I read this from the Book of Mormon this week, about Jesus Christ:

And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. Alma 7:11-12

We each have different sorrows, different kinds of pain, and different infirmities. Infirmities include physical challenges and weaknesses. I feel comfort in knowing that Jesus Christ feels compassion for me and my challenges. He has felt my challenges. Although He is so much stronger and more advanced, that I would wonder if my level of struggles could be insignificant to Him, they are not. He respects me and his feelings are full of mercy.
Sometimes I feel like such a confusing mess of contradictions, yet He knows from the things He suffered how to aid people, even me. He will run to our aid, and patiently help us unravel our challenges. He will verify that our challenges are legitimate– worthy of acknowledgement and healing.

I have felt this personally. His hand is extended to all. Sometimes we are not emotionally or spiritually ready to respond to His invitations. He still feels compassion towards us.

God is our Heaven Father and He really wants to communicate with us.  The nature of this earth life is that we are temporarily separated from God so we can learn to live by faith. A central purpose of life is to reconnect with Him. It is an ongoing process. But our Father really does want to hear from us, and He is ready to help us learn how He speaks to us. 

How do you hear Him? What does it feel like? What kind of effort and focus does it take to feel and perceive His messages?

As I mentioned in the last post, the example of Joseph Smith’s preparation and effort to get answers is really helpful. The feeling of an urgent need to know how to act can be a catatlyst for getting answers from God. Like Joseph, listening to people who claim to know, may or may not help. But spending time thinking and reading God’s word in the Bible and his other scriptures can help you get ready to feel a certain message emphasized by His Spirit.

Taking our questions to Him with unwavering faith can turn a key to unlock answers from Him. 
God may not see fit to give you a vision, but He will give you messages in ways that will help you most on your personal journey. 

Sometimes the message comes through the words of another person. Sometimes it comes when we are on the move, and sometimes when we are unplugged and quiet.

Our Father communicates to us in a language of feelings that all of humankind is not foreign to. Everyone has experiences with their conscience, and sometimes this is His voice. Many people have experiences of having a premonition, or a feeling of a calling in life to do certain things or help certain people. Many people are doing better at listening to and following messages from God in their lives than they realize.  All of us can learn more and benefit more from the messages God wants to send us, as we prepare ourselves and ask.

At times of great global uncertainty and unprecedented challenges, the need to receive reassurance and direction from heaven has never been greater.
I invite you to ask God for direction in how to meet your life challenges. I invite you to spend time feeling and listening for answers, and then roll up your sleeves to work on whatever direction He gives.

I know He lives, and He really does speak to us.

As I post this, the headlines are full of urgent coronavirus updates, so it may seem off-target to write now.  But the history matters and applies now as much as ever. 

This spring 2020 marks the 200th anniversary of what we call the First Vision. In 1820, a 14-year-old farm boy in New York went into a grove of trees near his home to pray. Joseph Smith wanted to be forgiven for mistakes in his life, and know which one of the religious groups he should follow. 
There was a lot of religious conversation going on in his area and in his family.   He had become worried about his own standing with God and troubled by conflicting messages from different preachers.
During months of searching, he had been reading the Bible and had come accross these directions from James: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously without criticizing, and it shall be given him. Be sure to ask in faith, not wavering.” Joseph said when he read this it came with great power into his heart. He thought about it again and again, feeling that it was a message for him: He either had to ask God, or he would remain uncertain. 
So he went to a secluded spot on his parents’ farm, where he had left his axe from working the previous day, and made the attempt to ask God in a personal prayer.
I don’t think Joseph could have anticipated what would happen, but he had confidence he would receive some answer. 

Joseph later recounted that as he started to pray he heard someone walking toward him but could see no one.  A powerful force suddenly seized upon him and tried to stop him from speaking.  He said this unseen enemy was so strong, he felt it was going to kill him. It filled his mind with doubts and inappropriate images.  In this moment of shock, he exerted all his strength to call on God for help. 

Joseph said “I saw a pillar of light, exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. As soon as it appeared, I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Persons, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spoke to me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other— This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!”

