I Am a Christian, not a Nicene-Creedan
This morning, I read an article detailing the Focus on the Family response/Glenn Beck pulled interview. I have been pondering this morning on their response that we are not Christian since we do not follow the Nicene Creed. That is correct. I do not follow the Nicene Creed. I follow Jesus Christ. Here are some of the thoughts that occurred to me this morning as I pondered.
Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” This is part of the Sermon on the Mount, given by the Savior. We are to seek to be peacemakers. In offering my thoughts, I am not striving to stir up contention. The Holy Ghost testifies of truth and dispels doubt. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints offers what it has always offered since the God of this Universe spoke to a young boy in a grove of trees in New York: Truth, unvarnished and uncompromised. The simple seeker of Christian truth will find truth in the Gospel of Jesus Christ taught in His Church today.
I wanted to understand the Nicene Creed better. I am not a scholar. I am not an expert. I pulled the following definition from Wikipedia.
“The purpose of a creed is to act as a yardstick of correct belief. The creeds of Christianity have been drawn up at times of conflict about doctrine: acceptance or rejection of a creed served to distinguish believers and deniers of a particular doctrine or set of doctrines.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Creed
I also spent some time reading the versions of the Nicene Creed as published on several sites on the web. Much of what is included I do believe. I simply believe that the three members of the Godhead are unified in purpose and love and in wanting all mankind to be redeemed and enjoy Eternal Life yet are separate beings, like I am separate from other human beings. I believe that I am created in His image, as stated in Genesis 1:27. I believe the teachings of the Bible. How does that make me non-Christian?
In contemplating why my beliefs make me non-Christian to the world, the following questions occurred to me: Why must my discipleship of the Lord Jesus Christ be measured by a definition of Him that was created by men through compromise? Why is it more rational to believe that God can be defined by a council of men than to believe that the God of this Universe is able to reveal Himself in His true form? Why is it so hard to believe that God the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, came in the flesh to dispel the myths of men regarding their form and substance? Who better to teach mankind about the true nature of Godhood than God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ? Why couldn’t they appear to a young boy in our recent history and call him to be a prophet to prepare the way for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? In Old Testament times, He called a young boy, Samuel, to be His prophet. In New Testament times, He called a prophet, John the Baptist, to prepare the way prior to Jesus’ coming the first time. One of the best attributes of real gospel truth is that it is unchanging. It seems to me that in coming to Joseph Smith in 1820, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, were consistent in their manner and purpose of redeeming the souls of mankind by calling a prophet to teach truth, as They have done in times past.
In pondering this morning, it also occurred to me that it is wise to know the tactics and goals of your adversary. In the realm of gospel truth, there is only one adversary and he is real. Satan’s purpose is to make mankind miserable like himself and to keep us from eternal life. His tactics for obtaining this goal are simple, yet very effective. He stirs up controversy and contention, he blinds eyes to truth, and hardens hearts to the Spirit, which testifies of truth and sanctifies our souls. Because we testify of God’s truth, wholly and without apology, we as members, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are targeted specifically by every means the adversary uses. Diversionary tactics like calling our faith “non-Christian” keeps many good people from finding real truth. Like many others, I have been saddened in the last year at the attacks on our church and beliefs during the 2008 presidential election, and even the backlash after Prop 8 passed in California. However, in reading the experiences of the early Christians in the New Testament, I realized it is the same battle against truth. I was struck one day as I read a quote by a recent convert of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Norman Kamosi:
“In Africa we have an expression. When you see people throwing stones at the mango tree, you know they are doing so because the tree is bearing good fruit. So I said to myself, ‘Since people are criticizing the Church, it must have something special, something good.’ I said, ‘We have to investigate the Church. Something good is in there.” October 2008 Ensign
We will always have “stones” thrown at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, because it has what is not found anywhere else on earth in this day—truth: complete, restored, revealed truth about God and what He expects us to do to prepare for His Second Coming! My hope is always that the honest seeker of truth will be like Norman Kamosi and wonder what we truly believe, when so many are throwing “stones” our way.
In Matthew 7:16-20, during the Sermon on the Mount, the Savior taught:
“Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
What are the fruits of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints & its members? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Humanitarian Aid is typically one of the first responders to every natural disaster worldwide. We follow the Savior’s admonition to feed the hungry and clothe the naked in those circumstances and in countless small ways in every area of the world where members of the LDS church live. I sometimes wonder if those who know me personally, would deem my actions as Christian if they were not convinced that because I am a member of the LDS church that I am “non-Christian”? How do I bridge that gap?
