Reason #32 - Patriarchal Blessings

A patriarch is a priesthood member given authority from his stake president to give special blessings to members of the church, much like Isaac did long ago (Genesis 27:30). These blessings are meant to be a guide or compass for the one recieving it, of help and is to be referred to often as a help in making decisions, knowing of personal weaknesses or things that an individual may do in their life time. It also will give our linage, meaning it will give us knowledge of which tribe, of the twelve, we are descended from.

Reason #31 - Home Teaching Program

The home teaching program is similar to the Visiting Teaching program only with the men going to visit assigned families in their area. The home teachers work hand in hand with the Bishop to make sure that the needs of the members are being taken care of. Home Teachers also offer a message to the family from the Presidency messages out of the Ensign magazine or something else of inspirational value. They also offer help, if needed and just make sure that the families are doing ok.

Reason #30 - Visiting Teaching Program

This is another inspired program of the church that helps to oversea the members of the flock. Visiting teachers refer to the women in the church who are assigned other women within their area to visit and become friends with, after all, how can we become friends with each other unless we serve one another and get to know one another. We offer a spiritual lesson or thought if they want one and we make sure that they are doing well and have no essential needs. Help is offered if there are needs.

Reason #29 - Service

Service was a daily endeavor for the Savior, as it is in His church today (after all, He is unchangable). I've seen Young Men and Young Women clearing branches from a residence of an older couple or mowing someone's lawn, or baby sitting for a woman that needs a break. As we have natural disasters throughout the world I see our members volunteering their time to help wherever or whenever they can.

Reason #28 - Testimony Meetings

Testimony meeting are on the first sunday of each month. We actually refer to them and "Fast and Testimony Meetings". We fast for two meals (there are exceptions to the fast such as children or those who are elderly or ill) and during our sacrament meeting we bear our testimonies of the Savior and His atoneing sacrifice, His resurrection, and Love and of Joseph Smith, as a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator who opened up this last dispensation of time through divine direction. Members will often share why they believe and what brought them to the knowledge that they have etc and so forth. It is a time to be strengthened by the testimony of others, or to share your personal conviction and testimony with others.

Reason #27 - Fasting

We fast, in our church, for 2 meals or 24 hours on the first sunday of every month. We are counseled to fast for a purpose...someone who is ill...better relationships with family...or whatever our needs may be. We are asked to give the money we would have spent on food to the poor and the needy. Sometimes there are circumstances beyond our control such as a job loss, hospitalization, etc and so forth...we all have these circumstances from time to time and the church is here to help us when this happens. I think it is amazing myself. If you think about it, if every family gave a generous amount to the fast offering no one would have to go hungry or naked. Of course we don't live in a perfect world, but in this world if we give what we can, the Lord will help us multiply that and help a great many.

Reason #26 - Importance of Music

Music has been important to the LDS faith since it's beginnings As I sing songs such as "Come, come ye Saints", or "A poor wayfaring man of grief" I often think of those early Saints and what they went through. I think of the power that must have come through those words as they wrote about their hardships. "A poor wayfaring man of grief" was the last hymn that Joseph heard before his martyrdom in 1844. It was one of his favorite hymns. I also love the message of this song which also reminds me of a scripture "For if ye have done it to the least of these...ye have done it unto me." Emma Smith was asked to get together a collection of hymns and many of the early Saints wrote the lyrics or/and the music to many of them. At the same time, many of the older hymns were also included as favorites such as "I need thee every hour", or "Rock of Ages". Come, come ye Saints was written along the long trail to Salt Lake and speaks of sadness, yet great hope dispite all of their trials but they knew that in the end that when their journey was through it would be a happy day. Hymns bring the Spirit of the Lord into a meeting whether it be "Welcome, welcome Sabboth morning" or "I know that my Redeemer lives". I remember one of my first meetings hearing the Saints sing a particular song as it was almost as it were angels singing with them. It was such a robust, heartfelt, faith-filled sound that I thought my heart would burst. I am convinced, based on this experience, that this song was sung with great faith by these people. It is the only way it could have had such power as if from Heaven.

Reason #25 - Sports Programs

Ok...sports programs are really not on my top 10 list, but I think it is important to even teach gospel principles through an athletic program. Typically we learn much, such as how to work as a team (family, church, community etc), we learn athletic skills and learn how to be good sportsmen and women. It is also a part of keeping our bodies healthy and strong. Although in my area we mostly play and compete in Basketball, in other areas church members may play volleyball or soccer or cricket, depending upon where you live. It also helps some youth know that there are fun things to do in the church and that it is not all about preaching, but also about getting together to have fun!

