1. What happens after we die? Phase I: The Spirit World
2. What happens after we die?  Phase II Universal Resurrection for All: The crowning Act of Christ’s Atonement was Victory Over Physical Death for All Mankind.  Paul’s Description of Resurrected Bodies
3. What happens after we die? Phase III Final Judgment and the Eternal Thereafter.   There are Many Mansions in Heaven with Four Different Real Estate Location Options

For skimmers,  I’ve packed the headings with info.

I recently read an online newspaper article having something to do with Mormons. I can’t remember the topic though it was a fair treatment. In the comments someone posted a snide note about Mormons and their “post mortem second chances and magic underwear.” This was very curious to me.

Maybe it’s because I don’t have a vindictive disposition or maybe it’s because my field of civic education heavily emphasizes teaching youth mutual respect in a pluralistic society, but I just don’t get the practice of deriding things that others hold sacred. You could believe Muhammad was the last prophet, reject modern energy, look forward to the first coming of the Messiah, believe salvation comes through a one-time confession of Jesus, worship rocks, meticulously protect the life of bugs, the list goes on and I’ll respect it as your belief. The eleventh Article of Faith for Latter-day Saints (Mormons) says, “We claim the privilege of worshipping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience; and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where or what they may.” Inherent in that is respect for others’ belief, not just “toleration” (a word I see to describe your attitude toward a fly on the wall).

You’ve already read my post about how Latter-day Saints (Mormons) wear underclothing as a reminder of their covenant with God made in the holy Temple to always remember Jesus Christ and keep His commandments. This post addresses the “post mortem second chances” part of the sneer.

“[Jesus] is the way the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by [Him].” Many people never have the opportunity to accept Jesus and live His gospel. Is it just to consign them to burning in hell when they never had the opportunity to choose? No, it’s not and that’s not how God operates.

What’s the big deal about Jesus? If you’re a good person, why does Jesus matter?

Jesus matters for many reasons, one being because of the tension between mercy and justice. God is our loving Heavenly Father. He loves us in the best way a Father could love a child, only exponentially compounded by His infinite capacity to love. He wants all of His children to both live with Him and reach their eternal potential. He is anxious to look past our weaknesses and give us the power to grow, provided through His Son’s Atonement.  However, justice requires payment for every sin and on our own we don’t have the capital to pay off our debt of sin to live in God’s presence.

Not sure if you’ve sinned?  Sin is falling short of living God’s commandments.  Christ taught that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul and mind and the next greatest is to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:36-40).

Have you ever fallen short of these two commandments?  Then you have sinned and because of justice’s demands you have to provide some kind of payment for sin in order to be free from punishment. (As a side note that could be a whole post, not all sins are equal as it seems mainstream Christianity teaches.  Sex outside of marriage and murder are not equivalent to failing to fully live the first two commandments.) However, you do not have the power to pay for sin enough to cleanse you and enter the presence of God who “cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance” (Doctrine & Covenants 1:31).

So Heavenly Father sent Someone who was able and willing to make payment for sin, Jesus Christ. And unique to Latter-day Saint (Mormon) doctrine, He also took upon Himself the pains and sicknesses of the world in addition to sin, so He would know how to comfort us in our dark places (Alma 7:11-12). Jesus took upon Himself all that came into the world because of the Fall of Adam including sin, sickness, fear, sorrow and more. It is through Jesus Christ that God is fair, though life rarely seems fair. It is through Jesus Christ that Heavenly Father can meet the demands of justice while still extending mercy because Jesus paid the price for sin.

How do we gain access to Jesus’ payment and receive mercy? It is by accepting and living His gospel. After His resurrection, Jesus visited people in America and defined what exactly the good news of the gospel is (maybe He clearly defined it to people in and around Jerusalem and it didn’t survive the record):

“And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end. Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day. Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel…” (3 Nephi 27:19-21).

In short, without Jesus, we are exposed to the demands of justice or in other words we have to pay for our own sins, which is where the burning in hell comes in. If we choose this method of payment instead of utilizing the payment Christ has completed, we cannot eventually overcome and live in God’s presence. We have not the ability to pay for sin enough to cleanse us for God’s kingdom.  We can only gain entrance through the merits of Jesus Christ (2 Nephi 2:6-9).

You can be a good person, but even the best people fall short of the two greatest commandments and possess sin.  Though many things exist in our lives by the grace of God, we activate Christ’s protection from justice’s demands (grace) by accepting Christ’s payment for our personal sins and by accepting His terms as our new Creditor. His terms are to live His gospel (outlined by Him previously).

Once I accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ and began living it fervently, it opened a whole new world of spiritual development for me.  Instead of worrying about what will happen after this life, I’m more concerned with spiritually understanding and growing to acquire more of God’s attributes, such as faith, patience, virtue, love, kindness, knowledge, long-suffering and more. Nothing that I left behind is worth more than a close relationship with Someone willing to pay for my sins and experience my pains and grief so I can have peace in this life and hope for the next, nothing.

Is it strange to you that God requires acceptance of Jesus to escape exposure to the demands of justice (burning in hell) when Christianity reaches only a small portion of the world’s population? Even a smaller portion accesses baptism by His authority as claimed by the Latter-day Saints (Mormons), which is a requirement to live the gospel. That means only a sliver of His children even get the chance to reject or accept Jesus Christ and His gospel. This Wikipedia article doesn’t have statistics, but it shows a listing of world religions.   Christianity is a small part of a long list.

It would not be just of God to condemn His children to be exposed to the demands of justice (burn in hell) when they had no opportunity to escape by accepting Christ and living His gospel.  God judges people according to how they lived with the knowledge they had in mortality. Then after death and before final judgment, if they never had the opportunity to hear about the Way the Truth and the Life, Jesus Christ, and His gospel, they have their first chance to accept it, including baptism.

How? Well, stay with me…

What happens when we die?  Phase I The Spirit World, a temporary place before final judgment where change is still possible. How God makes the strait gate available to all of His children. How you choose to live in mortality matters.

Latter-day Saints (Mormons) accept that God has followed in our time His pattern of calling prophets, just like Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Peter. The Old Testament that we have now is the existing record of what God revealed to ancient prophets.  Revelation to modern prophets in part is contained in a book of scripture called the Doctrine & Covenants. New revelation usually happens when prophets are seeking answers to questions through prayer or pondering the scriptures. For example, Peter was praying on the housetop when the revelation came that the new Christians no longer would follow the previously required dietary code and the gospel could then be taken to the Gentiles (Acts 10:9-18).

Similarly, a Prophet in 1918, Joseph F. Smith, was pondering scriptures because of his young daughter’s death, specifically “reflecting upon the great and atoning sacrifice that was made by the Son of God, for the redemption of the world; And the great and wonderful love made manifest by the Father and the Son in the coming of the Redeemer into the world” (Doctrine & Covenants 138:1-3).

While he was pondering, his mind reverted to the writings of Peter… ‘For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened in the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;  Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” (1 Peter 3:18-20) For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit” (1 Peter 4:6).

He described that as he pondered over these scriptures of the New Testament, a vision opened to him and he saw the spirit world, which is where people go after death. You can read the full recording of the vision here.

What did this Prophet see first in the spirit world? He saw a large gathering of “the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality” (v12).

Why were they gathered? “They were assembled awaiting the advent of the Son of God into the Spirit World” (v16).

When was this visit? It was “limited to the brief time intervening between the crucifixion and his resurrection” (v27).

This meant He was only there for three days because He rose from the tomb three days after He died on the cross. When Jesus told the thief on the cross He would see him in paradise (Luke 23:43) He meant they would be in the spirit world together.

