LDS.org recently published a really great message by President Uchtdorf about remembering the “why” of the gospel. He notes that members of the Church often seem to be so focus on the what and the how the gospel that they forget why they are doing these things in the first place. His message is much better than anything I’m able to give, so I invite everyone to read it on LDS.org, here.
Instead, what I’d like to focus on today is the “why” of the gospel to those who have not yet made the steps in learning more about it. The following conversation is very similar to something that happens on Mormon.org almost every day:


Welcome to Missionary Chat.

Thank you for your interest in talking to a missionary from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The purpose of Mormon.org chat is to answer basic questions about the church and its beliefs and to provide opportunities to learn more.

Before we begin, will you share a little about what brought you to chat with us?

Alvin the Atheist: someone prove to me that the morman church is true

A missionary will be with you shortly.

Me: Hello! My name is Benjamin. My teaching companion today is Zayne. How can I help you?

Alvin: i want you to tell me why i should believe what you believe

Me: Well, Alvin, that’s something for you to decide. In the Book of Mormon, in Alma 32, we’re given a great message about our faith and how we can increase in our understanding of Christ and His gospel. The first step, it tells us, is having a desire to believe. That desire can be found in many aspects of the gospel. Specific blessings are promised many times in the scriptures. For example, in Doctrine and Covenants section 89, we’re promised health and strength if we follow the Word of Wisdom and avoiding taking harmful substances into our lives. Many of the other blessings of the gospel include living with our families forever, and having peace in this life. Perhaps greatest of all is the promise of happiness in this life and in the life to come - these are all blessings that we can have from learning the truth and continuing to follow through with what is right. Would you say that you have that desire to follow Christ’s gospel and have the blessings that it can bring?

Alvin: um......

(The chat has disconnected)


In the above scenario, Alvin didn’t really have a desire to believe - he was looking for a debate. Even when we’re doing the right things, such as reading the Book of Mormon or praying, with this mindset, then we won’t be able to find the “why” that we are seeking, because we’re not looking for the “why.” We’re looking for the “how can I prove this is wrong?”

The “why” of the gospel is not only an important thing to remember as we each continue to study and to learn more each day, but an important step for those interested in learning more to take. No matter what it is that has sparked one’s interest - maybe a neighbor or friend who is a member of the Church, hearing about the Church on TV, or running across missionaries on the street - curiosity will only carry someone so far. The gospel is something that changes our lives for the better, but we must be willing to make those changes for this to take effect. When we keep our goal of “why” in mind, our gospel studies will be much more purposeful and spiritually lead. To everyone who has already made the steps in learning about the gospel, continue to remember the why, even if you have been learning about the gospel your entire life. Don’t let the “what” and the “how” distract you from it. To those who haven’t yet made the steps or are just beginning to learn more, keep in mind what the gospel means. One great question that you can ask yourselves is, “What would I be willing to do if I were to know that this is true?” Would you be willing to make the changes necessary in order to follow Christ and have the blessings that doing so will bring? If we always keep the “why” of the gospel in mind, then we will better be able to see and recognize the blessings of the gospel in our lives.

Every day in my first grade elementary school class, we would have a ceremony of sorts, in which my teacher would inflate a balloon and tape it to a large calendar on the wall of the room. The previous day’s balloon would then be promptly skewered, with the young members of the class belting out a rousing a chorus of “gone forever, gone forever, gone forever yesterday. Yesterday is gone forever, gone forever, yesterday.” In hindsight, it all seems rather morbid, but it does convey an important principle - every day that passes will never come again. Every breath we take brings us one step closer to the grave. The good news is that, through Jesus Christ’s Atonement, we will all be resurrected and receive immortality, overcoming this temporal death. This doesn’t mean, however, that we should idly waste away our precious time here on this earth.
As a missionary, we’re constantly reminded of the importance of our time. Almost every minute of every day, we’re finding and teaching people about the gospel, or doing something that will help us to better perform those activities. Due to the way that I’ve had to carefully balance my time in order to be able to fulfill all of the tasks I’d like to get done, I’ve learned that careful planning and scheduling is vital in this task - everything has to be put in the proper place and order in our priorities, and tasks that fall low enough on the list may have to wait for another day. In the October 2010 General Conference, President Uchtdorf gave a talk entitled “Of Things That Matter Most,” in which he stressed the important of making sure that are priorities are always right. Because he stated things so well, I’m going to recommend reading his talk, which is available here, rather than summarizing it for you.
Remember to always make room for what is most important in your life. The key to success is wise use of time. Keep your goals a priority, and keep living the gospel among these goals. I know that as we each do so, we’ll be able to find the happiness that success and righteous living can bring, and that we will be blessed for our diligence and hard work.

