Why Are You a Mormon? My Personal Answer

To date, I have extensively studied and documented here on my blog thousands of reasons why Mormons believe what we do, but I have yet to directly give my readers a personal answer to this question. Well of late, I've felt the Spirit of the Lord urging me to do just that, so here it is.



Mormonism: A Most Outlandish Religion

Why am I a Mormon of all things, you ask? The question is an understandable one.

Mormonism has got to be the most outlandish and unlikely of religions on the planet. We believe in Jesus Christ and strive to live His teachings, yet our beliefs concerning the nature of God do not qualify us in the eyes of others to be called Christians. (see my articles: Latter-Day Saints and the Creeds of Christendom, Holy Trinity, He is Risen) We believe that our Church is destined to put the capstone on the promises which God made to the Jews anciently, saying the Gentiles would help gather them, re-establish their nation, and even provide the means for them to rebuild their temple at the coming of their Messiah, yet we are not Jews. (see my article on The Savior's Parable of the Fig Tree, Ezekiel 37) We are the only religion on earth that believes in the operation of living oracles as did the people of the Bible - the primary reason why the world has labeled us a cult, just as it once did both Judaism and Christianity. (see my article: Is Mormonism a Cult? Answered By a Mormon) Our doctrines and practices are unique, to say the least. Yet the more I study, the more I see how perfectly our religion fits the teachings of the Bible. (see my Beliefs of the LDS Church page) We believe God has given more scripture in resumption of a divine pattern established and repeated many, many times throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Malachi and Matthew to Revelation - the same God, yesterday, today, and forever! (see my articles: The Importance of "New" Scripture, Biblical Reasons Why Everyone Should Want to Read the Book of Mormon, Hebrews 13:8) We are easily the most peculiar religion on earth - a thing which we consider to be an identifying feature of the kingdom of God in every dispensation, including our own. (1 Peter 2:6-9)

I could get into the work scholars have done both inside and outside the Church which has cast light on ancient evidences of our doctrines and practices and even the historicity of both the Pearl of Great Price and the Book of Mormon. I could get into archaeological and genetic discoveries made in North America that prove Jews were here in the Book of Mormon time frame. I could get into the weapons and highways and architecture discovered in South America that match Book of Mormon descriptions. (see my article The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon) I could tell you of ancient evidences of Mormon temple practices in early Christianity. (see the Fair Mormon article: The Israelite Temple and The Early Christians) I could tell you of the many things I personally have discovered in the Bible and elsewhere that for me uniquely identify the LDS Church as the kingdom of God in latter days. (see my LDS Beliefs page again, link provided above)

All these things reaffirm my faith, but they are not the real reasons why I - or any of us - has joined the Mormon church.

 So, why Mormonism of all things? Why have millions of ordinary, fairly intelligent, unassuming, genuinely religious people, including myself, gathered to its ensign over the last two centuries? Why is Mormonism one of the few religions on earth that is still growing? Why am I personally a Mormon, you ask?

For me, and for every other devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the answer centers around a steady stream of deeply personal spiritual experiences. Although they make no sense to those who do not believe in such things, these experiences are very real, and they answer questions and fill soul-deep holes that cannot be answered or filled in any other way. (1 Corinthians 2:9-14)


Mormonism and Jesus Christ

I am a Mormon because my faith has shown me the way to see the salvation of my God, who is that same Jesus of Nazareth who was born in a manger, lifted up upon the cross, and slain for the sins of the world.

My favorite character in the Bible is the apostle Paul, because he shows me how to deal with my "thorns in the flesh". He shows me how to "take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake", how to become strong and have the Lord's all-sufficient grace in my life by admitting my weakness before Him. He shows me how, when I finally start succeeding at my efforts to live the gospel, "laboring more than they all", the real power is "not I but grace which was in me." (see 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, 1 Corinthians 15:9-10) I love the words of Isaiah who taught me how the Lord causes those who "wait upon [Him]" to "mount up with wings" and "run and not be weary and walk and not faint". ( Isaiah 40:31) Isaiah taught me to seek to have the Lord make me into a "tree of righteousness, the planting of the Lord" (Isaiah 61:1-3) He taught me to impose on the Lord, to let His chastisement and His stripes and suffering buy me peace, not just by way of salvation from sin but also in all adversity and injustice. (Isaiah 53:5). He taught me to freely and frequently partake of the Lord's grace to enable me to do all He requires of me. (Isaiah 55:1-3, compare John 4:10-14) I love the words of Jesus Himself who so freely offered to bear up our burdens and our pains - to join us and pull with us in our heavy yoke, if we would but believe and let Him. (Matthew 11:28-30) I love His teaching about my need to abide in His love, to connect into His "true vine" in order to "bring forth much fruit". (John 15:1-8)

But I don't just have the likes of Paul and Jesus and Isaiah and so many more from the Bible to teach me these things.

