Question: Do Mormons believe in God?

A Question of Whom

This is a stumbling block for most mainstream Christians when it comes to us Mormon Folk.  Do we believe in God?  Do we worship Joseph Smith?  Do we believe in the Divinity of Christ?  

To me, they sound like ridiculous questions.  Do we believe in God?  Of course we do.  Do we worship Joseph Smith?  No, we don't.  We just respect him and appreciate the sacrifices he had to make as the first prophet of the restortation.  Do we believe in the Divinity of Christ?  Of course we do.  We believe that Christ is our Redeemer.  Our church is even named after him-- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  And, our first Article of Faith states, "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost." (Emphasis added)

What's the dealio then?  The makeup of the Godhead, or the Trinity.

The Godhead: Three Separate Beings

Mormons believe that the Godhead are three separate beings-- one in purpose.  One= unity.  We know that Christ taught by example.  Wouldn't it make sense then, if he instructed his church to find unity that he would have that same unity with his Spiritual SWAT Team?  

We didn't just pull this belief out on nowhere, either (in case you were wondering). 

Scriptures:

A)  Matthew 3: 13-17 

B) Acts 7: 55-56

C) John 17: 1-26

Commentary:

A) When Christ was baptised-- He was in the water, the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a Dove and a voice from Heaven said, "this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased," or something to that effect.  Now, usually the simplest explanation is the correct one.  Isn't it simpler to say that the Godhead are in fact three separate beings in this instance then?  I believe so...

B) We know that this scripture depicts what happened to Stephen- a disciple of Christ- when he was being stoned for proclaiming the Gospel message.  He was full of the Holy Ghost (one personage).  Jesus (the second person, resurrected) stood on the right hand of God (third distinct personage).  This is one of the most obvious references about the Godhead being three separate beings.

 C) Okay, in this scripture-- it's all about Christ praying to the Father.  From what I've gathered in my personal scripture study...Christ is a pretty humble dude.  He wouldn't need to pray (to himself) to glorify (himself).  It just doesn't gel.  And, why would it be necessary to refer to God and Jesus Christ separatly?  If they were one, you wouldn't need to mention both of them.  It takes two to tango...or to have a conversation.  Again, the simplist explanation is usually the correct assumption.

 God The Father

The Father, or Elohim is generally referred to by 'God'.  He's called 'Father' because he is the Father of our spirits (Mal. 2:10; Num. 16:22; 27:16; Matt. 6:9; Eph. 4:6; Heb. 12:9). Have you ever asked yourself, "Who am I?" in a serious spiritual setting?  I mean, think about it.  Who are you, really?  One of my favourite children's hymns states, "I am a Child of God, and he has sent me here."  I am a Child of God.  I am a daughter of a King.  Isn't that powerful?  We're all spiritual royalty, and our time here on earth is like a quest to reach our full potential. Cool stuff, eh?

He's the supreme ruler of the universe. He is all powerful (Gen. 18:14; Alma 26:35; D&C 19:1–3), all knowing (Matt. 6:8; 2 Ne. 2:24), and everywhere present through his Spirit (Ps. 139:7–12; D&C 88:7–13, 41). Humanity has a special relationship to God that sets man apart from all other created things: men and women are God’s spirit children (Ps. 82:6; 1 Jn. 3:1–3).

Heavenly Father introduced Jesus Christ several times (Matt. 3:17; 17:5; John 12:28–29; 3 Ne. 11:3–7). He appeared to Stephen (Acts 7:55–56).  

Here are some scriptures staring our Heavenly Father...