Jesus Christ was introduced by our Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ told Joseph that he was forgiven of his past mistakes. He asked which of the churches of his time he should join, and received the answer that none of them were the authorized Church of Jesus Christ, as Jesus had established it originally. He told Joseph that that if he was faithful, the truth in its fullness would be given to him in the future.  You can find Joseph’s accounts of this event, here. 

After the vision, Joseph said he was exhausted, but he was filled with exquisite joy and felt the love of God for several days. He had learned that the promise of James in the Bible was true: God really does answer prayers! He learned that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, still living today.  Joseph learned that Jesus Christ is actively preparing the world for His second coming and has a part for us to fill and help in His plan.  

Joseph told his experience to a few trusted friends. It’s notable that his family believed him. One preacher who Joseph felt was his friend surprised him by responding that he was wrong or lying; that God doesn’t work by visions or revelations anymore– those had ended with the new Testament prophets and there would never be any more.  Many people rejected and pressured Joseph him for saying he had seen a vision, and trials followed him throughout life.  But Joseph said “I really had seen a vision. I knew it, and I knew God knew it, and I dared not deny it.”  

Millions of people have responded to Joseph’s story, because it is relatable. It can apply to all of us.  The message that God lives and hears our prayers— the message that simple faith in Him and intense seeking for his help will bring a response from heaven, is something so many people feel and hope is true. 

The idea that God is the Father of us all, and answers the prayers of troubled teenagers, is earth-shaking!

We believe it. 

I have felt His answers. They have come on His terms, in His time table.  I may not need a vision like Joseph to give me the directions needed in my life. But God really is our Father, and really wants to speak to us in His personal ways. I have learned answers come after I have paid a price of searching. But answers come! 

In uncertain times, in pandemics, and recessions, and our own times of trouble, we can turn to heaven, and hope for answers and help.

I thank God for the story of the trouble teenager, and the answered prayer. 

12/19/2019 – 12/25/2019

I have been turning this question over in my mind this week as we led up to Christmas: “What influence has Jesus Christ had on my life?”

That’s a pretty personal question, but I am working on becoming comfortable talking openly about this.

Some of the ways He’s made a difference and is making a difference in my life:

• His example of gentle leadership,
• His forgiving my mistakes helps me feel my need to forgive others,
• He helps me improve my relationships with my family.
• He’s given me small miracles of incremental personal change
• and hope for the future.

I believe there was a great plan of life that was laid out before we were born.

I believe it was a brave decision of ours (all people) to come to this life and become human, and even get hurt in many ways, in order to gain a valuable eternal education.

Jesus Christ, the firstborn Spirit Son of our Heavenly Parents was the only one who was prepared to serve as our Savior. His role would be not just to provide us a way to be forgiven of mistakes, but also to provide healing from the many emotional and physical wounds we accumulate in life.

Without this Healer who was promised, our choice to come to earth would have been foolish and unrecoverablly injurious. But because of Him, we can learn from our mistakes without being condemned by them. Because of Him we can be healed of our past pains and unseen wounds, and not be eternally impaired by them.

What influence has Jesus Christ had on me?

His gentle Leadership: The memory of the kind of person He was and is holds weight in my mind. He was the Master, yet He was very gentle with people. He didn’t sugar-coat the hard truths he had to say, but he was thoughtful in approaching people and helping them. I have felt His gentleness toward me, in my learning process. I have felt and seen it through the kindness of church leaders and others. I have felt it through His spirit’s promptings… He is more patient with me that I would be willing to be with myself. I feel the weight of the implications–I must be patient with all those around me. I heard a quote by Bob Spiel, that Leadership is not having control over others, but rather leadership is the process of influencing your fellow volunteers.

When I see my fellow men and women as brave children of God who chose to come to earth to face hard things, I remember we are all volunteers in an endeavour that is worth the trouble. And I need to be gentle, as the gentle Christ was.

The Duty to Forgive is tied up with that gentle forgiveness that He regularly offers me. He has been really clear about it; if I do not forgive others then I disqualify myself from the forgiveness He offers to me.

I feel the weight of that duty. When my angry indignant feelings begin to rise, when I feel justified to hold someone in contempt– I feel somewhere deep inside of me a quiet reminder that I have been forgiven, and asked to forgive. So if I insist on going down that attractive road, I’m venturing out on the thin ice of hypocrisy. I refuse to forgive at my own peril, or at least to my own chagrin and irony; someday when everything will be revealed and become clear. Jesus Christ has offered me forgiveness of my mistakes, even dumb ones, again and again. He has a right to command me to forgive.

