Saturday, January 3, 2009

Why I became a Mormon

I became a Mormon as a result of my love for Eastern philosophy and the teachings of Buddha.

As everyone knows by now (think ‘Kevan stories’), I made a lot of mistakes when I was young. I was very naïve, and often followed others into errors and sins. By the time I was in my late teens, I was beginning to question EVERYTHING! It seemed as though I couldn’t trust anyone, including myself.

For years I had been an atheist, as I felt as though I could not prove there was a God, or reach any kind of understanding about life. I was confused. Finally, I decided I should study religion—after all, they are the only group that claimed to have the answers to life.

One of the first things that attracted me to the Eastern philosophy, and to Buddha, was the serenity and peace that they were able to find—the kind of peace that I, too, was seeking.

As I studied this philosophy, I recognized that many of the truths they taught were the same ones I grew up with: do not steal, do not lie, do not commit adultery, do good to others, etc. I began to realize that there must be some kind of ‘universal’ truth… there were just too many similarities between the philosophies of disparate groups.

I also recognized the logic and truth of the concept of eternal life. Buddha taught that what we are—our essence—has always existed, and will always exist. What we are might change over the eons of time, but we could never actually be destroyed. This was logical.

Einstein said the same thing, only in scientific terms: that matter/energy could never be created or destroyed, only changed. When we burn something in a fire, it was not destroyed, just changed into light and heat. This was logical.

This logic brought me to ponder an old Jewish premise: “Something cannot be made out of nothing!” It was a logical, common sense statement, and when extended, it proved what Buddha and Einstein had said—that we are eternal in nature.

If we think back to the beginning of all things: if there ever was a time when there was nothing, then how could something be created? This can lead to only one answer: that there never was a time when there was nothing—the essence of what we are must have always existed. And if we have always existed, then the opposite must also be true: we can never be destroyed!

Buddha and Einstein were right.

I came to believe this doctrine—that we are eternal beings. There is only one Christian religion that teaches this doctrine: the Mormon Church!

(Most Christian religions believe that God created the universe out of nothing, and that our existence begins when we are born into this life. Mormons believe that we existed as intelligent beings before this life, and will continue as such after this life)

I became a Christian because of a gold watch.

It was one thing to finally begin to discover ‘eternal truth’ through my study of Eastern philosophy; it is another thing entirely to become a Christian! I became a Christian because of a short story about a gold watch.

Buddha learned and taught principles of truth that he had discovered through meditation. He never created a religion—in fact, he refused to answer questions about the existence of God, because he said that he did not know… he simply had found what he knew to be true principles, and felt obligated to share them with others. It was Buddha’s followers, years after his death, that created a religion in his name.

I was still left with a question: was there a God?

How could someone prove that there was a God? I had become an atheist because I could not prove something I could not see! But I had found eternal truth, I had seen the logic and benefit to the way of life taught by the Buddha; so perhaps I simply had to keep looking...

The story of the gold watch: A man was walking in the great Sahara desert. He had walked for days without seeing anything but shifting sand. No matter what direction he turned, all he could see was sand. Suddenly, he came upon a gold watch lying in the sand in front of him. He picked up the watch and examined it. It was beautifully made, engraved with an intricate design, had a crystal face and diamond studs, etc.; and, as he held it to his ear, it slowly ticked as it marked perfect time. After some thought, he decided that the desert sand must have made the watch…

Anyone reading the story of the watch will recognize the foolish conclusion the man made concerning how the watch was made! Such a beautiful creation could not have ‘just happened,’ it had to have been created by some intelligent being… it was only logical. It didn't matter how many millions of years the sand had 'blown around', it simply could not have made the gold watch!

And so I came to find God. As I looked around at the universe—from the immensity of space filled with worlds and stars, to the complex living organisms I could see with my own eyes (I myself being one), and everything in-between, it was only logical to come to the conclusion that such an intricate, organized, creation had to have been made by some great intelligence. We call that Creator God.

Since Eastern philosophy did not believe in a God, as such, and since I found it only logical that there must be a God, I then turned to Christianity—and the Mormon church was the only Christian religion that seemed to encompass all of the truths I had already learned and accepted on my spiritual travels. It was simply the logical choice.

Of course, there is much, much more to my conversion to the Mormon Church—many wonderful, spiritual experiences that I could share—but, at the beginning, it was Buddha and the gold watch that led me to become a Mormon!

