April 25, 2013 Job to Aunt Patrice
Aunt Patrice,
Why are you not answering your phone? All calls are prepaid. I will never call you collect.
These are a couple of rough draft letters I wrote to my mother. I think they ought to be put somewhere in the book. After all, it’s what I believe.
1st
Dear Mother,
From my understanding, the idea that this one life is all the time we have to prepare ourselves is false. It’s all the time we have to prepare ourselves in this life, but the hereafter will also be a state of preparation. (Why else would we baptize for the dead?) Belief in God the Father and in His Son Jesus Christ will definitely be in the hereafter for it says that every head shall bow and every knee shall bend. So everyone is going to be a believer in the hereafter—good and bad alike.
The Bible teaches belief because it’s the sure way and the truth, but those that don’t believe in Jesus Christ, for whatever reason, aren’t consigned to hellfire and brimstone. That’s not at all what Mormon doctrine teaches. It may be what other Christian sects teach, but that’s why God told Joseph Smith that those religions were all wrong. Mormonism is to Christianity as Christianity is to Judaism. It’s a higher level of learning righteous law. Article of Faith No. 11 says, “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.”
That’s so important for us to understand, especially given what has taken place through belief in Jesus Christ or what we see happening now through the belief in the Prophet Muhammad. Self-righteous belief is a recipe for evil. Satan is so slick that he will have people murdering other people for their beliefs. Just look at Saint Paul. He's a perfect example that Christ Jesus gave us to learn from. But self-righteous belief is so blinding. Even after all the teaching of Jesus Christ, Christians still went on murderous rages throughout the world. Fifty million American Indians were murdered by whom? By what? Self-righteous Christians killing in the name of Jesus Christ. What I’m trying to say is Jesus Christ atoned for all mankind, not just for the believers, but for all mankind. (First Corinthians: 15-22)
Belief is important. I’m not saying it’s not. But I think the two great commandments explain it best. The greatest of all commandments is to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. The second is like unto it, to love thy neighbor as thyself. Your neighbor can be anybody. It doesn’t say to love your Christian neighbor as you love yourself. Why is that important? What does that mean? If someone doesn’t believe in God or Jesus Christ but loves his neighbors, well Jesus said that’s like unto the greatest of all commandments. Love is the key word in both commandments. Love surpasses belief. Belief in Jesus Christ is supposed to increase our love, and our love is what increases our understanding. In other words, you can love God and Jesus Christ with all your heart without even believing in them or knowing about them. That’s the meaning behind the second greatest of all commandments. That’s why He says it is like unto the first. (Matthew 22: 37-40)
If you don’t love your neighbor as yourself, then you can’t possibly love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. And that’s why all the creeds of all the Christian denominations at the time of Joseph Smith were all abominations to God. None of them loved their neighbors, but all professed to love God! So now we know what He meant when He told us, “They draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”
Can you print this out and give it to Aunt Patrice.
2nd
Dear Mother,
It’s like you’re completely missing the message. I don’t even know where you’re coming from with doing everyone else’s work for them. It sounds like you’re upset. You’re not doing anything for anybody else. You’re doing it because you’re righteous enough to do it. You’re obedient in all that Heavenly Father commands you. Baptizing for the dead goes to the point I’m trying to convey. Baptizing for the dead is truly loving your neighbor. Why are you baptizing dead people anyway? Dead people you know nothing about? They could have been murderers, rapists, serial killers, non-believers. Our Heavenly Father has still provided a way for them to get into heaven because they are still His children and He still loves them. Their glory will surely be of a lesser glory in Heaven, just as my glory is surely a lesser glory than any other member of our family right now here on earth. My glory is so miniscule that I can’t even choose what I want to eat for supper. I’m even told when I have to go to bed and what to wear.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the road to godhood, not dying and going to heaven. You’re not a Mormon because you want to go to heaven. You’re a Mormon because you want to sit on a throne in heaven. (Matthew 19: 28-30) The work you do that is required by the Church is the work of the gods. Simply getting into heaven should never be the goal of a Mormon because we know salvation was guaranteed to all by Jesus Christ. Everyone is going to be a believer in the afterlife. Our goal as Mormons is to become gods. Anything less than becoming a god is considered damnation. Those of us who don’t become gods won’t be damned to hell; we will be damned in heaven. So it doesn’t make any sense for any member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to be worried about anybody going to hell or not getting into heaven.