I was born into an active LDS family. I have attended regularly for almost all of my 38 years of life. I have never attended any church meeting where any other denomination was discussed or demeaned, ever. Many of our detractors spend time in their congregations demeaning and misrepresenting our beliefs and warning their congregations against us. I am reminded of Paul’s experience with the Ephesians.
Acts 19:24-28
“For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;
25 Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.
26 Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:
27 So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.
28 And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.”
Our church, with a lay ministry, is perceived as a threat to other organized Christian religion as an occupation. No church could afford to pay for the countless hours of service given daily, happily, worldwide by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The goodness of our lives is often the only thing we can offer to our dear neighbors who have been “warned” not to accept our invitations to learn about the gospel as taught by our church. So, I will continue to offer goodness to my neighbors in hopes they will see Chrislike attributes in my behavior to them as I strive to “Love my neighbor as myself”.
I take great comfort in the words of the Lord, Jesus Christ as I read John 17, the great intercessory prayer, especially verse 3:
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
I take great comfort from the account of Christ’s baptism recorded in Luke 3:21-22:
“Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.”
I take great comfort from Acts 7:55-56 as Stephen testifies:
“But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”
Most of all, I take comfort, knowing that the Heavens are opened again and that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ:
“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!”
My hope is that the tremendous number of good, honest Christian men and women in the world will look beyond the compromised definition of God as contained in the Nicene Creed and look instead to the Lord, Jesus Christ. He stands at the door and knocks. His promises are sure.
God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. In the scriptures His words speak to me and tell me how to return to Him. God the Father is my Father. Jesus Christ is His Son, and my Savior. The Holy Ghost speaks to my heart and confirms truth and helps me to repent and sanctifies my soul. I look forward with a perfect brightness of hope to the day I will stand before Christ to be judged. I am striving to heed His call to Follow Him. I know that His grace will make up for all that I lack. I know in whom I trust. I am grateful that God speaks again to man. I know that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet. I know that God has called a prophet today, his name is Thomas S. Monson. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Jesus Christ’s church on the earth. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I have read it many, many times and felt the Holy Ghost confirm its truth to me. I can not deny what I know. I am a Christian.
This morning, I read an article detailing the Focus on the Family response/Glenn Beck pulled interview. I have been pondering this morning on their response that we are not Christian since we do not follow the Nicene Creed. That is correct. I do not follow the Nicene Creed. I follow Jesus Christ. Here are some of the thoughts that occurred to me this morning as I pondered.
Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” This is part of the Sermon on the Mount, given by the Savior. We are to seek to be peacemakers. In offering my thoughts, I am not striving to stir up contention. The Holy Ghost testifies of truth and dispels doubt. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints offers what it has always offered since the God of this Universe spoke to a young boy in a grove of trees in New York: Truth, unvarnished and uncompromised. The simple seeker of Christian truth will find truth in the Gospel of Jesus Christ taught in His Church today.
I wanted to understand the Nicene Creed better. I am not a scholar. I am not an expert. I pulled the following definition from Wikipedia.
“The purpose of a creed is to act as a yardstick of correct belief. The creeds of Christianity have been drawn up at times of conflict about doctrine: acceptance or rejection of a creed served to distinguish believers and deniers of a particular doctrine or set of doctrines.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Creed
I also spent some time reading the versions of the Nicene Creed as published on several sites on the web. Much of what is included I do believe. I simply believe that the three members of the Godhead are unified in purpose and love and in wanting all mankind to be redeemed and enjoy Eternal Life yet are separate beings, like I am separate from other human beings. I believe that I am created in His image, as stated in Genesis 1:27. I believe the teachings of the Bible. How does that make me non-Christian?
In contemplating why my beliefs make me non-Christian to the world, the following questions occurred to me: Why must my discipleship of the Lord Jesus Christ be measured by a definition of Him that was created by men through compromise? Why is it more rational to believe that God can be defined by a council of men than to believe that the God of this Universe is able to reveal Himself in His true form? Why is it so hard to believe that God the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, came in the flesh to dispel the myths of men regarding their form and substance? Who better to teach mankind about the true nature of Godhood than God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ? Why couldn’t they appear to a young boy in our recent history and call him to be a prophet to prepare the way for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? In Old Testament times, He called a young boy, Samuel, to be His prophet. In New Testament times, He called a prophet, John the Baptist, to prepare the way prior to Jesus’ coming the first time. One of the best attributes of real gospel truth is that it is unchanging. It seems to me that in coming to Joseph Smith in 1820, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, were consistent in their manner and purpose of redeeming the souls of mankind by calling a prophet to teach truth, as They have done in times past.