Like most children who were raised as members of the Church, I attended Primary as I grew up. One thing that I vividly remember is memorizing the Articles of Faith. Through games, songs, and group repetition, we would go over at least one of these thirteen principles every week in order to commit them to memory. At the time, I didn’t really think much of it - like the Pledge of Allegiance or the words to a nursery rhyme, they were just something to be memorized in order to get the candy bar or other incentive that was often offered. However, as I have continued to grow and to learn more about the gospel, I have come to a better understanding of the Articles of Faith, and their meaning in our lives.
The Articles of Faith were originally written by Joseph Smith when he was asked by a newspaper editor to summarize some of the basic beliefs of our Church. This was, I imagine, to help clear up some common misconceptions about the Church and to help others to understand some of the core principles of our faith. Today, they play a very similar role.
As a missionary in the referral center, I’m asked multiple times daily about many of the rumors and misconceptions that are circulating today. Do Mormons believe in the Bible? Do Mormons believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, or just another man? Do Mormons believe in baptism? To all of these questions and many others, the answer is as simple as directing the inquirer to the Articles of Faith. These simple statements summarize our beliefs and help others to gain a better understanding in order to help them to move closer to other steps that will help them to increase their faith and reach a more perfect knowledge not only of what we believe, but how to know for themselves that the things we believe are true.
I now understand why, as children, our teachers and leaders were so focused on helping us to reach a better understanding and knowledge of the Articles of Faith. With nothing more than a simple recitation of one or two of these Articles, members of the Church are able to give a clear and concise explanation of our basic beliefs, and give a proper answer to almost any question. In addition, knowledge of these basic principles of the Gospels helps us each personally to better understand the messages given to us through prophets and through the scripture. I encourage everyone who hasn’t read through the Articles of Faith recently to do so soon. Memorize a few of them, and think about them throughout the day. As a missionary, they have become an important part of the message I share daily, and I know that they can be the same to every member of the Church.

The Articles of Faith

In the spirit of resting on the Sabbath Day, today will be a short post.
This will be the first post in a new series of posts that I’ll occasionally post about, in which I will answer a question that we commonly get asked on chat. Today’s question, continuing with the theme of my post day, is the Sabbath.


Q: Hey, Elder Hafen. I’m a member of the Church, and I know that we’re always supposed to keep the Sabbath Day holy, but I’m not quite sure if I’m allowed to do _________ on the Sabbath Day. Would that be allowed?



A: That’s a great question, Concerned! One thing that I like to remember is that the majority of commandments aren’t like the Ten Commandments with which we’re all so familiar. They’re not just a long list of “Thou Shalt Nots.” Instead, they are instructions on things that we SHOULD do in order to have better and happier lives. With this in mind, it’s not about avoiding a certain list of items. Instead, we should think about what we are doing, and whether or not it turns our thoughts to Christ and invites the Spirit.
I’ve found that generally the best practice when it comes to Sabbath Day activities, and many other activities as well, it’s good to personally draw the line for ourselves, and never overstep that line. When deciding where we draw our line with respect to Sabbath Day activities, here are a few of my own personal guidelines I like to keep in mind.

1. Does it help me and my family to grow closer together?
2. Does it help me to focus on Christ and the things that He has taught and done for me?
3. Does it help to invite the Spirit?

Is it something that helps me to feel peace, calm, and to rest for the activities of the coming week?

In addition to our own personally planned Sabbath activities, of course, there a few things that we should be doing on the Sabbath. The most obvious of which, of course, is attending Church and partaking of the Sacrament. A few other activities that we should do include praying and studying the scriptures, as we should be doing every day. One other thing that I personally really enjoy on Sundays are family meals, if at all possible.

The most important thing to remember about the Sabbath, however, is that it is the Sabbath. When we keep that in mind in all that we do, and allow ourselves to feel that special Spirit that it brings, we can let Sunday be one of the biggest spiritual highlights of our entire week.

If anyone is looking for a few more tips and ideas on planning Sabbath day activities, there are some great ideas in the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet! The online version is available here.

We live in a world of instant gratification. Someone can send a text message or an email, and receive an response within minutes if not seconds. If someone needs the answer to a question, they can simply Google it and find what they are seeking without having to move an inch or having to wait a single second. In this kind of world, often times we forget the importance of one of the Christ’s strongest attributes - patience. We must never forget that things of a spiritual nature work according to God’s time, not to our own time. Many times, after teaching someone about the Book of Mormon and the promise contained in Moroni 10:3-5, which promises us that if we pray with faith, that we will receive an answer, I hear from the same person just hours if not minutes later, and they will tell me, “I’ve prayed about the Book of Mormon, and I know it’s not true. I didn’t receive an answer. I read three whole verses, prayed about it, and waited for a good fifteen minutes, and didn’t receive a notification pop-up on my iPhone telling me your Church is true, so it obviously cannot be so.” When we have this attitude, especially in things of the Spirit, then we will not be able to find the answers we will seek. As the scriptures teach us, we find the answers to deep, meaningful questions through long hours of study, pondering, and prayer. We will receive the answers in God’s time, when He knows that they will be the most meaningful to us.
While we wait for our answers, that doesn’t mean that we can sit idly by, hoping that our answers will come after we have made a single attempt to seek for them. Instead, we must continue to search - without searching, we will never find anything. Like so many things, the answers to the questions of our souls will come through faith and action. When we act upon our faith and continue to do the things that we know are right, that is when we will find the answers we seek. That is when God will bless us for our faith and diligence by giving us a greater understanding of Him and His gospel. This can apply to any question - what is the purpose of our lives here on Earth, whether or not the Book of Mormon is true, whether Thomas S. Monson is truly a prophet of God, called to lead us in these modern days, or even whether God, our Heavenly Father, is really there, watching over us and cheering us on as we each do our best to seek the answers to these deep questions. As we continue to have patience and to do our part, the Lord will bless us, and we will find the answers to these and many other questions. I know that this is what I personally have done in order to find these answers, and to continue to find answers, and that everyone else can do the same. By having faith, acting on that faith, and finally, having patience that God will answer in due time, everything can and will be made known to us.

