My wife recently shared with our family a book report she had prepared for a college course. In the book Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, 3370 US teenagers were interviewed in depth regarding their religious beliefs. The author found, among other things, that even though most of these youth held religious beliefs, few of them were adept at putting them into words.
Well, how about us? Could we put our strongly-held beliefs into words? My wife then gave us each a sheet of paper and a pencil and asked us to record five statements describing our faith. We had ten minutes to complete our task.
Here are my five statements:
1. God is the Father of our spirits. We came to this earth to gain a physical body and to live by faith. After death, we will return to His presence.
2. God has given us commandments and the agency to choose right or wrong. If we repent of our sins, we will receive forgiveness and be cleansed.
3. Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. He created this earth, taught us how to live happy lives, died to pay the price of our sins, and broke the bands of death for us all.
4. The priesthood is the power to do God's work here on earth. We are taught and led by prophets of God with this power. Priesthood ordinances can seal families together forever.
5. We believe in the Bible and the Book of Mormon as the word of God. Jesus Christ will return to the earth to establish His kingdom, and righteousness will prevail.
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