Other religions

[blusun7]

I apostatized at a young age. I was born into the church but went inactive after my mom passed away. i was 14. I began sin shortly after. i have to put this in there,before the first sin i told myself that i could always repent for my sins,That was the worst thing i could of ever said and done for i truly believe i was cursed and damned from then on. i started forming habits a young man shouldnt at such a young age and no they were not drugs. Well for some reason i didnt care for much for my religion.There was always a voice telling me to repent and pray.Kinda of like a beacon flashing on and off. So in my twenties i did I prayed to god at the time that i would stop being dumb and start living right. So the girlfriend i had at the time i was going to ask to marry me. Of coure i was in sin but like i said i wasnt really caring.

I listen to a voice telling me to pray about the girl i was with that if it not be right that i may see this and continue in the right direction.The very next day i caught her with another man.

I repented again and went to church.

So im clean for a year and things are going well in the singles ward but no catches so i saw this girl and began dating her and i was in sin again. Why?Why? So i begin to wonder why do i commit sin. I thought repentance would fix it. I knew it is cause i dont have much of a testimony and i cared for things of the world. So again this beacon goes off.I have had trouble with sin since i was a kid.

So one day (this year) i bow my head down,i have believed in prayer through all my troubles,no matter what i prayed to become righteous,but this time i started my prayer and i felt this spirit in me starting cry out through my mouth,my voice began to shake,my eyes began to water and soon enough i was sobbing to the lord that i was sorry for all the unrighteous i have ever done.That i was sorry i was disobeying his laws and priesthood and i was ungodly.I sorry for ever saying "i could repent later" My soul knew what had caused this! i was praying to a father who had power to do anything.As a prince to his king.It was my soul praying not my mind. I cried as if i lost someone i loved but it was my soul crying to the lord to save me from this awful state of mind i was in. That i was sorry for my thinking and i wish not to be damned anymore and that i may learn truth and uphold righteousness. I cried for minutes as i spoke spiritually which is hard to describe.Prayer(the beacon) worked.It was cause i truely asked with all my heart and not in vain. I really wanted him to hear me and he did.

After prayer i felt relieved i felt a spirit. Ever since then i have been reading the bible,book of mormon and Joseph Smith account. I read the anti stuff but i knew i had to read stuff that was true too.As Jesus said if there is evil there is good. Without one there couldnt be the other all would cease to exist. I couldnt be bias.So i began to read church history from the church. Kinda like you wouldn't go to an english teacher to learn mathematics. Same here i wanted the source of history about joseph smith.

I have read and realized that joseph just didnt get the plates and poof he was a prophet.He went through alot and years past after certain events.

Joseph couldnt attain the plates for 3 years because the angel moroni told him he wasnt ready.He went to the hill and would try to get them but the angel would tell him he wasnt ready. He left and came back a year later and same message. Third time he was able to attain them a year after his second attempt.

As i read more history i read an account of Martin Harris. (look on google for more,remember there is always good infor and bad info,good and evil)

In short martin harris took some of the characters from the golden plates and took them to professors.

Some would say they are not learned(educated enough)to read it. Martin Harris took it to a Dr. Anthon who authenticated the hieroglyphics and ask martin how joseph smith attained the plates. Martin Replied"an angel showed him". The Dr. ask for the certificate and martin harries takes it out of his pocket and gives it to the dr and the Dr. rips it saying that angels do not minister on this earth anymore and to bring the book to him and he will translate it. Martin replies he cannot for it is sealed the doctor replies"i cannot read a sealed book"

SO martin goes to another professor who authenticates the heiroglyphics as true too.

He comes home to joseph and tells him and joseph smith replied"The prophecy has been fullfilled by isaiah the prophet".

Read Isaiah 29 11:14 and read martin harris account of taking the writings(from good sources)

Then the spirit came upon me and my prayers were answered.I ask for truth and bam!! My prayers are answered not the next day but couple weeks after i ask for truth.

It was then i knew that marvelous work wonder was done by a man God chose. Prophets are essential in his church. As god chose Moses so he did chose Joseph Smith. Amos 3:5 and Amos 7 14-15 regarding how a prophet was chosen.