Often times, when we think of missionary work, or of service in any form, we tend to think of actions. However, I’ve recently given thoughts to the power of words. The gospel is largely contained in words - the words of living prophets and Apostles, the words of the prophets in the scriptures, the words shared at a sacrament meeting or by a missionary, and even in the words of Christ Himself. The Bible itself even teaches us that, in the beginning was the Word. Looking over the words that I type or speak each day, I would roughly guess that every day I am here serving as an online missionary, I share between four and five thousand words to those I encounter. As a missionary, the majority of these words are about the gospel, and about Jesus Christ and the things that He has done for us. For someone who is not serving as a full-time missionary, the balance might be a bit different, but everyone, no matter what situation they might be in, is able to use their words and their language as a way to help others, and to bring peace and comfort into the lives of those who might be facing struggles and trials in their life.
How do each of our words effect those around us every day? Are we sharing kind words, serving words, and words that help to uplift and to inspire, or are we using words that bring people lower? In many cases, the first sign of our character and of who we are to others can be seen in our appearance, but, especially in the growing social aspects of the internet, it is also often by simply our words - whether or not they can even be immediately recognized as something we personally have written. The words we speak or type mean more than just whether or not we are using clean and appropriate language; we can have the cleanest tongue around and still not accomplish anything with the words we choose to share. When we focus on using the power of our words to help others, either by helping them to come closer to Christ or even just supporting and encouraging through a time of struggle, we are following Christ’s commandment to love our neighbor. Though Christ performed many countless miracles, one of the things that we know the most about Him and what He did are the words that He shared, and the things that He has taught us.
I know that as each of us does our best to fully utilize the power of our words, that we will be able to more fully understand and follow the perfect example that Christ has given us. We will better be able to feel His love, and to spread that love to those around us. It all begins by us opening our mouths - or our fingers - and sharing, helping, caring, supporting, uplifting, inspiring, encouraging, and love all of those who are around us.

    I’ve decided to have a change of pace. Whereas previously I was hoping for a more professional front, recent months have shown that my professional front is clearly limited. Instead, I’m hoping for a bit of a new outlook here on my blog. I’m going to try and take a more personal approach instead, writing more from more of a stream of consciousness approach as a way to help others get a bit more insight into what life is really like as a referral center missionary. I’m warning you now, don’t expect much - posts are likely to be short, sporadic, and non-sequitur... and likely boring to boot. Whatever the case, a more casual approach will give me the opportunity to write a bit more often, so if nothing else, you’ll likely see a few more posts, bringing an end to the recent streak of, well, not writing anything on my blog at all. If anyone finds anything particularly helpful or inspiring, that’s fantastic, and I’m glad that I was able to help. If you don’t get anything out of a particular post, that’s fine as well - feel free to visit some other time to see if anything has come up that tickles your fancy, or to give up on the whole idea and visit somewhere much better instead. (If you’re looking for a clearly superior blog, I highly recommend Elder Callahan’s blog - it’s really quite fantastic.)


    By the way, when I say that I’m hoping to have the chance to type here a bit more often, that means that I’m actually going for a post a day approach. This might not always be possible, but I hereby give permission to be incessantly nagged beyond all limits of human endurance should I go for more than a day or two without giving some sort of update.


    As a missionary, life can be a bit dull sometimes. (As undoubtedly apparent from the long period of post-lessness.) However, one thing that I always keep in mind during the dull times, the fun times, and the challenging times, is that I am in the service of the Lord, and that He will bless me for doing what is right. This is something that isn’t unique to missionaries, either - everyone has the opportunity to serve in one way or another, and will be equally blessed for their service. Some of the best missionaries with whom I have worked haven’t been full-time missionaries at all, but simply every day people doing their best to share what is right, or even to simply keep going during particularly tough times in life. That, to me, is an excellent example, and a service to others in and of itself. I know that as we all continue to do our best in serving Him, the Lord will bless us and look out for us as we each continue our way down this long and dusty path that we each call life.