I'm Renz Martinez 16 years old, I was born January,26.1994, with my goodly parents that taught me good things, and I was born somewhere on small city of Caloocan and having seen many afflictions here on my hometown. And I met many people in this city that some are friends and some are foes.
First let me introduce my friends, (starting from the eldest) Roby Ralph Gaspar, Raymon Teope, Rayjohn Teope, Me (Renz Martinez), Neil Kristian Pido, Raymark Caseres, Guiller Payumo, Hino Agacer, Adrian Martinez(my brother), Dan Mahonri Teope, Mosiah James Cruz, and Renzo Lachica. They were all my friends, we were helping each other whenever who had a problem, everyone of us are willing to serve and help each one of us that's why the solidarity of our group never fade. The majority of us are had same hobbies because most most of us like rap music and some of us are gangsters we were all hip-hop.
Not all of my friends are my best friends, because my best friends in this group are Roby, Reyjohn, Raymark,Guiller, and Adrian my brother because I know them all and they were my friends since I was high school.
In our church we had activities, that all of may participate.It is so happy because everytime there were a activity all of us would participate and all of us were having fun.Our activity in our church are not only temporal but also spiritual because it help us to know more about God.
My life is happy with my friends, I recall that we are always had a "power trip". And this are just the pictures that we had in some of our "power trip". This pictures are taken at the Q.C. and as part of the fun we climbed on that tree for a memorable photo and also for souvenir.We also taken a "wacky" pictures with this dinosaurs. Ha ha ha! We'd all look crazy here!
And this picture was one of my friend, as I mentioned earlier I had a gangster friend that I mention. But nowadays he's not active in his fraternity because he is busy in his studies.
Even if we are Hip-hop still we had God in our hearts. That help us change our lives even if how our dark our past is.. Because we are united whatever trials come to our life, our friends our always here for us to help..
The Life of Jesus Christ was predicted by many prophets of of God before his birth here on earth. Many prophet prophesied that a Messiah would come on earth, according to a Bible dictionary(Messiah is an Aramaic word meaning "The Anointed. In the New Testament the deliverer is called the Christ, which is Greek equivalent of Messiah, and Jesus the Messiah is called Jesus the Christ, Christ Jesus and Jesus Christ).
Jesus Christ is OMNIPOTENT, SELF-EXISTENT, IMMUTABLE,OMNISCIENCE, OMNIPRESENCE, ETERNAL, TRUTH, GOOD, GRACIOUS, HOLY, SINLESS, PATIENT, JUST, RIGHTEOUS, FAITHFUL, WISDOM, LOVE.
Our Lord Jesus Christ was born in a manger, because there was no available rooms in the inn. And when he was delivered by His mother Mary in the manger He is with the other farm animals. And he is visited by wise men (in other Bible version He is visited by kings) and gave Him gifts. Our Lord Jesus is the only person on earth that is born by a mortal mother and an immortal Father. That's why He is called "The Only Begotten Son" because He inherited the divine power of His Father which in Heaven. From His mother He inherited the mortality of being a man, that's why He did experience hunger, thirst, fatigue,pain, and death. According to John 10:17-18 (17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, and I have power to take it again. 18 No man can taketh it from me, but I lay it down again. This commandment have I received of my Father). It is clear that these verses proves that no man could take away His life, that only He can only do it.
Jesus Christ in the Temple
While Jesus Christ was 12 years, He became a good son to His biological parents, He help His carpenter father "Joseph" from His work as a carpenter. And when they go to Jerusalem He taught the teachings of His Father in the temple where He taught Pharisees, teachers, priest and other educated people in that time.
When Jesus Christ reach the age of 30 years old, He came to John the Baptist to be baptized and show us the proper example of baptism. John the Baptist did Baptized our Savior, immersing Him completely in the water. (See Matthew 3:13-17).
Sermon on the mount
Jesus Christ spent his whole life serving and teaching the others.He cured persons that have different diseases, He made the blind to see again, the deaf to hear again, and lame to walk again.
He also made miracles while he was healing some sick people, it became late and the people became hungry while waiting. He commanded one of His disciples tom bring Him the five loaves of breads and two fishes and He bless it and was able to fed 5,000 peoples.
The Atonement of our Savior
Jesus Christ pay the prize of our sins, the night before He crucified, He's on the Garden of Gethsemane, He was sorrow, kneeling and praying. It is quoted in Matthew 26:39 that,"He went a little farther, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O my Father if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not as my will, but as thou wilt". He made this sacrifice to save us from our sins from spiritual and physical death that was caused by our first parents Adam and Eve because they disobeyed the commandment that don't eat the forbidden fruit. This sacrifice is called the "Atonement" that pay the prize of our sins that would overcome the physical and spiritual death(we would be separated to our Heavenly Father forever). And that's why our Lord Jesus Christ is qualified to be our Savior because He is the the only person that lived on earth who did not sinned, this made Him a worthy sacrifice to pay the prize of our sins. And in the Garden of Gethsemane, the weight of the sins of the world caused Him to feel agony that He bled from every of His pore.
