Faith is one of the more challenging concepts of Christianity. Because it can’t be scientifically measured, or stored in a bottle to be pulled out as needed, many people either don’t believe in it or don’t know how to access it. Mormonism, a nickname commonly applied to beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is built on a strong foundation of faith. Mormons are taught from childhood to develop their faith and then to use it to gain a testimony of the gospel and to help them through challenging times without fear.

Many years ago, I found myself facing a major change in my life. For three years, life had been unusually peaceful and I was scared of sliding back into a world of changes. I fought the change hard and had to turn to prayer for help. I went weekly during that struggle to the Mormon temple, where I took time away from the world to pray in a quiet, Spirit-filled place. As I prayed, the thought came repeatedly to my mind, “If you’re prepared, you don’t need to be afraid.”

I recognized this piece of inspiration as coming from Mormon book of scripture called the Doctrine and Covenants, a collection of modern revelations given to church leaders. It was given to Joseph Smith and delivered at a conference in which the people were told to go to Ohio. I accepted the comfort and set out to prepare myself for the changes that were coming. Then, completely prepared, I sat back and waited for the fear to disappear.

It didn’t.

I kept right on being afraid and fighting against the coming changes. I didn’t understand why I continued to fear when I had done as instructed. Finally, I took it to prayer again and this time the answer came quickly and clearly, as clearly as if someone were speaking to me. The answer was this: I said you didn’t need to fear; I didn’t say you couldn’t choose to be afraid.

God believes in agency. He gives us the right to choose and we can choose whether to approach life fearfully or faithfully. Fear is a choice and it was what I had chosen. I went to work strengthening my faith and life felt so much better. In time, I understood the purpose of the changes and realized that even though I hadn’t wanted them, I had enjoyed the results of the changes. God knew much better than I did what I needed.

It’s sometimes said that faith is the opposite of fear. When we’re afraid, we aren’t completely putting the situation into God’s hands and trusting Him. What I attempt to keep in mind when I’m trying to overcome fear with faith is to remember that God sees the entire picture, whereas I only see a small bit of it. He is looking at life from an eternal perspective and I am not.

This doesn’t mean that if we have faith we will never have any problems. The story of the world isn’t just about us; it involves everyone who lives on earth at any time. Everything that happens impacts many different lives, all with different needs and plans, and God must juggle all those lives. In addition, people have agency. It is a critical part of God’s plan for us; we’re given the right to make decisions. Those decisions affect our lives and they also affect others who had no control over our decisions. We can choose our actions, but we can’t choose the consequences, nor can we choose who else will be impacted by our decisions. Sometimes our trials are caused by our own decisions and sometimes by the decisions of others; in addition, some things just happen and no one is to blame, as in the case of severe weather or illness. Sometimes God sends trials to help us learn something important. It can help to remember that even Jesus experienced extraordinary levels of suffering despite living a perfect life. Trials are simply a part of every life.

Having trials does not mean God has abandoned us. He is always in charge. While He may not always step in to protect us from our own choices or even from the choices of others, He has a master plan for all of us, and for each of us individually. The events that occur might not be the ones He would choose if He were micromanaging us, but He will not allow them to derail His overall plan for us. This means God is still in charge, and even when tragedy or trial occurs, we’re still inside the master plan and we will be fine in the eternal scheme of things.

We can’t always control what happens to us but we can choose our reactions to them. This power to choose is why two people can face the same trials and come out with different results. One person who experiences prejudice or poverty will spend his life angry and using this as an excuse. Another will use it to become stronger and overcome the challenges life has given him or go through them with a cheerful attitude. One person with an illness will become demanding and discouraged and another, perhaps after a natural time of grieving, will go on to uplift and strengthen others through her example and courage. One person loses his job and wastes priceless hours blaming his boss, the economy, the government or anyone else who comes to mind; another uses the time to start his own business or upgrade skills.

Having faith in Jesus Christ can help us turn away fear. The more we trust God and Jesus Christ to watch over us and to help us get through our trials, the less frightened we will be by those experiences. We need to prepare ourselves for possible trials physically, mentally, and spiritually. The best time to build a loving relationship with God and to learn to trust Him is before the trial, not during it. In this way, we come into the trials knowing how God interacts in our lives. We have a tradition of obedience that allows us to receive His greatest gifts and we know how to recognize His hand in our lives. We’ve learned how to get answers to our questions and to feel the comfort He sends.

How do we do this? First we need to set a goal to seek out complete truth and accept it, even if we find it where we don’t expect to. We can do this by believing the promise given in James 1:5, where we are promised that if we need wisdom, we can receive it from God. Then we need to act on that wisdom. We should put aside time each day to read scripture—not just racing through them to meet a goal, but reading them slowly and thoughtfully. If you’ve never read the Bible all the way through, this is a good time to do so. The Book of Mormon testifies of the truthfulness of the Bible and helps strengthen our testimony that Jesus really did live and that He came to earth for everyone, not just those who lived in His small geographical location. Reading this book will bring additional understanding of the Savior’s mission, since it actually discusses this more often than does the Bible.

We need to put time into prayer, not just the ritual repetition of words but meaningful discussion with God followed by quiet and patience as we wait for answers. If we leap up and go back to everyday life, we may miss the gentle inspiration that follows. In a conversation with another person, when you ask a question, you wait for the answer before leaving the conversation. Prayer requires the same courtesy. Act as though you expect God to answer your question—this is faith.

When we ask God for help, we need to do our share of the effort and we also need to act like we trust Him to come through with the help. For instance, I’m a writer. I’m trying to learn to write fiction and sometimes I get lost. I reach a section of my novel I know I don’t have the skill to carry out. I often turn to God for help with those sections, but then I follow up by going to my bookshelf to read how to do what I need to do. I trust God to help me find the right book, and maybe even to have encouraged me to buy the right book before I knew I needed it. And then I sit at my computer and start typing, even if I don’t yet know what I’m supposed to type. If I’m not at my computer, I can’t write the book and God can’t guide my mind and hands to type the right words. Sitting at my computer is an act of faith that God will come through with the help.

I find it very helpful to try to figure out what God is trying to teach me when I’m facing a frightening trial. When I know what He wants me to learn, I can do my part to learn it, and I also find it easier to have faith. I watch for proof that God is nearby and participating in my trial with me. Knowing He’s nearby and I can talk the trial over with Him gives me courage to get through the trial. No matter how few people might be in my life at any given moment, I never have to go through a trial alone.

Nervousness or concern is natural, but paralyzing fear can frequently be overcome through faith. The more often we recognize God’s hand in our lives, the easier it will be to trust Him during the next trial. Every trial we handle with faith strengthens our ability to do it even better the next time.

The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Godhead, which consists of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit. This third member is often the least understood by many Christians, and yet His role is critical to our lives on earth.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are sometimes called Mormons, believe these three are not one being. They are completely unified in every way except physically. This is demonstrated through two verses in the New Testament of the Holy Bible.

John 10:30 says, “I and my Father are one.” In the centuries following the death of Jesus Christ and the apostles, councils convened and decided scriptures like this one signified a unity of physical being. Not all Christians agreed, but this view, put to a vote, prevailed. However, such an interpretation ignores the explanation given by the Savior a few chapters later.

