Teaching Toddlers the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Filed under: Parents/Leaders, Scripture Stories, Teaching Children, Teaching Values, Uncategorized
Each week, I teach one to three year olds about God, Jesus, and the Bible in my Mormon nursery class. Every month,
we learn a Bible story, repeating it each Sunday for the entire month, and we also have a lesson on a basic principle of Christianity. Over the past year, I’ve learned a great deal about teaching religion to very young children.
It’s never too soon to start teaching our children. As a family, we can read the scriptures and make sure even our youngest children are in the room as we do. They are listening and will absorb whatever they are ready for. Read more
Why Do Mormons Obey Their Prophet?
Filed under: Basic LDS Beliefs, Church Organization, Counsel from Church Leaders, Jesus Christ, LDS Q&A
Mormonism is often known as a strict religion with many rules. Mormons are often asked why they obey and why they let others decide how they should live.
It is helpful to understand a little about the role of the Mormon prophet and how Mormons view him. With this knowledge, it is easier to understand why Mormons are willing to follow a prophet.
Students of the Bible are familiar with the concept of prophets. In Old Testament times, God called men to be prophets to deliver God’s word to the people. While each person is able to pray to God privately and learn His word, it would be very complicated to pray about each possible doctrine individually. God also has messages for us we might not think to pray for. A prophet serves as a channel for all the information a person needs to live according to God’s plan. In a world in which many prominent people are willing to guess at God’s word, and to teach their personal beliefs as scripture, a prophet is a sure source of information. Christians want to be certain they are living as Jesus taught, and not as someone else has decided they should live.
Adam was the first prophet on earth, speaking directly to God to learn truth and to find out what God wanted Him to do. Other prophets soon followed. Of course, there have been times when God withdrew prophecy because the people refused to listen or to honor the prophets, but He has always restored them. Prophets were on the earth to prepare the people for the first coming of Christ, and as we approach the second coming, we naturally need prophets again. For this reason, God restored prophets to the earth in modern times. The second coming requires as much preparation as did the first coming.
But how do the Mormons know their prophet really is the prophet God has chosen for this time? Mormons are taught from early childhood, and, if they are considering becoming Mormon, to ask God who the prophet is. They are instructed not to take the word of anyone on earth—not the Church’s word, not that of their parents, not that of their teachers. All of those sources are a place to be taught the gospel, but no one can give another person a testimony. A testimony can come only from God through confirmation from the Holy Ghost.
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him,” taught James, believed by many scholars to be the half-brother of Jesus. (See James 1:5) Each person is entitled to turn to God for wisdom and to find out for Himself, from the only source that is completely trustworthy, that the head of the Mormon church is indeed God’s prophet. Prior to baptism, prospective members are interviewed and asked if they have taken this step.
Once a member has gained a testimony of the prophet, they can trust His teachings. However, should they at any time feel uneasy about something, they can again return to God to pray about it. This is why Mormons who have taken the time to pray about their choices are unshakable. They gained their testimonies directly from God.
Some outsiders will warn their members not to pray about which church to join, or about the prophets, because they claim the petitioner won’t know who is answering. Mormons, however, trust God. Because God promised in the Bible that we could ask Him anything and receive an answer, we trust Him to keep that promise. We know God can do anything, including answering us in a way we can recognize as coming from Him. The better we know God, and the more time we spend talking to Him and “listening” to Him, the more familiar His “voice” will become to us. Of course, prayer answers seldom come through a voice, so this is a symbolic way of speaking. It means we can recognize the ways he communicates with us, and understand how to know what the answer is. Mormons ask God because they believe Him when He makes promises.
Learn how to recognize answers to prayers.
Having an understanding of the process followed by Mormons to learn whether or not God speaks to us through prophets as well as individually, you are ready to understand why Mormons are willing to take direction from this prophet. You may already understand it, if you are a person who always strives to do what God wants you to do.
Mormons are taught the gospel of Jesus Christ as it is revealed in the scriptures. These scriptures include both the Old and New Testaments, as well as scriptures revealed through prophets in modern times, including the Book of Mormon and also as it is revealed to the prophets.
