Beliefs are a very personal thing, and can be quite hard to define. Oddly enough, since I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I find more people have told me what I believe than ever before. Even stranger, many of them are incorrect, or slightly off base. Hopefully I can help clear up some misconceptions.

I believe in God the Father, in His son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. I believe they are three separate entities. I believe that God is not only the literal Father of Christ, He is also the spiritual Father of each and every person in this world. That is, we are all a "child of God." The God I grew up with was an impersonal "Creator" God who made the world. But when I realized that He was truly my Father, I could come to understand how deep His love for us all is. As a mother, I often look at my children and feel love swelling in my heart. Sometimes I chastise them, and sometimes (though I will more often later) I let them make their own mistakes. Sometimes bad things happen because of it. This does not mean I love them any less. On the contrary, the fact that I let them make their own choices and become independent from me shows how very much I love them. God loved us enough to let us come to Earth and learn, much as a parent sends their children off to college. It's difficult and often painful, but usually it is the best thing for the child.

I believe that Christ is a separate entity. There are several scriptures that support this belief that I won't cite now (feel free to email me and I will send you specifics). Because He is the "Firstborn" of the Father, He is, in effect, our Eldest Brother. If you are an older sibling, think of how you have felt - you love your younger siblings and would, in truth, do anything for them. Christ loved us so much that He came to Earth, lived a perfect life that we might have His example, atoned for our sins, and was resurrected to overcome Death.

Christ's mission was two-fold. First, in dying and then being resurrected, He overcame Death. He opened the gate that all mankind will one day be resurrected. After the Second Coming, each and every spirit on this earth will be rejoined with their bodies. That is why it is so important to overcome our physical urges now, so that we might have mastery of them in the Hereafter. Second, Christ atoned for our sins. He was capable of this specifically because He was the Firstborn, because He was perfect. When we came to Earth, we were blessed with the ability to make choices. Some of those choices will be wrong. We all sin. But God cannot allow sin in His presence. Thus Jesus atoned for us. It remains for us to repent of our sins, forsake them, and try to be better.

I believe quite sincerely in repentance. To truly repent, you have to forsake your sins. Think again of children. If your daughter hits your son and says "I'm sorry," that's good. But what if she hits him again....and again and again and again? Was she really sorry the first time? This is a simplistic example, but the fact remains, if we do not sincerely try to forsake our sins - stealing, lying, hitting, or any sin - then we are not truly repenting. Repentance is not just saying I'm sorry, it's trying to change. (On a side note, it is not always possible to change immediately. Take, for instance, losing our temper. It is not up to us to judge if a person is sincerely repenting, it is up to God. He has a perfect knowledge of a sinner's thoughts and feelings, while we only have observations. That is why it is best to not judge.)

We will never be perfect. We will never truly forsake all of our sins. We're human, and there are just too many of them. God does not ask us to be perfect, He asks us to be better. He asks us to try, and to keep trying. He sent Jesus as an example of the type of person we should be. If we are sincerely trying to be a better person, then we are "perfect in Christ"; that is, only through Christ can we be perfected. He is the only way to live with God. (For more on this subject, please read the book Come Unto Christ)

I believe in an unchanging God, a God who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I believe that God spoke through prophets in the past, and I believe He continues to do so today. After all, while Isaiah and Paul all give us information that can help us in our time, you notice they don't mention anything about, say, pornography on the internet or petting in parked cars. They skirt it with discussions on chastity, but their messages aren't always easy for the modern day reader, even those sincerely trying. God has always had a prophet on this Earth, and though the message has never changed (Come unto Christ), the times have. God loves the people of this time as much as He loved the people of Isaiah's time. We are just as worthy to have a prophet for God to speak through now as they were then.

I believe that God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared in answer to a young boy's prayer and re-established their church on this earth. I believe that young boy was Joseph Smith, a man who sealed his testimony in blood when he was murdered for what he believed in. I believe that there is a prophet on this Earth now, Gordon B. Hinckley. I have heard him speak and have felt the Holy Ghost testify to me of his sacred calling.

When you have modern day prophets, of course you have more scriptures. I believe that the Book of Mormon is scripture, just like the Bible. I still believe in, read, and follow the Bible, as do all church members. The Book of Mormon is not the "Mormon Bible", it is a supplement to the Christian Bible.

I believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the church that God established on this earth. Does that mean I believe that every other church is 100% "wrong"? No. I believe that when Christ was on Earth, He established the church, but following His murder and the murder of His disciples, the church fell away from the true teachings (see the Dark Ages). People began to interpret things they way they believed. Many people felt the spirit testify as to the truth of different things, and created a church around those feelings. Many religions - Christian and nonChristian - have some part of the truth in them. I have felt the spirit testify to me that people in other churches are speaking the truth when they talk about faith, baptism, or many other things. I simply believe that the LDS (or "Mormon") Church has most of the truths gathered in one place.

Do I think the church is perfect? No. The church is made up of people. People are imperfect. People say things that offend, do things that hurt others. But again, I believe that it is Christ's church, established here in the "latter days" (hence the name).

This is the basic foundation for what I believe. Of course, I have many other beliefs, more detailed (things like faith, repentance, baptism, and so forth), but I think these are the basic tenants. If you have any other questions, please feel free to email me, or to call 1-800-645-4949 for more information.