As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as Mormon, and a student at BYU I am reading The Book of Mormon. I was assigned to read chapters one through three for my Book of Mormon class. In chapter one, verse twenty it reads, “And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.” At the beginning of the chapter readers discover that Lehi, an ancient prophet in Jerusalem, has had a vision that Jerusalem was going to be destroyed. Lehi, around six hundred B.C., warned the people of Jerusalem that if they did not repent they would be destroyed. The people of Jerusalem, or the Jews, did not listen to Lehi. They were angry with Lehi for telling them to repent and they wanted to kill him. Lehi’s son Nephi is the one writing this verse of scripture. Nephi supported and believed in his father. At the beginning of this verse Nephi explains how the Jews reacted when Lehi told them Jerusalem was to be destroyed. Then Nephi writes that he will show readers how the Lord has blessed him in his life because of his faith.  He explains that the Lord blesses everyone that has faith.

Lehi preaching in Jerusalem

There is one major principle that I obtained from reading this verse. The principle is that there will be challenges in life, but if I have faith the Lord will bless me. I believe that one of the ways the Lord prepares us for future events is through trials. I know that when I put my trust and faith in the Lord I am blessed. The Lord will bless everyone that puts their faith in Him.

I have had many hard times in my life; nevertheless, the Lord has blessed me greatly. My Mom has been a single Mom my whole life. It has been really tight financially and she has struggled to support my four brothers and me. She has always put her trust and faith in the Lord. She makes sure to look for the blessings the Lord has given her and she prays to give gratitude for the blessings she has received. Because of her faith, my family and I have been blessed financially. If someone were to look at the numbers in our financial situation they would say that there is no way that it should add up. We should not have been able to live in the houses we have lived in, participated in the costly soccer/orchestra activities, and have enough food on our table. We have always had the money for the things that we need even though it doesn’t make sense. I know that the Lord has blessed us financially because of my Mom’s strong faith.

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As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints studying the Book of Mormon at BYU, I have learned many things concerning how to live a good life. In the first book of the Book of Mormon, 1st Nephi, there is a story concerning an individual, our prophet, Lehi, and his sons Nephi, Laman and Lemuel.

The story in the Book of Mormon starts with Lehi and his “family dwelling in wilderness.” Lehi receives inspiration from God that Lehi should send his sons to Israel to obtain the “plates of brass (genealogy records).” The sons of Lehi depart from the wilderness and travel about 150 miles to Jerusalem. When they arrive, the eldest brother, Laman, went into the house of Laban to ask for the plates of brass that they wanted. Laban then accused Laman of stealing and threw him out of the house. When the sons reunited, Laman and Lemuel wanted to go back home due to the unsuccessful try that they had encountered. However, Nephi was inspired to obtain the plates of brass no matter what the cost. The sons went back to their previous home in Jerusalem where they resided previous to living in the wilderness. They took all of the gold, silver, and other precious items and took it unto Laban to try to buy the plates of brass from him. Laban refused. Laban made more accusations and finally desired to kill the sons. Nephi, instead of fleeing immediately, killed Laban and took the plates of brass. They sons took the plates of brass to their parents the 150 some-odd miles into the wilderness. Their dad was very pleased.

This story has implication in my life. In my BYU experience, there have been some troubles where I think I should turn back, that all is lost, but I have not. There have been classes where I think it is too much to do in a semester but I continue on and I do not drop the class. I pray on my knees to the lord in the name of Jesus Christ to help me and everything works out. That is the beauty of this Church. No matter your background, no matter your previous mistakes, or no matter what lies in front of you, you know that you have a loving Heavenly Father who is real, who you can touch and literally talk to. Without prayer, I would be literally lost. I honestly would not know where to go for help. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) I have had the opportunity to learn about the marvelous things that can come fro choosing the right. I have learned that  I am punished by my sins more than for my sins. When I so something wrong, there is always a consequence. Always. However, the consequence was not God actively making my life worse, the consequence came from my sin itself. For example, if I cheat on a test, I will probably get caught. This is not God smiting me for wrongdoing, it is me getting punished by myself! This is a glorious revelation because that means that I can stop the suffering. If I choose to be honest, humble, and virtuous, I will have a much better life.

Additional Resources:

What is the purpose of life?

Meet with Mormon missionaries

A few weeks ago I entered Brigham Young University as a Freshman. Although my home is only a few hours away, I feel like i’ve been placed on another planet, and while i’m sure the excitement will slowly wear off, I know that I will continue to love my new home, BYU. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering why any normal teenager want to go to a school that has as strict of a code on dress and grooming, language, honesty, morality, and alcohol, coffee, and tea as BYU does, and to be honest, I always did too. I have been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (referred to by the media as “The Mormon Church”) my entire life, but I never understood why the Honor Code was so intense. Now, I understand and am so grateful for it.