Reason #24 - Missionary work

It stands only to reason that if God hoped for us to return to Him one day that He would send out messengers. As our desires develope towards a closer relationship with Him and to more closely follow His commandments, it makes sence that as He sences our desire that he would send these messengers to teach us. We currently have 53,000 missionaries in the Mission field, of which I am happy to say, that one of them is my daughter. My daughter is being sent to the Phillipines, but many are sent to the Missions within the United States and throughout many other places in the world. These missionaries are expected to pay for their own missions, so they often get jobs and save money (well, their parents help them save money) for this future mission. If for some reason a missionary cannot afford the mission on their own, then they will solicite help from family members. In our case, my husband and I are contributing what we can, our daughter Amanda is contributing what she and her family can, one of her friends mother is helping and I am using a portion of some insurance money from my late daughters claim because I feel that she would want some of the money to go to this purpose. IF there are funds that are still required the local church will help. It is believed that those who help with this work will be blessed, however, so it is strongly encouraged for as many family as possible to assist. After all, who couldn't use extra blessings from Heaven? Anyway, our elders serve missions for 24 months and our sisters serve for 18 months. They often walk long distances or ride bikes and they talk about the truths of the gospel in a world that often is not interested in hearing the "good news". They are good examples of good clean living and of Christians in general and are responsible for assisting in the building of the kingdom. Our missionaries help assist approximately 250,000 people each year in finding the spirit that leads them to know the truth.

Reason #23 - Stake Conferences

As a reminder, each of these reason's why I love and appreciate the LDS faith have something to do with my testimony, but the bottom line to why I believe rests in what I know to be true about the Savior. My testimony is that God lives and that Christ is His Son who lived to teach us and help us and died to save us (yes, each and every one of us). I believe that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God ushering in this last dispensation of time as the gospel has been restored. I have seen so many things in this church that just speaks to my heart of truth, so once again, these reason's are all a part of my testimony, but the main part is concerning what I know about the Savior.

Now to reason #23 - Stake Conferences are much like General Conferences only at the Stake level which is a more local level of the church. The purpose is the same, only to gather more local members together so we can meet and friendship together, but also to listen to what has been placed in the hearts of our leaders for us to work on as a smaller local group. Stake Conference Speakers are leaders or those chosen by our stake leaders to speak and we will often have at least one member of the Seventy or perhaps an Apostle who will speak to us and encourage us in the Lord.

Reason #22 - General Conference

You know, there are church meetings, and then there are CHURCH meetings. When I first joined the LDS Church the Saints gathered for General Conference at the Tabernacle in Salt Lake, which seated 6000 persons, but it was always overflowing with Saints throughout the world, so our new conference center was built which seated 21,000 persons and it is still full to overflowing with Saints throughout the world. That seems to be the general consensus of the faithful Latter Day Saint is to go to General Conference and listen to the truths of Heaven directly from the mouth of a Prophet or Apostle or other seventy in order to be edified and recieve instruction. General Conference is every 6 months usually the first weekends in April and in October.

Reason #21 - Seminary

When Steve Young went to seminary one morning with a brother and sister he was stopped by the police. It was early in the morning (about 5:30 I believe is what he said in his account) and the policeman couldn't understand what any group of teenagers would be doing up so early in the AM unless it meant trouble, so when Steve Young told him they were going to church, he felt (the policeman) that he needed to follow him to make sure. Sure enough, there was a church class going on this early in the morning. Seminary takes place at differant times depending on where you are from, but the purpose is to teach gospel principles and feed our youth spiritually during the day. It is believed that this will often give our youth a good start (or ending) to their day and it will bring them closer to their Father in Heaven and the Savior through studying the scriptures. As for the policeman...he came back occassionally to check on the kids and listen to the lesson's and eventually joined the church.

Reason #20 - Family History and Ordinance Work

Genealogy is important in this church because we believe that we can be with our families forever, so we search our past and while so doing, we find treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures within our own past. I've learned that as I do this research it has helped me understand my family history and how I came to be where I am right now. It has also helped me understand things about me that I may not have understood otherwise. I learned that I have musical talent for a reason because there are many other singers and musicians in my family, on both sides. After doing this research we take the names to the temple where we can seal husbands to wives and children to parents, not just for this life, but for all time and eternity.