These scriptures teach us both the penalties for ignoring God and the blessings that come from obedience. We’ve seen throughout history that fear of punishment is not enough to make people obey God. Noah relentlessly taught the gospel to the people, and warned them of the upcoming flood. Despite this, they chose to ignore his warnings and continue in their sins. Why did they do this? Some probably didn’t believe Noah. Others thought it couldn’t happen to them. Most disobeyed simply because they did not love God more than they loved their sins.
Although Mormons are taught the consequences of disobedience, they don’t focus on them. Instead, they are taught to obey out of love for God. “If ye love me, keep my commandments,” Jesus taught. (See John 14:15) Love should always be the reason for obedience. Obedience that grows out of love for God is sincere and powerful. It is easier to keep the commandments for One we love, and the greater our love, the greater our obedience. Obedience that comes from fear or from a mere sense of obligation seldom lasts and does not produce all the blessings of obedience done from the heart. Obeying from love enlarges our spirit, increases our testimony, and helps us to become a better person. It allows us to become more like Jesus Christ.
A previous Mormon prophet, Ezra Taft Benson, taught, “When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power.” (See Elder Donald L. Staheli Of the Seventy CES Fireside for Young Adults on 2 March 2003.)
Mormon Meetinghouses: Classrooms
Have you ever wondered what the inside of a Mormon church building looks like? You are invited to a virtual tour on an official Mormon website. Open it in another window so you can look around while reading my more detailed information here.
Take a virtual tour of a Mormon meetinghouse.
Each Mormon meetinghouse contains a large number of classrooms in various sizes. You’ve already seen the Relief Society and Primary. Today, we’ll visit a smaller classroom. On the map below the video, you’ll see a foyer. To the right of the foyer is an unlabeled silver dot inside a small room. Click the dot. This takes you to a classroom.
The classroom is very simple and undecorated, so it can be used by more than one class if needed. Teachers generally bring their own decorations each week, normally pictures or items related to the lesson, so nothing distracts from the topic. The room includes little more than a magnetized chalkboard, chairs suited to the ages of the students, a teacher’s chair, and a small table where the teacher can place her materials.
The teacher begins and ends class with a prayer. He or she teaches from a lesson manual prepared by the church, generally following a schedule. In most classes, you could show up in any church building and find the class exactly where your own class left off. This allows for continuity for travelers.
The teacher is always a volunteer. The Mormons have a lay church and there is enough work in their complex programs to keep everyone busy who wants a calling, as unpaid church jobs are known.
Read the lesson manuals taught by Mormons. The lesson manuals are available on the church website for anyone to read. This can be a good way to find out what Mormons teach members each week.
Let’s look at a sample lesson to see how a typical class might operate. We’ll use the following lesson:
This lesson was written for girls ages twelve to seventeen. They are usually taught in classes containing two age groups (12-13, 14-15, 16-17) and the lessons are adapted to the ages of the students. Each manual is taught twice, the second time at a more adult level, since the girls are now older. Two adult teachers, a member of the presidency and the class advisor, are present in each class. In the Young Women’s classes, all teachers and leaders are women. In the Young Men’s classes, all leaders and teachers are men. Sunday School is taught in mixed gender classes and the teacher may be either gender.
As you can see, the manual is designed so even an experienced teacher will be able to present an interesting and age-appropriate lesson. The teacher is encouraged to pray to determine the individual needs of her specific students as she prepares.
Each lesson offers an objective. This helps the teacher remain focused as she teaches. For this lesson, the objective is to help each young woman become a friend of Jesus Christ.
The lesson uses standard methods for quality teaching. To focus the girls’ attention on the topic, the teacher tells a story that helps them to understand knowing about Jesus is not the same as knowing Him. She then gives them a moment to contemplate where they stand in this story and then guides them through a discussion. A picture of Jesus knocking at a door is shown to end the discussion and return them to the topic. If you examine the picture carefully, you discover there is no doorknob. The message is that Jesus cannot enter your life unless you let Him in.
The girls are led through a variety of scriptures to help them learn more, which teaches them to turn to the Bible and other scriptures for gospel knowledge. They are also taught stories from the lives of church leaders and read the counsel of leaders to them, including this counsel, originally given to adult men:
“He wants us to come to him as we are. We do not have to be perfect to go to him. While Jesus was on the earth he associated with publicans and sinners and his disciples asked him why he associated with them, to which question Jesus gave a beautiful and simple answer: ‘They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick.’ (Mark 2:17.) The Lord does not ask us to heal ourselves of our imperfections before we approach him, but to come to him with those imperfections and he will assist us in overcoming them. The Lord loves us and wants us to overcome our sins and he will help us as we exercise our free agency. We must initiate the process of repentance and strive with all of our might to overcome our weaknesses” (Gospel Doctrine [A Course of Study for the Melchizedek Priesthood Quorums, 1970–71], p. 57).
