What's in a Name? That Which We Call Christianity

Christian [kris-chuhn]

adjective

1. of, pertaining to, or derived from Jesus Christ  or His teachings

2. of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ

noun

7. a person who believes in Jesus Christ

8. a person who exemplifies in his or her life the teachings of Christ.

As many may have heard, my faith was attacked this past weekend. A man proclaimed what he thought we believed, without a complete understanding of what it truly means to be, as he stated, a "Mormon." He said  that our faith is actually a cult, that we, he said, are not Christians. This idea, however, is far from the truth. My beliefs revolve solely around my Savior, and the love and appreciation that I feel for Him. I know that He died for me, and that I cannot live without Him. I know that without my Savior, my life could not be because of the mistakes that I make. Jesus suffered and was crucified for the sins of the world, giving each of God’s children the gift of repentance and forgiveness. Only by His mercy and grace can anyone be saved. I know that I can be forgiven and my sins can be forgotten because of the sacrifices that He made, the blood that He bled, and the agony that He endured, so that I do not have to endure it myself. His infinite Atonement transcends all time, and applies to all that have ever lived and will ever live. His sacrifice is for me, exactly as it is for you. His sacrifices make it so that we can live again after this life.

A label is not what matters. What matters is another man falsely proclaiming my beliefs. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and I am a Christian. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I cannot sit back as false ideas spread like wildfire. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is called the Mormon Church by many because of The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, which is, as the title states, another testament of Jesus Christ, our Savior, Lord, and Redeemer, but our true name revolves around this Man, the Son of God, who lived a life so perfect, and died so that all can be made clean through his infinite sacrifice.

“And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, ... and they teach all men that they should do good.”

2 Nephi 33:10

Christians believe that our lives should be lived in accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ, but what did he teach? Jesus Christ taught, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).We believe that as we strive to serve as He did, to love others as He did, to comfort those and act as an instrument in God's hand, and repent when we go against the commandments of God, that we are showing our gratitude to our Savior for what He did. It is one thing to say you are grateful; it is an entirely different manner to show and act upon that gratitude. If you were given a gift more beautiful than anything you could imagine, would you hide that gift, or share it with the world? I believe that the Savior gave us all a gift, the gift of forgiveness and eternal life, a gift that I must act upon. He gave us a gift that is so near to my heart that I cannot simply feel thankful, but I must act upon that gratitude by how I choose to live. It fills my soul to overflowing, so that I want to be like Him. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that He lives. I know that He loves me, and will never abandon me when I am struggling. I know that only He can bring true peace to my soul, because only He can fully understand what I feel. I know that He died so that I may live again. And I know, without a doubt, that He did the same for you. love, emily