Some Thoughts on Being Christian (what it is & what it isn't, according to me)

I am a Christian. I am also a Mormon, or a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. These are some of the reasons that this part of my identity is important to me.

Please keep in mind as you read that this is my belief. This is what I have learned to be true about the world and about my place in it. I do believe that some of what I believe impacts you or others familiar to us. You have every right to your own system of beliefs about what life is and why, and you may disagree with me. But this is what I believe, and because I have found it to be important and meaningful, I want to share and hopefully clarify for some what having Christian beliefs means to me.

I also want to acknowledge that actions speak louder than words, and different people conceptualize Christianity (and the LDS church too) differently. I know some people close to me have been mistreated, offended, and hurt by thoughtless actions of people who claimed to be Christian or promoted Christianity in some offensive or demeaning way. I only ask that you do not judge Christ or His teachings by a person who has messed up while trying to live them (or pretending to, or rebelling against them). It happens to a lot of us. But the Jesus Christ I follow and love teaches compassion, sincerity, obedience, forgiveness, patience, humility, faith, honesty, and fidelity. These are ideals, and as any honest church-goer knows, churches are full of people who are not there yet. But the Jesus Christ I follow and love tells me I am important enough to him that he will help me improve as I work at it. If you don't know much about Christ or his actual teachings, I hope you'll take the time to find out instead of dismissing Him with all of his imperfect followers.

To me, being a Christian does NOT mean:

• that I am okay with trying to force others to believe what I believe.

• that I hate gay people. Or people who drink. Or people who live together when they aren't married. Or people who curse or steal or work for Planned Parenthood.

• that I blindly accept whatever I'm told or that I absolve myself of responsibility for my actions or my future.

• that I am somehow entitled to think better of myself than of another person.

To me, being a Christian DOES mean:

• knowing of and having access to a Supreme Being (God, who is our Father) who not only created me but who also created you and who cares about each one of us. I believe God invites and wants us to talk to Him and ask for His counsel in prayer ... I believe I've been guided as I ask for God's help.

• being able to find answers to questions like where I came from, who I am, and what the purpose of life is. I have found a lot of answers and insights (in the Bible, in the Book of Mormon, in the words of living prophets today, and through my own prayers) that ring true to the deepest part of me and have prompted me to further exploration.

• looking forward to life after we die. It also means being with my family in that next life, and enjoying love and kinship that endures forever.

• that love is of utmost importance in the way I live my life. The New Testament states that "God is love" and that love of God and love of neighbor are the first and second great commandments, on which everything else depends. I agree with the statement that "the task of any religion is to teach us whom we're required to love, not whom we're entitled to hate." (Rabbi Harold Kushner)

• that God asks certain things of His children in order to become all that we are capable of being and in order to return to His presence. Commandments, by their nature, are not always going to be easy or popular to obey. But God gives me the freedom to choose my own way - if I want the result He promises (reaching my full potential and returning to His presence), I must do things His way. If I want some other result, I can choose whatever way I wish - the way I choose may get me what I want or it may produce a consequence I didn't want, but I chose it and I accept responsibility for it.

• that making mistakes is expected and forgivable (for me and you both) - I believe that this life is an important piece of a much bigger plan for progress, and that sometimes, in trying to find myself, I go in a direction that is ultimately harmful to me, and separates me from God. This doesn't make me a less-worthy or less-loved person, but hopefully it keeps me humble and reminds me that I can't do everything on my own. Jesus Christ paid justice's price for sin and weakness, and offers me mercy by giving me a way to come back.

• knowing that when bad things happen (maybe accidents, maybe horrible outcomes of others' misuse of agency, maybe natural illness/death) I can be assured that God still loves me and I can have His help to gain meaning and growth through whatever lies ahead.

• sharing what I know, what I experience, and what I learn about God. Because if what I believe is true, I think everyone needs and deserves to know and have the opportunity of choosing whether or not they want it. I hope others will also share with me the things they believe to be true. I believe in the capacity of every person to recognize truth for him/herself. I believe the Lord offers us His Spirit (think of this as a noticeable presence of His love and peace) to help us locate and identify truth.