I first learned them from Alma the Younger whose exquisite and bitter pains in sin were replaced by the exquisite and sweet joy of redemption when his mind caught hold of the memory of his father prophesying about the coming of "one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world." (Alma 36:11-22) He went from considering himself to be "the vilest of sinners" to being a powerful missionary who helped convert thousands at the city of Ammonihah and worked to strengthen the church in the valley of Gideon. (Mosiah 28:4) Talk about becoming a new creature in Christ! Alma the Younger taught me that, although God does not always take our troubles away, he does "deliver us out of them all" in the sense that he walks with us and succors us in the midst of our trials "according to our infirmities". (Alma 7:11-12,see also Psalms 34:19)  In speaking of his father's ministry, he gave me the hope of having bands of my own loosed by the saving grace of Jesus Christ, and he encouraged me work toward the day when I too got to feel of His redemption and "sing the song of redeeming love!" Because of the words of Alma the Younger, I sought to have "a mighty change wrought in [my] heart", to be "born again!"  (Alma 5:3-14)

I testify that I went on to obtain in abundance!

I learned from the example of Nephi the importance of having a personal relationship with "my Jesus", of "[knowing] the God in whom I have trusted". (2 Nephi 4:19-34, 2 Nephi 33:6) I learned from Enoch to at least begin learning to "walk with God". (see Moses 6:39) I learned from the prophet king Benjamin to seek to lose my disposition to do evil and have it replaced with a "disposition to do good continually", that if I would do so the day would come when "my [mouth would be shut] that [I] could not find utterance, so exceedingly great [would be] my joy!" (see Mosiah 5:2, Mosiah 4:20) Such is the joy of freedom from sin. I learned from Zeniff and king Limhi and Ammon about my need to "serve the Lord with all diligence of mind" and fight my battles "in the strength of the Lord" if I would be "[delivered] out of bondage" in sin. (Mosiah 7:29-33, Mosiah 10:10) I learned from Mormon my need to have the Lord "make weak things become strong unto me". (Ether 12:27-28) I learned from Helaman about reading the scriptures and following the witness of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Helaman 3:29-30, see also Ephesians 6:10-17), and I learned from him what the Lord meant when He said "build upon [my] rock". (see Helaman 5:12, compare Matthew 7:24-27)

The Book of Mormon has played a major role in my life, in leading me to come unto Christ and be saved in Him!

See my article: What Jesus Christ Means to Me

 

Restoration and Revelation

I believe God works miracles and gives revelation only according to our faith. If we believe He does no such things, we preclude Him from doing them among us. Our lack of faith becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Joseph Smith had faith in God's willingness to communicate His wisdom to mankind. He showed us that what the apostle James had taught was true: personal revelation is available to all who "ask in faith, nothing wavering!" (see James 1:5-6)

I myself have felt what it is to pray and have the Lord confirm His truths to me by the witness of His Spirit. I trust and believe because I know by extensive experience that God can and does speak, not so much by "visions" or "voices", but directly to the human soul through His Spirit, and God does not lie.

