Dec

12

I have already published this story in another website, but since this is my blog I think I want to have this here.
In the past couple of weeks I have been talking to a special person in Italy who found my Italian blog and became interested in knowing more about the Church. While talking to this person by email I noticed how people do not get interested in the Mormon Church by chance, especially in a place like Italy. They are usually people who have the courage to ask themselves and others deep questions, and who do not accept things with blind faith, but look forward to find what they are looking for using a positive faith, the kind of faith I found by reading one of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them (Ether 12:27)

Faith without Works Doesn’t Work, July 1991

For someone like me, who was born and raised in Italy, it really looks like a miracle when someone, in that country, has the courage to ask questions about religion and search for answers without becoming cynical and give up religion althogether.

So, this is the part of my story that starts from the beginning, while in another post I have the story about the last period before I met the missionaries.

” I was not born and raised in Utah, among the Mormons, but I was raised a Catholic in Italy. When I was 10 years old, my father died because of lung cancer (he used to smoke) at age 47. His death changed everything in my life. I was then the only child of a widowed young mother (33 years old). In spite of all the efforts made by my mother to help me cope with the situation, very soon I realized that something had changed not only in my outward normal life, but also inside me. I wasn’t anymore like many other children who could go about being just children without many problems and especially without many questions about life or sudden sadness.

Because of the death of my father, I noticed that some people started to treat me differently and, over time, I had to face some hard questions about the purpose of our existence here on the earth. I didn’t realize how important what was happening inside me was until I was 13 or 14. However by the age of 14, I was beginning to be highly unsatisfied with the world around me and with the answers that my teachers, family, or religious ministers gave me to the important questions of life. I was beginning to realize that perhaps something was missing in the worldview and beliefs of most people around me, but I was not sure what.

It is important to stress that the presence of the Catholic Church were so strong in my environment that I can still remember a time, when I was about 9 or 10 years old, in which during a lesson at school about people with other beliefs, I asked myself: “How can people not to be Catholic? Do they know that they will all go to live forever in… (a very bad place)? Why they don’t change religion and become all Catholics?” Such was the power of tradition in my environment.

The death of my father, however, started to change my situation. The Lord sometimes works in mysterious ways to bring about His purposes. In fact, after the death of my father, my mother reduced her involvement with the Catholic Church. She was still a Catholic, but, perhaps because she didn’t find the help she was looking for in that organization to cope with her loss, she started looking elsewhere.

She started reading books about oriental religions and philosophies such as yoga, Zen, and Buddhism; in particular, she started reading about and practicing yoga. Her exploration opened up a new world to me. Suddenly, I was learning about other religions and philosophies and I was discovering that there were a lot of good things to be learned. I began to realize that perhaps the Catholic Church didn’t have the best answers to the questions of life. Moreover, and especially, I began to be familiarized with the concepts of spiritual progression and the idea of spiritual self-improvement. Not that these concepts are completely absent from the Catholic tradition, but in the daily life of a Catholic they are almost absent, since they are usually stressed only for those who abandon the “normal” life and became “full-time, forever single, priests or nuns.” My favorite Catholic “hero” was Saint Francis of Assis, but I didn’t like the idea that a religious man or woman should give up marriage to pursue a religious life at its best.

I had a dear friend, Stefano, who was a member of a small Protestant group. I had always been fascinated by the fact that this and other Protestant groups rejected the principle of celibacy in their church. When people like me are immersed in a strong Catholic culture, even these little examples or ideas can make a big difference over time and give us the courage to pursue something different in spite of the strong pressure of the tradition.

When I was 15, I had another key experience. The setting was a trip to Rome. The purpose of the trip was to take the Catholic youth from all Europe to meet with the Pope. At that time I was involved with the Catholic youth of my parish, even if I was beginning to question some of our beliefs. During that trip, something special happened.

On the specific day, thousands of youth were ready to meet the Pope in the Saint Peter’s Basilica. We had been preparing for months for this special meeting. Youth from all over Europe had traveled to get there. Obviously, the Pope was not present when we arrived and so we all sat on the floor of the church and started singing. I really didn’t sing, but I listened for at least an hour to those Gregorian lyrics but I started feeling bad. I had great expectations about that special meeting with the Pope, but after a while I began to think: “What am I doing here?”; “Why I am here after all? Just because others told me that it would be special?” I struggled for a while, but then I decided to stand up and leave. I had a feeling of relief when I left that strange atmosphere in the Saint Peter’s Basilica. I had an uncle in Rome and I decided to visit him and spend some time with his family instead than meeting the Pope: not a big deal anyway, I thought.