Reason #19 - Prophets, Apostles, and Other Seventy

The chruch is organized the way it was anciently with a Prophet, Apostles, Other Seventy etc. I've listened to the story of Joseph Smith and I've listened to our living Prophets today and I am always very impressed with their messages. I sometimes hear from others concerning their belief that we, as Latter Day Saints, blindly follow our leaders and I've thought a lot about this lately. First of all, every organization has it's leaders. School's have leaders, other churches have leaders, military needs leaders, etc and so forth. It's how we stay organized and usually when we follow the leader we are placing our trust in them. To not follow our leaders is chaos in most cases because someone is always in charge. I have many other thoughts on this too, but I don't feel I should share them now. I definately believe, however, that we are not "blindly" following anyone. In fact, as most of us have investigated the church prior to joining we ask a lot of questions and do a lot of observing.

Reason #18 - Acceptance of other religions and races.

Our 11th article of faith states that "We claim the privilage of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilage, let them worship, how, what, or where they may". President Hinckley also gave a talk during the April 1 and 2 conference of the year 2006 about being kinder to others. Although some members do not have this acceptance we are expected to have, the Prophets teach the truth of it that we should not belittle anyone because of their race or their religion.

Reason #17 - A world-wide Church

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints started out with 6 official members on April 06, 1830, which was a meager beginning. Today (2008) there are over 13 million members of the church worldwide. We are found on nearly every continent on earth including Asia. We currently have 128 temples throughout the world, to include one in Hong Kong, three in Africa, many in Europe and in the island nations such as the Phillipines and Fiji and more. A temple was built in East Germany during an amazing time in History. People of faith...humble people, poor people as well as the rich are seeing the light of the gospel throughout every land and sea. Every corner of the earth is sounding the trump with the good news of the gospel of Christ. The restored gospel in it's fullness is on the earth once more. Today, even, we have a counselor in our church presidency who is not a native of America, but from Germany. Many other leaders are also from these many other lands. It is a beautiful thing. When I went to Kuwait with my unit, I decided that I would be a missionary for the church as well. The place we were sent was a hub of international activity. Every time I noticed a flag on a uniform of a differant nationality I bought a Book of Mormon in that language. The Lord kept reminding me that his church is for the world (through a remembrance concerning a small meeting of the brethren where Joseph declared that the church would fill North and South America, it will fill the world. Before I left, I had Books of Mormon in 13 differant languages on the shelf. Not long after that I felt prompted to put missionary DVDs on the shelf as well. Almost every DVD has captions for many other languages of our allies for which I put Books of Mormon on the shelf. I began buying the DVDs by the box and gave away over 400 DVDs to include: Legacy, Heavenly Fathers Plan, Together Forever, When ye are in the service of your fellow men...the restoration, Finding faith in Christ, and many more. I also donated books about the church to the local library and put church magazines on the shelf as well as other leaflets or information concerning the church to include those cute little "Mormonads" that are usually in the "New Era" magazine. Some came to me afterwards, like the chaplains assistant who told me how much he loved the DVD about family so much that he sent a copy to his wife. In another instance a local Indian looked so reverently at the front photo of "Joy to the world" (The photo was of Joseph, Mary, and the Baby Jesus) and couldn't thank me enough when he found out it was free. I'll never forget the look on this man's face...it were as though he had found a great treasure and his gratitude was encouraging and worthwhile. This church is true and it is for the world not to be kept for a choosen few.

Reason #16 - Pioneers

Well, this may seem lame to some, but I never really thought that much about what the early pioneering Saints went through until I heard through various activities or talks concerning some of the hardships, persecutions, and strivings that these pioneers endured, not only during the very early stages of the church, but through many years of being run here and run there and crossing approximately 1200 miles worth of ground to reach their final destination out west, to include crossing icy rivers and snow covered ground and putting up with every hardship immaginable. If God wanted their gold to refine, the trials of these people had to make them shine, because these people were tried like no other. I can't imagine being pulled from my home by a mob, tarred and feathered and still giving a sermon the next day, or having my child die from exposure because a mob broke into my home in the icy days of winter. I can't imagine constantly being molested by these mobs and having my land taken from me because I had to leave for a safer place if I were to worship in freedom. I can't imagine my own country not helping me during these trials and then volunteering to help my country when they are in need (well, I might be able to understand this one a bit) or celebrating the independence of this country when people were allowed to do such horrible things to me in the name of God. I've asked myself many times what made them do it. What made them cling to the truth that they would endure such tortures and heartache as they did. The answer I get is always the same. It was their testimonies of a living Prophet and the restored gospel with God as their witness of truth. The Holy Ghost is a powerful witness of truth which cannot be denied, even upon threat of death by many. This is one reason that just has me in awe and wonder concerning this work. The scripture that often comes to my mind is one from Matthew chapter 5 verses 11 and 12...blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in Heaven: For so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you.

