New Year’s Resolution: Be Happy

After we excitedly count down to the New Year, ringing it in with banging of pots and pans, the next tradition to follow is making New Year Resolutions.

What is on your list? I’ll bet it might be to:

-Lose weight/ Get fit
-Eat more healthy
-Get a better job
-Finish your education/Learn something new
-Save money
-Get organized

… and I’ll venture to say, at the heart of each of these goals is a desire to be more happy.

This month we will examine goal setting and our desire for happiness. “And it came to pass that we
lived after the manner of happiness.” [2 Nephi 5:27]. What is the pattern of happiness? And how do we find lasting happiness?

Some things that make me happy are:

-My family
-Vacations
-A clean house
-Celebrations
-Running/Exercising
-Achieving my goals
-The sure knowledge (testimony) I have of the gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Which of these brings lasting happiness?

Vacations end; if I’m living in my house it inevitably will need to be cleaned again; all fun celebrations wind down; and eventually my muscles will burn out from exertion. So I am then left with: family, accomplishing [righteous] goals, and the gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Fun does not equal happiness. Church Apostle, Elder Claudio R. M. Costa said, “Both fun and happiness are fine, but certainly happiness is the most worth seeking. Happiness can encompass fun as well, but fun alone will not assure us true happiness.”1

Pleasure does not equal happiness. I feel pleasure dishing a big bowl of ice-cream, and eating it makes me very happy… but it is not a happiness that lasts because eventually that bowl will run out, and it might even result in a stomachache from sugar overload.

Many of those things on my list are selfish… most of the time when I find true lasting happiness is when I forget myself and I am serving a neighbor or family member. Service brings happiness.

Work can equal happiness. Church Apostle, Elder W. Eugene Hansen said, “Often it is [the experience] of work and sacrifice… for a worthwhile purpose that produces the most satisfaction.”2

Following God equals happiness. “And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember,
remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.” [Mosiah 2:41]

“We are happy as we pray every morning and every night, when we can feel that the Lord hears
us and is always willing to bless, forgive, and help us. We are happy as we feel the promptings
of the Holy Ghost in our lives—as we feel the Spirit when we have to make important life
decisions. We are happy as we go home after a stressful and tiresome day at work to the
arms of our families, as they express love and appreciation for us. We are happy to talk to our
children, to enjoy the family, to get together on family night. In short, we can feel happiness
every day in our lives through little things we do, and we are fully happy as we keep the
commandments of a loving God who cares about us.

“True happiness comes from keeping the commandments of God. We are taught in 2 Nephi 2:25
that “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy,” or, in other words,
that they might be happy.”1

What we want most is to find happiness in our lives. This is what God wants for us as well. As we
explore this theme during the month of January, we hope to find, through the help of worthy goal
setting, how we can achieve true, lasting happiness. And, could we discover a happiness formula that
will work for everyone? Stay tuned this month.

Published by McKell
References:
1. Church Apostle, Elder Claudio R. M. Costa, “Fun and Happiness”, Ensign 2002
2. Church Apostle, Elder W. Eugene Hansen, “The Search For Happiness”, General Conference of the Church, 1993

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Are Mormons Christian?

It has often puzzled me that so many do not accept Mormons as Christian. 

  If Christian means a professed belief in Christ…then yes! Mormons are Christian!¹

  If Christian denotes followers of Christ…yes! Mormons are Christian!²

  If Christian implies a belief in the Bible…yes! Mormons are Christian!³

  If Christian belief relies on Christ as the only name who can save us…yes! Mormons are Christian!⁴

  If the evidence of a Christian life means being kind and decent…yes! Mormons are Christian!⁵

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), declare unequivocally, that Yes! We are Christian!  Our faith is centered on Jesus Christ and on his teachings.  He is our exemplar, our Lord, our Savior, our Redeemer, and our King.  We follow him in belief and practice.

Our guiding principles were taught to us by the Prophet Joseph Smith: “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”⁶

One dictionary defines a Christian as “one who professes belief in Jesus as the Christ or follows the religion based on [the life and teachings of Jesus],” and “one who lives according to the teachings of Jesus.”⁷

Church Apostle Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin explains, “Thus two characteristics identify Christians: (1) they profess belief in a Savior, and (2) they act in harmony with the Savior’s teachings. Faithful members of the Church, called Saints or Latter-day Saints, qualify clearly in both characteristics. In our belief and our action, we demonstrate that ‘Jesus Christ himself [is] the chief corner stone’ of our faith.”⁸ 

 “We rejoice in our sure knowledge that “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” ⁹ With obedient hearts and eyes of faith, “we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God.”” ^{10, 11}

Many who do not believe Mormons to be Christian either do not know us or misunderstand us.  Others feel that certain points of our doctrine exclude Mormons from their definition of Christians.