How to Obtain a Spiritual Witness
How to Pray
Harden Not Your Hearts Any Longer; Believe in Christ



The prophet Amos foretold of a time when there would be a "famine of hearing the word of the Lord." (Amos 8:11) Isaiah prophesied of a time when the Lord would pour out a deep spiritual sleep upon the earth; He would "cover" the prophets and the seers.  In a time when the fear of God is "taught by the precept of men", the Lord would do a marvelous work and a wonder whose advent would be marked by the publication of a sealed book read by the unlearned. This was to become "one in thine hand" with the Bible - more scripture! (see Isaiah 29, Ezekiel 37:15-20)

The apostle Paul told the Thessalonians Christ would not come "except there come a falling away first". The New Testament is full of evidences that early Christian church leaders were already having trouble keeping the Church from going astray. (e.g. 2 Thessalonians 2) John the Revelator lived at a time when the fullness of the gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ were on the earth. I believe he foresaw a time when, by angelic ministration, that same Church and gospel would be restored to the earth again, there being an evident need for it:

"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." (Revelation 14:6-7, emphasis added, compare D&C133:36-39)

I believe the words of Jesus Christ concerning our time:

"I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments; And also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world... That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers. Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness..." (D&C 1:17-18, 23-24)

"...this church have I established and called forth out of the wilderness..." (D&C 33:5, compare Revelation 12:6, The Amazing Christian Escape)

"For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." (D&C 115:4)

I believe that, because of the lack of faith and because the people of His Church did not heed them, the Lord withdrew his prophets and apostles anciently - he did indeed cover the seers! And I believe that, because of faith, He has uncovered them again in our time, just as He promised He would! To me, His Church truly is a marvelous work and a wonder!

 
LDS Lower Light:
General Apostasy & Restoration Foretold
General Apostasy & Restoration Fulfilled

 

Earliest Experiences

Like Clark Kent discovering something glowing in his barn, I remember some of my earliest experiences with the witness of the Holy Ghost, whispering like a secret something, "You're a stranger here". I remember in my youth that sweet influence working in my mind and gently burning in my heart, infusing me with conviction no earthly proof or reason alone could ever hope to match. I remember the light and the power that flowed through me when, as a child, I first sang those words in Primary:

"The Spirit of God like a fire is burning!
The latter-day glory begins to come forth;
The visions and blessings of old are returning,
And angels are coming to visit the earth.

The Lord is extending the Saints' understanding,
Restoring their judges and all as at first.
The knowledge and power of God are expanding;
The veil o'er the earth is beginning to burst.

We'll sing and we'll shout with the armies of heaven,
Hosanna, hosanna to God and the Lamb!
Let glory to them in the highest be given,
Henceforth and forever, Amen and amen!"


LDS Hymns #2 - The Spirit of God
 
I came away from that experience without any doubt whatsoever that an ancient God of miracles and prophets and angels and revelation and visions and glory had begun His work in the earth once again. That conviction has only deepened with time and study.


Deepening Convictions and The Life-Changing Power of Baptism

I still remember what it felt like to be baptized. I remember feeling the joy of being so perfectly clean that I walked as on eggshells for days, trying desperately not to mess it up, to hold on to something that seemed to be slipping through my young fingers. It was so real to me that it was almost tangible. That experience ignited in me a yearning to get back to that purity, that indescribable joy! It was a yearning that, unbeknownst to me at the time, would continue to drive my passionate pursuit of spiritual things for the rest of my life.

Being a music person, I leaned heavily on the Primary Children's Songbook and the hymns for getting through some rough patches in junior high school. The many powerful experiences this provided served to further deepen both my conviction and my pursuit of spiritual things. It also gave me a powerful desire to serve as a full-time LDS missionary in my youth.


 The Temple and A Long-Forgotten Home

Again, like Clark Kent, casting his crystal out onto the glacier, the day came when I experienced going to the temple for the first time. Suddenly, the house of the Lord became a place where I could go to learn of my First Parents, of my origins, of my journey to Earth, and of my Heavenly Father's reasons for sending me to crash-land in this forlorn realm. This was a place where I could go to train in the tools I needed to to succeed in my earthly mission here in mortality. Here, I could complete the training which the Bible and Book of Mormon had afforded me - training that to this day still leads me to come unto Christ. Strange and beautiful at the same time, going to the temple was like being reunited with an ages-old keepsake, an ancient heirloom reminiscent of a long-forgotten Home!