Reason #15 - Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Today, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has another name and it is called "America's Choir" representing the best of America through their voices. They travel everywhere and have fascinated crowds throughout the world and have sung for royalty even. They are 360 in number and each and every member is a volunteer. They are well-known for their excellence in choral music and have won many awards. Their voices can just pierce the heart with the Spirit of the Lord and anyone who hears them can vouch for this, not that we need too. I heard them sing in New York once and it was an amazing concert that I was grateful to attend. I even got to have a picture taken with a couple sisters from our branch and with Mac Christensen, the choir president. As for the nick name of the Choir???? It was President Reagan who nick named the Choir "America's Choir after hearing them sing at the White House. In addition President George W. Bush referred to them as "A National Treasure" and in 2003 they were awarded the highest honor for artistic excellence, which was the National Medal of Arts. This does not begin to cover their accomplishments as there are many.

Reason #14 - Temples

Although my testimony of temples is probably not what it should be, it is increasing as I attend the temple and try to understand what I am to learn there. Here we do vicarious work for those ancestors who have preceded us as well as take out our own endowments or sealings. We consider these sacred buildings the Lord's University. They are differant from our chapels and are amazing buildings that are beautiful on both the outside as well as inside. The grounds are much like I might imagine as a sort of garden of eden in many cases with as much serenity and peace as inside the temple itself. Sealings are performed for family members that seal us together for all time and eternity instead of 'til death do you part. They are impressive buildings to which there is usually much sacrifice in the making and they truely stand as a light on a hill. I have not been to many temples thus far, but I have been able to visit the Spokane Temple many times and also I have visited the Portland, Oregon temple, Seattle, Washington temple, the Salt Lake Temple, the Palmyra, New York temple, and most recently I have been able to visit the bountiful temple with two of my daughters, Amanda and Kira, on the 13th of September 2008. This was just prior to our daughter, Kira going on her mission to the Phillipines. It was simply a beautiful day. Amanda and I did the work for a set of twins that were my grandfathers sisters. It was just a beautiful day.

Reason #13 - Tithing

I wasn't sure I could pay tithing at first, but I've discovered it to be a real principle to live by. I currently donate my ten percent plus, if I can, I will donate to others things, such as the fasting fund (almost always), Humanitarian Aide, or the Perpetual Education Fund, and to the youth programs, although I have also donated to the Book of Mormon Fund and the Missionary Funds and for Temple Construction. I have been blessed over and over again because I pay my tithing. All of my tithing goes where it is needed because there are no overhead expenses to take away from it. Tithing comes from the widow as well as the wealthy and are considered sacred funds and used with discretion. It is not expected to donate anything more than our 10 percent plus something to the fast fund which is used to help the poor and the needy (usually in the area's within our Region), so donating to any other fund is of our own choosing based upon what one can afford. I have choosen to donate to other funds when our income affords us this privilage, such as when I was in Kuwait and had extra funds available to do so. Our tithing is so much more a matter of faith than of finance.

Reason #12 EFY (Especially For Youth)

Especially for Youth comes around once per year and is a program designed to strengthen the testimony of our youth in the Lord. Special speakers are assigned for each program who are entertaining as well as enlightening. A service project is always done and there are two church dances of which one is usually informal and the other more formal. They also attend classes on various subjects. The latest EFY that I remember was in 2007 and the church brought in a Movie Producer (Jurassic Park, Minority Report, and Schindler's List) who is a member of the Church that spoke of being kind to members of other faiths as well as his experiences with various movie stars. At the end of each EFY experience, the youth have the opportunity to bear their own testimonies of the Church and of the Savior sharing with their peers why they know what they do and often sharing tender feelings about their families. I'm glad that the Lord has such caring for our young people. They are very strong, but these are very challenging times and it is only by our own testimonies we will stand...we can only hold to someone else's testimony for a short season.

