This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
In "Defining Mormonism: Faith in good works" (Opinion, Aug. 12), Ed Firmage Jr. stated: "The ultimate truth of Mormonism or Catholicism or Judaism is not what you believe but what you do."
Acceptance of truth goes even deeper. It is how we respond to truth with our thoughts, words and actions that determines who we become — both here and in the hereafter.
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have little use for doctrines that lack the potential to make me a better man and to help ease the sufferings of others. My belief in scripture, for example, leads me to a truth taught by James in the New Testament: "Pure religion … is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world" (James 1:27).
Nevertheless, acting on beliefs revealed by truths does not immediately produce perfect results.
Firmage laments with seeming exasperation that Zion has yet to be realized. I share his sympathy for the sufferings of society, but for me, the truths of my faith are empowering catalysts that strengthen — rather than inhibit — my capacity to care for those in need.
Kurt Manwaring
Taylorsville