New Members

As a new member, people who don’t understand your new religion may ask if you’ve been born again. For some, that means no more than saying you’ve accepted Christ as your Savior, which you most certainly have. It’s one of the questions you’re asked when you are interviewed for baptism. However, there is more to being born again than making a statement. President David O. McKay, said, “No man can sincerely resolve to apply in his daily life the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth without sensing a change in his own nature. The phrase ‘born again’ has a deeper significance than many people attach to it. This changed feeling may be indescribable, but it is real.” (In Conference Report, Apr. 1962, p. 7.) How can you be truly bo... Read More

If you’ve mentioned to others you are investigating the church, or have recently joined it, you may have had someone tell you that you are no longer a Christian. This is, of course, completely false. Why, the very name of your church has the Savior’s name in it: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormon is only a nickname, not the real name of the church. Naturally, you’ll want to try to correct misconceptions, explaining that the Book of Mormon doesn’t replace the Bible, but is, instead additional testimony of the reality and divinity of the Savior. You might show them your LDS edition of the King James Bible. You’ll probably try to answer any questions they might have. However, the most important way to counter their misconce... Read More

Are you surprised when your small children—even those who can’t read yet—are asked to bring their scriptures to Primary? Your new religion considers scripture literacy very important, and the best way to help children understand and value the scriptures is to begin reading them to your children long before they can understand what they mean. Even when they appear to be playing, they are often quietly listening. One small boy, asked what was in the scriptures, said enthusiastically, “And it came to pass!” Although he was only three, he had heard and remembered that often repeated phrase from the Book of Mormon his parents had read to him since he was born. The language of the scriptures may seem hard to you, but a child who is raised hearing them wil... Read More

As a new male member of the church, you may have learned that you are to be the head of the household. If this hasn’t been a part of your marriage in the past, it may seem complicated to you to understand how to do this in light of the way the missionaries taught you to treat your wife. This is because many people confuse being the head of the household with being the boss. They picture an autocratic man controlling every decision, every action. This is not at all what the church means when it tells men to take their place as the head of the home. “The priesthood places upon the fathers the responsibility of being the head of the family and the home. What does being the head of the family mean? It is a priesthood power, and the Doctrine and Covenants, sec... Read More

If you’re a man who has recently joined the church, you may be wondering how the teachings of the church will affect your relationships with women, particularly your wife. Everyone is Heavenly Father’s child and He does not love any one child more than any other. God doesn’t favor any gender, race, or nationality. That said, He didn’t create the genders to be exactly the same. Spencer W. Kimball taught: “Within those great assurances, however, our roles and assignments differ. These are eternal differences—with women being given many tremendous responsibilities of motherhood and sisterhood and men being given the tremendous responsibilities of fatherhood and the priesthood—but the man is not without the woman n... Read More

I still remember my early days as a newcomer to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often inadvertently known as "The 'Mormon' Church"). A former Catholic (Karen Trifiletti Merkley), I raised unanswered questions about the war in heaven, confession of sins, baptism, and many other doctrines, which I found later answered as I investigated the claims of the Church of Jesus Christ as mentioned in anti-Mormon literature written by ex-mormons. The claims of Mormons aligned themselves completely with the doctrines of Jesus Christ as I found them through personal, guided study of the New... Read More

We hear much in the church about the importance of leadership, but less about what Roger Merrill calls followership. There is no point in having leaders if there is no one to follow, and followership is an excellent place for new members to provide service in the church. When we learn to effectively and humbly follow our leaders, we show respect for the Lord’s choices for leadership. Since we are all asked to follow the Savior, learning to follow righteous earthly leaders is good training for this. Brother Merrill advises: “A good follower asks what to do and is willi... Read More

Since joining the church, you’ve probably become aware that we have a great need for leaders. There are many positions which require leadership, and most people get a chance to be a leader sooner or later. When I joined the church, I was certain I would not be one of them. I was most definitely a follower. It didn’t work out that way, of course. I was eventually called into leadership positions and had to learn to become a leader. You can begin this process now, even though you’re new to the church and probably don’t have a leadership position yet. Even if you have no leadership experience anywhere, you can be prepared when the time comes. Watch the leaders in your ward (congregation.) Notice how they lead a meeting, so you’ll understand how... Read More

Have you found it difficult, since joining the church, to make some of the changes you need to make? Perhaps it’s time to focus on your thoughts instead of just thinking about your actions. We seldom do something we’ve never even thought of doing. Before we sin, we’ve tossed it around our minds and perhaps imagined it. For this reason, learning to control our thoughts is very important to learning to live without sin. Elder Dean Larson suggested this tactic: “In order to sustain constructive thinking, it’s necessary for us to have something worthwhile to think about, to have in reserve, … some items, some problems, some challenges, to which we can turn our minds, to think our way through to a solution.” (Quoted in “Lesson 9... Read More

