Meet Some Mormons
Have you ever met a Mormon? We've collected stories from some members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and posted them. Come meet a Mormon!
Q: Do Mormons ever think for themselves? Don't they always blindly follow their leaders?
A: Some people do think that we Mormons are like sheep--mindlessly following our leaders. That is not the case for a number of reasons.
If I have strep throat and go to a doctor, she will prescribe the appropriate medicine. If I were to go to a different doctor, that doctor would prescribe the same medicine for my sickness. Are those two doctors "blindly obeying" the textbook or are they acting the same based on the knowledge they each personally gained?
Imagine an un-anchored sailboat on water. Now imagine a flock of sheep following a shepherd. Which is more free? Which has more power over what happens to them?
The sheep are walking along in a field. The shepherd leads them to food, to water, around the pasture. The sheep choose to follow the shepherd because they trust him.
Now picture that sailboat on the water, now caught in a violent storm. Waves crash against the boat. Wind pushes the boat this way, waves beat it back the other.
Which is more free--the sailboat or the sheep?
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are taught that they should study issues out on their own (see here, here, and here). Joseph Smith, the founder and first Prophet of the Church in modern days, taught that the Church teaches correct principles and lets its members govern themselves (quoted here). This is the real power of the Church. Members learn what the leaders teach, learn the consequences of actions, and then make their own decisions.
And that is why I am a member of the Church. I have decided that I want to follow the Shepherd. Turns out that He knows the way.
Q: Why does your church support Proposition 8?
A: Our church maintains strict political neutrality, and never forces us to vote for or against any measure or candidate. The church occasionally makes official statements regarding specific moral issues, and invites individual members to weigh the issues and vote according to their own conclusions. The church officially participates in the campaign to defend traditional marriage, as seen at an official church website: preservingmarriage.org.
The church's support of Prop 8 is based on moral principles. Elder Dallin H. Oaks, one of the modern day Twelve Apostles, summarized these principles in a recent interview:
"God loves all of His children. He has provided a plan for His children to enjoy the choicest blessings that He has to offer in eternity. Those choicest blessings are associated with marriage between a man and a woman by appropriate priesthood authority to bring together a family unit for creation and happiness in this life and in the life to come.
"We urge persons with same-gender attractions to control those and to refrain from acting upon them, which is a sin, just as we urge persons with heterosexual attractions to refrain from acting upon them until they have the opportunity for a marriage recognized by God as well as by the law of the land. That is the way to happiness and eternal life. God has given us no commandment that He will not give us the strength and power to observe. That is the Plan of Salvation for His children, and it is our duty to proclaim that plan, to teach its truth, and to praise God for the mission of His Son Jesus Christ. It is Christ’s atonement that makes it possible for us to be forgiven of our sins and His resurrection that gives us the assurance of immortality and the life to come. It is that life to come that orients our views in mortality and reinforces our determination to live the laws of God so that we can qualify for His blessings in immortality." (links added)
For the entire interview, click here.
Q: Why do Mormons get married in those temples?
A: Mormons get married in temples to follow the pattern the Lord has set. (See here, here, and here). The Lord intends for marriages to be eternal. Marriages performed by His authority and in His temple have the potential to last for time and eternity, if husband and wife are true to the covenants they made in the temple.
Joseph Smith revealed truths about marriage that had been lost from the earth. Because of the restoration, we now have the proper authority (priesthood) and location (temples) for eternal marriage to take place.
Want to have representatives stop by and chat with you about temples? Click here.
