Mormonism 101

As a Latter-Day Saint, I am always trying to keep up with the "mormon buzz". Whether the buzz is LDS in the news, information from the church, or thoughts from friends and colleagues, I'm interested. On one of my weekly "mormon" searches on Google News, I ran across a speech that Elder Dallin H. Oaks, one of the 12 current apostles of the LDS church, gave at Harvard University in an annual Mormonism 101 series.



In his talk, he outlines the major doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints eloquently and succinctly. If only I could express myself so well! Often, I get questions from friends and family about the Church, our beliefs, and our practices. I must admit, I love those conversations. The LDS faith is an integral part of my life now - its precepts underlie many of my personal decisions, how I treat others, how I approach situations, and how I view the purpose of this life and my own personal calling here. I am always happy to share this with others. In addition, I think any dialogue among non-Mormons and Mormons is great. There seems to be much misunderstanding on both sides - so, please, if you ever have a question, just ask me!

Here is the transcript for Oaks' talk. It is worth the read! By the way, the LDS Newsroom (where this transcript is posted) is a great resource if you ever want to read the Church's offical public comments (e.g., same-sex marriage, church news around the world, etc).