Beliefs of the LDS Church

The focus of this page is to show people the beliefs of the LDS Church using both the Bible and latter-day scripture. Those who would like will have the opportunity of learning what we believe using only the Bible. Those who would like to understand why we use additional scriptures will be able to see for themselves how very much the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants and Pearl of Great Price have in common.

People have been given a lot of misinformation about what the LDS Church is exactly. This page is designed to help rectify that.

LDS Lower Light: What is Mormonism? 

iSideWith Poll: Would Jesus Be Pleased with Modern Christianty If He Came Back Today?  
Pew Forum demographic study on Mormons

Most people who pursue worship on some level either search out or grow up in a church that gives them teachings and traditions they're comfortable with.
 
Mormons think about church a little bit differently. For us, the search it isn't about finding a church that gives us what we want; it's about finding a church where God gives us what, in His judgement, we need. The reason why so many people join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is that it brings to an end their search for the Church that was founded both anciently and in the latter days by Jesus Christ himself. 






Why does the Lord choose to use a church to do His work?
Elder Tad R. Calliser, Seventy, January 2014 - What is the Blueprint of the Church?



Life's Big Questions

One of the things that attracts people to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is its unique body of answers to people's big life questions. No matter who you are, what your culture or religion is, or where you live in the world, all people seem to have these questions in common:


  1. Who is God? What is God? How can I feel closer to God? How can I feel more of God in my life? Why does God let bad things happen? 
  2. Can I talk to God? How do I communicate with God? 
  3. Can God talk to me? How? 
  4. Who am I?
  5. Where did I come from before I came to be born on earth?
  6. Why am I here? What is the purpose of life? How can I find a sense of meaning or direction in my life?
  7. Where will I go after I die? What will happen to me then?
  8. What will happen to my family when we die? Will I still have my mom, dad, spouse, and children?

Through modern revelation and with the aid of the Holy Spirit, Latter-Day Saints are able to look at ancient scripture in a new way - and combine it with modern scripture given through prophets of God - to provide ourselves and the world the answers which God Himself has given for these questions.

See my Life's Big Questions page for answers and more discussion about these questions.

Read: A God Who Weeps: How Mormonism Makes Sense of Life



Defining Characteristics of The Church of Jesus Christ


Why did Jesus Christ found a church? What did He hope to give us by setting up His church on the earth in ancient times? What are the defining characteristics of His organization? How do those characteristics serve His purposes? Is His church on the earth in our time?

I've been studying these questions, and I'm in the process of putting together articles that discuss the answers in detail. Originally inspired by - and building upon - Floyd Weston's 17 Points of the True Church, I've come up with a list of defining characteristics of the ancient organization which Jesus Christ personally established. I've gone and found all of these in the Old and New Testaments (OT, NT), then correlated them to their latter-day counterparts as found in the scriptures of the restored organization, namely the Book of Mormon (BoM), Doctrine and Covenants (D&C), and Pearl of Great Price (PGP). I invite you to read and see for yourself how closely the latter-day church of Jesus Christ matches the ancient one in all these ways.



Characteristic  Old & New Testaments  BoM, D&C, PGP 
Accepts the Holy Bible Go Go
Accepts The Holy Trinity: Three Distinct Beings
God Made Us in His Image
The Father, Son and Holy Ghost at Jesus' Baptism 
The Father Sent the Son
My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me? 
A Spirit Hath Not Flesh and Bone As Ye See Me Have 
Stephen: Jesus Standing On the Right Hand of God
Latter-Day Saints and the Creeds of Christendom 
Go
Performs Baptism with Authority and By Immersion Go Go
Priesthood Leaders Have Specific Offices, Must Be Unpaid, Called of God Priesthood Offices in The Ancient Church
Priesthood Leaders Must Be Unpaid/Called of God (Ancient)
Priesthood Offices in The Latter-Day Church
Priesthood Leaders Must Be Unpaid/Called of God (Latter-Day)
Why Aren't Mormon Women Ordained to the Priesthood?
Temples, Temple Ordinances & Work for the Dead
The Building of Temples
Dedication and Acceptance
The Wearing of Garments
Temple Ordinances 
Temple Work for the Dead
The Sanctity of the Temple
The Building of Temples 
Why I Do Family History - Let's Go Into the Family Business!
New Albany Ward Family History & Temple Work Website
Believes in the Virgin Birth of Christ
A Virgin Shall Conceive
Good Tidings of Great Joy 
Many Hundred Years Before His Coming
Signs and Wonders in America
Believes in the Resurrection of Christ He is Risen The Resurrected Jesus' Ministry Among the Nephites
Follows a Code that Governs Food, Drink, Other Practices The Law of Moses
The Messiah Fulfills and Supersedes the Law of Moses
For the Strength of Youth
The Family: A Proclamation to the World
The Word of Wisdom
The Ten Commandments
The Beatitudes (Coming)
Believes in Personal Revelation How to Obtain a Spiritual Witness
How to Pray
Harden Not Your Hearts Any Longer; Believe in Christ
Teaches its Members to Pay Tithing Coming Coming
Administers the Sacrament Coming Coming
Believes in Paradise & Hell, Judgement & Resurrection, Three "Heavens"  Paradise & Hell, Judgement & Resurrection, Paul's Three Heavens Paradise & Hell, Judgement & Resurrection, The Three Degrees of Glory
Believes in Miracles Coming Coming
Believes in the Second Coming of Christ The Savior's Parable of the Fig Tree
Interpretation of Symbols & Phrases in Revelation
A Book With Seven Seals
The Meaning of The First Five Seals
The Sixth Seal
-Signs of the Second Coming: Apostasy and The Restoration
-The Literal and Spiritual Gathering of Israel  
-Secret Combinations 
The Seventh Seal
-Wickedness, Destruction & Protection of the Righteous
-Wormwood and the Third Part Destroyed
A Book of Mormon Timeline for Second Coming Events
The Savior's Parable of the Ten Virgins 
Suffers Persecution Coming Coming
Believes in Continuous Revelation/Prophets & Apostles General Apostasy/Restoration Foretold General Apostasy/Restoration Fulfilled
Brings Forth New Scripture
The Genesis of Genesis
The Law and the Prophets in Their Time
The Canonization of The New Testament
The Coming Forth of The Book of Mormon
The Pearl of Great Price
Doctrine and Covenants
The Importance of "New" Scripture
Biblical Reasons Why Everyone Should Want to Read the Book of Mormon


