Do mormon women have to wear dresses?

Mormon women do NOT have to wear dresses!  Not all the time and not ever if they choose not to!  We are never told what to wear on any occasion.  We are simply asked to dress modestly and in appropriate attire for the given activity.  Most of us choose to wear dresses or skirts on Sundays as a way to express our femininity and our devotion to our Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ by offering Him the very best of ourselves.  To many of us, that means taking a little extra effort to dress up and look nice in what we consider our very best.  We are women.  We are feminine.  For the most part, we enjoy wearing our dresses (and skirts!)  There are many activities in which we participate where dresses and skirts may not be appropriate.  Things such as service projects, luncheons, visiting teaching, etc.  We are free to choose what to wear on every occasion.  I love the freedom available to women of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints all over the world!

Joseph Smith

Do mormons worship Joseph Smith?  What do they believe about him?  Do they believe he is God?

I will give a brief summary of Joseph Smith, who he was, and what we believe about him.  If you'd like more detailed information, visit here, or here.  And for his story in his own words visit this page. 

Joseph Smith was born in 1805 in Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, to Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack.  As was common on those days, he was part of a large family.  When he was 11 years old his family moved to Palmyra, New York and later to a farm in nearby Manchester, New York. 

"Some time in the second year after our removal to Manchester, there was in the place where we lived an unusual excitement on the subject of religion. It commenced with the Methodists, but soon became general among all the sects in that region of country. Indeed, the whole district of country seemed affected by it, and great multitudes united themselves to the different religious parties, which created no small stir and division amongst the people, some crying, "Lo, here!” and others, “Lo, there!” Some were contending for the Methodist faith, some for the Presbyterian, and some for the Baptist.
 

For, notwithstanding the great love which the converts to these different faiths expressed at the time of their conversion, and the great zeal manifested by the respective clergy, who were active in getting up and promoting this extraordinary scene of religious feeling, in order to have everybody converted, as they were pleased to call it, let them join what sect they pleased; yet when the converts began to file off, some to one party and some to another, it was seen that the seemingly good feelings of both the priests and the converts were more pretended than real; for a scene of great confusion and bad feeling ensued—priest contending against priest, and convert against convert; so that all their good feelings one for another, if they ever had any, were entirely lost in a strife of words and a contest about opinions." (taken from the above mentioned story in his own words.) 

 

Four of his family members (mother, 2 brothers, and a sister) joined the Presbyterian church.  Joseph himself felt partial to the Methodist church.  He felt some desire to join them, but there was so much confusion and contention among the different sects that he felt he could not determine which was right.  In the midst of his own inner confusion, he one day read James 1:5 which says,

"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." (Italics his)
Here is his beautiful expression of how he felt upon reading this scripture..."Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible.
 

At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God. I at length came to the determination to “ask of God,” concluding that if he gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I might venture."

 

And so he determined to pray to God so that he might know for himself which sect he should join.  The description of what transpired is so beautifully told in his own words that once again I will provide a quote as my description could never capture the feeling of these amazing events.  

 

"After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.

 

But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.

It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. 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 object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)—and which I should join.

I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”

He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time. When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven. When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in some degree, I went home. And as I leaned up to the fireplace, mother inquired what the matter was. I replied, “Never mind, all is well—I am well enough off.” I then said to my mother, “I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true.”  (His detailed story can be found here)

 

From that time forward Joseph became ridiculed and persecuted for telling the story of this vision.  The religious leaders of the day excited "a spirit of the most bitter persecution and reviling" against him.

 

Again, in his words, "However, it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a vision. I have thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light, and heard a voice; but still there were but few who believed him; some said he was dishonest, others said he was mad; and he was ridiculed and reviled. But all this did not destroy the reality of his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all the persecution under heaven could not make it otherwise; and though they should persecute him unto death, yet he knew, and would know to his latest breath, that he had both seen a light and heard a voice speaking unto him, and all the world could not make him think or believe otherwise.

 

So it was with me. I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two Personages, and they did in reality speak to me; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it; at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God, and come under condemnation."

 

Members of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints are encouraged to read his story, to pray to God and ask Him if it is true.  Just as we are encouraged to do for every other thing.  I have done this myself.  I don't think I'll ever forget the day, when I was 19, that I got down on my knees and prayed to my Father in Heaven and asked Him if this church truly was the same organization put in place when Jesus Christ Himself was on the earth, and restored through Joseph Smith, Jun. and if his story was true.  The first feeling I had following that question was a rush of excitement, but immediately followed by a warm, peaceful feeling such as I had never felt before. 