When the Savior appeared to this group what did He say? “He preached to them the everlasting gospel, the doctrine of the resurrection and the redemption of mankind from the fall, and from individual sins on conditions of repentance” (v18-19).

Who did not get to receive a visit from Jesus during his brief visit to the spirit world between His death and resurrection? “But unto the wicked he did not go, and among the ungodly and the repentant who had defiled themselves while in the flesh, his voice was not raised. Neither did the rebellious who rejected the testimonies and the warnings of the ancient prophets behold his presence, nor look upon his face” (v20-21).

What was the state of these people in the spirit world? “Where these were, darkness reigned, but among the righteous there was peace” (v22).

Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus is a description of the division between the righteous and wicked prior to the Savior’s visit to the spirit world.  During this visit, He bridged a gulf between the two.  It  also describes the state of unrest of those who died in their sins (Luke 16:20-25).

How did the people in the spirit world view separation from their bodies? “For the dead had looked upon the long absence of their spirits from their bodies as a bondage” (v50).

If Jesus did not go among the wicked, how did the Son of God preach unto the disobedient spirits in prison from the days of Noah as is recorded in Peter’s writings in 1 Peter 3:18-20; 1Peter 4:6? This modern prophet receiving the vision wondered the same thing, “And as I wondered, my eyes were opened, and my understanding quickened, and I perceived that the Lord went not in person among the wicked and the disobedient who had rejected the truth, to teach them; But behold, from among the righteous, he organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead” (v29-30).

What did these messengers ordained by Christ preach to those who had “died in their sins, without a knowledge of the truth, or in transgression, having rejected the prophets”? (v32)

“These were taught faith in God, repentance from sin, vicarious baptism for the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands” (v33).

“The gospel” as Christ defined for the ancient American Christians , which has been taught since the days of Adam (Moses 6:50-53) is taught in the spirit world.  The gospel, as previously outlined, is 1.Faith in God 2. repentance 3. baptism (by one with God’s authority to baptize) 4. receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. 5. faithfulness unto the end.

What is vicarious baptism?

Vicarious means to act or serve as a substitute for another. Christ’s sacrifice for sin (Atonement) was a vicarious offering. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves and He stood in our place. Vicarious baptism is when someone else is baptized on behalf of someone else whose body and spirit have been separated by death. These vicarious baptisms are conducted in sacred Temples, such as the Washington, D.C. Temple.

The baptismal fonts in Temples have oxen that represent the twelve tribes of Israel.

Paul used the early Church’s practice accepted practice of vicarious baptism as support to persuade his audience (likely the Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection) that there was reason to believe in the resurrection, “Else, what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:29).

Out of God’s mercy, He makes the gospel of Jesus Christ, including the ordinances of baptism and confirmation performed by His authority, available to all of His children, regardless of their circumstance in mortality. For some, it is made available in the spirit world because they rejected it in mortality. This is the case for the disobedient spirits that Peter described and Joseph F. Smith saw. For others it is a first chance to accept the gospel, which they hear for the first time from missionaries ordained by Christ during His brief visit in the spirit world. If it is rejected in mortality, but accepted in the spirit world, the final reward is a peaceful place that is not with both God and Jesus Christ (this will be explained in more detail in sections below). If it is their first chance, eternal life with God and Jesus Christ is still possible and they are judged by how they lived with the amount of knowledge they had. But everyone must accept the gospel (faith in Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost and faithfulness), in order to enter His presence.

Latter-day Saints (Mormons) trace their family history to perform these ordinances for their ancestors. These people in the spirit world then have the opportunity to accept the ordinances or decline them.  God forces no one to accept His gospel. Ultimately, everyone who ever lived on the earth will have an opportunity for receive Christ’s gospel and its ordinance by proper authority.

What do Mormons mean when they say baptism has to be by one with authority?

At the death of the Apostles and after Christ’s ascension into heaven, the authority given by Christ to perform ordinances of the gospel namely baptism and confirmation of the Holy Ghost was lost from the earth. The authority, called the priesthood, was dispensed again when John the Baptist, the same who baptized Jesus Christ, personally visited Joseph Smith and ordained him to the priesthood (JSH 1:66-75).

Thomas Griffith, an LDS judge on the D.C. circuit court of appeals explained the restoration of priesthood authority in this way in a Harvard lecture on Mormonism:

Latter-day Saints call the reestablishment of Christ’s Church in modern               times the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Mormonism views                  itself as the successor of Christ’s New Testament Church, which lost its way shortly after its founding by Christ  and apostolic leadership. Central to the Restoration, ancient prophets and apostles, now resurrected came in bodily form—not in apparition—to Joseph Smith and to others and gave them priesthood authority to organize anew Christ’s Church. John the Baptist, Peter, James and Johan, Moses, Elijah and other ancient worthies visited Joseph Smith and conferred on him this authority, which has remained with the Church since. In Mormon teaching, this priesthood link to Christ gives vitality to the ordinances of the Church and facilitates current revelation to its current apostolic leadership.

But I’ve already been baptized in such and such church…

Just within the past few weeks I was sitting in my Religion and Society class at Georgetown University. My professor is a Jesuit trained Catholic priest who I’ve come to feel privileged to get to learn from his insights and experience. Our focus is Latin America.  While we were discussing the affects of immigration to the States on worship, he described how it mattered little to go from a Presbyterian church to the Catholic to the Methodist because they each recognize the others’ baptism. In this context, he said that it is very offensive to these Christians when churches require re-baptism because it is essentially saying that the previous baptism was not enough. I think he was thinking about the Pentecostals at the time, but the latter half of our session was going to address the Mormons.

Then my mind turned to the lesson I attended the previous week with the missionaries who were teaching a very impressive spiritual man who recognized that God was directing him to participate in the Church, but did not understand why he would have to be baptized again.  The missionaries then spoke again of John the Baptist’s personal visit to Joseph Smith to ordain him to the priesthood, which then enabled him to ordain others.

Latter-day Saints respect churches that emerged during the time period between the loss of priesthood authority with the death of the apostles and the restoration of the priesthood in the 1820s as preparatory for Christ to restore His original Church.  Without their existence, especially without the Protestant Reformation, the world would know very little about Christ or any of His commandments.  Latter-day Saints (Mormons) view these churches as stepping stones to prepare people to receive the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which includes baptism by someone who can trace their line of authority back to John the Baptist or Peter James and John.  Latter day Saints (Mormons) believe that in order for baptism to be binding on earth and in heaven, it must be by God’s authority, which He has restored as previously described (Doctrine & Covenants 128:9). If it is not by God’s authority, it would only be binding on earth.

But no offense is intended.

I’m unclear how other churches claim authority to baptize. I know the Catholic church claims authority back to Peter, but in terms of other churches’ claim to officiate in ordinances, it’s something I’d like to learn more about.

So I can do whatever I want in mortality and then make it to heaven?

No, God doesn’t work that way.  I’ll develop this more in part III:

What happens after we die? Phase III Final judgment and the Eternal Thereafter.     There are Many Mansions in Heaven with Four Different Real Estate Location Options

But for now, there are four possible final locations in the afterlife.  Heaven is divided into three kingdoms and the fourth is where Satan lives in outer darkness. The best kingdom in heaven is where Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father live, and the faithful. The faithful are described as:

They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which was given—That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power; And who overcome by faith and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who  are just and true.” (Doctrine & Covenants 76:51-53)

It is is this section of heaven, where the faithful live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, that family relationships exist beyond mortality and into eternity. In other words, the faithful have eternal relationships of mother, father, sister, brother, husband, wife, son and daughter.

What about the people who knew about the gospel, but rejected it in mortality and then accepted it in the spirit world?  In other words, they preferred promiscuity, substance abuse, pride and other deviousness instead of faithful living even when they knew better, but then accepted Christ and His gospel in the spirit world.

