"How does your faith strengthen you?"

The other day, we were talking to a woman who asked a question that caught me off guard.  She asked us the question: "How does your faith strengthen you?"  Looking back I realize the question was surprising because after so many hours of talking to people and answering their questions, one of those questions wasn't about doctrine or scriptures.  Instead she wanted to know what our message meant to us.  Not even wondering about the concept of faith, but the grander scheme of my adventures within the framework of my beliefs.

The beliefs I have are those of my parents, but I have tried and found them to be true through my own experiences.  So often we can go off of the testimony of others and it's generally a safe way to go.  Parents always give simple warnings, such as "Don't touch that or you'll get burned!"  They know from their own experience what the consequences are and they try to warn us so we don't have to suffer for ourselves. But when it comes to religion, it becomes necessary for an individual to gain for their self a testimony of their beliefs; to have experiences that will leave them with infallible proof that God does exist and that He does love them.  These experiences are essential because they bring a person closer to God.

A prominent religious leader once said, " True religion deals with spiritual things. We do not come to a knowledge of God and his laws through intellectuality, or by research, or by reason. I have an average mind—one that is neither better nor worse than the general run of mankind....The things that will profit us everlastingly are not the power to reason, but the ability to receive revelation; not the truths learned by study, but the knowledge gained by faith; not what we know about the things of the world, but our knowledge of God and his laws." (Bruce R. McConkie, "The Lord's People receive Revelation", italics added)

My faith strengthens me because through it I have built a real and solid relationship with God.  I talk with God and have learned to communicate with Him through prayer, the scriptures and His servants around me.

"What is Priesthood?"

This morning my companion and I were teaching a woman about baptism and how it must be performed with proper authority or otherwise known as the Priesthood.  Naturally she responded by asking, "What is Priesthood?"

"The authority and power of God.  God gives this power to man to act in His name."  Because we cannot be saved without God's help, He has given His children Priesthood to act according to our needs within His will.  It was by the Priesthood that John baptized Jesus; that Jesus Christ organized his Church on the earth; that Peter, James and John lead the church after Christ's death and by that same authority that Christ's original church has been restored to the earth.  

Who holds the Priesthood?
 All worthy men (ages 12 and up) who have been baptized a member of Christ's church.

How do men get the priesthood?
After they have been deemed worthy by other authorized Priesthood holders, those same men lay their hands on the head of the man receiving the priesthood and confer upon them with a specific prayer the Priesthood.

What do they do with the Priesthood?
These men help lead the church and serve Heavenly Father's children.  Some are expected to lead congregations of the Church, perform the ordinances of the Church, such as baptism and to bless those who are sick.  "God expects those who hold this sacred priesthood authority to follow the example of Jesus Christ and serve with love, gentleness, and kindness."

For anymore information, please check out this website that explains more fully the history of the Priesthood and the role it has played in establishing God's church among His people:
History of the Church and Priesthood

"My friend just died. Where did she go?"

The other day we got to talk to a mother who's daughter had just lost a friend suddenly in a shooting.  Naturally her daughter had so many questions about death and the after-life, but she felt that she didn't have the answers. 

When we stopped by, she asked us the same questions and we discussed our thoughts on the subject.  We were able to share these scriptures from the Book of Mormon:

"Now concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection- Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave the life." -Alma 40:11 (pg. 308)

"Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God.  Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world." -Alma 34:34 (pg.295)

Across time our lives are paralleled  with those before and after us.  These verses are the response of a father to his questioning child and they have been revealed and recorded so that those who come after don't have to search in darkness without hope or comfort.

I know that the words of Alma are true.  There is a Spirit World that we will return to after this life where we are able to see God again.  I know that we will be the same person there as we are here with all of our memories, desires and personalities. 

Q:"My friend just died. Where did she go?"

A: She has gone back "home to that God who gave them life".

a little Prep

In preparation for our bridge-building I wanted to provide some information for some of the resources I'll be referring to.  As a Latter-Day Saint, we use both the Bible (the King James Version) and the Book of Mormon to gain a greater understanding of this life and the next to come.  Assuming that some of you may not be familiar with Book of Mormon, I've decided to share this:

how it all began

My name is Sister Dorothy Clayton, and I am currently serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. More commonly known as the LDS or Mormon church.  I am serving in the Florida, Georgia region of the U.S. where I talk to people about Jesus Christ all day, every day. I've been doing it for 7 months now and I've got about eleven more to go.

In the regular schedule, I talk to people all day long about God & and how they worship Him, i.e. religion.  You can imagine how interesting the conversation can get and every day proves to be a new adventure.  The people we meet seem to have the darnedest ideas and questions about life.  To mention just a few: "Do you believe in Once saved always saved? Why are we all here? Does God know me? Where do we go after this life and what happens to my family in the next life? Will my dog be there too? How can I have more peace?"  All these people yearn for answers, just as you and I do.

I don't know all of the answers because the questions are infinite, but I do know that together we will be able to find answers.  We can learn and grow alongside one another to build a great library of knowledge. 

I offer to you my own experiences with the people I meet everyday, as we discuss our own perceptions and beliefs in this great wide world.

Regardless of where you are in your own life's search and where you've found answers in the past, I know we can find some together now. And it is my hope to not only find a few answers, but to bridge ourselves together in our search.  If  we can work together along the way, we'll find some common ground on which we can discuss and understand each other and the answers we've found. 

Let the journey begin!