 
Pre-Mortal Existence

I am a Mormon because Mormonism tells me where I came from before I came to earth. I believe what the Lord told Jeremiah is true for all of us: "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee..." (Jeremiah 1:5)

I don't just have the Bible to tell me; I feel it deep inside: something of me existed before I was ever conceived in my mother's womb! I believe we were there when the Father and the Son took counsel together to organize a place where we could come to experience mortality and be proven in our faith and obedience in all things. (see Abraham 3:22-25, John 1:1-2)

I believe all of us saw "[God lay] the foundations of the earth, and... [we] shouted for joy!" (Job 38:4-7)

 
Purpose in Mortality

I don't believe the Fall of mankind was an accident; nor do I believe God is in recovery mode. Surely He who counseled us not to build a tower without first counting the cost knew the end from the beginning before He created anything that was made. (Luke 14:28) He knew Adam and Eve would partake of the tree of knowledge, that it would open the way for their mortal probation to begin. I believe what father Lehi said: "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy." (2 Nephi 2:25)

I believe that although Adam and Eve grieved over their transgression and were required to repent of it, ultimately the Savior turned their sorrow into great reason to rejoice! What began in sorrow and grief ended up being the very doorway into mortality through which all mankind had to enter if they would experience redemption or ever see a resurrection in glory! (see 1 Corinthians 15:22, Moses 5:10-11)

I believe we also knew at least something of what we were getting into when we came here. We knew there would be suffering and injustice, adversity and tragedy - even unimaginable pain, unbearable loss, and great evil in the world. But I believe we also trusted in the redemption of almighty God. We knew that enduring our trials and temptations in an imperfect world was the only way we could begin to have physical experiences, the only way we could obtain saving ordinances, the only way we could come to truly understand and deeply value the perfect world into which our Savior was offering to save us. We knew that a grueling sojourn in just such a world was necessary for us to truly understand what it would someday mean for our God to save us into a world where we would rest eternally from all these things. We trusted that all we stood to lose would be restored one day. We trusted that there would be great joy and glory hereafter, insomuch that we shouted with joy when the foundations of the earth were laid! 

I believe experiencing just such a Fall, making the everyday mistakes of mortality, and then growing in redemption through the blood of Christ, causes us to truly see what the prophets mean when they testify that God is mighty save; it causes us to deeply value the very real miracle that is salvation from sin. Redemption from sin and from the Fall makes us deeply indebted to Him. This in turn makes higher quality disciples and better candidates for salvation into His heaven. (see Luke 7:37-50, D&C 19:16-19)

Here in mortality, life may be hard and even painful at times, but it gives me great joy and great hope to hold tight to the promise of the apostle Paul: "...the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18)

I believe there is great purpose in mortality!

 
Death

I am a Mormon because to us, mortality is just a temporary state, and death, though painful, is just a point in time fixed by God where we transition to the next phase of our eternal existence. The Lord, through the ordinances of His temple, has provided us the means to keep the only things that really matter, even in death: our eternal families. So for us, there is no such thing as a forever goodbye - only the pain of longing for a reunion we cannot yet see. 

If we let it, death can teach us something of the eternal nature of the human soul. Any honest person who has ever attended the viewing of a departed loved one knows at first glance that what they see is a whole lot less than their loved one with the batteries pulled out. What they see is no longer their loved one - only an expired imitation, a mockery of what we knew with that person in life. A familiar physical appearance may yet lie motionless before us, but the person we knew is no longer there. Something eternal has gone missing - he, or she, has gone somewhere else!

I believe that deep within each of us, some way, somehow, if we are truly honest with ourselves, we just know: there is no end, only impenetrable yet temporary absence!

 
Salvation for the Dead

I am a Mormon because I believe that, whether in life or in death, God gives all of us an equal chance to partake in that which He has offered His children by the atoning blood of His Only Begotten Son. I believe "Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living." (Romans 14:9)

I believe in a God who is no respecter of persons, a Good Shepherd who even in death still leaves the ninety-and nine to go after one who is lost. I believe "it is not the will of the Father that any of these little ones should perish." (Matthew 18:11-14)

I believe the words of Paul who said, "For there is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law..." (Romans 2:11-12) There are millions upon millions of people who have lived and died without ever hearing - much less accepting - the word of God. I do not believe a just God can or will judge these people by a standard they were never taught. I believe the great mercy of God extends even to those wicked souls who died in the great flood at the time of Noah, to whom the Lord went and preached, following His death. (see 1 Peter 3:18-20, 1 Peter 4:6) I believe all people deserve an opportunity to partake of the ordinances of salvation in an unpolluted dispensation, one that has not been corrupted by the wayward philosophies of men, mingled with scripture.

