Was He Married?

magdalene2Q. Was He [Jesus] married?

Short answer: We don’t know.

Longish answer:  Funny you should ask.  Historically there has been some widespread speculation about that, particularly with respect to Mary Magdalene.  Thanks in part to The DaVinci Code, the issue has become more a part of popular culture in recent years.  It’s a fascinating debate, filled with all kinds of gnostic gospels and symbolism and things.

The LDS Church has no official statement about the subject (despite some speculation by early Church leaders in the affirmative).  The Bible doesn’t say He was, the Book of Mormon doesn’t say He was, and neither does the book of Doctrine and Covenants.  But—and I’m hoping I speak for the majority here—I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out He is, especially considering that we believe marriage and family to be a central and necessary aspect of full happiness in the eternities.  So, (purely my own opinion) I personally think He probably is, but I don’t think anyone now living knows for sure.

Incidentally, one of my favorite things about believing in continuing revelation and modern day prophets is that I have a good deal of hope that questions like these will be answered in the future through a prophet.  We don’t have to claim to know everything about everything now because the gospel is living and being clarified and added to all the time. It’s a luxury that’s somewhat unique to being LDS, and I like it.

Missions of the Church

christAs a teenager, one of the things we were taught over and over was that the Church had a three-fold mission: Perfect the Saints, Proclaim the Gospel, Redeem the Dead. This is the basis of all of the programs, lessons, ordinances, callings and everythingness of the Church.

As I taught the gospel in Russia, however, I understood better that these weren’t three separate entities that we were supposed to divide our time and attention between. These are all part of the main mission of the church:
Bringing people to Christ.
This is the ultimate goal of Christ’s church, and it applies to every person on the face of the earth.

Perfecting the Saints is the broad label given to all of the ordinances and activities of the Church. It comes from Christ’s directive both in Matthew and in the Book of Mormon to “Be ye therefore perfect, [even as I] or your Father in Heaven is perfect.” In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believers and members of the Church are called “Saints”. Yes, just everyday people in the grocery store are Saints. In this context, Saints are those who are following Christ’s teachings and trying very hard to live as He has asked them to live. Perfecting the Saints is no easy task, and here are some of the ways that Saints cooperate with Christ in perfecting themselves:mission1

  • Sincerely praying and studying the word of God.
  • Attending the temple to make covenants with God.
  • Attending weekly church meetings
  • Volunteering to serve in any number of “callings” in their congregation. From the leader of the congregation right down to the person collecting lesson manuals after class, everyone is donating their time, energy and talents to serve the Lord and each other. We don’t have a paid clergy.
  • Striving to have strong families through Family Home Evening, family prayer, family vacations, family meals, family reunions, and just generally supporting and loving each other in the family.
  • Living the commandments as found here, here and here.

We truly believe that in doing what Christ has asked us to do, we draw nearer to Him and as we are closer to Him, we are more perfect. That’s what this life is all about.

mission2Proclaim the Gospel addresses the next group of people who need to come to Christ–those who aren’t already members of His church. The LDS Church has thousands of missionaries all over the world, teaching Christ’s doctrines to cossacks, Buddhists, ninjas and pygmies, and everyone else in between. Every single person on this earth is invited to come unto Christ and be perfected in Him. This aspect of Church activities is very much tied in with the first mission of perfecting the saints, because when a person is baptized into the church, they are one step closer to Christ.

mission3Redeeming the Dead strikes people as one of the most bizarre of our doctrines. We do temple work for our deceased ancestors so that they can choose to accept the ordinances in the spirit world (if they wish to–our ordinances are not binding on them if they don’t want them). But in the context of bringing every single person to Christ, this practice fits perfectly. The church was restored on the earth in 1830, 1750 years after Christ’s Church and its authority disappeared from the earth. There were a lot of people in those 1750 years, and they are each, individually important to Christ. He atoned for them too, and if they are to benefit from His sacrifice, they need to do what He’s asked them to do to be admitted into His church (baptism by immersion, followed by higher ordinances and covenants). He asks members of His church to reach out to those who have passed on as well as to the living.

So that sums up all of the Church’s activities and programs. Christ wants us all to come unto Him and be perfected in Him. For members of the church, that involves living His commandments and serving others. Some of that service is directed at helping other people join His church also to come unto Him and be perfected in Him–living and dead.

What Do Mormons Believe? – Becoming Gods and Ruling Planets

Our whole goal in life is to become more Christ-like.

Q. Do LDS members believe that they will become gods of their own planets in the afterlife?

What an excellent question. It is my hope to lay the foundation so that you can better understand what we do believe. However, I urge you to focus on the core of our beliefs: the atonement of Jesus Christ, because with that our other doctrines will be more understandable.