They ultimately settle in a peaceful place whose glory differs from the place of the faithful “even as that of the moon differs from the sun” (v71).

They who are the spirits of men [meaning mankind] kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh; who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it. These are they who are the honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men. These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his  fullness…These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus…” (v73-76,79)

This and the third division of heaven contain most of the earth’s population.  The third division is for those who never accept Christ in the spirit world and suffer for their sins for a thousand years with Satan while Christ reigns personally on the earth.  So there is an end to their torment, but it’s a long time to suffer weeping and waling and gnashing of teeth. I’ll develop this more in the forthcoming post. In neither of these divisions of heaven do family units exist. Only the highest division, with God and Jesus, is the family continued beyond mortality.

Faithfulness to God is not something that most of the earth’s population chooses, but as this whole post explains, God is merciful by making it available to His children, even though He knows “strait is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it: (Matthew 7:14).

What about people who were faithfully Muslim, Catholic, Buddhist, Baptist, Jain, Baptist, Jehovah’s Witness, Seventh Day Adventist, etc and lived faithfully to their religion and knowledge and then learned about the fullness of Jesus’ gospel from missionaries in the spirit world?

I wondered this a lot when I was a missionary in Texas where people are so faithfully Baptist and their preachers scare their congregations with a great deal of misinformation (some of it’s true and twisted, some of it simply isn’t true). Then there were other faithful people who were satisfied in their own churches and did not know about a restoration of priesthood authority and viewed the claim of modern revelation through Apostles and Prophets today as false prophets.

I’d also frequently wonder about Muslim countries and China where it’s illegal to proselyte.

Joseph Smith recorded a revelation, which I think applies to  this:

“Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God [the highest part of heaven]; Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom; For I, the Lord will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts” (Doctrine & Covenants 137:7-9).

So the catch is, that they have to receive the fullness of Christ’s gospel in the spirit world. By that I mean, enter into a covenant relationship with God by baptism by proper authority and receive the Holy Ghost to be sanctified and live faithfully to His commandments and continue to repent. Some of these faithful people, even in the spirit world, will continue to hold to their mortal beliefs.  In this case, my interpretation is that they will receive the peaceful place of the second division of heaven, but not the highest. But for those who truly love God and want to obey Him, He provides a way for them to choose to accept His gospel without penalizing them for their life circumstances.  He rewards them for living well to their knowledge and provides a way for them to accept the fullness.

He is so merciful.

What about little children who die?

“And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of          accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven” (v10).

Doesn’t God accept me as I am? Why does it matter how I live? The purpose of mortality.

In my Religion and Society class at Georgetown University, the professor gave me a few minutes to answer questions from the class about Mormons.  The class was more than politely attentive, they seemed riveted with what I was saying regarding the religion’s requirements.  I described commandments that was my assumption most religious people lived, which each of them were, so I was somewhat surprised with their amazement. I described keeping the Sabbath day holy, which is to lay aside the things of the world as much as possible to worship the Lord the whole day on Sunday. I don’t go shopping or plan recreation, I make it a day of worship.  I live the Law of Chastity, which I’ve already explained in a prervious post. It means that I’m 27 and still waiting for the man to want me enough to be his forever as my husband. I live the modern health requirements, which the Lord revealed through Joseph Smith (Doctrine & Covenants 89). This means I don’t drink alcohol and never have, not even wine at dinner. This means that I constantly rely on the Savior to repent of un-Christian feelings in my heart or thoughts in my head. This means I honor my father and mother and I don’t take the Lord’s name in vain.  When reading online dialogue, I try to skip over its currently trendy abbreviation and I’m even trying to eliminate “Oh my Gosh” from my vocabulary. It means I make space in my life for quality scripture study and prayer and other spiritual ventures and commandment keeping.

Why all the hassle? Doesn’t God accept me as I am?

Some people judge obedience to the commandments as trying to get into heaven by works.  This is a misconception of the Latter-day Saint (Mormon) faith, which I suspect comes from viewing it through the lens of mainstream Christian teaching that salvation comes by a one time event through a confession of Jesus (Romans 10:9-10).

Latter-day Saints (Mormons) believe the purpose of mortality is to experience the process of change enabled by Jesus Christ. In other words, they believe that salvation is a process of putting off the natural man and becoming a saint through the atonement of Jesus Christ (Mosiah 3:19).

Latter-day Saints (Mormons) are more interested in the sanctification process of living the covenant relationship started at baptism. As they keep their commitment, they receive a greater portion of the Holy Ghost, which purifies the heart and purges sin (3 Nephi 27: 19-21).

Christ enables the process of keeping the commandments.  Every time I get better at keeping the commandments, I receive a greater portion of the Spirit, which purifies my heart and draws me closer to Christ.  For example, I always observe the Sabbath day, but some Sundays, my heart and mind are more worshipful and I put more effort in focusing on Christ as I take the Sacrament, which is His Last Supper. As I focus on Christ, He gives me the  power to better keep the commandments (Helaman 14:13). I progress spiritually and learn more about His mysteries. (Remember the two greatest commandments mentioned previously? That’s a process to keep those. I can’t do it completely yet. He enables me to do what I can now.)

Through this process of sanctification, I come to know God (John 17:3).

Latter-day Saints (Mormons) are less interested in just making it to heaven in the mainstream Christian view of salvation and more interested in coming to know God and becoming more holy. He shares His holiness with those who seek Him  (Doctrine & Covenants 88:63).

It’s a process for everyone.  No matter where you are, there’s always a beginning and God gives you the power to do it.  You give Him all that is really yours to give, your heart and mind which comprise your will.

So, yes, God accepts me as I am and by living the gospel of Jesus Christ He enables me to become more like He is (Matthew 5:48).

Perhaps one reason for my generation’s trend away from organized religious affiliation is because they are disillusioned by indirect answers.  Google readily delivers straight answers to their straight questions and most well established religious organizations sanitize their message. I don’t fault my peers’ dissatisfaction because frankly, I feel it myself.

But, the truth is that when God works with humans, it’s a process and it’s messy.  It’s been an arduous process to reach the level of spirituality I enjoy now and I have felt God was working through me, but my wrestling is laden with my imperfection. Therefore, the history of God’s dealing with mankind is similarly flawed. When spiritual leaders with good intention, smooth over the messiness I understand the angst of a twenty something who feels like saying “Dude, you’re not telling me the whole story.”

But I have found no one tells the whole story. They can’t. The whole story comes through wrestling and I don’t have a complete picture yet. And I don’t always end up with the answer I expected or a conclusion that is certain, but I always gain peace through the Holy Spirit’s process.

This brings me to a concept with which I am still struggling. Doubt it seems is a four letter word in circles actively promoting faith. But questioning has deepened my faith. I have found that it’s through taking questions to God and receiving communication from Him that I’ve gained not only a certainty that He exists, but an understanding of His nature that endears me to Him and persuades me to obedience and service. In other words, it is through questioning that I know God.

So where does doubt fit in?  The Lord said to an ancient American prophet, “And whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto him will I confirm my words, even unto the ends of the earth” (Mormon 9:25).  So, I’m confused.

I’m opening this up to the diversity of opinion accessible in an online forum and personally remaining open to your thoughts. How can I doubt nothing when it is through questioning that my faith has substance?

(On Twitter?  I’m interested in following you http://twitter.com/EleeshaT)

“Modern Love? The full time mission is for acquiring and sharing Christ-like love of the nonromantic variety.  You knew that when you volunteered and agreed to pay your own way.”