While we believe our church provides like-minded friends, an uplifting influence, an on-going tradition that is passed down the generations, spiritual things to feel, and answers to our questions about life, it does and is so much more than that.

Through latter day revelation, we know that the Lord told Moses what He hoped to give all mankind, if we would receive it:

"..this is my work and my glory: to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39)

Mormons believe Christ established His church with this goal in mind. We believe that all the teachings and ordinances and principles that belong to His church are designed to help Him - and us - reach that goal. We believe that though it has been lost from the earth time and time again, the Lord promised he would set up His church again one last time in the latter days - in our time!

We believe He has restored his Church, that He gave it to those who would receive it, calling its members "saints". (1 Corinthians 1:1-2, Doctrine & Covenants 89:2-3Doctrine & Covenantants 115:3-4, Ephesians 2:19, Philippians 1:1)


If you are looking for the church that Christ established when he was on the earth - the one he and his prophets and apostles promised they would re-establish in latter days, then let everything I have written or ever will write on this blog guide you in understanding what I mean as I testify to you that you have found The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and this Church is what its name says it is!


 Spiritual Joy: the Reason People Believe


As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we come to church because, when we put in the effort required to live our faith, it consistently yields the great joy that can only come from making and keeping covenants with God. After making a covenant of their own, the people of king Benjamin in the Book of Mormon experienced this great joy:

"And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on [the name of God], and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy." (Mosiah 4:20)

We believe God created us so that He could help us find this kind of joy. As the prophet Lehi put it, "...men are that they might have joy." (2 Nephi 2:25)


Why Are You a Mormon? My Personal Answer


Finding Spiritual Truth
 
 In my research on the internet, I've noticed that a lot of webmasters and bloggers are concerned about people "being deceived by the Mormons". When we talk about our church, we testify of the things we know to be true, but we don't ask you to take our word for it. Time and time again throughout my blog, you'll notice a theme that keeps reappearing: ask God, and find out for yourself.

 It was in taking this approach to learning spiritual truth that Joseph Smith asked God and received the answers that opened the last dispensation of the gospel in the latter days. It will be by taking this approach to spiritual learning that you too can come to know of God's truth in all things. 


Whenever we invite people to investigate our church, we make it a point to encourage you to include this prayerfully practiced safeguard of the pursuit of truth in your process. Preachers of faiths may unwittingly teach falsehood with great conviction, or even lie, but God does not. To my knowledge, we're the only church on the earth that dares challenge its investigators to ask God for themselves if what we're teaching is true. We echo the voice of James: "...if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him". We repeat the ancient promise of Moroni that to this day still issues forth "as a voice speaking forth from the dust": "...by the power of the Holy Ghost, ye may know the truth of all things." (James 1:5-6, Moroni 10:3-5

We extend this invitation because the only way you'll ever know the spiritual truths we teach for yourself is by experiencing what it feels like to have God teach you Himself through the power of His Holy Spirit.

So by all means, please ask, and learn! You owe it to yourself!

How to pray and ask God
How to obtain a spiritual witness

What's in the Bible? The Importance of Scripture Study: They Are They Which Testify of Me


Are Mormons Christian?
What are Mormon worship services like?

Come to church with us! Meet with LDS Missionaries - Get your questions answered!



 * I am not a paid advertiser for Deseret Book or Floyd Weston




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