Often the person I am struggling to forgive is myself, but He holds a right to command me to forgive that person too. I have felt his help to do this hard task. I can agree with Jeffrey Holland that “the grace of Christ offers us not only salvation from sorrow and sin and death but also salvation from our own persistent self-criticism.”

His work and sacrifice for us and His ongoing forgiveness, points to His faith in us, as children of God. As the carol says, “then He appeared, and the soul felt it’s worth.” He believes in our worth, our potential. He loves us, and He loves Our Father.

If you haven’t felt this, or haven’t felt it recently, I invite you to draw close to Him. Ask to feel how He feels about others, and you. Ask to be able to help others see and feel it.

Now today, He does much of His work through people, to give us the chances to learn and grow.

I’ve got a long way to grow. But because of Him, I have peace and hope, and His help along the way.

I thank Him.

Merry Christmas!

The man named Jesus of Nazareth taught often about “our Father which is in Heaven.”

He spoke of our Father as a Person who watches over all his creations, who “makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matt. 5: 44-45

Jesus said this Father wants us to pray to Him. He knows our needs, before we even ask. He knows how to give good gifts, and stands ready to help if we ask.

Jesus said that how we treat others, even how we feel about them, directly impacts our relationship with God our Father. “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:” Matt 6:14

Jesus asked us to “…do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that that use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. Matt. 5: 44-45

He said we should pray in secret, fast in secret, and do service to the poor in secret, so that your Father will see and reward you openly.

He also said we should “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

Jesus even said that God intends for us to become perfect, “even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matt. 5:48

Jesus Christ always did the things that pleased God. He always put the will of our Father first, even to the point of giving up his life, saying “If I must drink this cup, thy will, not mine, be done.”

Jesus often spoke about our Father, and prayed to our Father.

With all of these references, it seems strange that misunderstandings would persist about the nature and character of God our Father. Jesus Christ said that he came to make it abundantly clear, who the Father is. Jesus also said that our coming to know the Father and himself, was the process that is essential in preparing to receive that heaven They have for us.

What misunderstandings about our Father in Heaven exist and why? Here are some of the big questions I have noticed that people have:

Is Jesus Christ the same person as God our Heavenly Father? In what sense are the united as “one”?

Does our Heavenly Father have a physical body? If He does, is it like ours or different?

What kind of person is God? Is He vulnerable to feeling emotional pain or sorrow? Is he “without body parts or passions?”

Is He wholly other and different from us? Is he so beyond us as to be incomprehensible?”

Is the term “Father” figurative as a creator, or literally the Father of our spirits? Are we then a different spiritual race or species than God, our Father?

The confusion on these questions has stemmed from centuries of debates during the dark ages. The Apostles had been killed, and the loss of authorized leaders of the church led to a loss of authorized clarifying revelation from God. Through these debates and the voting on othodox Creeds, the Christian understanding of God was subtly changed, away from some of the concepts that Jesus taught, to a conception of God as “a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions.” (The Westminster Confession of Faith, ch. II, sec. 1)

The Nicean Creed spoke of Jesus as “of one Being with the Father,” rather than as being one (united) with the Father, as He invites us to be.

These debates made it heresy to believe the doctrines originally taught by Jesus Christ, that God our Father is a being separate from himself, and literally the Father of our Spirits. The truth about our relationship to our Father was lost. The reality of our pre-existence, and our potential as joint-heirs with Christ, was lost. The important truth that Jesus Christ came to save us and redeem us was preserved, but with a negative focus on Mankind as innately sinful, rather than on mankind growing and learning from the challenging experiences of mortality. Without a correct understanding of our Father and the nature of mankind’s relationship to Him, how can we hope to truly “know Him and Jesus Christ whom He has sent?” John 17:3

I am grateful for the many brave souls through the centuries who stood up against false concepts. Many of them were labelled heretics and lost their lives for the truth they believed. But it took more than brave souls and faith societies to turn this tide of confusion. If God Himself had not personally initiated the work to restore knowledge about Himself, by calling new Apostles, I think we would still be left in confusion.