“All I Wanted Was a Hug,” was the title of the New York Times Modern Love article that had my eyes rolling back into their sockets. The writer’s point was that as a full time missionary for Christ’s restored gospel in Taiwan, she felt isolated and misunderstood and would have found solace in the arms of her favorite male missionary, but the unjust “system,” as she called it, forbade it. I was really annoyed with this most recent “expose” of Mormon Missions because it completely missed the point.  There seems to be a great deal of attention on what missionaries can’t do. But “the system” or the guidelines for operating missions around the world is designed to enable the missionaries to focus as much as possible on their purpose, which is to “Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end” (Preach My Gospel, p 1).

As a result of placing my heart, hopes, thoughts and determination in fulfilling this purpose as a full time missionary myself,  I was able to experience heightened spiritual power.  The Holy Ghost moved through me in a way I could not have anticipated.  To cheapen it with a pop culture comparison, it was like becoming a Yoda in terms of attunement with “the force.” All around me, I could understand and feel how “all things denote there is a God” (Alma 30:44) and as I drew closer to Christ, I felt a new and deepened grief for the enslavement of sin on mankind.  There were times when the Holy Ghost pressed so heavily, but gently on my mind and heart that I knew with clarity the specific message the Lord wanted me to say to one of His children. Then, I would use my own words to convey God’s words. What an incredible privilege.

If I wasn’t praying in my heart, I was testifying of God’s goodness or talking with my partner, called a “companion,” about some gospel principle or visiting someone with the purpose of lifting them up and drawing them closer to Christ. In short, so what if I had to put my personal romantic pursuits on hold?  Now that I’m in full swing in that season of my life, it occupies more of my prime thinking time than would be ideal for me. (I’d really like to make  it a priority without it sucking up valuable brain-space. Is that possible?)  If I was thinking about seeking male affection, it would have undermined my ability to give so much of my mind and heart to the benefit of others and I would have missed out on the heaven-meets-earth experience of becoming an instrument in the hand of God as I did. I wouldn’t have been able to receive the message over the thoughts of “Does he like me? So, when he said this to me, did he mean this or this…Am I reading too much into this?  He mentioned his ex girlfriend. Is he not over her?..This missionary wardrobe is not exactly catch-a-man attire…” And a thousand other fluffy and unimportant thoughts that go along with the dating process. Receiving revelation from God, takes mastery of the mind and heart and offering both to God with dedicated and consistent effort. After a space of work and then during more work, He then pours out His grace.  Giving up “Modern Love” for a brief time is a wise part of “the system” for sharing the gospel when young missionaries are still learning how to speak the language of the Spirit.

For 18 months, as a full time missionary, I did not date, I talked to my family on the phone twice a year and wrote home once a week, I didn’t read the news or consume any other media, I slept from 10:30pm to 6:30 am where I would then exercise, shower, dress, study the scriptures personally for one hour, and then with my companion for one hour. Then we went out into the world 24/7 from 10 am to 9 pm (with an hour for lunch and an hour for dinner) to share the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  As a result of this work, focus and turning my mind and heart over to God as much as I possibly could, He blessed me with a greater portion of His grace. I developed an impulse for charity and compassion that I still maintain now.

I knew I was giving up affection from the men-folk in order to give everything to the purpose of bringing others unto Christ. Every missionary knows that. The temporary delay was worth it to teach me the level of spirituality that is possible to be attained in this life. Now my struggle is still enjoying that degree of the companionship of the Holy Ghost while I have life’s distractions of making a living, dating and suffering the bombardment of the images of the world that missionaries can escape thanks to “the system.”

The Grinch’s Heart Grew 3 Sizes Over Many Days. The Reformation of My Compassion

As a missionary,  I corresponded with Heavenly Father in many sincere prayers to fill me with His love (charity),  which He bestows upon all who are true followers of His Son Jesus Christ (Moroni 7:48).  He definitely answered those prayers in a difficult, but wonderful way. When we pray for blessings, God provides us with the opportunity to grow so we can receive the blessing.  This includes making us aware of our weaknesses so we can fix them with His help, enabled by His grace.

I trace the beginning of this particular weakness to seventh grade, though I suspect my personality traits, which I possessed even in the premortal existence, also contribute. Middle School was horrible for everyone, wasn’t it? It was definitely horrible for me. My parents almost divorced when I was in seventh grade and I was not emotionally mature enough to assess the situation and draw anything good out of it.  I was frustrated, very angry and embarrassed that everyone knew. (In my mind they did anyway, couldn’t they see the neon sign hanging over me?) I was also scared of the life ahead where I was going to have to choose which parent to live with.

The way I ended up handling it was becoming emotionally unavailable. That’s right, I decided not to feel.  I’d already sowed the seeds for this the previous year when my young aunt died in a tragic car accident and to deal with the pain I decided not to feel. I remember my mindset at her funeral as I prevented any tears. But the sad part is by choosing to cope in this way, I robbed myself of loving deeply for my latter growing up years.  I would still get excited over volleyball and softball games, but I wouldn’t tell my family I loved them and if anyone wanted to get close to me, it was usually after their effort and patience, not mine. (Poor guys who dated me in my early college days. Can you say an ice princess?)  I used to admire how compassionate my Mom was and wondered how that virtue missed me. I had no idea I lacked compassion because of my own choice.

Then I became a missionary.  As I was praying to receive charity, the pure love of Christ, for all of God’s children, I started to receive it. Only it was painful.  Years of blocking off my heart made it difficult to feel love so deeply. When people would listen to our message for a time and then ask us never to come back because they were afraid of what the neighbors would think if they “became Mormon,” it cut me deeply.  “Shouldn’t they care more about what God thinks?” I would ask myself as I struggled with the grief. They didn’t know what they were rejecting. In a way, I felt a bit of Christ’s disappointment as I was beginning to love as He did. Other experiences deepened my capacity to love, but also sharpened pain’s bitterness.  I wonder how God does it. He perfectly loves with a depth that is unimaginable, which means His capacity to feel pain is horrendously poignant.

As I willingly, received the gift of charity He was extending to me as a result of my sincere and frequent petitions for it, I realized one day I was like Dr. Seuss’ the Grinch:

“And what happened then? Well, in Whoville they say that the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day. And then – the true meaning of Christmas came through, and the Grinch found the strength of *ten*Grinches, plus two!”

The Grinch was learning the meaning of Christmas, but I was learning the meaning of Him whose day Christmas is.  I received from the hand of my God His gifts of charity and compassion as I sought them and found the strength of the merciful God of Israel. As mentioned before, I developed an impulse for charity and compassion that I still now retain. But these gifts have short shelf life.  A quality relationship with God and receiving specific gifts from His hand requires constant nurturing through prayer, scripture study, service, devotion and effort.  I learned these patterns best as a missionary and I apply them in my life now. What a privilege it was to focus 100% on building His kingdom for that special and short time in my life. And with those experiences, I move forward with a life full of blessings, frequently drawing upon and expanding what the Holy Ghost taught me as a missionary.  I have yet to experience “Modern Love” that compares, but I expect that eternal love will.;)

(Learning this was a turning point for me. I now believe emotional health influences our ability to enjoy spirituality or the fruits of the Spirit because God uses the mind and heart to communicate with us (Doctrine & Covenants 8:2-3).  If someone is suffering from depression or hang ups like I had, it may be difficult to feel and understand messages from the Holy Ghost.  Since my full time mission experience, I’ve made great efforts to become emotionally literate and it has greatly influenced my quality of life. I recommend plumbing out your subconscious with the Lord. By doing so, I become transparent before Him and more like His Son as I offer to willingly and  painfully work on my weaknesses by His grace.)