In pondering this morning, it also occurred to me that it is wise to know the tactics and goals of your adversary. In the realm of gospel truth, there is only one adversary and he is real. Satan’s purpose is to make mankind miserable like himself and to keep us from eternal life. His tactics for obtaining this goal are simple, yet very effective. He stirs up controversy and contention, he blinds eyes to truth, and hardens hearts to the Spirit, which testifies of truth and sanctifies our souls. Because we testify of God’s truth, wholly and without apology, we as members, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are targeted specifically by every means the adversary uses. Diversionary tactics like calling our faith “non-Christian” keeps many good people from finding real truth. Like many others, I have been saddened in the last year at the attacks on our church and beliefs during the 2008 presidential election, and even the backlash after Prop 8 passed in California. However, in reading the experiences of the early Christians in the New Testament, I realized it is the same battle against truth. I was struck one day as I read a quote by a recent convert of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Norman Kamosi:
“In Africa we have an expression. When you see people throwing stones at the mango tree, you know they are doing so because the tree is bearing good fruit. So I said to myself, ‘Since people are criticizing the Church, it must have something special, something good.’ I said, ‘We have to investigate the Church. Something good is in there.” October 2008 Ensign
We will always have “stones” thrown at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, because it has what is not found anywhere else on earth in this day—truth: complete, restored, revealed truth about God and what He expects us to do to prepare for His Second Coming! My hope is always that the honest seeker of truth will be like Norman Kamosi and wonder what we truly believe, when so many are throwing “stones” our way.
In Matthew 7:16-20, during the Sermon on the Mount, the Savior taught:
“Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
What are the fruits of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints & its members? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Humanitarian Aid is typically one of the first responders to every natural disaster worldwide. We follow the Savior’s admonition to feed the hungry and clothe the naked in those circumstances and in countless small ways in every area of the world where members of the LDS church live. I sometimes wonder if those who know me personally, would deem my actions as Christian if they were not convinced that because I am a member of the LDS church that I am “non-Christian”? How do I bridge that gap?
I was born into an active LDS family. I have attended regularly for almost all of my 38 years of life. I have never attended any church meeting where any other denomination was discussed or demeaned, ever. Many of our detractors spend time in their congregations demeaning and misrepresenting our beliefs and warning their congregations against us. I am reminded of Paul’s experience with the Ephesians.
Acts 19:24-28
“For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;
25 Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.
26 Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:
27 So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.
28 And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.”
Our church, with a lay ministry, is perceived as a threat to other organized Christian religion as an occupation. No church could afford to pay for the countless hours of service given daily, happily, worldwide by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The goodness of our lives is often the only thing we can offer to our dear neighbors who have been “warned” not to accept our invitations to learn about the gospel as taught by our church. So, I will continue to offer goodness to my neighbors in hopes they will see Chrislike attributes in my behavior to them as I strive to “Love my neighbor as myself”.
I take great comfort in the words of the Lord, Jesus Christ as I read John 17, the great intercessory prayer, especially verse 3:
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
I take great comfort from the account of Christ’s baptism recorded in Luke 3:21-22:
“Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.”
I take great comfort from Acts 7:55-56 as Stephen testifies:
“But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”
Most of all, I take comfort, knowing that the Heavens are opened again and that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ:
“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!”
My hope is that the tremendous number of good, honest Christian men and women in the world will look beyond the compromised definition of God as contained in the Nicene Creed and look instead to the Lord, Jesus Christ. He stands at the door and knocks. His promises are sure.
God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. In the scriptures His words speak to me and tell me how to return to Him. God the Father is my Father. Jesus Christ is His Son, and my Savior. The Holy Ghost speaks to my heart and confirms truth and helps me to repent and sanctifies my soul. I look forward with a perfect brightness of hope to the day I will stand before Christ to be judged. I am striving to heed His call to Follow Him. I know that His grace will make up for all that I lack. I know in whom I trust. I am grateful that God speaks again to man. I know that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet. I know that God has called a prophet today, his name is Thomas S. Monson. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Jesus Christ’s church on the earth. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I have read it many, many times and felt the Holy Ghost confirm its truth to me. I can not deny what I know. I am a Christian.
Heidi, this is beautifully stated. obviously you were inspired as you wrote the feelings of your heart. I add my testimony to yours that Christ's church has been restored in these latter days, and is flourishing. The door is open to all who will come and learn, and open their hearts to the message, and who will ask God in faith, for His witness through the spirit to their souls. There is no power or influence that will stop or slow the work of the Lord. It will continue to fill the earth. I am so grateful for it, and I add my witness that it is true.
ReplyDeleteAMEN! Thank you so much for posting this Heidi. You put into words beautifully things that I have pondered in my heart often. Love you!
ReplyDeleteHeidi,
ReplyDeleteI was just wondering how you felt about being a Christian??? jk:) That was thoughtful and beautifully put. I appreciate your time and willingness to share. Love ya!