Church Apostle Elder Jeffrey R. Holland stated, “By and large any controversy in this matter has swirled around two doctrinal issues—our view of the Godhead and our belief in the principle of continuing revelation leading to an open scriptural canon.”¹²

So we will focus on these two points.  First, we believe that the Godhead consists of not one God, but three separate beings, which differs from other Christian views of the Trinity.  Our first Article of Faith states, “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” We believe these three to be members of the Godhead, distinct beings, unified in purpose. Elder Holland stated, “They are one in every significant and eternal aspect imaginable except believing Them to be three persons combined in one substance, a Trinitarian notion never set forth in the scriptures because it is not true.”

“Indeed no less a source than the stalwart Harper’s Bible Dictionary records that “the formal doctrine of the Trinity as it was defined by the great church councils of the fourth and fifth centuries is not to be found in the [New Testament].”¹³

“So any criticism that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not hold the contemporary Christian view of God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost is not a comment about our commitment to Christ but rather a recognition (accurate, I might add) that our view of the Godhead breaks with post–New Testament Christian history and returns to the doctrine taught by Jesus Himself.

… “We declare it is self-evident from the scriptures that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are separate persons, three divine beings.” ¹²

Many wonder where this doctrine is found in the Bible. We can name “illustrations [such] as the Savior’s great Intercessory Prayer…, His baptism at the hands of John, the experience on the Mount of Transfiguration, and the martyrdom of Stephen.”¹² I’ll admit, in some biblical verses this doctrine gets a bit fuzzy, but thanks to modern revelation, we have a clearer understanding of the Godhead. Which leads into our next point…

We believe that God continues to reveal his word to man. Revelations did not end with prophets of biblical times.  If God is “unchangeable”¹⁴, why would he give revelation to one dispensation, but not ours? We believe in a modern-day prophet, the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and modern-day scripture in The Doctrine and Covenants. The Lord said, “My works are without end, and … my words … never cease.”¹⁵

The purpose of continuing revelation is not to lessen the importance of the Bible, but to clarify the doctrines, help us in our understanding, and lead us closer to Christ.

Holland said, “One of the great purposes of continuing revelation through living prophets is to declare to the world through additional witnesses that the Bible is true. ‘This is written,’ an ancient prophet said, speaking of the Book of Mormon, ‘for the intent that ye may believe that,’ speaking of the Bible. ¹⁶ In one of the earliest revelations received by Joseph Smith, the Lord said, ‘Behold, I do not bring [the Book of Mormon forth] to destroy [the Bible] but to build it up.’” ^{17, 18}

Our ninth Article of Faith states, “We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.” ¹⁹

Mormons are Christian. We follow Christ.  It is stated in our very name, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

A Book of Mormon scripture says “And how be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses’ name then it be Moses’ church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel.”²⁰

Especially in this Christmas season, our wish is for others to know that it is Christ whom we love, revere, and follow.  We hope to come together under this one name “Christian” and stand shoulder to shoulder. We “wish to work together with other Christians—and people of all faiths—to recognize and remedy many of the moral and family issues faced by society.”²¹ 

References:

        1.    Article of Faith 1:1, “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the   Holy Ghost.”

2.    Article of Faith 1:4, “We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

3.    Article of Faith 1:8 “We believe the Bible to be the word of God…”

4.    Article of Faith 1:3 “We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.”

5.    Article of Faith 1:13 “We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men…”

6.    Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 49.

7.    See American Heritage Dictionary (1992), s.v. “Christian”; emphasis added.

8.    Eph. 2:20.

9.    Acts 4:12.

10.  Hel. 3:28.

11.  Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Christians in Belief and Action” October 1996

12.  Church Apostle, Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent” October 2007

13.  Paul F. Achtemeier, ed. (1985), 1099; emphasis added.

14.  Malachi 3:6; see also James 1:17

15.  Moses 1:4

16.  Mormon 7:9

17.  D&C 10:52; see also D&C 20:11

18.  Church Apostle, Jeffrey R. Holland, “My Words Never Cease” April 2008

19.  Article of Faith 1:9

20.  3 Nephi 27:8

21.  LDS Topics “Are Mormons Christian”

Published by: McKell

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