Latter-day Saints bear that name reflecting a belief in two fundamental historical occurrences, 1) The organization established by Christ on the earth during His mortal ministry became corrupted after His departure because the Saints (as faithful members were called) in that day were negatively influenced by worldly issues. Their disobedience, lost the authority given them such that the "falling away" or what we call the "Great Apostacy" foretold several times in the Bible, occured, and, 2) Because of a combination of this apostasy and subsequent political creation of a body of incomprehensible doctrine focusing power on worldly hierarchical authority rather than an individual's personal relationship with God and which caused mankind to grossly veer away from truths of the Doctrine of Christ as He taught them, a restoration of true principles was not only necessary but, again, plainly foretold in the Bible. Every major reformer of the reformation understood and either directly or indirectly taught this doctrine of apostasy and looked forward to the day when the Lord's true doctrine would be restored.

In a nutshell, then, the Saints of the latter-days do not subscribe to the creeds and doctrines known as "Historical Christianity." We believe, as the Bible foretells, that God has restored His true doctrine, Authority, and Church to the earth for the benefit of His children here. We believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of the Eternal Father through Mary. By His Father, Christ gained power over death and by His mother He gained the ability to die. This unique combination of abilities is at the core of Christian doctrine. By it Christ becomes our personal Savior and the redeemer of all mankind who will receive Him. We have no power to save ourselves but are entirely dependent on Christ, not only for our eternal salvation, but for our every mortal breath.

We are, however, commanded by Him to keep His commandments which requires work which then is a valuable and essential part of our duty to God but, again, has no direct power to save. Believing such, we find no difficulty accepting the description, "Christian." We also believe in allowing others who do not believe as do we to accept the same description. Personally, I would rather be called a Latter-day Saint or Follower of the Doctrine of Christ to more correctly and with less confusion identify myself with those who not only believe in Christ but also believe Him directly and those things He has caused His prophets to pass on to us through scripture. In addition, I believe that God yet does reveal Himself to man through personal revelation. This relationship is essential to our salvation. No man can save us, only Jesus Christ. True Saints follow Him and Him only.

In addition, Latter-day Saints revere (but not worship) Joseph Smith as the one the Lord chose to restore His Gospel, Authority, and Church to this earth. And that the Book of Mormon stands alongside the Holy Bible as a true witness of the divinity of Jesus Christ in plain and precious language translated from the writings of ancient prophets living on the North American continent in past ages. They, like Joseph, were raised up by God to provide this book to the modern world.

How an unschooled, back-woods young man could create such a magnificent tribute to and reflection of the teachings of the Savior is beyond question--it could only be done by the power and support of a loving God who desired His children to come out of the darkness so long covering the earth. Every thought, every teaching, every doctrine in the Book of Mormon conforms perfectly and in exquisite symmetry to those in the Bible and clarifies many passages in the Bible which were confused by mistranslations and political contradiction. Joseph could not possibly have known of the many nuances of ancient Aramaic (or Reformed Egyption as it was called) languages and yet the translation contains absolutely accurate reflections of Aramaic expressions.

I could site many more such "coincidences" about the Book of Mormon, however, these are not particularly important. The spiritual principles in the Book are and will enlighten anyone sincerely seeking truth. The physical "proofs" are not really proofs. God will supply that. This work is not an accident or figment of Joseph Smith's imagination. It is real. It is true. It is of God. And, most unfortunately, few there be that find it. Why? Read on.