 

Mormons all over the world have felt similar feelings when they do as I did and ask for themselves.  We don't believe that Joseph Smith is God.  We do believe that he saw God and Jesus Christ and that under their direction he reorganized the church as it was set up by Jesus Christ Himself.  We believe Joseph was a prophet of God. He sacrificed a great deal to do the work that he was given by God to do.  Even his life.  We revere him and honor him by telling his story to others, by praying to know for ourselves, and by following his example once we obtain our answer.  He faced many vile persecutions.  He was falsely arrested and imprisoned (more than once), he was tarred and feathered, he was taken from his home in front of his wife and children, he feared for his life almost continually, and eventually was killed, along with his brother, by a mob.  He is a martyr, a prophet, and a great man.  But he is not God and we do not worship him. 

Callings? What's that?

Mormons are often heard to mention their callings. 
What are they talking about? 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is very large, and growing.  We are divided into groups according to the region in which we live.  The 2 most common groups are wards and stakes.  A ward is a group of the membership living within a particular boundary.  A group of wards within the boundaries of a larger area are called a stake.  We attend a ward based on the boundary (invisible lines on a map) in which we live.  My ward is called the Cannon Creek Ward.  My stake is the Lake City FL Stake.  This division creates the need for leadership in each ward and stake.  We have no paid clergy, instead the members give voluntary service under the direction of the Bishop of each ward, who works under the direction of the Stake President of each stake.   

These wards and stakes have need of people to fulfill responsibilities in many different areas.  We are organized into a number of priesthood quorums and auxiliary programs.  The basic organization of each ward is: Bishop, 1st and 2nd counselors, and executive secretary. Under the direction of this group, which we call a bishopric are the following priesthood quorums: High Priests, Elders, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons groups. And the following womens' groups are: Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary.  Each group has a president, a 1st and 2nd counselor and a secretary.  Each of these has various teaching positions within the organization.  These groups are not usually comprised of just the presidency.  The teachers serving within an organization does so under the direction of that organizations presidency and each presidency serves under the direction of the bishopric.  The members are "called" to different organizations according to the will of God and through authority given to the bishop and his counselors.  The names of those to call to the various positions are sought through prayer.  In this way, we are called by God through His servants, and asked to give voluntary service in a given position for a period of time.  These are not lifetime callings.  Nor do they have any specific time limitations.  Through prayer, we will be asked to do many different things and are free at any time to say no.  Most members will accept callings because we believe they come from the Lord and we have a desire to serve Him in whatever capacity He chooses. 

At this time, I serve in the position of Young Women President of the Cannon Creek Ward of the Lake City Fl Stake.  I have a counterpart in each ward in my stake and we serve under the direction of a Stake Young Women President.  She serves under the direction of the Stake President. 

In Doctrine and Covenants 88:119 (a modern book of scripture) we read, 'Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.' (Bold Italics are mine).  With a membership as large as ours, it would be quite easy to become disorganized and chaotic.  Through prayer and revelation, we have been given the perfect organization through which to run the programs of the church.  Each presidency serves under the direction of another (and each of a larger and larger group in a given area) until we reach the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  And this First Presidency serves under the direction of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  At this time the First Presidency is comprised of the following members: President Thomas S. Monson (president); President Henry B. Eyring (1st counselor); and President Deiter F. Uchtdorf (2nd counselor). 

In this way the members have been given the opportunity to develop leadership skills in various situations and circumstances.  We learn and grow in ways we may not have otherwise.  We certainly feel our inadequacies when faced with something new and foreign to our experience, but when we choose to serve, and do our very best, we feel ourselves lifted by God to become equal to the responsibility we've been given.  This has certainly been true for me.  I'm so grateful for the opportunities I've been given to serve.  I often fall short and feel myself weak, but have been made strong through these opportunities.  It is definitely work!  These callings can take up tremendous amounts of our time.  There have been times when a particular has seemed a little overwhelming, but I have been blessed in so many ways and have always felt God's love when I do my very best. 

Why do mormons have large families?

Ever see someone with a lot of kids and ask "Are you mormon?"  Why do we tend to have large families? 

In Genesis 1:28 we read 'And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it...'   There is more, but this portion of the scripture is what I wish to focus on in this post. 

