The Mormons (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) use the King James Bible as the official version of the Bible in English. However, they do have their own version of it. While the text is the same, there are a few special additions in the form of footnotes, summaries, a Bible Dictionary and other tools that help Mormons study the Bible. These tools are also valuable to non-Mormons who want to understand how Mormons view the Bible.

One such tool is the Bible Dictionary. The LDS Bible Dictionary, which is found in the LDS version of the Bible includes the usual definitions of Biblical terms, but it also refers to related scriptures and teachings from additional LDS scriptures, and from Joseph Smith. While it’s not considered official in any way, it is a helpful tool for getting a basic understanding of how Mormons see the writings of the Bible.

The dictionary includes a chronology of the Old Testament, which can help you to understand when things happened and who was or was not alive at any given time. Was Noah around to see the Tower of Babel? The chronology can help you figure it out.

There is also a harmony of the Gospels, giving students the location of each event and where it’s recorded in each of the four gospels. Additionally, it offers a link to any additional insights given in LDS modern revelation. If you’re trying to track down what Mormons say about the birth of the Savior and compare it to the information in the gospels, this chart will help you to compile that information.

You can visit the Bible Dictionary online. Go there now, and let’s explore a few entries. First, click on F, and then on Family. As you’re reading the Bible, you remember that Mormons are very family oriented. You wonder if they have anything to say about the scripture you’re reading, which is Genesis 18. As you read this entry, you might be startled to see a reference to a scripture in the Book of Moses. There’s no book of Moses in the Bible! You’re right, but the Mormons have a book of Moses in their scriptures. Aren’t you anxious to know what Moses has to say? Click on the link and find out.

As you study the rest of the entry, you’ll learn the LDS view of family life and be led to many Biblical scriptures that demonstrate God’s plans for families, and His instructions for good family life. You’ll also be able to explore a few LDS-specific scriptures on the subject. Below the explanation is a button that says, “Show references.” Clicking this gives you the text of each scripture referred to in the dictionary entry, with hyperlinks to the original scripture so you can study the context. This is a very convenient way to study the LDS Bible without needing to buy one.

The entire "Mormon Bible" is online for you to read, free and without registration of any kind. Simply follow the hyperlink above and decide where you want to start reading. If you hover over the footnoted words, you’ll be led to further references that can help you deepen your understanding of the Bible and of LDS teachings.

I remember years ago when my girls were younger. Two or ten children, a mother's life is full.

I recall a particular day. When evening came, I was pretty exhausted. I began to write a quick synopsis of the day in my journal, and as I did, I seemed to reduce my activities to a list: early morning study, caring for my girls, about 21 phone calls, six loads of wash, several meals prepared, grocery shopping with Talia, service, reading scriptures, and retiring. While I loved being a mother and inherently knew the value of being with and directing my children, I didn't have a way to measure the increase, the effect of the day and see its impact in the grand ledger of life. Having love in my heart didn't seem to make its way onto the list.

As the girls and I cuddled in the bed for scripture time together, I opened the Book of Mormon to Alma 26 and began to read to them. Kira and Talia each repeated the lines of the text, or their favorite words, as they typically did then. As always with repetition, I had extra time to consider the meaning of the verses we read aloud:

1 And now, these are the words of Ammon to his brethren, which say thus: My brothers and my brethren, behold I say unto you, how great reason have we to rejoice; for could we have supposed when we started from the land Zarahemla that God would have granted unto us such great blessings?

2 And now, I ask, what great blessings has he bestowed upon us? Can ye tell?

3 Behold, I answer for you; for our brethren, the Lamanites, were in darkness, yea, even in the darkest abyss, but behold, how many of them are brought to behold the marvelous light of God. And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work.

4 Behold, thousands of them do rejoice, and have been brought into the fold of God.

5 Behold, the field was ripe, and blessed are ye, for ye did thrust in the sickle and did reap with your might, yea, all they day long did ye labor; and behold the number of your sheaves! And they shall be gathered into the garners, that they are not wasted.

6 Yea, they shall not be beaten down by the storm at the last day; yea; neither shall they be harrowed up by the whirlwinds; but when the storm cometh they shall be gathered together in their place, that the storm cannot penetrate to them, yea, neither shall they be driven with fierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry them;

7 But behold they are in the hands of the Lord of the harvest and they are his and he will raise them up at the last day.

