Intro to My Thoughts and blah, blah

I believe the best way to know someone is to understand what they think. Occasionally this has led me to ask questions that are quite forward but simply for curiosity sake. If I don't understand something, I try to ask. A few of those times, the question wasn't received well and a misunderstanding took place. More and more lately I feel like I am the odd person out because I don't think or believe the same as other people.


I also believe that in order to understand what someone thinks, feels, believes, etc sometimes requires extra background information. As I understand what someone believes, it helps me know why they believe certain things. This extra information can create a bigger picture.


I hope that as I share my thoughts, you will feel inclined to share your thoughts with me either through emails, comments, texts, or phone calls. I love hearing what other people think just so that I can understand and have more empathy towards them. My intent is not offense but hopefully an explanation that may lead to understanding.

At times I may share beliefs or teachings from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. However, I do not speak for the church. The things I share comes from my understanding of things I have learned through study of their teachings. For official church stance or to learn more about the teachings, please visit LDS.org, Mormon.org, or mormonnewsroom.org.

Monday, May 15, 2017

Scriptures of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints recognizes a canon comprised of the Holy Bible (in the English language most members of The Church use the King James Version), the Book of Mormon (LDS.org and Mormon.org), the Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants. I will give a brief description of each below but for more information, use the links provided.

The Holy Bible:
Like most Christian religions, the Church recognizes and believes the Bible to be the word of God as given to prophets and apostles who lived in and around Jerusalem. The Old Testament contains the words of prophets before Jesus was born. Jesus is often referred to as Jehovah in the Old Testament. The New Testament contains the words of prophets and apostles after Jesus was born. It contains information about Jesus Christ's birth, life, teachings, death, and resurrection. It also contains the travels and teachings of his apostles after His death and resurrection.

If I remember correctly, I believe The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints adopted the King James Version for the English language as the official Bible the Church uses because King James had the Old and New Testaments translated to English directly from the original languages and there have been no additional translations since.

The Book of Mormon (information from LDS.org and from Mormon.org):
The Book of Mormon is another Testament of Jesus Christ. The book starts around the beginning of King Zedekiah's reign in Jerusalem. Prophets were being cast out and occasionally killed during this time. One of these prophets was a man named Lehi. Following a command from God, he gathered his family, another family, and scriptures referred to as The Plates of Brass, which contained the teachings found in the beginning parts of the Bible. They were guided and came to the American Continent. The Book of Mormon contains the teachings and stories of the people who lived here. There is an account of Jesus Christ visiting the people after His resurrection in Jerusalem. The book continues for around another 400 years. It provides evidence of the truthfulness of the teachings in the Bible and clarifies some of the teachings. It acts as a witness that God cares for us no matter where we live and provides additional testimony of Jesus Christ and His teachings.

The Book of Mormon was hidden and sealed by the final prophet to write in it. Many years later, the plates on which the book was original written were given to Joseph Smith to translate. He was able to translate them through the gift and power given him by God.

Doctrine and Covenants:
This is a collection of revelations and covenants given to Joseph Smith and other prophets before, during, and shortly after he helped restore The Church of Jesus Christ, which is officially called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to distinguish it from the church during Jesus Christ's time and because we are in the latter days.

Pearl of Great Price:
Additional scriptures translated by Joseph Smith. It contains teachings from Abraham, Moses and other prophets. Added to it are a translation of certain parts of Matthew, a brief history about Joseph Smith, and Articles of Faith. The articles of faith are the teachings of the gospel outlined in 13 declarations of what we believe.

I hope this helps clarify as I talk about other things here on the blog.

No comments:

Post a Comment

This blog is my sincere attempt to help create an understanding. I will not post nor will I tolerate blatantly rude or biting remarks. Contention does not promote understanding. I ask that you only comment if you are trying to add insight, clarification, seek additional information, and the like.