You don't wear a cross or have them on your churches. Why not if you claim to be Christian?

June 21, 2010......

Before I go any further with this one....Article of Faith 3 states " We believe that through the Atonement of Christ all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel"

With that being our starting point we need to take a moment and define Atonement. Dictionary.com has the following definition:

a·tone·ment/əˈtoʊnmənt/ Show Spelled [uh-tohn-muhnt]–noun

1.satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury; amends.

2.( sometimes initial capital letter ) Theology . the doctrine concerning the reconciliation of god and humankind, esp. as accomplished through the life, suffering, and death of Christ.

3.Christian Science . the experience of humankind's unity with God exemplified by Jesus Christ.

4 Archaic . reconciliation; agreement.

 So for the sake of conversation we are going to use definition #4. The key words to any member of the LDS church is Life, Suffering and Death of Christ. So to us it is not just that Christ died on the cross but it is the full picture. We feel that for us Christ Suffered in Gethsemane, Died on the Cross and was Resurrected. So we do not focus on just the Cross because all he did is much bigger than that. Christ suffered in humility and prayer for each of us in the Garden and he Willingly gave up his life on the Cross and he over came death so that we all might overcome death. It is just that simple there is no funny beliefs about Christ's death we just feel that to focus on his death is not recognizing all he did for us. We have no problem with Crosses and sometimes you will even see someone wearing one but usually if it is a gift from a good friend or family member. In my home we are putting together a wall area that will house a beautiful picture of Christ in the Garden, a Hand carved Cross and an amazing picture of the Resurrected Christ. Because Ultimately all parts are important. 

Now to take this conversation one step further. The Article of Faith quoted above states "all mankind may be saved, through the laws and ordinances of the gospel" this basically means that you have to put in the work to be saved you can't just say you believe in Christ. He worked really hard for us so we need to work hard to do all he asks of us. Keeping the Commandments, Living a Christlike life, Loving each other, Serving Each other are just a few things we do to follow in his footsteps. The Saying goes "Faith without Works is Dead" well we live by that everyday. The ordinances of the Gospel are clear, Christ taught them. Baptism for the Remission of Sins, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost are just a few to say the least. We know through the Apostles that a great deal more was taught and expected and if you truly study your Bible you will find them. But that is another conversation. 

Now to finish up. Why in the world would you focus on something so Morbid as the Cross and how Christ died when he is Alive and has overcome Death for all. Christ is Risen the key is to Rejoice in his Resurrection not Mourn his death.