For all these reasons, it gives me great joy to spend my Sunday afternoons searching out my ancestors, an occasional Saturday at the temple performing saving ordinances in their behalf, as was done anciently. (see 1 Corinthians 15:29) There is no weird stuff here, no one obligated against their will - only me doing dear friends a favor that will be with them forever if they want it to be. We don't "contact the dead" or anything strange like that. But I personally have felt the veil between heaven and earth grow very thin while I worked. I have felt the prayers of my ancestors, and I have felt their great joy at knowing I was searching them out and getting their temple work done! For me, the work of saving the dead is not just very real, it is always deeply personal!

 
LDS Lower Light: Temple Work for the Dead
www.ancestry.com
www.familysearch.org

 
Forever Love

In every love song ever sung, every love poem ever written, people have long expressed a yearning to love "forever". Even references to "til death do us part" are often described as being "forever". Notions of "love" and "forever" seem permanently conjoined, deeply interwoven together into the fabric of the human spirit.

In my own experience both in being single and in being married, in having children and not, in knowing my Savior and not, I have found that my personal relationships with God, with my wife, and with my children represent my greatest potential for meaning and joy in life. I cannot fathom the idea of permanently losing what I have with them in death! I cannot fathom all of us passing through death, eventually to end up in the same heaven, and not being reunited as an eternal family!

I believe our God created for us "among the mansions of His Father" a heavenly abode where, if we are faithful, we will live forever. I believe in a Heavenly Father who created us with the longing to love forever. And I believe He has provided the means for us to enjoy our heavenly abode with our loving families, together, for time and for all eternity! I don't believe heaven would be any heaven at all without my wife and children and parents and siblings and everyone else in my family there to share in it with me. I believe the Lord has once again granted the power to bind and to loose on earth and in heaven so that when we die, we have the promise of someday being "gathered to [our] people", never to bid farewell again! (see Genesis 49:33)

 
LDS Lower Light: Temple Ordinances


What I Feel At Church

On my first Sunday as a missionary in Venezuela, I attended church in a chapel unlike any I had ever seen before. This one had linoleum floors, and instead of panes in the windows, it had horizontal glass slats that could be opened to admit fresh air or closed to shut out the fury of the frequent tropical storms. It had no organ and no piano - only a CD player and the hymn accompaniments on CD, played over a microphone. I scarcely understood a word on that first day, though the bishop did ask me to address the congregation briefly in my new language.

But this humble South American chapel had something in common with every other chapel in which I had ever attended: it had a quiet Spirit that seemed to walk the halls with me.

Both during my mission and since, I have seen a handful of people join the Church because of the feeling they found in our places of worship. It's a gentle sort of spiritual fire that warms you inside if you are open to it - one that makes very evident the fact that God needs no imagining. He is not merely real; He is there! (John 14:16-18; Matthew 18:20, Habakkuk 2:18-20)


 
What It's Like to Become a Mormon - The Story of Nillia Telleria's conversion

 
It was in a chapel setting I first learned and felt the meaning of these words:

"Heavenly Father, are you really there?
And do you really answer every child's prayer?
Some say that heaven is far away,
But I feel it all around me as I pray!"

(Children's Primary Songbook #12 - A Child's Prayer)


All of these things together are the "reason of the hope that is in me." (1 Peter 3:15) These are my reasons why I am and always will be a Mormon!

Come to church with us!  www.mormon.org/meetinghouse
Meet with LDS missionaries www.mormon.org/missionaries

LDS Lower Light: What is Mormonism?

What are Mormon Worship Services Like?

Every Sunday, millions of Mormons the world around meet in Sunday worship services. One question people ask a lot is, "Why three hours of church?" Let me tell you.



Sacrament Meeting

Sacrament meeting comes first. We have someone from the congregation who has been asked to offer an opening prayer. A hymn is sung - one week each month, I'm accompanying on the organ. Ward announcements are made over the pulpit, and, following another hymn, the bishop gives the nod for the Aaronic Priesthood to bless and pass the sacrament.

