The Religious Experience of Mormonism

The religious experience of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is based on a spiritual witness from God that inspires both heart and mind, creating an interpersonal relationship directly with the divine. It does not require one to pass a rigorous theological test. Nor does it demand the extreme self-denial and seclusion of asceticism. Rather, this unique individual experience unfolds in the natural course of everyday living. Thus, the beliefs of Latter-day Saints are not rooted in concepts and principles, detached from the realities of life. They are grounded in a much deeper level of experience that motivates individuals to action.

Furthermore, religious experience is too varied and indefinable for systematic theology to fully account for. At the same time, it is not simply relative to the passing whims of each individual believer. For Latter-day Saints, it must be founded on revealed truth. Emphasizing the important role that doctrine plays in guiding religious experience, President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles encouraged Latter-day Saints to internalize that truth: “True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior.”

Thus, the religious experience of Latter-day Saints is both sufficiently anchored in rationality to satisfy the mind and sufficiently independent from intellectual systems to satisfy the spirit. President Packer described this relationship as “a harmonious combining of both the intellect and the spirit.” In a society that limits so much of human experience to the known boundaries of scientific knowledge, religious experience is often dismissed. If all religious experience was bound by a system, there would be little room for mankind’s boundless potential for spiritual growth. God expects His children to continually stretch their horizons and broaden their understanding of things both secular and religious.

Regarding the nature of Mormon worship, historian Richard Bushman emphasized at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life that “there are grounds for believing in the existence of God simply because the spiritual life confirms it.” Thus, Bushman continues, “people believe there is a God because it’s manifest to them spiritually.” Accordingly, Latter-day Saints place more emphasis on experience and belief in their relationship with God than on philosophical, rational claims about God.

Mormon scripture and revelations lay the groundwork for a theology that tends to encourage action over contemplation. Joseph Smith declared that there is no fundamental division between the temporal and the spiritual (Doctrine and Covenants 29:34). In his recent book People of Paradox, Mormon scholar Terryl Givens maintained that “Mormonism is ill disposed to maintain a simple hierarchy that privileges spiritual activity over physical or the contemplative over the active.”

Though the spiritual and the practical are often viewed as opposites, in Mormon worship they complement each other. All spiritual inspiration naturally leads to serving humanity. In this way spirituality bears itself out primarily in action and experience. Though good works in themselves don’t merit salvation, they do demonstrate the validity and authenticity of one’s religious beliefs and convictions.

In his first letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul declared that of all the Christian virtues, charity is the greatest. Though charity manifests itself in many ways, its highest expression is service to those in need. This love is superior to any intellectual achievement. But love alone, without action, is not enough. Joseph Smith elaborated on this principle: “A man filled with the love of God is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race” (History of the Church 4:227). Latter-day Saints find great fulfillment in attending church on Sunday. But the real work of religion — serving others — requires no special time or place. It is action, not just spiritual devotion, that ultimately determines one’s level of religious commitment.

Knowledge results from beliefs that are acted upon. Accordingly, Latter-day Saints test their beliefs in the crucible of experience. And experience confirms the truthfulness of those beliefs. Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles described the interaction between faith and knowledge: “Assurance, action, and evidence influence each other in an ongoing process. This helix is like a coil, and as it spirals upward it expands and widens. These three elements of faith — assurance, action, and evidence — are not separate and discrete; rather, they are interrelated and continuous and cycle upward. … As we again turn and face forward toward an uncertain future, assurance leads to action and produces evidence, which further increases assurance.” Thus, knowing informs and motivates becoming, and becoming requires doing.

Emma (Hale) Smith - 1804-1879 - Happy Birthday

Emma (Hale) Smith was born July 10, 1804 - and died April 30, 1879.

She is my cousin and today is the 204th anniversary of her birthday.


Here's wishing her a Happy Birthday!

Emma Smith - A Mormon Woman of Faith (YouTube Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaH_OKPO-zs )

Survey - How many pictures of Christ do you have in your home?

I counted the other day - 12.

There are pictures and sculptures of Christ in almost every room of our home and if you add the 4 framed quotes from the scriptures and the 3 framed pictures of various temples that would total 19 religious art works in the house.

How many do you have in your home?

Illustration - Christ at Heart's Door by Warner E. Sallman (1892-1968) - I purchased that painting July 1966.

Ground Broken for Brazil’s Sixth Temple

MANAUS, Brazil - 23 June 2008 -- Leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints broke ground on Friday at the site of what will be the faith’s sixth temple in the country.