I’m sure you know that college life is very different than high school. My mother does not wake me up, make my breakfast, or do my laundry – although if she wanted to, and lived close enough, i’m sure i’d graciously accept the help. I am on my own. If I choose to sleep in and miss class, no one is going to reprimand me. My success or failure is in my own hands. At most universities, fraternities and sororities rule the social scene and also have great impact on the academic aspects because of what happens on the weekend. From talking to my friends, who are scattered at universities all over the country, I’ve learned that drugs, alcohol, and frivolous morality are all defining characteristics of their “college experience”, and we’ve only been in school for a month! BYU is very different, and you can tell by simply walking around campus. The people you see are dressed respectfully and modestly and most wear big smiles on their faces. Instead of swearing and demeaning language,  you hear uplifting and happy words and conversations. At parties, we drink Barq’s Root Beer instead of Budweiser and at dances we actually dance, not grind. Because I choose to adhere to the Honor Code, I never have to worry about getting pregnant out of wedlock or missing class because I was hungover. Likewise, I can always feel at peace with myself because I didn’t cheat on my Calculus exam or swear at my best friend in a moment of anger. I’m not saying that BYU is perfect, but it is an amazing place to live at and be a part of.

Youth at BYU follow the Honor Code

If there was a theme for the first little section of “The Book of Mormon” (one of the many holy scriptures of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or the Mormons; this book is about God’s children on the American continent and how they got there), I would say it would be pretty well summarized up by when Nephi (the first scribe of the Book of Mormon) said “I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do” (1 Nephi 4:6; pg. 8). I have read The Book of Mormon multiple times, but this time through as a BYU student, taking a class on The Book of Mormon from BYU, I feel like I am getting more out of it than before. Nephi was a young man who lived in Jerusalem, in the year 600 B.C., which is 13 years before the Babylonians destroyed the city Jerusalem. Nephi lived there with his family, which consisted of his father Lehi, his mother Sariah, his brothers, and his sisters. His father, Lehi, was a prophet called of God to tell the people of Jerusalem to repent or the city would be destroyed. Of course the people didn’t like that, so they wanted to murder Lehi. God warned Lehi of this in a dream, and told Lehi to leave Jerusalem, and get to safety. Lehi with his family left Jerusalem in haste, leaving behind their riches, and their property. They traveled to the borders of the Red Sea, which was around 200 miles away from Jerusalem. They pitched their tents, and were in the wilderness for about eight years. When they got there, they must have wondered why had they left Jerusalem, where they had their gold, silver, and property. I mean they could have just hid out for a year, and then returned, and everyone might have forgotten Lehi. Now that connects to the quote “I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do”. Lehi was led to leave Jerusalem, he didn’t know what he was going to do once he got away or what his life would be like; he trusted in the Lord that the Lord would lead them to where they needed to go.

In my life, being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I have been blessed by listening and obeying God, even when I don’t know what the outcome would be. There was one time when my family decided to move away from our home that we had lived in for about 10 years, because my dad was offered a new job in a different town. Not all of us were enthusiastic about it, but we all felt like it was what God wanted us to do. The move wasn’t easy, but it was one of the biggest blessings in our lives. The year we moved was 2007, and in 2008, the recession hit; and my Dad’s old work was affected by it terribly. They had to lay off a lot of their workers, the owners had to sell the plant my Dad used to work at, and my Dad’s old job was eliminated. If we had stayed, instead of moving, my Dad might not have had any work, and we would have no idea what to do. It was thanks to a Heavenly Father that this did not happen. It was because we were “…led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which [we should do]”.

Lehi was blessed too. After being in the wilderness for eight years, they came to the seashore, where they built a ship, and they then sailed across the ocean to the American continent. They had gold and silver there, and a land of their own where raised their children and built many nations. If they had stayed behind, and had not listened to the Lord, they would have been there when Jerusalem was destroyed, and some of them might have died. The point is, we don’t know all the details, but God does, so we should put our trust in him, and exercise our “blind” faith, because in the end, everything we lost will be made up. I know that The Book of Mormon is a true work of God, just like the Bible, it is another set of scriptures for us in our day. I bear witness that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only true church of God upon the earth today. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Additional Resources:

What is the purpose of life?