“God is our Heavenly Father. We are His children. He has a body of flesh and bone that is glorified and perfected. He loves us. He understands and feels our sorrows and rejoices in our progress. He wants to communicate with us, and we can communicate with Him through sincere prayer.

He has given us this experience on the earth so we can learn and grow. We can show our love for Him through our choices and our obedience to His commandments.

Heavenly Father has provided us, His children, with a way to be successful in this life and to return to live in His presence. However, we must be pure and clean through obedience in order to do so. Disobedience moves us away from Him. Central to our Father’s plan is Jesus Christ’s Atonement. Jesus Christ’s Atonement included His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane as well as His suffering and death on the cross. Through Christ’s Atonement we can be freed from the burden of our sins and develop faith and strength to face our trials.”

Those are the truths taught by Jesus Christ’s Apostles, in His restored church. God our Father is a perfected Man of Holiness, who has chosen to live in perfect harmony to the eternal laws of truth. He has a resurrected perfect body of flesh and bone, like His Son now does, and as we someday will. Our spirits are co-eternal with God. There is a part of us that He did not create, but that has eternally existed: our individual personality and free will. Long ago He saw that we lacked development, had compassion for us and chose to be our Father, calling us into a relationship with Him, and offering all that He has to offer. By His design, we chose to leave our heavenly home and come to this challenging mortal existence. Though we feel separated from Him now, we are part of His eternal family. He is reaching out to us in multiple ways, even right now. Unless we choose to reject His reaching, He will bring us and all humanity back into His embrace. We will always be part of His family.

Thank God for the clarifying light of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ!

The ideals we choose to hold shape us. We become gradually more like the God or gods we worship. I am deeply grateful for a conception of God as our Father, who loves us and wants us to be partakers of His Divine nature and qualify to receive all of the joys and powers that He has. A generous, perfected Being who understands us, who chooses to be emotionally vulnerable enough to suffer when we suffer, and to share in our joys. I want to be more like that.

-Ben Mortenson

What other questions have you noticed people have about the nature of God?

What thoughts do you have about how we can best help clear up confusion about Him, while still showing respect for people’s deeply-held beliefs?

How has your faith in God our Father helped shape who you are becoming?

My hometown is Bozeman, Montana. I was born to loving parents, who taught me and my siblings to work hard, study hard, and help others.

When I was about 8 years old, my then 3-yr-old sister, contracted a serious case of pneumonia. She had to be flown to another state for several months of intensive care, and at times the doctors were unsure that she would live. She’s a sweet girl who has Downs Syndrome and I really hoped and prayed that she would recover. This was the first time I remember praying intensely for something important to me. I had been taught by my parents that God is our Heavenly Father, and that we can pray to Him and rely on Him in times of need. I remember pleading that my sister’s life would be spared, and receiving feelings that God had heard me, and that He was willing to save her life.

She made a full recovery, and she has been a treasure in our family.

Personal beliefs and personal experiences with the spiritual world vary widely. This merits our respectful consideration and seeking to understand. My journey to come to understand better the realities of spiritual things has been informed and enhanced by my faith in Jesus Christ, and His restored Gospel; the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My journey has required significant effort, and I’ve learned that such effort is always worth it.

We live in a world that neither forces us to believe, nor not to believe. We must do our best to sift through all the evidence and make our choices. Our faith in what is true is or what is not, really does matter, and really does impact the quality of our lives. 

There is no doubt that a man named Jesus Christ lived, and that something world-changing was sparked by Him. As I’ve read the words of his followers about what He said and did, I have felt a stirring in my soul that His words are true and that there is a spiritual world that merits our attention and preparation. Many people have felt this same truth. But in our world today, there are many opposing forces to drown out his quiet simple message, so that many of us find it difficult to maintain faith in Him or focus on his path.  Many people have spiritual feelings, yet, many have dismissed or discarded our Christian heritage because of past mistakes made in the name of religion. 

After the life and mission of Jesus Christ was completed, His disciples and Apostles were persecuted and many were killed. In the centuries that followed, we’ve had the dark ages. Most people agree that there was a major falling away from the teachings of Jesus Christ. Eventually many brave reformers protested the corrupt practices and beliefs that had developed. Martin Luther was my 16th great-grandfather, was one of them.  They improved the situation by expanding religious freedom and inviting people to return to the original teachings of Jesus Christ. 