The ceremony was attended by community leaders, media representatives and Church members.

The Manaus, Brazil, temple was announced on 23 May 2007. Brazil’s fifth temple, in Curitiba, was dedicated earlier this month.

There are 44,000 Latter-day Saints in the greater Manaus area.

Illustration: An artist’s rendering of the new Manaus, Brazil, temple.© 2008 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Mormons Encouraged to Share Personal Perspectives Online to Explain Their Faith

SALT LAKE CITY - 3 July 2008 - The July edition of the Ensign, a monthly magazine distributed to English-speaking Church members, features an address given by Elder M. Russell Ballard, a member of the Church’s Quorum of Twelve Apostles.

Illustration - Ensign, the Church’s monthly magazine, © 2008 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

Elder M. Russell Ballard asked graduating students at BYU-Hawaii to "join the conversation [about the Church] by participating on the Internet."

Illustration - © 2007 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

"There are conversations going on about the Church constantly. Those conversations will continue whether or not we choose to participate in them. But we cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches. While some conversations have audiences in the thousands or even millions, most are much, much smaller. But all conversations have an impact on those who participate in them. Perceptions of the Church are established one conversation at a time."

Click Here to listen to & view his remarks to the BYU-Hawaii students.

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All American Faith Goes Global

The Mormon Church is seeing a boom in growth in Africa with members across the continent.

One indicator of that growth is the many Temples that have been dedicated there - like the one in South Africa that opened in 1985; Ghana (2004) and Nigeria (2005).

Photo: Nigeria Temple, courtesy LDS.org

I spotted this article in the Washington Post click here to read the entire article.
Be sure to watch the Washington Post video showing a brief glimpse of the Church in Africa.

Photo: Mormon Church meeting in Ghana, Africa. Courtesy LDS Newsroom NewsRoomLDS.org

The New Face of Global Mormonism -
Tech-Savvy Missionary Church Thrives as Far Afield as Africa
By Mary Jordan
Washington Post Foreign Service Monday, November 19, 2007; Page A01

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Outside Zion Osandu Ndukwe's one-room apartment, a naked toddler ran up and down a filthy hallway lit by a single candle. The power in the overcrowded slum was off yet again. The stench of urine from the communal bathroom overpowered the fragrance of spices in the bubbling soup that a neighbor stirred in the dark passage.

But this night, the misery all around Ndukwe -- the crime, the uncollected trash, the bathtub-size potholes, the dilapidated cars belching black smoke -- stopped at his door. It was a Monday evening, and because Ndukwe, 39, had been baptized into the Mormon Church six months earlier, that meant it was time to be with his family and sing God's praises.

Play Video: All-American Mormon Faith Goes Global

"I am a child of God!" he sang, as he, his wife and their 4-year-old daughter celebrated in loud, joyous voices a faith once known for its all-white, all-American membership.
"I'm a changed man," Ndukwe said.....

Click here to read the complete article as printed in the Washington Post.
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Hong Kong Mormons Aid Earthquake Victims in Sichuan, China

Reprinted from the Church News, Deseret Morning News (UT) 14 June 2008)

John Aki
HONG KONG
Members of the Church from Hong Kong bustle around in factory made available in mainland China for assembling 10,000 daily necessities kits to relieve suffering of earthquake victims in China.

Shortly after a call for help from Church leaders, more than 600 Hong Kong members of all ages traveled to nearby Shenzhen, China, on May 23-24 to assemble 10,000 daily necessities kits for earthquake victims in Sichuan, China.

Said one Shenzhen news reporter covering the event, "I have not seen so many Hong Kong residents come all at once to China to help."
(Photo courtesy Asia Area public affairs)

Elder Sam Chi Hong Wong, Area Seventy for Hong Kong, quoted a Chinese proverb that described the spirit of the volunteers: "We are of one heart and one mind to provide." One volunteer, as she packed an emergency kit, said that Hong Kong's Latter-day Saints are not only sending daily necessities, "We are also sending our love and thoughts."

Each kit includes crackers, powdered milk, canned meat, instant noodles, soap, tooth brush and paste, towels, raincoat, blanket and drinking water. The effort was organized by Latter-day Saint Charities under the direction of Elder Stanley Wan, an Area Seventy and Asia LDS Charities Director. Brother Bruce Lai, a Hong Kong Chinese businessman and member of the Church, made his factory in Shenzhen available for the event. China Charities Federation, a co-partner in the effort, provided distribution of the relief supplies into the difficult terrain of the earthquake zone. Observed Brother Bruce Lai, "The water can divide us, but our friendship (for China's people) will not be disconnected. Our blood is thicker than water."