The moment when I partake of the sacrament is a pivotal one each week for me, as I imagine it is for most Mormons. It is in this moment I look back on the week. Did I put in a genuine effort to live my faith? Was there a particular area in my life where I chose having what I wanted in the moment over having the Lord in my life? I prayerfully commit to myself and to my Heavenly Father to shore up the areas that need work in the coming week before I partake of the sacrament. For Mormons, the sacrament is an opportunity to renew the covenant we made at baptism. It's an opportunity to review the things we need the Lord's help with, and to commit to seek that help. I can't explain it, but I have had handfuls of small and not-so-small life-changing experiences as I partook of the sacrament. When Paul baptized the eunuch, he "went on his way rejoicing". I have come away from the sacrament experience rejoicing at a newly acquired sense of spiritual freedom. Sin is like a rut we find ourselves in - a rut we may not notice until a reminder of who we are and what we believe makes it obvious. That experience can be painful, but the sacrifice of overcoming, coupled with the remission of sin we experience as we partake of the sacrament not only relieves the pain of guilt, it changes us into better people, restores our spiritual freedom to choose right in a way that creates joy - the immense joy of salvation through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus of Nazareth! It is these kinds of experiences that instruct a certain reverence for the sacrament.

After the sacrament, members of the ward whom the bishop or one of his counselors have selected for the task get up and speak to the congregation. The bishop assigns a topic, and the speakers draw on their own experience in living the gospel. We bear our own witness of the truthfulness of the principle or doctrine we've been asked to teach. We don't attend any kind of seminary; we simply study from the scriptures or glean bits and pieces from discourses given by prophets and apostles. Thus, the things we hear in sacrament meeting come straight out of the scriptures and personal experience, without being countenanced by official church training or any type of "brainwashing" as the world has supposed.

After Sacrament Meeting, the adults have two Sunday-school classes: the gospel-study class for husband and wife to attend together, and then the Priesthood class for the men and Relief Society class for the women. In both classes, we have a manual published by the Church that provides the lessons for the year. Lesson materials usually consist of a specified range of book and chapter from the scriptures to be read in class, along with a list of questions designed to elicit participation in a gospel-oriented discussion. Again, we learn straight from the scriptures and from each other. Priesthood and Relief Society follow the same pattern, except that in those classes, we also address matters specific to those organizations. If there are any activities or needs in those organizations, those are announced, and then the lesson begins.

While the adults are having our two Sunday-school classes, the kids are in a sort of Sunday-school designed specifically for them - it's called Primary. They are broken up into classes based on age. They have an hour of classroom instruction in simple gospel principles, with a lesson formatted not too differently from ours, though it's geared toward young minds. Then, they all gather in a common room to sing and pray and learn together. They sometimes play simple games designed to relieve wiggles, restore attention span, and teach gospel principles.

Three hours of church may seem like a lot to get used to for people who are new to the idea, but I grew up with it, so it just isn't a big deal. If anything, it gives purpose to my Sundays and adds something to my life I'll never give up.

I've included links here for anyone interested in finding a local LDS chapel. The men typically wear a suit or slacks, dress shirt and tie, and the women usually wear a modest dress or skirt, but you will not be turned away if you come dressed in what you have.

Come to Church with us!
Meet with Mormon missionaries!

What is Mormonism? 
Are Mormons Christian?

What it's like to become Mormon - Nilia

This is the story of Nilia Tellería investigating the Church and deciding to become a Mormon. In the spring of 1996, Elder Engel and I were serving as full-time missionaries for the LDS Church in Venezuela, on the northern coast of South America, when a member friend of hers introduced us. 

Nilia Tellería - Cumaná, Sucre, Venezuela

One Sunday at church, we got a request from a return missionary in the ward. She wanted Elder Engel and me to teach her friend, Nilia.

The two women were classmates at a local college, who had begun to study together. During one of their study sessions, they had lunch at the return missionary's house. She asked if Nilia would mind if they prayed and blessed their food. Nilia consented; they prayed, and studied. Unknown to her friend at the time, Nilia had taken notice of the respectful way her friend spoke to her Heavenly Father in prayer. Somehow eventually, the two got talking religion, and Nilia ended up agreeing to visit with us.

On our first visit with Nilia, we learned that she had been looking for a church that “felt right”. She had been looking for a long time – most of her life, in fact. She'd been to all kinds of different churches. She felt empty inside, like there had to be more to being in church. She was looking for a feeling. She didn't know how to describe it; she just knew she wanted it - needed it. We gave her a first discussion and a reading assignment in 2 Nephi 31. We taught her how to pray, how to depend on the promptings of the Spirit to know the truth of all things. She had questions about that. She wasn't sure she'd know it when that experience came. She had high hopes that the feeling we were describing was the one she was looking for. In parting, we invited her to church.