The teacher then guides the girls through the process of reflecting on what they’ve learned so far to create a list of things they can do to draw closer to Jesus Christ. By developing this list themselves from the materials, they learn how to apply the lessons they learn to their personal lives, a skill which will help them throughout their lives.
The lesson concludes with testimonies from the teacher and classmates about the topic of the lesson, allowing the girls to learn from each other.
This lesson is typical of those taught at any age. Naturally, lessons for children include flannel board stories, puppets, and games, and adults might read more scriptures, but generally, students are taught basic principles of truth and then guided to apply them to their lives.
Teenagers probably receive more instruction than any other group. They have two Sunday classes. In addition, they have a weekday religion class taught during the school year. Most students attend this class, called Seminary, early in the morning. It involves an in-depth study of the scriptures for four years. Two of these years focus on the Bible. Once a week, they meet in the evening for a youth group meeting, which usually involves putting the gospel into action through service projects, learning practical skills, or educational but fun activities. The boys do Boy Scouts of America some weeks, while the girls have a similar program called Personal Progress.
In addition to all of these, they have an annual youth conference over two or three days and a summer camp. The teenage years are perilous, and Mormon youth are given a great deal of support to get through them.
In an earlier article, we learned the women spent the last class session in Relief Society. The men, during the same time, are attending their priesthood quorums, learning most of the same lessons, but focused on their roles as husband, fathers, and priesthood holders. Between the basic service and these gender-specific meetings is Sunday School, held in mixed gender classes for everyone ages twelve and older. Teenagers have their own classes. People who are visiting the church and are not members, or who are new members have a class of their own called Gospel Principles. This teaches them the essential aspects of the gospel at a beginner’s level, so they are prepared to understand the regular class after one year.
The adult Sunday School class is called Gospel Doctrine. A different book of scripture is studied each year in a four year rotation, on the same schedule as the teenagers and older children. Two years are devoted to a study of the Bible. One year is given to the Book of Mormon. The final year is spent on the Doctrine and Covenants, a book of modern revelation, and is combined with church history.
As you can see, Mormon churches are a busy place on Sunday. Of course, gospel study is not just for church meetings. Each member continues to study at home as well, because Mormonism is not a Sunday-only religion.
Mormon Meetinghouses: Relief Society and Primary Rooms
Filed under: Basic LDS Beliefs, Church Organization, Faith in God Program, Gospel Principles, Practices & Precepts, Scouting
Curious about what is inside a Mormon meetinghouse? Visitors are always welcome in these smaller buildings designed for regular worship and weekday activities. However, you can also tour a building virtually through a new feature on the Mormon’s official website.
Start the Mormon Meetinghouse tour. In the previous article, we explored the foyer and chapel and learned what went on during a service. Learn about the Mormon chapel.
Today, we’ll explore two special classrooms: The Relief Society and the Primary Rooms.
Look below the tour to see the map. The Relief Society room is in the top right hand corner of the map. This room is especially for women and is therefore, usually the prettiest room. It normally has nice curtains, attractive paintings, tablecloths, flowers, and other feminine touches. They are usually the only classroom provided with padded seats.
Mormons meet for three hours each Sunday. The main worship service lasts an hour and ten minutes. Following this, the families go in various directions, with adults and teens having two classes to attend, and children attending their own program. Relief Society is normally held the last hour and is only for the women. The organization was founded in 1842, and centers around providing service to others. On Sundays, the women meet for a class that is especially tailored to the particular lives and needs of women. Some weeks they study the same topic as the men, but with a feminine focus if there is one. Other weeks, they study unique topics. Lessons are drawn from teachings of past church leaders, talks given in semi-annual conferences from current church leaders at the international level, and topics of special interest to women.
During the week, each Relief Society may choose to have special clubs, classes, or meetings to help women perform service, learn new skills, and pursue hobbies and friendships. Examples might include a mom and tots group, a blogging club, a humanitarian aid group, lessons in car and home repair, or craft programs. The choices are as diverse as the women themselves, and vary based on the interests and needs of each group.