On the way back to my city in northern Italy, while still on the train, I had the opportunity to tell what I had done to our main guide, a very outgoing and friendly priest. I told him about my feelings, my doubts, and the fact that I had left the meeting. I began to ask questions about Catholic beliefs. After listening and discussin with me for some time he finally said: “If you believe these things, then you are not a Catholic”. That was really a strong and challenging statement, a call back to orthodoxy. I was a little perplexed, but I replied: “Then, I am probably not a Catholic!”

I suppose that the Spirit of the Lord was present that day to support me and open my mind, because I felt relieved when I said what I was really thinking, and I was not afraid of the priest’s reaction. After that episode, my search for answers was directed mainly outside the Catholic Church, since even that apparently open-minded priest had failed to help me to understand. When confronted with hard questions, he couldn’t find anything better than suggesting that I rely on blind faith or consider myself a heretic!

Several years passed after that episode and I continued to meet with my Catholic friends, but I was now always more involved in reading books about other religions. Books were my main font of information about religion. One author that really had a strong influence on me for a period, for example, was Sri Aurobindo. I can’t remember the details of what I read at that time, but Sri Aurobindo, in his books, suggests that humankind can evolve spiritually beyond its current limitations and reach a future state of “supramental” existence. This would be like an “evolutionary” step for humankind that should lead to a divine life on Earth. (This make me thing of the Millennium now, even if according the Bible this “almost divine life” will not the product of “evolution”; but at that time it was an interesting concept that gave me some hope and meaning for the future).

Based on my current knowledge and testimony of the teaching of the Mormon Church, I can’t avoid thinking that by reading his writings I was moving a step forward in the direction of understanding key Mormon concepts, some of which are not clear or even accepted by many traditional Christians. I believe that the Spirit of the Lord teaches people according to their language and understanding, and moves forward the true seekers one step at a time until they are ready for the fullness of the Gospel.

My search for the truth continued to intensify until it reached its climax when I was 19 years old. One day, I was in Torino, where I was supposed to be moving forward with my studies in physics. I had chosen to study physics not because I wanted to become a new Einstein, but because of books such as The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra, books that discuss the parallels between modern physics and eastern mysticism. It is probably unnecessary to say that since my interest for physics was nothing more than another step in my search for the truth, I was very disappointed with my undergraduate program at the University of Torino. Therefore, as in many other occasions, on that particular day I was not studying physics but I was reading a book about the history of Indian philosophy.

At a certain point, that day, I decided to go for a walk to relax and think about life. While I was walking downtown someone stopped me and asked me if I wanted to do a psychological test. I didn’t mention it before, but I had also been interested in psychoanalysis and psychology, and I especially liked books such as Eric Fromm’s The Art of Loving or To Have or to Be? and so on. Therefore, I was somewhat curious about this test.

That test was the beginning of my last step in my search for the truth. After that, I had lost my fear of disconnecting from the Catholic tradition, and I was almost incomprehensible to my family and Catholic friends. I can say now that I was ready to meet the Mormon missionaries, and especially to understand and accept their message, less than a year later, because of all those experiences.

But who was behind that psychological test? The people of Dianetics and Scientology. Their focus on personal improvement and their blending of scientific, religious, and psychological knowledge attracted me for a short period, even if I never became really involved with them, because after the initial interested, I realized that they didn’t have the answers I was looking for. However, even this relatively negative experience had at least one important positive outcome. Scientology completely severed my last psychological (and some doctrinal) connections with the Catholic Church. I freed myself even more from the weight of tradition and I grew stronger in the belief that there was something out there, in some place, in some organization, or in some book, that could help me answer my questions about the purpose of life.

It may seem of little importance to some, but to have the courage to be unorthodox, to challenge at least in our own mind the tradition is an important step before we can be ready to receive a testimony and to accept the restored gospel. This was especially true for me, since I didn’t accept to be baptized in the Mormon Church for social reasons or out of a temporary interest, but only because I was touched by the Spirit, after contemplating the simple but powerful architecture and logic of Mormon doctrine. The concept of obtaining a testimony of the truth by the Spirit of God implies that to rely on tradition to believe is not enough, even when the tradition is true.

I can testify with all my conviction that the scripture that read “seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Luke 11:9) is true, because the Lord guided me by the hand through many different experiences until I found what I was really looking for, the true Church of Jesus Christ once again established on the earth.

The Dark Ages of my life were dispelled when I finally met the missionaries and I can only be thankful that I was born in a time when the true Church is present in the face of the earth. I can’t imagine the hardship imposed on those people who tried to find the Church when it wasn’t on the earth.