In the Great Intercessory Prayer given by the Savior, He said,

And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are (John 17:11)

From this we can see the oneness is that of spiritual unity, not physical oneness, since we do not include all of Jesus’ followers in our trinity. Jesus taught in this prayer that He and His Father were one in the same way all Christians are to be one.

Mormon beliefs teach that God and Jesus Christ have perfected and glorified bodies, but the Holy Spirit is a Spirit only. He has several assignments designed to help us in our life’s journey. In fact, without His help, we would have little chance of returning to our Heavenly Father.

In the Book of Mormon, we learn the Holy Spirit testifies of Jesus Christ and God.

“And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive” (2 Nephi 31:18)

The Holy Spirit, then, makes it possible for us to know for certain that God lives and Jesus Christ is our Savior. Without this witness, we would have to guess, and few would accept that reality. The Bible promises us in James 1:5 that if we lack wisdom, we can ask God and He will tell us what we need to know. This knowledge comes through the Holy Ghost. We will receive an answer through warm and comforting feelings in our heart (because Satan cannot bring a feeling of peace) and in this way, we can know God and Jesus are real. We can also use the testimony of the Holy Ghost to know what doctrines are true and which church is God’s church. To receive this witness, we must pray and ask for an answer, committing ourselves to act on the answer. We must not ask unless we’re willing to accept and live by the answer.

Some people warn others not to pray, saying you can’t tell who is answering you. However, Mormons believe that since God promised He would answer us, we can trust Him to find a way to make sure we recognize the source of all truth. This is the role of the Holy Ghost—to give us answers we can recognize as coming from God when we pray. The more we pray, the better we will become at recognizing what the Holy Ghost feels like.

Mormons convey the gift of the Holy Ghost after baptism. Mormons can be baptized at age eight, which they consider the age of accountability, when a child is old enough to know right from wrong if he’s been taught, and to pray to know what is true. They are expected to pray for a testimony prior to their baptisms. After they are baptized, they are confirmed members of the Church and receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Prior to this, they have the Spirit of Christ and can receive periodic promptings from the Holy Ghost to help them recognize truth. However, after they are given the Gift of the Holy Ghost by someone with the proper priesthood authority, they can have the Holy Spirit with them all the time, as long as they are living worthy of His presence.

A Mormon teenager who enters a friends’ home to discover the parents aren’t home and the teenagers who are present are making plans to drink can receive a warning from the Holy Spirit to leave the home. If she chooses to ignore the warning and stay, she may find herself on her own, since the Holy Spirit can’t be where wickedness is, and choosing to ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit tells Him He is not welcome. However, the teen who obeys will protect herself from very difficult situations. A driver who has a sudden spiritual impression to pull off the road may discover she has avoided an accident that happens moments later to the cars just behind her. This does not mean we can avoid all trials or dangers. However, it helps us to avoid those that are not necessary for our personal growth and plan or to avoid many—but not all—hardships.

Another role of the Holy Spirit is to serve as a comforter.

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever (John 14:16).

Life is sometimes very difficult. No life is without sadness or trial because we came here in part to learn and to be tested. However, Jesus promised not to leave us comfortless and so he sent the Holy Spirit. Even when we feel all alone in our trials, He can be there, if invited, to help us through it and to provide comforting companionship and reassurance.

The Holy Spirit also helps us receive spiritual gifts and to be sanctified as we repent. As we can see, although He may get talked about less than the other two members of the Godhead, He plays a powerful role in the success of our mortal lives.

A personal response

Most people are familiar with the sight of Mormon missionaries riding bikes, walking the neighborhoods, or knocking on doors. The men are dressed in suits, white shirts, and ties. They have short hair. The women are in dresses or skirts that fall below the knee. Most are young adults, but some are retired couples. And Mormons don’t wait to get called on missions. Many of them just love to share their beliefs with other people.

The correct name for the Mormon church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormon is just a nickname once given Mormons by their enemies, but which Mormons themselves good-naturedly use, on occasion. The centerpiece of the church name explains the love Mormons have for missionary work. It is Jesus Christ’s church and the Bible commands us to share His gospel.

Jesus told His eleven apostles: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). While he was only speaking to His apostles at that moment, we know that most of what He told them applies to all of us, because we are all disciples of Jesus Christ.

For Mormons, as for most Christians, sharing the gospel is part of our instructions to love all of God’s children. We know that in Jesus Christ we have something extraordinary that can make others happy. We want to share that amazing something.

There is a story in the Book of Mormon that helps to illustrate this point. A prophet named Lehi had a vision in which he saw a beautiful tree. The tree contained a magnificent fruit that he found tasted better and sweeter than any fruit he had ever before tasted. He discovered that eating the fruit of the tree would bring greater joy to those who ate from it than anything else. This fruit represented the love of God and the gospel. What did Lehi do immediately after experiencing the blessings of partaking of the fruit? He began looking for his family so he could share it with them. When you find something wonderful that can bring great joy, you naturally want to share it with those you love.

This is a typical reaction for those who discover the gospel of Jesus Christ. They realize how much joy and peace it brings to them and they long for others to have what they have. At first, they might begin with those they love most, but in time, they find themselves creating a larger circle of people with whom they’d like to share their blessings.

Another Book of Mormon story concerns a man named Enos. He went into the woods and began to pray for forgiveness of his sins. He was so overcome with the joy he experienced when he received forgiveness that he then prayed for blessings for all of his people. As his heart expanded with joy and love from doing this, he even prayed for his enemies. He wanted them to have the gospel and its blessings as well. The gospel of Jesus Christ has this power. It can fill our hearts so we can love everyone, including our enemies. We are, in fact, commanded to do so:

“But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil (Luke 6:35).

Since these full-time missionaries don’t have to go, don’t get paid to go, and don’t even get to choose where to go…why do they go? Why do older people give up a few years of relaxing retirement to head out into the mission field to work? Why do ordinary Mormons risk rejection and harassment to share their beliefs?

The two stories from the Book of Mormon explain why Mormons do missionary work. Missionary work is an act of love. The missionaries you see on the street or at your door were not forced to go on missions. While men are encouraged to do so and women are permitted to do so, it is not mandatory. The current Mormon prophet, Thomas S. Monson, did not serve a mission as a young man. He was in the Navy, instead. Later, he served as a mission president, overseeing the missionaries in Canada. Today, of course, his work a prophet and president of the Mormons requires him to serve as a special witness of Jesus Christ. However, as a young adult, he did not serve a mission and, clearly, it has not impacted his ability to serve in high church callings.

Mormons share their beliefs because they love Jesus Christ. Many of us are converts to our faith. Because an ordinary Mormon talked about his or her beliefs, or because a missionary knocked on our doors, we found something we’d been searching for our entire lives. Sometimes we didn’t even know religion was the secret to solving the problems we faced, but once we understood how much better our lives were now, we longed to share it with other people. It would be selfish to keep such a “secret” to ourselves, sitting back and watching others lacking something we know they need.

