Jesus and the church

One thing I have come to truly believe is the place of Jesus Christ in my church. Look at the name; it is The Church of Jesus Christ. He is the reason for everything. Heavenly Father is our God and we love and worship Him, but Jesus is God too! He is our access and Mediator to the Father. "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). Without Him we have no chance to reach the Father. It is not the Bible Church, Church of Joseph Smith or Thomas Monson, or the Church of the Book of Mormon (Mormon Church). Those are key figures or principles, but it is Christ's church. Jesus is the reason and focus for everything we do.

Jesus should be the focal point of our worship. Every talk, lesson and prayer needs to at least mention and tie in to the Savior. If someone gives a sermon/talk on tithing, it better relate to Christ. If a Sunday School or Primary lesson is about family history, missionary work, Noah's ark or the 2,000 stripling warriors, I want to hear what it has to do with Jesus. Otherwise it is a distraction, waste of valuable worship time and missing the point. Don't get me wrong, I believe in fasting and the Bible and Word of Wisdom, but this is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, not Church of the Keepers of the Word of Wisdom.

I love Jesus. I know that He is real, the Son of God, that he taught truths, led by perfect example, established his church on the earth, and that after centuries of confusion He restored his church to the earth with all the doctrine and authority that he established in the meridian of time. I know that He voluntarily paid the punishment for my sins, that He died for me, was resurrected, and made the way possible for all of us to be resurrected and return to God's presence with our families. These are some of the reasons that I love Him and worship Him. I hope that you return again to this blog for other reasons why.