The following was written by Sister Caron currently serving in the Arizona Gilbert Mission.
Sister Caron investigated the church and was baptized at the age of 18.
As
missionaries the first principle that we teach as part of the official
missionary lessons is "God is Our Loving Heavenly Father." I have come
to notice that it is crucial that we teach that point first, because
literally every other point that we teach after it perfectly ties into
this one. I love that God, an all powerful, all knowing, eternal being
asks us to address Him as Heavenly Father. That is who I know God as: my
Father. He is the Father of my Spirit, and your Spirit as well, and
because he is our father he knows and loves us perfectly, just like our
earthly father does. He wants us to communicate with him, and he has
given us prayer as a means to do so. Prayer is a two way communication
between us and God; two way meaning he talks back to us. Whether this is
through the whispering of his Holy Spirit, the scriptures (or his
"word") or others and their actions, he always answers our prayers. What
I have really come to learn though, is that the answer is not always
what we want or expect it to be. The answer could be "Yes" (which is
what we usually want), "No", or "Not right now." It also always comes in
his timing, which means it doesn't always come right away. However, we
are promised that the answer will always come.
Because
God loves us, he blesses us. He blesses us with prosperity (food,
money, a car, house, etc.) but more importantly, he blesses us with
posterity, or our families. The family is ordained of God. It is "the
most important social unit in all time and eternity." It is through our
families that we are able to understand the nature of God, and apply the
principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or Christ's teachings, in a
perfect and loving environment. Through the Gospel we are able to grow
stronger as a family as we exercise faith, repentance, forgiveness, and
love towards our brothers and sisters, mother and father. The family
whose life is centered around the Gospel of Jesus Christ is able to
overcome trials, tribulations, and temptations that threaten to destroy
the family in the world we live in today. One of the things I'm most
grateful for about serving my mission here in Arizona (or as so many
affectionately call it, "Little Utah") is that I have been able to be
exposed to and interact with so many different families and to see how
living the Gospel is blessing their family unit and for some, how
greatly living the gospel of Christ in their family could help and heal
them. More than ever I am determined to center my family on Christ's
teachings and to teach my children the gospel in every situation that
arises - not just every Sunday at church. The Gospel is meant to be
lived and practiced in every moment of every day, and it thrives when
applied in families.
Because
God loves us, he has given us prophets, who are the means by which the
gospel is revealed. Prophets are men who are called of God and hold the
priesthood, or the power and authority of God given to man to act in His
name for the salvation of His children. Through this priesthood
authority the prophet is able to receive the gospel through revelation,
or communication from God concerning His will. They are also authorized
(or, as I like to call it, they have "god's permission slip") to perform
the ordinances necessary to salvation, such as baptism. Their job, in
turn, is to preach the gospel to everyone. The Gospel specifically
contains 5 steps, namely: faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement,
repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, receiving
the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and enduring to
the end (or keeping the commandments and following Christ until the end
of our lives.) Through these 5 steps we are promised that we will be
able to make it back to God and enjoy all that he has. Personally, I
think everyone needs, and deserves, to know what these 5 steps are! Not
only are we promised that if we follow them we will return to God, but
we will have peace and comfort as we navigate our way through this life.
Everyone needs this! However, everyone has their agency, or their right
to exercise choice. When people choose to follow the prophet and keep
the commandments, they are blessed. A period of time such as this is
called a dispensation. When people choose to neglect the prophet and the
gospel, they fall into a state of apostasy and the prophet is taken
from the earth (most often times he is killed by the people) along with
the priesthood authority. Without a prophet, or God's spokesperson, and
the priesthood, or God's stamp of approval, the people are in a state of
darkness.
These
periods of dispensations and apostasy make up much of the Old Testament
- you remember Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, etc? They were all Prophets.
They all held the priesthood and they all taught the gospel and
administered in the ordinances thereof. The world was in a state of
apostasy before Jesus Christ came to the earth, but because God loves us
he ended that apostasy by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ
as a prophet, but more importantly, as the Savior of the World. Christ
came to the earth and there were 3 main things he needed to accomplish
while he was here. He set up His church by calling 12 apostles and
giving them priesthood authority (Matthew 10:1-8):
And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphæus, and Lebbæus, whose surname was Thaddæus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils:freely ye have received, freely give.
He
taught His gospel, in words but also in action. My favorite step that
he personally taught was that of baptism. In word (John 3:3-5):
"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus
saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the
second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
And in action (Matthew 3: 13-17):
But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And
Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and,
lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
He
made it clear what we must do in order for us to return to Heavenly
Father. And then He provided us the way to be able to do it, through His
perfect and infinite Atonement. The Atonement is Christ's sufferings in
the garden of Gethsemane for our sins, as well as His suffering and
death on the cross, and His resurrection after laying in the tomb for 3
days. There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon that has really helped
me to understand the savior's atonement and how it can help me... It's
in the Book of Alma, chapter 7, verses 11-13.