A unique feature of the Relief Society is the visiting teaching program. Women, working with an assigned partner, are given three or four other women to visit monthly. They come to the home with a brief spiritual message to discuss, and they also work to build a friendship with these women. They are charged with watching for needs the church can fulfill and are the first person a woman calls when she needs help. A visiting teacher will then either provide the service, or help to find someone who can. For instance, a visiting teacher might bring in a meal when the sister (the Mormon form of address for adult women) is ill, watch her children when she has a doctor’s appointment, or alert leaders the family has nothing to eat. It is reassuring to women to know there is someone they can call when they need help or just a friend.
The Relief Society also operates a literacy program that is tailored to whatever needs the congregation might have. Some groups use a church program to teach reading. Others teach English to immigrants, tutor inner-city children, or help people learn to write their personal and family histories.
Now go back to the map and click on the Primary room, found in the bottom right hand corner. This room belongs to the children of the church, ages three to twelve. In most wards (congregations) the children are divided into two groups, Junior Primary and Senior Primary, with age eight being the dividing line. They will meet in the Primary room all together for opening exercises. During this time, they have a prayer, songs, a scripture and a talk given by a child. Even a three-year-old might stand at the pulpit on a step that allows him to reach the microphone, and give a two and a half minute talk on a gospel principle with the help of a parent. This allows children to learn from their peers, and also helps the children learn poise, confidence and public speaking skills, while encouraging him to share his thoughts on an aspect of his faith.
Following this, most Primaries send the older children off to age-divided classes. Their classrooms are small and usually contain a chalkboard, bulletin board, and chairs sized to the students. The teacher prepares a lesson from a manual that can be read online. Read the lesson manuals used to teach Mormon children.
These older children are called Valiants. They have been baptized and are learning to be valiant in keeping the baptismal covenants (promises) they made to God. Mormon children are baptized at age eight. The lessons are taught through the scriptures, and they follow the same four year plan as their parents and teenage siblings, allowing families to discuss together the scripture stories learned. The children spend two years learning the Bible, one learning the Book of Mormon, and one learning church history and the Doctrine and Covenants. This last book is a collection of revelations received in modern times.
After their lesson, the children return to the Primary room for Sharing Time. The younger children, who were already having sharing time, go to their own classes. The younger children are called CTRs, which stands for Choose the Right. They are preparing to be baptized and are learning enough about their religion to make a wise choice and are also learning to become like Jesus. In their lessons, they follow a two year program. When it is repeated, they are more mature and can handle the same lesson taught at a higher level. They spend one year on the Bible. The second year covers the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants.
Also included in Junior Primary are the Sunbeams, who are three at the start of the year. Their lesson manual is used for only one year and contains stories from all the scriptures taught in simple ways.
In Sharing Time, the children receive a fifteen minute lesson from a member of the Primary Presidency, a group of three women who run the program. There is a theme for the entire year, such as “I Am a Child of God” or “I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus.” Each month, they study an aspect of the theme during Sharing Time. They also have fifteen minutes of singing with a music leader. Much of this music is focused around the theme as well. Near the end of the year, the children do a program for the entire congregation, taking over the regular service to sing and to teach the adults what they’ve learned.
The Primary room has chairs in a variety of sizes placed in rows. Children sit with their own classes and teachers. It usually includes a piano and pictures of Jesus with children. There is a chalkboard and decorated bulletin boards.
The Primary oversees a nursery, as well. This is for children who are eighteen months old to age three. If they are three years old January 1, they graduate to the Sunbeam class. This is not just child-care. It is a true class. The children have a lesson manual with simple lessons that teach them about God and Jesus in easy to understand ways. They generally have about ten minutes of lesson time, a fifteen minute singing time, crafts, group play, stories, and a play time. At least two teachers are present at all times.
Senior nursery children have weekday programs. The boys participate in Cub Scouts and the girls have a similar program called Activity Days.
In the next article, we’ll learn about the Youth program for teenagers, and about the cultural hall.
Do We Need Prophets Today?
Filed under: Basic Beliefs of Mormons, Gospel Principles, Practices & Precepts
Have you ever played the children’s game of telephone? In this game, children line up. The child at the start of the line whispers something to the person next to him. That person whispers what he heard—or thought he heard—to the next person. The game continues until the last person has heard the sentence. He announces what he heard and nearly always, it has little or no relationship to the original sentence. The message got scrambled in the excitement of the game.