I have been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for over 30 years now. I have continued to study religions of all kinds, perfectly willing to follow wherever my search for the truth took me—even if it meant leaving the Mormon Church.

But to my surprise and delight, I have been able to continue to seek and obtain eternal truth--without limits-- within the Mormon Church!

Unlike most religions that have confining doctrines, and immovable traditions, Mormons believe, and actually practice, the philosophy of ‘eternal progression’… that each an every member can and does receive revelation (knowledge) from God, and can progress in knowledge and light just as fast as they are able.

And some thirty-plus years later, here I am—still a Mormon, still learning new and exciting eternal truths, and expanding my knowledge of God and the universe!

I did not have to ‘give up’ the truth I had discovered and accepted from other sources in order to become a member of the Mormon Church! It is a firm doctrine of the Mormon Church to accept truth from whatever source it comes—whether it comes from another religion, or a scientist, or a philosopher. Truth is truth, isn’t it?

“One of the grand fundamental principles of Mormonism is to receive the truth let it come from where it may.” (Words of Joseph Smith, pg. 229)

“It is our duty and calling, as ministers of the same salvation and gospel, to gather every item of truth and reject every error. Whether a truth be found with professed infidels, or with the Universalists, or the Church of Rome, or the Methodists, the Church of England, the Presbyterians, the Baptists, the Quakers, the Shakers, or any other of the various and numerous different sects and parties, all of whom have more or less truth, it is the business of the Elders of this church (Jesus their Elder Brother, being at their head) to gather up all the truths in the world pertaining to life and salvation, to the Gospel we preach, to mechanism of every kind, to the sciences, and to philosophy, wherever it may be found in every nation, kindred, tongue, and people and bring it to Zion.” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 7:283)

“The great religious leaders of the world such as Muhammad, Confucius, and the Reformers, as well as philosophers including Socrates, Plato, and others, received a portion of God’s light. Moral truths were given to them by God to enlighten whole nations and to bring a high level of understanding to individuals…We believe that God has given and will give to all people sufficient knowledge to help them on their way to eternal salvation.” (Statement of the First Presidency regarding God’s Love for All Mankind, 1978)

I came to the Mormon Church because the truths that I had discovered were already taught by the Mormons. And I have stayed in the Mormon Church because I can continue my search for truth without limits being placed upon me!

Anyway, just thought some of you might want to know…

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do Mormon's believe in Jesus Christ? Do they believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are ONE? And do they believe that God created the universe out of nothing, He just spoke the words..and there it was!? I am very curious about the different religions of the world. Please reply as soon as possible.

Kevan said...

1. Mormons believe in Jesus Christ.

The name of the church is: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

(all members of Christ's church anciently were called 'saints', we call ourselves 'latter-day saints' because we live in the latter-days, or the end of the world, as opposed to the saints in Christ's time).

2. We belive in the Holy Trinity. Our first article of faith states:

We beleive in God the Eternal Father, and in His son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

Perhaps the only difference is that we beleive that they are three separate and distinct individuals:

There is God, the Father of our spirits; there is Jesus Christ, the literal Son of God in the flesh, and our spiritual brother; and there is the Holy Ghost, a man who is still a spirit (he has not come to earth yet to receive a physical body). We beleive that all three are actual, real beings.

3. As noted in my blog, we do not believe that God created the universe out of nothing (that is impossible), but that God used the intelligence and power He has to take the eternal matter that was already there and to organize it into worlds-- the universe that we see.

In other words, God could not create Himself, nor could he create something out of nothing! Just as God has always existed, all matter and spirit has always existed-- WE have always existed!
God simply took what was already there, and made something of it.

We did not begin our lives on this earth-- like Eastern philosophy suggests, we began our lives eons ago, long before we ever came to live on this earth!

In fact, we belive that we are literaly children of God--that there existed a spiritual world before this one, and in that world we lived with God the Father and were His actual, literal, children.

God the Father had a plan for all of us: we were sent here to earth to gain a physical body (which we will get to keep for eternity, because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ), and to be tested to see what Kingdom we will live in after this life.

The reason I was attracted to the Mormon church is because it is logical. I have never found a doctrine it teaches that goes against science or logic, or that does not agree with everything that is written in the scriptures.

For me, at least, all the puzzle pieces of life have finally been put together in a logical, reasonable picture that I can accept is true.