Is Church Of Latter Day Saints Mormon

Mormon No More: Faithful Reflect On Churchs Move To Scrap A Moniker

For the Latter-day Saints faithful, a shift away from a longtime name has meant lighthearted screw-ups, logistical complications and reflections on identity.

A statue of the angel Moroni sits atop the Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City. Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have said that adherents should no longer call themselves Mormons or even use the shorthand L.D.S.CreditRick Bowmer/Associated Press

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After finally getting her twin babies to fall asleep in Rexburg, Idaho, Kristine Anderson described herself as a stereotypical, Mormon stay-at-home mom.

Then she sighed loudly, annoyed that a lifetime habit had slipped out.

Ugh, she said. I just said the word Mormon again. I apologize.

Last August, leaders of her faith announced a game-changing divine revelation. Russell M. Nelson, the churchs president, said that God had impressed upon my mind the importance of the name he has revealed for his church. Church members should no longer call themselves Mormons, or even use the shorthand L.D.S., the church announced.

The word Mormon has been with the church from the beginning. It comes from the Book of Mormon, the churchs signature text , which adherents believe was recorded on gold plates by the prophet Mormon and his son, Moroni.

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Prove All Things Hold Fast That Which Is Good

The FOUNDATION of Mormon beliefs is the ROCK OF REVELATION. 10 for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. The Bible has been a primary source of Gods relationship with His people, laws of God, and beliefs. PILLARS of Mormon beliefs are Gods holy PROPHETS. There have never been a people that God recognized as His own without communicating with them. The Bible offers us 4,000 years of the association of God with His people. Yet, outside of this one church none have ever had a prophet to assure the people they are walking on the path of light and life.

The CHURCH OF CHRIST exists only when there is a prophet of God on earth to stand at the head. When the church was first organized by Joseph Smith on April 6, 1830according to the law of the land: freedom of religionit was organized by a prophet of God who was called of God and ordained to that office under the hands of angels. The church was soon organized with the same officers of the Melchisedec Priesthood as was the Church of Christ throughout time including under Jesus. 11 And he gave some, apostles and some, prophets and some, evangelists and some, pastors and teachers 12 FOR the perfecting of the saints, FOR the work of the ministry, FOR the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 TILL we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

Brigham Young’s Later Years

The church had attempted unsuccessfully to institute the United Order numerous times, most recently during the Mormon Reformation. In 1874, Young once again attempted to establish a permanent Order, which he now called the “United Order of Enoch” in at least 200 Mormon communities, beginning in St. George, Utah on February 9, 1874.In Young’s Order, producers would generally deed their property to the Order, and all members of the order would share the cooperative’s net income, often divided into shares according to how much property was originally contributed. Sometimes, the members of the Order would receive wages for their work on the communal property. Like the United Order established by Joseph Smith, Young’s Order was short-lived. By the time of Brigham Young’s death in 1877, most of these United Orders had failed. By the end of the 19th century, the Orders were essentially extinct.

Brigham Young died in August 1877. After the death of Brigham Young, the First Presidency was not reorganized until 1880, when Young was succeeded by President John Taylor, who in the interim had served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

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The Founder Joseph Smith Jr

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was officially founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. and five associates on April 6, 1830, in Fayette, New York.

When Smith was fourteen years old, he claimed to have had a religious experience, in which both God the Father and Jesus Christ spoke to him and instructed him not to affiliate himself with any denomination. Three years later, he reported being visited again by a heavenly angel named Moroni who told him that a book written on gold plates had been buried and Smith had been charged with its protection.

Smith allegedly retrieved the gold plates in 1827 and began the process of translating their engravings. On March 26, 1830, when his dictation was complete, Smith published the work as the Book of Mormon. Shortly thereafter, on April 6, 1830, Smith also founded the first Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints church.

To avoid conflict and persecution encountered for his claims, Smith and his followers moved to Kirtland, Ohio early in 1831. Here the churchs first temple was built and some Mormons believed erroneously that Jesus Millennial reign had begun. However, the controversy and mob violence that had plagued Smith followed him to Kirtland and in early 1832, Joseph was dragged from his bedroom in the dead of night, tarred and feathered, and left for dead.

In February, 1844, Smith announced his candidacy for President of the United States, with Sidney Rigdon as his vice-presidential running mate.

God The Father Jesus Christ And The Holy Ghost

In LDS Church teachings, God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are referred to as the “Godhead“. According to LDS scripture, the Godhead has the following attributes:

• They are three separate and distinct beings.
• They are collectively “one God”, meaning that they are united in spirit, mind, and purpose. According to LDS theology, Jesus is “one” with the Father in the same way as he asked his disciples to be “one” with him and each other.
• Jesus and the Father have physical “bodies of flesh and bone”, while the Holy Spirit does not, though the Holy Spirit has a “spirit body”.
• God the Father is understood to be the literal father of the spirits of humanity, as well as the literal father of both the spirit and physical body of Jesus.

