But as I committed to doing His work for a year and a half, meeting with people who were strangers to me, but beloved to Him, it became so clear to me that He really does know everyone.  And He doesn’t just know you.  He loves you.  I was humbled to feel that love on many occasions, it was perfect and gentle and caring.  I know that it came from God because these were people that I didn’t know–I had nothing in common with them, no ideas of becoming life-long friends–they were literally strangers.  But the love that I felt for them was powerful and it made me want to hold them tightly and take away all their problems.  Like a parent.  Like a loving, all-powerful heavenly parent.

If you are curious to know if God knows you too, invite the LDS missionaries over for a sincere talk.  Be open to them and they will be open to you.   Ask them to pray with you about this question and you will know, from the source, that He does know you.  You will see the love reflected in their eyes that God has for you, and you may feel the same sort of compassion and love for them.  It all comes from the same source.  And then you’ve got to realize that if God loves these two little 19 year old boys from southern Idaho who haven’t seen much of anything in the world yet, He loves you too.

Related Articles and Links:

The Sons and Daughters of God
What Do Mormons Believe? – God the Father
Does God still speak to us today?
mormon.org – God’s Plan of Happiness
How Do You Pray?
Is Jesus the only son of God?
The Plan of Salvation
Where Do Babies Come From?
Scriptural Evidence of a Pre-Existence

“Faith in Jesus Christ and following His teachings give us a firm hope, and this hope becomes a solid anchor to our souls. We can become steadfast and immovable. We can have lasting inner peace; we can enter into the rest of the Lord.” – Per G. Malm, “Finding Peace in Troubled Times, Ensign, Sept. ’11

“Perhaps we stray from the path which leads to peace and find it necessary to pause, to ponder, and to reflect on the teachings of the Prince of Peace and determine to incorporate them in our thoughts and actions and to live a higher law, walk a more elevated road, and be a better disciple of Christ.  The ravages of hunger in Africa, the brutality of hate in the Middle East, and the ethnic struggles across the globe remind us that the peace we seek will not come without effort and determination…The famed statesman William Gladstone described the formula for peace when he declared: “We look forward to the time when the power of love will replace the love of power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace.” – Thomas S. Monson, Finding Peace, Ensign, Mar. ’04

“To find peace—the peace within, the peace that passeth understanding—men must live in honesty, honoring each other, honoring obligations, working willingly, loving and cherishing loved ones, serving and considering others, with patience, with virtue, with faith and forbearance, with the assurance that life is for learning, for serving, for repenting, and improving. And God be thanked for the blessed principle of repenting and improving, which is a way that is open to us all.” – Richard L. Evans, In Conference Report, Oct. 1959, 128

Related Articles and Links:

Mormon Message Video – “Seek the Higher Ground” by Quentin L. Cook
To Sing a Song of Redeeming Love
Love of God and of All Mankind
How Do You Pray?

Becoming a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an individual choice.  We become members by being taught fundamental doctrines and principles and then by being baptized.  Two missionaries share short lessons covering 1) How our church came about – called the Restoration; 2) Our purpose in life – called the Plan of Salvation; 3) Basic principles – Faith, Repentance, Baptism, and the Holy Ghost; and 4) Basic Commandments: The Ten Commandments, Law of Chastity, Word of Wisdom, and Tithes and Fast Offerings.  The missionaries will also give them a copy of the Book of Mormon to read and study along with the Bible on their own.  At some point during the missionaries’ lessons, they will ask everyone to take the time to pray about what they’ve learned and ask God whether it is truly from Him.

After a person receives an answer to their prayers that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ’s church, they are invited to be baptized.  They’ll meet with another missionary to have a ‘baptismal interview’, which just means the missionary will talk to them, make sure they’ve been taught everything in the lessons (listed above), and that they understand what they’ve been taught and are ready to be baptized.

Related Articles:

The Restoration
Fundamentals of the Gospel
How Do You Pray?
Missionaries Knock On Your Door: What to Expect
Repentance Before Baptism
What Do Mormons Believe? – Baptism
Mormons Missionaries
Health and the Word of Wisdom
“Except a man be born of water…”
Mormon.org – Restoration
What does baptism entail?

One of the “why not?” reasons Mormons often give in support of our unique belief that Jesus visited the American continent after his resurrection is that Jesus loves everyone, and died for everyone, so it’s not unreasonable to think He might choose to visit other groups of his children.  But, as you point out, if Jesus’ loving people were a sufficient reason for Jesus to personally visit them, then He would have visited every person on earth in every place.    So the question is: why did Jesus choose the Nephites of the Book of Mormon, and did he choose to visit anywhere else?

The Book of Mormon has the answers, given by Jesus himself in the book of 3 Nephi, chapter 15.  We learn that Jesus visited the Nephites because they were a branch of the House of Israel, led away from Palestine by God, and his visitation was part of a fulfillment of his covenant with the House of Israel.  He also explains that the “gentiles” (those who are not of the House of Israel), will receive the gospel through the preaching of his apostles rather than through a personal apperanace.  We also learn that there were other groups of the House of Israel scattered throughout the world, and in chapter 16,  Jesus explains that he will visit them too:

1 And verily, verily, I say unto you that I have other sheep, which are not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister.

3 But I have received a commandment of the Father that I shall go unto them, and that they shall hear my voice, and shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one fold and one shepherd; therefore I go to show myself unto them.