I know this church is true through my accounts and as i read and pray throughout the days i find more and more.

That is my testimony.

For me i see that the LDS believes in the primitive church as the bible says but as it tells you. We have temples as does the bible. There is so much proof but our sins and satan get in the way of letting the spirit tell us truth.

As if our eyes are closed because of i our disbelieve sometimes.

Jesus is the head of this church and believe in him as our savior and the founder of the gospel.The gospel of the bible is taught in the book or mormon.Book of Mormon is true.

just wanted to put my 2 cents in.

Edited March 28, 2009 by blusun7

[Traveler]

I have a great heritage of 5 generations in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. My father is the greatest person I have ever known. I was taught important spiritual truths by the everyday examples of my father. There never has been a time that I have questioned my faith or the heritage left me by my father. My first significant spiritual experience happened when I was 8 years old. By time I was 13 I was given a spiritual witness and understanding of the Book of Mormon and started writing my own commentary on the 4 standard works. I still reference these notes during moments of challenge or despair.

My greatest spiritual growth happened after my marriage to a wonderful lady. We had both prepared our entire life for our marriage but she understood things much better than I but was kind and waited on my curiosity with science. It is because of the understanding of eternal marriage that I have come to understand the importance of the LDS faith, not just for those that are members but for those that live in these times of confusion over the importance of marriage and family.

I have been curious about religion and have studied other faiths my entire life. I am still open to learn of any faith and from any person that will present themselves an example of another faith. I will go and do whatever as my L-rd directs. I fear no truth. I have a deep respect for anyone willing to be devout to a faith. I have even met a Satan worshiper that I found quite interesting but confused about a great many things. It is my personal conviction that each person must ask, seek and knock as they journey to come to understanding. I believe we all find some truths that will fit whatever life style pleases us but for a few (like Moses) that will seek G-d on G-d’s terms will find that G-d intends to change those that covenant with him from someone comfortable with suitable lifestyles to someone that is a light and example of the teachings of Christ.

I am open to discuss points of religion with anyone and have learned much from those of other faiths but I must admit that I am grateful that G-d and angles have returned in these Last Days to restore the Kingdom that when the work of restoration has been completed – all loyal to their faith will be able to welcome Christ as the king of that restored kingdom.

The Traveler

[RachelleDrew]

I've had a lot of experience with a lot of different religions. My family is just very diverse. However, I was never given a specific religion to follow as a child so I wound up claiming to be atheistic.

I became a severe drug addict in college, and tried to kill myself (unrelated to my proclaimed atheism, I am not implying that atheists lead horrible lives like I did) . In a really strange turn of events, I was saved in the nick of time by a friend. It was so odd to me, because a very specific order of events happened in a way that it made mere coincidence impossible. I began thinking there had to be someone or something making this world run, so I began looking.

I wound up here after a year or two or different churches. No, they didn't have to meet any "conditions", I simply prayed about it. I don't like the idea of window shopping for religions, and picking out the one that fits you best. There are a lot of things about all churches that aggravate me or don't make sense, but that doesn't make it untrue or less righteous. It just means I am not at a level of complete understanding yet.

[marshac]

I'm going to agree with RachelleDrew on the 'conditions', or rather lack thereof. To place conditions on a search for truth would seem to doom any expedition from the start.... in science we call this confirmation bias.

If you had asked me a year ago if I thought I might be LDS in the future, I would have said something along the lines of "are you high?" I can't say what nudged me towards checking out the LDS church... any answer is equally possible.... south park perhaps? Who knows. Regardless though, I started reading about what mormons believed, scoffed at some of it, but continued my research. I absorbed pretty much all the information I could dredge up on the internet about it and would spend the weekends trawling sites looking for more. I wasn't a mormon, so you can be sure I read all the "anti" material I could find. Often times I would simply find maligned individuals, but occasionally some interesting ideas would come up that I would have to investigate. I'm a firm believer in that if something is true, it should be able withstand any level of scrutiny. Eventually (about 2 months ago now?) I had enough discrete facts, or rather pieces of information that I was willing to accept as true, that I was forced to make a decision.... either to deny the truths which I had accumulated, or act upon them. The weight of the facts was heavy once the realization hit.... it honestly felt like I was being squeezed and I felt physically ill. In this state, I was hard pressed to deny the truth, so I really only had one viable option left- to find some mormons stat. Since I was already in class waiting for organic chemistry to start, I quickly went upstairs to the computer lab and wrote an email to the institute (which I still have... here it is).... I typed it up in about 2min, so please be understanding.... I had to get back to class ASAP.... needless to say, I was checking for a response via my phone every 30 seconds.