8 Blessed be the name of our God; let us sing to his praise, yea, let us give thanks to his holy name, for he doth work righteousness forever. Alma 26:1-8

As I listened to Ammon, I noticed that he suggested what I already knew to be true-- that the greatest blessing we can receive lies in being "made instruments in the hands of God" to bring others to Christ (vs 3). In reading those words, I felt the Lord trying to tell me something. He seemed to be saying that what I was attempting to do that very day-- in purifying my heart so that my children would be able to see the Savior more clearly through me--was part and parcel of "this great work" of bringing others to Christ (vs 3). Not only did He let me know He was aware of my efforts, He indicated that through them I was involved-- though in a different arena and with fewer numbers--in the same great work as Ammon. The Lord felt a need to remind me of what I already knew: that the work and efforts of all mothers is noticed and that it never could really be reduced to a list.

And then, as I read on, I was struck again by the Lord's words in verse 5: "Behold, the field was ripe, and ye did thrust in the sickle and reap with your might, yea, all the day long did ye labor." It was as if this were His rendition of my day--in contrast with my own-- as if He had watched me all day in my own invisible realm and stood before me to give His account of it. His loving words pierced the unspoken feelings tugging at my heart. The field was ripe," I acknowledged silently as my thoughts turned immediately to my children's tender, prepared hearts--ripe for learning as I was ripe that day in wanting to teach them. And I didn't need a particular parenting skill or blanket formula for interacting with them; nor did I mistake their behavioral slips for mine.

I read on: "ye did thrust in the sickle and did reap with your might" (vs 5). It seemed that I had underestimated the offering of serving with a heart desiring to do right; the Lord saw my efforts as "thrusting" and "reaping" with my might. I was amazed as I read the next phrase, His exclamation, "and behold the number of your sheaves!" (vs 5)--a clear indication to me that His accounting was different than mine and that were quantity and quality fruits born in a simple way that day. And, again, what he said to me, he seems to be saying to all mothers who serve in love within the walls of their own homes.

I continued to ponder these verses, and I began to see my day differently. As I discovered that a sheaf is a bundle of grain wrapped together, and that each stalk contains about forty grains each, I knew there was so small sum gathered. Where was it tucked away? Suddenly, the experiences with my daughters seemed to divide themselves up into little packages or bundles, as if they themselves were the wrapped sheaves of grain--Talia's cutting short her early-morning tantrum and hugging me; her tender expressions throughout the day; her change in demeanor in the middle of a demanding moment while brushing her teeth; the profound feelings of warmth in our home.... Then I unwrapped another fruit-bearing sheaf--marked by discovering Kira's real need for help to know on what to do when provoked by her sister. Perhaps that sheaf alone, if "garnered" by the Lord, would accelerate her progress in learning to love like the Savior and forbear under injury (vs 5).

I imagined, then, the bundles of sheaves. As I envisioned the gathered sheaves, the words in Alma 26:3 came back to me in slightly different form: "Know, Karen, that '[thy time] was not wasted.'" In one way, it seemed that this little change of heart had occurred overnight, and in yet another way, that it had occurred slowly, without my even noticing it, over time. The Lord had seen the harvest; I had seen only the shells of the seeds I was sowing.

I thought more about the fruits of the harvest--they are also born into the seeds that develop within the growing grain. In that sense, the sheaves also represented the girls. As I pondered the Lord's special promises, in this same passage of scripture, to protect the sheaves from physical storm, it seemed that He was likewise promising to protect Kira and Talia against spiritual storms--from being "driven by fierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth." I counted his promise as part of this bounteous reaping. The Lord, it seemed, was assuring me--and, likewise, all mothers-- that as long as I would continue to wholly yield my heart to Him and to Kira and Talia--though imperfectly still--my children would" not be beaten down by the storm at the last day nor be harrowed up by the whirlwinds" (vs 6). What greater promise can we reap from the Lord? I felt to rejoice as did Alma : "Blessed be the name of our God;...for he doth work righteousness forever" (vs 8).

The girls were hugging and squirming in their beds as I finished our reading and marked the corner of the page. I kissed them goodnight, turned out the lights and slowly began to close the Book of Mormon, but I couldn't. Instead, I carried it gently downstairs, laid it on the kitchen table--still open to those savored passages in Alma.

The Internet makes it easier than ever to learn about Mormons and the Mormons are working hard to give you many different ways to learn about them. There are a variety of official sources to explore, but there are even more unofficial sources.

First, let’s talk about the official sources. The church has a website just for people who aren’t Mormon. It’s called Mormon.org, and it can help you find answers to the types of questions people ask themselves about God and religion. It offers answers to the three most important questions people have today: Who am I? Why am I here? What happens when I die? You can also explore the Mormon relationship with Jesus Christ, watch videos of real Mormons telling their own stories and God and religion, chat online with a missionary, order free LDS media, including a Book of Mormon, or ask to have a missionary visit your home. The site allows you to explore the faith with whatever level of commitment you choose.

