How can I become more like Christ?

Just the fact that you have a desire is the first step! Congratulations.

Jesus said the we should learn of Him:

Matt. 11: 29

  29 Take my ^ayoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am ^cmeek and ^dlowly in heart: and ye shall find ^frest unto your souls

Next, you must act like Him. As a child Jesus studied God’s word and went forward to share it with others.

His first step was baptism. He sought out one who had authority from God to baptize Him. He later was asked a question reguarding authority.

ST MARK

CHAPTER 11: 27 ¶ And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders,

  28 And say unto him, By what ^aauthority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?

  29 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

  30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.

  31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?

  32 But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.

  33 And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things

  

Christ himself went to the prophet of His day, John to be baptized. We also need to be baptized by someone who has authority from God. Our Church teaches that Christ authority is in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Although other churches have much good in them they do not have authority to baptize.

After baptism comes our continual effort to become like Him.       

Matt. 5: 48

  48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.              

This is a process where we become one with God. Where we think and act like He would. We choose to be kind, patient, helpful and loving. These acts no matter how small will help us change to become as He is filled with Love.

You can find more ideas on this site        JesusChrist.lds.org            

Do Mormon’s Believe in Christ?

We believe Jesus is the son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind.

http://jesuschrist.lds.org

How important is your family?

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I know that families are very important. Not just in the years when you are growing up, but for eternity. Yes, I believe that God has a family and we are part of it. Our earthly families also can be together after this life. Not just in a general group of God’s children, but in family units forever. More information on eternal families can be found at: http://mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/the-restoration-of-truth/the-gospel-blesses-families-and-individuals

A Little Bit on Mormon’s

First, “Mormon” is a nickname for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members are often referred to as “Mormons,” “Latter-day Saints,” or “LDS.” The term “Saint” means “member.”

Second, the Church was restored in 1830 in upstate New York with Joseph Smith as its first prophet and president. Today it is headquartered in Salt Lake City, with President Gordon B. Hinckley as the present prophet.

Third, there are now over 13 million members in 176 countries and territories. About 6 million of these are in the United States, making us the fourth largest Christian denomination in America. As one of the fastest growing Christian faiths in the world, we complete a new chapel every working day. Members pay a tithe, which is 10 percent of their income, making this and other programs possible.

Fourth, local congregations are led by volunteer, unpaid members. Both men and women serve in assigned leadership positions.

And fifth, Mormons are well represented in politics and government. (In the United States, for example, there are 16 members in Congress, from both political parties.) Members also serve in high and trusted positions throughout the world in business, medicine, law, education, media, sports, and entertainment. Elder M. Russell Ballard

Why are Mormon’s digitizing census records?

This project is being done to allow more access to genealogical records.

http://www.familysearchindexing.org/en/index.jsp

You can volunteer too.

Life before Birth

When I heard this doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints my heart was filled with joy!

I wasn’t just a lump of clay with blood running through it. I was also spirit and a Daughter of God. Not influenced by

mortality only but directly by God.  The Bible teaches us of this pre-earth life in St John 1:1-4:14

1 Inthe beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

 2 The same was in the beginning   with God.

  3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld   his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of  grace and truth.

Then in the Old Testement: Jerimiah 1:

1 Thewords of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that werein  Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:

4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

 5 Before I fomed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sancified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Also in the Book of Mormon, in Mosiah 15:1

1 Andnow Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that come God  himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people.

http://mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/the-restoration-of-truth/god-is-your-loving-heavenly-father

My Story

I wasn’t always a “Mormon” . As a young child I attended Church with the Presbyterians. My Mother was Baptist and my Father a Methodist. I always felt it was a compromise to them to visit the Presbyterians. Still, we attended very sporadically and I was not baptized into this denomination. I appreciate some of the religious training I received within the walls of this fine Church . Other religious experiences occurred at Baptist pre-school ,family funerals and in conversations with family members.
My first Bible was given to me from my maternal Grandmother. I loved the black and red print. I remember looking at the red printed words and being told that was when Jesus was speaking. My heart felt so warm as I looked at them. My most cherished childhood religious experience did not come in a Church. I was about 9 years old. Somewhere , I had heard about atheists. The idea that there was no God bothered me. I remember going fishing on a lake in Colorado with our family. I was hiking on a hillside looking down on the lake. I enjoyed the quiet and peace of the mountains. Then my mind turned to the question of atheism. I spoke out-loud a simple question, “Is there a God?” I immediately felt and heard an answer  “YES”.  The voice was not audible but internal. I realized then that God had answered me.
I had no formal religious experinces for several years. My parents left my home town in Colorado and moved us to California. Eventually, my older brother came to California also. He had become a “Mormon”. This caused him  much pain at the hands of my Mother’s family and conflict with her. For some reason those that were against him were the more religious members of the family. My Father felt we should be allowed our own religion. In this environment my brother shared his new religion with me. At one point he invited me to hear a message from missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (nicknamed Mormons). I remember being taught many things about the purpose of this earth life. One doctrine was so real and true to me. They taught of a pre-mortal existence, a time when we lived in Heaven with God. We were all spirit children of a loving Father who wanted us to progress beyond this safe family experience. Many of our siblings were fighting against His love and each other. God, our Father wanted us to love Him with our own free will. He had a plan to create a mortal existence for all His spirit children. We had a brother there that supported Him named Jesus. He, Jesus would help to guide us home to Heaven and would atone for mistakes we would make through our own fralities. He would inspire us throuth His Spirit, the spirit of Christ and would establish a gospel and Church on the earth.
As soon as I heard that we had lived in Heaven with God I knew it was true and a warm feeling entered my heart.
Still, the missionaries encouraged me to study the Bible and learn more about these things. I read in the New Testament in St John 1: 1-4; 14 : 
   1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
  2 The same was in the beginning with God.
  3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

  4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

This scripture reinforeced what I knew from the Spirit of Christ, that I had a Father in Heaven and I had lived with Him before I came to earth, just as had Jesus.
These missionaries taught me many more things about their Church doctrine. After each lesson they encouraged me to read the Book of Mormon. They said it was also a witness of Jesus Christ just like the Bible. They said it was the record of a group of people who left Jerusalem 600 years before Jesus was born. This group was led by God and one man was the prophet to that group. He spoke to God. This record was compiled by many more leaders and called the Book of Mormon after a prophet that lived 400 years after Jesus was born.  This book contained a hstory of Jesus appearing to this group after He died and was  resurrected.
During this time, I was being taught by the missionaries they were encouraging me to read the whole Book of Mormon and ask God if it was true. At this time my Mother wanted us to visit her parents in Colorado. I was excited to go back and see them. While on this trip I took the Book of Mormon and read it cover to cover. I believed the promise in the last chapter of the book.
Moroni Chap 1:3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

  4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will  manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

  5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

I knelt down and asked a simple question, just as I had when I was 9. In the morning, I awoke to a room filled with light and a voice in my mind that made a statement. The voice said, ” you know that your parents are asleep in their room.” I answered, “yes”. Then another statement came into my mind, “you know that the Book of Mormon is true.” Then as I heard this I felt that same warm feeling in my heart.

I did know as I know that God is in Heaven and Jesus is my brother, that the Book of Mormon is true.