• My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?, Mark 15:34
• These men are the servants of the most high God, Acts 16:17
• We are the offspring of God, Acts 17:28–29
• Thou shalt offer thy sacraments unto the Most High, D&C 59:10–12
• Enoch beheld the spirits that God had created, Moses 6:36
• Man of Holiness is his name, Moses 6:57

God the Son 

We know him best as Jesus Christ, Saviour, Redeemer, Jehovah or the Prince of Peace.  (Isa. 12:2; 43:11; 49:26; 1 Cor. 10:1–4; 1 Tim. 1:1; Rev. 1:8). He works under the direction of Heavenly Father and is in complete harmony with him.  They both want the same thing-- to see us return home and gain eternal life.  They work together-- they work in unity. All mankind are Christ's brothers and sisters, for he is the eldest of the spirit children of Elohim. Some scripture references refer to him by the word God. For example, the scripture says that “God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1), but it was actually Jesus who was the Creator under the direction of God the Father (John 1:1–3, 10, 14; Heb. 1:1–2).

• The Lord identified himself as I Am, Ex. 3:13–16
• I am the Lord [Jehovah], and beside me there is no savior, Isa. 43:11 (Isa. 45:23).
• I am the light of the world, John 8:12
• Before Abraham was, I am, John 8:58
• Jehovah spoke to Abraham, Abr. 1:16–19
• Jesus appeared to Joseph Smith, JS—H 1:17

God the Holy Ghost

The Holy Ghost is also a God and is called the Holy Spirit, the Spirit, and the Spirit of God, among other similar names and titles. With the aid of the Holy Ghost, man can know the will of God the Father and know that Jesus is the Christ (1 Cor. 12:3).

• The Holy Ghost will teach you what you should say, Luke 12:12
• The Holy Ghost is the Comforter, John 14:26 (John 16:7–15).
• Jesus gave commandments to the Apostles through the Holy Ghost, Acts 1:2
• The Holy Ghost bears witness of God and Christ, Acts 5:29–32 (1 Cor. 12:3).
• The Holy Ghost also is a witness to us, Heb. 10:10–17

Conclusion
The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles
 
I am in no way under the illusion that I am a biblical scholar, or that I know everything about my faith.  I can't quote scriptures off the top of my head and impress everyone.  I don't have all the answers.  I don't know all the ins and outs.  There are a few things I do know, however.  I know that Jesus Christ is my Redeemer, and - my source of strength.  I know that I am a Daughter a God-- Heavenly Father.  He loved me so much, that he sent his own Son to atone for the sins of the world- mine included.  I have felt the warming comfort one can only find when you seek out the Saviour in prayer.  I know he lives.  I don't think, I know.  I love my Saviour, and I try everyday to be more like him.
I look at life as an ongoing journey.  I'm always growing, and always changing.  The one person, the one thing that has been my constant is the Saviour.  In times of trial, or heartache he has been the one to carry me through.  Just knowing that I am loved-- that there is a Godhead all wanting to see me return home safely brings me an overwhelming surge of comfort.  I have found moments of peace- Godsent, in the most chaotic, emotional and darkest moments of my life.  I bare witness that Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are there and that they love each and every one of us-- not matter what we've done in our lives.  I bare witness that Jesus Christ is the Saviour and that his precious gospel is true.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Question: What is the Plan of Salvation?

What?

While at school, I was often asked questions like: Why do Mormons believe you have to do certain things to get to heaven?  Do Mormons believe in heaven?  What is the Plan of Salvation?  Do Mormons really believe we existed before life on earth?  Are Mormons christian?  Do they believe in the Godhead? Do mormons consider themselves "saved"?

Us Mormons (Latter-day Saints) believe in what we call, "The Plan of Salvation."  It's also referred to "The Plan of Happiness," however, so don't get confused!

A:  The Pre-Mortal Existance.

Click Here to see more information about the Pre-Existence. :)

We believe that we existed with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ BEFORE the earth was created, as spirits.  It was here that it was decided for an earth to be created and our faith to be tested.  

"That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor. But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me— Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever." (Moses 4:1,2)

"And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them....And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first. And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him." (Abraham 3: 24-25; 27-28)

Want to know how we got the Pearl of Great Price?  Click here, here, here.

