I decided to start this blog for four reasons:

1) There’s so much of myself that I’d like to share with loyal readers about my beliefs and background. Up until now, I’ve not had a forum for expressing this part of myself. This blog is for those who are curious about what makes me tick as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how my membership in the Church impacts everything I do — from the way I do business, to how I write, to how I live my life.

2) This blog is for the curious . . . those who would like to know more about Latter-day Saints (aka Mormons). Do we have horns? Do we have multiple wives? Do we worship a different God? Do we worship a different Jesus? Do Mormons dress in black and frown a lot? Do we live in communes and refuse to associate with others? If you hadn’t guessed, the answer to all those questions is NO. All of those are myths and this blog is here to dispel these myths and others.

3) This blog is also for my fellow Latter-day Saints. It’s time we began educating others about what we believe. As President Boyd K. Packer said in a recent broadcast for seminary instructors, “It isn’t 1830 and there aren’t just 6 of us anymore.” Many of us live our lives afraid to admit our faith, afraid to talk about what we believe with others because of persecution heaped upon members for so many years. But we live in a different age. Mobs aren’t combining. Our leaders aren’t being unjustly incarcerated and murdered. People are more open minded, more tolerant, and more willing to allow others to express their own views and opinions. It’s time we set aside the fears of the past, broke down some barriers, and built a few bridges with those of other faiths.

4) I hope this will be a forum for creating understanding about our beliefs and about our lifestyle. I love what Joseph Smith, Jr. prophesied concerning the millennium. I believe this prophecy’s fulfillment is at the doors: “Christians should cease wrangling and contending with each other, and cultivate the principles of union and friendship in their midst; and they will do it before the millennium can be ushered in and Christ takes possession of His kingdom.”

Christ is coming again and it’s time to find that common ground and build upon it. It’s my prayer that those who read this blog will come to understand not only my personal conviction, but also the conviction of every faithful Latter-day Saint that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, our one and only Advocate with the Father and that by him and of him and through him the worlds are and were created and that the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God (Doctrine and Covenants 76:23-24).

What about you? What are some common myths that you’ve heard about members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Or if you’re a member, what holds you back from speaking up about your beliefs to others?

Common Myths and Realities about Latter-day Saint Beliefs:

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 24th, 2008 at 3:06 am and is filed under lds beliefs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.