Am I a Christian?

With many people saying that Mormons are not christian, I am sure that this is a question that has come across many members minds. I also think it might be a question that comes across of members of other religions. With the world the way it is I suggest that everyone ask this question of their self. Am I a Christian?

To answer that question I believe we need to figure a few things out first. One) What does it mean to be a christian? Two) In the end who is going to be the final judge?

First to answer what is means to be a christian. Lets first take a look at what the word is implying. Christian implies that we are followers of Christ and His teachings. If I am a follower of Christ and His teachings what does that mean? It means that:

1) I am going to Follow the example Christ set. (John 10:14 "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine." If we are Christ sheep we are going to follow him.

2) It also implies that we are going to seek to understand all that he has taught us. John 5:39-40 "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." The scripture testify of Christ and His mission. They will not bring us eternal life, but they will guide us to Christ who will give us eternal life. He cannot give to those who do not come.

Finally 3) We are going to live our lives according to our beliefs. We seek Christ through the scriptures (Old Testament, New Testament, and Book of Mormon) and what the spirit tells us. We must always be looking for the promptings of the Holy Ghost to help us get on and stay on the correct path. How do we know the spirit well "...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." (Galatians 5:22-21)

And to finish off we must remember that it is not our place to judge. "Judge not that ye be not judged." (Matt. 7:1 and 3 Nephi 14:1) Who are we to say who is Christian or not. We cannot see that hearts of intents of others. We cannot be a perfect judge. "...God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel." Romans 2:16 "...names are written in heaven, where God and Christ are the judge of all." (Doctrine and Covenants 76:68, emphasis added)

Now that we know what is means to be Christians and who is to judge all, we need to change our question. It should no longer matter what I think who a christian is or even anyone else in this imperfect world. Instead we should follow the example of  Elder Neil L. Andersen, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and ask ourselves the question, "What thinks Christ of me?"

It is only the opinion of Christ that matters in the end. All else is naught to the judgement of Christ, HE who paid the price of the worlds sins. Corinthians. 6:20 "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s."

The Full Atonement: Judas' Betrayal

Christ betrayal began with just a simple action, Judas "went unto the chief priests" (Matt. 26:14) It was there that the betrayal started and Judas turned against Christ. What was it that he betrayed Christ for? The sum of thirty pieces of silver. (Matt. 26:15) In those day that was enough money to buy a small farm or a field. (Matt 27:6-7) Judas betrayed Christ, the man who is our Savior and Redeemer and our

advocate with the Father, for a sum of money that would only buy him a field.

But that is not the only betrayal committed by Judas. There was betrayal in the sign he gave as to who was Christ.

"Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him."

(Matthew 26:48-49)

It is not just the fact that Judas betrayed Christ for money, but it is that He betrayed Christ with a kiss. A kiss is normally a sign of closeness between people, but at that moment it was the sign of Christ betrayal. One who was close to Christ and chosen by Him to be one of His apostles turned against Him and betrayed him to the scribes and elders. Judas Betrayed Christ to His murderers.

To those of us who may feel as though we have been betrayed by someone we love, our Savior, Jesus Christ, knows our pains. He too was betrayed by one who He loved and trusted. He can help us in our trials as we seek for his help.

Even being betrayed, Jesus Christ set the perfect example of forgiveness. Some of His last words on the Cross were "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)

That is what we have been told to do as well. To forgive and love one another. We need to follow the example of Jesus Christ and love all those around us. Will you do that with me? Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and love one another?

The Full Atonement: The Suffering in the Garden.

It all seems to start at the garden. After the Passover meal with His disciples, Christ traveled out of the city of Jerusalem to the garden of Gethsemane. To add more significance to the garden think about what the word Gethsemane means.

The word Gethsemane means an olive press. Now how does an olive press add more significance to Christ going to a garden? For that answer we must compare the similarities of an olive press and Christ's Suffering in the garden.

