This week, I'll publish a copy of this talk I found. This was for a Stake Conference back in December 2011. Each attendee was asked to prepare a talk to present in front of 1000+ congregation members. On the day of the conference, the leaders chose a person or two to give their talk. I think they were given a couple hours notice, but no more than that.
I prepared this talk, but I wasn't chosen, and I've never had a chance to present it. Well, here it is. Enjoy. Keep in mind this is intended for a Mormon audience, but I think it would interest any of my readers.
Oh, Say What Is Truth?
When Joseph Smith prayed and asked which church to
join, he was answered to "join none of them, for they were all
wrong." He was then instructed to
establish the one and only true church.
We've heard this a
thousand times, but what does it mean?
Today I would like to take a closer look at some of these other
religions so that we might gain a little more perspective and be better able to
see where we stand with our friends, neighbors, and colleagues.
First, I'd like to
point out that ALL religions have SOME truth.
Christians believe in Christ and in his redeeming power. Jews believe in a subset of our
doctrine. The Muslims believe in the
same God that we do. Buddhists and
Hindus have a lot of doctrine in harmony with ours, inspiring people to do good
one to another. Even atheists and
agnostics believe in that inner conscious that helps us to make moral
decisions.
So why are there
so many religions? Why doesn't God come
down here and establish which religion is true?
Because we have so
many religions, each individual person has the opportunity to accept the level
of truth he is willing to receive.
Consider a man who really loves Jesus and wants nothing more than to be
with him forever. If this person joins
with any Christian church and lives a good life, he will gain in the least the
middle Terrestrial Glory, where Jesus reigns.
After this man dies and is resurrected, he will have obtained his utmost
goal. He will be in the presence of
Jesus for Eternity.
A woman who
chooses not to believe in any religion at all still has the light of Christ
within her, and following her conscious, she can live a good, rewarding
life. In the least she will gain the
lowest Telestial Glory, which is still a fantastic reward for anyone.
Thus, he who seeks
after truth will be able to find it, according to how much he wants to learn,
and he will gain an appropriate reward.
Now consider the
Catholic Church, which arose from the ashes of Christ's Original Church that
was nearly destroyed. It's so easy to
harp on the Catholics for their mistakes - how they removed plain and precious
truths as they translated and compiled the Holy Bible - how they corrupted the
doctrines of the Early Church - how they instituted the errant Nicene Creed as
core doctrine of all Christian churches.
But then again,
consider everything they did right. In
Matthew 16:18, Jesus promised Peter that the "gates of hell shall not
prevail against" his Church. Though
the full authority and priesthood powers were removed from the earth and
enemies tried to destroy what remained, the members of this early Catholic
Church persevered and successfully preserved a large portion of true
doctrine. Even the Nicene Council was a
necessary evil to help strengthen a crumbling church. Had it not happened, the gates of hell might
have indeed prevailed, and the Christian religion might have died out. Then where would we be today?
Consider Martin
Luther who recognized some of the corrupt teachings of the Catholic Church such
as the doctrine of monetary indulgences.
He broke off and started his own church in Germany, and he began the
practice of translating the Bible to one's native tongue, bringing the word of
God to everyone.
Other inspired men
soon followed suit: John Calvin from France, and Ulrich Zwingli in Switzerland,
and others. Each of these Reformers
broke away from the Catholic Church and began their own movements based on
their own concerns and beliefs.
In response, the
Catholic Church went through its own Counter-Reformation, doing away with the
doctrine of monetary indulgences and other corrupt doctrines. They became a better church - closer to the
truth.
The result? Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin all showed that
the Catholic Church was not the one true religion. Had these inspired men not broken away, our
church couldn't exist. Where would we be
today?
Finally, true
freedom of religion was established in the United States. All religions can now exist together
peacefully, and our Church was formed as it is today. We owe so much to those who came before us:
the Jews, the Catholics, Luther, Zwinlgi, Calvin, etc. Just keep this in mind the next time you're
talking religion with your friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Even though they don't have all the truth
that God has revealed, they may still be happy with the truth that they have
today. This is okay and we should
respect their beliefs. When they're
ready to learn more, they'll ask questions - and from experience, I've learned
that they almost always do, eventually.
When they do ask
questions, be ready to answer. It's good
to emphasize the commonalities between our religion and theirs. Where there are differences, present them
matter-of-factly as points of interest instead of with a tone of "I'm
right and you're wrong."
If your friends
are Christian, they will most likely see no reason to switch
denominations. They have probably been
baptized. They most likely pray to God
every day and receive confirmation of the truths that exist in their
church. They probably read their Bible and
believe that it is sufficient for their salvation. So most likely, they will ask, "What is
so different about you Mormons?"
What they mean is "what's in it for me if I were to become one of
you?"
When they ask this
question, go ahead and answer. If they
like what they hear, they will pursue with further questions. They will seek out further light and
knowledge and they will receive what they're looking for.
How do you answer
them? What does someone gain from
joining our Church? Here, there are so many
answers you could provide. Choose a
couple of answers as the Spirit guides.
Mormons have
access to a living prophet who has a direct line of communication with
God. With times ever changing, this open
communication is essential to keeping us up to date with what we should be
doing in our lives. Without this
constant guidance, even some prominent churches are struggling today with some
morally gray areas.
Mormons have
access to the Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ. This volume of scripture confirms and
clarifies the doctrines taught in the Bible.
It relates some events that occurred on the American continent. It restores a few plain and precious truths
that were removed from the Bible and enables a person to have a better
understanding of the nature of God and our relationship with him.
Mormons have
access to the sealing power. Couples can
be married forever. Families can be
forever. All other churches teach that
marriage ends at death, but temple marriages can last through eternity.
Mormons have
direct access to the Holy Ghost's influence.
More than just a conscious to tell us right from wrong, this
"gift" can be a constant companion to reveal truth beyond a shadow of
a doubt and to help guide us through all decisions we make in life.
Mormons can gain
access to the highest levels of the Celestial Kingdom where we can dwell with
God forever and even become just like him.
This is the ultimate reward for anyone who is willing to do what it
takes.
Yes - all
religions have truth, but there is always more to learn. For those who seek, God will provide, and he
"upbraideth not."
<end with
testimony>
This is a well reasoned and interesting read.
ReplyDeleteYeah! The first comment!
ReplyDelete