My daughter, Kira

Wow, our daughter Kira is doing really well right now. I'm very proud of her... of course, I have always been proud of her. She left for the Missionary Training Center on 1 Oct 2008 and her final day of her mission will be in April of 2009. It will be hard to not hear her voice but twice a year, but the Lord did say that if we love mother, father, brother, sister, daughter or son etc more than Him, we are not worthy of Him. This takes great strength to serve the Lord and be on His errand for 18 months, but she will grow in her testimony of Christ and in His gospel so much that she will almost be a differant person upon her return (in a good way, of course). Her enthusiasm encourages me, but I also know she will be dedicated and hard working and up earlier than others because it takes her FOREVER to get dressed in the morning, and hopefully she will sing the hymns whenever she can and lift others as well as herself. This will be good for her.

Reason #11 - Young Men's program

The Young men's program is much like the Young Women's program, quite naturally, but with (yes, you guessed it!) Young Men! Sometimes the YW and YM also combine activities and they may learn to dance or play a sporting event. YM also have a motto they are to live by (although I cannot remember what it is right now). They might earn their "Duty to God" award, while the YW can earn their YW medallion. Our young men have the privilage of passing the sacrament, baptizing (age 16), being home teachers or home teacher assistants and much more.

Reason #10 - Young Women's Program.

I love the young women's program. We have 5 girls in the family and I am so grateful for all they have learned in the Young Women's program. One daughter was so proud of herself after showing me a cake she had learned to decorate in young women's, two other daughters really surprised my husband one day when he went to an activity and saw how well spoken they were during a daddy/daughter event at the church. Our girls have been able to share their talents with others, serve in their communities, learn new skills, and learn about how much their Father in Heaven loves them. Every sunday they recite the young women's theme which is: "We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love him. We will stand as wittnesses of God at all times, in all things, and in all places, as we strive to live the Young Women's values, which are: Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good Works and Integrity. We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values, we will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred coventants, recieve the ordinances of the temple and enjoy the blessings of exaltation." I'm so grateful at the confidence my children have developed in themselves and their abilities as they have grown in the gospel.

Reason #9 - Non-paid clergy

Although there are positions within the church that are paid positions, they are few. Latter Day Saints are expected to clean their own meeting houses and keep things orderly. Our current Bishop is a farmer, but also puts in around 30 hours as our Bishop. A Relief Society President may be a teacher or a nurse and still put in 20 hours or more as the Relief Society President. I am currently an Army Reserve Soldier and I am called also as a ward missionary and will often stand in as a teacher is needed or to lead the music. It is amazing, really, that nearly every position in the church is a volunteer position. It also free's up a great many of our funds, however, since we don't have that added overhead. Since this is true, nearly all, if not all, donations go completely to where they need to go. In addition, as we serve in these callings, we learn of the doctrine and become better stewards within the kingdom as we grow more and more like Him whose kingdom this is.

Reason #8 - Callings.

What an ingenius idea to put people to work in the Kingdom by giving Heavenly Fathers children the ability to learn for themselves of the doctrine or to teach it to others through these things called callings. President Hinkley once said that every member should have three things. 1) a responsibility, 2) nurishment with the good word of God, and 3) a friend. My first calling was given after having been a member for a week. I was called as the ward choir director. I had no choir experience other than singing in one here and there, I knew nothing of how to conduct or how to select the music and I had never thought of myself as a leader of anything. I was scared to say the least! However, 15 plus years later, I select and conduct the hymns of the church like a pro and I can teach others how also. I can get in front of 5 people or 500 to do what the Lord needs me to do. I have grown by leaps and bounds in confidence and personal ability and can do almost anything the Lord would ask of me. My jobs or callings thus far have been choir director, primary chorister, primary teacher, secretary in young women's, counselor in young women's, a member of the activities commitee, a play director, Relief Society music director, I have served in the nursery and served as a helper at girls camp and probably much more than I can think of right now and certainly many more callings will be given to me in the future.

Reason #7

Reason #7 is the Primary Program in the church. Although the LDS Church has a nursery program for infants and toddlers that have activities, the Primary program begins teaching our children at age 3. What do they learn??? Much! They learn how to pray or give a talk in front of others, they learn the doctrines of the Kingdom, which are not brainwashed into them as some like to think, but taught not unlike any other church may teach their children concerning doctrine as well. They sing for the aged, they have fun activities. They may participate in a play or in the annual primary program of the church. Because children are who they are, they are also great teachers for us adults.