Early in my church membership I discovered I sometimes felt like the new kid in school. Members often talked of a past I knew nothing about. They had lived under prophets I didn’t know and experienced church events I’d never heard of. One day, while shopping at the church owned Deseret Industries thrift store, I discovered some very old Ensign magazines. The Ensign is the church’s magazine for adults. I sifted through them until I found some that were published long before I joined the church and purchased them. At home, I began to get caught up. I read the words of ... Read More

When you began investigating the church, you followed a carefully created plan that would lead you to the right choices. You accepted an invitation to learn, studied with missionaries and perhaps other members, attended church, read scriptures and prayed for a testimony. You had an interview with someone to declare your worthiness for baptism. To some extent, this plan was made by others, and you agreed to carry it out. Now that you are a new member, you are responsible for making your own plan to live the gospel. Without a plan, things may not go the way you intended and you may find yourself falling away. Think of major events in your life that you carried out—a large party, a major school or work project, anything that took many steps. If you simply leaped int... Read More

Often, members of the church associate self-reliance with food storage, so teenagers often think it has nothing to do with them. However, the commandment to become self-reliant involves far more than just food, and the time to become self-reliant is while you’re young. If you can achieve this as a teenager, your adult life will be far more successful and productive. Self-reliance in your own life means to take responsibility for those things you should be in charge of. If you joined the church without your family, you have probably already taken responsibility for living the gospel. After all, your non-LDS parents are probably not going to remind you to pray or to do your seminary homework. It’s likely they won’t enforce the Word of Wisdom unless it was already... Read More

When you joined the church, especially if your entire family joined, you probably became very busy. There were so many new things to add to your new life, and you still kept many of the activities and traditions of your old life as well. How do you fit it all in? You can’t do everything all at once. You have to set priorities. Even though you may have felt your day was already as busy as it could possibly be, there are still ways to fit the gospel into your life. A Young Women’s lesson has the following object lesson: “Ask the young women to enumerate activities they must pursue daily (attend school, eat, sleep, do homework, and others). As these activities are identified, place a stone for each one in a pint jar or bowl. (The bowl o... Read More

In the April 2008 General Conference, Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles told the following story: Some years ago I met with a tribal king in Africa. When he realized that he was being taught by an Apostle of the Lord, he was deeply moved. He said that throngs of his people would be baptized if he were to give them such a mandate. I thanked him for his kindness but explained that the Lord does not work in that way. The development of faith in the Lord is an individual matter. Repentance is also an individual matter. Only as an individual can one be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost. Each of us is born individually; likewise, each of us is “born again” individually. Salvation is an individual matter.”-- Elder Russe... Read More

Many new converts have Primary-aged children and a few children even join the church on their own during the Primary years. These children present a special challenge and extraordinary opportunities for the teachers and leaders. Some of the children, especially those who are preschool age, have no experience with organized activities. They won’t know how to sit quietly and they don’t have the nursery experience that prepares most children for Sunbeams. In my ward, newcomers often race around the room, overstimulated by the size of the Primary room and all the new children. They don’t know the songs and often don’t understand the teachings—we might as well be teaching in a strange new language. The first priority is for the child to have a po... Read More

The first article of faith is the center of all other believes. It says, “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” You’ve learned something about this topic during your lessons with the missionaries. Most Christian churches believe in these three beings, but most have different ideas about the subject than we do. We don’t, for instance, believe they are all the same personage—the trinity. Instead, we believe that each member of the Godhead is a separate individual, but unified in purpose and teachings. God is literally the Father of our spirits. He created us and loves us. Like any parent, He has to... Read More

When you’re new to the church, it seems like there are so many things to learn you hardly know where to start. One fast way to get some of the basics in your mind is to study the Articles of Faith. These are thirteen statements written by Joseph Smith to John Edward, editor of the Chicago Democrat, who requested information on the church for a friend writing a history of the state. Learning them will give you a foundation on which to build. Choose one each month to memorize and to study, and you’ll find that at the end of the thirteen months, you’ll know a great deal about the gospel. The articles of Faith are introduced to the children of the church as a way to help them learn the gospel. They are asked to me... Read More

