I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  My church is similar to most Christian churches.  We believe that Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son of our Heavenly Father and that he is the Savior and Redeemer of the world.  We believe that the only way we can get back into the presence of our Heavenly Father (and thus have eternal life) is through utilizing Jesus Christ's atonement.  

Despite this similarity, my church is actually quite different.  One of the major differences is that we believe that the heavens are still open, that God still speaks to His children, and that we can receive guidance for ourselves.  Closely coinciding with this belief is the knowledge that we have a prophet on the earth today.  See, we believe that the priesthood (or power of God) left the earth when Jesus Christ's apostles died.  Also, that the early Christian church corrupted some of the doctrines that Christ taught.  Because the authority to act in God's name was no longer on the earth, apostasy occurred.  There was still truth on the earth in the Catholic and Protestant churches, but the fullness of Christ's gospel was removed from off the earth.  This made it so that some sort of restoration was necessary.  This was to be a restoration of prophets and apostles, of doctrines and truths that were lost, and essentially of the same church that Jesus Christ himself organized during his short time on the earth.

We believe that the heavens were indeed opened and that Joseph Smith, an ignorant 14 year old farm boy in New York, was visited by our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ while he earnestly prayed for guidance.  Isn't this miraculous?  A 14 year old boy?  But this did indeed occur.  Joseph Smith was called by God to be His servant and restore Jesus Christ's church again to the earth.  Through the power of God, Joseph Smith unearthed and translated a record of the peoples that inhabited the Americas.  These were some of the "other sheep" whom Jesus referred to when he said, "other sheep I have, which are not of this fold" (John 10:16).  This book, The Book of Mormon, is too historically accurate and complex to be written by someone who had a third grade education.  There is no way that he would have been able to create such a complicated plot-line with different narrators and views that were contrary to the common views of his times.  This book was inspired by God.  There can be no doubt.

I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true.  I know it is!  I have prayed to my Father in Heaven, and I have felt the peace and comfort that the Holy Ghost can bring.  I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that it literally was translated by the power of God.  I know that the priesthood has been restored and there are prophets alive today that give us guidance from God.  These things I know.  I invite you to learn more about them through LDS.org, mormon.org, the LDS missionaries, and even through your LDS friends.