The Chapel Doors: Shhh... Be Still!

Elder Engel and I arrived early at the chapel on Sunday morning, excited to see what Nilia would think of sacrament meeting. Knowing of her lifelong search, and having some sense of what was about to happen, we could not help but take notice of the soft, sweet spirit of the chapel that morning. This is a reverent place to be... Shhh! Be still! Power On – check!

When Nilia and her friend arrived, the four of us went into the chapel and started talking quietly. As we whispered, Nilia's face began to change. Her expression softened in a way that stopped our conversation. Slowly, a different look seemed to settle over her – a feeling of joy! She seemed to realize, “I'm home! At long last, I'm home!” That morning, the chapel doors seemed to say to Nilia, “this is a reverent place to be... Shhh... be still! Nilia listened – and she felt!

Taught By the Holy Ghost... About the Holy Ghost!

As if that didn't beat all, the Sunday School lesson was absolutely on fire that day! I had to make my rounds, covering opening hymn for the other Sunday School class in the chapel. When I was done, I made my way to the gospel principles class, where our return missionary friend was teaching several new members, and one or two investigators – including Nilia.

The subject of the lesson that day was “The Holy Ghost”. All of us exchanged stories of when the Holy Ghost had confirmed something, or taught us something, or given us a prompting that had protected us. As we talked about our various experiences with the Holy Ghost, Nilia grew more and more emotional, for reasons she could not explain.

It was as if the very Holy Ghost himself took a personal interest in Nilia's spiritual education, wanting her to know who He was, that He was there! All her life, she had sought His influence, and He wanted to see to it personally that she knew she had found it! Nilia's friend interrupted her lesson to do for her what all missionaries are trained to do: help her recognize that what she was feeling was the witness of the Holy Ghost! It didn't take long before we were all in tears, feeling the Spirit burn bright and warm in Sunday School that day! This is a reverent place to be... Shh... be still!

Prompted to Follow Christ's Example

The next day, we went to the return missionary friend's house again, for a check-up visit and a second discussion with Nilia. We wanted to follow up with her about her experiences in church. We were very excited! We started by asking her how her reading assignment was going. She told us she'd read 2 Nephi 31 as we had asked. She described some of what she read about Christ being perfect, but still submitting to the will of the Father and setting the example for all of us in being baptized. She told us that while she was reading, she had felt the Holy Ghost confirm to her that it was time for her to follow the example of Christ. Before we could open our mouths to extend the obvious invitation, Nilia asked to be baptized!

On the big day, she and Elder Engel went down into the font. Putting his arm to the square, Elder Engel administered the ordinance. When she came up out of the water, she was just glowing with joy! We confirmed her, and gave her the gift of the Holy Ghost. She was in tears as she bore one of the most powerful testimonies of the power of the Holy Ghost and the truthfulness of the Church I had ever heard! In closing, she said, “I'm thankful to my Heavenly Father for having found this Church. I know it is true!”

That was one of those great days when it's an incredible honor and a great joy to be a missionary! We had watched the Holy Ghost teach Nilia the gospel almost single-handedly. Elder Engel and I had played a part in it, and it had all started when a friend had the courage to just be the salt of the earth. But the Holy Ghost, whose long-sought influence Nilia had finally found, had done all the teaching.

Watching For Dawn, Their Vigil They've Kept

A short time after Nilia's baptism, we sang in church , “La luz de la verdad” or “Hark All Ye Nations”. For whatever reason, I thought to look up the English words. I got choked up with emotion, thinking of Nilia, as I read the second verse:

“Searching in darkness, nations have wept;

Watching for dawn, their vigil they've kept.

All now rejoice; the long night is o'er.

Truth is on earth once more!

Oh, how glorious from the throne above

Shines the gospel light of truth and love!

Bright as the sun, this heavenly ray

Lights ev'ry land to day.”