Meet with Mormon missionaries

I had read the introduction to the Book of Mormon before. I had always thought of it as sort of an author’s note. Something at the beginning of a regular book, where the author takes a moment and briefly gives a background to their story. But no one ever takes the time to read the author’s note. Simply because why would you want to read a description when you can just read the real thing? With this outlook I had always just skimmed the introduction, not giving it much thought to what it was saying. But this week when I was tasked to read it as one of my first readings of my college career, I was determined to truly read it. So I went for it.

As I remembered from my previous skimmings, the introduction was a brief description of the book. But it also is a lot more than that. In the second paragraph the purpose of the Book of Mormon is acknowledged, “to show unto the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers… and also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations.”  For the first time, I actually read those words and they meant something to me. The Book of Mormon was saved for this day and age for a reason. That reason is to testify of Jesus Christ’s ministry to the people in the Americas.

I grew up in a Latter-Day Saint family. I had never doubted that the church was true because that is what I was raised to believe it. But now that I am older I recognize the need to figure out for myself what I believe. College is a time for finding yourself and figuring out who you want to be, independent of your parents. I am writing this on the same campus that my Grandma attended. She came to Brigham Young University not knowing that it was a private religious college. But she quickly figured it out and investigated the church. Her life changed on this campus. It was here she was converted to the Latter Day Saint faith, married to my grandpa and started an eternal family. Her decisions on this campus affected not only her life, but also the lives of all of her posterity.

I want to experience a spiritual conversion like my grandma did. I have a head start because I already believe this church is true, but I can read the Book of Mormon with the intensity of someone that is investigating the church. The Book of Mormon was written to convince people that Jesus is the Christ. I want to let these scriptures convince me of this. I am excited to start my own personal spiritual conversion.  It is at this new stage of my life, where I am on my own for the first time that I can move strengthen my testimony of the scriptures.

Additional Resources:

Request a free Book of Mormon

Learn about the basic beliefs of Mormons

The Fall brought physical and spiritual death into the world.

Because of the fall of Adam and Eve, we now are susceptible to two kinds of death: physical death and what Jacob calls “spiritual death.”  Adam and Eve would have remained in their unchanging state in the Garden of Eden had they not eaten of the fruit. Because they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they had to leave the Garden, becoming mortal and prone to physical weaknesses—sickness, death, and other problems. When we die, it is our bodies dying. This is the physical death.

The second part, spiritual death, also came with the fall of Adam. Jacob tells us that spiritual death is being “cut off from the presence of the Lord” (2 Nephi 9:6). We can take this in two meanings. First, Adam and Eve were with God in the Garden of Eden. When they were cast out, they were no longer able to be in His presence. This is one form of spiritual death. The other is more personal. When we make mistakes, or sin, we pull ourselves farther from our Heavenly Father.

Christ’s Atonement covers both physical and spiritual death. Jacob tells us,

“Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.”

We would die (physically) and that would be the end. As for the spiritual death, Jacob says this: “For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.”  We would have remained in a fallen state, unable to become better. We would have to serve the devil, because we were not saved from our sins.

Because Christ took on all our sins and sufferings, He understands everything we are going through.

However, Christ did atone for us. Latter-Day Saints believe that He not only paid for our sins, He also felt the physical and emotional pains each person would have to go through. Christ died on the cross, and three days later, rose again from the grave, thus enabling us to be resurrected—or to also rise from the grave, with life after death. This overcame the physical death. Because he also paid for the sins of each person, we can come unto Him and be forgiven, thus overcoming the spiritual death.

Our God in Heaven loves us so much to let His Son, Jesus Christ, do this for every individual, in order to bring us back to Him.

This article was written by Beth W., a student at Brigham Young University and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She enjoys piano, swimming, reading, and eating chocolate.

Additional Resources:

Basic Mormon Beliefs and Real Mormons

Jesus Christ in Mormonism

The Bible in Mormonism

Lehi’s dream of the tree of life

Near the beginning of the Book of Mormon, Lehi, an ancient prophet of the Lord, has a dream depicting a “Tree of Life”. In this vision, Lehi sees symbolism for every human being’s journey through life. The rocky path, those who wish to lead us astray, and, ultimately, the sweet reward of heaven at the end. When Lehi told his family of his dream, half of his family believed him, as an authority figure, and half did not. While Nephi, Lehi’s third son, believed every word his father said he still wanted to know and see for himself the things that his father saw and heard.

When Nephi heard the things of his father and obtained a desire to know the things that his father did for himself, he planted a strong seed of intent to inquire of the Lord. Belief in something is the first step to receiving a witness that something is true. Belief leads to consistent pondering of the truthfulness of what is either seen or heard from an external source. Nephi deeply pondered the things that his father said to his family, and he went and prayed to request that the Lord give him an opportunity to see all that his father did.