Yet they were not prophets, authorized witnesses in the sense that Peter and Paul and the other Apostles had been.  They did not receive God’s authority in the same way, nor did they have the revelations to fully correct the inherited misunderstandings of God’s teachings. 

What corrections were needed? Actually really big ones.  Changes in the core understanding of the nature of God and our relationship to him; the reality of our pre-mortal existence and the purpose for which we chose to come to earth for this challenging education of mortality; The nature and destiny of mankind; and the authority to teach and perform Jesus Christ’s ordinances such as baptism.  

God our Father knew this would happen, and has not left us helpless. He reached out to restore the correct understanding of Himself and the gospel taught by His Son. When the time was right He raised up new authorized witnesses of His truth, just as he has done previously. 

He calls them now as well.  And He is calling on all people to repent and prepare for the second coming of His Son.

I had the opportunity to serve as a representative of his, in Mongolia from 2007 – 2009. My purpose was to help others come closer to Him, to lift burdens, bring hope and invite people on the path that leads to His brighter future for them.  I felt His help, in learning the Mongolian language, and understanding hearts, and finding ways to serve. I treasure my time then, and I seek to treasure my Walk with Him still today.

Life is busy and full. I find it easy to give my attention to things that matter less than my relationship with God, and commitment to follow the example of Jesus Christ. But I find that each time I remember Him and try to course-correct, He is there, willing to listen and help and invite me to the kind of life that is richer and more full of experiences with people that mean the most to me.

I think one cannot know of Spiritual things without having a desire, and being humble, and asking.  Jesus described spiritual realities as being on the other side of a door, but we must knock.
I am a witness that if you knock, He will respond!

He also said that He gives us light line upon line, step by step. So there are a series of doors, each opening to a brighter lighted room, and He will lead us on and up into the full daylight.

Jesus taught that we come from God, that very person has a Divine purpose and potential. This life on earth is a challenging phase of our eternal journey, but it is not end.

I admit that many times I am inconsistent in applying this grander view of life and people.   But when I do, He helps me treat people better, and I have greater ability to resist distractions. I am not perfect, but I am committed to always trying again. I am deeply grateful for my opportunities to try again. I believe Jesus came to give us the second chances we need: as many 2nd and 3rd and 47th chances as it takes, so long as we have desire to realize our full potential as Children of God, to grow up and claim our birthright.

I love the words of God in the Bible and the Book of Mormon.  I treasure the knowledge we get through mankind’s pursuit of knowledge (science) and I appreciate the ongoing struggle of humanity to understand our place in the universe, understand right and wrong, and understand the entire human experience.  That journey is far from over, and requires our ongoing listening and thinking and feeling, and courage.

I believe my ancestors who knew Joseph Smith. They really knew that God really called an American farmboy to be His Prophet and start the restoration of truths and powers that will change the world and prepare us for the second coming of His Son.  That work continues and is accelerating, through His chosen prophet today, President Russell Nelson.

This work will reach you. It will respect your free-will to choose. It will bless you and your family if you let it. God, our Father, will reach all of His children, and bless them, and gather them, as much as they will allow Him to.

If you, my friends who read this do not know whether this is true, take it to the Source, and ask for help in your quest for truth. I have done that and I’m striving to continue to do that. The process is humbling and challenging; be prepared for that. It is also deeply rewarding.

Since my sister’s life was spared, God has given me many more answered prayers. He will answer your prayers. He will find ways to show the deep love and respect that He has for you. We need each other on the path back to Him. May He bless you, and make your life richer and deeper.

I invite all of us to continue to learn about and follow the example of Jesus Christ.

The content at this link can help. https://www.comeuntochrist.org

I plan to post more content about the purpose of life, our premortal existence and the helps Christ has given us for living meaningful lives, strengthening our families and other relationships.

Thanks for reading, and being part of the conversation.

-Ben Mortenson

When did you first experience an awakening to spiritual realities?

When have you felt God answered your prayer?

What helps you keep seeing people in your life as children of God with a degree of Divine nature and potential?