" And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And
he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which
bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his
bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may
know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their
infirmities.
Now
the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth
according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his
people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the
power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is
in me."
"14 Now
I say unto you that ye must repent, and be born again; for the Spirit
saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven;
therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed
from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh
away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from
all unrighteousness.
15 Yea,
I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily
doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and
go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your
sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and
witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism.
16 And
whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from
thenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will
remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life,
according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me."
In
order for us to receive all the blessings of Christ's atonement, we
must follow all of the steps of His gospel. I cannot tell you how much
this has blessed my life. This is the whole reason why I am here in
Arizona on a mission. I had made mistakes (I still do!), I was angry, I
was afflicted... And through following the Gospel of Jesus Christ - by
developing faith and acting upon it, by repenting and turning away from
my sins, by being baptized by immersion by someone holding the
priesthood, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and keeping this
course throughout my life (or enduring to the end) I personally have
been able to receive all the blessings of Christ's atonement. I have
been able to find everlasting peace and relief from pain and guilt. I am
here because everyone deserves to have what I have!
After
Christ was resurrected he came back to his apostles, and instructed
them on what they needed to do. Peter, the senior apostle, was called as
the President of the Church, meaning he was now the prophet, or
Christ's spokesperson. They were to go forth and preach the gospel to
everyone, and to testify of him and his atoning sacrifice. They also had
the job to regulate the affairs of the church and to make sure everyone
was following the true doctrine of Christ (this is the reason for the
epistles that make up the New Testament.) Unfortunately, people did not
want to heed this amazing and glorious message. The apostles, just like
Jesus Christ, were rejected as well and martyred for their beliefs. With
the death of the Apostles came the loss of the Priesthood, and again
the world fell into apostasy with no prophet and no authority to be
found on the earth. This apostasy was prophesied of in the Old
Testmament, in the Book of Amos chapter 8, verse 11-12:
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it."
However,
there were many people who knew of Christ and did their best to follow
him. They had heard of his teachings, but over time many of the pure
truths of the gospel were changed, and sometimes removed, as there was
no prophet or priesthood authority to regulate and ensure that the pure
doctrine of Christ was being taught. Many people realized that the
teachings of Christ had been changed, and tried to reform it - this was
the foundation of many protestant churches that were started by the
reformers. However, there was no one on the earth who knew what the true
gospel of Christ was, because it had been changed or lost. Many people
started their own churches in an attempt to build off the doctrine that
they did know, but it was not the Church of Jesus Christ, the one that
he had established while he was on the earth. But because God loves us,
he has once again called a prophet to restore the Church of Jesus Christ
and the gospel in its fullness.
It
was the year 1820 in Palmyra, New York. During this time there was a
lot of religious upheaval to be found in this small farming community.
Many churches came and tried to convince the people of the correctness
of their church. Joseph Smith, a 14 year old boy, and his family, lived
in this area at this time. He and his family were searching for a church
to attend. Joseph's individual search and his concern for the welfare
of his soul led him to search the scriptures for answers and peace. His
search led him to the Epistle of James, chapter 1 verse 5:
" If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
After
reading this verse, Joseph knew what he needed to do. He knew that he
needed to pray and ask God, the source of all knowledge and truth, which
church he should join. This revelation led him to the woods at the edge
of his family's farm. He went to a specific place, a place he knew he
would be alone to inquire of the Lord this question that had been
tormenting his soul for quite some time. He knelt down and uttered his
first out loud prayer. And this is what he said happened, in his own
words...
"I
saw a pillar of light, exactly over my head, above the brightness of
the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light
rested upon me, I saw two personages, whose brightness and glory defy
all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto
me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to the other, 'This is my
Beloved Son, hear him!"
Jesus
Christ and Heavenly Father appeared to Joseph Smith as an answer to his
prayer. They told him that none of the churches that were currently to
be found on the earth was the church that Jesus Christ himself had
established when he was on the earth. And that he was going to be called
as a prophet to restore the church of Jesus Christ and the gospel in
it's entirety.
I
know that Joseph Smith saw what he said he saw that day, in a grove of
trees, following his prayer. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus
Christ appeared to him. And I know that God lives. That Jesus is His
son. And that they love us, more than we can ever comprehend. And
because they love us they have restored the gospel, through the prophet
Joseph Smith.
"3 Behold,
I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be
wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember
how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the
creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these
things, and ponder it in your hearts.
4 And
when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye
would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these
things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real
intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto
you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
I
invite everyone, everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, and pray to
know if it is true. Through this witness you will also come to know that
Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God, that the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints is Christ's church restored on the earth today, and
that Jesus Christ is the son of God, our savior and redeemer. This
knowledge has blessed me so much, it has changed me life, and I will
even go so far as so say it has saved it. I love you all, and because I
love you I want you to have the peace, happiness, and blessings that I
have received. God is there. He loves you. He wants you to know these
things. All you need to do is ask, and be willing to act upon your
answer.
Sister Caron