Do you wonder what the Mormons tell their own members? You can visit the website the church created for its members and get a look at the church as the Mormons see it. The official Mormon website is LDS.org You’ll find the actual lesson manuals used in our classes there, free to read. You can also read all the church magazines free, as well as the Book of Mormon and the Bible. You don’t have to register, so just dive in and see what it is we really do and teach.

There are smaller official websites that delve into very specific topics. For instance, you can visit JesusChrist.lds.org to learn in detail what the Mormons believe about Jesus. On this site, you’ll find paintings, articles, information about the Savior’s life and teachings, and testimonies. There is even a multimedia section with videos focused on the Savior. These smaller websites help you to focus on the subjects you care about the most.

Unofficially, there are also many ways to find out what ordinary Mormons think about their religion. You’ll find a huge variety of opinions there, and of course, since they’re just ordinary people, they don’t always get their facts right, but it’s a good way to get to know real Mormons. You’ll gain insights into why they think as they do, how their faith affects their actions, and why they are Mormons in the first place. This website, LDSblogs.com, is an unofficial one, written by ordinary Mormons sharing what they believe. The church has encouraged its members to talk about the church online, so if you like your information unofficial and uncensored, check out some Mormon blogs and websites. But then go to the official site to double-check the facts, if you’re after facts.

A good place to meet ordinary, thinking Mormons is LDS.net. This site has forums, testimonies, and other places to interact with Mormons. Many who aren’t LDS, or who are exploring Mormonism seriously, are on the site, so you won’t be the only person in your situation. It isn’t a debate site, and the rules are strict, but for the serious seeker of information, this is a great place to meet Mormons.

An organization is only as strong as its’ members. When discussing religious organizations, the strength is measured largely in an individual’s faith and personal righteousness.

In the Sept. 2008 Women’s General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed the Mormons), Julie B. Beck, Relief Society General President, addressed this very idea when discussing how to better help the women of the Latter-day Saint Church fulfill their purpose within this world-wide organization.

“To do our part under the plan of the Lord, we are to increase our faith and personal righteousness. Membership in the Church requires faith, which we nourish throughout our lives with great ‘diligence, and patience, and long-suffering’ (Alma 32:43)” (Julie B. Beck, “Fulfilling the Purpose of Relief Society”, Women's General Conference, 2008).

Faith and personal righteousness are principles that must be acted upon before they can increase. They must be tested, or experimented with, before we can gain a true and honest testimony of their power in our personal lives. One of the most well known examples for members of the Mormon Church of how the principle of faith (and subsequently all other principles) can be tested to know of it’s truthfulness can be found in the Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ. Feel free to read Alma 32:28-43 for the exact scriptural account.

We start with an object lesson, that of comparing the principle we are hoping to gain a testimony to a seed. You plant the seed, water it, give it plenty of sunshine, and wait to see if it will grow. If it grows, it is a good seed.

By the same token we are given principles to live. We must take one and plant it within our hearts, not rejecting it even before it has a chance to grow. We must nurture this idea through scripture study, through pondering, and through prayer. If the ‘seed’ is good, it will “begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me” (Alma 32:28).

The gospel of Jesus Christ is filled with many good seeds that can begin to enlarge our souls and enlighten our minds, but it is not enough to simply let them sprout. We must work to allow these little seeds to grow into grand trees with deep roots. It is necessary to continue working through more study, prayer and pondering, but also by living the principles. Now it is time to put them to the test.

Sister Beck brings to mind an extraordinary example of what it means to have our faith put to the test through the trials faced by women at the time of the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“Early pioneer women were driven from homes and persecuted because of their faith. Others survived fires and floods. They crossed oceans and walked thousands of miles, tolerating dirt, illness, and near starvation to help build the Lord’s kingdom on the earth. Many of them buried husbands, children, parents, and siblings along the way. Why did they do this?

“The did it because the fire of their faith burned in their souls. These remarkable women were not seeking fine clothing, greater leisure, large earthly mansions, or more possessions…they had a conviction and a testimony that the restored gospel of Jesus Christ was true and that the Lord needed them to do their part in establishing His kingdom on the earth” (ibid).

We work most passionately towards those things we have a firm conviction of and testimony in. For most women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a firm and abiding testimony of the truthfulness not only of the Church, not only of the Relief Society organization within it, but also of the individual and sacred role of each and every person within it is not only sincere, but a power to be reckoned with.

For those who have not yet gained this strong testimony, the path to receive it has been given in Alma. It is only up to the individual person to take the first step.

I have a firm testimony of this Church, and have since I was seventeen years old. I have put the principle of faith to the test and have been blessed to see my faith come out stronger. I am still coming to recognize the extraordinary power behind this organization of women, and of the remarkable things that can be accomplished when we are all working together.

