Blogger of Jared

A couple of months ago, a quotation came through on one of the LDS Gems email lists that caught my eye. It was a simple statement by Jospeh Smith, dated May 8, 1838:

“The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.” (History of the Church, 3:30)

While I realize that in saying this, Joseph was setting apart faith in Christ as the central, most vital aspect of all church activities, I could not help but turn the logic of his comment around a little. Instead of reading it as all those other things are only appendages to it, meaning just, simply, or nothing more than appendages to it; I had a moment in which I realized that all these other things we do in regard to church activity, culture, and lifestyle are appendages to our faith in Christ. Rather than diminish them in my eyes, it elevated them.

So, as we prepare for the Easter season, we here at Blogger of Jared are going to spend the next couple of weeks tracing various aspects of LDS practice, culture, and lifestyle back to their root–their source in our faith in Jesus Christ. As we take the time to examine these practices, it is our hope that we can enrich our understanding such that we can live them as expressions of our faith in the Savior.