I need to recognize that I owe to the Catholic Church my first limited understanding of and belief in Jesus Christ, belief that never left me even when I was focusing on other religions. However, I owe to these other religions and philosophies a better understanding of many true principles and a more opened mind that helped me not to be afraid when I finally found the true Church of Jesus Christ.”

You can follow the link to find a version in video of Before becoming a Mormon.

There may be a few differences among the video and the written story and this because when I write I am more relaxed then when I am in front of a camera! But these little differences or omissions should not be used against me. In fact, I understand better now why there are a few slightly different accounts of the First Vision of Joseph Smith.

Our memory is not always perfect, our audience may not be the same, the circumstances in which we find ourselves may be different, or we simply want to stress different points at different times.

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Dec

11

When I first arrived to the US in 2000 I went to watch for the first time the movie, The Testaments: of One Fold and One Shepherd. The message of this film is that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all mankind. This movie alone show to all sincere investigators of the truth that Mormons actually believe in Jesus Christ. This movie is one of my favorite ever. It is spiritual and interesting, and it is very well done. This is the only movie that I watched more than once or twice. I think i have watched it 9-10 times. I have found it onyoutube, divided in a few parts. If you have not seen it yet, go ahead and enjoy it.

WHAT IS A TESTAMENT?

A Testament is a covenant or an agreement made between God and his people. The Term Testament may also refer to a statement of belief.
The Old and New Testaments in the Bible are records of God’s promises to His people in ancient Israel. The Book of Mormon is a record of God’s promises to His people in ancient America. These testaments also witnesses of Jesus Christ and the reality of His life, love, and sacrifice for each of us.

WHAT DOSE “ONE FOLD AND ONE SHEPHERD” MEAN?

From the Scriptures we learn that Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd and that those who follow Him are part of his fold (see John 10:14; Alma 5:38, 60).
While in Jerusalem, the Savior told His followers, “Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold: and one shepherd” (John 10:16).
Shortly after His Resurrection, Jesus Christ appeared to the people in ancient America. To these people He said, “Verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: “Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd” (3 Nephi 15:21).
These passages of scripture teach us that the Savior loves all His people, regardless of when or where they live. He wants all people everywhere to become part of his fold.

WHAT IS THE BOOK OF MORMON?

Throughout time, God has repeatedly reached out in love to His children by revealing His gospel to prophets. The writings of prophets in ancient Israel are collected in the Bible. These prophets include Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses.
At the same time that some of these prophets were teaching in ancient Israel, there was another of people living in ancient America. God loved these people and called prophets among them. Their writings are collected in The Book of Mormon.
The highlight of the Book of Mormon is the record of Jesus Christ’s appearance to the people of ancient America. After His Resurrection in the old world in the Old World, He appeared to these people, taught His gospel, healed the sick, and showed them how to live by his example.
The Book of Mormon is an inspiring and powerful witness of Jesus Christ. Reading the Book of Mormon will bring you joy, hope, and the power to live more righteously. It will increase your faith in and love for Jesus Christ. It will bring you closer to your Heavenly Father.

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Dec

1

Every 6 months, millions of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) gather in chapels, in their homes, and over the Internet to listen to the words of living apostles and prophets in general worldwide conferences. Many people have doubts about what Mormon leaders really teach.

This video can help to understand what are some of the basic teachings of the prophets of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

It includes parts of talks by President Thomas Monson (finding joy in life), Elder L. Tom Perry (simplifying our lives), Elder Dallin H. Oaks (the sacrament meeting), President Dieter F. Uchtdorf (hope), Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (angels), Elder David A. Bednar (prayer), Elder Russell M. Nelson (celestial marriage) and several others.

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Nov

19

It has been suggested by some that Mormons (and other Christians) hate gays because they worked hard to support Proposition 8 in Califronia, but this is not a fair accusation and misses completely the point.

Mormons believe in loving all mankind and to do well even to their enemies. However, loving our enemies does not mean to agree with wrong ideas, even if they are popular or politically correct. This is the reason because the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints decided to support this legal fight to protect marriage.

I quote below a few parts of a very interesting article from Meridian Magazine written by Paul Bishop, a thirty-one year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department who describes what happened after Proposition 8 was voted in California

The controversy in California regarding Proposition 8 built to a frenzy in the days leading up to Tuesday’s election and then exploded into anger and violence in the aftermath of Prop 8’s slim passage into law (52.5% to 47.5%)…. Exit polls showed the proposition was supported by 7 of 10 Black voters, a majority of Latino voters, and by people with children under the age of 18 still at home. Clearly, it was supported by all people who believed marriage is a special and protected institution.