But our Lord's suffering never ended there, the next day, Jesus Christ was beaten, humiliated and spitted by the people around Him. And later on, He carried the cross where He was tortured in one of brutal way. And then He was nailed and crucify and lifted up on that cross. he cried out in agony, "My God , why hast thou forsaken?(Mark 15:34). And at the of His life, as He hung on the cross, He prayed unto the Father for the soldiers who had crucified Him, pleading to His Father, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do". (Luke 23:24)
When our Savior died, He exclaimed in a loud voice, "It is finished"(John 19:30). "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit".(Luke23:46). He bowed His head and voluntarily gave His spirit. Our savior was dead. A violent earthquake shook the earth.
Jesus Christ loves us because He suffer on the cross for the sake of all people here on earth. And how great the love of our Heavenly Father for us because he did send His only Begotten Son to suffer and die for all of us.
John 3:16 (King James Version)
16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Some friends of our Savior took His body to a tomb where it lay until the third day, it is Sunday, He returned to His body and resurrected. And He received the immortality because His spirit and body was reunited He had the perfect and glorified body that would never die again.
And after His resurrection He ascended in the Heaven.
Latter Day Saints (L.D.S) or Mormonism had so many difference between our religion(Roman Catholic). They had so many beliefs and practices that our religion don't have. And also in doctrines and teachings of both religion had so many difference.
Philippines is the only Christian country on Asia and majority of Filipinos were Catholic. Being a Roman Catholic we grew to a country that had so many beliefs and practices, we were baptized when we are just 1 year, and this just one of our religious practices and most of Filipinos are devoted to the Black Nazarene at the Quiapo church believing that it would forgive their sins.
And there are some devoted Catholics that believing in the statue of weeping virgin Mary and its tears are blood. And the most awaited is the Holy Week, that most Filipino Catholics have been practiced for many decades. Filipino beliefs at Holy week; we don't eat meat during the days of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, some Filipinos don't take a bath(I don't know why), and we also have the what we called the "PABASA"(in here, there were some persons reading the life and ministries of our Lord Jesus Christ). In Holy Week we can witness some devoted Catholics that were torturing themselves and crucified by other people, like what are Lord Jesus Christ have done to save us from our sins. And these are just some of our beliefs in our religion(Roman Catholic).
Book of Mormon is the Keystones of their religion
President Thomas S. Monson president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Pope Benidict XVI
And lets proceed to some beliefs of Mormonism, I have some friends and their sharing some of their beliefs unto me. If our religion had a Pope which is the Leader of our religion, but in Mormonism they told me that they had a living a "Prophet" that gives them new and modern revelation in this days.
Nowadays, no religion were believing to a modern prophet like my friends does. And also there's a big difference between the doctrines of our church to Mormonism. They also strictly obeying the "Law of Chastity", that opposite sex cannot have a sexual contact unless thy were married, and also they told me that while in their youth they were thought that they can only go to a date when they reach the age of 16 years old(and these date is a group date).
And they told me that Mormons don't drink coffee or anything that have a caffeine, tea and alcoholic beverages. They were also prohibited to use illegal drugs and they don't use cigarettes or tobacco, according to:helpwithsmoking.com Some doctors have reported that nicotine is just as addictive as heroin or cocaine, which indicates quite clearly as to how people become hooked so rapidly and stay hooked for so long.
(In high concentrations nicotine acts as a nerve poison and it is used in insecticides. However, in small amounts, nicotine is a stimulant that enhances brain activity and concentration and improves cognitive processing as well as a person's memory. On the downside, nicotine increases blood pressure and heart rate, causes you to breathe faster and less deeply and it constricts the arteries). So that's they don't use cigarettes because it is so dangerous to our health.
Mormon Baptism
Catholic Baptism
In our religion we were baptized at the age of 1 year old, but in Mormonism they baptizing their children at the age of of 8 years old onwards, I asked them why they didn't baptize their babies like Roman Catholic does; they answered that (babies) these little angels don't have sins, and that's true because they were innocent.
And they had the book that they called "The Book of Mormon". I've read a little bit about this book (because they give me a copy and invite me read it) and the content of that book is not all about Mormonism but it tells about the ATONEMENT of our Lord and Savior JESUS CHRIST(another testament of Jesus Christ).And i asked them "is this is your Bible?", they answered me no because there's only one Bible and this book is another testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In Holy Week we remember the the sacrifice and atonement of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In Mormons they always remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ every week through their sacrament. If we have the Holy Eucharist, they had the sacrament (Bread and Water) that symbolizes the Blood and Body of Jesus Christ.
CONCLUSION:
The Mormonism have their different beliefs comparing to our religion (Roman Catholic). But this is not the issue here, both two religions are believing in only one God and that's our similarity to their religion, we have different beliefs and practices but still were only one God, our Father in Heaven and his only Begotten Son Jesus Christ. And our Father in Heaven loves us so much that He gave His Only Begotten Son Jesus Chris.
John 3:16 (King James Version)
16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