I am absolutely open to discussing anything I've written here either online or in person. Also feel free to check out http://www.mormon.org for doctrinal specifics of LDS beliefs. If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I really appreciate & value the incredible people in my life ... and the discussions we have about stuff that really matters add depth and meaning to my existence. May you find peace, clarity, conviction, and real happiness as you search for truth and direction in your life!!

Why the Temple?

The Prophet Joseph Smith: “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it” (History of the Church, 3:30).

Speaking to my friends who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, most of us have had the opportunity to attend the Temple – many of us have been there multiple times to perform baptisms on behalf of those who have passed away without receiving the gospel. Why do we go? Have you ever asked yourself that question? Why is the Temple so important? It is a beautiful, clean, peaceful place … yes. We can feel the Spirit of the Lord there … okay, that’s good too. In no way do I mean to downplay beauty, cleanliness, peace, or our need for the Spirit. But WHY is the Temple such a necessary element in our worship and in our lives? Can’t we find these things elsewhere as well? What is so special about the Temple?

As I have pondered these questions, these are a few of the things I have come up with:

*The Temple is the House of God on earth. I once had the opportunity to be an ordinance worker at the Rexburg, Idaho Temple for a few months. I have been told multiple times that the Lord walks the halls of His Temples – that His presence there is at times as literal as ours. It is perhaps too easy to take this for granted, but some of the time I spent there

as a worker served to convince me of its truth. The ground there is hallowed, sacred, dedicated, and holy … if we are seeking to match that level of purity and dedication by our preparation for Temple attendance, we can experience a powerful outpouring of the Spirit in a way that it is difficult to do in other settings. Do we go in a spirit of preparation and eagerness to be with Him or do we close ourselves off to the possibility of recognizing His presence by allowing ourselves to be distracted and entangled by the things going on for us in the outside world?

*The Temple is a classroom. The best way I have found to describe what occurs in the Temple to those who are not familiar with it is to explain that it is a teaching ground … a place where people who are trying to live faithfully are taught more about the purpose of this life, more about God’s plan, and more about who they really are and what is expected of them. Brigham Young taught that “Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the House of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, … and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell.” (Journal of Discourses, 2:31)

*Temple ordinances are part of the process of staying pure and becoming sanctified. When I think about the difference between being purified and sanctified, it makes the most sense to me to define these in terms of becoming clean and becoming holy. Repentance and baptism, in faith and humility, when formalized by Priesthood authority, are purifying ordinances that allow us to be clean from sin through Christ. The Sacrament provides us a way to maintain and refresh this cleanliness. The ordinances and covenants we partake of in the Temple constitute another, further step, which allows us to progress in the goal of ultimately becoming holy. Not only must we be clean from our sins but we must ultimately become holy as Christ is, through the linking of His grace and our very best efforts. Temple ordinances aid us in that quest.

*Ordinances performed in the Temple are an important part of missionary work. Once we have made our covenants and received the ordinances of the Temple for ourselves, our responsibility expands to include making those covenants and ordinances available to others. Just as we talk to our friends who are not of our faith and share the reason for our hope (1 Pet. 3:15) and the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we perform ordinances such as baptism and endowment on the behalf of those who have passed through this life without the opportunity of completing these physical tasks on their own. Those spirits who wait in the Spirit World between death and resurrection then have the choice to accept or reject the work done on their behalf.

My sister was married in the Sacramento Temple two years ago. At her sealing, as at the sealings of other friends and family that I have been privileged to witness, I was struck by the eternal significance of what was taking place. I have never felt a more beautiful feeling than the one that pervades a Temple sealing room. The couple dresses in white and kneels across an altar to make covenants that, when “sealed” or bound by the power of the Priesthood there in the Temple, endure for eternity. The covenants that we make in marriage, as well as the covenants we make about the standard of righteousness to which we will hold throughout our life, are recorded in Heaven; recognized and validated by God.

Preparing to go to the Temple, attending to make personal covenants with God, and returning often to serve and to seek spiritual enlightenment are SO important! I know this is a goal worth working toward and sacrificing for. As we make the Savior and the Temple the focus of our lives, we lay the foundation for future families who will also focus on the Savior and the Temple. The joy that will come to us as we learn to worship the Lord individually first, and then with our spouses and children (and parents and siblings), will surpass anything that we’ve yet experienced in this life and we will want to share it with everyone we know.

“And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” – Matt. 16:19