Why Do You Believe in God? One Woman's Experience

[Blog author's note: I did not write this one; a very lovely woman did.]


I prayed to Him for help when I was a teenager and I felt His love for me.  It was a particularly strong experience.  That was the spark.  Then more experiences came in which I chose to pray about them, and He blessed my life.  I also started reading the scriptures with my heart and found out who Jesus Christ was and is.  I loved reading about how He interacted with people and found that to be so fulfilling.  I personally noticed that my life was truly better.  Then I went to college, served a mission to Alaska, taught the gospel in many different settings, married, I am in the middle of mothering four children, and have experienced plenty of joys and heartaches.  For me it started with some faith and it is still by faith, prayer, and study that I know there is a God.  The many different experiences of life give these things I do context, a reason to keep nourishing this relationship with my Heavenly Father.

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

- Luke 11:9 

Posts to come:
What is the Holy Ghost? Why is it so important to Mormons?

Who exactly is Joseph Smith? Do you worship him?

Where did the Book of Mormon come from?

What are Mormon Temples for?

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Do you have any questions or topics you'd like to understand better? Please leave me a comment!

What is it like to go to a Mormon church on Sunday?

I think it would be a good idea to decode some of our churchspeak first:

Ward or branch: a congregation. A branch is a smaller congregation.

Bishop: The leader of the congregation. He is not paid by the church and is not professionally trained (no one is). He is specifically called from the Stake Presidency under the direction and guidance of God. Every member of the ward has the right and privilege to ask God for a confirmation of the divinity of his calling. He usually serves for a few years (not forever).

Counselors: We call them 1st Counselor and 2nd Counselor. They are the "helpers" of the Bishop. The "Bishopric" is the Bishop and his counselors together.

Stake: A group of wards (congregations) in a geographical area. All the congregations are led by a Stake President.

There are 3 hours to church: Sacrament meeting, Sunday school, and Relief Society/Priesthood/ Primary/Young Men's/Young Women's.

There are some variations in the order of the classes due to how many wards use a particular meetinghouse and how many members are in a ward. So let me give you a peek into what my Sunday schedule looks like:

First Hour: Sacrament Meeting
Sacrament meeting is the most important meeting of church. It's where we have the Sacrament (bread and water). You would notice that it's quiet during this part of the meeting. That's because it's supposed to be a time of reflection and thoughts turned toward Jesus Christ's Atonement and renewing the covenants members of the church have made at baptism. Then after the Sacrament is over, the Bishop or one of his counselors will get up and say how the rest of the meeting will proceed. We typically have members of the congregation or leaders in the stake give talks about various topics such as repentance, prayer, the Holy Ghost, eternal families, etc. Sometimes there will be teenagers giving a talk. And sometimes you'll see someone play the piano or some other instrument, or the ward choir sing too. Some holidays (especially Christmas) there is often a special Christmas program for Sacrament meeting with many musical numbers and maybe some scripture readings about Christ's birth.

Fast Sunday: 1 Sunday each month (usually the 1st Sunday) members of the church fast (go without food/drink) for 2 meals for a spiritual purpose (maybe for guidance in a major decision, for a struggling or ailing loved one, for better understanding of a gospel teaching, etc). The money that would have been spent for the cost of those 2 meals is donated to the poor and needy of the church. We call that money a "fast offering." It is not required. There is no collection plate passed around; we offer fast offerings in private (an envelope given to a member of the bishopric). There is no expected or recommended amount of money. Some people have special circumstances that don't allow them to fast, but they can find other ways to participate/adapt to the spirit of the fast. And all can donate a fast offering. On fast Sunday, we reserve the time after Sacrament for the bearing of testimonies. People from the congregation are invited to come up to the stand and share their testimony of Jesus Christ and his gospel. You may see little children come up and share their beliefs. Always very sweet to see and hear.

Second Hour: Sunday School
After Sacrament meeting, everyone disperses to go to their respective Sunday school classes. The small children (18 months-2 years) go to nursery for the last 2 hours where they play with toys, have a snack, and have a brief lesson about Jesus. The children ages 3-11 go to "Primary" for the last 2 hours. They have class time with a lesson and they also meet together in a larger room to have "singing time" and "sharing time." Sharing time is like a short lesson usually with lots of pictures, maybe a game focused on the lesson, coloring something, etc. The youth go to their own Sunday school classes and have a lesson from the scriptures. The adults also go to Sunday school and have a lesson from the scriptures. This year we happen to be studying the New Testament.

