Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Come and See

Media attention has been especially focused on religion and politics of late and the old argument that Mormonism is a cult has resurfaced with increasing intensity. I find it so disheartening that such an intellectually immature claim continues to be touted by men in high standing in the public arena.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often nicknamed the Mormon Church) is a Christian faith, and by that I mean members worship in and believe that Jesus Christ is their Savior. I consider myself a disciple of Christ, meaning that I am trying to follow the example of the Savior and live a life consistent with His teachings, as found in the Bible. I consider the Bible to be the word of God and appreciate the doctrines and teachings of Christ that are recorded there. I belong to a Christ-centered church, not a cult; I worship Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, not Joseph Smith.

In the book of John, in the latter half of chapter 1, Jesus invites the curious Simon and Andrew to "come and see" to learn more of Him and His doctrine. Later Philip invites a skeptical Nathanael to also "come and see" Jesus.

"Come and see" is the open invitation from the book of John that needs to be applied to intelligent acquisition of truth. It is the invitation that needs to be applied in understanding the religious doctrines of any faith. Mormonism, along with all other religions, deserves a thorough, unbiased investigation.

Come and see what the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is by attending Sunday services. Every chapel for worship the world over invites "visitors welcome". Use the church's interactive tool at http://lds.org/maps/ to locate the chapel closest to you.

Come and see what the church leadership teaches in its semi-annual two-day general conference. The conference is broadcast from church headquarters in Salt Lake City and is available on http://lds.org/ in text, audio, and video formats for immediate access.

Come and see how Mormons live their faith all over the world by visiting http://mormon.org/. Watch video profiles of just a sample of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or find a written profile of a Mormon in your hometown.

Come and see how the church strengthens its youth with clear standards of morality and decency at https://lds.org/youth.

Come and see how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints blesses its members through principles of provident living, such as self-reliance, home storage, employment services, and education at http://www.providentliving.org/.

Come and see, use your intellectual reasoning, make a thorough investigation, and then make a judgment based on personal experience, not secondhand hearsay.

1 comments:

Jane said...

You're assuming they actually want to know anything about the church. It's cynical but I have given up believing the media actually wants to tell the truth. They don't. And this is just one more example of it.