I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

-
Years ago, I learned a song at church. It went:
I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I know who I am.
I know God's plan.
I'll follow him in faith.
I believe in the Savior, Jesus Christ.
I'll honor his name.
I'll do what is right;
I'll follow his light.
His truth I will proclaim.
(Words by Janice Kapp Perry C. 1989)
In a recent statement, President Russell M. Nelson emphasized the importance of using the full name of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are not the LDS church. We are not the Mormon church. This church was given its name by revelation 180 or so years ago, and that is the name that we should be using. 

I was walking several days ago and pondering about the name of the Church and what it means to me.

  • I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ... This is the same church that Jesus Christ established when he lived on the earth. He is the central figure, with a complement of apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc. (see 6th Article of Faith). This is the same church that Jesus organized on the American continent after his resurrection. (See 3 Nephi 27:2-8) Jesus Christ has been involved in this Church from years before it was organized when he and his Father visited Joseph Smith in the sacred grove, to today as he guides  our prophet President Nelson. This is his church. We are Christians in that we believe in Jesus Christ and we strive to follow his example and his teachings. We believe in his atoning sacrifice in Gethsemane and Golgotha. He paid for our sins so that we can be forgiven if we repent and strive to obey his commandments. We also believe that he was resurrected on the third day - that he lives! And because he lives, we all will one day also be resurrected. The gospel of Jesus Christ is full of hope and promise and peace.
  • ...of Latter-day...  Why latter-day? It is to separate us from the former days, when Christ walked the earth. It is the same church now as it was then. The gospel taught by Christ is the same gospel we believe today.
  •  Saints This refers to the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These are people who have dedicated their lives to trying to follow the teachings of Christ. They are people who believe in God and are striving to do good. No, we are not perfect yet, but that is our goal, and the name of the church is a reminder of that goal. 
I'll admit that sometimes the full name of the church feels long and cumbersome, especially when trying to write it in a blank that is only an inch long, but it is important. I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am striving to follow Jesus Christ and his teachings in these latter days before his second coming. The least I can do is use the name for the Church that he gave it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Talk about Gratitude

-
I recently told my bishop that I enjoyed giving talks in Sacrament Meeting, and it is true. I didn't expect, however, that I would get an email from a bishopric member on Thursday last week to say that his talks for Sunday had to leave town, and would I be willing to speak? Here is the talk that I gave on Sunday, May 27th, 2012: For my topic today, I was given a talk which was given by President Monson in 1992, entitled “An Attitude of Gratitude”. In his talk President Monson begins by telling the story of the 10 lepers. I would like to share it with you. In Luke 17 we read: And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” And when he saw them, he said unto them, “Go show yourselves unto the priests.” And it came to pass, that, as they went, ...
Read more

How Clean is Clean Enough?

-
Image
How clean is "clean enough"? I realize this question is loaded and the answers are very individual, so for a moment, think about yourself and your home and consider, for you, how clean is "clean enough"? What is the difference between a "quick clean", a "daily clean" and a "deep clean"? At what point do you consider your home "clean enough"? Does "clean enough" mean having a clear path from the front door to the other rooms in the house? Is it having the clutter picked up and the floors vacuumed? Must it be dusted every week, every month, or at all? Is it a quick swipe on the surface to remove the dust or crumbs? Is it a scrub with disinfectant? Is it clearing tables and desks, or delving into cupboards and drawers, purging and organizing?    Does it depend on the day of the week? Is "clean enough" on a weekday the same as "clean enough" on a weekend? If not, is it more clean, or less? Is there a...
Read more

School closing, Josh adventures, Back pain relief...

-
On Wednesday school was cancelled all over the Denver area because there was a credible threat that an 18 year old woman with a fixation on the Columbine shooting would attack a school. Apparently she arrived in Denver and bought a gun and then vanished, so they shut down everything just in case. (They found her body later that day... She committed suicide. More info here .) John was frustrated that school was cancelled because one acts are coming up (they are this week!) and he needed the rehearsal time. Instead, John took advantage of the free day to go to School of Mines to check out the campus and talk to someone about getting his admission deferred. I got a ride to my book club, and both of us were home again before Josh and Peter rolled out of bed. Early in the afternoon I took Josh to Children's Hospital to see a cardiologist about his seizures . They did an EKG, but the results were normal. He doesn't have a heart murmur or anything else they could identify. I still thi...
Read more