A few years ago, I came across this quote and held on to it because I felt it provided a nice reminder that there are some natural certainties in life.

There is always darkness before daylight. 

There is always turbulence before quietness.

There is always sacrifice before a great victory.

There is always awaiting before a breakthrough.

There is always prayer before an answer.

There is always pain before joy.

There is always failure before success.

There is always pregnancy before the birth of a newborn baby.

While these are surely true, some say, only taxes and death are for certain. But there are also some spiritual certainties that we embrace because of our faith in Christ. I believe these provide us with a much greater and deeper sense of peace and hope as they are just as certain. 

Here are five basic certainties that we believe as members of The Church of Jesus Christ:

1. We believe in God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the unifying spirit they share — the Holy Ghost. Said a little differently, we believe Jesus was born of flesh, took upon Him our sins and died for us, and resurrected after three days, victorious over sin and death, which opened the door to our hope of eternal salvation.

2. We believe that His church has been restored to help men and women find salvation and for God to fulfill His promises to His children. Promises like remembering His covenant with Israel, beginning with Joseph, and then gathering all the tribes (and Gentiles) that accept Jesus as the son of God and follow Him, establishing the peaceful kingdom of Zion in the flesh on earth.

3. We believe that accepting Jesus as our Saviour (FAITH), asking Him to forgive our sins (REPENTANCE), following His example by being baptized (BAPTISM), accepting the Gift of the Holy Ghost to dwell within us (RECEPTION OF THE HOLY GHOST), living the remaining days of our life by following Christ and His Spirit to lead, guide, and direct us (ENDURE TO THE END) will end with eternal salvation — not by our works, but by the grace and mercy of God.

4. We believe the Bible and Book of Mormon are the Word of God and will help us on our journey by using them together. Essentially, with the restoration of the gospel came the Book of Mormon, which reinforces the teachings of Jesus from the Bible and provides additional clarity, understanding, and insight into elements such as the name of the church, baptism of adults vs. children, latter-day events, the choice seer, the end of the world, resurrection of the dead, etc.

5. We believe that His church (doctrine, ordinances, etc.) must follow what the scriptures teach us, neither adding nor taking away anything. Simple things like believing and accepting divine revelation, miracles, visitation of angels, visions, dreams, and all the gifts of God. Not changing or even tweaking the ordinances, maintaining an unpaid ministry, upholding marriage between a man and woman as a holy institution, etc.

While these may sound basic and fundamental to us, there are many throughout the world who don’t even recognize Jesus as the son of God and wrestle with the concept of a man dying for our sins on a cross and miraculously resurrecting after three days. In fact, did you know that about 70 percent of the world population doesn’t embrace these basic Christian certainties?

Brothers, sisters and friends, how blessed and thankful we are to be numbered among those of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, who can rest our heads on our pillow each night with the blessed assurance, or should I say blessed certainty, that:

The Son of God loved me, died for me, and resurrected for me,

I have the hope of eternal salvation, 

The gospel in its simplicity and His priesthood authority were restored, never to be removed from the earth again,

I can be part of building His kingdom on earth by following His teachings,

Others can find the same joy and hope in Jesus that I found.

Knowing this, that the Christ who loved us gives us the strength and certainty to overcome evil with good “…because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

May God bless you.

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.