What Do Mormons Believe?

Have you ever had a pair of young men show up at your door from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Have you ever stopped to listen? Here is what they want to tell you:

First, 

God is your loving Heavenly Father, you are literally His child and he loves you. He has said 

"For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."

(Moses 1:39)

God wants you to come back to live with Him after this life so that you can become more and more like your Father in Heaven and his son Jesus Christ. 

Second,

The gospel of Jesus Christ will bless your family in many ways. A home centered around the Savior will be a home where the Holy Ghost can come and create a refuge safe from the cares and concerns of the world. God has always taught His people about his gospel through prophets. The words of many ancient prophets have survived to our day and are recorded in books called scriptures. 

"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets."

(Amos 3:7)

Third,

Prophets are given authority from God, they ordain others to that authority, or Priesthood, under the direction of God and by the laying on of hands. Christ gave this Priesthood authority to His Apostles so that they could do His work.

"And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils"

(Mark 3:14-15)

After Christ's crucifixion and the martyr and death of all of His Apostles, the authority that they held slowly dwindled and was taken from the Earth because men had stopped doing things the way that Christ had commanded and thereby could not have or exercise His power or authority. The world went into a time of darkness, and after a few hundred years of disagreements between men about doctrines the Christ had taught, scholars gathered and decided what was what. Once that happened, the churches of the day began to quiet any questions that were asked, they openly and sometimes violently brought down anyone with an opposing view, thus stopping people from asking questions without fear of retaliation. This time was foretold by the prophet Amos in the Old Testament.

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it."

(Amos 8:11-12)

Fourth,

During this time period we see many eras of reformation, churches sprung up faster and faster as emigration moved to North America searching for religious freedom. Thus with the world beginning to truly seek after the Lord again, we saw the fulfillment of the words in Acts 3:19-21, which state that Christ would remain in Heaven until the "times of refreshing" and "times of restitution of all things". A young boy wondering what church he should join, followed the advice in James 1:5, asked God, and found an amazing answer. In his words, this is what occurred. "

"I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me... When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!" (See Joseph Smith - History 14-20)

The time for the "restitution of all things" was at hand. Over the years to follow, the Lord brought back to the earth all the promised blessings and authorities prophesied for the last days through His prophet. Through Heavenly Messengers this new prophet was led to an ancient record of scripture written by prophets in the Americas during the time of Christ who He visited after His resurrection. This record, translated by the gift and power of God, is now known as The Book of Mormon.

Finally,

It is the invitation of all those young men and women who may soon be knocking on your door for you to simply read from The Book of Mormon for yourself and to ask God if it is true. That is the only sure way to find out for yourself if anything is true. Follow the admonition to "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21). You can know from God whether or not Christ's Church has been restored to the Earth again, you can know that His authority resides in that Church, and that God speaks to His prophet again today as He has all throughout history. I testify that Christ's authority and church are on the earth again and that it has been a blessing in my life as I know it can be for you! I know that Christ lives, and that He wants us to be happy and with Him again after we pass through this life. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.