Mormons are taught not to force their beliefs on others. However, if they don’t offer it, the other person has no opportunity to accept or reject the gift. In the years before I became a Mormon, I knew a number of other Mormons. In the way of teenagers, many were too shy to share what they believed, not knowing I was interested. When someone finally did, I wished the others had found the courage to do so. I realize how many years I wasted not knowing how to build a personal relationship with Jesus Christ because people didn’t want to risk offending me. I sometimes get overly excited about sharing my beliefs, but in the end, I know it is up to each individual to make a decision about how to handle the gift I am offering, but it is also my God-given responsibility to offer it respectfully to others, to allow them the choice of accepting or rejecting.

After all, if you had the secret to eternal happiness tucked away in your heart…wouldn’t you share?

Although anyone can attend most Mormon services and activities without being a member, conversion is required to experience everything the Church has to offer. Mormonism is actually a nickname for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the principles of Mormon conversion are based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, whose mission is as central to Mormonism as His name is to the true name of the Church.

A book called True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference, which offers introductions to many Mormon principles, explains that conversion is not an event in Mormonism. It is a process. Simply announcing that we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior does not complete the process. Gaining a testimony that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not complete the process. Nor does baptism or confirmation as a member of the Church. Conversion, for a Mormon, is a life-long process, and even an eternal one. It may be why Pew Foundation studies often show Mormon teens and adults score higher than many other religions in various aspects of religiosity. An understanding that conversion requires constant effort and strengthening will naturally lead one to work harder at keeping the commandments, studying, praying, and improving faith.

Conversion is expected of all Mormons, even those who were born into Mormon families. From very early childhood, Mormons are taught to study the gospel and then to pray to God to know if it is true. Only God can give a sure answer to the question of which church to join. Mormon children are baptized at age eight and are encouraged to pray for their initial testimony prior to that time.

Those who join at age nine or older meet with missionaries prior to baptism. A series of lessons, called discussions, help them learn the very basics of the gospel. They certainly won’t know everything prior to baptism, but they have a foundation to start with and can continue to study and pray afterwards.

Conversion is normally a very quiet and personal event. While some experience miracles, such as the one received by the apostle Paul, most do not. Their prayers are answered in very quiet ways, sometimes so quietly the person has a testimony without even knowing it.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, a Mormon apostle, calls this “waiting on the road to Damascus.” This is a reference to Paul’s miraculous conversion. Because they haven’t had a big dramatic revelation or miracle, they think God hasn’t given them a testimony yet.

We know that manifestations such as this happen. In fact, we testify that a similar divine experience happened in 1820 to a boy named Joseph Smith. It is our clear and certain testimony that the heavens are open again and that God speaks to His prophets and apostles. God hears and answers the prayers of His children.

Nevertheless, there are some who feel that unless they have an experience similar to Saul’s or Joseph Smith’s, they cannot believe. They stand at the waters of baptism but do not enter. They wait at the threshold of testimony but cannot bring themselves to acknowledge the truth. Instead of taking small steps of faith on the path of discipleship, they want some dramatic event to compel them to believe.

They spend their days waiting on the road to Damascus.  (See Waiting on the Road to Damascus by Dieter F. Uchtdorf.)

Those working to gain a testimony are taught to study the gospel. You must read the Bible and the Book of Mormon to know they are true. You can’t have a testimony of something if you don’t know it exists or don’t know enough about it. Often, as a person is studying the teachings of the Mormons, he will begin to feel a warmth and peace in his heart. This comes from the Holy Ghost and is the only way conversion occurs. Another way to gain a testimony is to act as if it were true. If you want to know if God really wants  you to keep the Word of Wisdom, the Mormon health code, begin to keep it and see what happens. God can better testify to you of the truthfulness of something while you are living it, because he can show you the blessings.

David A. Bednar, also a Mormon apostle, helped listeners at a recent conference understand the principle of gradual conversion in a talk called The Spirit of Revelation:

We as members of the Church tend to emphasize marvelous and dramatic spiritual manifestations so much that we may fail to appreciate and may even overlook the customary pattern by which the Holy Ghost accomplishes His work. The very “simpleness of the way” (1 Nephi 17:41) of receiving small and incremental spiritual impressions that over time and in totality constitute a desired answer or the direction we need may cause us to look “beyond the mark” (Jacob 4:14).

I have talked with many individuals who question the strength of their personal testimony and underestimate their spiritual capacity because they do not receive frequent, miraculous, or strong impressions. Perhaps as we consider the experiences of Joseph in the Sacred Grove, of Saul on the road to Damascus, and of Alma the Younger, we come to believe something is wrong with or lacking in us if we fall short in our lives of these well-known and spiritually striking examples. If you have had similar thoughts or doubts, please know that you are quite normal. Just keep pressing forward obediently and with faith in the Savior. As you do so, you “cannot go amiss” (D&C 80:3).

Once a Mormon or potential Mormon has received this testimony from God, he is expected to act on it. If we go to God with a request for help or advice, we must act on the light He gives us.

This initial testimony is only a beginning place, however. Over the coming years, Mormons will continue to study and pray. They will plan for experiences that will strengthen their testimonies of Jesus Christ and become more familiar with His teachings. They will continue to improve their ability to live the commandments of God. All of these things will continue a lifelong process of conversion. As our testimonies grow stronger, our ability to obey God becomes easier. As obedience becomes easier, our testimonies are strengthened. It is those first steps that are critical; after that every step circles back to strengthen the previous steps and to make the next ones easier.

Treating conversion as a process rather than a single event makes it more likely a person will sustain the initial conversion and more likely he will continue to work on improving his testimony and spirituality. True to the Faith offers several benefits that come from being truly converted:

1.    A desire to do good. Someone with a true conversion will not be perfect, but will be filled with a desire to make gospel-appropriate choices out of love for Jesus Christ. The motive behind the goal is one sign of true conversion.

2.    A refusal to rebel against God. A person who is truly converted will accept the teachings of God and of the prophet without rebellion or trying to “exempt” any teaching or action that does not match other non-spiritual aspects of his life.

3.    A willingness to share the gospel. When we have something we know will make the lives of others better, we long to share it. If we have a testimony of the gospel and know how much happier it has made us, love for others will cause us to share it with them.

4.    An increased love for others. When we are truly converted, God can fill our hearts with love for others and a desire to help them be happy and safe. It impacts the way we treat others and the way we view them.

These goals often take a lifetime to achieve, but each day we are actively working on our testimonies and conversions, we are bringing ourselves closer to a Christ-like life and a complete conversion.

Ezra Booth, a former minister, became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are often called Mormons, in 1831, when the church was still new. He had seen Joseph Smith heal the arm of a church member, and this was his reason for joining. However, Mormons know miracles don’t really convert people. The miracle must be followed up with appropriate steps to gain a true testimony, including study and prayer. However, Booth did not do this and so he had only the single miracle to bolster his thin faith.

In the early days of the church, adult men, even those married, could be sent out on missions and often did so when they were quite new to the church. This is not the case today, where missionaries must be well-versed in their religion and have strong testimonies. Ezra Booth left on his mission only a few months after joining. This mission demonstrated his lack of true testimony as he faced his first necessity to sacrifice for his faith. He was angry over having to walk to his destination instead of being given transportation, even though the young church had no money for such things and neither did he. He began to feel upset that he didn’t see a continual stream of miracles, not understanding that miracles are miracles precisely because they are rare. Missionary work wasn’t the glamorous task he expected it to be.

