Our Story - Part 1 - Why Are We Mormon?

WHY ARE WE MORMON?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Part 1 of Our Story

What do we believe and why? This is a frequent topic of conversation between us. Even more so lately because of the “I’m a Mormon” campaign recently launched in the Seattle area. You may have seen or heard media spots or even taken a look at mormon.org. We’ve been counseled to think about who we are, what we believe, and how we will answer questions when people, hopefully, ask us about being Mormon, or, more correctly, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We’ve decided to share our thoughts with you.

Here’s a somewhat short answer – to be followed by much more detail in Parts 2 and so on.

MichaelK came home from school the end of May 1981 and asked if we were Christians. We went to the library and got books for family discussions. We talked about how you can be Christian without going to church and all that. A few weeks later missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints knocked on our door. We let them in because they could tell Michael about Jesus and we wouldn’t ever have to go to church! We were busy and just weren’t making church a priority.

The missionaries got us thinking and talking about what we did and didn’t believe. Is there a God? If yes, what are His teachings and where are they? Are the heavens closed? What do the scriptures teach? The questions just kept coming. Between us, Joe and I had many years of church experience in various denominations. Julia grew up in the Methodist Church. Joe belonged to the Episcopal and then Roman Catholic churches.

Over the summer we talked, prayed, read, talked, prayed and talked some more.  Much of the discussion took place without the missionaries. We liked the missionaries. They were nice, well meaning “boys” who believed in the message they were sharing.

We knew people who affiliated with specific denominations for a variety of reasons. Perhaps that’s where parents or grandparents attended or where their friends went or it was the “best” church in town. They might select a church based on who is the most politically correct with the current cultural trends. People might select a church based on the music, the beauty of the building, the preaching ability of the pastor – or a multitude of other reasons. Rarely did we ever hear someone say they attended a church because of the doctrine as taught in the Bible and they decided on the church after intense, long term, personal study and prayer.

We decided it was important for us to determine if we really believed in God. If we did then we had an immense responsibility to find out His teachings, build a relationship with Him, and determine which church taught doctrine that was closest to what He taught. We were baptized and became members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints October 25, 1981.

We made that decision 30 years ago. We still feel it’s the best decision we’ve made as individuals and as a couple. Over the 30 years there’s been much more study, conversation, prayer, questioning – and more study and prayer. All the while we have been trying to actively live what we’ve learned about being disciples of Christ.

More to follow ……………

Joe & Julia Todd  

11/4/11