Show Me A Church

SHOW ME A CHURCH THAT…

On occasion members of the church have been asked by nonmembers something like, “Why would you ever want to be a Mormon, especially when there are so many other great, ‘normal’ Christian faiths available?”  I have given much thought to this question and how I would best respond to it. Over the past several years, through my personal reading, listening to church talks, conversations with other members and comments from church leaders, I have compiled and ever growing catalog of responses.

Another member* several years ago started a similar list and I have taken his concept and some of his content in formatting this effort. He began his response by answering the question in this manner – “Show me a church that has BLANK (fill in the blank) and I’d be willing to consider joining that church.”

So, in that vein of thought… here we go…  Show Me A Church That (SMACT)…

ú   SMACT has a living prophet that boldly and unequivocally claims continued and ongoing revelation from God in directing His work for the saving of souls and the redemption of mankind…

ú   SMACT has an active quorum of twelve Apostles spreading the message of Christ, His saving power, and His impending return to all corners of the world, all continents…

ú   SMACT has a traceable line of authority directly from the Savior Jesus Christ to every member of its leadership - from the highest levels of authority and down through entire church organization, to members of local congregations. (I can trace my individual priesthood authority directly to Jesus Christ). In that same train of thought, we claim to hold the same Priesthood that Jesus conferred upon His Apostles!  And with that Priesthood there have been thousands of miracles performed in His name – many of the same kinds of miracles that He performed: healing the sick, curing the lame, the deaf, the blind, even raising the dead!  These events are not isolated – on the contrary, they happen regularly in LDS congregations around the world. – no other Christian church can claim that…

ú   SMACT has continuous personal revelation not exclusive to leadership, but available to church every member at any level in any congregation. A church that teaches that every worthy member is authorized to receive personal revelation – whether it be concerning their individual needs, or as confirmation about any doctrine, any practice, any belief or any teaching from local or church-wide leader. We boldly and forthrightly claim continuous and ongoing revelation!  That God continues to communicate with mankind today, just as in ancient times. And personal revelation through the Holy Ghost is available to individuals as the Holy Ghost is conferred upon every member – men, women, and youth alike!  – no other Christian church claims, or even teaches that…

ú   SMACT has authority given to women at all levels of leadership, where women participate in counsels for planning and decision making for every congregation…

ú   SMACT has an answer (and is actively engaged in the work) for saving the dead that did not have opportunity to learn of Christ or accept His gospel in mortality; that knows what it means when the scripture says, “Why else are they baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all, why then are they baptized.” – no other Christian church can do that……

ú   SMACT can provide eye witness testimony about the true nature of God, our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. We can clearly describe the Nature of God and the Godhead (that God and His Son, Jesus Christ have physical bodies of flesh and bone); we can clearly describe their relationship to each other (Father and Son); and we can clearly describe our relationship with them! (we are God’s literal spirit children – he is our literal Heavenly Father and our relationship to Him is a Parent-Child relationship – Jesus is our Elder Brother and our Savior – we cannot get back to Heaven without Him, and through Him we can become joint heirs to the Kingdom of God!  – no other Christian church teaches these truths…

ú   SMACT can explain the true relationship between God the Father and his children (us)…

ú   SMACT believes and follows the Ten Commandments…

ú   SMACT has the proper authority (can trace it to Jesus Christ) to perform marriages for time and eternity…

ú   SMACT has the proper authority (can trace it to Jesus Christ) to seals families together forever…

ú   SMACT has additional volumes of scripture that enhance, add clarity, and perfectly support the Bible. Additional scripture that provides additional personal witnesses of the divinity of Jesus Christ (another Testament of Jesus Christ), of His resurrection, and of His desire to establish an organized Church in the New World as well as the Old. – no other Christian church teaches that…

ú   SMACT gives its members the ability to make eternal covenants and renew them frequently to prepare them to eventually meet their Maker, prepare for the resurrection and judgment day…

ú   SMACT builds temples (Houses of the Lord) throughout the world where the Savior can visit (a place to rest His head) and where members can find peace, answers to life’s questions, and commune with the Spirit of God…

ú   SMACT uses consecrated olive oil for annointing and the laying on of hands to give blessings of comfort and healing as the disciples of Christ did during His ministry…

ú   SMACT uses the same organizational structure as designed by Jesus Christ when organizing His Church during His ministry including prophets, apostles, pastors, teachers, priests, evangelists, patriarchs, bishops, etc…

ú   SMACT follows the Savior’s prescribed manner for calling people to the ministry (“and no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron”). Aaron was called under the direction of a living prophet…

ú   SMACT offers clarity and scripturally-based understanding in answering the great life questions of Where did I come from?, Why am I here?, and Where am I going? We have a clear understanding of God’s Plan of Salvation. We can unequivocally answer the question, “What is the meaning of life?”  have a clear understanding of the pre-earth life, that we were participants in the great conflict there, the Great War in Heaven. We sided with the Savior and Michael, the Archangel and fought with them for Agency and the Plan of Salvation. The Lord’s side was victorious and those on the other side of the conflict were cast out. We have been working on the fulfillment of the Plan of Salvation since that time…