First, in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount he says: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The Greek word used here means complete, finished, fully developed, rather than simply error-free or sin-free. Therefore, I want to pose a question to you: what does it mean to be perfect as Heavenly Father is perfect? You might respond that perfection means keeping all of the commandments, or in other words, to make no mistakes in life. While God does keep all of the commandments and is perfect in that sense, he is much more than that. God is completely perfect, he is omnipotent, omniscient, perfectly just, perfectly merciful, perfectly honest, perfectly wise, he doesn’t change, and he is perfect in his love for all of us. If we are going to become perfect as Christ commanded us to be, then not only do we need to keep the commandments, but we need to acquire all of the attributes above. This can only be accomplished through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

The meaning of the word atonement is to set at one (at-one-ment). In the case of the atonement of Jesus Christ, with whom is he setting us at one? The Father. As a result of the Fall of Adam, Adam and Eve became imperfect and were removed from the presence of God. Since Adam and Eve acted contrary to the commandment of God, they were unclean and their bodies also became imperfect. Furthermore all of their children were in the same state. Thus, the need for a Redeemer—someone who could make our bodies perfect and also cleanse us from the imperfection of sin (both of these events are accomplished by the resurrection and atonement of Jesus Christ). Therefore, God in his infinite mercy prepared a way that we could be delivered from this combined imperfection. The only way that this ‘setting at one’ could happen was through the sacrifice of one who had not sinned; therefore, God sent his Son to give all men and women the opportunity to be redeemed from the Fall (John 3:16, John 14:6, 1 Corinthians 15:20-22).

The next question arises, what does it mean to be at one with God? In Jesus’ intercessory prayer (John 17:20-23) in the Garden of Gethsemane, he prays to the Father:

20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou has sent me.

22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou has sent me, and hast loved them, as thou has loved me.

Christ is saying that he and the Father are one, because they are perfect and he is pleading with the Father to give us the opportunity to become like him and his Father—perfect in every way. The atonement of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation to all that believe in him, regardless of who they are (see Romans 1:16). However, the atonement of Jesus Christ extends beyond the concept of forgiveness of sin. It extends into much holier spheres, allowing us to become fully developed, as the Father and Christ are, and allowing us to fulfill Christ’s commandment. This sanctifying power is available to all if they are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ in his prescribed manner and live their lives according to the doctrines and principles that he and his prophets teach.

Christ said that he is preparing a place for us in his Father’s mansion (John 14:2-3), but what will we do when we get there? I highly doubt that we will sit on clouds strumming our harps. Certainly, when we exit this life we won’t know as much as God does, nor will we have all of his other perfection. If we are to become perfect like he is, we have a lot to learn. The continuation of this growth and progression once we graduate from earth leads to the complete, fully developed, and perfect state that Christ was talking about.

We can grow up to be like our Father.

Now that the foundation has been laid, I would like to share a few verses of scripture that highlight this progression to becoming perfect in the way that God and Jesus are perfect:

Psalm 82:6 (italics added)

6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

John 10:33-34 (italics added)

33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

Revelation 3:21 (italics added)

21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

Doctrine and Covenants 76:94-95 (italics added)

94 They who dwell in his presence are the church of the Firstborn; and they see as they are seen, and know as they are known, having received of his fullness and of his grace;

95 And he makes them equal in power, and in might, and in dominion.

I hope that you will take a few things away from these verses. First, we are children of our Heavenly Father; therefore, there is a seed of divinity within us (Romans 8:16-17). Second, if we nourish that seed and live our lives according to the plan Christ and his prophets have outlined we are granted the opportunity to rule with Christ and his Father in their kingdoms. Third, being able to rule with Christ and the Father also entails that we will be made equal in power, might and dominion.

Now to answer your question with the foundation being laid, do we believe that we will become gods, ruling our own planets? We believe that through Christ all men and women can be made perfect as God and his son Jesus Christ are perfect. Nowhere in scripture does it explicitly say we will rule our own planets. Truth is, we don’t know exactly what will happen in heaven, except that we will continue growing and learning. We will just have to wait until after this life is over to find out what it means to become perfect like God and Jesus are perfect.

I hope that you can now see how beautiful our doctrine is and how much hope there is in our beliefs. This Church does not confine itself with only this life, but it’s doctrine stretches across all eternity and affords all of us the opportunity to see ourselves as God sees us—with divine potential. There is a purpose to our existence and it buoys up the soul to learn that God knows us and in his infinite wisdom He has prepared a way that you and I might become perfect. What is the problem with believing that?

