Temples and Family History

      Family History work is a big part of our Church and our doctrine. The LDS Church is very much a family-oriented church and our core doctrine is that the families can be together forever. With the work we do in the Temples allow our families to be sealed together for eternity. So, in order for all the families to be together we must first find the names of our ancestors so that we may be able to perform baptisms for them within the Temple. And just to clarify, being baptized for those who have died does not "make them Mormon". Those in which we are doing the work for still have the ability to accept or deny the ordinances. 
      There are other ordinances we perform in the temples as well. We do not talk about these other ordinances outside of the temple, not because they are meant to be kept secret but that they are sacred and we do not want them to be ridiculed and mocked. The ultimate goal of the Church is for all people to be able to partake of the knowledge we gain through all the temple ceremonies.
      The first time most members go to the Temple they go to perform baptisms for the dead. I have been able to do this ordinance in the Temples for about 2 years now and I have loved having the opportunity to do this work for my deceased relatives and for other people's family members as well. However, I have been studying about the Temples more recently because I am preparing myself to be able to do the other ordinances hopefully in the near future.
      In my studying, I found a book written by an apostle of the Church entitled The Holy Temple by Boyd K. Packer. Within this book, President Packer explains the connection of Family History work and Temple Work. Of course, I knew of the connection between the two with my past experiences performing the ordinance of baptisms for my family, but it wasn't until reading his book that it really hit me that I really need to work more on Family History. Being a convert I have had plenty of names to find and baptisms I could perform, but I have let this work fall to the back of my mind. 

Building Zion

     Our Sunday School lesson for this week is on building Zion. For those who are not of the LDS faith that is the ideal and perfect community that our Heavenly Father wants us to live the best we can. We in the Church strive to live this high standard, though imperfect. And just a small thought that I had a couple of years ago on this subject as I was finishing up a Church History tour through BYU- Idaho: The early Saints of the Church tried SO hard to FIND Zion. But, as we visited each location those early Saints built a strong community believing it to be Zion and hearing again about the persecutions they faced and the ultimate relocation that was to follow, it seems that they didn't understand at that time that Zion is NOT found, but created. The Salt Lake Valley was thought to be the final location of Zion so most members thought they had to immigrate there. In later revelation received, we are told to build Zion wherever we live. We can all build Zion regardless of where we live.
     The first Zion that I know of is mentioned the Pearl of Great Price in the book of Moses. It was the City of Enoch. Enoch's city is described as such in Moses 7:18 " And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them." They lived in complete righteousness and lived the Law of Consecration (I will discuss this at some later date.).
     Even though we are human, and are not perfect in any form of the word, we strive to build Zion in our homes, communities and countries.

     Hello! My name is Courtney and in case you didn't already figure it out (hence the title of my Blog) I am going to use this blog to help me share my beliefs, doctrine, and just musings I may have about my scripture reading or anything I might read that relates to my faith.

     I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or more commonly known as the "Mormon Church".(With that being said, I have this blog open to the public, but I am going to put this out there right now: I will NOT argue with anyone about my beliefs. So, if anyone reads something I post and doesn't agree with it that is perfectly fine and please feel free to share your thoughts and/or feelings but I will not respond to any hostile comments/remarks.)

     In this first post, I will just want to debunk a few of the most common myths about the LDS Church and its members.

1. Mormons practice Polygamy.
     There was a time in Church History when polygamy was encouraged even expected of the early Saints. However, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has not practiced polygamy since 1890. However, many of the members still continued to practice polygamy. So, in 1904 President Joseph F. Smith again told the members that they are to follow the laws of the land and those who still openly practicing or advocating polygamy were excommunicated. There are also some branch off groups who still practice polygamy, but they have no affiliation with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

2. Mormons are not Christians.
     I find this myth quite funny. Our beliefs are clearly written in what is called the Articles of Faith. In the First Article, it reads: "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost." Though, we do differ in how we see these three Beings. We see them as Three separate individuals. Also, in other Christian faiths, they believe only the Bible to be the word of God. We, as Latter-day Saints, see not only the Bible but also the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price to be the words of God. Jesus Christ is the center of our faith. We strive to follow His example and to live as He did. 

3. Mormons don't drink caffeine.
     We follow a health code known as the Word of Wisdom which is found in Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants. The Word of Wisdom speaks specifically against wine, tobacco, strong drinks (alcohol)and hot drinks (specified as tea and coffee). Many latter-day saints, myself included drink sodas. However, some, again including myself, steer more towards caffeine-free sodas.

4. Women can't be leaders or speak in the LDS Church.
     Many people believe this because the women of the Church do not receive the Priesthood. The Priesthood is reserved for the men of the Church, but even so, women hold leadership roles as well as the men. Women in the Church can hold local ward callings and also General Auxiliary leadership roles, give prayers, give talks (our form of preaching), and teach Gospel Principles/Doctrine. Though we do not receive the Priesthood, we still work through its power.

Those were the top four that I could think of. If anyone has any questions (or corrections) please feel free to comment :) I hope this gives everyone at least a brief glimpse of The LDS Church and I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you all.                                                               ~Courtney