Perhaps that’s because, as Sister Beck indicated:

“Their pursuit of personal righteousness was a daily effort to become more like the Savior through repentance, scripture study, prayer, obedience to commandments, and through seeking after everything ‘virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy’” (ibid).

Sometimes people are bored by genealogy because it’s just a list of names, dates, and places. You’ll find it far more interesting if you make your ancestors real in your mind. Following are some fun ways to bring them to life.

1. What do the dates tell you about their trials? For instance, one of my ancestors buried a large number of her ten children before she died at a very old age. Some of them died as children. Imagine how she felt, not just losing one or two, but four or five. How did she cope? How did she feel during pregnancies, knowing she might lose the child?

2. Examine historical events occurring during their lifetime and place your ancestor into the event. Even if your ancestor didn’t live near a Civil War battle or fight in it, it’s likely she was affected by the war. Find out how the war affected her area and start imagining how she fit into all of this.

3. Figure out why they moved. Especially in early days, people moved for a reason, not just for fun or employment. What caused them to uproot and leave their families in a time when they couldn’t stay in touch by phone or email? One of my ancestors moved often. When I started researching the towns they lived in, I realized they always moved during times of religious upheaval. The church would begin to argue over some point of doctrine, and their group was the one that moved away and started something new. By examining this, I was also able to learn something about their beliefs, even though they didn’t leave journals.

4. Study their religious faith. It’s likely your family includes many different religions. Learning something about their religion will tell you something about what they likely believed and how they probably lived. Notice when they joined this religion, if a baptism date is available. If they were adults, you may be able to glean important insights into what they wanted from life.

5. Notice if their children lived differently than the parents. If the children moved away, chose new religions, went into unusual careers, you’ll learn something about how your family evolved.

6. Find out how people in their class and location lived. Even if you’re not sure it applies to them, you’ll gain insights into the kinds of people they were. If they lived in a town where few were educated, but you find a clue that they were, you know they could rise above their circumstances. If most people weren’t educated, and you’re not sure they were, how did they live? What might their daily lives have been like?

7. Start as far back as you can and try to find a pattern in the evolution of your family. Where did they move over the years? What careers did they follow? How did your family change and why?

8. Find out why they came to your country. Even if you don’t know, it’s likely you can figure it out based on history. When I looked at the year my Irish ancestors came from Ireland, it was easy to see they came due to the potato famine, but they came the very last year. What enabled them to hold out so long? Did they know it ended, and were they sorry they didn’t wait? Those are stories waiting for me to investigate in the future.

Spend some time exploring not just the statistics, but the world in which your ancestors lived. Place them in context of their time, their faith, and their careers to understand more about who they are, and how that affects who you are today. When you spend more time imagining about your ancestors, the work becomes more interesting.

I like to stop and picture a family after entering them into a family group sheet. I try to imagine their home at the moment of the census record I’m studying, and check out their neighbors as well. By then researching the time and place, and looking for the hidden stories, my ancestors become real people to me. As a Mormon, I believe families are forever, and so, when I return to Heaven, I don’t want to be eternally joined to a group of strangers. I spend time getting to know them now and I’m looking forward to meeting them and finding out how accurate my guesses were.

What is the purpose of life? We’re here to gain a body and a family, to learn, to be tested, to develop faith, and ultimately to return to our Heavenly Father. However, the Book of Mormon also offers another interesting perspective on the purpose of our time here on earth:

Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy. (2 Nephi 2:25)
This is a very interesting thought. We are that we might have joy. Notice the scripture doesn’t say we will have joy, only that we can have it. In a life that has trials and sorrows, how do we obtain that joy God wants us to have?

It’s important to recognize that joy, happiness, and pleasure are not always the same thing. Pleasure suggests something worldly and fleeting. We might find pleasure in a walk in the park, but then go home and start arguing. Some people find momentary pleasure in sin, but this can never bring true joy.

We are often happy when things are going well in our lives. We may be happy the day our child wins an award for best student, dinner turned out perfectly, and we got a raise at work. All of this, however, is momentary and depends on things going well.

While God certainly has no objection to our happiness, what He really wants for us is to find true joy. Joy is deep inside, and is present even in sorrow and trials. We can experience joy even when someone we love has died, we’re coping with unemployment, or a child is causing us heartache.

Joy is based on knowing God is our Father and loves us with all His heart. It comes from knowing who we are—children of God—and letting that knowledge fill our lives and guide our choices. It comes from trusting God even when we see no way out of our current sadness or trial. It is the result of knowing that the trials of life are temporary and that someday we’ll live again with God in a perfect world.