What Nephi received as a response from the Lord was astonishing. Not only did he receive an exact visual confirmation of the things that his father saw, but he also saw many other things tailored to him and his desire for knowledge. The Lord knows the desires of our hearts, and wishes to give us more knowledge so that we may progress in this life, to be more prepared for the life to come. All we have to do to receive this knowledge is to ask.

Matthew 7:7 states: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you…” If we ask to know the things that our hearts deeply desire to know, and remain worthy to receive it, then the Lord will grant it unto us. We all have things in our lives that we may not know for sure are true. I challenge all to inquire of the Lord of the validity of these things, and I give a solemn witness that He will answer, and you will know for yourself the things that you wish to know.

Article written by Keegan M

How was the test designed and why? This test of mortality was designed by our Heavenly Father so that we can progress and become more like Him and live eventually with Him in Heaven one day. God has a body of flesh and bones like we have here on Earth, but a perfected one, like we will gain in the resurrection. How do I know this? I have prayed about the account of Joseph Smith numerous times where he says that God the Father and His Beloved Son appeared to him in a grove of trees outside of his Palmyra, New York home, even visiting there myself. I have felt this to be true with more certainty than I know a quark exists, as I have been taught in my chemistry class. One purpose of ours on Earth is to gain a body.

Is this an open book test? Ever since man first walked the earth, God has sent commandments for us to live by either through His own word or by the words of His prophets. These are the words which we will be judged by. The Bible and the Book of Mormon lay down the commandments which we are to follow, but they also give us all the answers of how to correctly navigate through the trials of life. Christ gives us the example to follow of one who perfectly abided by each of the commandments. We, as imperfect mortal beings, are bound to make mistakes. But through the grace of Christ we have the opportunity to repent and be forgiven. As a student, I know the feeling of missing several questions on a major test, but if I magnify that feeling I don’t know how many times over, that will be the disappointment we will feel when we realize the mistakes we have committed in this life. Yet Christ allows us to use His sacrifice for us to wipe ourselves clean of our mistakes. There is no greater gift than that. If such an opportunity was given to you, why wouldn’t you use it?

That last question I’ve posed sounds terrible. If any teacher heard a student ask that even if it was a joke, they’d flip out. Of course you can’t ever just copy off the answer key! Yet this test of life has only one student who has and will ever ace the test, and that is our Savior, Jesus Christ. He wrote the “test” by creating the earth under the direction of our Heavenly Father. It was He who lived a perfect life, and it was He whose life we can follow, using the answer key, so that we can get as close as possible to a perfect score. I know that living in accordance with Christ’s commandments is what brings me the most happiness in this life, and it will bring me the greatest rewards in the life to come, and I want to make sure that everyone knows about this chance for happiness too.

Article was written by Andrew L.

Additional Resources:

Meaning of Life

Pre-Mortal Life in Mormonism

The Lord Jesus Christ in Mormonism

As they set about to do as the Lord had commanded, some difficulties arose, from which a number of things can be learned. One of these things was that the Lord knows what needs to be done. He is omniscient and all-powerful, and He loves us and will push us to become the best that we can be. He gives us commandments that will stretch our limits and help us expand in ways that, otherwise, we could not or would not. However, I also know that he will never give us an impossible task, something that we cannot do. Nephi himself expresses this in what is one of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon; “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and I will do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them” (1 Nephi 3:7.) I really love this scripture, not only because of the principle it teaches, but because of Nephi’s sincere faith in the Lord.

Prayer is communication with God

We also discussed prayer, and the importance of communicating with our Heavenly Father. Our teacher said something here that really struck me (and I’m paraphrasing here), “Communication [prayer] with Heaven is not about changing God’s will, it is about realizing His will and bringing ourselves to it.” Wow. That really struck me, and helped to remind me of how grateful I am for the power of prayer in my life. Time and time again I have had my prayers answered miraculously, in situations large and small, petty or not, and it’s taught me that He truly does care. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that our Heavenly Father lives. He loves and listens to us, and answers our prayers. He knows what we need, what our strengths and weaknesses are, and what will push us to grow and expand and become more like Him. I am so grateful for a chance to attend school here at BYU, where I can have Christ’s teachings woven so fully into my education, and I am grateful beyond words that I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Article written by Shelise R

Additional Resources:

Basic Mormon Beliefs and Real Mormons

The Lord Jesus Christ in Mormonism

Request a free copy of The Book of Mormon (Another Testament of Jesus Christ)