Mormon Missionary Message: Christ’s New Testament Church is Restored

“So, what is it that “Mormon Missionaries” share?” Representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bring a message of full access to the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  His gospel is the formula for us to overcome the effects of the Fall of Adam. His gospel includes entering into a covenant relationship with Him to fully receive the blessings of His Atonement, namely faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins by one with God’s authority and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and continuing faithful by living God’s commandments. The crowning ordinance of the gospel of Jesus Christ is for the family to be sealed by His authority in His Holy Temple, so they will continue as a family unit in the next life.

Christ established a Church during His mortal ministry, but it was lost after His ascension into heaven and with the deaths of Peter, the Prophet in Christ’s physical absence, and the Apostles. Some people still continued to believe in Christ and what would become the Bible was eventually canonized over 300 years later, but the actual New Testament Church with living revelation through Apostles and Prophets, pure doctrine and the authority to administer ordinances, which would enter the willing into a covenant relationship with God was no longer on the Earth.  The unique message of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that Christ has restored His New Testament Church to the Earth with correct doctrine, living Prophets and Apostles and the authority to administer ordinances. Other religious practices have elements and different degrees of truth and are preparatory to bring Heavenly Father’s children to Christ’s Church with the authority to perform the ordinances of the gospel and enable Father’s children to enter into a covenant with Him.

During New Testament times, Christ gave the mandate to, “Go ye therefore, teaching all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19). He has given similar direction in our time in His restored Church, hence the “Mormon Missionaries” knocking at your door.

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When I grow weary of something, I usually try to lighten my load with humor.  I’m my own best audience. I think I’m hilarious.  So, I was amusing myself with some parallels with dating and missionary work when I remembered a talk I gave in Church almost 2 years ago.  I was in a congregation (known as a “ward”) completely comprised of single students at Brigham Young University.  This talk includes a large section on dating.

Sometimes I push myself to exercise courage. Once I decide to do something, even if it makes me uncomfortable, I just move forward.  In hindsight, I think this was one of the those occasions.  What was I thinking???? Maybe it helped someone and maybe it will help you.  It for sure helped me. In the mean time, my courage muscles are getting some exercise.  Heaven knows you need a lot of courage in dating.

You can read my somewhat “gutsy” (as one person called me on a particular occasion that required a lot of courage) talk entitled “Matters of the Mind and Heart.”

It’s formatted for myself as the audience, arranged and colored so I can present it as a talk instead of reading it word for word. May the format not offend you and may you become the greatest advisor to your single friends.

I expect a note of gratitude from you when this revolutionizes your world.:)

My best wishes to you and yours!

MollyMormon

PS  I was moved to post this talk tonight after watching this video.  It should have made me laugh, but it made me really sad.  Dating is really difficult and gets more difficult as you get older and the dating pool shrinks.  I need reminders to exercise faith sometimes.

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FHE for a late Presidents’ Day in the DC 2nd ward

Powerpoint

Outline

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“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample  them under their feet and turn again and rend you” (Matt 7:6). This scripture has frequently come to my mind as I’ve been deciding how to write blog posts.  Faith, its inception and expansion, is sacred and deeply personal.  In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, nicknamed the Mormon Church by the public, the practice is to keep sacred things sacred by not talking too casually about them in trusted company or by only sharing such things with people who will in the very least not degrade or despise them. The universal (on one side of the digital divide, anyway) reach of the Internet brings in unique dynamics in keeping sacred things sacred.  Do faithful Mormons not post about anything sacred because of who may respond from this general audience?

All that is a lead up for me to say I’ve thoughtfully considered how specific to be in this particular post. Perhaps my immediate detachment from personally facing a very general audience contributes to my audacity, but candor is usually my preference anyway.  Therefore, I’m accepting that I am throwing my personal sacred things to some people who may act like “dogs” or “swine,” but my greater purpose is to provide a case that others can use as precedent for their own spiritual growth. “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34) . What He has done for me, He is willing and anxious to do for all of His children, if they are willing to pay the price.

Now, allow me to share with you candidly, but not completely, the price I have paid and that I am continuing to pay to know God (John 17:3).  Perhaps you too will take first steps or be renewed in efforts to know Him better.

Self Honesty

Self honesty is something that has been part of my personal make up for as long as I can remember.  After being honest with myself, this beneficial self-centeredness led me to honesty with the Lord and then with others. Like every strength, it has probably also been my worst weakness. As a teenager, I didn’t want people to “sugarcoat” things for me and I in turn didn’t want to sugarcoat it for others. I wanted it direct and straight in both directions. Because of this, in my immaturity, I not infrequently delivered offense.  Now, as I’ve matured, I’ve often been accused of being “diplomatic,” which is my more kind approach to still being honest and not betraying myself while still being courteous of others’ feelings.

I believe it was this trait that led me to early spiritual exploration and commitment.

During high school, I was attending “seminary”, which was a 6:00 am hour long scripture study class before school.  Also at that time, one of my favorite things to do was to have scriptural talks with my Dad; as a result, I tended to be more familiar with the scriptures than my peers. This led me to frequent religious discussions at school where I was defaulted as some kind of authority. After a while, I began to be uncomfortable. I believed the things I was saying, but I didn’t know they were true.  I feared I was being dishonest with myself and misleading others by confidently sharing things that I only just believed.

As if inherently, I knew there was a God and I knew His Son Jesus Christ came into the world to meet the Universe’s demand of justice and offer mercy to those who would accept Him. I believe this was the result of many many lessons in my home and at Church where I learned these truths. The Holy Spirit had confirmed this reality to me in a subtle, gradual and undetectable way.  What made me so uncomfortable was the claim that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the Lord’s restored New Testament Church on the earth in our time.  I was worried I believed this only because my parents had taught it to me.  After some time of thinking it over, I decided I needed to investigate this for myself. I believed through prayer and “doing my homework” God would help me find His Church.

I rejected the mainstream Christian belief that the “church” today is all the believers in Christ in various churches across the earth (a reference based on 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 from what I could tell). Though I by no means discounted their faith in the Savior, I didn’t believe this aligned with how Christ set up His Church during His mortal ministry. Further, it seemed contrary to God’s nature to me to have a “church” that conflicted on so many points of basic doctrine as did Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals, Seventh Day Adventists, Nondenominationals and other Christian churches.  I believed God must have an accurate communication of His doctrine in at least one of the many churches on earth. Hence, I believed that God’s Church was  on the earth.  Even if it broke my parents’ hearts I was going to find it and unite myself with it. At fifteen years old, I had to know and I was willing to do the work so that I could know. Once I knew, I intended to be true to that knowledge for the rest of my life.

The Price for Personal Revelation: Doing My Homework

Because I knew there was a God and  His Son Jesus Christ was the Savior of the world, which all these churches taught, and they all believed the Bible, though there were many translations, I focused my efforts on the Book of Mormon because it set apart the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from all the other Christian churches. I started reading it intently and asking God to help me know if His hand was involved in bringing it to the public. I figured it was either/or. It was brought forth by the gift and power of God or it wasn’t.  If it was, it was evidence that God had restored His New Testament Church to the earth and it was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If it wasn’t, it was a fraud and it would be eliminated from the possible ranks of being Christ’s Church on the earth and I would have more searching to do.  If the latter was the case, I would view its members as very nice, but unfortunately misguided people.