A third of Brother Lai's 1,300 factory employees are from Sichuan Province. Some have left the factory to return home to help their families. Elder Wan said, "I'm truly thankful and very impressed that so many members are so enthusiastic to come all the way from Hong Kong to help. We know we are united in our spirit and efforts to provide relief to those who suffer." Members had to obtain their own visas and provide their own transportation to the border. Once over the border, buses were arranged to transport them to and from the factory. One sister reported that she took a taxi instead of the bus back to the border. After explaining to the taxi driver what she had done that day, the driver did not charge her the fare. He wanted to contribute his part to the effort, she said.

Service project key individuals are, from left, Elder Sam Chi Hong Wong, an Area Seventy; factory owner Bruce Lai; Ms. Zhao Li Zhen, vice president of the Shenzhen Red Cross; Elder Stanley Wan, Area Seventy and Asia LDS Charities Director; and Shenzhen Long Gang District Civil Administration Bureau Chief Qiu Wen Shun.

Photo courtesy Asia Area public affairs

In addition to the relief supplies, a check from LDS Charities was presented to the local government officials and the Shenzhen Red Cross. The funds come from Church member donations. Vice-President Zhao Li Zhen of the Shenzhen Red Cross promised to put the money to good use to save lives in Sichuan. Lynette Chen from Hong Kong's Victoria Branch summarized the feelings of the day when she said, "Today I witnessed the gospel in action."

Missionaries Fill Sandbags as Mississippi Rises

QUINCY, Illinois 19 June 2008

Over 130 missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are saying thank-you to the people of Quincy, Illinois, by filling sand-bags to protect the city that once protected their Mormon ancestors.

Wednesday morning, missionaries from the Peoria, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri missions arrived in Quincy to help prevent potential damage from a key levee that broke Tuesday night between Quincy and Warsaw, Indiana. Heavy rain in the Mid-west has left entire towns inundated and thousands of people homeless in the last week.

Dirt is being dumped at the Civic Center in Quincy where missionaries are spending long hours preparing the bags which are then taken by truck to the most needed areas. The relief effort is being organized by local Latter-day Saint leaders who are working closely with John Springs, the mayor of Quincy.

The help given by these missionaries reflects the kindness extended by the people of Quincy to early members of the Church escaping religious persecution in Missouri. After walking close to 200 miles in the winter of 1839, the Latter-day Saints arrived at the banks of the Mississippi, the same river that threatens Quincy today, only to see chunks of ice floating down the river.

In the March 1839 edition of the Quincy Whig Newspaper, the editor wrote that “If they (the Mormons) have been thrown upon our shores destitute … common humanity must oblige us to aid and relieve them all in our power.”

Quincy took in more than 5,000 refugees, almost three times its population in 1839. The citizens organized rescue efforts, provided shelter, created jobs and gave members of the Church protection from those wishing to harm them. Shortly afterwards, Joseph Smith, along with other Church leaders, arrived in Quincy and led the Mormons 40 miles south to establish the city of Nauvoo.

In 2002 the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performed for the people of Quincy as a gesture of gratitude for the kindness extended by their town in 1839.

We Believe in Christ

And we talk of Christ,

we rejoice in Christ,

we preach of Christ,

we prophesy of Christ,

and we write

according to our prophecies,

that our children may know

to what source they may look

for a remission of their sins.

2 Nephi 25:26

For God so loved the world,

that he gave his only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,

but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

Because Jesus died for us and was resurrected,

everyone who has ever lived on the earth will be resurrected.

But now is Christ risen from the dead,

and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

For since by man came death,

by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die,

even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1 Corinthians 15:20-22

Resurrection is a gift freely given to everyone through Jesus Christ.

But to return to the presence of Heavenly Father,

we must follow the teachings of Christ

and the example He gave us when He said,

No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 14:6

Heavenly Father's ultimate gifts to us come through

His Son, Jesus Christ.

These gifts are happiness in this life

as we follow His light and eternal life in the world to come.

Read More about our Savior, Jesus Christ

Painting, The Resurrected Jesus Christ

by Harry Anderson

Used by Permission, © 1992 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc.