Of all the numbers in the Pew Research Center’s recently released survey of “Mormons in America,” the highest, most overwhelming numbers are these: 98 percent of respondents said they believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and 97 percent say their church is a Christian religion.

This comes on the heels of earlier surveys indicating that 32 percent of non-LDS U.S. adults say the LDS Church is not a Christian religion, and an additional 17 percent are unsure of LDS Christianity. The theological and semantic reasons for this can be complex, but for the 1,019 self-identified Mormons who participated in the Pew survey, their theological position is clear: Mormons believe in Jesus Christ, and they consider themselves to be Christian.

“Certainly in Latter-day Saint theology is this idea that if you understand who you are, you understand that there’s a purpose in life, you understand your connection to God, that certainly has an impact on how you live your life and what you do, but also how you feel about your life and what you are doing,” said Michael Purdy of the LDS Church Public Affairs office.

For the vast majority of Latter-day Saints surveyed, those life choices have much to do with their religious beliefs. Eighty-two percent of survey respondents indicate that religion is “very important” to them, 83 percent say they pray every day and 77 percent say they attend church at least once a week. Beyond that, a stunning 69 percent of respondents fit all three descriptions, saying that religion is very important to them, that they pray every day and that they go to church every week.

“By this measure,” the report says, “Mormons exhibit higher levels of religious commitment than many other religious groups, including white evangelical Christians.”

Part of the explanation for these high numbers may be that the survey focused only on those who self-identified as Latter-day Saints.

“The method they used tended to identify people who are strongly committed,” said BYU sociologist Marie Cornwall, who advised the Pew Forum on the new survey. “They don’t have the people who are kind of marginal. But that’s okay; we just have to be careful with the way we interpret the findings.”

One such finding is the relationship between religious commitment and education among Mormons.

David Campbell, a University of Notre Dame associate professor and another adviser on the survey, noted that the more educated respondents were, the higher their levels of religious commitment.

“I was a little surprised by that,” said Campbell, who is LDS and who has extensively studied on the role of religion in the public square. “The more educated a Mormon is, the more likely they are to be wholehearted in their commitment to the church and its teachings.”

That is different from other churches, he said, where more education tends to lead to more religious skepticism.

Pew Research Center officials also noted “a significant gender gap in religious commitment, with more Mormon women than men exhibiting a high level of religious commitment (73 percent vs. 65 percent).”

According to the Pew report, a similar “gender gap” is seen among the general public. A 2007 survey found 36 percent of U.S. women exhibited a high level of religious commitment, compared with 24 percent of men.

One series of questions asked about what it means to be a good Mormon. According to the respondents, in order to be a good Mormon it is “essential” to believe Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ (80 percent), work to help the poor (73 percent), hold regular family home evenings (51 percent), not drink coffee and tea (49 percent) and not watch R-rated movies (32 percent).

Combining those who said “essential” with those who said “important but not essential,” the order changes a little bit: working to help the poor (97 percent), holding regular family home evenings (96 percent), believing Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ (93 percent), not drinking coffee and tea (81 percent) and not watching R-rated movies (79 percent).

“I think that result is rather interesting,” said Cornwall. “Mormons are known for not drinking coffee or tea and not watching R-rated movies. But compared to believing that Joseph Smith saw God and working for the poor, Mormons don’t seem to focus on the coffee and tea as much as people probably think.”

Other manifestations of religious commitment in the survey included:

The number of respondents (65 percent) who say they hold a current temple recommend (a certificate from local ecclesiastical leaders, issued every other year, indicating that an individual has permission from the church to enter LDS temples and participate in temple rites and sacraments)

The number (79 percent) who say they pay tithing (donating 10 percent of their income to the church)

The number (27 percent) who have served full-time missions for the church (this number includes 43 percent of men and 11 percent of women and varies significantly according to the age and education of the respondent, as well as whether or not the respondent was raised Mormon)

The number (82 percent) who keep food in storage for emergencies or disasters, as they have been counseled to do by LDS Church leaders (This number includes 23 percent who say they have three months’ worth, 35 percent who say they have more than three months’ worth and 23 percent who say they have less than three months’ worth)

The percentage who pay tithing is especially interesting to break down. According to the survey tabulations, “tithing is most common among Mormons with the highest levels of religious commitment (96 percent) … fully 91 percent of college graduates say they pay tithing … compared with 66 percent of those with a high school diploma or less education. And among those whose family income exceeds $30,000, 83 percent say they pay tithing, compared with 69 percent of those with incomes of less than $30,000.”

While previous surveys have clearly established LDS agreement with certain key Christian doctrines — 90 percent of Mormons believe in God, 91 percent believe the Bible is the word of God and 98 percent believe in life after death — the new survey explores Mormon confidence in points of doctrine that are unique to LDS theology. And in these points of doctrine, Mormons proved to be unified and believing. They believe overwhelmingly that God and Jesus Christ are separate physical beings (94 percent), that the president of the LDS Church is a prophet of God (94 percent), that families can be bound together eternally in temple ceremonies (95 percent) and that the Book of Mormon was written by ancient prophets and translated by Joseph Smith (91 percent).

Overall, 77 percent say they believe “wholeheartedly” in all of the teachings of the LDS Church. That number increases to 82 percent among Mormons ages 18-49, and to 85 percent among Mormons who are college graduates.

“Ultimately, I suppose other Americans will judge our church — and perhaps all churches — by their relevance in how they touch and improve human lives right here on Earth as well as what they offer in the life to come,” wrote Michael Otterson, Public Affairs director for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in his “On Faith” blog in the Washington Post. “Meanwhile, we welcome the friendship and regard of all groups, even as we retain our commitment to a unique identity. In the end … Latter-day Saints will strive to be good Mormons, true believers, kind neighbors and faithful friends.”

Pew Study Reflects Mormons’ Religious Commitment to Christ, Mormon Beliefs in Tithes and Temples

Mormons in America

When people struggle to know whether or not God and Jesus Christ are real, they often ask in frustration, “Why doesn’t God just show Himself?” It sometimes seems to them that if He wants them to believe in Him, that would be the simplest way.

Why doesn’t God just show Himself? To understand the answer to this question, we first have to examine why we came to earth. For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are sometimes called Mormons, the explanation of life’s purpose begins even before birth. What happened to us before we were born explains why God seldom shows Himself today.

Mormon beliefs tell of a time before the world was created. God created our spirits. This is one reason Mormons consider God to be literally their Heavenly Father. Our spirits weren’t housed in bodies yet, although they had that form, but we did have our personalities, talents, and interests. In other words, we were uniquely ourselves. We lived with God during that time, getting to know Him and letting Him get to know us.

While this was wonderful, this experience didn’t allow us the full range of opportunity and experiences God wanted us to have. As a perfect Father, He knew we needed to  have challenges, tests, and hard experiences to become everything we could be. We know from our own experiences that we don’t entirely learn who we are until we live away from home and until we’ve faced some trials. If our parents make life too easy, we become spoiled and don’t develop fully.

To receive the full experience God planned for us, we needed physical bodies, families, and a chance to develop faith. Faith is the answer to “Why doesn’t God just show Himself?” While we lived right in God’s presence, we didn’t need faith to believe in Him. However, faith is an important part of life’s experiences. When we learn to have faith in things we can’t see, it dramatically improves our life experience. Learning to have faith can help us learn to love and to commit to a family even in hard times. After all, we can’t see or scientifically measure love and we can’t see into the future to know how family life will work out. So much of that is based on faith. With faith, we can have the courage to take risks that enhance our lives—trying a skill we’re not sure we’re good at, giving ourselves uplifting experiences outside our comfort zone, or making wiser choices.

There are many possible things to believe in, but when we’re forced to sort through them and make choices about what to believe and what to reject, we improve our ability to make wise decisions. The ability to make good decisions helps us in both our temporal and spiritual lives.

And so, God told us that if we chose to come to Earth, we would lose our memory of our time in His presence, and even of His existence. However, He would send along a toolkit that would help us to know it happened, if we chose to open the kit and use it.

One gift God gave us is the Spirit of Christ. Every person has this gift at all times. We can also receive promptings from the Holy Ghost, and after baptism and confirmation by someone with the proper authority, we can have the Holy Ghost with us all the time, as long as we are living worthy of the presence of the Holy Ghost.

Harold B. Lee, a past Mormon prophet, explained the Light of Christ or Spirit of Christ in this way: “Every one of you born into this world enjoys the blessing of this Light that shall never cease to strive with you until you are led to that further light from the gift of the Holy Ghost that may be received only upon condition of repentance and baptism into the Kingdom of God.” (See Decisions for Successful Living, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1973, p. 144.)

God cannot show Himself to most of us because we agreed to come here in part to learn how to have faith. By having all of us learn faith by seeking out God and Jesus Christ, God is able to create a plan to help us learn. Of course, just as it is with anything we want to learn, we must make a choice to learn faith and we must commit ourselves to doing so.

The Book of Mormon, which God commanded ancient prophets on the American continent to create, was written to serve as a second witness of Jesus Christ. It is meant to be used with the Bible. It is structured much like the Bible, in that a variety of authors wrote the book and the book is filled with both stories and sermons designed to help us gain faith. One of the most famous sermons on faith in this book was given by a prophet named Alma. Alma taught listeners to conduct an important experiment that would help them gain faith. This experiment is as valid today as it was anciently.

Alma’s sermon was preached to a specific group of people called the Zoramites. The Zoramites had once been followers of Christ, but had somehow become sidetracked and had corrupted the gospel. They became very worldly and were entirely focused on wealth. They believed wealth was proof of God’s approval on a person. They believed this so strongly they would not allow the poor into their churches. Their services were nothing more than a celebration of how wonderful they were and once they went home, they gave no further thought to God until the next week.

Unfortunately, they taught there was no way to worship God except inside their churches. The poor, being excluded, felt they were lost forever due to their poverty. When Alma and his missionary companions arrived to preach, the poor asked Alma what they could do to be saved. Alma taught them that what they needed was not to get inside this corrupt church, but to have faith.

He challenged them to experiment with faith. He assured them that all they needed to get started was a desire to have faith—just a desire, and nothing more. God could take that desire and grow it into something wonderful.

He praised them for being humble, but pointed out they were humble out of necessity. He told them they would be blessed even more if they were humble by choice as well. Humility is essential to gaining faith in God. By accepting they were not the greatest and highest power in the world, they could learn to obey God and accept His will, even if it wasn’t what they hoped it would be. This would allow them to repent when they sinned, and repentance allows God to forgive through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Alma then tells them something that helps us understand more about why God can’t just show Himself to us:

“17 Yea, there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto us a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety; then we shall believe.

18 Now I ask, is this faith? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it.”

19 And now, how much more cursed is he that knoweth the will of God and doeth it not, than he that only believeth, or only hath cause to believe, and falleth into transgression? (See Alma 32:17-19).

From this we see many people, even then, wanted signs—proof. But if you have proof, you don’t need faith. Furthermore, your punishment for failing to keep the commandments is far greater if you have proof of God’s existence than if you only have faith in it. Greater knowledge comes with greater responsibility. In addition, history has shown that having a sure knowledge doesn’t really convert the heart.

In an early Book of Mormon writing, we learn of a family that had four sons when the story began. The two oldest were self-centered and unfaithful. When they abused or tried to kill their brother, angels came to them multiple times. Despite seeing angels and many miracles, they were not truly converted. They continued to deny what God wanted them to do and to disobey commandments. They had proof, but they had no real conversion in their hearts.

This is why Alma found it so important to teach his students that they needed faith. He told them their faith would not be a perfect knowledge—if it were, it wouldn’t be faith. He compared the growth of faith to a seed. First, they must plant the seed in their hearts and not cast it out by choosing to not believe. The seed would then, if it was a good seed (meaning if God was real), begin to swell or grow in their hearts. When they felt this swelling feeling, and felt their souls enlarge, they would know it was a good seed—signs of the reality of God.

Alma reminded them that seeds bring forth their own kind. An apple seed will grow an apple tree. A seed of faith in God will grow faith in God and in itself, then, will prove that God is real. Satan cannot bring forth joy and peace, and that is what you feel when you are praying to know if God is real.

This part of the experiment leads to perfect knowledge, but only in one thing—whether or not the seed was a good one and capable of changing you. If we plant a tree seed, we have to nurture the seed to get the best results. Faith also has to be nurtured in order to grow. If you neglect it, it will die, not because it was bad, but because you didn’t take care of it.

Nurturing the seed of faith requires prayer, scripture study, and pondering of gospel truths that are learned. It requires us to agree to act on whatever God tells us, even if it isn’t what we hoped to hear. Alma warned his listeners that developing a strong faith requires a long commitment, just as growing a tree does. However, it leads to faith in God and eternal life. The rewards are more than worth the work involved.

Once we have faith, we no longer need God to appear before us. Our hearts, and the Spirit of Christ, will tell us everything we need to know.

When people talk about Mormonism, they often focus in on small things that are not important, aren’t taught currently, aren’t even practiced today. By doing so they miss an opportunity to understand Mormonism as it lives today and even as it was originally taught.

To understand Mormonism, you must focus on core doctrines, those things which are canonized as official doctrine and taught consistently. While church practices sometimes change, truth does not.

There are a few guidelines that can help you evaluate whether or not a teaching is a core doctrine—or even a true doctrine of Mormonism.

First, it is important to understand that every word spoken by a prophet is not necessarily doctrine, particularly in the earliest days of the church. In the beginnings, the church was run much more informally. People talked among themselves and sometimes others took notes and published those conversations or informal speculations of church leaders.

The Journal of Discourses is the usual source for speculations by people of other religions. Journal of Discourses is not an official church publication and is not used as a source of official doctrine. It was compiled by people who took notes of speeches, prayers, sermons, and other events in shorthand and then transcribed them. However, not all the transcriptions were accurate. None were evaluated by or approved by church leaders as being official pronouncements of doctrine. It was privately published in England to provide income for the owner of the journals, although Brigham Young approved the project as a way for European Mormons to find out what was going on in Utah. It was basically the equivalent of a newspaper. Today, the Mormons own Deseret News, but articles that appear in the newspaper are not considered official doctrine, and neither are articles in the Journal of Discourses. With the availability of modern technology, many errors have been officially documented.

Because the church was small, even in General Conference, today a very formal event, people were free to ask questions. Because Mormonism focuses on continuing revelation and learning “line upon line” much of the doctrine was not yet known. Therefore, leaders sometimes speculated about possible answers. These speculations did not become doctrine unless Brigham Young or other prophets prayed and received confirmation of the truthfulness of the doctrine. Otherwise, it was just personal opinion and even a prophet is allowed to have an opinion.

So how does one know if something is an official doctrine? Both official Mormon websites, Mormon.org (intended for people who are not LDS) and LDS.org (aimed more toward Mormons but open to anyone) contain official statements of doctrine. Look for official announcements there.

It is important to remember that not all doctrine is given equal weight or importance in Mormonism. It is also important to remember that in a church that does not refuse to allow God to continue to speak and to lead, doctrine is given in increasing steps, what Mormons call learning line upon line. This means Mormons have, over the years, been given doctrine suitable just for one time period or doctrine that might be considered beginner doctrine. As the church membership grew and people became more informed about the gospel, God gradually added to their knowledge. An easy way to understand how this works is to read the lesson manuals written for children. Although the same subject might be covered in each age group, older children are given more complex information because they are ready for it. Mormons are taught by God in increasingly sophisticated stages.

Joseph Smith outlined thirteen Articles of Faith that explained the core beliefs of Mormonism at that time. These are still taught and even memorized by children. Reading them can help earnest students of Mormonism, those determined to learn only what is true about Mormons, to recognize core doctrine. The first Article of Faith is the very core of Mormonism:

“We believe in God the eternal Father, in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.”

This creates a foundation on which all other doctrines are based. The first Article of Faith makes possible the fourth, which succinctly summarizes the core of Mormonism:

“We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

Faith in Jesus Christ is critical to the mission and doctrine of Mormon beliefs. Repentance, the second portion of this article of faith, refers to Mormon belief in the atonement of Jesus Christ and the importance of both grace and repentance in the process of living a Christian lifestyle. Baptism, performed after the manner in which Jesus was baptized, allows people to be forgiven of their sins and is a result of grace, which came to us through the atonement. The Holy Ghost was a gift Jesus Himself promised to send to His followers once He was gone.

Another principle of Mormonism is that of continuing revelation. Nowhere does the Bible state that once Jesus died, God would no longer be willing to communicate with His children or to send them prophets. While the apostles lived, they received revelation and guidance from God and functioned as apostles, seers, and revelators. Once they died, God did withdraw for a time, an event known as an apostasy. It is not that God is not willing to have prophets on the earth at any given time, but mortals are not always willing to accept and honor prophets. When this happens, they are the ones who remove the gift of prophecy from the earth. This happened frequently throughout the Bible and happened for the longest period of time after the apostles died.

However, the Bible assures us that God will do nothing except through his prophets. (See Amos 3:7.) This means that in order to prepare us for the return of Jesus Christ, another core doctrine of Mormonism, God must restore prophets to the earth. He did this when He chose Joseph Smith as His first prophet in the last days. Today, the Church is led by Thomas S. Monson, the Mormon prophet.

There is no question as to the need for a prophet in today’s world. A short drive around most towns will show a large number of churches, all with conflicting doctrine. Clearly, original doctrine has been corrupted over time—this process started even during the New Testament times, leaving the apostles to regularly fight to overcome misunderstandings in doctrine. Without a prophet, no man can do any more than just guess at what God wants of us today or of what specific doctrines mean. Modern-day revelation is key to giving people a fair chance to prepare for the Second Coming.

Another core doctrine of Mormonism is family life. Mormon beliefs include strong teachings on the sacredness of the family unit. Families were planned by God to help Him further His work on earth and are one reason we came to earth. Mormons teach that God’s plan for families today are that families consist of one mother and one father and are meant to last forever. Mormons can be married in a Mormon temple and have their marriages “sealed” for time and all eternity. This means they do not get a divorce at death, but continue the marriage forever if they live worthy of God’s greatest blessings. In addition, parents and children are joined together forever, something most people instinctively understand, even if they say they don’t believe it. Listening to comments at a funeral often reveal a deep belief in eternal families. (“Mom and Dad are together again.”)

Central to Mormon doctrine is the Plan of Salvation. It is the story of our eternal life and unifies the most important teachings of the Mormons.

Our stories began when God created our spirits. We lived with Him as spirits for a very long time, learning truth, learning to love God, and deciding what kind of person we wanted to be. Eventually, as is the case with children living at home, we could progress no further without leaving home and going out “into the world, one God and Jesus would prepare for us. He explained that when we went there we would lose our memory of our time with Him because this journey was about faith. However, we would gain bodies and families and the Spirit of Christ would go with us to help us recognize truth if we wanted to find it.

During our time here we would face trials—different trials for each person—and we could choose our responses to them. Agency was, in fact, key to the experience. Our choices would, as Mormon prophet Thomas Monson likes to say, determine our destiny. However, we could not choose the consequences of those actions.

God knew we would all sin, and He wanted to make it possible for us to return to Him even when we did sin. He loves us and wants us all to make it back home. For this reason, He promised to send a Savior who would live on earth for a time, teach the gospel, and take our sins on Himself, saving us through grace. This grace would allow us to rise from the dead, repent, and make it back to God if we kept the commandments. Grace cannot be bought—we do not have, in ourselves, the power to bring about resurrection or forgiveness. However, the Bible is very clear that only those who keep the commandments and who repent of sins will be allowed to return to God.

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). The Bible warns us that faith without works is dead. If you say you believe and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are saying only words unless obedience follows the words.

Some were unwilling to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, preferring Satan’s unscriptural promise to save people without any risk of any kind. That meant we would also have no agency. We would simply be puppets of Satan and this would render life meaningless. One-third of the spirits chose to follow Satan and were denied the chance to come to earth. All those who were willing to make a commitment to Jesus were allowed to be born.

Life here on earth is not easy, but it is designed to allow us to have opportunities for growth. It allows us to seek out and find truth if at all possible.

But of course, it is not possible for everyone. Some people live their entire lives never having heard of Jesus Christ—some because they lived before He was born and some because the gospel simply never reached them. Over the centuries, theologians have debated what happens to those people. Would God unfairly punish them for something out of their control?

No, of course not. God is loving and fair and He sent us here. This means He will give everyone a fair chance to accept or reject His gospel. Those who die without being given that opportunity will receive it after their death—not a second chance, but a first chance, the only way a loving God would choose to do it. They can, just as we can, accept or reject Jesus Christ’s teachings and accept the blessings and consequences of their choice.

The Plan of Salvation is a kind, loving, and brilliant plan by our Heavenly Father, designed to give us an opportunity to become everything He intended us to become.

As you continue to study official church websites, take note of what Mormons are being currently taught in their classes. The lesson manuals are all openly online. Those teachings are the core. Mormons are impacted only by core doctrines—those taught by current prophets that affect our eternal salvation.

Grief is part of the human experience. Opposition is necessary for growth, according to the Mormon view of our mortal experience, revealed by the Lord through modern prophets. It can, however, be lifted through the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Mormons believe that the Savior, Jesus Christ, not only died to pay for our sins but also to take upon Himself our sorrow, grief, and infirmities (Alma 7:11–12).

Patricia Pinegar, former President of the Primary, or children’s organization of The Church of Jesus Christ (errantly referred to by the media as the Mormon Church), speaks of her own encounter with grief and the Savior’s intercession:

The difficult experience of my son’s death helped me identify and rejoice in the blessings of peace, hope, and direction—blessings that all who truly accept and live the gospel of Jesus Christ may enjoy. I can bear witness to the words of Elder Richard G. Scott: “Please learn that as you wrestle with a challenge and feel sadness because of it, you can simultaneously have peace and rejoicing” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1995, 20; or Ensign, Nov. 1995, 17). (“Peace, Hope and Direction,” Ensign, Nov. 1999).

Jesus Christ Himself was a man of sorrow and grief, yet He must have had the supreme joy of knowing He was in tune with His Father and solace in that unique relationship with Him. We, too, can find that peace and assurance that we are not abandoned when death of a loved one strikes or when someone’s agency tragically colludes with the plans for our own life.

Elder Bateman, a contemporary Mormon leader, speaks as well to the healing balm that can come when we ask the Lord for that special soul salve that only He can truly provide:

Death teaches that we do not experience a fulness of joy in mortality and that everlasting joy can be achieved only with the assistance of the Master (see D&C 93:33–34). Just as the lame man at the pool of Bethesda needed someone stronger than himself to be healed (see John 5:1–9), so we are dependent on the miracles of Christ’s atonement if our souls are to be made whole from grief, sorrow, and sin…. Through Christ, broken hearts are mended and peace replaces anxiety and sorrow.

Grief isn’t always caused by death or sickness.  There are as many life burdens as there are blessings. Of the lesser-visible crosses, modern apostle of the Lord’s re-established Church (Church of Jesus Christ, “Mormon Church”), Marvin J. Ashton remarks:

One type of cross is that of violated trust by a parent, a family member, a teacher, a bishop, a member of the stake presidency, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a co-worker, or a classmate.

Another cross that isn’t always visible but that on occasion can be very heavy and worrisome is the lack of self-respect—a feeling of unwillingness to accept oneself. Can you find it in your heart to once in a while compliment yourself on your behavior? Or do you think poorly of yourself no matter what you do? Having feelings like these can be a heavy cross to bear. Such a cross may slow down your eternal progression. (“Carry Your Cross,” Liahona, Sep. 1988.)

My own crosses have taught me, more than anything, about who Jesus Christ really is and who I really am.  Regardless of their source, there is solace to be found through drawing near to the Lord, who descended below all of the things we endure, so He could lift us up out of them. I testify that Jesus Christ’s power is real, that His knowledge of our struggles is intimate, and that His ability to help us is unparalleled.  If you would like to know more about how to access His power, please visit www.mormon.org or chat with the missionaries.

Mormons believe that true followers of Christ are counted as “saints”–those who have followed Him into baptism by immersion through His priesthood power as held by ordained members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and who continue in the path of righteousness.  Members of Christ’s Church established when he was on the earth are the early saints, and members of His Church today are referred to as “Latter-day Saints.”  Many of all faiths live a Christ-like life and are saintly and good.  The literal term, “saint,” however in our theology is reserved for the above.

Mormons do not beatify (call blessed in a formal sense) or canonize (declare a higher state of sainthood) anyone who is a member of the Church. Nor do we pray through or to others who have passed through this life and entered the spirit world, awaiting the resurrection.  While we, like Catholics, do believe that those who have passed on are greatly interested in what happens in our lives, we do not petition that intercession directly.  As we pray to God the Father for his assistance, it is granted through His power and His Spirit and through those whom he appoints on either side of the veil of mortality.

The subject has resurfaced recently apparently because Pope John Paul II beatified more saints than all other popes combined, including those of other countries not previously recognized as saints. Saints qualify for cannonization in the Catholic faith if they have lived a holy life of “heroic sanctity,” and have been esteemed in their local service, and have performed at least two miracles. These miracles, according to the Catholic faith, have to be permanent healings, instantaneous, and provable, or attributable to no other cause but the faith of the leader.  In light of LDS or Mormon doctrine, miracles of healing of this nature occur often through the power of God’s priesthood.  Elders minister to the sick and those “not appointed unto death” are often healed by no other power than God’s through His ministration.  In addition to miracles of healings, Mormons believe in miracles where the Lord intercedes to hasten His work, where he opens doors previously closed, where he raises the dead to life,

Mormons believe that miracles follow saints who believe, and that those who are ordained to Christ’s priesthood have access to His power which calls forth miracles as needed and according to His will on a continual basis.

We also believe that many others of other faiths can exercise their faith and see God’s hand in miraculous ways through their indiividual faith.  But miracles in which the powers of heaven are called down by virtue of the priesthood only exist within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In the strictest sense, the word exmormon simply refers to someone who chose to end his membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members of the Church are sometimes referred to informally as Mormons, and so an ex-mormon is a former Mormon. However, the term is more commonly used to refer not to people who simply left and moved on, but to those who then devote themselves to attacking the church.

There are many reasons a person might do this. While most people who leave a religion—any religion—simply join a new one or abandon organized religion and go about their new lives quietly, a few feel a need to attack and to demonstrate hatred for the life they left behind. Some who do this had a disagreement with another member or with a leader. Some objected to counsel given to them by a leader. These people find themselves unable or unwilling to forgive or to resolve the matter in an amicable and Christ-like manner and as a result, organize their new life around a pattern of revenge. Some are unhappy at the church’s unwillingness to let fads and fashion dictate truth, and are resentful that the Church has chosen not to make their favorite sins acceptable. Others feel uncertain about their decision and feel the only way to justify their choice is to “prove” the church is untrue. They feel if they can find or invent enough negatives and convince others to agree with them, it will help to justify their actions, even though the only people they need to convince are themselves and God.

Frequently their behavior demonstrates itself in repeating very old and usually disproven arguments to those who have not taken the time to research them, in hopes of bringing other religious people into their fold. They sometimes hold the Book of Mormon to a different standard than they hold the Bible. For instance, they write long papers on the lack of scientific evidence for horses in the Americas in ancient times, while ignoring the  lack of scientific evidence for lions in the Biblical lands. These arguments frequently confuse faith and science. Generally, the arguments developed, with minor tweaks, back in the early days of the church and regenerate each generation.

The majority of religious people are not especially interested in attacking Mormons and so these numbers, while working hard to maintain a loud presence, really make up a very small segment of the religious population or even the former Mormon population.

There is a story in the Book of Mormon about a prophet named Lehi and his son Nephi, who also became a prophet. Lehi saw a vision that was later shown to Nephi, who recorded it in the early chapters of the book. In this vision, there was a beautiful tree. Lehi understood the tree’s fruit was highly desirable and eating it will bring great joy. He invited his family to eat the fruit, and the righteous family members did, but the unrighteous chose not to partake.

There is a river running toward the tree, and a straight and narrow path beside it. Along the path is an iron rod. As multitudes of people strove to reach the tree, a mist of darkness arose, making it difficult for people to see how to reach the tree. However, those who held onto the rod—which represents God’s word—reached the tree safely. Those who did not were lost.

Some ignored the rod or got tired of holding on and let go; these fell away and were lost. Others held onto the rod and reached the tree. They tasted it, but were unable somehow to experience the joy others felt upon tasting it. This is because they looked around to see how others were reacting to all this. Those people noted a large and spacious building nearby, filled with people in expensive, elegant clothing. The people in the building were laughing, mocking, and harassing those who ate the fruit. Of course, some were secure enough to trust their own judgment and wisdom and they ignored the mockers, enjoying the full benefits of the fruit, which represented God’s love. Others, though, could not tune out the mockers. These people were embarrassed at being laughed at, and listened to the words of the mockers. They wandered off the path and went back to their former lives or chose new ones, forgetting or ignoring the goal they had once worked to achieve. However, some simply could not just move on. They went to the building and joined the mockers in a life filled with the emptiness of contention and anger.

This is, in many ways, representative of the exmormon world. Mormons feel sorrow for those who leave. They are Mormons because they believe it is the straight and narrow road to Christ. Those who leave are not usually overwhelmingly obsessed with what they left behind, although they often have a sense of what they have lost if they have maintained contact with the Spirit. Most Christians are too busy living lives of Christian service and sharing their own beliefs to worry too much about the teachings of others. Those who abandoned religion completely generally just move on to a secular life.

It is those who hang out in the great and spacious building and devote their lives to mocking and attacking who generally receive the title of exmormon. Rather than focusing on the love and service Christ taught us to live by, they remain trapped in a world of anger and contention. Paul warned:

8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. (See Titus 3)

The Church hopes former members will allow healing to enter into their hearts and longs for their return.

In 1985, at Christmas time, the leaders of the church prepared a special invitation to those who had left the Church. It read in part:

We are aware of some who are inactive, of others who have become critical and are prone to find fault, and of those who have been disfellowshipped or excommunicated because of serious transgressions.

To all such we reach out in love. We are anxious to forgive in the spirit of Him who said: “I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.” (D&C 64:10.)

We encourage Church members to forgive those who may have wronged them. To those who have ceased activity and to those who have become critical, we say, “Come back. Come back and feast at the table of the Lord, and taste again the sweet and satisfying fruits of fellowship with the Saints.”

We are confident that many have longed to return, but have felt awkward about doing so. We assure you that you will find open arms to receive you and willing hands to assist you. (See News of the Church,” Ensign, Mar 1986, 82–88.)