When Adam was created, he spoke directly with God, and was the first prophet. God taught Adam the gospel in its fullness. When Adam died, a new prophet took his place in the role. Practices changed over the years, but not truth. God instigated preparatory practices when His children were unable to live the higher laws. He taught the gospel line upon line as people were ready for it. Some took on other beliefs however, and it was not many generations before other religions developed.
When Jesus Christ began His earthly mission, He chose apostles to assist Him and to carry on the work when He was gone, knowing His mission would be brief. His apostles worked hard to share the gospel and manage the churches. However, as they traveled, they realized false doctrine and misunderstandings were occurring throughout the church. As in the game of telephone, the messages being sent were getting scrambled along the way, and people were adding their own interpretations and ideas to those offered by the apostles.
After the apostles were gone, there was no one with the authority to act as a prophet or to receive instruction from God. Without anyone to straighten out the misconceptions, they grew rapidly. In only a short time, there were many different groups teaching differing versions of Christianity. Periodically councils were held to try to come to an agreement on the differences, and while the majority were able to vote on a doctrine, not everyone agreed and those groups often went off to form their own churches.
Today, as we look around us, we can see the confusion of messages has become very complex. There are thousands of church within the Christian label, each differing from the others. Even some denominations have splits as they try to decide what to do about issues that are more common now than they were in the Savior’s time, such as women in the clergy.
God has instructed us to seek truth, and promised He is not a God of confusion. However, it is certainly easy to get confused when we set out to find out where the truth is located. Churches have a variety of methods for figuring out what is true, but in Biblical times, doctrine was not put to a vote.
From the beginning, God set out an orderly plan for His gospel to proceed. He had a prophet who told us what was true and what to do. Those who recognized the prophet were not left to figure out what was true—they needed only to follow the prophet. Those who did not recognize him or listen to him suffered the consequences.
The purpose of those prophets was to bring God’s truth to mankind, to warn them of danger, and to prepare them for the arrival of Jesus Christ. Look around our world today. Do you see a need for those three things in our modern day? We know the Second Coming is rapidly approaching, and so, if prophets were necessary to prepare people for the first coming, wouldn’t it be equally necessary to have them to guide us through preparations for the final coming? Do you see a need for sure truth in today’s complex world? Do you see danger in changing world conditions?
It is no wonder God needs to return the prophets to the earth. There is a great deal of work to do to prepare the world for the return of the Savior, and there needs to be a leader for the work.
While it is true we have the Bible to guide us, we can easily see people do not understand the Bible and disagree over what its teaching mean. Even essential doctrine such as baptism is debated. In addition, the world has changed dramatically since Biblical times. Every day, new technologies, new issues, and new ideas about morality arise. The Bible doesn’t mention many of the issues people struggle with today. A prophet can guide us through these challenges and help us to stay on God’s path without having to guess or interpret.
It’s important, having recognized the need for a prophet, to follow the right one. Mormons are taught not to take anyone’s word for his identity. Before baptism, prospective members, including children, are asked to pray to God to know if Thomas S. Monson is a prophet. He is the current prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are sometimes referred to as Mormons. When he dies, an orderly process will occur to place the next prophet into the office without campaigning or voting.
A person who wanted to know for himself, without trusting the opinion of any earthly person, can do so if he has faith. God has promised that if we lack wisdom, we can ask God and He will give it to us. (See James 1:5 in the New Testament.) A good way to begin is to talk it over with God, explaining what you are going to do and why. Ask Him to guide you through the process and help you recognize His “voice.” You most likely won’t hear an actual voice, of course, but you will learn to recognize how He communicates with you when you pray.
Next, Mormons are taught to put some personal effort into it. Mormons believe in doing all they can for themselves, and letting God make up the difference. You can learn more about prophets by visiting the official Mormon site designed to help curious people learn more about Mormons. Visit Mormon.org.
You can also read about prophets on internet sites by members who are not official, but who want to share what they know. One unofficial place to learn about prophets is MormonProphets.com. On this site, you can learn about the prophets who have been sent to lead us toward the Second Coming of Christ. To learn specifically about Thomas S. Monson, the prophet at this writing, visit the unofficial site ThomasMonson.com
Once you feel you have some information, it’s time to think about what you’ve learned. Ask yourself:
Do we need a prophet today?
