Of Mormonism

When most people first here of Mormonism thoughts of polygamy and 30 kids run through their mind, though this is not true at all. I am a proud member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and I neither have 3 wives or 30 kids.

Last night PBS aired a piece about the church. They explored topics such as the Temple, missionary work, gays, excommunication, and so on. I thought for a moment and wondered what others really think of us. In the end it doesn't really matter. I have faith. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I also know he wasn't a perfect man, but I do know he was a prophet. He was an instrument in the hand of God. His story, without the confirmation of the spirit, is outlandish. The power in the story is in the spirit that surrounds it.

In the final moments of the program experts kept saying that the Mormons need to move past our beginning like other religions have. Saying this as if our history is holding us back. In reality the history is what is holding us up.

Physicians work in a world of uncertainty. It is hard to speak definitively about anything. With the church and my faith I do speak in absolutes, not because I understand it all but because of my hope, my faith and the confirmation I have felt. In the woods of Palmyra New York I have prayed and felt the spirit. God the Father and His Son did come to Joseph Smith.

In the end it happened or it didn't. There really isn't any neutral ground. Just like being pregnant, either you are or your not, there isn't a middle ground. I can't prove it happened, but that doesn't change the fact that I know it did. And this is my testimony. Let it follow me to the grave.