I recently had the opportunity of defending my church to a very good friend of mine. We talked about our beliefs and the fact that we both feel we are adhering to the teachings of the Bible. But since our study of the Bible led to such different conclusions, I suggested that it may be fair to judge our church as Christ suggested in Matthew. He taught... "ye shall know them by their fruits." He taught that an evil tree cannot produce good fruit and vice versa.
When I discussed this with my friend.... I walked away at the end realizing that I had only scratched the surface in everything I wanted to say about the "fruits" of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Because these things have been constantly on my mind for the last several days and because I am happy to belong to a church that does so many good things... I am sharing some of my thoughts about these fruits and maybe just a few things that people may not know about my church.
** The LDS church has somewhere between 14 and 15 million members. More than half are outside of the US.
** We follow the Saviors command to "feed His sheep" by visiting and caring for one another in our homes. Through the visiting teaching and home teaching program we make monthly visits to assigned individuals to see how they are doing and provide service where we can.
** We teach our children on a very regular basis from the scriptures. As church members, we are asked to set aside Monday nights just to be with and teach our families.
** Starting in 9th grade kids are encouraged to attend daily seminary classes in which they learn the Saviors teachings and study scriptures. Here in Texas those classes begin at 5:00 in the morning.
** Starting in 9th grade kids are encouraged to attend daily seminary classes in which they learn the Saviors teachings and study scriptures. Here in Texas those classes begin at 5:00 in the morning.
** Although members provide countless hours of service in their church, none of the clergy or other positions are paid.
** The LDS church is remarkably fast in providing emergency relief to victims of natural disaster. In 2010 they provided relief to people affected by 119 disasters in 58 countries.
** The LDS church has programs in place to help provide clean water to communities. 7.5 million people have access to clean water because of the efforts of the LDS church.
** The LDS church provides programs that train individuals in life saving skills all over the world. Since 2002 193,000 health care workers have been trained by the church.
**Since 2003 over 550,000 people have benefitted from church vision projects.
** Over 415,000 people have received a wheelchair or other mobility device, through the church.
** The church also has programs that provide training about food production as well as providing immunizations to many countries.
** 10 years ago the Perpetual Education Fund was started which has helped 50,000 participants receive an education and "rise out of poverty".
** All of these programs are adminstered with donations from members as well as run by volunteers.
**The church has no debt; all buildings and programs are paid for in cash.
** Utah is 50th in smoking, alcohol consumption, drunk driving, heart
disease, cancer, and sick days.
disease, cancer, and sick days.
** LDS have sponsored Boy Scout troops since 1913; 23 percent of all Scout troops are LDS.
We're a group of imperfect people, but as a group, we ARE trying to follow the example and teachings of Jesus Christ. I love my church.
