What Should We Believe?

When Jesus was baptized, the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove.

Most popular Bible passages, #7 (#8 on our list):

Acts 1:8, the New Testament

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

Jesus spoke these words to his apostles after his crucifixion and resurrection from the dead. He taught them and prepared them before sending them into the world to preach his gospel (remember Matthew 28:19?).

Many people believed what the apostles taught, others did not.

How can we know the truth? There are so many different ideas and opinions in the world today. What should we believe? God knows everything and He will tell us the truth about anything (if we want to know) through the Holy Ghost. Truth that we learn from the Holy Ghost is powerful and convincing.

Elder Todd Christofferson, an apostle of Jesus Christ living today, wrote in 2010, "Faith comes by the witness of the Holy Spirit to our souls, Spirit to spirit, as we hear or read the word of God."

When the Holy Ghost speaks to us, it is very quiet and very personal. His communication comes most often in the form of feelings or thoughts rather than an audible voice. But these feelings can be sometimes very strong and very clear because they come from God.

Those who believed the apostles of Jesus' time received a powerful witness from the Holy Ghost that what they taught was true. 

You can know the truth about anything you hear or read if you will pray and ask God for a witness from the Holy Ghost.

Holy Scriptures

Most popular Bible passages, #8:

2 Timothy 3:16, the New Testament

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”

Though this counsel was originally intended for Timothy, a bishop in Ephesus, we can all benefit from it. Paul explains how reading the Bible (scripture) can help us live the way God expects us to live.

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God"

When you and I are inspired, we are mentally stimulated to do something or to feel something. If the source of this inspiration is our Father in Heaven through His Holy Spirit, we are also stimulated spiritually. The Bible and other scriptures constitute inspiration from God to His servants, the prophets, which they recorded for the benefit of you and me.

"profitable for doctrine"

Doctrines are God's truths and the foundation of a person's faith in God. By reading the Bible and other scriptures, we will know the truth.

 "for reproof, for correction"

God's disapproval of sin is obvious in the scriptures. Sometimes when we are not making the best choices, reading the scriptures will remind us to straighten up and fly right. Often, this is not something we want to hear, but our Heavenly Father wants us to be happy and He will forgive us as we recognize our mistakes and try again to do what is right.

"for instruction in righteousness"

Studying the scriptures will help us do good things. We will be kinder to our spouses and children, more sympathetic to people experiencing hard times, and more eager to help someone when they need help.

Todd Christofferson said, "The scriptures enlarge our memory by helping us always to remember the Lord and our relationship to Him and the Father. They remind us of what we knew in our premortal life... And as these things penetrate our minds and hearts, our faith in God and His Beloved Son takes root."

By grace we are saved

Carl Bloch, "His Grace is Sufficient"

A reader suggested a different top-ten list and I found it to be a better representation of familiar Bible passages than the previous one, so I’m going to use it instead. Thanks, Reader!

Most popular Bible passages, #9:

Romans 10:9, the New Testament

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

The book of Romans is not a sermon, or a novel, or a history book – it’s actually a letter – written by one of the best-known Christian missionaries of all time, Paul (formerly Saul). Paul was a well-learned Jewish man who was actively trying to incarcerate Christians before he himself was converted personally by Jesus. Paul wrote this letter to the Christians in Rome where he hoped to visit later in his travels.

According to Paul, all a person must do to be saved is confess he believes in Jesus and that he was raised from the dead. This is true. We must also do our best to live righteously, like Jesus did.

Bruce R. McConkie, an apostle of Jesus Christ and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said, “It is easy to understand that we must accept the mission of Jesus Christ. We must believe that it is through his grace that we are saved … and also that we are under the commandment and the necessity of performing the labors that are required of us as set forth in the commandments known as the gospel of Jesus Christ (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols., Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954–56, 2:310–11.)”

We are saved by grace. Every man, woman, and child is saved by the grace of Jesus Christ and not by any good they might do. Christ never sinned, not even once. It is because Jesus only did good things his entire life that salvation is made possible. And if we will do our personal best to be like him (and he knows we’ll never be perfect), he promises to make up all the difference and save us.

I believe in Jesus Christ

I believe in Jesus Christ. He is God. He is the only chance I have to become the best man I can possibly be. I believe that hell and heaven are real places and that I will go to heaven when I die if I live the way He did and do what He asks me to do. To accomplish this, I am obligated to learn about Jesus, what He taught, and what He says today.

In my experience, sharing with others what I learn about Jesus and His gospel deepens my own understanding and gives me an opportunity to offer my witness to those around me that this stuff is true and that it can give people real, lasting happiness.

So, in a nutshell, that why this blog exists. I sincerely hope that something I write will help someone understand Christ, or Christians, or the Bible a little better. At the very least, people will remember that I believe in Jesus Christ and that’s good enough for me.

To get started, I thought I would take the 10 most popular passages in the Bible and talk about them a little bit. It was more difficult than I expected it would be to find a solid top-ten list (harder than searching for “the top ten most popular passages in the Bible” on Google, which is all I did), but I did manage to find one. So without further ado, Here is number 10:

Most popular Bible passages, #10:

Matthew 28:19, the New Testament

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

First, let me put this in context for you. You may have heard that Jesus was murdered. Well he was, and he knew beforehand that this is how he would die. Days before he was killed, he told his disciples (friends) that he would be arrested and condemned to death and that he would come back to life three days after being killed (Matthew 20:17-19). He also said that when he came back to life he would come and see them. He told them to meet him on a mountain in a place called Galilee (Matthew 26:32). It all happened, just like he said it would, and three days later everyone got together in Galilee. Jesus was there, too. He had come back to life (been resurrected) and this is what he said to the people who had come to see him: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations…”

Thomas Monson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-daySaints, said in a sermon last October, “The holy scriptures contain no proclamation more relevant, no responsibility more binding, no instruction more direct than the injunction given by the resurrected Lord as He appeared in Galilee to the eleven disciples. Said He, 'Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.' The Prophet Joseph Smith declared, 'After all that has been said, the greatest and most important duty is to preach the Gospel.'”

That really captures the significance of this popular Bible passage. Christians believe that part of the reason Jesus let the Jews murder him was so he could forgive us for our mistakes and wrong choices. I believe that. Although I don’t completely understand how, I really do believe that because Jesus died for me I can be forgiven when I mess up. A clean slate. A clear conscience. I think we all need that every now and then. And if that’s true, it is worth sharing with “all nations” and everyone we know.

Well, thanks for reading. That’s #10. Next week: #9.