As he focused on all the things that were wrong, instead of on what was right or on the privilege of doing God’s work, his attitude descended lower and lower. All he thought about day in and day out was what he didn’t like about his new church. He had misunderstood a prophecy that said the gospel would bloom in Missouri because he thought it had already happened or it would happen while (and maybe because) he was a missionary there. Instead, he found only a small number of converts there. He didn’t think prophets ought to laugh or play with children. Ezra also resented that only the prophet could receive revelation, showing a distinct inability to understand the purpose of a prophet. He began to harbor resentment and anger towards his leaders. He even forgot he was there to share the gospel and instead spent his time attacking it. Naturally, when he returned home, the church had no choice but to excommunicate him. It was clear he lacked a testimony or commitment to the gospel.

Like so many though, he could not simply move on with life. He became obsessed with his former membership and began writing letters to the newspapers, making up new stories and slanting things to justify his decision to stay outside the church rather than to repent and re-convert. Many people find a need to try to justify their choices in this way. Unfortunately, many believed his words, not knowing his background or mindset and it increased the persecution the Mormons faced. Because of his attitude and gossip, many people suffered powerful tragedies.

Joseph Smith was naturally a preferred target, although Ezra’s persecution hurt many others as well. One day, Joseph’s adopted twins had measles and Emma, his wife, had cared for them all day. She eventually went to bed with the little girl and Joseph stayed up with the little boy, who was much sicker. Late into the night, he finally was able to sleep by putting the child with him on the trundle bed near the door. Just as he fell asleep, an angry and very drunk mob broke through the door and dragged Joseph into the streets. They left the door open, causing the baby to catch cold. They choked Joseph, ripped off his clothing, and tried to force hot tar and acid down his throat to kill him. After having second thoughts about actually murdering him, they tarred and feathered him. They also dragged Sidney Rigdon, another church member, out of his home and covered him in tar. The head injuries Rigdon sustained left him delirious for several days. Both men suffered untold pain as the tar was removed from them.

The saddest result of this mob action is that Joseph’s little son died because of the cold he caught when the door was left open. Despite all of this, Joseph forgave them and when they showed up at a sermon soon after, Joseph, still suffering his injuries, did not mention what they had done.

All of this came about because one person had a very bad attitude, choosing to focus on the wrong things, choosing to fill his life with hatred, choosing to spread false stories—and because others chose to believe this gossip instead of finding out for themselves what was true.

There will always be people in the world who will make up stories for their own self-centered purposes, whether it is about religion, politics, social life or any other part of life. However, we are accountable for our choices, including what we do with what others tell us. Ezra Booth would have to answer to God for the lies he told, but each person who acted on those lies without taking the time to find out for himself what was true would also be accountable for those actions. No part of our life is exempt from being accountable for our choices.

H. David Burton, Presiding Bishop of the Church, pointed out that our integrity impacts every other part of our virtue: “It is difficult for a person to display virtuous traits if he or she lacks integrity. Without integrity, honesty is often forgotten. If integrity is absent, civility is impaired. If integrity is not important, spirituality is difficult to maintain.” (See Let Virtue Garnish Your Thoughts by H. David Burton.)

There are many lessons to be drawn from the life of Ezra Booth—the importance of securing a firm testimony of your faith, the dangers of spreading or listening to gossip, the impact of sustained anger, and the power of choice and accountability. It is not likely Ezra Booth set out to cause as much trouble he did. He only wanted to get even with the Mormons for not living up to his unrealistic expectations. However, the choices he made led to widespread persecution, pain and suffering, and even the death of a child. Gossip and spreading false information or information we have not properly verified can have far-reaching consequences we cannot imagine. It is important, as we make our daily choices, to remember we can choose our actions, but not their consequences. Seemingly unimportant actions can lead to a chain of events we can no longer control. Agency is one of the greatest gifts God has given us but we must use it wisely.

Many of the reviews of the Broadway’s The Book of Mormon Musical claim it is only an attack on blind faith. The suggestion is, then, that the missionaries in the musical were operating on blind faith and that perhaps the converts were as well.

The musical features two young Mormon missionaries, one who wishes he’d been sent somewhere more fun and the other who knows nothing about his religion and so spends his time preaching Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. This is, of course, hardly a realistic portrayal of the typical Mormon missionary. Missionaries generally love being sent out of the country and the more unusual the place, the better. In addition, they are extremely well-educated in their faith.

Blind faith suggests basing faith on nothing at all. This is not what the truly converted Mormon does. First, by the time a missionary leaves for his mission at age nineteen, he knows far more than the average American teenager knows about his or her own faith. A recent Pew Forum study showed that Mormon teens were among the very few who could intelligently discuss their beliefs and were more likely to live it. Even a cursory review of Mormon teen life would have shown the composers that if they want ignorant missionaries, the Mormons aren’t the place to look for them.

Mormon children begin their religious educations in the home as infants. Their families hold daily scripture study and family prayer. In addition, they have a weekly Family Home Evening, which includes a lesson a gospel principle. In most homes, family members take turns teaching, in addition to rotating the other responsibilities in the home. In this way, young children learn how to teach their beliefs—which is one reason they can intelligently discuss them—and to lead meetings, conduct music, and plan activities. They learn the leadership skills necessary to become good missionaries.

When they are just eighteen months old, they begin to attend the nursery class. Although it is for toddlers and there is ample time to play, they also have lessons and spiritual singing times. They attend the regular worship service with their parents and attend their class during the two classes held afterwards. At age three, they start to attend regular classes and are also invited to prepare and give brief sermons, called talks, in the children’s program. Again, this helps them learn and discuss their beliefs. From ages eight to twelve, they attend a children’s group two to four times a month.

Teenagers get a far more extensive program of education. They give at least one sermon a year, lasting about five minutes, to the entire congregation and sometimes teach classes to their peers as well. Besides attending Sunday School and a class for young men or young women on gospel living, they also have a weekly activity where they put what they’ve learned into practice. They have regular service projects, youth conferences, and religious camps.

Beginning in high school, teens attend a class that is both spiritual and academic in nature on the scriptures. In this class they learn the scriptures in great depth, since it is held almost every school day, usually very early in the morning. The four year program devotes two years to the Bible, one to the Book of Mormon, and one to church history and modern revelations. They are required to read each of these books of scripture as part of this program, the weeknight program, and Sunday School. Since the classes are not all on the same book at the same time, they usually have several books to read at once.

While they are in college, they attend a similar program that is even more rigorous, both spiritually and academically. Most missionaries will have had several years of this program, known as Institute of Religion, behind them before they begin their missions.

As you can see, between home, church, and personal study, a Mormon missionary leaves for his mission with a great deal of education in his faith. Of course, there is more to faith than just knowledge, but knowledge is important. Mormons do not believe in blind faith. Children and converts are expected to learn the beliefs of their faith prior to baptism, which cannot happen earlier than age eight. While they may have only a rudimentary knowledge at this time, they are expected to continue to study and learn.