B. Birth and Passing Through the Veil

When we were born, we passed through a veil of forgetfulness so to speak, so we wouldn't remember our time spent with Heavenly Father in the pre-mortal existence.  Why the Veil?  Read this to see why the veil was so important.

C. Life on Earth

It is here on earth (our time right now) that our faith and testimony is tested.  We live through trials, struggle with finding our faith and strive to be like Christ.  Life on earth is like walking along a path-- it is up to us where we turn, what bridges we take and what short cuts we take.  Mistakes take us off the path and right decisions bring us closer to the Saviour and our Father.  Think about the "Strait and Narrow Path" that is talked about a lot in the New Testament.

Not everyone while living on earth has the opportunity to learn about Christ and the Gospel.  Mormons believe that everyone-- no matter where, who, or what they came from will get the chance to hear the gospel and accept the message.  That is why Temples are so important to mormons-- it is where we do ordinances for ourselves and in proxy for others.

D. Death

Click here

When we die, we remember EVERYTHING again!  (yes!).  Mormons believe that marriage and family ties do not end in death-- rather it goes on forever.  Temple marriage is eternal marriage. :)

E. Spirit Paradise/ Prison

For more information, click here, here, here
Spirit Paradise/ Prison is where those who haven't heard the Gospel have the opportunity to hear it and accept it.  On earth, those who are living do Temple Ordinances in proxy (such as baptism, receiving the holy ghost, temple marriage, etc).  You don't have to accept the gospel-- you still have the choice! :)  We believe that everyone has the opportunity to gain "salvation" and that Christ and Heavenly Father gives multiple chances because he loves us so much.

F. Judgement

click here, 

Before we can be judged, Christ must first come again.  Heavenly Father is the Judge and Christ is our advocate.  We are judged into one of three Degrees of Glory.

Degrees of Glory: here 

"All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory." (1 Corinthians 15: 39-41)

G. The Celestial Kingdom- Glory of the Sun

 Click here.

H. Terrestrial Kingdom- Glory of the Moon

Click here.

I. Telestial Kingdom- Glory of the Stars 

click here

Videos:

The Plan of Salvation 
Are Mormons Christian? 

the opposition

It was in grade 10 that I was first introduced to my favourite bible teacher- Mr. X.  He was born and raised as a Baptist, ergo most, if not all of the Baptist-mormon rivalries and misconceptions were quite apparent in both his teaching style and outlook on the Christian faith.  He was very bold in his faith, an attribute that I learned to look up to and strive towards.

When I was in grade 10, I was totally timid and unaware of all the pressure coming at me from all sides.  I wasn’t clued into the fact that every teacher knew of my religious orientation, and my behaviour was always in the spotlight.  I didn’t realize how strong the opposition to me and my beliefs were.  Mr. X was like a crash course in coming to the realization that I was in fact being watched.  As the year progressed, and it become more and more apparent that there was an underlying tension between us, I immediately geared up for battle, you could say.

Of course, being as young as I was- I was totally unprepared.  I didn’t have the years of experience, knowledge or a testimony like Mr. X did.  Never the less, I was unwilling to fold under the pressure.  I would never deny my beliefs (as shallow as they were back then) to make it easier for me.

There are times in life where there are, in fact, two scenarios: the way you wished it went, and the way it actually went down.  Throughout the course of my education at School B, I had quite a few of those.  Most of those events occurred with one teacher: Mr. X.  Now, before you start attacking Mr. X’s honour- he was actually a pretty good guy.  He taught social studies, English, P.E., planning and bible (can you say multi-tasking?).  He was also firm in his faith- unyielding.  As my association with him became more pronounced, a Mr. X verses Kirsten game plan seemed to appear.  We were (okay, are) both incredibly stubborn and would refuse to back down from either of our arguments.  We’d bible bash (yes, I admit it- I’ve bashed bibles with someone and I don’t recommend it), I’d glare at him with disdain and he’d meticulously break down every minute detail of an essay or an assignment.  In other words: we were perfectly matched opponents.....

