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Why do we have religion?

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When I was little, my cousins and I got walkie talkies. They were sort of like phones, but you couldn’t post a picture on Instagram or send out a tweet. They worked on 2 double A batteries and were very simple. An on and off button, a volume dial and a transmitting button, but one of the most important things it had was a frequency dial. This is of course because they worked on frequencies. We all chose the same frequencies and we were able to talk to one another. I remember pretending to be spies on a dangerous mission. We were separated but not disconnected, and whenever we needed “backup” we could talk on our walkie talkie, but if we were too far from each other the connection was weak or not usable, or if we switched frequencies, we got sounds that were less clear. We stayed relatively close together and close to our parents so we would always be able to communicate one with another. We weren’t always able to see each other but we could always hear each other and help each other....

Is truth absolute?

Although truth in and of itself implies a sense of definite knowledge or veracity, truth has become slightly hazy in what it constitutes in recent years. It's close connection with "fact" has become weaker. Why is that? We can gain a better understanding when we look at history as we have it. There was a time in history when those of the best and brightest were all absolutely sure that the Earth was the center of this universe, but as time went on we found that after searching, studying and questioning, that the Earth was not at all the center. It was merely a blip in the cosmos, revolving around the incandescence of the Sun. They had worked hard to find their idea of truth, but the real truth; that is, the fact and reality that could not be denied was that they were incorrect. That does not make them bad scientists or unintelligent humans. They operated on their level of understanding and did their best given the circumstances. They simply did not know there was more tru...

What is a Prophet? How is it not a saint?

  As missionaries we have received many questions. One of those can be fairly summed up in this question: ''What is the dfference between a Saint and a Prophet?'' I did some reading in The Bible and here is what I found!   In the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Romans, he says in 1:7 "To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." We understand Paul was, of course speaking to all of the Romans that had then accepted Christ and His Gospel.   What the Apostle Paul describes is that saints are all members of the church. All those who have accepted Christ and been baptized in his name are called to be saints. They are called to transcend the basic and live with higher standards, values, and convictions. (see Romans 12) The word saint comes from a greek word that has also been rendered to mean ''holy.'' The general idea of the word means simply to be set...

What is a Restoration?

Today I wanted to look into why we had a restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ rather than a reformation or even just a reorganization. Let's jump in!   As we know, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came to this earth and established His church. With divinely inspired instruction He organized and called the 12 Apostles. (see Matthew 10) He called the 70. (see Luke 10:1-9) Christ founded the saints of the time in the only veritable and sound base: The doctrines of his masterful teachings.   Soon after his Death and Resurrection, he charged the Apostles to go abroad, preaching the gospel and building up His church and the kingdom of God on earth (see Matthew 28:18-20) We know the Apostles worked hard and had much success but as time rolled forward, persecution reared its tumultuous head and the church and it's saints began to fracture and dwindle even with the Apostles crying for them to return to the foundations of the gospel. (see Revelations 1-3)    Soon a...

Our Heavenly Father's Goal

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In our lifetime we will set goals and make plans to help us achieve our dreams. For example a high school student will want to college. Going to college is this student's goal and how he or she needs to get to college is by making specific plans to get to that goal. This student's plans could be studying everyday, getting good test scores, join a extracurricular program, etc.. This student will most likely make it to college if this student follows the plan that he or she has made. Just like a hard working student that wants to go to college, our Heavenly Father also set goals and makes plans. His goal is to make so that all of us can live with Him again in his presence! And He has made plans for us to come back to him! But unlike the plans of a student Heavenly Father's Plans are perfect! So what are the plans that He has made? Well one of His plans was for us to be able to learn and grow. So He created the earth! So that we can learn and grow from our experiences! While...