Recently, Elder Russell M. Ballard spoke to graduating students at Brigham Young University, a school owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members of this church are often informally known as Mormons. He counseled them in ways to discuss their religion with others, pointing out

that most topics of greatest interest to detractors are not critical elements of the current religion, but are fringe elements or practices no longer carried out. He advised them to keep the discussions focused on the core of the religion, the elements that affect salvation, rather than those that are merely interesting intellectual discussion points.

“When all is said and done, the most important thing about you and your testimony is that you base your beliefs on what Jesus Christ taught, and you try to follow Him by living your life in a way acceptable to our Heavenly Father and to the Lord.

This is your foundation. It was Joseph Smith’s foundation. He said: “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, he 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.”

(See Elder M. Russell Ballard: Engaging Without Being Defensive.)

Every religion has information or writings that cover a wide spectrum of information. Some of this information is essential to the salvation of the believer, but much of it is not. For instance, we must know who created the world and believe that, but we don’t have to know exactly how long it took. That is merely interesting fodder for debate or curiosity, but has nothing to do with our salvation. It’s interesting to read the genealogy in the Old Testament, but there won’t be a test on it when we stand before the Savior in judgment. Some stories in the Bible are curious and we don’t really understand why a Biblical prophet made the choices he did, but most of the time, we don’t need to know.

What we do need to know is that God is our loving Father in Heaven, and Jesus Christ is His only begotten Son. Jesus died for us and is the only path through which we may return to God someday. We need to learn how to identify truth by communicating directly with God to learn it.

It is these things the Mormons focus on in their daily spiritual life. They work to build a loving relationship with God and Jesus Christ and to understand how They would have us live from day to day. They strive to be good family members and good citizens. They study the Savior’s life and then try to understand how to live that way themselves.

While groups who work to oppose the church often focus on unimportant intellectual games, the Mormons are busy trying to be like Jesus. When talking with a Mormon, it is important to remember they aren’t generally very interested in those fringe topics. Their testimony isn’t based on history or science, but on faith. This faith came about after developing a close and personal relationship with God and then trusting Him to answer their questions in ways they could understand. They worked to know God so well they easily recognize Him when He communicates with them.

There is little purpose in presenting a Mormon who really knows Christ with the teachings of men, which are unreliable and changing. They aren’t interested in using those teachings as a foundation for their eternal salvation. They know the Creator, and it is only His words that matter.

The Pew Forum, which is not affiliated with the Church in any way, did a study of Mormons in the United States. One aspect of Mormons in their personal lives involved their feelings about and relationships with God.

The study found that every Mormon surveyed believed in God, which was higher than any other religion previously

surveyed. In addition, nine out of ten were absolutely certain of God’s existence. Ninety-one percent of Mormons believe God is someone you can have a relationship with. All these figures are well above the normal for other groups.

What is it about the Mormons that makes them so likely to believe in God in a very personal way? One reason Mormons have a high rate of belief in God is that much time is spent teaching children and investigators of the church about God, and about how to find out if He is real. Those new to the faith, whether due to age or experience, are taught that they can pray to God and receive an answer to their sincere questions. They are taught to recognize how God communicates with His children.

Mormons teach that prayer is an intensely personal experience. Although prayers are offered in public and family settings, each member is also encouraged to have individual conversations with God several times a day. No recited prayers are taught; members are instructed to use their own words and to speak the deepest, most personal thoughts of their hearts. They greet God by name, thank Him for specific named blessings, and ask for those things they need. They close in the name of Jesus Christ. However, within the basic pattern of prayer, they are also taught to make prayer a conversation. There are many times when a Mormon simply wants to talk to God about an experience or a concern, and this too is encouraged. With practice, a person who prays soon becomes familiar with the ways God communicates with His children and learns to trust what he is experiencing.

This emphasis on prayer is one reason ninety-one percent of Mormons feel they can have a relationship with God. Another reason is based on the specific ways Mormons view God. They believe God knows them personally because He created their spirits and then, before the earth was created, they lived with Him for a time. During this time, everyone was becoming a real person, with talents, personality, and interests. Each person was deciding who they were and how obedient they were. God was there, as our literal Father, watching over us and guiding us. For this reason, His love for us is very personal.

Mormons view God as a literal Father, loving but strict. Good fathers understand they must make rules with rewards and consequences, and God is always a good Father. Mormons accept the rules and the natural consequences because they see them in the light of a loving Father, not a strict, uncaring, and distant ruler.

With this information in mind, it is easy to understand why Mormons who have a strong testimony of the principles of their religion have a nearly perfect rate of belief in God and a personal relationship with Him.

This question is often asked by evangelicals, and is, in general, a misunderstanding of the Mormon teachings on what happens after death and how we control that.

Many evangelicals teach that a person gets to heaven by being “saved.” This involves the act of accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. At the same time, they teach that acts cannot get you into Heaven. The Mormons also believe that a person must accept Jesus Christ as His Savior in order to return to God’s presence after death. Both groups agree that at least one act is required of all of us in order to be with God.

The confusion over the number of acts required to be saved comes from the differences in terminology used by Mormons. Mormons believe everyone is saved through the atonement of Jesus Christ, even if they never accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. However, grace and eternal life, to a Mormon, are not the same thing. To understand this complex issue, let’s look at several essential points.

