The Gospel Made Simple

What does this missionary mean when she says "Gospel"? 

What is the "Gospel"?  Well, in Greek the word means, "to bring or announce the good news".  It is the message of good news that Jesus Christ shared when when He was on the earth.  It is His plan for us to be successful in this life and to know how to return to live with God again.  It's His plan for us to overcome the sorrows and pains of sin, and to be made clean through the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ; The Atonement is central to that Gospel plan.

In the scriptures, Christ teaches that in order to return to live with our Heavenly Father , we need to: have faith, repent, be baptized, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and keep the commandments.  In this section I will be discussing aspects of the Gospel in the way I have come to understand them.  Because I'm a visual person, I will relate these principles to every day things.  Please note:  These are my personal views and are not officially produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  To view official LDS sites, visit:  www.mormon.org or www.lds.org.

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Why Do We Have Commandments?

I'll be honest. For a large majority of my life I often was weighed down by all of the things that God expected of me.  Why are there so many commandments?  Why do the scriptures add even more than the ten commandments. I need to have charity and love others and forgive people...and the list seemed to go on and on.  How could I live up to all of these things?  I even wondered if God just didn't want me to be happy or have fun.  However, I had an experience that changed everything about how I view commandments.

A few years ago I won a trip to Hawaii. It was a dream come true. Every day I looked out of our hotel window and saw the beautiful ocean. Oh how my heart longed to be in the ocean. However, our busy scheduled (filled with tourist activities) didn't allow it for a couple of days.  But what I didn't know, was that my "dream come true" would become a nightmare; one that could have been avoided if only I had believed the warning signs.

When my mother, sister and I walked onto the beach, we saw two native children playing safely in the water. All seemed happy and bright.  To my great alarm, as we walked along the beach, we saw a  sign saying,"Caution: High Tides" We were bewildered. Surely the tides couldn't be dangerous if little kids were playing in the water.  Something deep within me gnarled, telling me to believe the sign. However, my stubbornness overtook my senses, and I walked straight into the water, despite the warning signs.

After a few minutes of swimming, I realized how far from shore I had drifted. With fears of getting further, I quickly stroked my way to shore. However, after minutes of this endeavor, I realized that not only was I NOT closer to the shore, but I was further. I became very horrified. I am a horrible swimmer, and thoughts of drowning flooded my mind.  I said a silent prayer and kept struggling back to shore. After what seemed like hours, I finally made it to where I could stand. I was joined by my mother and sister who had similar experiences and were also approaching the shore.  Despite being close enough to shore to stand up, the tides caused  us to fall and crash into each other. After many silent prayers, we all managed to make it to shore safely.  After going back to the car, very much exhausted and embarrassed, my mom and I were startled with a cry of despair. My sister had lost her wedding ring! The tides took it right off of her finger!  So, what started out being a pleasant day at the beach, turned into a very expensive, scary and time-consuming experience. We looked for the ring but never found it.  The rest of the day was ruined: all because we ignored the warning signs.

After this experience, I came to see that commandments are like warning signs, in a way.  They tell us what we should know to keep us happy and safe.  God loves us and only wants the best for us. He truly does know what things will bring us joy and what things will bring us sorrow.  They are not meant to be burdensome, but to keep us safe from the burdens of sin.

I'll forever be grateful I survived the dangerous Hawaiian tides, and that they have since taught me WHY we have commandments. I was not only saved physically that day, but spiritually as well.  Believe me, I'll never ignore a warning sign again!

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 This past week we taught a woman about prophets. With this topic on my mind,  I wanted to write a blog on the need for prophets.  Much to my delight, I found that this months First Presidency Message (written by the Second Counselor to the Prophet today, President Thomas S. Monson), just so happened to fit perfectly!  Since he can say it better than I can, please enjoy President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's words :

Why Do We Need Prophets?

President Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet today

Because Heavenly Father loves His children, He has not left them to walk through this mortal life without direction and guidance. The teachings of our Heavenly Father are not the ordinary, predictable, run-of-the-mill kind you can pick up in paperback at the local bookstore. They are the wisdom of an all-powerful, all-knowing celestial Being who loves His children. Encompassed in His words is the secret of the ages—the key to happiness in this life and in the world to come.

Heavenly Father reveals this wisdom to His children on earth through His servants the prophets (see Amos 3:7). From the days of Adam, God has spoken to His children through appointed oracles who are charged with revealing His will and counsel to others. Prophets are inspired teachers and are always special witnesses of Jesus Christ (see D&C 107:23). Prophets speak not only to the people of their time, but they also speak to people throughout all time. Their voices echo through the centuries as a testament of God’s will to His children.

