I was very active in my lutheran faith. I attended Sundayschool every Sunday from teh age of 4 to around 10 dragging my poor friends out of bed at 9.30 Sunday morning! I red the NT when I was 14. I become a sundayschool teacher when I was 17. At 17-19 I also was a member of the youth leadership of our congrigation. I was in summer conferances of the youth. I also held summer camp for kids at the age around 20.  My grandfather was the Dean of theology in Helsinki university all my family was and stil is strong lutherans. My dad whom I dearly loved should have beeb the next preast in the long famliyline of priests, but he was bothered by manic depressivity.            &nb sp;                         &nb sp;                         &nb sp;                So HOW  and WHY would I change my religion? I really was happy and strong with mine, so why the change?
I red the BoM asking this question in a prayer: Lord show me all what is written here, that is against your word in the Bible! I found nothing, that would be against the Bible. Instead I found total love, I found my saviour. BoM made my faith even stronger.

I was asked if I believe in profets ... yes I did... There definately had been profets earlier, why not now.      Could I think that there might be profets today and do I think we could use one today... yes I did...  why would God close the door on us?                         &nb sp;                         &nb sp;                         &nb sp;                          Could JS be a Gods profet.. COULD HE? I tougth a while and answered :yes. I think he COULD, why not? It is possible.
From that my testimony began to grow. It was like ariving to a beautiful meadow with many new colourful flowers to pick and admire.
I did not know so much about the Church at teh time I was babtized, but I knew enough, the spirit had touched my sole and I knew it ... and I knew God knew it ... so I could not deny it. This was totally between me and my God.... well my suprise was enormous as in my babtizement there were a house full of spectators, and a totally suprised me, got loads of Church books to read (which I now need in my defending work). I never since have seen sooo many people in one babtizement! I just gotta love those people (in Finland)!
I just want you to ask yourself HOW much do you have to know before entering the waters of babtizement? WHAT is the most important things you need to know before you should get babtized? After all, all God asks from us is that we believe in Jesus Christ and his atonement (Which I had done since very little)... to acept Him as our saviour... that and NOTHING else is the right reason for babtizement everythign else is unimportant.  
You may say that you been already babtized for those reasons and got your confirmation later, so was I .. so why change?

Babtisement with priesthood from God. My grandfather as you may recall was a priest He could show his priestline all the way to Jesus Christ. But still I could understand and accept the great fall. I could ahve chosen to be hurt when someone told taht my dear grandfathers priesthood was not true adn those young boys would be holding the real priesthood. I came to understand what mormons ment, when they said there was a great fall. It was no attack to my lutheran belief, just a fact.            &nb sp;                         &nb sp;                    My grandfather might even have had a chain all the way to Jesus Christ, but somewhere on that chain had to have happend a mistake. First of all The Roman Bishop was never officially made the leader of the Church, so he never had the keys to parctice the leadership. It was Constantin a non Christian pagan Cesar, who chose him to be the highest leader. Also when Luther made his protest, he was not goign to start any new Church, it was those that followed him that formed the church. Luther himself said he did not want that to happen, but it did and it became Luthers Church, that preached the way he understod the gospel. He was a good man and saw there was somethign wrong with Catholism, but the time of restoring was not there yet.            &nb sp;                         &nb sp;                         &nb sp;                         &nb sp;                         &nb sp;                         &nb sp;       So I understood that IF JS was a profet the BoM was true and also the prisethood keys had been given back to the earth. To have thsi happen they ahd to be takenb away first... Fall seemed reasonable to me.          I never was in to the babtisement of babyes, and now I learned that one should decide him/herself if they want to follow the will of God adn show it through a babtizement jsut lie the Bible says. Priests even in the time I was in secondary school said, that babyes who die without babtisement go to hell. I found that most discusting. To me God was love.. what love would that be? today they say... we dont know ... we are not supposed to know everything... hmm                 &nb sp;                         &nb sp;                         &nb sp;                         &nb sp;      Also as I was tought of babtizing by immersing seemed just the only RIGHT way to do it to me. Also the age 8 made sense. If you look at jewish ways the tender ages 8 and 12 in a childs life are extra  important. Also I as a teacher know that when a child reaches 8 years of age his/her brainfunctions alter and he/she begins to understand right and wrong. It all made sense to me.

God with a body? To some people that seems to be difficult to believe, but I had read Bible many times and I could not understand trinity, I could not believe God was like steam everywhere, that Jesus was just a embodied God the Fther whom he many timse talke to. However I could understand that God was everywhere through His servants and ... why not webbcams One thing I also do not believe is that we cant understand God and that we are not even supposed to. WHY would God make us if we were so stupid... like cabageheads compered to Him. Hmm you can eat cabbage, I hope .... Well ok it is nice to have a dog... but would you go all that trouble just to make dogs for you? People eat dogs...

I did ask about the plural marriage, but I knew in my heart that the answer really did not matter. I would not be babtized to the church because of plural marriage neither could it keep me away... the profets of olden times were also married plurally... Jesus was called Rabbi a name that was given to a teacher who was plurally married...

An you know they never tell the usual members everything.... uh yeah sure. Same accusitions that have been going on since Joseph Smith. And who keep them going on... the ministeries of other Churches that call themselves Christian, the ones that have been excommunicated, the ones that have resighned the Church and the ones that look for any Church to destroy. Btw it is interesting to see how this Church is attaced in things that other Churches get away with, why would the evil attac Churches that are not rigth anyway. He attacs the real Church of Jesus Christ and leaves the others alone. This has been a great testimony for the truthfullness of this Church to me.

Mormonsbooks autencity. IF I believer JS WAS a Gods profet, thus the fact that BoM was true was more eveident than ever. To be babtized was a jumpp into dark in many ways, but during the years I been a member I never met anything, that would shake my faith and I been through the most terrible accusitions against my faith and my Church. The Church stands Profet Joseph Smith stands  as well as our leaders today. This is the true Church of Jesus Christ.   Amen   

Tags: Faith Babtizement

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