ú   SMACT promotes a code of health that has been proven advantageous to the quality and longevity of life over and again…

ú   SMACT that offers every worthy member a personal blessing, given by an ordained Patriarch who is called by a living prophet; a blessing that is transcribed and can be referred to over and over throughout the recipient’s lifetime; a blessing that offers direction, encouragement and comfort, gives advice and warnings, and identifies the lineage for the recipient from which of the twelve tribes of Israel he/she belongs…

ú   SMACT can clarify the wisdom and the need for both grace and works in the Savior’s work of redemption and salvation…

ú   SMACT believes that through the infinite and eternal atonement of Jesus Christ, 99.9999999% of the entire human race will be saved in a kingdom of glory in heaven and in a place of beauty beyond human comprehension…

ú   SMACT believes that children are innocent and not accountable for Adam’s or anyone else’s transgressions…

ú   SMACT claims without hesitation to be the latter-day version, the singular restoration of the Savior’s original church organization as established during His mortal ministry at the meridian of time… 

ú   SMACT claims without equivocation to have been given the authority from on high to act in the name of God and accomplish His work on earth…

ú   SMACT has documented and corroborating testimonies of angelic visitations from multiple heavenly beings giving instruction and passing on authority and keys of priesthood authority to run the church, including Moses, Peter, James, John, John the Baptist, Abraham, Adam, Noah, Enoch, Elijah, and others. We claim without reservation that a string of Heavenly Visitors have visited the earth to restore keys, authority, and other critical information that had been lost. There are multiple witnesses and written testimonies to most of these visitations. Have you ever heard of another Christian church claim such a thing?  I don’t believe there is one out there….

ú   SMACT sends out 10’s of thousands of missionaries to points all over the world – from the most modern metropolis to grass or mud or cardboard shelters – at the missionary’s own expense for 18 to 24 months. They go to every continent, to approximately 180 countries. They learn the native language of the country they go to. About 80,000 full-time active missionaries throughout the world right now (2015) actively giving community service and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ – no other Christian churches does that…

ú   SMACT teaches the doctrine of eternal families. When we marry, we marry for time and eternity – we believe that families are eternal and we perform marriages and ordinances with the authority of Jesus Christ to make them so!  Husbands and wives to each other and parents to children, children to parents, generation upon generation!  – Can you show me one single other Christian church that can do that… or even teaches it?

ú   SMACT is concerned about genealogy because they want to make sure that the saving ordinances are performed, by proxy, for those that did not have an opportunity to hear the Gospel message or accept the ordinances personally during their mortal lives. The LDS Church is involved in the largest genealogy effort going on in the world today! We do the family history research, and we do all the ordinance work for our ancestors by proxy allowing them the decision to accept or reject it – show me another Christian church that even thinks about this…

ú   SMACT believes in taking care of its members, whatever the age, whatever the activity. We have the inspired programs of HTG and VTG where every member is accounted for every few weeks. If there are needs, we find help and provide solutions. For every member!  – no other Christian church does that…

ú   SMACT that has an understanding of what happened in the Garden of Eden. That the choice that Adam and Eve made was part of the plan, and that our earth sojourn is a direct result of what happened in the Garden of Eden. And that we were, and are supportive of their decision, and we revere them. And that we are not born with sin because of what Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden. Other Christian churches do not enjoy this wonderful knowledge…

ú   SMACT  that has a clear understanding of the importance of eternal principle of Free Agency and our responsibilities in how we are to use that heavenly gift appropriately so that we can align our lives in the way that God would want us to live them. The concept of Free Agency in often misunderstood by other churches…

ú   SMACT understands that children who die without baptism are innocent and covered by the Lord’s atonement, and they are automatic candidates for the Kingdom of God. Many other churches teach that these children will go to hell – a doctrine that is not found in scripture…

There is so much more… so much more!  Doctrine on things yet to come –  additional scripture yet to come forth; the Earth to be restored to it’s paradisiacal glory (as it was during the Garden of Eden); Heavenly Parents; that we are all literal spirit brothers and sisters; an unpaid ministry; that all men will be resurrected and receive glorified physical bodies in the next life; and on and on and on… Show me a church that believes and teaches these doctrines…

These are just some of the blessings of the restoration. The truths, authorities, priesthood keys, light and knowledge are all parts of the restoration. They are the things that have been lost through the events of the Apostasy after the deaths of the Savior and His Apostles. All of these things needed to be restored, and were, through the process of the Restoration, the re-opening of the heavens, and re-establishment of the Lord’s Church on the Earth again in latter days. All of these restored teachings and doctrines are found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Our non-member friends, neighbors, and work associates will determine our Christian / non-Christian status more by how we live and conduct our lives long before we will be so measured by our doctrines. Having the knowledge of restored Gospel truths, doctrines, and light help guide us to correctly navigate through mortality. How blessed we are to enjoy the blessings of the Restoration!

With the knowledge and understanding available to us because of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we have every possible reason to be the happiest people on Earth!

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Wm. Calvin Hughes | Lake Elsinore, CA |May 12, 2008