Third (last) Hour: Young Men's/Young Women's/Relief Society/Priesthood
The teenage boys aged 12-18 go to meet with the rest of the men for a few minutes then they go to "Young Men's." The boys meet together and split up into classes and have a lesson. The classes are called "quorums" Deacons (ages 12-13), Teachers (ages 14-15), and Priests (ages 16-18). The Young Men have weekly activities that might include Scouts (particularly in the United States) and sometimes it's a service activity and sometimes it's just having fun.

Young Women's is similar to Young Men's. Girls ages 12-18 go to their own classes and have a lesson and are usually split up according to age like Young Men's: Beehives (ages 12-13), Mia Maids (14-15), and Laurels (16-18). They also have weekly activities where they might go do some service or learn something or just have fun. Young Women's has a program like Scouts called Personal Progress that gives them goals to achieve and work on kinda like "merit badges" Scouts earn.


Relief Society is where women ages 18 and up go to meet together and have a lesson on a teaching of the gospel taught by one of the women. We have activities once a quarter usually focused on something that will strengthen women in some way (in their knowledge, relationships, in the home, physically, etc).

Priesthood is where the adult men go (ages 18 and up) and meet together and have a lesson. One of the main purposes of Priesthood "quorums" (groups) is to serve others. It's called the "Priesthood" because the Priesthood is the authority to act in the name of God. Every worthy male can hold the Priesthood. So the men that go to Priesthood usually also hold the Priesthood (been ordained to the authority to act in the name of God). Every Priesthood holder than trace their line of authority all the way back to Jesus Christ himself. So for example, my father was ordained to the priesthood by his father and his father ordained him and a leader in the church ordained him and Joseph Smith ordained him and Peter, James, and John ordained Joseph Smith and Jesus Christ ordained Peter, James, and John. I just think that tidbit is kinda cool.


After the 3rd hour, we are dismissed to gather our families and go home to enjoy the rest of the Sabbath. Three hours at church probably seems like a super long time to many people out there and maybe even a little dry. But I think once a person has sought out and obtained an understanding and testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel, it's the best dang 3 hours of the week. Truly!


Any questions about what it's like to go to an LDS church on Sunday? Comment away...  :)

This is one woman's brief take on what to expect at a Mormon church:

Is God Really Out There? A Scientist's Perspective

[Blog author's note: I didn't write this one.]

I was talking with a neighbor the other day and she said: "My husband
doesn't believe in God because he studies physics."  I couldn't help
but laugh a little as I explained that I am about 5 years into a 6
year physics Ph.D. program and I believe in God.

I always find this sort of attitude amusing.  Years ago when I was a
missionary in Taiwan we ran into an American living there working as
an English teacher who declared to us "Science is my God."  Which
seemed like an odd thing to me, that a method for investigating the
universe who be put on par with the creator of the universe.  Science
is a wonderful tool, but science is not God.  It isn't really a thing
at all it is just a method for quantifying, explaining, and predicting
the world around us. And although it has been very useful in helping
us understand many things it is not well suited to answer all
questions that may arise.  For example: I do not know of a scientific
way to prove that you love someone, or a way to quantify that love (I
love you 3 kilograms... I mean 4 Watts.... maybe 9 parsecs), but love
is real not withstanding.

So it is with God.  He exists, He is our creator, and He loves us.
Science has never disproved this, nor will it ever.  It doesn't matter
if we discover something on our knees praying or with a hundred
billion dollar particle accelerator, the truth is the truth and
eventually all methods of investigation must agree.  Believers should
not feel threatened by science.  For the most part science and
religion occupy independent realms.  Science tries to understand HOW
things happen and religion deals with the underlying WHY things
happen.  While science tries to predict what will happen next,
religion shows us how to influence and respond to those events by
changing our hearts, minds, and actions.  If there ever seems to be a
contradiction between science and religion it means one of two things.
 Either we have misunderstood what God was trying to teach us, or our
scientific understanding isn't yet complete.  Both errors stem from
the fact that we as human beings are imperfect and often misunderstand
what we are taught, both from God and from "science".

The scriptures are full of messages from God to the ancient prophets
instructing us how to be more like Jesus Christ: more loving, kinder,
more thoughtful, patient, and so on.  His living prophets continue to
deliver the same messages.  And until we get these important
principles incorporated into our lives I can't image Heavenly Father
spending his time telling us about quantum mechanics, sting theory, or
the Higgs Boson.  We are largely on our own when it comes to science
(which keeps me employed), but God has taught us all the essential
things.