The way an olive press works is first crushing the olives into a fine paste. After that the paste is put under immense pressure to get every drop of oil out of the olives. How does that compare to Christ Suffering?  It is because of the immense pressure of our sins that caused Him to bleed from every pore. (Luke 22:44)  It was in the garden that He pleaded to have the bitter cup of our transgressions taken from Him, but submitted to the will of the Father. (Mark 14:36) It was during the suffering in the garden that an angel came to strengthen and encourage Him. (Luke 22:43)

In the garden of Gethsemane Christ " borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows..."(Isaiah 53:4, Mosiah 14:4) The suffering did not end after the garden, but was truly just the beginning. Shortly after His suffering in the garden, Christ was betrayed by Judas, one of his own disciples. That night in the garden, Christ suffering had only begun.

Introduction to "The Full Atonement"

Who knows what the word Atonement means? In Romans 5:8-11 is talks about us being reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, "by whom we have now received the atonement."  In the Old testament in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers we hear of the sacrifices preformed to "atone" for the peoples sins.

Since it is because of sin that we are no longer in harmony with the laws of our Father in Heaven and thus are separated from his presence, an atonement would have to do exactly what the word means. At-one-ment, it would have to bring us back to being at-one with God, or one with the will of God. Christ has made that atonement for us.

Now here is a question for the ages. How many parts are there to Christ's Atonement? When you break it down you'll find there are many different little parts to the Atonement. I want to keep it simpler than that. Because even though Christ does numerous things for us, I believe all the things He has done can be grouped together, and simplified that we might better understand and remember what it is he has done for us.

The Big Question I have now is how many groups can we narrow it down to? Fifty? Ten? Five? One? I have currently come up with about five groups we can use to break down the Atonement into. Only four of the five groups have to do with all that Christ has done for us. The last group is what Christ expects from us.

The First Three Groups are:
One: Christ's Suffering in the Garden
Two: Christ's Death on the Cross
Three: Christ's Resurrection on the Third Day

You will have to wait to figure out what the last group is. You are welcome to guess. There are no wrong answers. They just might not be what I am looking for. If you follow this closely I hope that I can show you the many things Christ did to Atone for our sins.

While you wait, think on what might be the other group.

Is Christ There: Footprints in the Sand

I am sure most of us are familiar with the popular poem "Footprints in the Sand". It always gives me encouragement when I am feeling a little down. I wanted to write a blog about it, but as I was thinking where I would go with it  and searching for some good pictures for the blog, I thought of a way to add more meaning and feeling to it. The Bulk of it will remain unchanged, but there is something more we sometimes forget.

One night a man had a dream. 

He dreamed he was walking along the beach with [Christ]. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to [Christ]. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

 

 

He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned [Christ] about it:

"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me." 

 

 

[Christ] replied:

"My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you [with the cross I carried to Golgotha]

John 19:17-18 "And [He] bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: Where they crucified [Him], and two other with [Him], on either side one, and Jesus in the midst."

Let us not forget in the times we are struggling, Christ will carry me and He will carry you, until we have all made it back to live with Him and our Heavenly Father again. And let us not forget Christ is our Shepard. He will leave the 99 to find the one. These things I know to be true.

Passport to Heaven

There are many places to see and different countries to visit. However, in all our travels outside of our country, we need one thing to be able to return to the country we call home. We need a passport.

It is the same for our travel we call life. We left the presence of God's to come down to earth and gain experiences we could not have at His side. We were to be tried and tested to see if we would still follow God's plan. However, in order to enter God's presence again we need to have a passport issued from home.

In John 3:5 Christ tells us exactly what that passport is. "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and the of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (emphasis added) Baptism is our passport back to Heaven. As Christ says in John, except we are born of water, are baptized, and the of the spirit, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, we cannot enter into God's kingdom, or in other words, we cannot live with God. 

But like all passports, it must be issued, or done, by the proper authority to be valid. No country or government would accept a forged passport, and neither will God. He will only accept that which is done by His authority, and under His direction.

We are blessed to live in an age when God's authority is on the earth today. That authority is called the Priesthood. God has restored the Priesthood to the earth through his prophet Joseph Smith. I am so grateful to have that blessing in my life.