Gospel Principles and Topics Articles
What Will the Mormon Missionaries Teach Me?
When the Mormon Missionaries come into your home, they will want to teach you about their beliefs and invite you to learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They will eventually invite you attend Mormon Church services with them and be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We invite you to listen to the missionaries as they teach their lessons about God, Jesus Christ, prophets, and the plan of salvation.
This website is a resource to help you find answers to questions, review topics the missionaries have addressed, or simply to learn more about what Mormons believe. There are a lot people who have distorted or misrepresented the true teachings of the Mormon Church. We hope to present here the basics truths and beliefs of what Mormons believe. We encourage you, however, to use this as a resource and supplement to your studies and to ask questions of the missionaries. Ask as much as you can, since they... Read the rest of this article »
Lesson 4: The Gospel of Jesus Christ: What does Jesus expect of us?
Introduction
Essential Vocabulary:
Justice – Justice is a law of God that requires consequences for actions.
Mercy – The spirit of compassion, tenderness, and forgiveness. Jesus Christ offers mercy to us through His atoning sacrifice on conditions of repentance.
Grace – The enabling power from Jesus Christ that allows us to obtain blessings in this life and to gain eternal life after we have exercised faith, repented, and given our best effort to keep the commandments.
Ordinance – A sacred way that we show outwardly that we are making a covenant with God.
Covenant – A binding two-way promise between God and Man. God sets the terms for all gospel covenants. As we do what God asks, He promises us blessings.
Books needed:
The Holy Bible – any good translation can be used. Mormons typically use the King James Bible, and quotes in the text will come from that translation, but... Read the rest of this article »
The Plan of Salvation
Mormon doctrine centers around the Plan of Salvation, which is God’s plan to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). The plan of salvation represents the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ as it is experienced and lived by mankind. This plan, also called the plan of happiness, plan of mercy, and plan of redemption, teaches us where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going. It answers the important questions in life about who we are and what our relation to God is.
The PreMortal Life
We lived before we were born. A book of modern revelation states:
“Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones” (Abraham 3:22).
We existed as spirit children of God in Heaven. Everyone knew and worshiped God the Father, and Christ, who was the First-Born spirit. During the premortal life we learned and... Read the rest of this article »
Mormon Temples and Temple Work
One of the most distinguishing characteristics of the Mormon Church is its temples. Mormon Temples are sacred buildings, set apart from the world. They are not ordinary church buildings like chapels. Mormons have both churches and temples. In temples, Mormons perform sacred ordinances that strengthen us in this life and prepare us for the life to come. Also in temples, families can be sealed together for all eternity and faithful Mormons can perform ordinances like baptism for those who died without the opportunity.
The Holy Endowment
One of the most sacred and defining moments in the life of a member of the Mormon Church comes when he or she receives his or her endowment. An endowment is a gift; in this case it is a gift of knowledge and spiritual power from God. Jesus referred to an endowment of power when he commanded his disciples to “tarry [...] in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). ... Read the rest of this article »
The Mormon Church and You:
The modern Church of Christ exists to help you and your family draw closer to God through ordinances such as baptism and the sacrament and through support and activities in the local congregations. The threefold mission of the Church centers on drawing all people closer to Christ:
Perfect the Saints
A saint is a member of the Church, meaning one who has or will be sanctified (made a saint) by Jesus Christ; perfecting the saints means working to help every member establish a closer relationship to God through service and fellowship.
Proclaim the Gospel
The Mormon Church does this through missionary work, which includes over 55,000 missionaries in over 160 different countries.
Redeem the Dead
This is done through genealogy and temple work
Perfecting the Saints:
Time, Talents, and Service
Each of us has a duty to “work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). We need to be improving ourselves through education and service... Read the rest of this article »
Mormon Faith
According to Mormonism, faith in Jesus Christ is the first principle of the Gospel which all mankind must follow. The Book of Mormon defines faith as having a “hope for things which are not seen, which are true” (Alma 32:21, pg 289). Faith is more than believing Jesus exists, it means believing Him when He says that you will be forgiven of your sins and saved in His Kingdom or trusting in Him enough to keep the commandments or fulfill one’s promises to God. Faith in Jesus Christ consists in trusting that He has all power and can fulfill His promises to resurrect all mankind and save from sin those who repent and follow Him as their leader. Those who have faith in God will have the courage to keep His commandments even when they are difficult.
Having faith means that you will act on your beliefs. Merely believing or thinking that there is a God or that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world is not sufficient. Jesus said in His masterful Sermon on the Mount... Read the rest of this article »
Prophets, Ancient and Modern
Mormons believe in prophets, both ancient and modern. This belief is intertwined with the belief that God has an interest in talking to man, and does so through the prophets that He chooses. The Bible contains a record of God’s dealings with prophets in those days, and modern scripture contains a record of God’s dealings with prophets in modern days. Mormons believe that the heavens were not closed after the biblical record, and that He still talks to His children today, just as in days of old.
Most people think a prophet is someone who tells the future, but this is only a part of a prophet’s mission and not even the most important part. The word prophecy can mean a couple of different things. According to the Book of Revelation, “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10). This means that anyone who has a testimony of Jesus as Savior and Redeemer enlisted the spirit of prophecy to validate his or her testimony. ... Read the rest of this article »
Repentance in Mormonism
Repentance is a wonderful gift from a loving Heavenly Father. Mormons believe that repentance should be viewed in a positive light as an opportunity to improve. The root of the word repentance in both Hebrew and Greek refers to a turning from sin toward God and a change of heart. Repentance is not synonymous with penance, but refers rather to the inner spiritual change. The Book of Mormon refers to it as a change of heart. Repentance is therefore the act of trying to bring one’s life more in accord with God’s teachings.
To repent we must acknowledge our mistakes and weaknesses. We must take responsibility for our own actions and recognize that what we have done has hurt others and offended God. Second, we must forsake the sin. This means we must stop doing it and never return to it again. We must, if possible, make restitution. This means that if we stole something, we should return it or pay the person for what we took. If we lied or hurt... Read the rest of this article »
Mormon Prayer and Fasting
What is prayer?
Our God, though all powerful and all knowing, the creator of all things, is also a personal God, who knows each of His children intimately and cares for their welfare. He desires us to approach Him in personal prayer and promises that those prayers are always heard and answered.
Prayer is perhaps the most important aspect of worship, both public and private. Many people pray, but some people find it difficult because they do not understand its purpose or who it is to whom they pray. When we realize that God is our Father, we will realize that prayer is way of talking to our Heavenly Father. In our prayers we can share our burdens with God, thank Him for His goodness to us, and seek answers or help from Him.
How should I pray?
Jesus taught us the basic outline for prayer. He said:
But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto... Read the rest of this article »
Health and Morality in Mormonism
Mormons believe that spiritual and physical things are linked. If we abuse our bodies, we are abusing our spirit. You may have noticed that when you are physically ill, you tend to feel emotionally and spiritually ill as well, and when you are sad, you may feel its effects physically. In this way it is obvious that the spirit and the body affect each other. In a revelation given to Joseph Smith, the Lord Jesus Christ said, “Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created” (Doctrine & Covenants 29:34). Thus, Mormons believe that all commandments and everything we do affect both our spirit and our body, and whatever influences one, affects the other.
The Word of Wisdom
Mormons believe that the body is sacred and should be taken care of. The most famous aspect of... Read the rest of this article »