A person grieving over the death of a loved one may not be happy at that moment, but she can be joyful, knowing the person has returned to Heavenly Father and is now living a wonderful life. She can be joyful because she knows family and love don’t end at death, and so there will be a time when they can be together again. She can experience all this joy in a quiet way even as the tears fall. She knows why she is sad and that it will someday end. It’s a joy based on faith.

Parents are often devastated when a child who was properly raised makes terrible choices and turns his back on the values of the family. This is a time for genuine sorrow and fear, and yet a parent, although very sad and frightened, can have a quiet joy resonating in the background because she knows she isn’t coping with this alone. God is waiting to offer her comfort and hope, and furthermore, He hasn’t abandoned her child, who is also His child. While He can’t take away the child’s God-given agency, the right to choose for himself, God can be standing by to place small promptings into the child’s heart, based on the faith of the parents. When the child is ready to listen, God will be ready to step in and help the child return to his foundations.

Joy is all about faith. When we trust God and really believe He is kind, loving, present in our lives, and ready to help, we can have a gentle joy that brings us through our greatest trials. We will still cry, still sometimes be afraid, and still experience trials, but we’ll always know we can turn to God to strengthen us as we’re going through them. Joy is all about knowing we’re never facing anything alone. We’re always in the care of a loving Heavenly Father.

The Lord has appointed each sister belonging to Relief Society to help, support, and further the work of the priesthood within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) in building up the kingdom of God. It is a sacred responsibility to be met with soberness and a sincere desire to understand the purpose and power behind this massive organization of women.

In a recent Women’s General Conference of the Latter-day Saint Church, Julie B. Beck (Relief Society General President) spoke on how we might fulfill the purpose of Relief Society. She begins by informing us we must first search to understand why Relief Society was established in the first place.

It is impossible to understand why we have an organization for women in the Church without having an understanding of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord, knowing about the calamities that would come to pass in these latter days, spoke to His servant Joseph Smith Jr, “and gave him commandments;….

“That faith…might increase in the earth;

“That [His] everlasting covenant might be established;

“That the fullness of [His] gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world” (D&C 1:17, 21-23).

The work of the Lord is accomplished as His gospel is “preached unto every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people” (D&C 133:37) and as His everlasting covenant is established through the ordinances of the temple (Julie B. Beck, “Fulfilling the Purpose of Relief Society,” 2008).

Throughout history the Lord has asked the women of His church to help further the work of building up His kingdom, beginning with the first woman who was placed on this earth, even Mother Eve. This remarkable woman was chosen to be a helpmeet to Adam.

“And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him” (Genesis 2:18).

This term ‘helpmeet’ has lost much of the original meaning. If we were to think of a helpmeet in modern terms, we think of someone who is inferior, an assistant, or subordinate. This is not the correct and intended meaning behind the words used to describe Eve.

According to the biblical scholar David Freedman, the Hebrew work translated there into English as “help” is ezer. This word is a combination of two roots, one meaning “to rescue,” “to save,” and the other meaning “to be strong.”…

[Freedman] concluded, “When God creates Eve…, His intent is that she will be – unlike the animals – ‘a power (or strength) equal to him.'”…

Eve came to Adam uniquely prepared to perform her assigned duties, to act as a companion with the first high priest in mortality – to be a partner with him” (Campbell, Beverly, “Eve and the Choice Made in Eden,” Bookcraft, 2003, pp.23-25).

This message, that woman was created to be an equal partner with men, is essential in order to have the faith and confidence necessary for any woman who is ready and willing to build up God’s kingdom.

Christ himself encouraged both Mary and Martha to participate in His work, to listen to His words and teachings, and to act upon them (Luke 10:38-42). This encouragement has not stopped. Women across the world work to bring light, aid, and love to all those in need. This is also true of the women’s organization of the Latter-day Saint Church.

“The organization of Relief Society in 1842 mobilized the collective power of the women and their specific assignments to build the Lord’s kingdom, just as the organization of priesthood quorums gave men specific responsibilities….

“To summarize, the purpose of Relief Society, as established by the Lord, is to organize, teach, and inspire His daughters to prepare them for the blessings of eternal life” (Julie B. Beck, “Fulfilling the Purpose of Relief Society,” 2008).

If we are to come together as a powerful force in building up the kingdom of God, women must come to realize their worth in the eyes of God: not better than, nor lesser than, but equal to our beloved companions here on this earth. When this fact is sealed into the center of our beings, we will prove a force the likes of which cannot be made to stumble.

There is an old saying that the family that prays together stays together. Prayer certainly has great power to bring families closer together and it also has the power to teach children many great and important truths.