Next comes testimony. A testimony of God, of Jesus Christ, and of the Savior’s church is a requirement for baptism. Even children are taught to pray for a testimony. They beginning saying simple prayers with a parent’s help as soon as they can talk, but as they get older, they learn how to make prayer a personal conversation with God and to ask for and to receive answers. It is a lack of understanding of faith that makes The Book of Mormon Musical an extremely inaccurate portrayal of Christianity in general. Most Christians do not operate on blind faith.

A Mormon bases his faith on knowledge gained in a personal way. We all know we believe most strongly in things we have personally proven and this is the way with religion. There are some who say we need a physical proof in order to justify believing, but of course, proof is not faith and God teaches that faith what we were sent here to earth to learn. And yet, while we may not have put our hands on specific objects or seen God in person, we can still know what is true.

A Christian does not believe in the Bible because he saw the original papyrus on which it was written or because he personally watched the author at work. He might find scientific proof of the Bible’s authenticity interesting, but it isn’t the basis of his faith. If there were not lions found in the places and times the Bible says there were lions, a Christian knows it is not that they weren’t there, but that we haven’t found the proof yet. Science makes new discoveries every day and today, many things scientists once said weren’t true have been proven true. Christians are patient people in their faith.

Mormons, who also use the Bible, exercise this same faith in the Book of Mormon as well. They don’t need to see the plates on which the Book of Mormon was written any more than they need to see the papyrus on which the Bible was written. They enjoy seeing that archaeologists have, in modern times, discovered ancient records recorded on metal plates, even though they said, in Joseph Smith’s time they never were. However, that isn’t why they believe. They believed before scientists made that discovery.

Everyone knows things that they have never proven scientifically. We live by and believe in many scientific facts without bothering to recreate the experiments for ourselves. We believe in love even though we don’t head for a laboratory to find out if we really are in love. We believe in democracy without a scientific proof that it is the best form of government. We choose our parenting methods based on instincts and preference. We live our lives using faith in things we cannot or choose not to scientifically prove.

And yet, Mormons believe they can prove the existence of God and the truthfulness of their religion. They can’t prove it to anyone else because faith must be individually proven. This proof comes from the Holy Ghost. A person must first have a desire to believe and a basic understanding of what he is about to pray for. Then he takes it to God, because while man is imperfect and might mislead, God never will lead us astray. A testimony based only on material proof can be destroyed when science makes a new discovery that contradicts the old beliefs. The testimony of man can become shaky when we see that person’s imperfection or hear something we didn’t want to believe. When the testimony comes from God, however, there is no question that it is true.

Dallin H. Oaks, a Mormon apostle of Jesus Christ, offered this explanation of why faith is not blind faith:

“In closing, I refer to the relationship between obedience and knowledge. Members who have a testimony and who act upon it under the direction of their Church leaders are sometimes accused of blind obedience.

Of course, we have leaders, and of course, we are subject to their decisions and directions in the operation of the Church and in the performance of needed priesthood ordinances. But when it comes to learning and knowing the truth of the gospel—our personal testimonies—we each have a direct relationship with God, our Eternal Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, through the powerful witness of the Holy Ghost. This is what our critics fail to understand. It puzzles them that we can be united in following our leaders and yet independent in knowing for ourselves.

Perhaps the puzzle some feel can be explained by the reality that each of us has two different channels to God. We have a channel of governance through our prophet and other leaders. This channel, which has to do with doctrine, ordinances, and commandments, results in obedience. We also have a channel of personal testimony, which is direct to God. This has to do with His existence, our relationship to Him, and the truth of His restored gospel. This channel results in knowledge. These two channels are mutually reinforcing: knowledge encourages obedience (see Deuteronomy 5:27; Moses 5:11), and obedience enhances knowledge (see John 7:17; D&C 93:1).

We all act upon or give obedience to knowledge. Whether in science or religion, our obedience is not blind when we act upon knowledge suited to the subject of our action. A scientist receives and acts upon a trusted certification of the content or conditions of a particular experiment. In matters of religion, a believer’s source of knowledge is spiritual, but the principle is the same. In the case of Latter-day Saints, when the Holy Ghost gives our souls a witness of the truth of the restored gospel and the calling of a modern prophet, our choice to follow those teachings is not blind obedience.” (See Dallin H. Oaks, “Testimony”, Ensign, April 2008 General Conference.)

In 1852, when Hannah Last Cornaby was baptized, she and her husband had to enter the church building through a volley of stones being thrown at them by a screaming mob. She did not turn back. She bravely pushed through the mob, coping with the rocks and insults and allowed her husband to baptize her. Perhaps this event motivated her to later write the LDS hymn, “Who’s On the Lord’s Side?”

Who’s on the Lord’s side? Who?

Now is the time to show.

We ask it fearlessly:

Who’s on the Lord’s side? Who?

(“Who’s on the Lord’s Side?” Hymns, no. 260)

Hannah didn’t just choose the Lord’s side when it was easy or popular. She chose it when her very life was in danger. She left her home in England for it and endured many hardships with good humor for it. Hannah chose the Lord’s side.

Today, there are many forces trying to get us to choose the other side. Secular forces try to convince us it is old-fashioned to be on the Lord’s side. Political parties urge loyalty to them over the gospel. Media mocks the Lord’s side on a regular basis. This is reminiscent of a story in the Book of Mormon about a prophet named Lehi.

Lehi had a vision which featured a tree. The tree represented God’s love. Many people worked to get to the tree but some, after reaching it and tasting the fruit, became aware of a great and spacious building off to the side. It was filled with glamorous people who were mocking those who worked so hard to reach the tree. Many people got distracted by this or embarrassed by the taunts and rushed away, abandoning God to join the people in the building. The building represented the secular world.

Today, that building is rapidly filling up with people who never tasted God’s love and with those who did taste it but who thought they could find a better way to live, one with fewer rules, perhaps, or one with more selfish rules, or one that is more popular. There are so many distractions to test our testimonies.

The true test of whose side you are on comes when a person, a political party, a television program or some other thought leader you admire takes a stand that is different from the one your faith declares is God’s stand. For Mormons, this refers to what the prophets tell us, since only a prophet can speak for God—the Bible makes this very clear. In Mormon beliefs, the test comes when the prophet declares something, as a prophet, that is different from a belief you cherished. What do you do? Do you refuse to raise your hand to sustain the prophet or do you get down on your knees and pray to know what is true?

Your decision will help you know the depth of your testimony.

15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15.)

There are many gods calling on us to switch sides, and it takes courage and a firm foundation of faith to identify the correct one and to choose that side before anything else.

The Lord has left no doubt in defining His side and where the Saints should be in their thoughts, words, actions, and practices. We have His counsel in the scriptures and in the words of the prophets. To ancient Israel, the Lord said through Moses: “I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil.” (Deut. 30:15.) The Lord counseled His prophet Jeremiah to instruct the people: “Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.” (Jer. 21: 8.) That is the contrast; that is the choice. Either we are on the Lord’s side of the line or on the side of the adversary. Nephi declared, [we] “are free to act for [ourselves]—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.” (2 Ne. 10:23.) Yes, “men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.” (2 Ne. 2:27.) (See Joseph B. Wirthlin, “The Lord’s Side”, Ensign, Mar. 1993, 69 )

It is often not the big sins that catch us off-guard, especially as we get older and are good at resisting certain typesof temptations. Instead, it is often the small things, the single toe sliding across the line to decide we disagree with the prophet on this one little thing. Unfortunately, the toe is attached to a foot and one small decision away from the teaching of the prophets can lead to making it easier to disagree with the prophet on one more thing. Soon our whole foot is over the line, and then our bodies, and finally our hearts. Step by small step, Satan wins the battle.