This a commandment for Adam and Eve to have children.  We believe that God is the literal father of our spirits.  He sent us to earth for several reasons.  One of which is to gain a body.  This body is for our benefit (we'll develop this thought in a later post) and every spirit needs one.  For this purpose, we are to have children, to provide physical tabernacles for those spirits.  We are set up in family units by God in His wisdom.  We know that family provides the greatest source of happiness and joy.  2 Nephi 2:25 (from the Book of Mormon) reads in part, '....and men are, that they might have joy.'  He wants us to experience this joy. 

One of my personal favorite things about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (mormon church) is that we are always counseled to know for ourselves.  Our leaders encourage us to pray to our father and seek His will and His answers to our questions.  No one will ever tell us how many children each family should have.  It's a choice left up to the couple, and together they decide for themselves, always seeking to know what God would have them do. 

In 1995, President Gordon B Hinckley presented The Family: A Proclamation To The World (read it in full here here) The 4th paragraph reads, "The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife."  (bold italics are mine)  This is a commandment given not only to Adam and Eve, but to all men!  How we fulfill it is to be determined between each couple and God and no one else. 

This is such a beautiful commandment and one I love so much.  My husband and I have 8 children.  We have many friends and family members and the numbers of children vary widely from family to family.  Some have many, some have 1 or 2, and some have none at all.  The particular number of children that we have is very personal and may be limited by personal revelation, poor health, fertility issues, etc.  We do not judge others as no one can know the personal experiences of another.  I am so thankful for the blessing my children are to me and I know my friends and family are also, whether their families are large or small.   

Sabbath Day

When I was a kid, my best friend and I built a fort.  We would sneak off there to hide from her little sister (who probably didn’t want to play with us anyway!) and play for hours.  We built an extensive security system, using rope from her dad’s shed, to keep intruders out.  We did it because this was OUR place.  It was special.  We worked hard to get it exactly like we wanted it and we wanted to be sure that anyone who came in would treat it the same way we did.   I make this reference as a simple metaphor for what keeping the Sabbath Day holy should mean to all of us.  It’s a day set aside by the Lord as His.  It’s special to God, just as my fort was to me.  He expects us to treat this day the same way that He treated it. 

Exodus 20:8-11   
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

We live in a busy world.  With the advent of the cell phone we have become reachable by most anyone anytime.  Our lives are moving at record paces.  We need to take the time to slow down and allow ourselves the opportunity to reconnect with God.  And we need to do it often.  We need to do it weekly.  The Lord has given us the Sabbath Day as an opportunity to keep His commandments.  When we do, our lives are blessed.  I’ve never regretted spending time on Sunday to do His will.  To attend my church meetings, fulfill my calling, visit the sick, study my scriptures, spend time with my family, serve others, etc.  In contrast, during the times in my life when I’ve kept this commandment less consistently I have felt the absence of those blessings.  Not because God didn’t want to give them to me, but because I wasn’t ready to receive them. 

We have the 6 days prior to do the work of the world.  The needful, temporal things to take care of our families, our jobs, our homes, our social activities.  The 7^th is given to us for our benefit and we have been commanded to keep it holy.  As we do, we receive blessings and the opportunity for God to work through us to bless the lives of others.  But the Sabbath Day is much more than just physical rest.  President Spencer W. Kimball (a modern prophet) said:

“The Sabbath is a holy day in which to do worthy and holy things. Abstinence from work and recreation is important but insufficient. The Sabbath calls for constructive thoughts and acts, and if one merely lounges about doing nothing on the Sabbath, he is breaking it. To observe it, one will be on his knees in prayer, preparing lessons, studying the gospel, meditating, visiting the ill and distressed, sleeping, reading wholesome material, and attending all the meetings of that day to which he is expected. To fail to do these proper things is a transgression on the omission side.” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1969, pp. 96–97.) 

We abstain from shopping so that we don’t contribute to the impossibility of another to observe this holy day, and we use it instead to do holy things.  I have learned for myself that when I follow the spirit and letter of this law, I have more time during the rest of the week to do the needful things I mentioned above.  I promise that if you too will commit to keep this commandment you will begin have a similar experience and your lives will be blessed with a closer relationship with God. 

Mormons.....

Mormons.
Who are they? 
What do they believe?
Why do they believe it?
What if I want to learn more?

These are just a few of the questions that we answer here.  In a world where information is key, we seek to add to the conversation with elements of humour, honesty, and truth.  Mormons are real, everyday people living real, everyday lives.  We are members of a church that is growing all over the world.  In many cases, we live right next door.  In other words, we are your mormon neighbors!  We welcome questions and comments and will do our very best to answer them all.  So pull up a chair and stay a while!