The Message of the Restoration

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are a lot of things. We don't drink or smoke, we don't swear, we go to church every Sunday for three hours, we give ten percent of our income back to the Church, we serve and strive to be involved in humanitarian efforts, we marry in temples for time and eternity, we place utmost value on our families, and we are open and often proactive in sharing our religion with others. Not to mention the stereotypes of traditionally large families, young marriages and short engagements, attending BYU, being from Utah, etc.

Yes, when people think of "Mormons" a lot of things come to mind. But amidst the doctrines and teachings and habits and stereotypes, the true core and foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the reason behind everything we do is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the chief cornerstone,¹ the way the truth and the life,² the Savior of the world. We believe in Him, we worship Him, and we strive to emulate His life and do as we have seen Him do.³ His sacrifice and Atonement are the very reasons we can experience happiness and peace in this world and have a perfect brightness of hope⁴ for eternal life in the world to come.⁵  That is what members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are. We are disciples of Jesus Christ.

Our message is that the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored, that the heavens are open, that God speaks and not spake,⁶ that the power of His priesthood is given to man once again to act in His name for the salvation of His children. He has given us the Book of Mormon as another testament of Him whose life was given that we may live.

As the article this week, read "The Message of the Restoration,"⁷ a talk given a few years ago by Elder L. Tom Perry, one of the living apostles of the Jesus Christ.

I leave you with Elder Perry's testimony:

"Our message is unique. We declare to the world that the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth. We declare with boldness that the keys of the priesthood have been restored to man, with the power to seal on earth and in the heavens. The saving ordinances pronounced by the Lord as requirements for entering into eternal life with Him can now be performed with binding authority by those who worthily exercise the power of His holy priesthood. We declare to the world that this is the day referred to by biblical prophets as the latter days. It is the final time, before the coming of Jesus Christ to rule and reign over the earth.

"We invite all to listen to the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ from us. Then you can compare the glorious message with what you may hear from others, and you can determine which is from God and which is from man.

"My witness to you is that this is the Church of Jesus Christ, established in the latter days."

Jeremy

1. Ephesians 2:20

2. John 14:6

3. 3 Nephi 27:21

4. 2 Nephi 31:20

5. D&C 59:23

6. “An Address,” The Complete Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1929), 45.

7. Ensign, May 2007