The statements of the prophets are not given to compel, coerce, dictate, control, or infringe on any person’s right to choose. Church leaders are guided by the Lord’s injunction in the Doctrine and Covenants: “No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;

“By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile.” (D&C 121:41–42.) The prophets and other Church leaders never have misled the members on a principle of righteousness. Every principle is for our benefit. However, if we choose to ignore the prophets, we choose the consequences that follow. We have the God-given agency to either follow the prophets or not, but we cannot choose the consequences of exercising that agency. They will follow with absolute certainty. If we ignore the prophets, we become like the people the Savior chastised when he said, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46.) (See Joseph B. Wirthlin, “The Lord’s Side”, Ensign, Mar. 1993, 69.)

Being on the Lord’s side sometimes requires us to make changes in long-held beliefs. We don’t have to automatically accept what we hear. We can take it to God and pray for wisdom. However, we know the prophet will not lead us astray and at some point in time, we have to gain a testimony of the prophet, not just of individual doctrine. It is not the work of the prophet to tell us what we want to hear or what the world wants us to say.

You may not like what comes from the authority of the Church. It may conflict with your political views. It may contradict your social views. It may interfere with some of your social life … Your safety and ours depends upon whether or not we follow … Let’s keep our eye on the President of the Church.” (Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, October 1970, p. 152–153.)

Sometimes, when faced with a prophet who seems to be telling us something different from what we thought was the word of God, we turn to dead prophets. “But Joseph Smith said….”

Ezra Taft Benson, a past Mormon prophet, spoke of this challenge:

But it is the living prophet who really upsets the world. “Even in the Church,” said President Kimball, “many are prone to garnish the sepulchres of yesterdays prophets and mentally stone the living ones.” (Instructor, 95:527.)

Why? Because the living prophet gets at what we need to know now, and the world prefers that prophets either be dead or worry about their own affairs. Some so-called experts of political science want the prophet to keep still on politics. Some would-be authorities on evolution want the prophet to keep still on evolution. And so the list goes on and on.

How we respond to the words of a living prophet when he tells us what we need to know, but would rather not hear, is a test of our faithfulness.

Said President Marion G. Romney, “It is an easy thing to believe in the dead prophets, but it is a greater thing to believe in the living prophets.” (Ezra Taft Benson, “Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet“, Liahona, June 1981, 1)

For a Mormon, a prophet today is the same as a prophet in Biblical times. God counseled people to listen to the prophets, not just when they agreed with them but always. Refusing to do so came with dire consequences. While today, we may not find ourselves on the wrong side of the ark doors because we didn’t follow the prophet, we can find ourselves in a much worse situation.

“The Prophet spoke out clearly on Friday morning, telling us what our responsibilities are …

“A man said to me after that, ‘You know, there are people in our state who believe in following the Prophet in everything they think is right, but when it is something they think isn’t right, and it doesn’t appeal to them, then that’s different.’ He said, ‘Then they become their own prophet. They decide what the Lord wants and what the Lord doesn’t want.’

“I thought how true, and how serious when we begin to choose which of the covenants, which of the commandments we will keep and follow, we are taking the law of the Lord into our own hands and become our own prophets, and believe me, we will be led astray, because we are false prophets to ourselves when we do not follow the Prophet of God. No, we should never discriminate between these commandments, as to those we should and should not keep” (N. Eldon Tanner, CR, October 1966, p. 98, quoted in the above-mentioned talk by Elder Benson.)

In Mormon beliefs, the prophet is the mouthpiece of God. God said he would do nothing without first revealing it to his prophets and He did not put a time limit on that promise. Today, as in Old Testament times, God is speaking. Today, the spiritual situation is at least as perilous as it was in past times when prophets spoke loudly and clearly, declaring the word of God. It is the personal responsibility of each person today to pray to know if there is a prophet on the earth, who he is, and how he is to be followed. The rewards and penalties for our decision to do this or to not do it, and for our decisions about following him, are the same as they were in Biblical times. The prophet of God helps us to stay on the Lord’s side, not just when it’s easy, but always.

Who is the Mormon prophet today?

In this series, we’re looking at the reasons people first start looking into Mormonism. By the time they are ready to be baptized they have deeper reasons, including a testimony, but initially, they normally begin searching for a church to join because their lives are lacking something they feel a church might be able to provide. In this article, we’re discussing how Mormon beliefs about family appeal to many searchers. The Mormon family has a unique focus.

“In the Church, our belief in the overriding importance of families is rooted in restored doctrine. We know of the sanctity of families in both directions of our eternal existence. We know that before this life we lived with our Heavenly Father as part of His family, and we know that family relationships can endure beyond death.

If we live and act upon this knowledge, we will attract the world to us. Parents who place a high priority on their families will gravitate to the Church because it offers the family structure, values, doctrine, and eternal perspective that they seek and cannot find elsewhere.” (M. Russell Ballard, “What Matters Most Is What Lasts Longest,” October 1, 2005).

It should be noted that although Elder Ballard points out we will draw people to us for this reason, it is not the reason Mormons work on strengthening the Mormon family. It is simply one special blessing the Mormons can offer those who come to the Church.

Mormons are well-known for their family-oriented Mormon beliefs. They believe families can outlast mortal life, existing throughout eternity. Because Mormons believe God ordained families to be a key element of His gospel and because they believe that God does not approve of divorce except in certain serious situations, they do not believe God will force people to get divorced when they die or begin their heavenly life trying desperately to fall out of love with the very family God commanded them to love. Mormons believe we take ourselves to Heaven-meaning that what we become during our mortal lives is who we will be in Heaven, so we take with us our hearts and minds. For Mormon families, family is forever.

Most people, even if they claim not to believe it, find they do believe it and know it instinctively when someone they love dies. God places the knowledge in their hearts at that time. “I’ll see my baby again in Heaven.” “At least Mother and Father are together again.” “I can feel my husband’s presence watching over me since his death.”

For this reason, the Mormon church has developed many programs to helps strengthen families and to prepare them for eternity. Outsiders have long been fascinated by these programs and some, like the innovative Mormon Family Home Evening program that began in 1915, are being adopted by other religions as well.

Family Home Evening is one night a week, Monday if possible, that a Mormon family will set aside to spend just with their families. They pray, sing, read scriptures, have a lesson on a gospel principle, enjoy treats and play games. In an era where families are increasingly busy and going in different directions, this ensures that at least one night a week, everyone slows down, stays home, turns off the television and computer, and focuses on becoming a forever family.