* * *

 

         Silence.  Absolute silence that you couldn’t penetrate.  You could hear a microscopic pin drop.  The only noise filling the classroom was my teacher’s nervous laughter as he paced the front of the room.  No one was watching him though.  All 21 pairs of eyes were focused on me as my hand shot up in the air- my face flushed with anger.  Needless to say- he ignored my hand.  I didn’t care, I spoke anyways.  

                “Excuse me? Mr. X?”

                “Yes Kirsten.”

                “I have a question.” 

My mind was still- my responses worked out.  I knew exactly what I was going to say.  No one, and I mean no one, would make a joke which made eternal marriages and families sound dirty on my watch and get away with it.  It was wrong.

                Seeming to think that I wanted to agree with him- opening a discussion on why Mormons were awful, crude people he complied.

                “Do you love your wife?”  The question seemed to catch him off guard.  He stopped pacing, eying me nervously.

                “Of course I do.”

                “Do you love your family?” I asked again- my voice firm.  None of my classmates seemed to understand where I was going with this- their eyes darting between Mr. X and myself as if watching a tennis match.

                “Of course I do.”

                “Does Heavenly Father love you?”

                “He loves all of his children.”

                “Okay- so basically from what you’ve told me is that you love your wife and children, and Heavenly Father loves you.  He also commanded us to enter into the covenant of marriage and have families.  From my understanding, he’s a just guy.  He doesn’t do things that are unfair, cruel or evil.  I refuse to believe in a God who would set a commandment for us to have families, and love them only to tear us away from them in death.  He loves us too much for that.  I’d appreciate it if you would stick to the curriculum of Planning 10 instead of veering off to teach doctrine you quite obviously don’t understand.”

                “Excuse me?” Mr. X stuttered, taken aback by my monologue.

                “That’s exactly what I thought,” I spoke calmly, gathering my things and walking out of the room.  I didn’t slam the door- but as I turned to close it one of my friends gave me the thumbs up.  

Mr. X: 0 Kirsten: 1.

                Before you start applauding my bravery, and excellent on the top come backs- don’t.  That is a figment of my imagination.  Whenever I think of that class- this is what I wished I could have said.  For weeks afterwards I dreamt of what I should have said, and even now when I think back on it I shake my head forlornly.  But what could I expect, what could anyone expect from a little preteen after being humiliated in class?

What really happened?  Instead of bravery- my face went beat red, my hands started to shake and my eyes stung with tears.  I had never encountered such a head on opposition before on such a personal level.  Of course- I had never had Mr. X as a teacher before either (other than P.E.).

                What really happened?  Well the class went completely silent.  Everyone still looked at me- knowing that I was LDS.  My friends looked outraged, and my acquaintances frustrated at the lack of tact.  With tears pooling in my eyes, I glanced at the girl sitting next to me- mouthing the words, “I’m mormon.” As if it weren’t obvious enough.  I felt like I’d been kicked in the stomach.  Even worse than that- feeling as if I couldn’t even fight back.  He was a teacher,  my teacher.  Hate to admit it- but I was a goody- two shoes.  I respected my teachers, handed work in early and was often to class early too.  School was my thing remember?  I was at a loss of what to do in the situation; my cage had been rattled and the most inner and defining parts of me had been poked at and prodded crudely.

                The silence in the classroom didn’t last long.  Soon there were numerous hands shooting up in the air wanting to discuss further.  My hand shakily rose as well.  I didn’t know what to say, but I knew I had to say something.  The joke wasn’t funny- I was the punch line.  I felt like he ignored my hand as long as possible.  Eventually though I had my turn.  It went something along the lines of this:

                “I’m a mormon and I don’t appreciate your comments,”  I stuttered, mumbling and choked through tears.  

                “I know, but your church authorise taught this specific doctrine.”  I felt tears stream down my face, while internally I panicked.  I couldn’t remember anything a church authority had said on the subject.  What if he was right?  It didn’t feel right though.  I knew that, and he knew that, but in this situation he had the upper hand.  He knew I was a mormon, yet thought it appropriate to still make such a crude joke.  He was an expert, no, the expert on my religion.  I was just a little girl.