Hi XXXX-

I'm a student across the street at XXU and was wondering if it would be possible to set up an appointment with someone there at the institute to discuss a few things. I'm not LDS, but would like to learn more and figured that the institute would be a good place to start. I see that everyone's office hours end today at 3PM, although due to labs and such, i'm not typically fnished with school until 3:50. If folks are still around, I would love to drop by. I've already done a lot of reading and research of my own (i'm a science major, what can I say...), including reading stuff put out by FARMS and FAIR, so i'm familiar with a lot of the issues and problems people have.... after internaly wrestling with everything for awhile, I still feel a need to pursue this... it's odd. I can explain in person perhaps :)

Thanks-

-marshac

About 30min later I got a reply... yes, i'm changing the names to protect the innocent

marshac,

Brother XXX, our Institute director, will be here at 3:50 if you would like to come today. He is happy to meet with you!

~XXXX

What a relief that email was.... the pressing weight vanished. After class I walked across the street and did the hardest thing ever.... walked up the steps. You see, the institute is directly across campus... more importantly, directly across from the SCIENCE building. what would my profs think if they saw me walking into that building? I didn't really care anymore.... I walked inside and true to the email, brother XXX was there and we talked for at least an hour.... eventually he said that I needed some 19 year old boys.... so I gave him my phone number and they contacted me about a few days later. There is another email I wrote to the institute that i'll spare you from, but i'm told it's now making the rounds... apparently it was so 'awesome' that it needed to be forwarded to someone... and then someone else.... etc..... so if you have a copy, you now know my name, and where I go to school. Huzzah.

The saga of "how I became mormon" ends with my wife and I getting baptized shortly thereafter. Once spring break ends and spring quarter begins, i'll be going back to the institute, not to ask more questions, but to take some institute classes and also as a member of the true church.

In many ways I wish I had grown up in the church like many here have done- to go to seminary, possibly to serve a mission, and to be a part of this wonderful family.... as nice as those things might have been however, I have to wonder if I would have stayed not having been forced to find my own path and seek out the truth under my own terms.

[RachelleDrew]

^Great story marshac. Science requires us to be impartial and unbiased, and if your professors make judgement on you based on no fact or knowledge, then they aren't good scientists anyway.

I feel the same way about missions and seminary as you do. I wish I had been there to experience it, but sometimes life takes us another path for a reason.

[jadams_4040]

I'm not advocating my religion, but I'm wondering how many people made a similar journey as I have. I have actually listened and visited many people of differing beliefs from Yoga to LDS. If I had the money, who knows, I may have been a scientologist. However I found something that suited me, it wasn't something I was raised with, something that I wasn't just fascinated with, or something anybody in my area knew anything about. In fact my library only had 4 books on Buddhism. I'm just wondering what events led people to where they are right now.

L.D.S gives me all the answers to lifes questions, {and seriously that is from my heart, not the t,v commercial}, then everything is confirmed beyond any doubt whatsoever, not once, not twice, but it has been confirmed to me hundreds of times in every possible scenario one could possibly dream up.:)

[Newcomer4831]

L.D.S gives me all the answers to lifes questions, {and seriously that is from my heart, not the t,v commercial}, then everything is confirmed beyond any doubt whatsoever, not once, not twice, but it has been confirmed to me hundreds of times in every possible scenario one could possibly dream up.:)

Where does the idea of heaven come from? Or is this just wishful thinking?