This special evening gives parents an opportunity to share their values with their children and for children to learn important skills, since each job in the evening is rotated among the family members, with very young children partnering with a parent or older sibling. Even a kindergartener might have an opportunity to teach a lesson, lead the music, or conduct the meeting. Learning these kinds of skills prepare them for future church service and for leadership in the community.

In addition to the Monday Night tradition, the Mormon family will also hold daily family prayers and scripture studies. They attend church services as a family—even babies are included in the regular church service.

Church services and classes often focus on strengthening families. Parents learn how to improve their skills as mothers and fathers. Men learn that they are as important to the well-being of their children as is the mother. Visitors to a Mormon church might notice men teaching with babies in their arms, changing diapers, or soothing a crier in the foyer.

Optional classes are offered that teach parenting skills to those who want to improve their home lives. These classes, offered to both men and women, combine spiritual and practical assistance for creating a tranquil and well-run home.

Teens and children also learn, in their own classes, how to contribute to the well-being of their homelife. They are taught to honor their parents, treat siblings kindly, help with the many aspects of running a home, and to better understand the dynamics of successful family life. On a given Sunday, a toddler might be in the nursery learning how to help his parents. A first grader might be learning why obedience to parents matter. A teenage girl may be discussing with her class how to bring unity into her home. At the same time, her teenage brother might be learning the story of the Biblical Esther in preparation for being taught the importance of women’s roles in the family and church. Each family member would be learning lessons that are critical to know and appropriate for their own lives.

Because Mormonism offers strong support, a young parent or spouse can always find compassionate support for their efforts to strengthen their families. A mother struggling to know how to get her children to behave in church can invite a more experienced mother to sit with her and mentor appropriate discipline. A father struggling to balance work and home can turn to his older home teacher (a man assigned to visit the family monthly to deliver a spiritual message and to provide assistance as needed) for advice and role modeling.

The strong support the Church offers the Mormon family is often a powerful motivator for people to take a closer look at the Mormon religion. Whether they are looking for ways to strengthen their own families or for a church that supports their belief in the sacredness of family life, it is often this aspect that appeals to people who are not Mormon. Some who never really gave thought to the importance of family, but came for other reasons, understand for the first time their importance in their own families and are strengthened.

Next, we will look at a few of the unique doctrines many people find appealing and even unexpectedly familiar to them.

Part one of a series

A new report from the Council of Churches states that while most church membership numbers are declining, Mormon membership is growing.  Mormons are the fourth largest religion in the United States and the church with the highest growth among the top ten this year and second among all churches reporting numbers.

Mormonism isn’t an easy church to join. You have to participate in a series of “discussions” about the church first and complete assignments designed to help you learn what you’re signing up for and to help you find out if the Mormon Church is true. To this end, you are required to pray and ask God to tell you, since God is the one source you can always trust when you want the truth. You are then asked to commit to living specific Gospel principles and to live a moral lifestyle.

Then, if that’s not enough, you’ll probably get put to work. The Mormon religion is a lay church, so we don’t have paid ministers, organists, or other workers. This means everyone pitches in to help with one or two tasks. For instance, I assist a toddler with a disability in the toddler nursery each week.

Mormon beliefs don’t allow you to feel okay with just showing up and listening passively through the service. It is really a 24/7 lifestyle—you live like a Christian all the time, not just at church. There are a fair number of rules covering modesty, tithing, diet, treatment of others, morality, and ethics, among other things.

Why then are so many people willing and even anxious to become a Mormon?

People look for churches to join for a great many reasons and sometimes the reason that brings them initially is not the reason they stay. Often, as they learn more, their testimonies increase and they stay because it is right, as well as for whatever reason attracted them initially.

Over my years as a Mormon, I’ve heard many different reasons for initially looking into the Mormon religion. Let’s look at some of those reasons first. Then we’ll examine what makes people join the Mormon Church and stay Mormon.

Many people seek out a church to solve a problem they are having in their lives. Something isn’t working the way they want it to, something is lacking, or something is leaving them longing for more meaning and joy. Often they will know a Mormon and notice that person has what they are looking for.

Many people come looking for something for their children. Often people who are struggling or living in a bad area want their children to have strong role models, a foundation of morality, and a purpose in life. The Mormons have a very strong program for children and youth that appeals to these people. Children begin attending classes at just eighteen months, although of course, the formal lessons are short. They play, sing, color, and have brief lessons, but throughout it all they are learning to be everything God wants them to be.

At age three, they begin regular classes and by the time they are eight, the responsibilities have begun. Mormon boys and girls are baptized at the age of eight and in all their classes prior to that time, they are taught it is their responsibility to prepare for that day. Eight is the age of accountability, a time when you are old enough to know right from wrong if you’ve been taught it. Children are taught to pray and to recognize God’s answers. Their families and teachers tell them to pray and ask God if the Mormon Church is true. By the time they are baptized, they have done this and baptism is a choice they make.

But unlike some churches, Mormons don’t consider baptism the end of the path. It is not the last thing, but one of a series of steps. At baptism, the children (and anyone else who is baptized) promise to take on themselves the name of Jesus Christ and to keep His commandments. This begins an eternal commitment to learn what God teaches and to improve in the ability to keep the commandments. The Bible teaches us we must keep the commandments and once we’ve made that covenant (a two-way promise between God and man) our responsibility grows.

A recently published study showed that many churches require very little of their teenagers. Once they are baptized at age twelve or so, parents decide the child is saved and everything is fine. The study showed teens tended to think of God as a “cosmic butler,” someone who shows up when you need help and goes away when you don’t. They thought of religion as something designed to make them happy. The two notable exceptions were Black Baptist churches and the Mormons. Teens in those churches had a stronger commitment to their religion, more participation, and a better ability to talk coherently and knowledgably about their beliefs.  I can’t speak for what the Black Baptists are doing, but I do know what the Mormons are doing differently.

Mormon teens are kept very busy learning and living their religions. Besides three hours of church of Sunday, they also often have meetings called Firesides on Sunday evenings—lectures or discussions on their faith. One evening a week they attend a meeting designed to help them put their beliefs into real world experiences. Most school mornings they attend a religion class before their traditional school begins. Weekends often find them doing service projects or attending dances or other activities with their youth groups. On Monday nights they have a lesson and activity with their families. Each day they study scriptures and pray with their families and on their own.

In addition to all this, they are taught how to live their lives according to the high standards God sets for them. They are expected to be Christians all day every day and to represent Jesus’ name honorably.

In their youth programs, they are given increasing levels of responsibility. They hold leadership positions, planning their own activities under adult mentoring. They conduct meetings, look after the spiritual and temporal needs of the youth in their own programs and learn how to be leaders in God’s kingdom.

When a teenager has this level of commitment and participation in his church, accompanied by support and Christ-like living in the home, he approaches adulthood with the testimony and skills needed to be good Christians. They are taught to feel their Savior’s love and presence all the time, not just when they call on him.

And so, when they become adults, they bring a fairly mature faith to the table. This mature faith, the exposure to good youth leaders (most Mormon teens have two direct youth leaders, six or more in the entire youth program, a Sunday School teacher, a teacher for the early morning class, and their bishop  as role models), and a set of clear and strong values are what some parents come to the Mormons to find.

Next, we’ll learn about people searching for a stronger family life.

