Onward

I cannot convey the sadness I feel for those who are being turned so harshly against the Mormon church. It has become a debate where everything being said, opposing us--they are flat out lies. Now, they're not lies that you could find truth with the scientific method (that is one of the scientific method's limitations) but every member I know, knows that soft yet solid feeling. It's that feeling that you can't even begin to describe to anyone else, and sometimes even doubt that you've felt it yourself when you're at your weaker points. It's that feeling of truth. Truth. There's nothing like it, but you cannot know it without the Holy Ghost. You cannot know it until you want to know it. Truth is not that a rock will fall to the ground every time you drop it. Truth isn't always witnessed with physical eyes.

Here is what I know. I know that I am the spirit daughter of my Heavenly Father and He made a plan. A plan of choice and consequence, of obedience or rebellion, of freedom and bondage, but a plan to grant all life.  My brothers and sisters--everyone on this earth--we're all growing. We came to earth to progress. That is true. It doesn't matter how the Book of Mormon came to be and I don't care how much no one else believes it, I can't even begin to tell you how true it is. I know that we have been given the gift of agency. And the only time I have ever been happy is when I have used that gift to listen to my Father's servants and follow the teachings of the prophets completely. And even knowing what I know, I sometimes fall short. In the big picture I am always falling short. The prophets don't tell us things because they "think it would be a good idea". They are able to receive revelation directly from God. I wouldn't care to listen to them if all they had were some good ideas. I would have signed up for some psychology or life skills class.  

Here are some specific lies from a youtube video that I wasn't surprised to find:
-"God creates man, he does not beget man. Man is not of the same species as God."  There is some ambiguity here. Tell me first what the difference is between create and begets and how they relate. And then define species. In context by what he is trying to argue, it is a lie, but maybe that specific sentence could be relatively sound.
-"Christianity is monotheistic...Mormonism is the most polytheistic religion that I have ever encountered." I don't worship many gods. No one in our religion does. I worship my Heavenly Father.
-"Mormonism is not a part of Christianity because Mormonism denies the most fundamental affirmations of the Christian faith." Well, then maybe according to your definition, we aren't. From the time I was very young, I knew that we believed in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. I believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. 
-"Mormonism has changed. [The] growth has really leveled off, but in that growth process, there doesn't seem to be any teaching going on. And there are a lot of Mormons that just don't know a lot about what they believe." I go to church 3 hours on Sunday to....sit....and do nothing else apparently, cuz he just said I'm not learning. Oh, and seminary every day in high school for an hour, no learning going on there. I almost forgot about General Conference. Oh wait, no I didn't. That's twice a year for four 2-hr sessions each time. But let's not include the FHE and the daily scripture study, Institute, prayer, the temple...must I go on?
As far as growth goes. These are considered the last days. Few will stand in his presence at his coming because many were led astray. We've known this for a long time, we just don't know when the Second Coming will be.
Don't even get me started on the "they don't even know what they believe."
-"Mormonism takes christian words and changes the meaning." God reveals the real meaning of it unto us. You think we make this stuff up?
-"'The literal living Son of our literal, living Father'. What does that mean...?" *sigh. That wasn't the analogy, that was the explanation.
-(He had just showed a clip of Elder Holland's conference address, edited by the Church to sound sweet and angelic) "Notice how this sounds. You've got the beautiful piano music in the background and the beautiful videography and so on and so forth, and what is it meant to do? It is meant to communicate something that is simply not true. And the post-modernist goes, "Oh, ya know he seems like a nice man. And the music is beautiful, and that's a nice background behind him--it just must be true."" If you've heard General Conference, which is where that's from, it doesn't have the pictures or the music. And that was when I felt the spirit. The music just goes along so well with the feelings I felt when he first said it.
-"We need to be discerning. We need to understand that words have meaning. And what Mormonism means when it says these things is very different than what the bible teaches." Read and learn with the spirit, not just a dictionary.


The worst part is...if you know it all, if you know every little detail about Mormonism and meet every argument to prove this man wrong, even if your scriptural logic is sound....he still won't believe you.

Go somewhere. Travel to the Bahamas and find a secluded beach or head out to your backyard and climb up a tree where no one will bother you for a few hours. Now, imagine the world doesn't exist. It's just you and that sand, or that tree.
Now pray. (And first thank Him for the nice warm sand, or the oxygen producing tree.)
Wow. Now it's just you and him. He's YOUR Heavenly Father. Now don't think about what Mormons are or what they represent. Ask him something.
WAIT STOP! Don't ask him about the Mormons. They don't exist. Remember, it's just you, that tree, and God. Now, read the Book of Mormon. You trust God, don't you. Trust Him to tell you what it really is. Trust him to give you truth. How scary is it to think that you could know something is true, when that thing is being challenged everyday with "physical evidence" and arguments telling you what you believe and how terrible it is that you believe it. They'll say how strange it is that you wear this and you do that and you believe this and you hate these people and "your book" says this.
How hard is it to live what you know? Because you feel that knowledge coursing in your veins and you know that anything you say against that knowledge makes you feel like you are the lie.
Would you believe it if the Holy Ghost told you? I'm not asking you to believe me, I'm asking you to believe Him. 


Jesus Christ came to this earth--His Father, God. His mother, Mary. He lived a life, perfectly. He withstood any and all temptation and did his Father's work. I know that he suffered pains in the garden beyond what I can even imagine, let alone describe. He was further betrayed, abused, disrespected, and hurt before being nailed to the cross and suffering more, and teaching us that he did have agency. All that he did will forever save every one of us. His love reaches all. His Atonement lifts, heals and then lifts again. We are never alone. Our Father gave us the power of God on the Earth. He has given his servants power to speak for him and gives all of us personal revelation through the Holy Ghost. I can hear him speak and I know what is true.


As much as they mock, criticize and debate, I can't tell them that I was just kidding. I can't tell them that I don't know why I do what I do, and I am unable to tell them that this Gospel is a lie. My Father's love has changed me. His truth has cut me to the core and I am different because of it. I can't go back now. So, onward.