Many supporters of Proposition 8 were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and they worked hard to promote their cause – not out of homophobic hatred, but out of a love of Christ and a belief in the sanctity of traditional marriage.

Many of those who opposed Proposition 8 reacted to the defeat by accusing Mormon of hatred. However, Mormons simply believe that marriage was instituted by God and that should be between a man and a woman and used legal means to defend their belief (and they were not the only one, or the only church involved, by the way).

On the other hand, some of the demonstrations against the Church by supporter of gay marriage seem to be motivated by hatred and they singled out the Mormon Church.

These are a few pictures taken outside the Mormon temple that illustrate well this point.

Challenges to our faith are not new. Nor are they likely to go away anytime soon. But, as Elder Hales reminds us,

True disciples of Christ see opportunity in the midst of opposition. We can take advantage of such opportunities in many ways: a kind letter to the editor, a conversation with a friend, a comment on a blog, or a reassuring word to one who has made a disparaging comment. We can answer with love those who have been influenced by misinformation and prejudice – who are ‘kept from the truth because they know not where to find it’ (D&C 123:12). I assure you that to answer our accusers in this way is never weakness. It is Christian courage in action.

I agree with Paul Bishop that there are several lessons that can be learned from the current unrest:

Tolerance is not agreement and should not be a one way street. However, we must still remain tolerant of those who are intolerant of us.

Recognize the adversary at work here – making good seem bad and evil seem good.

We can only be disciples of Christ when we respond to adversity in a Christlike manner. To do less opens our actions to the influence of the adversary and hurts us even more.

We should never take for granted the opportunities we have to gather together in worship. We should never put off the opportunity to attend the temple. For these valuable things can be disrupted and possibly even closed to us – if not permanently, then at least on a temporary basis.

Pray. Often. Don’t forget to include those who are set against you.

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Nov

17

Yesterday I was attending my Sunday school class in my ward (Portuguese speaking ward) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) and it was mentioned a time when, in Brazil, a school teacher had asked the students to present themselves by telling their names, interests, which church they were attending, and a few other things.

That story, to all people present, seemed to come not from another country and time, but from another world. We were all very aware of the situation in the US, where teachers would never have the courage to do that. What a different world that was!

I know that in the past people had discriminated others because of religion, and we all agree that a state religion is not good for freedom, but I wonder if people realize that currently all religions are discriminated in public schools, with the exception of the church of irreligiosity, that is presented as the only truth.

If sponsoring only one religion is bad in public schools, why can’t we make all religions welcomed in our schools, instead of completely banning them?

M. J. Sobran wrote :

“The Framers of the Constitution … forbade the Congress to make any law ‘respecting’ the establishment of religion, thus leaving the states free to do so (as several of them did); and they explicitly forbade the Congress to abridge ‘the free exercise’ of religion, thus giving actual religious observance a rhetorical emphasis that fully accords with the special concern we know they had for religion. It takes a special ingenuity to wring out of this a governmental indifference to religion, let alone an aggressive secularism. Yet there are those who insist that the First Amendment actually proscribes governmental partiality not only to any single religion, but to religion as such; so that tax exemption for churches is now thought to be unconstitutional. It is startling to consider that a clause clearly protecting religion can be construed as requiring that it be denied a status routinely granted to educational and charitable enterprises, which have no overt constitutional protection. Far from equalizing unbelief, secularism has succeeded in virtually establishing it (Human Life Review, Summer 1978, pp. 51–52)

The plan is clear. The following talk by Mormon Apostle Elder Maxwell, given several years ago is really prophetic and illuminates what we are facing and what are the challenges of the future for true disciples of Jesus Christ.

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Jun

18

Yesterday I went to Manti, Utah and watched the Mormon Miracle Pageants. Before the performance started, I noticed these people from other faiths with their signs about the Bible or other websites, usually against the Mormon Church.

Usually I avoid them, but this time I decided to talk with a couple of them. It was an interesting experience. All of them insisted on salvation by grace. They have a hard time to understand or accept a simple and even logical concept as that of progression. The have an all-or-nothing attitude. Or you are saved or you are damned, or you believe or you do not, or you pay tithing or you do not. They do not understand or they do not want to understand degrees. Also, they want something simple and easy. Jesus does everything for you.

They do not get the big picture and insist on words or specific scriptures trying to prove their point. I know that discussing religion with them is almost useless, but I tried to understand them. There was another one who was only yelling, trying to be like Samuel the Lamanite. I could not even talk to him, he just kept yelling and really nobody was listening to him, he should have tried with a megaphone.

