but mostly just share what we value about being members of the church and why we think others would find value there as well.