The obvious next question is: if the Bible is from Palestine, and the Book of Mormon is from America, are there records of Jesus’ other personal appearances?  The answer is: we don’t know.  If so, God has not revealed them.  One thing that makes Mormonism very unique among religions is that our canon is not closed– we expect that God is not done talking to his children.

Sometimes people hear about “Mormons” but don’t realize that the actual name of the religion is “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”.  Jesus Christ is our Savior, Lord and Redeemer. We believe that He was born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem as described in the New Testament. As the Son of God, He came to save all mankind through his suffering in Gethsemane, death on the cross and resurrection on the third day.

Related Articles and Links:

mormon.org – Jesus Christ
lds.org – Jesus Christ, Son of God
What Do Mormons Believe about the Atonement of Jesus Christ?
Jesus the Christ
Do Mormons Believe in the Trinity?
Is Jesus the only son of God?
The Living Christ
Why I am a Mormon
Are Mormons Christians
The Bible: A Testimony of Jesus Christ
mormon.org – Christ

The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the central tenet of our faith. The word ‘atonement’ or ‘at-one-ment’ was done to bring us to be “at one” with God. In other words, we can be reconciled with God through the atonement. The reason we are estranged from Him in the first place is because of our mortality. Because we are mortal, we will all die because our bodies are imperfect. Not only that, our spirits are imperfect. No matter what we do, on our own, we cannot remove past disobedience from our heart. These imperfections of body and spirit bring on physical and spiritual death. Physical death is a separation from our body and spiritual death is a separation from God.

Through the atonement, our bodies will be made perfect after this life, that much is guaranteed to us. In order to perfect our spirits, we must accept the terms and conditions set by Jesus Christ. The atonement was accomplished by Jesus Christ by His suffering for our sins in Gethsemane and on the cross and through His resurrection.

See also:

What do Mormons believe about the Atonement of Jesus Christ?

When I was a kid I used to think that everyone was just like me and that for the most part their lives were like mine–they had a warm, safe place to sleep, more than enough to eat, and that they felt safe and knew that their mom and dad loved them.  When I got to be a teenager, I realized that that wasn’t always the case, but I erroneously thought that it was their own fault if they weren’t happy, or if they had “problems”.  In the last few years, but in particular the last few months, I have seen and heard a lot of sad stories, heart wrenching really, that have truly changed my perspective  .

I see a lot of people who have been shot, stabbed, hit by a car on their bike, run over while waiting at the bus stop,  and in one case, a drunk woman hit a van with a woman and three or four kids, killing them all and yet she lived with a broken ankle.  Meanwhile there was a husband and child, who were lucky enough to not be in the van, whose lives were changed forever that night.

We are all quick to point our fingers at the drunk lady and say, “how could she do that– drink and drive.  She should be the one who is dead.”  But, I would almost guarantee that if you were to ask this woman about her life she would have a heart-wrenching story of her own to tell, which would probably turn your stomach in knots.  I would almost bet that her life was so bad that the only way that she could deal with it was to drink until it didn’t hurt anymore.

We all do it; we all judge each other.  Christ taught, “judge not, that ye be not judged” (St. Matthew 7:1)  He was speaking with a some experience, remember He was Mary’s son, who was pregnant before she and Joseph were  married.  I am sure the young couple was the talk of Nazareth for a while.

I have thought about those seven words a lot and the more I hear these sad stories and see the scars, either emotional or physical, that people carry, the more I realize that I have no room to think, “well, if you would just . . . then you wouldn’t be like this.”  If I had to go through what some people have, maybe I would drink myself to death too.  Or how can you not be violent to others, when all you have experienced was violence from those who you are supposed to trust?

I am not advocating that people should not be punished for their actions, or that sin as defined by God’s laws is excusable, but what I am saying is that we should all have a little more compassion.  We can hate the sin, but still love the sinner (as a contributor to this website put it). We should all view people as who they really are–sons and daughters of an Eternal Father in Heaven, who have divine and unlimited potential.  So when that guy flies by you on your way home tonight and then proceeds to slam on his brakes and cut you off to get in the turn lane, take a deep breath and say, “I bet he is on the way to the hospital to see his wife who is taking her last breaths.”

Mormon.org answers this question well.

“Death is not the end. Death is really a beginning—another step forward in Heavenly Father’s plan for His children. Someday, like everyone else, your physical body will die. But your spirit does not die, it goes to the spirit world, where you will continue to learn and progress and may be with loved ones who have passed on.

Related Articles and Links:

Mormon.org – Purpose of Life
Mormon.org – God’s Plan of Happiness
Plan of Salvation
Life After Death – Part 1
Life After Death – Part 2

Related Articles and Links:

Why do bad things happen to good people?
Our Life On Earth
Agency in the Eternities
What Do Mormons Believe? – Choices
Mormon.org – Freedom to Choose
Mormon.org – God’s Plan of Happiness

This quote is from the 13^th Article of Faith.    The Articles of Faith were written in 1842 by Joseph Smith at the request of John Wentworth who was the editor of the Chicago Democrat.  Mr. Wentworth asked Joseph Smith for information about Mormonism.  Joseph Smith sent a letter that gave a history of the church and 13 fundamental doctrines of Mormonism, known as the Articles of Faith.

Click to read the 13 Articles of Faith

1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.
3. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
5.  We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6.  We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
7.  We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
8.  We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
10. 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 paradisiacal glory.
11. 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, where, or what they may.
12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul-We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.