Meet Mormons

A: We believe that no matter what we do, there is no way we would ever make it into Heaven without the help of Jesus Christ. Christ's suffering in the Garden and on the Cross make the impossible possible.

Our knowledge of Christ's suffering comes from the truth restored through the prophet Joseph Smith. We believe that through baptism (at age 8) we enter into a sort of "deal" with Christ. We promise to do our best at keeping His commandments and following His words, and he promises to make up the difference. Because of this deal we have a chance at Heaven. Without it, we'd all be toast.

I understand this doctrine best as it is illustrated by this short example:

A man is stumbling along in the desert. He is sunburned and his tongue is so dry it sticks to the roof of his mouth. He can barely see, his eyes bloodshot and blurred from lack of water.

He is about to collapse and give up when he sees a signpost on the next dune. It reads: "Water Here" with an arrow pointing just over the dune. The man summons all his strength and heads for the sign.

When he reaches the sign, a hair's breath away from fainting, he sees a water pump at the bottom of the dune. He smiles as wide as his chapped lips allow and hurries to get a drink. He cranks the handle and lets the water splash into his mouth and over his face.

What saved the man? Was it the sign? Was it the man's faith in the sign? Was it all the man's work getting over the dune to the pump? Was it the pump?

It was the water. Jesus Christ is the Living Water, the quencher of all eternal thirst, the only One who has the power to save us.

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.