Over the course of several months, knowing how God felt about the Book of Mormon constantly consumed my discretionary thoughts.  If I wasn’t focusing on school work or whatever sport I was playing, I was pondering what I had read in the Book of Mormon. Reading about Abinadi (A-ben-a-die) became my favorite to a point.  I’d previously read how Lehi brought his family out of Jerusalem before its destruction during the time of Jeremiah and they brought with them the practice of the Law of Moses.  I liked how the wicked king arrested Abinadi for preaching of Christ and that the wicked king’s court had perverted the Law of Moses, which purpose was to point the minds and hearts of the people to Christ.  I liked how Abinadi’s death seemed inevitable, but he boldly taught the corrupt court about the mercy found in Jesus Christ.  I felt my own faith in Christ strengthening. Other stories of faith-filled people strengthened my faith. Then ultimately, I came to the climax of the Book of Mormon where the resurrected Jesus Christ appeared to the ancient American Christians, recorded in 3 Nephi 11.They knew He would be born near Jerusalem, the land from which their forefathers had come and He finally came to them!  I was rejoicing with those in the record as I read.  I loved reading how He blessed the children individually (3 Nephi 17). This Christ was the same Jesus Christ who I’d come to know for myself personally, the Author and Finisher of my faith.

Personal Revelation: The Process and the WOW

By the time I came to the closing pages of the Book of Mormon, I believed that book was of God because of the Holy Spirit which came to stay with me as I hungrily read and pondered the content of its pages and because of the expanded faith I then enjoyed.  But, could I say that I knew?  Though I felt like I’d been blessed, I only believed it strongly. I still could not say that I knew.

In the closing pages of the Book of Mormon, the last prophet to write in the record, Moroni, (More-ron-eye) describes a formula for receiving personal revelation. If when I “received these things” meaning the Book of Mormon, if I would 1. ask God 2. with a sincere heart 3. real intent (meaning willing to act on the answer) 4. having faith in Christ, He would “manifest the truth of it unto [me] by the power of the Holy Ghost” (Moroni 10:4). Check, check, check and check. So what else should I do, just wait?  I continued to ask God, urgently. I wanted, no I needed to know.

Then WOW. One night still at fifteen years old, while I was on my knees, again praying that He could please help me to know that the Book of Mormon was sent from Him, I felt my thoughts quickly enlighten and then it was as if someone had poured a pitcher of warm water over the crown of my head flowing to every part of my body all the way down to my toes.  I don’t have words to accurately represent it, but it felt like liquid love or joy filling my body completely. I’m not sure how long this went on until I suddenly became scared. I knew Satan was a great deceiver and I worried at this cross-roads moment for me, he would deceive me if he could. But this was different from a false masquerade 1 Corinthians 11:14. I had the idea come to me that Satan could pretend to be an angel of light, but he could not create peace, which is what I was feeling throughout my body. Further, I thought it was contrary to Satan’s nature and mission to strengthen me in my resolve to live for Jesus Christ and that is just what this experience was doing.  It was as if my nature was changing.  I no longer had a desire to sin, but I wanted to live as purely and as faithfully as I possibly could.  God had made me a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17) and in the process had helped me to know His New Testament Church was restored in my time.  Ends up, I was already a part of  it. The Book of Mormon, which He brought forth through a modern prophet was evidence of this message of a restoration.

I believe this instance was what the scriptures call “baptism of fire” which follows baptism by immersion for the remission of sins by one with authority and the ordinance of laying of hands to confer the gift of the Holy Ghost. I received these ordinances when I was eight years old and seven years later my baptism of fire occurred after much petition. Many, I may dare say most, do not have a single event for their baptism of fire, but an undetectable gradual process (3 Nephi 920). I believe because God knew I would best benefit from a direct and straightforward answer and because I petitioned Him so much for it, He worked with in a way that best fit my personality and needs. He knows me so well. Also, I believe God is sparing with such blessings because it suddenly made me accountable to live according to the knowledge He gave me. That’s why, I believe, such experiences require relentless and urgent imploring. I believe that God will do the same for ANYONE who similarly seeks after Him.  What spiritual experiences have you sought by the hand of the Lord?  Do you want similar kinds of experiences so that you can know God?

Earnest of the Spirit

“[God] hath also sealed us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:22).  In legal terms, an earnest payment is a large sum a purchaser offers to demonstrate a commitment. The purchaser completes the payment with a much larger amount at a following date.  I’m unsure if this is how Paul was using this term, but it fits well for my experience.  I believe that God was showing me in a very personal way the kind of joy experienced while living in His presence.  This “earnest of the Spirit” was only a small taste of what lies ahead for me as I am faithful to Him.

Still Believing and Living as a Disciple of Christ: Life in Between Spiritual Experiences

I have had other powerful spiritual experiences in my life, but none as deep and to the magnitude of this one time event. I believe these occasions are rare because my faith expands as I have the opportunity to make decisions in accordance with the knowledge God has already given me.  Discipleship takes work, but work where the pay off from God (grace) is far greater than any investment on my part. I daily come to know God as I, with gratitude, remember, remember, remember and choose to live His commandments. What About You?

Do you know God?  Do you want to better know Him?  What kind of work are you willing to do so He will pour out His grace in answer? Are you willing to seek with real intent, meaning live according to the answer He gives?  Are you willing to sincerely exercise faith in Christ, even if your faith is only the desire to have faith? What sins are you willing to give up to better know Him? When I employ my self honesty, I realize that though I know He is real and His Son offers an escape from my current sins, there is much I still need to change in order to receive a greater portion of grace and know Him better.  I have learned that God wants most for me to offer Him my sins, my heart and my mind. In return He is making of me something far better than I could ever do on my own.  That is why I continue to trust Him as a disciple and continue to “pay the price” to increase in His confidence. Whatever it is that I am holding on to, it is worth giving up to better know God. What about you?

Past posts:

Mormons and Sex: Living the Law of Chastity

Mormon Underwear: A Constant Personal Reminder to Remember Jesus Christ and to Keep His Commandments

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Upcoming posts:

A Mormon Perspective of George Washington and the American Founding

Baptisms for the Dead, The Gospel of Jesus Christ, Life after death, Heaven/Hell, neither or both?

Mormons, Marriage, Motherhood and Prop 8

Mormon Missions: “Do Mormons serve missions to earn their way into heaven?”

Are Mormons Christian? The “Real Jesus”, Grace and Works

The public also often views “Mormon Temples” as secret and exclusive places because a person must be a baptized member of the Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints and currently be living the commandments to enter. Plus, members do not talk about the specifics of Temple ordinances outside of the Temple. However, Temples are not secret, but sacred and Mormons want everyone to prepare themselves by baptism and commandment keeping to be able to worship there. It is literally the House of the Lord.

“So, what is done in a Mormon Temple ceremony? What is this Mormon underwear all about?”

In an endowment ceremony Church members strengthen their commitment made at baptism to keep the commandments. At baptism, Mormons promise to “mourn with those that mourn” and to “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places” (Mosiah 18:8-10).

The practice of baptism as an ordinance was given to Adam and Eve as part of the process to overcome their fallen state. They first were instructed to repent and believe in Jesus Christ, be baptized and they would receive the Holy Ghost” (Moses 6:57-61).  God is consistent with His formula of overcoming the Fall, therefore in our time we too exercise faith in Jesus Christ, repent, are baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost as the first steps to overcoming our fallen state.

As the Lord prepared Adam and Eve to exit the comfort of the Garden of Eden and enter the challenges of the world, He made “coats of skins” as a covering for them (Genesis 3:21). Where did the coats come from? They likely came from a lamb that was offered as a sacrifice that Adam would later learn symbolized the Savior (Moses 5:4-8).  Any time that God has had His gospel in its fullness on the earth, He has introduced wearing the garment among His people.

In the endowment ceremony held only in the Temple, members strengthen their promises made at baptism and are symbolically clothed in the garment as a constant reminder to them to keep their promises or covenants.

Then, during the weekly Church Sunday services held in chapels, members renew their promises made with God by taking the Sacrament or “Lord’s Supper.” By doing so members “witness” unto God “that they are willing to take upon them the name of [Christ], and always remember him and keep his commandments” (Doctrine and Covenants 20:7).