In a too-often dark world, Nilia had been watching for dawn her whole life long, and now the Spirit shone brighter than the noon day sun in her new life as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! To this day, I still cannot hear that hymn without thinking of Nilia Tellería and her search for a church where she could feel the witness of the Holy Ghost!

Also of Interest

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How to Obtain a Spiritual Witness

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Meet with LDS missionaries

What's It Like to Become a Mormon - Jacky

Some time ago, a friend of my wife - Jacky - began showing some interest in the Church. Over time, she visited with the missionaries and and attended meetings on Sunday. She eventually ended up deciding she wanted to become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

This is her story:

Jacky, Wausau Stake, Rhinelander Ward, Wisconsin, United States

It all began about a year ago now.  I found myself soulfully searching and questioning my current faith.  I was an active member in my church at the time but noticed there were changes being made in the church that did not coincide with my understanding of the scriptures and what I knew in my heart was right.  They were deciding they needed to "change with the times" and change doctrine on things like homosexuality.  

I decided it was time for a change in churches and I started doing my research.  After months of attending many different local churches something was still missing.  I found myself suddenly drawn to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints but knew nothing about how to investigate the church.  I contacted a dear friend and spoke with her about the Church, the Gospel, and different aspects of the LDS church.  After prayerfully considering my options, I took the plunge and went to the local ward one Sunday morning and in that moment my life changed!

I met with the missionaries for several weeks and they taught me many things about the Gospel and the Church.  They asked me during our second visit if I was interested in baptism and with out hesitation I said "yes".  After I headed home it hit me: "Why did you say 'yes'?!"  I didn't really didn't know enough yet; was I really ready?  I had a moment of panic, immediately followed by a sense of peace.  It was that peace that started the transformation.  Here I was, making a significant change in my life, and I was very calm about it, which is not really like me at all.  I later came to understand that peace was really the presence of the Spirit. What a beautiful gift our Father has given us!

While there were many things that I learned during the lessons with the missionaries I never really questioned what I was taught.  I prayed about our lessons and continually received the affirmation of the the Spirit that what I was taught was true.  Some of the principles I knew were going to be harder to implement than others but I was committed to living the doctrine taught to me.  

The concept that intrigued me and touched me closest was the way the church and Gospel approached family.  I knew then that I wanted an eternal family and I knew what I had to do to have one.  Another driving force was the fact that suddenly I had answers to questions I had thought about for years and the answers made sense: Why are we here?  What was before came before this life and what would happen after this life?  How could the Father, the Son, and the Spirit all be one being?  And many many more.

As we finished the lessons, it came time to enter into my first covenant: baptism.  I was very much ready, but a bundle of nerves.  What if I failed? What if my family and friends were right and this was a bad idea? What if I wasn't ready for these sacred covenants?  I expressed my feelings to the missionaries and members of the ward I had become close with and was quickly reassured I was ready and the adversary was at work.  The day of my baptism came, and while none of my family or friends attended, I was surrounded by so much love from my new ward family.  I was overcome with emotion that these wonderful people could be so supportive and it simply reaffirmed that this was a group of people I wanted to be like. 

 I can not put into words the feelings I experienced during my Baptism and Confirmation, it was a beautiful experience that I will cherish forever. 

I have now been a member for about nine months and I am more then happy with my choice to convert.  It has not always been easy - after all, we are all a work in progress.  I, however, now have these wonderful "tools" to help me progress through the good and bad.  I love knowing the things I do now; the Gospel really has made life a little easier.  I have a more positive outlook on life, because I know the blessing in store if I am obedient to my Heavenly Father.  I have places to go for answers, such as the scriptures and prayer.

I have been asked many times since my conversion by my family and friends: What if you are wrong? What if this isn't the "true church"?  My response? It is still offering me a better quality of life than I had before.  Is it a bad thing even with out the "religious" part of it?  So I don't drink anymore, I strive to make more time for my family, I try to be an overall better person, and finally my question to them, "What if it is?"

I leave you with my still very young testimony, I know it is true.  I know Jesus is the Christ and he died for our sins.  I know the Book of Mormon is true and that it can be a wonderful tool in our progression.  I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and he restores the Church to the Earth in these latter days.  I know we have a prophet on the Earth today, President Thomas S. Monson.  I also know that if we are faithful to our covenants and do the work before us we can be with Our Heavenly Father and our families forever, and that is a beautiful gift.