Obey the Law

"We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law" -Article Of Faith: 12
  
      So it is a crazy world we live in today right? It seems as we look around ourselves and we think of how sad it is to not even be able to let our children play in the front yard anymore unsupervised. It is very saddening. We ask ourselves what will help this world become a more safe place?
    
     In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we are dedicated to doing our part in making the world a better place. We truly believe in being law abiding citizens wherever we may be. It is important to us. A scripture that is written in Doctrine and Covenants 58, which is a revelation that we have received from God through our living prophets in modern times that I feel outlines the purpose of obeying the law. In verse 21 it states,

    "Let no man break the laws of the land, for he that keepeth the laws of God hath no need to break the laws of the land".
   
    Make sense right? God's laws are greater then man's laws. If we cannot even keep man's laws who says we will be able to keep God's Law. It just isnt possible.
  

     We need to respect and give support to whomever may be in office as well. Whether we live in a country that has a president, king or even a prime minister, we need to do our part to help them. Not always may we like who is in office nor may we even respect him. But we definitely need to respect the office of leadership he or she holds. It does no good to complain and do nothing to help.

   

    I know that as we make it a way of life to keep and obey the laws of the land that it will be even easier to make it a part of ourselves to keep and obey the laws of God. For in God's law rests salvation. Christ was our perfect example of keeping the law. Lets follow him so we can follow the Father as well!

Worship of Choice

"We Claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, were, or what they may".
   
      Throughout the history of the church there has always been blatant persecution against the church. In the early days of the church the members of the church got driven from place to place for no good reason at all and in fact there were many unconstitutional acts that took place as well. One of them was that in Missouri the governor himself issued the infamous extermination order against the Mormons, meaning anyone that was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) could be shot and killed on sight without any legal repercussions at all. Very unconstitutional right?
    
     The point in sharing that was to emphasize how important it is to Mormons that we respect other peoples religious beliefs and dont persecute them but allow them to meet and believe what their conscience says for that was the very desire that we had that was kept from us. Having said this, you may wonder why the church sends missionaries out like myself across the world to preach, teach, and invite people to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized into this wonderful Church. It is a commandment of the Lord to share this wonderful Gospel. In the process though, we must not persecute others. Rather then tearing down other churches and saying what is wrong about them, we must share what we believe and what makes our message unique. We boldly exclaim that God has appeared to man again today. The heavens are no longer closed but Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ appeared in their glory to a prophet of God named Joseph Smith. That is very unique right? Not many churches if any can say that. That is why we want to share it with others because it brings joy, happiness and the spirit!
  
     Wouldnt it makes sense to share with others the Gospel and path that will lead to eternal life with those that surround you? It does to me. I know that this Gospel is true. I know that Jesus Christ was sent to the earth to suffer and die for my sins and yours so that if we have faith in him, Repent, are baptized, receive the Holy Ghost and continue onward, then we can have eternal life. It is simple and direct. It is true and I want to share this with you so you can experience the same joys that I feel in my life on a daily basis.
     

Judgement Day

"We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisical glory".

    This is the 10th Article of Faith for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When I was a kid growing up, I am pretty sure that this one perplexed me the most. Mostly because of the big vocabulary words that are in it. The other reason is that it is concerning the last days that have not happened just yet. For the sake of understanding this article, I will not go intricately into it and explain all of it, however I will touch on a few points that have been on my mind as of late because of the different opinions in the world.
   
      During this time of the world we are all looking forward to the time that Christ will come here to the earth. There are different ways that you can look at it though. The first is that you can take a fearful approach, saying do good because you fear your demise or you can do the opposite. You can look forward to that wondrous occasion with love, peace, joy and happiness. Almost looking forward to it in anticipation.
  
     You may or may not have heard of many different groups of people stating that they know when Christ is going to come again. Some say he is coming in 2012 some in December of 2011 and the most popular one right now are those that state that Christ is bringing Judgement Day this Saturday, May 21, 2011.
   
     My purpose in writing this blog post isnt to argue when it is going to happen but is to help instill a 'looking forward' with faith, rather then 'looking forward' with fear.
  
      In 2 Timothy 1:7 it states, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind".
   
     The Lord doesnt want us to fear him, he wants us to LOVE him. The Lord states in Doctrine and Covenants 6:34&36, "Fear not, little flock, do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail. Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not"
  
     Those words speak peace to my mind, they are of the spirit of power, love and a sound mind. You dont need to take extreme precautions to prepare for the Lord. What we must do is keep the commandments of God because we love him and will never lose hope.
"If ye love me, keep my commandments" -John 14:15

    Since I am posting this only a few days before the supposed Judgement Day, some of you may read this after May 21. If that is the case you will understand that we are all still here. There are false prophets and there are true prophets. When May 21 comes and goes with out the day of judgement we will know who some of the false prophets are. If you would like to read or learn more about how God has called living and true prophets and apostles today please visit mormon.org