Today is not different from ages past. The Lord does not love the people of our day any less than in past times. One of the glorious messages of the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ is that God continues to speak to His children! He is not hidden in the heavens but speaks today as He did in ancient days.

Much of what the Lord reveals to His prophets is intended to prevent sorrow for us as individuals and as societies. When God speaks, He does so to teach, inspire, refine, and warn His children. When individuals and societies ignore their Heavenly Father’s instructions, they do so at the risk of trial, torment, and toil.

God loves all His children. That is why He pleads so earnestly with us through His prophets. Just as we want what is best for our loved ones, Heavenly Father wants what is best for us. That is why His instructions are so crucial and sometimes so urgent. That is why He has not abandoned us today but continues to reveal His will to us through His prophets. Our fate and the fate of our world hinge on our hearing and heeding the revealed word of God to His children.

God’s priceless instructions to humankind are found in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. In addition, the Lord speaks to us through His servants, as He will again at the upcoming general conference.

To all who wonder if such a thing can be—who might ask, “Is it possible that God speaks to us today?”—with all my heart I invite you to “come and see” (John 1:46). Read the word of God as found in the scriptures. Listen to general conference with an ear willing to hear the voice of God given through His latter-day prophets. Come, hear, and see with your heart! For if you seek “with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, [God] will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost” (Moroni 10:4). By and through this power, I know that Jesus Christ lives and directs His Church through a living prophet, even President Thomas S. Monson.

Brothers and sisters, God does speak to us today. And He desires that all His children listen to and heed His voice. As we do so, the Lord will bless and uphold us greatly, both in this life and through the worlds to come.

Prophets and Apostles Speak Today

The divine work of the prophets and apostles never ceases. Between general conferences, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles continue to teach and minister to the world. “Prophets and Apostles Speak Today,” a section of LDS.org, documents the ongoing ministry of these Church leaders with videos, photos, and articles (available in several languages).

Learn from them about their ministry. Listen to and read their testimonies of the Savior. View and read about their messages of love and hope to members wherever they bear witness, whether at Church headquarters in Salt Lake City or as they fulfill assignments throughout the world.

Visit lds.org/study/prophets-speak-today to learn more about prophets and apostles speaking today.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why We Believe in Waiting

In a world where values are changing, the idea of waiting until marriage for sexual intimacy can be seen by many as a strange and foreign idea. However, this is a belief that Latter Day Saints hold strongly. Waiting for marriage and then staying faithful during marriage is what we call the law of chastity.

Someone asked me today to write down the way that I describe the law of chastity to those I teach.

Some people feel very uncomfortable bringing up the subject, but this is not something that should be ignored or overlooked. It's really quite simple (this is the "Gospel Made Simple" page for a reason).  

What is the law of chastity?
 (information taken from mormon.org/commandments)
  
"The power of procreation is a sacred part of God’s plan. It's an expression of love and allows husband and wife to create life. God has commanded that this power and privilege of a sexual relationship only exist between a man and woman who are legally married. This commandment is called the law of chastity. It requires abstinence from sex before marriage and complete fidelity and loyalty to our spouses after marriage. God expects us to keep our thoughts clean and be modest in our dress, speech, and actions (Matthew 5:27–28).  We must also avoid viewing pornography and engaging in homosexual relations.
We understand that the principles of the law of chastity set The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints apart and may sound strict to the rest of the world, yet great blessings of peace, self-respect, and self-control come from obeying this commandment."

 Here's how I see it:

Think of a fireplace for a minute. 
The fireplace represents the bond and safety of marriage.
The fire represents sex.
When sex is contained within marriage (the fireplace), it is a positive thing. It fills the whole house with warmth and joy.  However, when fire is taken out of the fireplace, then chaos breaks loose and danger begins. The fire cannot be contained and the whole house is threatened.  Likewise, when sex leaves the bond of marriage, then all are threatened to be harmed. When sexual desires are uncontrolled, then someone is going to experience pain: they will be "burned" just as the flames can physically burn everything in their path.

Nobody wants a burnt house or body. It doesn't make sense to light a log on fire in the middle of your living room.  It only makes sense that you use fire with safety and wisdom.   


This is exactly why abstaining from sexual relations until marriage is a wonderful thing! God intended sexual relations to be between a man and woman who are bonded in marriage. This isn't because he's "mean" or "just doesn't understand", it's because He DOES understand, and He wants your house (aka spousal relationship) to be filled with warmth and joy rather than chaos and heartache.  


Here's a video of why Latter Day Saints live the law of chastity:
Law of Chastity