Does the world seem confused about truth?
Does Thomas Monson teach things a prophet might teach?
What is the spirit telling me as I study?
How do I feel about all this so far?
Then go to God in prayer. Share all you’ve learned and felt. Be honest with God—He knows your heart. Tell Him what you think and then wait patiently for confirmation. It may take time. It took me many months to receive my first answers to prayers because I had to learn how. I began receiving small answers, and then larger ones over time.
Once God has confirmed to you that President Monson is His prophet, you can begin to learn more about the messages He shares with the world. This coming week, you can watch Him on television or the internet and listen as he speaks to the world in General Conference. At Mormon.org, you can ask to talk to a missionary about the new things you have been learning, or you can ask a Mormon friend.
Mormon-Speak: Brother and Sister
If you visit a Mormon meeting, you might be surprised to have a complete stranger walk up to you and address you as Brother or Sister, followed by your last name once it’s known. No, it’s not a
way of quickly building up their genealogy—it’s an expression of their religious faith and their commitment to the Savior’s teachings. Read more
What Do Mormons Believe About Tithing?
Filed under: Basic Beliefs of Mormons, Gospel Principles, Practices & Precepts
Tithing is the payment of ten percent of your income to God. Mormon beliefs state that everything we have comes as a gift from God, and despite this, He asks that we return only ten percent to Him. The rest may be used for any moral purpose we choose. For Mormons, it is a sacred obligation to pay tithing as a way of recognizing God’s hand in our lives and of showing gratitude for His gifts. Read more
Using Agency Wisely: Setting Priorities
Unless we know what matters most to us, we will spend much of our life doing things that don’t matter to us as much as the things we neglect. To use our agency wisely, we have to know what we want out of life. One question I often ask
Good and Evil Are Polar Opposites--New Era June 2007
myself when faced with a choice to make is this: Is what I’m getting worth more than what I’m giving up?” This question reminds me that each time I choose something, I am giving up the other options. The challenge is to choose the option that gives me what I really want from life—not right this moment, but for eternity.
For instance, I am sometimes asked by church members struggling with the gospel, “Do you think God will really keep me out of the Celestial Kingdom over a cup of coffee?” The church teaches us that coffee is one of the several things God has asked us to avoid, as part of the Word of Wisdom, a Mormon health code. The answer to this question, of course, is, “Are you willing to give up your right to spend eternity in God’s presence for a mere cup of coffee?” It’s important to ask the right question when settling priorities. When deciding what to drink with my breakfast, I can see I have two choices (at least.) If I’m a coffee drinker and a member of the church, or someone who wants to become a member, I will ask myself, “Which do I want most for eternity: Coffee, or God?” Put that way, the choice seems obvious. A cup of coffee this morning is not worth more to me than the opportunity to live with God someday. While it might bring momentary pleasure, it will deny me the eternal joy I’m seeking.
While the questioner might have felt she had the question the right way around, she was simply organizing it to meet her own short-sighted desires. God always knows what is best for us, and one reason we are here is to develop self-control and to set priorities. Just as we teach our young children to forego a candy bar this week so he can save faster for the bicycle he wants, God wants us to learn to put aside immediate pleasures in favor of eternal ones.
When faced with a choice, evaluate the short-term and long-term consequences. When we find ourselves choosing the short-term pleasures even when we know the gospel has taught us otherwise, we can see this as a warning that it is time to evaluate and strengthen our testimonies.
For those who are not Mormons, and are held back from converting due to an unwillingness to give up certain habits, the first step is to pray and find out if the lifestyle choice you’ve made has God’s approval. If it’s something you’re strongly attached to, it can be a challenge (and even an act of courage) to go to God humbly, and completely ready to receive His advice without imposing your own will on it. This is, however, the only way to find the strength and conviction needed to make choices and changes.
Once you know God’s will on the subject, spend time putting it into context of your personal goals and your eternal goals. Is the party you want to attend more important than the test you need to study for in terms of your personal goals? Is the friend whose company you enjoy but who is always baiting you to lower your standards important enough to risk giving in to him at a weak moment?
Is that cup of coffee worth the price of Heaven?