Imagine for a moment that a child who is kneeling with his family in prayer hears his mother telling Heavenly Father about a trial the family is facing. He then listens as she asks God to give them courage to face the trial and the wisdom to make the proper choices. Finally, he hears her express her faith in God’s presence and love as they go through the trial, and her sure knowledge that God will help them.

What lessons has the child learned from this prayer? He learns that his mother has faith in God. She trusts God to help them. He also learns that she plans to make her decisions for handling the trial by listening to God’s advice. He discovers she is not afraid because she isn’t handling the trial alone. All of these lessons go directly into a child’s heart. Without a parental sermon, the child has received an eternally significant lesson in the power of prayer and in God’s love and guidance. He will be able to draw on these critical lessons when he faces his own trials. Later, the mother can explain that in her private prayers, and in the prayers she and the child’s father have together, they will ask God for guidance and remain on their knees, waiting for an answer. This opens up opportunity for the child to ask how they will know what the answer is, and for the parents to share their testimony that God always answers prayers.

Imagine children listening as their father says the family prayer. They hear their father express his love for his children and for his wife. As he tells God the good things his wife brings to the family, the children learn to respect their mother and her role. When the son grows up, he will search for such a wife, and he will treat his own wife with the love and respect he learns as he listens to his father pray. The daughter will learn what a good wife and mother is and will also seek out a man who respects her as much as her father respects her mother. While they must also see this love and respect in action each day, the prayer puts into words what they may have seen, but not paid attention to or understood.

When parents pray, children can hear and feel their parents’ testimonies of the Savior and learn what parts of the gospel and of their lives their parents cherish and honor. These lessons stay in their heart because they come at a time when the children are feeling the spirit and prepared for eternal truths. These lessons are more effective than mere lectures from parents, which may seem contrived and “good for you.” Prayer is the heart’s conversation with God, and so it is a powerful way to teach the gospel to children.

Mormons don’t baptize children until they are eight years old. This is the age of accountability, when children are considered old enough to know right from wrong and to be able to make choices for themselves. While they are, of course, still subject to parental direction, there are many times when they can make their own choices as to how to behave, and they are accountable for those choices. Their parents are accountable for the decisions they make for their children.

The Book of Mormon teaches that little children can’t sin. Satan has no power to tempt them until they are eight years old. They can make mistakes, but they can’t sin. Mormons teach that we are each punished only for our own sins, and not for Adam’s transgressions. Although we all experience the consequences of the fall, meaning death, God doesn’t punish us for his choice. An infant cannot choose baptism, and to punish an infant for dying without baptism would be cruel and unfair, and God is neither. In addition, an infant can’t repent, so he cannot be held accountable for the things he does. God is always kind and fair, and loves children.

At the age of eight, a child is accountable for what he knows so far and what he has control over. While under direction and control of the parents, the parents are responsible for teaching the child what is right and how to live. They are also responsible if they allow or force a child to sin.

Prior to baptism, children are educated in the gospel. They learn the important truths and what behaviors are expected of children. They learn how to repent, and although they aren’t accountable for their sins, they practice the steps of repentance, so they are comfortable with it when the time comes. They learn how to make choices when faced with a moral decision and how to resist temptation.

These lessons are taught first in the home. Parents are considered to be a child’s primary teacher and responsible for their religious education. There are many ways this is accomplished. One way is through daily family prayer and scripture study. Even small children participate in scripture study at home with their families. Another way is through Family Home Evening. Every Monday evening, the family shuts out the world and spends a few hours together learning about the gospel of Jesus Christ through simple lessons and activities. This allows children to learn about the Savior in a loving environment while building their family relationships.

Children are also taught the gospel at church. Church classes are designed to help the parents, not to replace them. All children, even babies, attend the basic worship service, known as Sacrament Meeting, with their families. Then families split up and attend classes based on age and sometimes on gender. Children attend the nursery at age eighteen months. There, they play, but they also have brief, simple lessons about gospel truths, taught through stories, songs, and activities.

At age three, they begin the regular Primary classes. Primary is for children ages 3-12. Here, they learn the gospel in classes organized by age, and the lessons become increasingly more complex. These lessons prepare children for the time when they are accountable for their choices.

The Book of Mormon teaches that anyone who feels God will punish a small child for not being baptized does not understand the atonement of Christ, which atoned for any responsibility that child might have for actions of his ancestors. The atonement guarantees us the privilege of being punished only for what we knowingly and willingly do wrong. The Savior’s love for us, and God’s love for us, ensures that all dealings we have with them are fair and kind.

At the most recent General Conference (a semi-annual meeting of the Mormons that is broadcast world-wide), the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) announced plans for five new temples.

