By Their Fruits...

An important rule to live by: "By their fruits ye shall know them" St. Matthew 7:16-20, "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth devil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." (KJV of the Bible, emphasis added)

I do not follow the political campaign as much as I probably should but I am kind of at ends with the fact that religion is playing so much a part in it. When Obama was elected there were rumors of him being Muslim. So what if he was/is? Or descended from one even? Ignorant people may blame ALL Muslims for terrorism, but those who look into the matter find that it was just an extremist faction. People have free will, the ability to act for themselves. Just because one person decides to speak for a religion does not make him an expert on the matter. Research their credibility to speak on the matter before believing everything they say. Ignorance does not help tolerance. Some people say, why bring attention to Mitt Romney's religion- we don't draw attention to others if they happen to be Catholic, Jewish, Protestant or another mainstream religion. But the thing is, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (some may recognize it more by the Mormon Church) IS mainstream. More and more people join its members all the time. So why do people bring it up as a flaw in his character? Because of ignorance.

Mormonism is a cult. Definition of cult (from Dictionary.com) "1. a particular system of religious worship, especially with reference to its rites and ceremonies." True. We do have routines that we go through with our worship. We have the sacrament which is both a religious rite and ceremony and ordinance that is very similar to the Catholic Communion. (We partake of bread and water- not wine, the same prayer is said every time, and it is passed to us by members of our Church's Priesthood) "2.an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, especially as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult." Somewhat true. Our members have free will and can choose how devoted they want to be. No one forces us to go to Church, though there are times when we reach out to those we haven't seen in awhile. I don't see how that is different than running into a gym pal who stopped working out and saying, "I haven't seen you in awhile at Gold's" To which he can say anything he wants: I've been busy, out of town, I switched gyms, I couldn't afford it anymore... etc. So I don't see how even those who do dedicate themselves to their beliefs are scary (Unless of course what they believe in would lead them to do scary things- I'll address this later). "3. the object of such devotion." For those who dedicate themselves to the beliefs held in the Mormon Church- true I suppose. "4. a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc." True. Most definitely. We classify ourselves by our MUTUAL belief in the SAME doctrines, the SAME leadership, the SAME foundation, and the SAME Savior. "5. Sociology . a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols." True. Everything has symbolism. Our baptism by immersion represents to us that we are leaving the natural man or fallen man behind- that the fallen man is dead and being buried and we are reborn and come up out of the water cleansed by our Savior Jesus Christ, and become reborn anew in His name. The bread and water of our Sacrament is all a symbol of Christ's sacrifice for us. So by the dictionary definition MOST, if not all, churches fall under the definition of a cult. Now as for the connotation of the word cult. Most of the time when Mormons are thought of as a cult it is in reference to the connotation of the word- meaning that we are brainwashed to follow a misguided leader. This can be scary. It is similar to people following a dictator who seeks to rule the rest of the world and bring it under submission by force. Is the Mormon Church a cult in this way. NO. Most people ignorantly think we are using such examples as the "Mormons" who followed Warren Jeffs. The current Mormon Polygamists. They often live in compounds. Women are sometimes forced into marriages. The whole view of that "sect" is derogatory. And if you ask a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they agree with you. Just like terrorists who use a Church as a shield or excuse for why they do the things they do, they are broken off from the majority of Muslims. Most Muslims (I say most because if I said all, I'd eventually run into the ONE who disagreed) in America do not agree with what they do. The Mormon Polygamists are an extreme group that BROKE off from our Church DECADES ago. They have nothing to do with us currently. That is part of the reason why we try not to use the term Mormon anymore. It's derogatory and also brings in reference to people with whom we do not agree with and are not associated with. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as a short name now prefers LDS. But we prefer the full name which points to who we believe is our Savior- Jesus Christ, whose name is not mentioned in the nickname. For writing purposes I will write LDS from here on out. The Polygamists sometimes use the term FLDS- but they are not associated with our Church. The LDS Church is strange to people in a lot of ways. We are very devoted to what we believe in, and many people do not understand what we believe in, so they fear we MAY be a cult in the derogatory connotation of the word. I can personally assure you we are not- but if you have doubts, research it for yourself. See what it teaches its people on lds.org or visit mormon.org to see stories of individuals and how their faith in God and Jesus Christ has helped them in their lives and "by their fruits shall ye know them".

Other things people have a hard time with. Is the LDS Church a Christian Church? Yes. Why are there arguments? Several reasons. They don't baptize in the name of or believe in the Holy Trinity. Research your own faith. The Holy Trinity as defined by other Christian Churches was decided by a group of men, involved with writing the Nicene Creed, a few centuries AFTER Jesus Christ's Crucifixion. The Holy Trinity is basically The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. It's interpretation today is hazy and changes depending on who I talk to. The best I can describe it as, is that they are one, but they are not one. They are the same person but they are not the same person. The LDS believe: "We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost" (Articles of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Article #1). So the LDS also believe in God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. In the Nicene Creed it says they are consubstantial (definition: of one and the same substance, essence, or nature.). From what I understand of the Holy Trinity, it interprets it to mean of the same substance and essence and nature. In the LDS case it's just the same nature. They are three separate individuals to the LDS, who have the same purpose- to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39, LDS Scriptures in the Pearl of Great Price). Being three separate individuals they are able to stand on the right hand of another. So in my opinion everyone believes in the same thing- they just interpret it slightly differently. (Food for thought: have you ever talked with a person of another faith and found you interpreted the SAME scripture a different way? Yet even if they are both Christian faiths, you don't accuse them of being not Christians.) LDS baptize in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer- our example, who points the way to God and to Heaven.