Let Us Be Men
Filed under: Becoming More Christlike, Finding Happiness, Men & Priesthood, Service
The term “real men” is a popular one to bounce around, but the definition of a real man varies from culture to culture, even in the same country. Too many people equate true manhood with being rough and tough, liking freedom, doing as he pleases, and even being immoral. The Mormons have a different idea of what true manhood means.
In 2006, D. Todd Christofferson gave a talk in General Conference, a semi-annual international conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on the subject of true manhood. He said:
“Though he will make some sacrifices and deny himself some pleasures in the course of honoring his commitments, the true man leads a rewarding life. He gives much, but he receives more, and he lives content in the approval of his Heavenly Father. The life of true manhood is the good life.” D. Todd Christofferson, “Let Us Be Men,” Ensign, Nov 2006, 46–48
Elder Christofferson told the story of his mother, who had a dangerous surgery that caused her great pain when she used her arms for quite some time afterwards. One day his father took her to a shop and asked the shopkeeper to demonstrate a new machine that ironed clothing. It utilized peddles operated by the leg, not the hands. She was shocked when he purchased it and paid cash. She was extremely worried because it was very expensive and she was concerned about how they were going to manage after having spent so much. He eventually admitted that he knew what she had tried to hide—that when ironing, she had to go into the bedroom and cry until the pain subsided, and so he had quietly gone without lunch for a year to save the money for the machine.
Elder Christofferson said that this was a true man—one who took care of his family even when it meant great sacrifice. A man makes his family and his responsibilities to God his priority in life, and everything else is secondary. This means that while his peers may be out playing, he may find himself hard at work during the day, and then come home to chores, helping his wife with her responsibilities, and playing with his children. For a real man, one who honors his role as a servant of God, this is not a hardship, even if it is sometimes tiring or frustrating.
Mormons are old-fashioned in some aspects of gender—meaning they stay with what God taught us men and women should be. The Family: A Proclamation to the World says of a man’s role:
By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.
Notice that it says men and women help each other in their duties. This means a Mormon man will often be found
washing the dishes or changing the diapers, even though it might be primarily the wife’s role. A real man isn’t embarrassed to be found doing this, nor does he feel that a long day at the office protects him from the responsibilities of the home, because he knows a mother is putting in a much longer day than he is. Parenting is a two-person job.
Men who have doubts about his role as a real man is counseled, Elder Christofferson says, to turn to the Book of Mormon for advice. When Jesus Christ visited these people, he asked
Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am (3 Nephi 27:27). This scripture tells us that a man who wants to understand his role in life should look at the Savior to see what sort of man He was. We know from many stories told us in the Bible that Jesus Christ was very respectful of women. He included many women among His friends and followers. He respected their ability to learn and He taught them individually. He didn’t save all the learning for the men, as we see in the story of Mary and Martha. This example shows us that a man should respect his wife’s intelligence and treat her as an important person, his equal, just as Jesus treated the women in his world as equals.
Jesus refused to allow his apostles to send children away who had come to see Him. Even though he’d worked a very long day and was tired, he put aside his need for rest and spent meaningful time with children, teaching them and building a relationship with them. His example tells fathers and other men what their attitude toward children should be. Although Jesus did not have children of His own, He demonstrated that a man’s children should be a priority, no matter how busy or tired they might be. He also demonstrated the responsibility to teach children the gospel.
Throughout the scriptures, Jesus is shown to be kind and gentle, not afraid to cry or to show compassion. At the same time, he had the courage to stand for the right against everyone, regardless of the cost to himself. He stood up for the downtrodden and those rejected by the world. He served those who were good and those who were “bad.” He defended the gospel without hesitation and refused to water it down to be politically correct or in tune with the times.
Elder Christofferson’s title comes from a Book of Mormon scripture that says, in part, “arise from the dust, my sons, and be men (2 Nephi 2:21).” To learn more about what it means to be a Mormon man, read the entire talk at LDS.org or watch the video below.
Why Don’t Mormon Women Want the Priesthood?
Mormon women are regularly asked why they don’t demand to hold the priesthood, which is given only to worthy boys and men. This is sometimes seen as proof that Mormon women are not considered equal in the church.
The truth is that faithful Mormon women devote very little time to contemplating this subject, and don’t consider themselves mistreated in any way over it. There are several things an outside observer must understand in order to see why this is so.