Temples are a special type of church building. They aren’t used for regular, weekly worship or congregational activities. While regular church buildings are open to all, temples are open only to those who have developed a high level of worthiness as members of the church.
You can think of them as being like a college class. If you decide you want to study physics, you don’t begin with the advanced course. You start with the beginning physics class and then, when you have sufficient background and understanding, you sign up for the advanced class. People who are not members of the church or who haven’t been a member for very long need a good grounding in the basics of the gospel. They need to learn to live the gospel to a certain level before they learn more and make sacred covenants (promises) between themselves and God. These covenants must never be broken, since we should never break a promise to God. Therefore, it’s important for a person to have the knowledge, the spiritual maturity, and the experience to make promises to God. Members must have belonged to the church for one year prior to making these covenants.

Members in good standing are married in the temple. This marriage covenant is made for eternity, not just until death. God created families when he created the earth, and gave families a powerful bond that no loving God would rob us of at a time when we’ve been promised the greatest joy imaginable. Do you really want to spend eternity without your spouse and children?

Baptisms are performed for those who died without an opportunity to hear the gospel. Living people act in proxy for those who died, and the deceased person has the opportunity, in Heaven, to accept or reject the ordinance. If he rejects it, it is as if it never happened. It has no hold on him at all, because agency is an essential doctrine of the gospel. If he accepts, it is as if he’d been baptized on earth and he is welcomed into the fold as a full member.

One of the new temples will be built in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia was the site of an historic sermon given by Joseph Smith, the first modern-day prophet of the church. This will be an urban, multi-use building, with a regular meeting house below and the temple above. This model is also used in Manhattan and Hong Kong.

A temple is being built in the Kansas City, Missouri area, on property the church is currently developing. A temple is also being built in Argentina, next to the current mission home, and another in Calgary, Canada.

Members were most excited about a new temple announced for Rome, Italy. When it was announced, there were audible gasps from those in the Conference Center. It is being built on a fifteen-acre site the church owns.

As the economic situation worsens, many people are beginning to panic. It’s important to remember that fear cannot improve any situation, and in fact, will make it far more difficult to manage the difficult times.

Even if you haven’t prepared in the past, it’s not too late to begin to make small preparations for the future. Even a little preparation will build your confidence and peace of mind, and ease the harder times.

Start small. Don’t go out and put a year’s supply of food on your credit card. That defeats the point of preparedness. Instead, purchase a little at a time, taking advantage of small amounts of found money. It’s unlikely your budget will notice a few extra cans of food each week. If you buy something on sale, drop the savings into a jar and periodically use the fund to buy storage items. Try altering your lifestyle in small ways, such as skipping lunch out, or giving up a convenience food. Use the savings for your storage. Can you cut a dollar a day out of your budget? A single dollar saved each day can buy a surprising amount of storage if you shop carefully at discount outlets and watch for sales.

LDS.org suggests building a three month supply of foods you normally eat, buying a few items at a time as you can afford them. Rotate them regularly, shopping from your pantry for everyday use, and placing what you purchase into the food storage. Label foods so you know their age.

Build a longer term supply of wheat, white rice, beans, and other foods that would sustain life in a serious, long-term emergency where it might not be possible to shop. Many of these foods will keep for more than thirty years if they are stored properly.

You also need water storage for emergencies. Particularly in weather emergencies, there may be a lack of clean water.

Be sure to have enough non-food supplies as well—medicines, cleaning supplies, and personal hygiene items. Pay attention to the types of things you use in your daily lives and keep them in stock.

Savings is another aspect of preparedness. Even if you can only save a few dollars a week, do so. Over time, this money does add up and can be the difference between survival and failure in a temporary period of hardship.

Simple preparations will help you feel confident in the event you lose your income for a brief time, and allow you to minimize your expenses.

To learn more, visit Provident Living.

It is reported that Brigham Young (1801-1877), the second president and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known as the Mormons, once said, "we should pray as if everything depended on the Lord, then work as if it all depended on us." (Dorothy M. Hellberg, “‘Well Worn, Minus Rough Edges’,” Ensign, Feb 1984, 63) Most of us go through life with this belief and try very hard.  However, sometimes we are faced with insurmountable odds.  We start to feel the hopelessness and despair that comes from not knowing any possible way out. 

When there isn't anything else we know of to do it is time to turn to the Lord.  We read in Psalms 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God".

We hear the exact phrase again in more modern scripture. Early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were mercilessly persecuted for their belief.  In December of 1833 they had been driven from their homes time and time again by mobs.  The loss of homes, personal property, and crops weighed heavily on them and they were faced with seemingly insurmountable odds.  The Lord comforted them by saying, "let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God." (Doctrine and Covenants 101:16)

It all boils down to faith.  Faith that Heavenly Father is in charge and knows what is best for us.  Faith that "with God all things are possible". (Matthew 19:26)  Since faith is a principle of action, we sometimes need to trust in the Lord and see what he can do for us.  Faith then becomes a principle of power.

