My Mormon Moment

 This post is for my fellow Christian friends, and even those who call themselves "non-believers." I love you and respect you, dearly. May you feel the same love towards me, a Mormon. 

I have recently been following the news, and taking note of things that have been said by those who are "peeking in" at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I have noticed that those "peekers" are often viewing our beliefs with one eye closed, and through "dirty windows" -- muddied by the need for a quick report, or getting their information from not-so-reliable sources. I always cringe when I read the articles -- or view the video clips -- when they use words that are not accurate, or they take sacred and special things completely out of context. (Especially in regards to the temple -- I will write more about that later.) My request to those who read these haphazard articles is to please take them at face value. So much is lost in the effort to explain something so complex, and yet so simple. It is like having someone trying to describe an orange -- when they have never tasted one. 

If you want to know what we really believe, use the sources put out by the Church www.lds.org and  www.mormon.org. They are great resources. Better yet, if you want to know what the orange really tastes like . . . read The Book of Mormon!

My Mormon Moment

When I was in high school, I had some really great friends, who belonged to different religions. We got along really well, and I loved them. One day, we got to talking about religion (not an easy topic to discuss when you are a teenager). I told them a little bit about what I believed, and I asked them if they would like a copy of The Book of Mormon. (I know it was a bold move, but hey, I was young!) The conversation then turned hostile, and my friends said, and I quote, "If you gave me a Book of Mormon, I would just burn it." My heart broke, and tears began to flow down my flaming cheeks. These same friends offered me a book -- a book that included very direct and blatant attacks on "the Mormons." I took the book and read a few sentences. The words were like poison. I could feel the adversary throwing flames at my heart . . . grasping . . . probing . . . looking for weakness. The heat that I felt was overwhelmingly hot. It was a painful heat, an evil heat . . . the complete opposite kind of "burning" that I had felt when I felt the Spirit of God. The contrast in feelings were night and day. The difference between Hell and Heaven. 

One book (The Book of Mormon) invoked light, and the other . . . pure and utter darkness. 

I knew in my heart, and in the essence of my very being -- that what I had experienced was an effort to destroy my faith. I had never felt so horrible in all my life. The words that I read, and the attacks that were made, were so contrary to all the evidence of truth that I had experienced in my life. My faith is all I have. My faith is why I am, who I am. My faith is the faith of my fathers -- who sacrificed everything so that I could know the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If I don't have my faith, I don't have anything. It is that simple. 

Fortunately for me, and my future posterity . . . I did not break, nor bend, during this "heated" experience. For me it was quite the opposite. My heart rose to the occasion, and my convictions and knowledge of truth began to be permanently etched in my heart. 

I had felt evil, and I had felt -- and been strengthened by -- the eternally more powerful, Love of God. 

This incident caused me to light my fire of faith even brighter. It was not too long after that moment, that I solidified my testimony of my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ. 

Now, for me, it is simple. 

God lives. Jesus is the Christ. I know it. 

In that simplicity, there are, admittedly -- a lot of details. But the details are beautiful and amazing once you learn of them in truth and light. 

I wish I could write my feelings more eloquently, but I am time-limited, so I will have to be brief.  

The Book of Mormon

The Bible is a sacred record, which we love and revere. The Bible is the Word of God -- as long as it it translated correctly. We use the King James version. The Book of Mormon is simply another sacred record -- of the people who lived on the American continent. After Jesus was crucified and resurrected, He visited the people on the American continent.

This makes so much sense to me. I can remember the first time I read about it. It was such a simple and beautiful reality that the Savior would visit ALL of his children -- not just one confined corner of the world. 

 If you believe in miracles -- of the extraordinary magnitude of those professed in the Bible, such as . . . 

Moses parting the Red Sea

Noah gathering two of every animal and loading them on an ark during a world-wide flood

Daniel being unharmed by the den of lions

The ten commandments brought down by Moses from Mt. Sinai

The creation of the World

 If you believe in those extraordinary miracles (and many more from the Bible) . . . Then why is it so hard to believe in a similar magnitude of miracles, that are at the foundation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints?  

(Forgive me, I will be paraphrasing for sake of time. For the full account read the Book of Mormon introduction.)

After the Savior was crucified, there was an apostasy (a falling away) and the fullness of the Gospel of Christ was lost. It began the time of "the dark ages." 

Until, Joseph Smith -- a boy who just wanted to know how any of the religious chaos of his day could be true --  prayed in earnest, in a grove of trees, and saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. They spoke to him and instructed him as to what he should do. 

A miracle? Yes. 

I love this picture. I was very young when I knew this was true. It still joyfully burns in my heart.

 Joseph was visited by an Angel named Moroni (who is also the last prophet who wrote down his account and record on the plates). He was told where to find the record of the people who lived on the American continent, another testament of Jesus Christ, contained on the Golden Plates. 

 An extraordinary miracle? Yes. 

Moroni (he was the angel that appeared to Joseph) burying the record -- the event was recorded at the very end of The Book of Mormon. 

 The pinnacle of events recorded in The Book of Mormon, is when the Resurrected Christ comes to the people on the American continent . . . it is a beautiful event, I love to read about it, often. My testimony of the Book of Mormon was founded upon this event. Is it not a comfort to know that He came to all of his children? Jesus Christ is the Savior of all the World -- not just one corner of it. 

A miracle? Yes. 

 Joseph Smith TRANSLATED the gold plates into book, so the Gospel could be spread throughout the land. He DID NOT write the Book of Mormon, he interpreted the language and recorded what was already written down. His life was constantly threatened because of the record and those who wanted the "Gold Plates." Mobs were a constant at his house, along with tar and feathering and other horrendous acts of violence. Translating the Gold Plates into the Book of Mormon . . . 

A miracle? Yes! 

Now we have the record, Another Testament of Jesus Christ . . . The Book of Mormon. It is a companion to the Bible, not meant to take away from it, or "add" to it. It is purely another record of another people who knew of the Savior Jesus Christ. And certainly, two witnesses, are better than one. 

It is a miracle to have it!

My point is, God is a God of miracles. He always has been, He always will be. Miracles only cease because of the unbelief of man. The same miraculous events that so many believe in the Christian world, are the same kind of miracles that have brought forth the fullness of His Gospel in these Latter-Days -- the Gospel that is found within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Gold plates, prophets, seeing angels, visions, and even seeing God the Father, and his son, Jesus Christ, may seem strange -- or even ridiculous -- to those who do not believe. But if you believe in the miraculous stories of the Bible, perhaps the miraculous stories of the Book of Mormon should not seem so strange? The very same God of miracles who is the God of the Bible, is the same God that I love and worship today, as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The Book of Mormon reaffirms his love for us, and helps us to understand His will and commandments, even more. When I open the Bible it is like feeling God stretch His hand out to me -- even just looking at the sacred words on the pages is comforting and familiar. It is the same with the Book of Mormon. They go hand in hand, companions in truth. 

Our Heavenly Father's miracles and capacities have no end. No limit. Do not let the amazing, miraculous, history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, be a roadblock in understanding. 

There can be miracles, there ARE miracles . . . if you believe. 

And one day, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess . . . that Jesus is the Christ. 

I know God lives. I know Jesus is my Savior. 

My name is Mari van Ormer, and I am a Mormon.