Are you a member of the Mormon Church? Have you heard of the Mormon Church? The official name of the Mormon Church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and this site is dedicated to teaching the world about the youth of the Church.
At the time that Jesus Christ was performing His ministry on earth, He chose and set apart twelve apostles. In doing so, He gave them priesthood authority to preach and perform miracles in God’s name. The apostles received revelation in order to lead the followers of Christ in truth and righteousness. After the apostles died, faithful men and women still received inspiration and answers to their prayers, but priesthood authority and the Church organized by Christ dwindled. Men began to disagree on the doctrines of Christ, and they divided into sects according to their many beliefs. Today there are myriad Christian denominatinos, each with its own set of beliefs.
Mormons, or members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believe that it has been the desire of God for the many centuries after Christ’s death to re-establish His Church exactly the way it was when Christ was here: with prophets and apostles who have the proper priesthood authority, revelation, miracles, and organization. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that church. The Lord instructed that the term “Latter-day Saints” be added to the name of the Church because this is the last dispensation of time before Christ’s second coming. “Saints” are people who try to live according to the commandments of God, and the commandments of God are all about love and happiness.
Then why are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also called Mormons? Because when the Lord re-established the Church of Christ, He revealed scriptures that had been long-hidden. These scriptures are a record of some Israelites whom the Lord led out of Jerusalem before its destruction by the Babylonians in about 600 B.C. They were led to the Americas, and Christ visited them after He was resurrected. A prophet named Mormon organized and abridged the hundreds of years of the people’s record into what is now called the Book of Mormon. People of other faiths have nicknamed members of this Church “Mormons” after this book. Some people call the Book of Mormon the “Mormon Bible,” but members of the Church believe in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and modern-day scripture.
The Mormon Church is focused on coming to Christ. You might have heard that it’s got strict standards. You might have heard that Mormons don’t drink or swear or have sex before marriage. These standards can sound especially tough when a good deal of the world doesn’t have any problem with any of those things. High standards are not in place to make people miserable or to take the fun out of things, but rather to protect them. A lot of things that many people think are okay can be fun now, but painful in the long term. We all know that few people think smoking is a good idea now, but a few decades ago, it was fashionable. Even today, people who are not Mormon and not even strictly Christian are talking about how a shift to casual relationships, like living together instead of getting married, isn’t such a good idea either. Whenever we act on selfish desires, we can be putting ourselves at risk for forming unhappy habits.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is interested in family and community. Members help each other, rather than just themselves. This is how Christ lived; and if we would follow Christ, we should live like He did. To live like Christ and to turn to Him is salvation and happiness. This is what Mormons believe.
This site is meant for youth the youth of the world, not just Mormon youth. It is meant to explain how the gospel of Christ can bring us happiness. It is meant to help us understand why we’re here, where we came from, and where we’re going: in other words, to help us understand the meaning of life.