Beliefs

At church today our Sunday School teacher told about a church near where he works that’s title is “Ex-Mormon Church of …”. I thought this was fascinating, and started wondering why people would put “Ex-Mormon” in the name for their church. What was even more interesting to me was that 95% of the membership never had been members of the Mormon church at all. They just thought that the idea of being against the Mormons was appealing. Our teacher talked with one such member and asked him what their church believes to which the man answered something like,

“Joseph Smith was not…”

-No, what do you believe?-

“The Book of Mormon is not…”

–What do you believe?-

The man could not seem to answer my friend’s question because of his focus on what he didn’t believe. I am so grateful that I know what I believe in: We are children of a loving Heavenly Father, who wants us to be happy. One of my favorite quotes is by Joseph Smith and he said, “Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God.” I truly believe that and believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the source of true happiness. Our purpose is not to create a Utopia, but a Zion. Zion is any place where there are the pure in heart. Not the perfect, but those with a sincere love of God and of their fellow beings.

For me it all boils down to a scripture from the Bible in Luke 6:43-44: “For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.” In a church that currently has almost 13 million members each with their own ideas and personalities, I think we have an incredible track record for doing good. This is comforting to me when I hear criticism of individuals within the church because I know that the gospel is still true in spite of the imperfections of the people within it, and that it is a force for good.

Russel M Nelson gave an example of this in 2004 that I really like:

“Our religion is known by the fruit of its branches. Recently I met with government officials from a land far from here who were deeply impressed with the Church and its efforts throughout the world. They liked our teachings about the family and wanted copies of our proclamation to the world and guidebooks for family home evening. They wanted to know more about our welfare program and humanitarian help. We complied as we could and then shifted attention from what we do to why we do it. I explained with an analogy to a tree. “You are attracted by various fruits of our faith,” I said. “They are plentiful and powerful. But you cannot savor this fruit unless you know the tree that produces it. And you cannot understand the tree unless you comprehend its roots. With our religion, you cannot have the fruits without the roots.”