What!?! Always remember Him? How is that done in the daily grind? God is a Master teacher. He designed the garment as a very personal reminder to help His children remember, remember, remember the two way covenants they have made with Him. God is perfect and faithful in keeping His end of a covenant (Alma 37:17).  His children need help keeping their end. He designed the garment to be a help.

Specs and Guidelines for Faithful Members in Wearing the Garment

Guidelines for wearing the garment are best explained in “The Temple Garment: An Outward Expression of An Inward commitment”

• The garment is a sacred reminder of Jesus Christ and the covenant to live His commandments. Treat them as such.
  • Pictures of the garment on the Internet (or other mistreatment) are extremely offensive to members who understand its sacred purpose.
• Avoid placing it in a position where it can be mocked. It is sacred.
• Keep it covered.
• Wearing it properly fosters modesty.
• The tops have short sleeves and the bottoms fall a little above the knee.
• It should not be cut or altered to follow the fashions of the world.
• When worn faithfully and properly, it will be a shield and a protection.
• It should be worn night and day.  In activities where the garment cannot be worn, like in swimming or athletics, it should be restored quickly instead of lounging around without wearing them. We should look for occasions to wear it, not to take it off.
• It is associated with the endowment ceremony (“Mormon Temple Ceremony”), which members receive when going on missions, getting married or when they consider themselves spiritually prepared to strengthen their commitment to the Lord they made at baptism.

My personal practice

Preparing since my youth. The standards of modesty in dress for the Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints stem from the coverage established by the garment. As a teenager, my shirts always had sleeves and the hem of my shorts fell closer to my knees than my hip sockets. I even designed my own prom dresses and had them made because it was practically impossible at the time to find modest prom dresses that were not the epitome of frumpiness. As a teenager, my early commitment to modesty taught me to put the Lord first before the changing trends of the world. It probably benefited my heart more than it benefited anyone’s eyes. I didn’t have to change how I dressed when I received my endowment (which was at 21 years old) and started wearing the garment. I was looking forward to making the covenant and having to change my modesty standard would have distracted me from the significance of the promise I was making. I’m glad I took the time to prepare.

Rockin’ the modest fashions Modesty excludes lots of fashion trends, but Mormons don’t have to dress like the Amish, thank heavens. A lot can be accomplished by layering. Whoever came up with the business model for Downeast and Shade are now making bank. These companies began with shirts that can be worn under spaghetti strap shirts and the like. I especially like wearing these kinds of shirts even if you can not see them because I like to smooth over the line between my low-rise jeans and the waistline of the garment bottoms, which falls a little above. I also like to rock the midcalf bottoms when I wear leggings or certain kinds of jeans so I don’t have a line at my thigh.

A faithful Mormon would choose wearing the garment properly even one day over not wearing it (though not wearing it during swimming or athletics is appropriate). For example, a friend of my sister’s asked her to be a bride’s maid, but the chosen dresses were strapless. If the bride was set on having all her bride’s maids wear exactly the same strapless thing my sister would have declined the invitation. Gratefully, my sister and the bride were friends and the bride knew how important it was to my sister, so she had a little jacket to go with the strapless dress and if you ask me, she was the hottest of all the bride’s maids, but I might be bias.:)

Shield and Protection I’ve heard stories about how the garment has been a shield and protection to faithful members when they needed it. I usually accept them as folklore, such as burn victims who received no damage where the garment covered them. Though I do not count these as impossible, I don’t wear the garment properly because of these rumors. However, I have heard from a more credible source, my Dad, that before he was a member and knew anything about the garment, he was logging with a man who faithfully wore it. This man got his chainsaw stuck in a tree and when he pulled it out, it kicked back and sawed through his chaps, but the fabric from his garment got caught in the chain and it cut the chainsaw’s engine. My Dad, characteristically aware of his safety tells the story as he thought, “I have to get me some of those.” J Now my Dad understands the much deeper significance of wearing the garment than viewing it as chainsaw protection.

While at Brigham Young University for college, I frequently went canyoneering in Zion National Park, which I consider the closest place to God on the earth apart from the Temple. My roommate, who at the time was not endowed, asked me if I was going to wear the garment on the trip. Pine Creek at that time of year was expected to have several swims and some people were wearing bathing suits under their hiking attire. Since, I was looking for an occasion to wear it, rather than not to, I told her jokingly (but it was one of those jokes that she knew I actually meant) that if I got into trouble in a canyon, I hoped I could cash in on some of my blessings I was storing up from wearing it properly.:) Later trips progressed us to bigger and better canyons including wetsuits where I continued my same attitude and practice.

More than a physical shield and protection,  it is a spiritual one. As I previously discussed the Lord views breaking the Law of Chastity as next to murder on His list of serious sins.  I think of how one would first have to pass the garment, which is a sacred reminder of their promise to keep God’s commandments, including the Law of Chastity, in order to break it.

The locker room

My first two years of college I played on a women’s volleyball team for my school in Florida. I’ve often wondered what I would have done in the locker room if I had been endowed then (I had yet to serve a mission, so I had not yet received my endowment). As a team, we practically spent all of our time together either in the classroom, the weight room or on the court, so we all became friends. In hindsight, if I had been endowed then, I would have talked to each teammate individually about the significance of the garment and if there was a complete consensus of respect from everyone and I didn’t feel like I would be putting it in a position to be mocked, I would have been fine with changing with the group. However, the locker room at the gym I attend now is a different story. I only see those people in the locker room. Sometimes they are the same people, but since I’m quite modest, I try to give others as much privacy as possible and try not to even look in their direction. It doesn’t exactly foster friendship. Since we’re not close and since I have no inclination to break the ice with a first hand lesson in religious diversity, I just change in the stall.

“So like that’s kind of weird.”

American cultural ideas of what underwear should look like (and how we should look in it) mostly comes from Victoria Secret marketing and similar sources. Covenanted and faithful Mormons wear underwear day and night that acts as a special reminder to always remember Jesus Christ and to keep His commandments and well, that’s not ordinary. It’s quite extraordinary, actually. God began instituting the wearing of the garment with Adam and Eve and He has reintroduced it in every time period the gospel has been on the earth in full, including the present. I sincerely love what wearing the garment does for me. It changes my heart every time, which is all the time, I remember its significance and it draws me closer to the Lord. I consider it a privilege.

Why Mormons Build Temples

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About a year ago a friend of mine who knew I was Mormon asked me about the final book of  Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series. She pointed out that Meyer was Mormon and that (spoiler alert) Bella has a daughter with Edward.  “They’re married,” was my response.  I found the question curious and was slightly frustrated when an interruption prevented us from talking further. I suspected that my friend wasn’t sure if Mormons believed in or practiced sexuality.

Sometimes people say outrageous things for the shock factor and I’m not going for that with addressing this topic.  However, I do frequently purposefully push myself to exercise courage.  If I think something is right or I should do something, I weigh it and once I make the decision, I then jump in with both feet. My purpose with this blog is to discuss topics that would be very difficult to ask someone in person.  Sexuality, especially when someone feels it is a sacred topic as Mormons do, isn’t exactly broached easily or if it is easily addressed, it probably is done disrespectfully.  However, I know the Lord feels strongly about His “Law of Chastity.”   I know that because when I was a full time missionary and authorized by Jesus Christ to call God’s children to repentance, I felt the Spirit of God move through me the most powerfully when we were teaching this law. I no longer have that authorization to call others to repentance as full time missionaries do, but I can share the doctrine and my personal practice of it. With that as an introduction, let’s jump in with both feet, shall we?

The Doctrine

The best I’ve ever read the “Law of Chastity” taught was by the then president of Brigham Young University. I recommend his talk which is addressing those in the Church, “Of Souls, Symbols and Sacraments.”