On the issue of the cross. I have met some Christians who say the LDS are not Christian because they do not worship or use the cross as a symbol of their beliefs. LDS people believe in the Crucifixion of the Lord as much as any other Christian. Jesus Christ's whole life was devoted to saving mankind. Teaching them, showing them the way and atoning for the sins of the world. He overcame death. The LDS Church believes He overcame spiritual death (death being a separation, and spiritual death being specifically a separation between us and God) in the Garden of Gethsemane right before His crucifixion. That because of that sacrifice we can make it to Heaven, where God lives. And then He was crucified. That tragic, yet selfless and saving sacrifice where He gave up His life. Three days after His crucifixion He was resurrected- He overcame physical death that we might live again. This was the climax of his life- having conquered both spiritual and physical death that we might be saved and live after death. Might I remind Christians that our two biggest holidays are Christmas, where we celebrate His birth, and Easter where we celebrate His resurrection. He was resurrected as a result of dying on the cross- true- but that is not the end of the story. He lives! He CONQUERED death! The sting of death is swallowed up by His victory. Simply because the LDS choose not to focus on His death by using the cross as their symbol does not mean they don't believe that it was important. But it LED to his resurrection. His whole life pointed to Heaven. He lives in Heaven. He conquered and is not dead anymore. The spires on LDS Churches instead of crosses remind us that He lives, that death was not the end.

LDS preach the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. True. They believe the Book of Mormon to be another Testament of Jesus Christ (emphasis added). Any who have read it can attest that it is a record of how people who followed Christ were blessed. It is a second witness to the miracles Jesus Christ performed. The LDS Church believes the Book of Mormon WITH the Bible help us grow closer to Jesus Christ- just like reading uplifting stories of how people like Mother Theresa were Christ-like help us become inspired to become more like Christ. Catholics have Saints that are revered for how they followed the Savior- how does believing that more people, as recorded in the Book of Mormon, were blessed by Jesus Christ make someone not Christian? As for Joseph Smith- he is the reason the LDS Church is different from other Christian Churches. Look at the history of all the other Christian Churches. We have Christ and His Apostles. The next thing we know is we have the Catholic Church. Then other people broke off with Martin Luther, John Calvin and others, saying that things weren't right and one doctrine or another was supposed to be different. Joseph Smith is the leader of the LDS Church, just like Martin Luther and John Calvin were for their respective break-offs. The difference is, the LDS believe that it isn't a break off but a restoration for how it was meant to be. Believe whatever Church you may, but the LDS Church simply believes that certain doctrines weren't right, just like every other break off from the Catholic Church, yet all of them are still considered Christians. Joseph Smith is a prophet to the LDS, just like Moses was to the children of Israel in the Old Testament. Moses was not their God or Savior and Joseph Smith is not the God or Savior of the LDS Church either. He was simply the man who laid out, or restored (as LDS people believe) what Christianity should be like. Any focus on Joseph Smith the LDS Church places on Him does not replace Jesus Christ in its doctrines or in the members of the LDS Church's lives.

So now that I've addressed some of the issues around the LDS Church, let's get back to politics. What does it really matter what a candidate's religion is? I agree that I don't want someone in office who is part of a cult that may prove dangerous or disastrous to our country, but Mitt Romney's religion is mainly misunderstood due to ignorance. So let me say it again- does religion matter? Does it matter if the candidate is Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, Protestant, Mormon, Atheist or Agnostic? I personally would rather they believe in God- to me it represents the fact that they believe in hope for a better world (anyone who believes in God or a God believes in some Heaven or blissful state). But if an Atheist has a hope for a better country and an idea as to how to get us there- isn't that belief in something better enough for us? We need a person who can lead us. What are the nation's biggest problems right now? Who can solve them? "By their fruits shall ye know them". Who has proven in their lives up to this point that they can compromise in office? Who has proven that they have skills in helping our country where we need it the most? Who has experience in convincing others to see like him or compromise and then get it into action so that things can actually pass in Congress? I don't care if you vote for Mitt Romney or anyone else, but don't withhold your vote because you don't understand his religion. Pick who has shown by their fruits (the things they've done in their lives) that they are best suited to our nation's biggest problems according to YOU. Research what they are capable of, and what they can do for good and vote accordingly. Do not pick someone who can manipulate your feelings based on a good speech full of empty promises- see if their fruits/experiences show that they can deliver at least a portion of what they promise. So metaphorically speaking, decide what fruit you think this nation needs the most and figure out who can get it. "By their fruits shall ye know them"