What is grace?

The Bible Dictionary, found in LDS editions of the King James Bible, defines grace for us:

It is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, made possible by his atoning sacrifice, that mankind will be raised in immortality, every person receiving his body from the grave in a condition of everlasting life. It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts.  (see Bible Dictionary.)

In other words, grace allows us to rise from the dead, receive our bodies back from the grave in a perfected form, and life forever. This is possible only because Jesus Christ voluntarily gave up His life for us after taking on the sins of the world. No fully  human being was capable of doing this for Himself. Had Christ not made this sacrifice for us, life would end with death because none of us could live a perfect life or satisfy the demands of justice fully. Only Jesus, with a mortal mother and a Heavenly Father could live perfectly and choose to die for us.

Each person then, is resurrected and given a place to spend eternity. However, living forever isn’t the total sum of our goals for eternity if we love God. We who love Him want to live with Him in His home forever. This requires a bit more. Again, it is grace that makes this additional gift possible. Without grace, we could not repent of the sins we commit here on earth.

Why does repentance matter?

For this, we need to search the Bible, where we find the following scriptures:

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 7:21, KJV of the Bible)

The Book of James, who is believed to be the brother of Jesus, took this thought even further, and answers the question without any room for doubt:

17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?

26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2, King James Version of the Bible)

James points out that believing in God is good, but even Satan believes in God. No, more is required that just to believe. He explains, using Abraham and Rahab as examples, that they obeyed the commandments because they had faith, and that faith was made perfect when they chose to not just believe, but to do what God taught them to do. It was the combination of faith and works that made them perfect in the eyes of God. Note especially the inclusion of Rahab. Rahab is a woman who was a harlot, so not a prophet or other person we might normally think to hold up as an example. If we looked only at that one aspect of her life, we’d see her as a lost soul, but God sees her as more and notes that she made courageous choices that helped to progress the work of God. She was, in fact, listed as an ancestor of Jesus Christ. This does not give her the right to sin as she chooses, but it demonstrates that the good works she did mattered and counted in the long run.

We see then, that faith and works must work together as a unified total in order for either of them to “get us into Heaven.”

Can Mormons (or anyone else) work their way into Heaven?

No. An evil person who did good works could not get himself into Heaven. A person who did good works every single day would not be admitted to God’s presence unless he had also accepted Jesus Christ as His Savior and unless His good works were an outward manifestation of the private faith in his heart.

A person who truly loves God will want to do His will. The greater our faith, the easier it becomes to make good choices. A person who says he has faith, who publicly proclaims that he has accepted Jesus Christ as His Savior, but who happily goes about his life robbing banks or hurting others, and who does not bother to repent is not going to be admitted into Heaven, as Jesus made clear, because his faith is not real and because no unclean thing can enter into God’s presence. Faith without works is a dead faith, but so is works without faith dead works. No one will live a perfect life, but we have a responsibility to repent when we do wrong, and to continually strive to keep the commandments.

The Book of Mormon teaches:

23 For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do. …

26 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)

It is only through Jesus Christ that people can be saved. If we want to live with God, rather than to merely live forever away from His presence, we must have faith, and we must also keep the commandments, as Jesus Christ instructed us to do.

Personal Response by Bethany

Yes!  You can have faith and still believe in science.  The scriptures clearly and repeatedly verify that God is the Creator of the earth, the heavens, and all things that are in them.  They also attest that the elements of which the earth consists of are eternal.  As a current biology major I am constantly tying science and religion together as I continually study the science of life and its spiritual connection with religion.  As I increase my studies, my faith also increases as I see the hand of God in every aspect of life.

Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stated that, “the essence of the gospel is the doctrine of trying…and that, of course, is the essence of science, also: the doctrine of trying, testing, and proving.  That’s the kind of procedure that makes science what it is.”  The point is that the gospel teaches us to experiment with the words of the Savior and to do as a scientist would do to find the truth.

Time and time again I have witnessed miracles both in my personal life and the lives of others around me that I never would have imagined possible.  How is it that some things that are scientifically incapable of happening, in fact do happen?  It reminds me of the Apostle Peter who, as written in Matthew 14, saw Christ walking upon the water and asked Christ if he might meet him on the sea.  Peter did walk on the water, defying science, but his faith faltered as the waves came upon him.  Jesus stretched forth his hand, caught him, and said, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”  There have been times that I was certain that my faith had failed both me and others, but though people can fail, the Lord does not.  Too many scientists strive only to find the answers to scientific questions and ignoring the spiritual; they accept nothing that cannot be proven by methods or that cannot be seen or felt or proven through experience.  Science itself is filled with God.

President Ezra Taft Benson, 13^th President of the LDS Church, stated that, “Religion and science have sometimes appeared in conflict. Yet, the conflict can only be apparent, not real, for science seeks truth, and true religion is truth. There can never be conflict between revealed religion and true science. Truth is truth, whether labeled science or religion. All truth is consistent. There is no conflict-only in the interpretation of fact.”  In that case, perhaps science and religion aren’t opposites, but merely different ways of looking at things.

I know and see how comfortably science and religion fit together.  Although I do not know all the answers as no one does, I do know that through patience and humility all questions can be resolved whether in this life or the next.