General Conference has been adjourned until October, but we can continue to learn from it and to experience its blessings all year long. Because you’re a new member of the church, there was probably a great deal in this conference that was new to you. The speakers might have been unfamiliar. By focusing on the teachings offered in this conference, you will be much better prepared for the next conference and be able to increase your knowledge of the gospel. Conference materials are available online at LDS.org. You can listen to them now, and by Thursday, you will be able to watch them and read them as well. If you study two talks a week, you will finish them all by the time the next conference begins. Each week, choose two that meet your needs or that interest you a... Read More

The solemn assembly you saw Saturday as you watched conference is likely to have been the first you’ve seen. “We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.” [A of F 1:5] The calling of leaders by God is a sacred part of our church. If we don’t believe our prophet is called of God, there is really no purpose for our church to exist. Being called of God is what makes our church what it is. We were asked to raise our hands, not to vote, but to covenant that we will support, honor, and follow the prophet who was chosen by Heavenly Father to lead His Church.... Read More

Life is scary. Most of us like to know what lies ahead and what choices we should make. We like to know the results of those choices. The truth is, however, that most of the time, we don’t know any of this. We walk through life seeing what is immediately around us, but little more. The best way to cope with the uncertainty of life is to develop a complete trust in our Heavenly Father. We can’t see the end of the path, but He can. He knows not only what will happen, but what is best. Faith is an abiding principle of your new religion. “To exercise faith is to trust that the Lord knows what He is doing with you and that He can accomplish it for your eternal good even though you cannot understand how He can possibly do it. We are like infants i... Read More

If you homeschool your children, you may wonder if your new church membership will affect that in any way. The church is officially neutral on the subject of homeschooling. They consider the method of education of children to be the responsibility of the parents. It is, of course, necessary for parents to provide education, and to provide it legally. Although the gospel never specifically mentions homeschooling, it certainly gives us guidelines we can use to be sure our homeschooling is gospel appropriate. Doctrine and Covenants 88:118-119 says: “And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning,... Read More

There is a wonderful lesson taught to the four to eight year old children in Primary (the children’s auxiliary) about Heavenly Father. They are told the story of a prince who was kidnapped by bad men who tried to force him to be immoral. He withstood all pressure and temptation. After six months of failed attempts to corrupt the young prince, they asked him why he wouldn’t give in. He answered, “I cannot do what you ask, because I am the son of a king, and my father has taught me to do what is right. I was born to be a king.” The children are then taught that the... Read More

As you meet with the missionaries, you will probably be asked to do a variety of reading assignments. If you’re unable to read, or to read well enough, these may make you feel uncomfortable. If you are using a screen reader to read this article because of literacy needs, you may already have found you can’t read the Book of Mormon or Bible reading assignments. Let your missionaries know you can’t read. Don't keep this a secret from them, even if you've worked hard to keep it a secret from everyone else. They can help you with the assignments so you are able to hear the scriptures read. The scriptures are also available in auditory form online. Then ask the missionaries to tell you about the ... Read More

One of the many wonderful changes you may be making as a new member of the church is in the media you choose for yourself. Sometimes, just at first, this doesn’t seem so wonderful. You’ve had years of listening to certain types of music and watching certain types of movies and television programs. Now you’re being asked to evaluate those and decide which are worth keeping in your life. Do you know why you’re asked to do this? “To me, it is impossible to maintain the Spirit of the Lord while listening to music or watching movies or videos that celebrate evil thoughts and use vulgar language.” (M. Russell Ballard, Ensign, Nov. 1997, 39) This is the most important reason to avoid inappropriate media. You will lose the gift of the Holy Gho... Read More

A new convert once asked if it was okay to continue some of the religious practices she had enjoyed in her previous religion. They didn’t conflict in any way with our own doctrines or practices; they were simply a comfort and a tradition, particularly those related to holidays. She was assured that if those things helped her to feel closer to God, they were okay to do. We tend to do things in a simple way, and it can be a challenge for new converts to adapt quickly to that. President Hinckley, the previous president of the church, said, “Let me say that we appreciate the truth in all churches and the good which they do. We say to the people, in effect, you bring with you all the good that you have, and then let us see if we can add to it.” (meeting, Nairobi, Ke... Read More

My mother died today, early Easter morning. As I sit here reading over the Easter lesson I had intended to teach today, I realize more than ever how personal the Savior’s gift to us is. I’m sad and crying, naturally. But it’s tears for me, not my mother. Today, especially I know that my mother is home again. She and my father, who died in 2001, weren’t members of the church, but they lived as if they were, which made it easier for me to join the church. I was already living much of the LDS life. I know that I can do the work that needs to be done to give them the gospel now. That is reassuring and comforting in itself. There is something I can still do for my mother. Knowing that I can be with them again someday makes bearable what would otherwise... Read More