Let’s begin with an explanation of what the priesthood is. The priesthood is the power and authority of God. It is the tool God used to create the earth and administer the work of the gospel. He delegates keys to worthy men to assist in this work.
The priesthood is given to young men beginning at age twelve and they receive increasing levels of responsibility as they advance through the offices. The first priesthood they receive is the Aaronic Priesthood. In the Old Testament, we see the Aaronic Priesthood was given only to men, under direction from God. The first office of this priesthood is the office of a deacon. Deacons are twelve or thirteen years old, or older if they’ve joined the church later. At fourteen, they become Teachers, and at sixteen, Priests. Priests are not the equivalent of a Catholic priest.
When they are adults, they can receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. Priesthood holders are specifically called to watch over the church and to serve. They bless and pass the Sacrament (similar to the communion), heal the sick, visit members in their homes to check on their well-being, and perform many other acts of service for the church.
Some church positions of leadership can only be held by priesthood holders, and this is where the controversy arises by those who don’t understand the priesthood or the culture.
It should first be noted that those who hold the priesthood cannot use it on themselves. If a priesthood holder is ill, he cannot give a special blessing of healing to himself. Just as a woman must do, he must find two other priesthood holders to come and administer that blessing. Everyone in the church can receive all the blessings and gifts of the priesthood, whether or not they hold the priesthood themselves, and all must receive those blessings from others.
They receive no extra rewards in Heaven, no special privileges, and no financial paycheck.They have a greater responsibility, but no additional rewards. The Mormons operate a lay church, and everyone volunteers. This is one reason women aren’t demanding to hold it. Most women consider themselves far too busy already, with more opportunities to lead and serve than they have time for. They see no special benefit in taking on the work of the priesthood as well as their own.
One question often asked of Mormon women is whether or not they object to not being allowed to become a bishop, which is the ecclesiastical equivalent of a pastor or minister. The general wisdom among Mormons is that no one who is worthy to do the job and who understands what it entails wants that job. Women are quite happy to know they can’t be given it. As mentioned earlier, it is not a paid position. The bishop holds a full-time job, and has a family. In between all the various aspects of his personal life, he does nearly everything a full-time pastor must do. He serves for about five years, and during this time, bishops generally have no time to themselves and spend a great many hours away from home.
Mormon women consider their first responsibility to be to their families. They are given the sacred gift of bearing and
raising children, and of maintaining a pleasant and spiritual home. While not all women are able to marry or to have children, these women find other ways to serve, often spending time caring for extended family, or serving in demanding church leadership roles. They carry out the commandment to care for their own homes well, even if they live alone. Mormon women do not see this role as demeaning, but as an honor. What could be a greater privilege than to care for God’s children? Mormon women don’t feel the need for a paycheck to prove their worth. Their paycheck comes from the pleasures of being able to raise their own children or care for their families. They reach beyond cleaning and cooking and work to create a home at the highest levels. Parents don’t just bathe and feed children. They teach them and lead them.
Although their priorities are in the home, Mormon women do have many opportunities to be leaders and to serve. They can head up the Primary, which is the children’s auxiliary, the Young Women’s Organization, which is for teenagers, and the Relief Society, which is for the women of the church. There are other church jobs that do not require the priesthood and are open to either gender. Mormon women serve in their own congregations and all the way up the church structure to lead in the international church for these same organizations. The General Relief Society president, for instance, has a responsibility for all the women in the church, and oversees a worldwide organization larger than most corporations. Ample opportunities to lead are available to women in the church, and the priesthood is not necessary to give them the opportunities they need.
The bishop does not deliver the weekly sermon. In the Sunday services, known as Sacrament Meeting, men and women can give the prayers and the sermons. Each meeting has an opening and a closing prayer, and two to three speakers chosen from the congregation. This gives women many opportunities to preach and to pray. This service is followed by classes which are often taught by women. During the week, other meetings are held, also often run by women.
The Mormon women are not concerned about holding the priesthood, largely because they’re simply too busy with home, community and church service, and leadership, as well as a career for some, to give it much thought. They find complete satisfaction in the roles already available to them and do not in any way feel limited. Although the priesthood does provide opportunities to serve others-the entire function of the priesthood-women have many other, often more important ways, to serve.
The most important reason Mormon women don’t demand the priesthood, however, is that God has chosen that role for the men and another role for the women. With the great faith Mormon women are known for, they trust God and focus on the roles given them.