Reason #6

Reason #6 is the Perpetual Education Fund. This is much like the Humanitarian Aide Fund as it is not only a Fund that members (or non-members) can contribute to, but it is also a program. In this program loans are given to those who want to obtain a college education. These loans are not a "hand out", but are expected to be paid back so that others can obtain loans for the same reason, thus the Perpetual Education Fund just continues giving and recieving funds for the purpose of higher education for those in (mostly) poor countries who would otherwise have no opportunity to obtain such. These loans are also at very low interest allowing those who recieve from these funds, the greatest opportunity of success in both recieving their education and in paying back the loan and at the same time providing additional funds to keep this fund going. The idea is to educate and lift the burden of poverty which will create better individuals, better families, better communities, and better nations. It will provide a greater income for families as well as dispell ignorance.

Reason #5

Reason #5 is Humanitarian Aide - Humanitarian Aide is both a fund we donate to to help those throughout the world who struggle through natural disasters, who loose their possessions and loved ones through the worlds natural calamities, and it is also something we offer help with through volunteerism. Many have donated to the fund that helps people effected by these disastors or have gone to area's effected to help clean up or comfort others. We are often the first ones on site and are often recognized and allowed immediate access to these area's as we have developed a reputation for this help and assistance. Church members make emergency kits and other items needed by those effected by these calamities. Thousands have been helped throughout the world.

Reason #4

Relief Society - Relief Society is the largest women's organization in the world with over 3 million members (2008). Our motto is "Charity never faileth" and we strive to fulfill that motto in all that we do. Quilts and blankets are made for the poor and needy, time is donated anywhere and everywhere we can, we teach our young women how to be good mothers and wives, we teach in our church and we try leading by example.

Reason #3

Another reason I love and appreciate the LDS church is because of the priesthood. I realize that not all priesthood holders are worthy priesthood holders, but those who are, really amaze me. I have recieved blessings that have amazed me. In some cases I have been healed, in others as I have recieved a blessing of comfort, the priesthood holder told me things that have surprised me because it indicated his knowledge of things that he could not have known, but were obviously revealed to him, and in one case, when I was in Kuwait, a priesthood holder looked at me and told me of a desire in my heart to recieve a blessing. I hadn't asked for a blessing and wasn't sure I would have the courage too, but this priesthood holder knew. I remember when I first started coming to the LDS church, hearing a priesthood holder in a testimony meeting testify of his tender feelings towards the Savior and towards his family. In a world (my world) where I have rarely seen a man get emotional over much outside of football or game systems (anger), I found this unusual and refreshing. In addition, I do not have the priesthood in my home and haven't had for most of my time in the church, however, this has never prevented me from being able to utilize the priesthood within the church where many are worthy priesthood holders. I could say so much more on this subject, but let's suffic it to say that I believe for certain that the priesthood has been restored and is alive and well on the earth today.

Reason #2

My reason's for why I love and appreciate the gospel of Christ are not necessarily in any order as to importance, for the reason's are equally important across the board. They are things that have given me strength in what I believe. I think that if more people would look to the positive instead of trying to tear down a believe they fail to understand or support the tearing down there of we would live in a much better world.

Reason#2 - The Holy Ghost - I have heard about the Holy Ghost on many occassions, but I hadn't had any experience with it until my investigations of the LDS church. In fact, my very first experience with the Holy Ghost brought a powerful testimony of Christ which bore wittness of His divinity and role in our lives. The Holy Ghost has literally been a beacon as I traverse this difficult and often dark world, lighting my way, bringing me comfort and strength in times of need. It has given me answers to questions, increased my understanding of gospel doctrine, warned me of danger, brought me closer as I follow it's guiding influence to family and friends and to the Savior, and much much more. In one scripture I recall, Jesus tells Simon Barjona how blessed he is because he knew of things not because flesh and blood had revieled it to him, but because his Father in Heaven revealed it to him. Knowledge from men can be good, but it is still knowledge from a man (or woman), but once you recieve knowledge from God you are building your faith on that "Rock" spoken of in the scriptures wherein when the storms come and the winds blow it cannot fall, because of the strength of that knowledge. What a wonderful thing!