There were also a father and a son. The father left the LDS Church after going unworthily to the Temple when he was 18, according to his own words. His parents are still active in the Church, but his son was with him trying to convert Mormons….

I told his son that because his father left the Church he was losing the blessing of the temple and he told me that “Mormons do terrible things in the temple, they do baptisms for the dead”… When he said that I did not know if I should laugh or cry. I thought about his father. He went to the Temple at least once and he knows that we do not do “terrible things”, but his choices have “terrible” consequences in the lives of his family and his posterity. As a convert I am particularly sad when I see people who were born in the Church break the progression of their families. I think how sad must be his parents.

For some reason when he was 18 he gave up. Why? At one point he told me that it is hard for some people to keep the commandments. I had the impression he was trying to tell me that he prefers his new doctrine because there is really no effort or possible failure implied.

According to his doctrine, you accept Jesus and you are saved, while in the Mormon Church you are taught that you need to fight against your nature to follow the commandments and keep improving your life (even after accepting Jesus). He probably felt unworthy when he was 18 and he gave up. He was inactive for many years and then a few years ago he was “saved” by some Protestant group. He wishes it was that easy. But it is not. On the other hand, it is not impossible and it is not just for a few special people, but all men and women can qualify for the true salvation. However, it requires humility and perseverance: true salvation is a process not a single event.

During the performance it was remembered how important is to let people know the true principles of the gospel, because when the true doctrine is not known and practiced, human being have the tendency to fall into transgression and entire societies may end up being destroyed, as it happened with the ancient Nephites.

While there I have thought again about the power of the Internet. How important is for us to explain true principles to all mankind,

“teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things…(Matthew 28:19-20)

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Jun

16

I have found a relatively new and interesting blog, LDS Media Talk whose authors are Larry Richman (LDS.org Product Manager), Joel Dehlin (LDS Church CIO), David Nielson (Managing Director, Audiovisual Dept, LDS Church), and David Frischknecht (Managing Director, Curriculum Dept, LDS Church).

The purpose of the blog is to “share ideas with LDS parents and youth who are interested in learning how to use technology to strengthen families and build The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes referred to as the “Mormons,” the “Mormon Church,” or “Mormonism” ).

The blog is not an official official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the information and opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors, but I am happy to see that the use of technology at Church headquarters is gaining momentum.

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Jun

12

I have found something really interesting, called “The Baptist Version of The Book of Mormon – Protestant Doctrines within the Book of Mormon” by Lynn Ridenhour, a Southern Baptist Minister.

It is an amazing article. I am copying it here because I do not want to see it disappear in the future from the internet, but I recognize his authorship and commend it for what he did and his sincerity.

This is his article that currently can be found at http://www.centerplace.org/library/bofm/baptistversionofbofm.htm

“I’m a licensed Southern Baptist minister and I embrace the Book of Mormon.

That is, I believe the truths recorded in it. No, I’m not a convert to the Mormon faith, nor am I a member of any particular “spin-off” restoration group such as the RLDS (Reorganized Latter-day Saints), Hedrikites, or Strangites. I’m still a Baptist minister. To be exact, I’m “charismatic Baptist.” That is, I still embrace the “born again” experience. I still believe you’re saved by grace. By the shed blood of Christ. Salvation is by faith alone in His finished work on Calvary. I still believe in the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. I believe and embrace those cardinal doctrines of Protestantism.

And you know what?…

I still believe the Book of Mormon too! Read more

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Jun

10

Another great video from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church), finally telling the true story about the priesthood and the black people in the Church.

Too much has been said that was wrong. This is a great video for those who honestly seek for the truth. For those who do not seek the truth… anotehr missed opportunity…

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May

16

There is always a lot of confusion about who are the Mormons. A few years ago I noticed that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints started putting more emphasis on the official name of the Church by asking more clearly that members and not members use the full name of the Church, instead than saying “Mormon Church.”

However, in this video, Mormon spokesman Michael Otterson clearly says that the media should not call those little poligamyst sects ”Mormons” because there is really almost nothing in common between those groups and the Church. I like the idea of defending the nickname “Mormons” since it is widely used and recognized, and there is nothing to be ashamed of.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not allow its members to practice poligamy since the end of the 19th century. Moreover, the way poligamy was practiced more than a century ago was very different from the way it is practiced today by these groups, and the social environment is completely different.  

Finally, many other aspects of the way these people live or believe are different from what is taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Watch the Video:


 

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