The more I study the world around me the more I am struck by its
beauty.  I feel very grateful that I live in a time where I can make a
living as a scientist, studying how the world works.  Ever so slowly I
get to put together little tiny pieces of the puzzle of how God
created the universe.  I have a fantastic job.  But as much as I enjoy
that I am even more grateful that God has not left me to figure out
how to live my life on my own.  He has not left me to wonder if I am
just a series of electrical signal in my brain or something more.  I
am a child of God, I existed long before this universe was created and
I will continue to exist long after this life.  While on this earth
Jesus Christ commanded us to be perfect, and I do not believe he was
doing so in jest.  This was not some lofty ideal which we should
aspire to but never hope to reach. It was a real commandment that we
are expected to follow.  And as far away from perfect as I am today I
know that through the atonement of Jesus Christ I can become perfect,
my sins can be washed away with the atoning blood of the Savior.  My
heart can be changed as I follow Him and learn to accept His will.

Now as cool and exciting as science is, it can't compare to knowledge like that.


This is a video about a man named John Lewis, a professor of Planetary Sciences at University of Arizona and MIT. He advises the European and NASA space programs. Here he talks about the science, the universe, and God. Check it out.

The Plan of Happiness: What Every Person is After

In my last post, I talked about what God is like--his nature. I mentioned that he is all-loving and all-knowing. Going along with that, it makes sense that since He loves each of us, he wants us to be happy! And since He's all-knowing, He knows what will make us happy and He's revealed the way for us to find it...

What is this "Plan" Mormons talk about?
The Plan of Happiness is God's plan for every one of us to become like Heavenly Father and receive a fulness of joy. A simple scripture puts it nicely: "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy." (2 Nephi 2:25) The plan includes coming to earth, being baptized, following Heavenly Father's commandments, and continuing faithful until the end of mortal life.

Where did I come from?
We believe that we existed before we were born on the earth. Members of the church often call it "premortal life." We all lived with Heavenly Father before the world was created. Every one of us attended a council where Heavenly Father presented His Plan of Happiness. In that council, the premortal Jesus Christ covenanted (or promised) to be our Savior. But Lucifer (Satan) also wanted to redeem all mankind by forcing them to obedience, which would violate our freedom to choose and He wanted all the glory for "saving everyone." By seeking the power for himself and desiring to take away the agency of man, he then became Satan, or the devil, and was cast out of heaven. 1/3 of the people at the council chose to follow Satan instead of Heavenly Father and Jesus. They chose not to come to earth and receive a body. Those of us who decided to follow God's plan came here to earth and gain a body to learn and progress.

How All This Got Started
 Simple answer:
Some people believe that what happened in the Garden of Eden was a tragedy. Latter-day Saints have a different view. We believe that partaking of the "forbidden fruit" was part of The Plan! Their choice to eat the fruit made it possible for the rest of us to come to earth, to experience the joys and pains of life, to choose God and return to Him. 

A More Elaborate Answer:
Adam and Eve were the first people Heavenly Father sent to earth--to a little spot we know as The Garden of Eden. The earth that was prepared for them was perfect. There was no disease, no blemish on anything or anyone. Adam and Eve were immortal. Adam and Eve were completely innocent and had no knowledge of good and evil, light and darkness, joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain. But since Heavenly Father knew the only way for them (and the rest of us) to learn and progress is to be given choices. And to be given choices, there has to be opposites. Enter the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. By eating the fruit, their "eyes would be opened" and they would have that knowledge and the world as they knew it would change--or become "fallen" as many Christians call it. Death, sorrow, and disease would enter the world. God provided the Tree, but He commanded them not to eat it. In His own words, Heavenly Father said, "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but, remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Moses 3:16-17).  When He says "thou shalt surely die" He did not mean they'd die physically right on the spot--although by partaking of the fruit, death entered the world and they became mortal. The more immediate issue was that Adam and Eve would die spiritually--meaning they would not be able to be in the presence of God as they had been able to do before.

 So what does the Fall of Adam Have to do with Me?
Well, while we believe that "men will be punished for their own sins and not for Adam's transgression*," every single one of us does experience the same consequences they did: death, disease, and pain. There are good consequences too as I mentioned above: knowledge, freedom of choice, a physical body, the opportunity to bear children, and the opportunity to gain eternal life. As it began with Adam and Eve, all of us are separated from God, but we are meant to return to Him and become as He is. Everyone of us makes some bad choices--lying, cheating, stealing, giving into anger, manipulation, violence, etc. These things may keep us from returning to Him unless we seek out Jesus Christ, ask for forgiveness and with His help, change. (This is what we call repentance.) When we are forgiven through this repentance, we are cleansed through Jesus Christ.
This incredible video explains perfectly how the Savior can help every one of us with all pain that we all experience here on earth and the wonderful change that we can experience if we choose it, if we want it.

I think it is everything.





*2nd Article of Faith