Jun

30

Follow the link below to watch this interesting video produced by CNBC about the influence of a Mormon Mission on future business leaders.

Mormon Mission Biz – CNBC.com.

For Mormons, religion has a huge influence on how they conduct business.  A belief in the Mormon faith impacts relationships with employees, business partners, and competitors.  It influences the manner in which they handle leadership, power, and their personal wealth.

On a smaller scale, the organization of a ward (local unit of the Mormon Church) can be compared to a business. The two main differences between a business and a local unit of the Church are the purpose of the organization (to make money versus improving the spiritual life of members) and the fact that in the Church people are all volunteers.

If we keep this clear in our mind, however, we can try to compare the organization of a local unit of the Mormon Church to a small business.

For example, we could compare the bishop to a CEO (but a very good one, one who care for the people and not only of the “bottom line”). In fact, a Mormon bishop cares for the people in his congregation, listens to their concerns, gains a personal relationship, allocates positions, and oversees the operation of the ward.

The ward members also hold various positions of leadership within the congregation, and do their various tasks under the supervision of the bishop.  In most cases, wards operate smoothly and successfully.  Although ward members have different backgrounds and hold differing opinions, they are able to join together for a common purpose, to worship Christ and serve man. Because a spirit of service and respect is alive in a ward, people feel appreciated and motivated to work harder in their calling.

Mormon wards have performed acts of service throughout their church, communities, and the world because they are passionate about what they are doing and a spirit of good will is manifested.  It is no wonder why people who grow up active in the church are finding success in running businesses.  Throughout a Mormon’s lifetime, he or she will be called to serve in a variety of callings. They will work with children, teenagers, adults, and the elderly. They gain experience working with people of all ages, background, and different challenges.    Many CEOs simply adopt the set-up of a Mormon ward and use it for a model to run their business.

May

3

Mormons believe in full equality between men and women, but they also believe that men and women have different roles because of gender.
Mormon Woman
Latter-day Saint women celebrate their differences from men, believing that the union of a man and woman is divinely appointed. Sheri L. Dew, a member and former leader of the Relief Society (the 6 million strong Church organization for women) stated, “He made us enough alike to love each other, but enough different that we would need to unite our strengths and stewardships to create a whole. Neither man nor woman is perfect or complete without the other” (“It Is Not Good for Man or Woman to Be Alone,” Ensign, Nov. 2001, 12).

Elder Neal A Maxwell, a prominent Church leader from 1974 up to his death in 2004, added this view concerning husbands and wives:

“When we kneel to pray, we kneel together. When we kneel at the altar of the holy temple [to be married], we kneel together. When we approach the final gate where Jesus Himself is the gatekeeper, we will, if faithful, pass through that gate together” (“The Women of God,” Ensign, May 1978, 10).

While men and women are equal partners in marriage, the Mormon church recognizes that men and women are different, too:

“We cannot eliminate, through any pattern of legislation or regulation, the differences between men and women. There are basic things that a man needs that a woman does not need. There are things that a man feels that a woman never does feel. There are basic things that a woman needs that a man never needs, and there are things that a woman feels that a man never feels nor should he.” (Boyd K. Packer, “The Equal Rights Amendment”, Ensign, March 1977, page 6)

Mormon women are not subservient to Mormon men:

“The place of woman in the Church is to walk beside the man, not in front of him nor behind him. In the Church there is full equality between man and woman. The gospel … was devised by the Lord for men and women alike. Every person on earth, man or woman, earned the right in the pre-existent life to come here; and must earn the right, by righteous actions, to live hereafter where ‘God and Christ dwell.’ … The privileges and requirements of the gospel are fundamentally alike for men and women. The Lord loves His daughters as well as He loves His sons. … This makes individuals of man and woman—individuals with the right of free agency, with the power of individual decision, with individual opportunity for everlasting joy, whose own actions throughout the eternities, with the loving aid of the Father, will determine individual achievement. There can be no question in the Church of man’s rights versus woman’s rights” (Improvement Era, Mar. 1942, p. 161).

Jan

10

I was reading a book written by Andrew C. Skinner, Golgota, and in the book I found a story-parable quoted by President Faust, but that was initially narrated by President Hinckley several years ago. This story illustrated very well the sacrifice that the Savior did for us. I am grateful for the knowledge regarding the Atonement of Jesus Christ, knowledge that mostly came to me through the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The story follows the video below.

Some years ago, President Gordon B. Hinckley told “something of a parable” about “a one room school house in the mountains of Virginia where the boys were so rough no teacher had been able to handle them.

“Then one day an inexperienced young teacher applied. He was told that every teacher had received an awful beating, but the teacher accepted the risk. The first day of school the teacher asked the boys to establish their own rules and the penalty for breaking the rules. The class came up with 10 rules, which were written on the blackboard. Then the teacher asked, ‘What shall we do with one who breaks the rules?’

“‘Beat him across the back ten times without his coat on,’ came the response.

“A day or so later, . . . the lunch of a big student, named Tom, was stolen. ‘The thief was located—a little hungry fellow, about ten years old.’

“As Little Jim came up to take his licking, he pleaded to keep his coat on. ‘Take your coat off,’ the teacher said. ‘You helped make the rules!’

