Believest thou that there is a God?

I’ve wondered how to exchange ideas with Christians who are not members of my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Somewhere there must be a line drawn in the sand that makes it difficult for those of Protestant or Catholic faiths to relate with my beliefs; how unfortunate.

I thought about it quite a bit and decided that perhaps it’s simply a matter of nomenclature, my use of words in a slightly different context or maybe that I have additional text which I consider to be scripture to go along with the Bible. For whatever reason there might be that separates us, I feel certain that we have much more in common and so I will endeavor to establish some mutual ground. In the Book of Mormon, ( or Mom-ron as one fellow recently chided me ), I remember a passage in Alma, chapter 18, where Ammon went about explaining his beliefs to king Lamoni.

To begin with, Ammon was on a full time mission; he was also in the capacity of servant to a unfriendly people and in direct command of their king. After Ammon had single handedly dispatched a large group of folks who were hostile toward the king’s servants, word got back to the king. Ammon had an advantage in that king Lamoni was amazed and astounded by the powers that Ammon had displayed; even to the point of conceding the possibility that Ammon might be the Great Spirit. King Lamoni felt pangs of guilt for having abused and even killed many of his subjects; the idea of having the Great Spirit standing in front of him left him in considerable anxiety.

“And Ammon began to speak unto him with boldness and said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God?
25 And he answered, and said unto him: I do not know what that meaneth.
26 And then Ammon said: Believest thou that there is a Great Spirit?
27 And he said, Yea.
28 And Ammon said: This is God. And Ammon said unto him again: Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in heaven and in the earth?
29 And he said: Yea, I believe that he created all things which are in the earth; but I do not know the heavens.
30 And Ammon said unto him: The heavens is a place where God dwells and all his holy angels.
31 And king Lamoni said: Is it above the earth?
32 And Ammon said: Yea, and he looketh down upon all the children of men; and he knows all the thoughts and intents of the heart; for by his hand were they all created from the beginning.
33 And king Lamoni said: I believe all these things which thou hast spoken. Art thou sent from God?
34 Ammon said unto him: I am a man; and man in the beginning was created after the image of God, and I am called by his Holy Spirit to teach these things unto this people, that they may be brought to a knowledge of that which is just and true…”

I started off as a Presbyterian, following my parents to church and, as much time passed, eventually sought answers to many questions I had regarding faith and religion in general as I approached that time when I would be the patriarch of my own family. Those in the Presbyterian ministry were unable or unwilling to satisfy my desire to know more and I began to look elsewhere; eventually stumbling into the young missionaries who rode up and down the streets on bicycles.

We had interesting discussions at first, leveling the playing field much as Ammon and king Lamoni came to an understanding on the most basic of ideas. I believed that there was a God in Heaven, that His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, was born of a virgin named Mary who was married to Joseph of the lineage of the House of David. I further agreed with these young men that the Gospel truths that they wished to share with me would be established, not so much through an intellectual endorsement; rather, the Holy Ghost would testify to my soul of any and all truths which my Father in Heaven desired I should know. This doctrine was the same in the Presbyterian Church and we were able to proceed from that starting point. Yes, I claim to be a Christian (link in title bar)

I still feel like the step child at the family reunion when I visit “Christian” sites in the blogsphere. This troubles me to some degree, not that it shakes my testimony regarding my belief that the Book of Mormon is the word of God acting as another witness to the divinity of Jesus Christ as the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I feel that I have so much to offer in the way of pure doctrine that is not taught for one reason or another in Protestant sects or the Catholic Church.

This past week I read an excellent piece about the sacred roll of husbands to their wives and felt limited, possibly by my desire not to “rock the boat” in which those of another faith were comfortable with. I wanted to explain the eternal nature of marriage, that while the secular world might be content with “till death do you part”, that marriage was intended to be so much more, an eternal bond between a husband and a wife; a celestial bond for time and all eternity.

I should stop here, not wishing to stir the pot beyond that which it will bear. I invite those who might be skeptical, those who may have been leery of associating with “those Mormons” to lay aside those minor differences and discover that we, as Christians, hold that God is our Father in Heaven, Jesus Christ is His Son and the Holy Ghost completes what is commonly known as the Godhead. We can discuss the rest as it comes around.

“Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ.” Moroni 7:25

You might not wish to nod your head in agreement, “That didn’t come out of the Bible!”, all the same it remains a true statement, one which anyone who claims to be a Christian had better comes to grips with. Is it so very different than other scriptures?

“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4

Lastly, my invitation:

“But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.” Alma 32:27