                “No offense, but seeing as I’m a mormon, I think I know my religion better than you thanks.”  Again, mumbling, over emotional tears streaming down my face.  I tried to ignore the pitying glances from my friends.  Thankfully, another one of my friends shot forward turning the attention to her.  She, like myself knew what it was like to be a minority.  Catholic in upbringing, my friend knew what it felt like to be on the outside looking in- in regards to social and cultural differences regarding worship and a few doctrines.

                “I don’t think it’s appropriate to single out a specific religion or denomination in a class setting like this.  It’s wrong.”  That’s really all I remember her saying.  She did go on about Martin Luther King- but I can’t be sure.  I was too emotional.

                The rest of the class shot back retorts and defended me.  Silent tears still ran down my face.  With 5 minutes of class to spare- Mr. X finally regained control of the discussion, turning to me to offer a public apology.  It was insincere, and unfortunately the damage had already been done.

The seeds of doubt had been planted in the back of my mind and the forefront of my heart.  From then on, I felt out of place in bible class and during anything of a spiritual nature.  I doubted myself and my ability to stand tall as a Latter-day Saint in a group of people that obviously, to me, didn’t want me there.

                I didn’t know what to do.  As soon as I got in the car after school that day, I broke down in tears.  A classmate who carpooled with me told my mum everything on the ride home.  I felt heartbroken.  It may have been naive thinking, but I thought I was making a difference.  I thought people had actually seen me, instead of the stereotypes.  Mr. X didn’t seem to care at all.

                After a lot of pondering and prayer- I decided to give Mr. X “A Proclamation to the World,” and a Book of Mormon with my feeble testimony written in it.  If he had said those things, he was obviously misinformed- right?  I know I was being bold, but he had started it.  If he wanted to teach Mormon Doctrine, I wanted him to have the correct source.

                After becoming the butt end of a joke that was more cruel than funny, I noticed a negative vibe coming from Mr. X.  I felt as though I wasn’t allowed to participate in discussions.  More often than not I came home in tears from some little off handed remark Mr. X had made in class that only I was able to pick up on.  I even had is E.A. approach me and  essentially say that I wasn’t allowed to participate in class discussions anymore.  I was frustrated- and powerless to do anything.

Official score?  Mr. X: 1, Kirsten: O

the mission

                After the rigorous application process and the contract that followed- you’d think that that I’d have a more difficult time assimilating into the school.  That my classmates wouldn’t even bother a second glance; my teachers would grade me unfairly.  Basically, that the entire world as I knew it would cease to exist by imploding around me.  Being different has never been the popular thing in elementary school...or high school for that matter.  Instead of imploding to nothingness however, the opposite couldn’t be more true...it more like exploded with new information, customs and to a certain extent beliefs.

                So imagine, just for a moment your first day at a new school.  You’ve probably never been so nervous in your life.  Wanting to look just right, you picked out your outfit days before.  As you get ready in the morning you worry about the classes, and if you’ll make friends.  My first day at NCS had those normal first day jitters coupled with the enormous amount of responsibility that went along with being the only mormon ever allowed to attend.  Well at least as much responsibility as a seventh grader can feel.  Finally the day came...and ended as soon as it started.  There were differences at NCS compared to my old public school.  For one, they had morning devotionals and they prayed to start the day.

                Choosing what type of prayer to give is like choosing a flavour at Baskin Robbins, or at least it seemed so to me.  Mormons (we’ll stick with that name for now) reverently speak to their Heavenly Father.  When we pray, you are aware that someone is praying-, it’s a tangible feeling in the room.  We use words fitting in the King James Bible.  Prayer is just approached differently.

