The Wonders of Eternity

When I first learned of the Latter-Day Saints I assumed they were just like other churches I had attended and that denominations didn't matter. I had heard some negative things about the Church but wasn't too interested in verfying them. My faith in God was established by my parents as we attended various Protestant churches, non-denominational, Congregational and Methodist. My understanding and faith in Jesus Christ came when I met some Latter-day Saints and learned what they believed. I was baptized and joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1973.  Over these years I have studied the doctrines we teach and attended other churches and studied their doctrines to better understand them and debated with critics of the church about their cynicism. I went from being close-minded and mocking to deciding to listen, study their teachings and attend church. There was nothing strange about the Church or its beliefs. They were more biblical and talked about...

I attended a traditional Christian church with my parents as a young boy.  I later learned that the fundamental precepts of our theology were that marriage and family relationships as we know them were temporary and ended at death. I did like the feeling I got when I went to church but the teachings didn't really make sense. My mother died a month before I turned nine. After her death, I lived with a lingering curiosity about heaven and wondering if there were answers to this mystery of life. The vague concepts of what heaven might be like in traditional Protestantism were not that reassuring. I later learned that the idea of eternal family relationships was a teaching unique to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (The Mormon Church). As I attended church with some friends and learned about what they believed about life after death it made so much sense. The plan of life and salvation that centers on Jesus Christ and was ordained by our Father in Heaven is c...