The most important part for you and I at this time is to be baptized by one who holds the authority from God, to take upon ourselves the name of Christ and to commit to serve him until the end of our days, striving daily to live our lives according to his plan. We cannot comprehend the glory of God, nor can we comprehend what it means to be perfect, but I do believe in the promises of Christ. I know that Jesus is the Christ and that his Father is God and that through Christ I can become perfect. Therefore, I will worry myself with preparing myself to meet God and let God take care of the rest. I encourage you to do the same. Thank you for your inquiry.

Life After Death – Part 1

mary_and_resurrected_lordjpgFirst of all, I hope everyone had a happy Easter!

Recently, there have been a number of articles posted here referring to our eternal nature and I think it’s time we discussed this. So, what do Mormons believe about the afterlife?

We believe, as do other Christians, that Christ died and three days later was resurrected. He overcame death and because He rose again, all mankind is freed from the bondage of death. Regardless of age, race, gender, religious beliefs, good actions or bad actions, everyone will be reunited with their bodies at the time of the resurrection, after Christ’s second coming.

But what happens in the meanwhile? Before becoming resurrected beings our spirits dwell in the spirit world. Those who accepted the gospel of Christ during their mortal lives will be in spirit paradise and those who did not, either due to ignorance or rejection, will be in spirit prison. There will be opportunities for those in spirit prison to accept the gospel of Christ as missionary work continues in the spirit world. It is here, in the spirit world, that Christ spent those three days while His body lay in the tomb (see Doctrine & Covenants 138:29-34).

Dale C. Mouritsen explained, “Peter refers to the spirit world as “prison,” and it is for some. (1 Pet. 3:18–20, 1 Pet. 4:6.) However, it is chiefly a place of learning and waiting, not a place of suffering. Here, those who did not have an opportunity in mortality to receive the gospel and those who had a partial opportunity but rejected it will be taught.” However, for those in spirit paradise, the spirit world will be a place of great activity as they will be the ones on whom the responsibility falls to spread the gospel message. There is much work to be done there!

For further reading, I recommend the following excellent articles:

“Because I live, ye shall live also”, President Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign Apr. 1993, 2

“Salvation for the Dead”, Liahona Jun 1992, 25

“The Spirit World, Our Next Home”, Dale C. Mouritsen, Liahona Dec. 1977, 3

“The Plan of Salvation”

<<Life After Death – Part 2>>

The Restoration’s Unique Atonement Doctrine

Every six months the heads of our Church invite us to participate in a General Conference. The prophet, his counselors, and the twelve apostles each speak to us, along with other general authorities and officers. One of my favorite talks was given by a man named Bruce C. Hafen, who currently serves as a member of the quorum of the Seventy.

authorbrucehafenjpgHis talk, called The Atonement: All for All, clarifies ideas such as the fall of Adam, the atonement of Jesus Christ, the interplay between grace and works, and the purpose of life. I’ll list some of my favorite quotations below. I encourage you to read his talk in full or listen to it, so you will better understand our position on these controversial subjects.

(Following are snippets from his talk. They are individually profound, but lack cohesion from paragraph to paragraph. See the original talk for proper context.)

As we “talk [more] of Christ” (2 Nephi 25:26), the gospel’s doctrinal fulness will come out of obscurity. For example, some of our friends can’t see how our Atonement beliefs relate to our beliefs about becoming more like our Heavenly Father. Others mistakenly think our Church is moving toward an understanding of the relationship between grace and works that draws on Protestant teachings.

Adam and Eve learned constantly from their often harsh experience. They knew how a troubled family feels. Think of Cain and Abel. Yet because of the Atonement, they could learn from their experience without being condemned by it. Christ’s sacrifice didn’t just erase their choices and return them to an Eden of innocence. That would be a story with no plot and no character growth. His plan is developmental—line upon line, step by step, grace for grace.

Only the restored gospel has the fulness of these truths! Yet the adversary is engaged in one of history’s greatest cover-ups, trying to persuade people that this Church knows least—when in fact it knows most—about how our relationship with Christ makes true Christians of us.

The rich young man had given almost everything. When the Savior told him he must sell all his possessions, that wasn’t just a story about riches (Matthew 19:16-22).  We can have eternal life if we want it, but only if there is nothing else we want more.
So we must willingly give everything, because God Himself can’t make us grow against our will and without our full participation. Yet even when we utterly spend ourselves, we lack the power to create the perfection only God can complete. Our all by itself is still only almost enough—until it is finished by the all of Him who is the “finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).  At that point, our imperfect but consecrated almost is enough.