Christmas has many symbols, but one of the most powerful is that of light. We put lights on our Christmas trees, lights on our homes, and lights on our tables. The lights often represent the star that led the way to the baby and then the child Jesus for those who knew what the star meant.

The light of Christ is another way for us to know how to follow Jesus, to find Him, and to recognize His divinity. LDS.org describes the light of Christ in this way:

“The Light of Christ is the divine energy, power, or influence that proceeds from God through Christ and gives life and light to all things. The Light of Christ influences people for good and prepares them to receive the Holy Ghost. One manifestation of the Light of Christ is what we call a conscience.” Light of Christ

Every person is given the Light of Christ from birth. Mormons believe we lived with God before we were born and there our spirits learned the Gospel and built a relationship with God. When it came time to leave that pre-mortal life and come to earth, we were told we would forget what we had learned there, but that we would have an opportunity to relearn the gospel. Jesus Christ offered to come to earth as our Savior, to redeem us from our sins and to break the bands of death so we could all be saved.

We had agency, the right to choose, even before our birth. One third of the spirits in Heaven chose not to accept the plan God had for us and rejected Jesus’ offer to be our Savior. They were not permitted to come to earth to gain bodies or families and they were exempt from the atonement of Jesus Christ. Everyone else came to earth and is covered by the Atonement.

Because we would not remember what we had experienced and learned in Heaven, we needed some way to recognize truth when we heard it. God sent here with each of us the Light of Christ to do this. We had the Light of Christ in Heaven before we were born and we would continue to have it after our death. It is an eternal part of us, a comforting continuity in our eternal lives. It helps us to know right from wrong and to recognize truth when it’s presented. Even those who did not hear the gospel in their mortal lives would know when they did hear something that was true and would have an understanding of morality, which they could then accept or reject. Of course, although we have the agency to decide what to do, we cannot avoid the consequences of those choices.

Many of us have had the experience of being in a situation and feeling uneasy, as though we were doing something wrong or were perhaps in danger. Some of us respond to that prompting and change our path. Often we call this our conscience, but it is really the Light of Christ guiding us.

Others choose to ignore those promptings. Over time, as they continue to reject the help offered and immerse themselves more and more in inappropriate behavior, their spiritual senses are dimmed. Our ability to be guided by the Light of Christ is dependent on our willingness to obey the promptings and our determination to flee situations we are warned can be dangerous for us. If we insist on continuing, soon we are on our own and no longer feel that light. Walking in darkness is a lonely and scary way to live life and it can lead to sadness, powerful trials, and danger. Although many trials come even to the most obedient and through no fault of the sufferer, others are caused by our own sins or those of others who do things that affect us.

A person who is trying to figure out which church to join can call on the Light of Christ to help with the choice. When I first started looking at churches, I tried to do the whole search intellectually. I had my trusty notebook with carefully drawn columns where I could categorize doctrines from each religion by what I thought was true, what I thought was false and what I wasn’t sure about. I thought that somehow this would allow me to choose a church.

The problem, of course, is that I was only guessing at what was true. I didn’t actually know. Reading the Bible wasn’t always helpful because sometimes verses seemed to contradict each other. It taught me the basics of the Savior’s church, but not specifically how to identify its modern counterpart.

What I needed was for God to tell me what was true. The only way to do that was to rely on the Light of Christ. When I first felt it, at age ten, I didn’t know what it was. I knew only that it was a glorious feeling I longed to experience again. Over time, I began to identify it as being related to religion, and most often with one particular religion. Still, when I began to study that religion—the Mormon religion—I didn’t really understand what I was feeling and how to use it.

In time, a friend taught me that it was the Light of Christ and that when this peaceful, loving feeling came to me it was the Light of Christ testifying to me that what I was hearing or experiencing was from God. Satan cannot deliver feelings of true peace, making it clear what comes from God and what does not.

God promised us that He would send us wisdom if we asked for it. (See James 1:5 in the Bible.) He always keeps His promise and He is capable of giving us the answer in a way we can recognize.

Once I learned to go to God in prayer and to wait quietly for the answers, I was able to begin identifying what was true. I learned to study the topic, come to an informed decision, and then to pray for confirmation. A peaceful feeling told me I was on the right track, and a confused or uneasy feeling meant I needed to start over. Answers didn’t come instantly all the time. Sometimes they took hours, days, or even months. When I didn’t get an immediate answer, I continued to study and learn. When I knew enough, I received my answers. Often, God wanted me to understand other issues that provided background before I could understand the question I was asking. For instance, I did not understand why Mormon women couldn’t hold the priesthood, but when I tried to pray about it, I felt I was not yet ready to receive the answer. First, I needed to understand the priesthood itself, the roles of men and women, and God’s plans for His children. Once I had testimonies of those things, I was able to pray for and receive an answer to my initial question. (You probably experience the same thing in secular things you want to learn. Often there are concepts you must grasp before you can answer your question.)

The Light of Christ is not the same thing as the Holy Ghost. While everyone has the Light of Christ, the Holy Ghost comes to those who have chosen to follow in God’s path. Mormons believe there are three personages—God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost, also known as the Holy Spirit, does not have a body.

When Jesus was nearing His death, He promised the apostles He would send them a comforter. This comforter was the Holy Ghost. When a Mormon child is baptized at age eight or a convert is baptized at any age after age eight, they are then confirmed members of the Mormon Church and are invited to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. This gift can stay with them all day every day as long as they live in a way that is morally right. The Holy Ghost cannot be where wickedness is, so once prompted to leave a situation or to stop an action, the member must do so or the Holy Ghost will flee, leaving him to cope with the situation on his own. The Holy Ghost provides safety, truth, and comfort in all of life’s situations.

The Holy Ghost and the Light of Christ do not take away our God-given right to choose for ourselves how to live. They only teach us how God wants us to live. From there, we must decide whether to reject or accept its teachings and the consequences will develop naturally from our choice. Remember, we don’t get to choose the consequences either for ourselves or for others who are affected by our choices.

Every soul, no matter who or where or when, is a child of God. Our responsibility is to teach that “there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding” (Job 32:8).

President Joseph Fielding Smith spoke of the teachings of the Holy Ghost and of the Spirit of Christ: “Every man can receive a manifestation of the Holy Ghost, even when he is out of the Church, if he is earnestly seeking for the light and for the truth. The Holy Ghost will come and give the man the testimony he is seeking, and then withdraw; and the man does not have a claim upon another visit or constant visits and manifestations from him. He may have the constant guidance of that other Spirit, the Spirit of Christ.”³

The Spirit of Christ is always there. It never leaves. It cannot leave.

Everyone everywhere already has the Spirit of Christ, and while the Spirit of the Holy Ghost can visit anyone, the gift of the Holy Ghost is obtained “by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel” (A of F 1:3), by submitting to “baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; [and the] laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost” (A of F 1:4). It is not automatically present like the Spirit of Christ is present. This gift must be conferred by one holding authority (see A of F 1:5).

(Boyd K. Packer, “The Light of Christ”, Liahona, Apr. 2005, 8.

Watch this short video to find out how the Light of Christ impacted the lives of three people desperate to find peace and happiness in their lives.