Mormons live the “Law of Chastity” which is to only have sexual relations with a legally and lawfully married spouse.  That translates to complete abstinence before marriage and complete fidelity in marriage.  This doctrine’s roots predate the creation of the Earth.  Mormons believe that each person who has lived, lives or ever will live on this Earth first received life as God’s spirit child before coming to Earth (Abraham 3:22-28). Life’s purpose is to gain a body, which will be resurrected regardless of merit (John 5:28-29) because Christ was resurrected (1 Corinthians 15:21-23) and to “prove” ourselves or in other words of our own free will, choose to love God and accept the power offered by His Son, receive His grace by a lifetime of obedience and be changed into a holy creature. (2 Corinthians 5:17). (I plan on blogging about the Mormon belief of grace and works. In a nutshell we exist by the grace of God and we receive a greater portion of His grace as we use our free will to obey God’s commandments.) We show God we love Him by keeping His commandments (John 14:15). He then blesses us with His grace or His Spirit and we come to know Him and become like Him (John 17:3) (Matthew 5:48).

For some reason, God designed sexuality to be what brings His spirit children out of their “first estate” (see Abraham 3:22-28) into the mortal world. What a beautiful gift! It brings spouses closer together and also brings children into the world. Mormons tend to have large families because they want to provide loving homes of faith for Heavenly Father’s spirit children waiting in the Pre-Mortal Existence for their turn in mortality.  Church counsel with regards to birth control is it is between the husband, the wife and the Lord and couples should honestly evaluate their motivations when choosing to postpone having children.

Breaking the Law of Chastity An ancient American prophet who lived about 73 B.C. learned that his son lusted after a “harlot” and broke this law.  With grief, he asked his son, “Know ye not, my son, that these things are an abomination in the sight of the Lord; yea, most abominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood and denying the Holy Ghost? (Alma 39:5) What!?! Sex outside of marriage on God’s list of serious sins is right next to murder?  Absolutely. Why? He’s most concerned with how His spirit children come into the world and how they must leave the world.

How far can Mormons Go Before Marriage? Mormons can do whatever they choose.  God designed mortality to be an environment where opposites exist and His children can “choose liberty” through Christ or “choose captivity” through the devil (2 Nephi 2:27). How far should Mormons go before Marriage?  Mormons believe in modern day Apostles and Prophets. Mormons view these leaders just like Moses or Paul are giving them counsel.  The explicit direction for unmarried Mormons and the law of chastity is the following:

“The sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World).

Physical intimacy between husband and wife is beautiful and sacred. It is ordained of God for the creation of children and for the expression of love between husband and wife. God has commanded that sexual intimacy be reserved for marriage.

When you obey God’s commandments to be sexually pure, you prepare yourself to make and keep sacred covenants in the Temple. You prepare yourself to build a strong marriage and to bring children into the world as part of a loving family. You protect yourself from emotional damage that always comes from sharing physical intimacies with someone outside of marriage.

Do not have sexual relations before marriage, and be completely faithful to your spouse after marriage. Satan may tempt you to rationalize that sexual intimacy before marriage is acceptable when two people are in love.  That is not true…Before marriage, do not do anything to arouse the powerful emotions that must be expressed only in marriage. Do not participate in passionate kissing, lie on top of another person, or touch the private, sacred parts of another person’s body, with or without clothing. Do not allow anyone to do that with you. Do not arouse those emotions in your own body.”

Living the Law of Chastity while not married for Mormons can be viewed like fasting.  They avoid the temptation as much as possible until the time is appropriate to break the fast, which would be at marriage. (This should not be indented, but the technology isn’t working with me.)

Let’s Get Personal: Keeping My Thoughts Clean

When it comes to my own personal practice of the Law of Chastity, I believe it begins in my thoughts.  It is not a sin to be tempted. It’s a natural product of my mortality, but it is a sin for me to invite the thoughts to stay and relish in their message. In a revelation to given to a modern Prophet, Joseph Smith, the Lord commanded to “let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly” and the promise He offers for doing this is “then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God…” (Doctrine & Covenants 121:45). I want to remain transparent before the Lord so I can remain in His confidence.  I know He can read my thoughts and the only way I can wipe them away so He forgets  them is by my repentance (Doctrine & Covenants 58:42).  For the past 12 years, I have been training my brain and now I’m pleased that I act out of reflex that when I receive a thought of a sexual nature, I immediately dismiss it and ask the Lord to forgive me and give me the strength to keep my thoughts clean.  Sometimes it is harder than others depending on my environment, but I have felt the strengthening power that comes from the Source of all goodness when I have petitioned Him for it. He is quick to answer prayers when we are quick to be obedient.  I have been blessed for it.  I prefer to be more like Joseph of Egypt than David of Israel.  When Potiphar’s wife desired Joseph, he quickly fled (Genesis 39:7-14).  When David happened upon Bathsheba bathing, he chose to linger.  This led to acting upon his thoughts, committing adultery, which then led him to commit murder (2 Samuel 11).

Since We’re Getting Personal: Chastity While Dating

I should preface this section saying I am not a hopeless romantic.  I believe that my ideas of love have been tainted by Hollywood and Disney, so perhaps I overcompensate to a “realistic” view to fault. That’s why this man was so out of the ordinary.  I met him once upon a time and the more I learned about his character, the more I trusted him and felt safe on multiple levels.  When we were in a room full of people and he would wink at me, I felt like we had a secret that nobody  else knew and if we tried to explain it, no one could understand.  Being fiercely independent, I was fascinated with feeling the motivation to take care of someone else before myself. The anticipation to see him again was like when I was a kid waiting for December the 25th and finally seeing his face was like Christmas morning. When he reached out for my hand, it was like he was reaching for my heart and when he held me like he didn’t want to let me go, it felt like coming home. Long doorstep scenes could possibly be what makes the emotional roller coaster of dating worth it.  After almost a year or so, depending on how you count, this man told me that I was not the girl for him.  That’s the way the dating game goes.  Once that is decided and clearly communicated you shake hands, appreciate the good plays, try to analyze when and how you dropped the ball and then move on to other worthy opponents. (And when your stats are the inverse of batting 1000, you’re quite prepared for the disappointment.)

But now that I’m putting this in context of living the law of chastity, what if neither of us were committed to living it?  What if we followed the commonly accepted customs of sexuality in our present society? When I found him delicious, what if I didn’t put on the brakes? What if we didn’t have long doorstep scenes, but rushed and inattentive farewells as we both went to work the next morning, he to serve ”the man,” who was “a jealous mistress” and unable (or unwilling actually) to give me another thought?  I was moved to give of myself and it ended up that he didn’t want any part of me, let alone all I had to give.  How devastating that would have been.  It would have destroyed all that is good about me and left me bitter and broken. Self gratification outside the bonds of marriage is inherently selfish.  It would not have been about giving, but of getting and would have carved a deficit in my soul that only the Savior with His infinite bank could replenish.

Love: The Ultimate Deterrent for Sin

Why do I live the Law of Chastity?  I see that God in His wisdom wants His children coming in and out of the world in the best circumstances possible and that I’m avoiding emotional demolition and the risk of disease, but I live the Law of Chastity because I love Jesus Christ.  I know that during His Atonement, He took upon Himself the sins of all mankind including my own.  The very thought of Him in His purity taking up the guilt for my sins, especially the idea of my potential selfish sexual gratification, makes me cringe. I wish I had words to communicate how the thought makes me taste imaginary bile. Like Joseph, I want to preemptively flee from anything that may have caused Christ to be defiled.  I love Him with a deeper love that I can express and that is why I, as a Mormon, live the Law of Chastity.

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