  Mainstream Christianity for the most part...is well different.  Lets go back to the Baskin Robbins analogy.  There’s popcorn prayer, you can give prayer requests, worship music prayers (with and without music), holier than thou prayers, and prayer circles.  (see guide below for a descriptive guide).  I’m not saying that any of these forms of prayer are wrong, as much as they were other-worldly for me.  Imagine, me- the born and raised mormon girl- bow your head, fold your arms pray with respect and reverence being shocked to discover the worship band playing while the lead vocalist offers a song-inspired prayer.  

Kirsten's Fool Proof Prayer Guide:

Popcorn Prayer- One person opens the prayer (doesn’t say amen!), and several other (this is all done at random) offer short prayers (they don’t say amen) and after a sufficient amount of awkward silence, a predetermined person closes the prayer finally saying amen.

Prayer Requests- This was popular in homeroom/ devotionals.  Instead of doing a “popcorn prayer” (most times, people were too shy to actively participate so just a lot of awkward silence occurred) the teacher or person praying would ask if anyone had any prayer requests or things on their heart.

Worship Music Prayer- This kind of prayer usually only happened during chapel, or the full school assemblies.  The worship band would start up (it was taboo to remain sitting) and everyone would sing along with the band.  The songs lasted forever and let me tell you my friend that forever is a very, very long time if you don’t know the song!  Anyways, randomly the vocalist would stop singing and randomly start praying.  You had no idea that there was a prayer occurring...so you’d feel guilty.  Before you could say amen....they had already started singing again....

Holier than Thou Prayer- to be fair, there are times when in a sacrament meeting someone gives a holier than thou prayer.  Holier than Thou prayers often happened after a serious event...or just when my bible teacher had extra hot air.  In this prayer, the person praying quotes an endless amount of scriptures, coming off as a know it all who really shouldn’t have to pray being they are already so close and chummy with God.  The Holier than Thou Prayer could also be known as a “soggy milk prayer” or a “sermon prayer”.

Prayer Circles- Prayer circles are not as bad as they sound I swear!  At my school, there were prayer meetings where students would get together to pray for specific things or the world in general.  Everyone stands in a circle and each has a turn to pray.  Just a fact here- we would often say “I’ll pray for you,” or “Let’s make a prayer circle!” as an insult....yeah.  That’s how Christian School Kids role.

                Small differences aside, I didn’t encounter any open anti-mormon confrontations until grade 10.  In fact for the first 3 years of my attendance at School B- life couldn’t be better on that front.  On my first day, I made great friends.  I wasn’t popular by any means in grade 7, but come on it was grade 7 (because puberty makes everything less awkward...right?)  I enjoyed attending my new school.  Everyone was so friendly- often going out of their way to talk to me.  Teachers cared about their students’ well being- more so than their grades.  No one hesitated to offer help.  Life on Mars wasn’t horrible- in fact it was refreshing to see things from another view point.  I could learn to appreciate the beauty of my planet, while appreciate and marvel at the amazing beauty of another’s’ close up without judgement.

                Bible classes ran smoothly- or, I was too naive to notice differently.  There were times in class that I would ask a question about a particular scripture, answer a question or bring up a particular bible story that would result in a peculiar look from the teacher, or my classmates.  One day, for example we were having a class discussion of the origin of different languages, and how that could have happened.  Thinking it a rather daft question to begin with, I calmly raised my hand- poised to answer.

                “Uh- the tower of Babel.  God confounded everyone but Jared and the brother of Jared and their families.  They came to the Americas via barge.”  Cue awkward silence.  You know those weird nightmares where everyone is staring at you because you’re wearing only underwear?  Yeah...picture that except way less funny when put into perspective (I.E- waking up.)  Everyone looked at me as if I had three heads (imagine three headed dog from the first harry potter book- minus paralyzing fear).  The teacher- a very kind person- managed to steer the conversation away from my embarrassment to other topics.

Clarification: The bible DOES mention the Tower of Babel briefly.  I wasn’t daft, or mixing book of Mormon stories with biblical stories...although I must admit that happened frequently.  Check out Genesis 30.

