As a convert from the Jewish faith to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, my perspective has served me with a hope of a bright future. It’s not that I didn’t want to be from the Jewish faith anymore, but by becoming a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I knew I could go a step further. I could learn more gospel principles to help me understand God’s plan for me.

I learned then, and know now that Jesus Christ is the Messiah and he set up His Church to be a guiding beacon in our lives. He was able to restore His true gospel through Joseph Smith so we can have peace in our lives. That brings me great comfort. This faith restores the hope of who I am and where I come from. No matter what personal trial I have to face, there is hope for a better day which helps me feel there is more to life than material possessions and status at work.

Let me explain further: The original gospel that Jesus Christ brought to the earth when He was born was to teach those born at that time the importance of service to others, loving your neighbor and being able to repent of our sins so we can return to our Father in Heaven. There are apostles and prophets to guide us, there is the priesthood from Jesus to bless the sick and afflicted, and we have spiritual gifts, (speak in tongues, prophesy, revelation, visions, etc). The true church has volunteers to work as church leaders (not paid) and ten percent of our income (tithing) is paid to the church for materials for running the church and building chapels. We have our temples where we are to be married, just like the Jews except there is one major difference: we are sealed together for time and all eternity and not just “until death do you part”.

After the original disciples were killed the priesthood authority they were given from Christ was taken away. The dark ages were here on earth for over 1,800 years, until a 14-year-old boy by the name of Joseph Smith went to a grove of trees in upstate New York in 1820 to pray about what church he should join. He had a great vision. This might be hard to really believe, but I do. God, the Father and His son Jesus Christ came to him and told him not to join any church. He was told by Them that these churches “draw near to me with their lips but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”

So, we believe Joseph Smith was instrumental in bringing the true church of Jesus Christ back on earth as it was in the day of Christ.   When my parents felt something missing in their life and needed to find a place of worship, they felt (and so did I) that the true gospel of Jesus Christ was found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We believe we lived in a Spirit World with our Father in Heaven before we came to earth. We lived as families there, so wouldn’t it make sense that we would live as families here on earth, and then live as families after we leave the earth? I think so. We believe this wholeheartedly and put family as our priority to keep intact. We research government and historical records to find family members and keep a family history. This is all very important for true joy.

Building Strong Families
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We also read from scripture often during the week and encourage our children to live the principles of the gospel from the examples we read from. Robert D Hales says it well in a talk from the 2004 April General Conference:

“I testify that our Heavenly Father leaves the door open. I also testify that it is never too late to open the door between us and our children with simple words such as ‘I love you,’ ‘I am sorry,’ and ‘Please forgive me.’ We can begin now to create a home they will want to return to—not only now but in the eternities.”

I have never taken the Church for granted and I am happy to be counted as one who belongs to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and I believe that other families can find their way to Christ’s church and be happy too.