Mormon Doctrine & LDS Theology Home
Welcome to the Mormon Doctrine $ LDS Theology website at
ucanfindit.net. This website has the purpose of disseminating and
discussing the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.
We are not an official site of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and we have no official
standing to speak for the Church. If you would like to visit
the official site you can go to
mormon.org, or lds.org.
These sites are operated by the Church and are very
informative and faith promoting. While we are not an
official site the site here is operated by long time members
and priesthood holders with a great deal of knowledge and
leadership experience in the Church.
It is not the purpose of this site to be an
apologetic site to debate doctrine or beliefs. It is a place
where the doctrines and beliefs of latter-day Saints,
(Mormons,) will be candidly and straightforwardly presented.
If we are going to discuss religious beliefs
and doctrine the first thing we must establish is:
-
What is truth and
-
How can we know it.
Truth is defined as things as they actually
are, as they have actually been, and as they will actually
come to pass. For may people what is true as pertaining to
religion is simply what their parents believed and taught
them. Some of my friends tell me that the Bible is their
standard of truth. Each of these ideas, and many more have
merit, but do they alone, or all together show us the truth?
We should honor our parents, but parents around the world
and throughout time have an almost infinite verity of beliefs
and most contradict the others. I believe the Bible to be
true, to be the word of God, but how do I know it? Do I know
it because it says it is, or because a lot of people over
time have said that it was? By this standard we would have a
whole library of books that are supposable true yet
contradict each other.
The Bible itself tells us how we can know
what is true. The Bible records the words of Jesus Christ
himself telling us just how we can know.
In the book of Matthew, chapter 16, starting
in verse 13 we read,
13 When Jesus
came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his
disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And
they said, Some say that thou art<
John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one
of the prophets.
15 He
saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And
Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God.
17 And
Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon
Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed
it unto thee, but my Father
which is in heaven.
Now remember, Peter
had lived with Jesus for three years. He had spent almost
all his waking hours in the presence of the Savior. Peter
had heard Him preach and teach, had seen Him perform
miracles, saw him raise Lazarus from the dead, and had ate
where He ate, and slept where He slept. It is not recorded
in the scriptures but I am sure that Jesus probably gave
Peter private counsel and instructions. Peter surly knew
Jesus. But according to the Savior, these things were not
how Peter knew who He was. Jesus told Peter, "flesh and
blood hath not revealed it unto thee." It
was not the things that Peter had seen with his eyes or head
with his ears, or any other physical means that he knew.
Thousands of people had seen Jesus, had heard Him preach and
teach, had witnessed the miracles He preformed, yet did not
know who He was or believe who He was.
Jesus told Peter
that it was not any of the things of the physical world,
(flesh and blood,) that had revealed who Jesus was to Peter
but "my Father which is in heaven." It was direct, personal
revelation from God that manifest the truth to Peter, and it
is by the same means that may know truth. It is the only way
we can know what is true.
Latter day prophet,
Joseph Fielding Smith taught: “The Spirit of God speaking to the spirit of man
has power to impart truth with greater effect and understanding than the truth can be imparted by personal contact even with heavenly beings."
What President Smith is saying is the very same thing that
Jesus Christ Himself taught: It is not the physical things,
personal contact, nor flesh and blood, that is the standard
of truth. It is the Spirit of God speaking to the heart of a
man or woman.
In the first chapter, 5th and sixth verse, of the epistle of James in the New Testament we read:
5 If
any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that
6 But
let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth
is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Follow this instruction and you may know the truth of
all things. Our Heavenly Father would not have use be in the
dark. He has promised us light and truth and if we ask Him
we may have it. |