“The boy took off the coat. He had no shirt and revealed a bony little crippled body. As the teacher hesitated with the rod, Big Tom jumped to his feet and volunteered to take the boy’s licking.

“‘Very well, there is a certain law that one can become a substitute for another. Are you all agreed?’ the teacher asked.

“After five strokes across Tom’s back, the rod broke. The class was sobbing. ‘Little Jim had reached up and caught Tom with both arms around his neck. “Tom, I’m sorry that I stole your lunch, but I was awful hungry. Tom, I will love you till I die for taking my licking for me! Yes, I will love you forever!’”

President Hinckley then quoted Isaiah:

“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. . . .

“. . . He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

No man knows the full weight of what our Savior bore, but by the power of the Holy Ghost we can know something of the supernal gift He gave us

Sep

21

This is a new released short video produced by Mormons Made Simple about Mormon Temples. It is great!

Throughout history, the Lord has commanded His people to build temples. Temples are literally houses of the Lord. They are holy places of worship where individuals make sacred promises with God. Mormons are well known for their temples, now more than 130 around the world. Temples are a very important in Mormon Theology but their purpose is often misunderstood by many who are not familiar with the LDS or Mormon Church.

I personally love to go to the Temple often, especially now that I live so close to several of them. A Mormon temple is a place of peace, inspiration, and beauty. God meant those temples to be a blessing for all mankind, not only for a few people, but similarly to the receiving of a university degree, there are some requirements to be met before we can access those temples.

Sep

10

The truth about the Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). Who are the Mormons? Are Mormons Christian? Are Mormons polygamists? Steve Young and Charlene Wells Hawks host the video.

Some people attack our church. Some professionals religionists make a living at it. This can cause confusion for people who are looking for information and most people really do not know what Mormmons really believe

A person who wants clear water should go to the spring. A person who wants fruit should go to the tree. Those who want to know what Mormons actually believe can visit the lds.org web site, or mormon.org (official websites of the Mormon Church), or other good websites such as MormonWiki, Mormonbeliefs.org, Christ.org).

Jul

20

There are many reasons why people leave the Mormon Church. Fortunatelly most people do not, but still we need to be willing to help those who are struggling. The video below is a presentation by John P. Dehlin about reasons because people leave the Mormon Church and how we can help.  I found an interesting comment to the video:

Most people are under the false impression that you have to be perfect to be called of God. People accuse Brigham Young of being racist and conclude that he could not have been a prophet of God because of his weakness. You shall know them by their fruits, not their weaknesses.

This is an interesting and true concept. At the end of our lives we will be judged by what we did and even desired to do, all the good and the evil we did or thought. So, Brigham Young did a lot of sacrifices and good for the Kingdom of God but he was still a son of his time, and he had some wrong ideas about black people. However, it should be important to remember that most Americans were racists to at least some degree at that time. But obviously, there are different degrees of racism. There is a big difference, especially in the 18th century, between someone who would treat black people like animals and someone like Brigham Young who said inappropriate things about them, because of his limited knowledge or bias.

But some may say, ” Was he not a prophet? How could he make such a mistake?” Remember what Joseph Smith said, a prophet is a prophet only when he act as such, not at all times. Moreover, the Mormon Church was against slavery when many other Christian Churches were strongly segregated. Yes, the Mormons did not give the priesthood to the blacks, but other christians Churches for a long time segregated completely blacks from white members. Is not that racism?

As I wrote previously, some people have a wrong idea of what a prophet is (see http://gmormon.com/864/was-joseph-smith-a-true-prophet).

This is the video with more interesting ideas about why do people leave the Mormon Church

Jul

13

In todays world, marriage is in peril and divorce is commonplace. Elder Dallin H. Oaks teaches us how we can heal from the pain of a difficult or broken marriage. It is through humility and the Atonement that we can recover and rebuild after experiencing these extremely difficult circumstances in our lives.

May

8

This is a nice, simple but touching video produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church). Teenagers talk about the wonderful things their mothers do. This Mother’s Day – Mormon messages suggests – let your mom know how special she is. Share this video with your mother and express your love.

Apr

13

It is sad to hear this comment from some very uninformed people and from others who spread this notions on purpose and not for a good one. The true name of the church is the Church of Jesus Christ (of Latter-day Saints). But the name may not be enough by itself to convince someone that the so-called “Mormon” are Christians.

If you have any doubt, but you sincerely want to know if  “Mormons” are Christians, just take a look at this video, the testimony of a modern Apostle about the last moments of the savior on this earth.  After watching this video, if you still think that Mormons are not Christians, then your definition of Christians must be very strange.

Mar

25

This is another great video from David on youtube. I was baptized in the LDS (Mormon) Church in 1985 and a few months after my baptism President Spencer W. Kimball passed away and Ezra Taft Benson became the new president. So, he was the prophet of my first years in the Church and I some of his talks had a great influence in my life, such as Flooding the earth with the Book of Mormon and Beware of Pride.

I had never heard the talk contained in this video, but it is worthwhile to listen to this prophet warning us of the dangers facing America (and many other nations).

This videos was inspired to help wake up members of the LDS Church to the dangers they face in America, as seen over 40 years ago by President Ezra Taft Benson.  i have the impression that now things are lot worse and we should all get our homes in order in preparation of the approaching PORTENT storm that Pres.Hinckley warned us about in 1998.

keep looking »