Back to the Basics- Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement

     First things first. What is faith?? Faith is a hope or a belief in that which you can't see. For example, I have never seen Jesus Christ, but I firmly believe he was a real person that lived and died for me and you and everyone. It was important that he died for us because without his sacrifice we couldn't be forgiven of our sins and make it back to our Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ's suffering and death for us is called the Atonement.
     Now it's time to learn how you can build your faith. A prophet in The Book of Mormon compared faith to a seed. Think about what you would have to do in order to make a seed grow:

1. Plant the seed. -----> It must have a place to grow.
2. Give it water and plant food. -----> It must be fed.
3. Place it in the sun. -----> It has to be in a place where it can receive light.
4. Continue to care for it. -----> Without more water, food and light it will die.

Those are things you must do in order for a seed to grow. So what about faith?

1. Plant the seed. -----> You have to make a place in your heart for faith to grow.
2. Give it water and plant food. ----> Just as a plant needs food to grow, faith requires spiritual food (The Bible and Book of Mormon, prayer, etc.).
3. Place it in the sun. -----> You need to be in a place where you can receive 'spiritual light' or learn more about Jesus Christ. After all, you must learn about him before you can have faith in him.
4. Continue to care for it. -----> You must continue to 'feed' your faith in order for it to live.

      As you learn more about Jesus Christ you will see your belief in him grow. Just like a seed it will require time, work and patience on your part, but in time you will find your small 'seed of faith' can grow from a small acorn into a giant oak tree! I know that to be true. If you already have faith in Christ, strengthen it. If not, begin today by learning more about him. I know as you do this your faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement will grow. I know Jesus Christ lives and loves us. I know he died for us so we can be forgiven. Now it's up to you to learn the same thing for yourself.

     If you have any particular questions you can message me on Facebook or click on any or all of the following links to learn more.
What is Faith?
Faith in Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ and His Atonement

Back to the Basics

     I remember playing basketball from a young age and I learned so many different things about the game. Even after learning many new things though we always got back to the basics and I think it's about that time for my blog. I have written a lot about the gospel of Jesus Christ and after talking about so many different  things I thought it would be good to get back to the basics and reinforce the fundamentals.

     Over the next month or so, I'll be posting blogs about topics such as Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism, and the Holy Ghost. If there are any other things you would like to learn about feel free to shoot me a message on Facebook and then be ready to learn!

A Second Witness Clears Things Up

     Every six months we get to hear from the prophet, apostles and leaders of the church in General Conference. The most recent was at the beginning of this month and I really enjoyed it. The following excerpt came from a talk that I loved (Click here for full talk.). Shortly after hearing it we were talking to a man who couldn't understand why we would need The Book of Mormon. It showed me just how much we DO need a living prophet on the earth.

      "Why is the Book of Mormon so essential if we already have the Bible to teach us about Jesus Christ? Have you ever wondered why there are so many Christian churches in the world today when they obtain their doctrines from essentially the same Bible? It is because they interpret the Bible differently. If they interpreted it the same, they would be the same church. This is not a condition the Lord desires, for the Apostle Paul declared that there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). To help bring this oneness about, the Lord established a divine law of witnesses. Paul taught, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (2 Corinthians 13:1).

The Bible is one witness of Jesus Christ; the Book of Mormon is another. Why is this second witness so crucial? The following illustration may help: How many straight lines can you draw through a single point on a piece of paper? The answer is infinite. For a moment, suppose that single point represents the Bible and that hundreds of those straight lines drawn through that point represent different interpretations of the Bible and that each of those interpretations represents a different church.

What happens, however, if on that piece of paper there is a second point representing the Book of Mormon? How many straight lines could you draw between these two reference points: the Bible and the Book of Mormon? Only one. Only one interpretation of Christ’s doctrines survives the testimony of these two witnesses.

Again and again the Book of Mormon acts as a confirming, clarifying, unifying witness of the doctrines taught in the Bible so that there is only “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.”

   My guess is that you may now be more curious about The Book of Mormon. To learn more you can talk to me on Facebook (see my blog's homepage) or you can get a free copy for yourself by clicking here. When you get your copy take the time to read and pray about it. Ask God if it is true and you will come to know that it is a Book from God.