In the Bible in the Old Testament there is another group of people who were faced with seemingly insurmountable odds.  King Hezekiah was a very righteous king.  He lived at the time of Isaiah, the prophet.  The kings before him were not very righteous and caused the people to commit wickedness.  King Hezekiah purged Judah of wickedness and "did that which was right in the sight of the Lord" and "trusted in the Lord God of Israel".  (2 Kings 18:3-7).  At that time Assyria was conquering all Israel but King Hezekiah would not submit to Assyrian rule.  Those who got conquered were defeated "because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed his covenant". (2 Kings 18:12) 

The king of Assyria mocked Hezekiah for trusting in the Lord and bragged about his own strength and the strength of his armies.  He sent men to the walls of the city who tried to convince the people not to follow King Hezekiah saying they were being deceived by him and it was hopeless to think they could prevail.  The people loved and believed Hezekiah and would not listen to the men of Assyria.

King Hezekiah, being the righteous king that he was, went to the temple and prayed before the Lord saying, "I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only." (2 Kings 19:19)  His answer came through the prophet Isaiah who said, "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, That which thou has prayed to me ... I have heard.... He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it....  For I will defend this city, to save it" (2 Kings 19:20, 32, 34)

So what happened? Let's read 2 Kings 19:35.  "And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses."

There were 185,000 troops killed by the angel of the Lord that night and the king of the Assyrians returned to Assyria.

As King Hezekiah showed faith and trusted completely in the Lord, we too need to have the same faith and trust.  We need to do all we can but when that isn't enough we need to pray to our Heavenly Father.  He loves us and wants to bless us.  He will hear us in our hour of need.  In the Bible in the New Testement Jesus performed a miracle by calming a stormy sea.  "And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm." (Mark 4:39) With sufficient faith the Lord can perform a miracle with our lives and we can experience a "great calm".

"Faith fuels hope. Our perspective changes; our vision becomes clearer. We begin to look for the best, not the worst, in life and in others. We gain a deeper sense of life's purpose and meaning. Despair gives way to joy.

Faith such as this is a heavenly gift, but it can be sought and cultivated. As our Bible Dictionary suggests, often 'faith is kindled by hearing the testimony of those who have faith.' Faith is then nurtured as we allow ourselves to believe. Like all other virtues, faith is strengthened as we practice it, as we live and act as if our faith were already deep. Faith is the product of righteous desire, belief, and obedience." (David S. Baxter, “Faith, Service, Constancy,” Ensign, Nov. 2006, 13)

How have you seen the hand of the Lord in your life when you've been presented with seemingly impossible situations?

“To hear this loved song rendered by an assembly of devoted Latter-day Saints is a spiritual baptism” (Stories of Our Mormon Hymns, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1968, p. 108).

~ J. Spencer Cornwall

Hymns are said to be a prayer offered to the Lord:

“For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads” (Doctrine & Covenants 25:12).

Certainly this is true. As we read through the words of hymns, no matter what religion or denomination we may claim as our own, they reflect the prayers of our hearts. As we sing with reverence such sacred themes, surely they are counted as among the most hallowed of supplications.

Hymns can serve another purpose. They can help us bear testimony when at times our own words do not seem sufficient.

The above quote was rendered by a man after hearing the song “I Know That My Redeemer Lives.” Far more than a prayer, this song has acted as a fervent testimony of many who love and revere the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

This beloved hymn gives reference to two scriptures from the Bible. The first can be found in Job. The words are simple, powerful, and straightforward:

“For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth” (Job 19:25).

Job didn’t just believe, he knew his Redeemer was real. In those first seven words he bears testimony of what the Holy Spirit had witnessed to him.

The second scripture can be found in Psalm 104:33-34.

“I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.”

From these two scriptures we begin to glean what it means to share a testimony through song. Anyone can have a testimony of the Redeemer, if they ask of God with real intent, maintaining a humble heart and a contrite spirit. When this testimony is gained, it can be a powerful tool in helping to bring others back to a remembrance of who they are, that they are infinitely loved, and that through the Atonement there is hope for repentance.

When a testimony is gained, we cannot help but declare the intense and beautiful feelings felt deep within our hearts. If our own words don’t seem to be enough, we can always turn to our sacred hymns to say what we cannot.

“He lives! All glory to his name!
He lives, my Savior, still the same.
Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives:
‘I know that my Redeemer lives!’”
(Hymns, no. 95)