In 2014 for the first time in its history, the National Prayer Breakfast will have a Mormon giving the keynote address. (Mormons are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a faith often inadvertently referred to as the Mormon Church). Senator Mike Lee, a republican representing Utah, spoke on Thursday, February 6, 2014, to a group of many prominent public figures, including the President of the United States.[1]
A driven and motivated teen, Audrey Denison of Las Vegas, Nevada won the Miss Nevada Teen title in 2010.
People often ask me why I do pageants. I do them because every interview I’ve been on since age 16 resulted in a job. Every single pageant I’ve competed in resulted in a lifelong friend that changed me for the better, and every time I’ve walked away more confident, determined, and ready to take on the future. … True character is being happy for whoever wins – sometimes it’s your year sometimes it’s not. Sometimes it’s time to move on and sometimes it’s time to kick it into high gear. 1
Audrey’s Search For A Church
After graduating from high school, Audrey attended George Mason University in Virginia. Raised by her Christian mother in the Baptist faith, Audrey sought to understand the role of religion in her life and to find a church to attend. She attended almost all available Christian churches in the area. One large congregation reminded Aubrey of her church at home, with thousands of attendees, where she could worship in relatively anonymity. Yet, she still felt unsettled spiritually. One day while online, Audrey visited mormon.org and requested a visit from missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often inadvertently called the Mormon Church). She had attended The Church of Jesus Christ with a high school friend and decided to learn more about that church. (more…)
How to Pray
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently referred to as the “Mormon Church”), the doctrine of prayer is not new for me. Since I was born and raised in the Church, my parents taught me how to pray when I was very young. The steps they taught me were to:
They also taught me that prayers should be sincere, offered with real desire and belief that God was listening. We prayed all the time; as a family in the morning and again at night, blessings on the food, and invocations and benedictions for church meetings. However, it wasn’t until I was in college that I really started to have the meaningful conversations with Heavenly Father that personal prayers are supposed to be, and started to understand why we should pray. (more…)
Mormons, or members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believe that prophets, or leaders of the Church, are chosen and called of God. Prophets and apostles are called to serve the Lord for the rest of their lives, as were the apostles in Christ’s ancient Church. A prophet’s resignation is always possible, because Mormons believe in the divine gift of choice. A more accurate question is: Would a Mormon prophet ever resign?
The first thought that comes to me is the story of the ancient prophet Jonah. Jonah was commanded by God to preach to the Ninevites. Of course, the first things that pop into my head are the bright and cheery songs from the Veggie Tales’ movie. But the reality is a bit more serious. In Jonah 1, God instructs the prophet to go to Nineveh and tell the people to repent or be destroyed. Jonah 1:3 records his response: “But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” He bought passage on a boat sailing in the opposite direction of Nineveh. A great storm arose, and the mariners on the ship were scared. They cast lots to see which person was causing this evil, and the lot fell on Jonah. He admitted that he had fled from the Lord. To save themselves, the mariners cast Jonah into the sea. The sea stopped raging, and Jonah was swallowed by a great fish. (more…)
By Jan Mayer, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . As a “Mormon woman,” Jan is a graduate of BYU and mother of five children. She has written for numerous publications, including The Denver Post, The Villager and NorthStar.
It must have been strange to see me–a 10- year old girl– kneeling on a lawn next to a busy street. It was on the long walk home from school that I wondered if I could talk to Heavenly Father at any time, like my Sunday School Teacher said. Although I had prayed many times at home and at meetings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it had never felt this personal before.
On that day, I told Heavenly Father that I was embarrassed to kneel out in the open, that I wasn’t sure what to say. Then, seeking for some purpose, I prayed to get home safely…feeling dumb because of course, I would get home safely…it was only a few blocks and I’d been safe every other day. (more…)