                Other times, a lesson or concept that would come up in a bible lesson wouldn’t sit right with me.  I’d do my homework, read the assigned reading and discuss topics with the rest of my class.  Oftentimes- I felt like I was being split into two different people: both battling to find inner peace and clarification.  

                “Trinity?  How can they be different beings but one person?  Big enough to fill the universe, yet small enough to fit in my heart?”  I asked one of my teachers one day- utterly perplexed by his lesson on the Godhead.  All my life, the Godhead had been referred to as three separate beings: Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost.  I didn’t know that mainstream Christianity differed in belief from LDS doctrine.  My classmates and teachers spoke about them as if they were three separate beings as well.

                “Think of it as a three leaf clover.”  My teacher smiled at me.  He smiled.

                “That doesn’t make sense,”  I answered simply, thinking of Christ’s baptism.  It had been part of the lesson that Sunday at church.  

                My teacher faltered before he answered, “some things we’ll only understand in death.”  End of conversation.

                Looking back now, I realize, that my teacher in fact probably knew about the difference of belief, but failed to point it out to me.

                That day I went home confused like I usually did.  Something inside just didn’t feel right.  Sometimes if felt like I was seeing a flower, blade of grass or pristine lake in the  landscape- but all anyone else could see was the vast, red, rocky planet.  I told my mom about what I had learned and how confusing it was.  She then set me right, and explained things to me.  Being young and impressionable when I didn’t really have my own firm testimony and knowledge of my church and beliefs made it difficult to separate my school's from mine.  By the time seminary rolled around and I actually began to learn about church history and essential church doctrine- I began to understand.  I started to see the line that separated mainstream Christianity from the LDS church and started to toe it cautiously while at school.  I developed what I liked to call my “school b filter.”  I wanted to be respectful, but I still wanted to learn another world view.  I wanted to be tolerant and loving, yet still have the opportunity to voice my opinion and thoughts.  Thus began the work of aforementioned filter.  

                While in bible class, I contributed to discussions about the unknowns- which to me and other Latter-day Saints aren’t unknowns.  I knew why I was here, on the earth.  I knew what was to wait for me after death.  I understood what God’s power really was {priesthood}.  I noticed gaps of information lost in the NIV translation, and how blessed I was to have the King James Bible with the Joseph Smith Translations.  Sometimes I asked a question knowing it would cause chaos, but only because I started to feel sad that my friends didn’t have the same knowledge that I did.  Let’s face it- I was a teen.  How could it be fair to assume I had the maturity, wisdom and insight at all times.  I could stir the pot- but never to the boiling point.

                I developed the filter- but did everything in my power to emulate Christ and be myself.  I remember vividly talking to a friend in the hallway between classes how I was unsure of what I could and couldn't say in bible class.  My Principal was walking near me, and said plainly, "just be yourself.  That is all anyone can ever ask."  I took that to heart.  Being respectful and tolerant was possibly while being true to my beliefs, standards and testimony.

It was hard- some days before bed I would just lay there worrying about my friends, and my teachers.  I wanted them to feel the same comfort I felt.  Yet- I knew they felt the comfort I felt at difficult times in my life.  My God and my Saviour, were there Saviour and God as well.  No matter what, we were all loved by the same group.

They were used to Mars.  From their perspective, they had everything and anything they needed to know.  Sure- there were those that wondered, questioned and gazed into the galaxy for more but sometimes there are unknowns in life so we can have faith.  No words can describe how much I learned from my peers- martian or not.  Here I was, with answers to questions they had- yet they had faith even though they didn’t know.  I still hated to see them ask questions- questions that I felt I had the answers to.  

                By the time grade 10 rolled by- my classmates respected me and my beliefs.  They no longer believed negative untruths about the church.  When they thought of the term Mormon- they immediately thought of me.  I was just an earthling from Earth, and they were just Martians from Mars- we no longer saw a dividing line between us.  We weren’t different races; we were one in the same- just people, ordinary people who were striving to be better people.