The church’s view of the Godhead breaks with Nicene Creed tradition and believes it returns to the teachings taught by Jesus. It does not accept the creed’s definition of Trinity that the three are “consubstantial” nor the Athanasian Creed‘s statement that they are “incomprehensible”, arguing that the LDS view is self-evident in the Bible that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are separate personsâthree divine beings as illustrated in Jesus’ farewell prayer, his baptism at the hands of John, his transfiguration, and the .

God the Father

Jesus Christ

Holy Ghost

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History Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter

The history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is typically divided into three broad time periods:

During the 20th century, the church grew substantially and became an international organization. Distancing itself from polygamy, the church began engaging, first with mainstream American culture, and then with international cultures, particularly those of Latin America, by sending out thousands of missionaries across the globe. The church became a strong and public champion of monogamy and the nuclear family, and at times played a prominent role in political matters. Among the official changes to the organization during the modern area include the ordination of black men to the priesthood in 1978, reversing a policy originally instituted by Brigham Young. The church has also periodically changed its temple ceremony, gradually omitting certain controversial elements. There are also periodic changes in the structure and organization of the church, mainly to accommodate the organization’s growth and increasing international presence.

President Of The Church

With the death of Monson on January 2, 2018, Nelson became the anticipated to the church’s presidency. Nelson signed 1,150 calls as the presiding apostle. After being ordained and set apart as church president on January 14, 2018, Nelson was introduced to church members and the media two days later, along with Oaks as his First Counselor and as Second Counselor. Nelson chose not to retain , who had served as Monson’s Second Counselor, in the new . This marked the first time since 1985 that a new church president had not retained a previously-serving counselor.

On April 14, 2022, Nelson surpassed to become the oldest president in the history of the church. On August 8, 2022, Nelson became the church’s oldest apostle ever, surpassing .

Worldwide ministry

Since becoming church president, Nelson has visited members of the LDS Church in various areas of the world. Up through August 2019, he had visited sixteen countries, addressing thousands of members of the faith.

The first trip, called a global ministry tour by the church, occurred in April 2018, when Nelson along with his wife, and and his wife, met with Latter-day Saints in , , , , , and .

In June 2018, Nelson traveled to , where his second wife was born and raised, and gave three devotional addresses in three consecutive evenings.

On February 10, 2019, Nelson spoke to church members in Arizona at in Glendale. In addition to the large crowd in attendance, the devotional was broadcast across the state.

Temples

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There Are A Few Different Sects Of The Mormon Church

A common misconception is that all Mormons are part of the LDS church. The LDS church is the main group with its roots with Joseph Smith. Another group of Mormons that are not affiliated with the official LDS church is the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This sect came to media attention with the conviction of church leader Warren Jeffs. The FLDS do practice polygamy, which was suspended by the LDS church in 1890.

Another different offshoot of Mormonism is the Apostolic United Brethren, which has members in many states. This group came about when their leader, Joseph W. Musser, split with other Mormon fundamentalists. This group practices polygamy as well.

Another Arizona sect, called Centennial Park group, came from conflict over leadership in the 1980s leadership of the FLDS church. The Centennial Park group, unlike other sects of the FLDS church, advocates spreading the groups message. While they do practice polygamy, they are against underage girls being forced to marry.

What Is The Book Of Mormon

In addition to the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, the Book of Mormon, named after one of its ancient prophets, is another testament of Jesus Christ. It contains the writings of prophets, giving an account of Gods dealings with the peoples who lived anciently on the American continent. For Latter-day Saints it stands alongside the Old and New Testaments of the Bible as holy scripture.

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Finances Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter

The finances of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are not a matter of public record. In the absence of official statements, people interested in knowing the churchs financial status and behavior, including both members of the church and people outside the church, have attempted to estimate or guess. According to the church, their funding comes from the donations of its members and the principal expense is in constructing and maintaining facilities.

When the LDS Church takes in more donations than it pays out in period expenses, it uses the surplus to build a reserve for capital expenditures and for future years when period expenses may exceed donations. The church invests its reserve to maintain the principal and generate a reasonable return and directs its investments into income-producing assets that may help it in its mission, such as farmland– and communication-related companies and the City Creek Center .

The LDS Church has not publicly disclosed its financial statements in the United States since 1959. The church does disclose its financials in the United Kingdom and Canada where it is required to do so by law. In the UK, these financials are audited by the UK office of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

List Of Films Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter

This list of films of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints includes the non-commercial motion pictures commissioned by or officially produced by the church. Such films were originally used in the homes or worship services of church members, or in visitors’ centers on Temple Square or near one of the church’s temples. Most church films were produced by LDS Motion Picture Studios. Since the opening of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah in 1993, some feature-length films were premiered and exclusively shown in its Legacy Theatre, prior to release for broader use. In the 1970s, the church also commissioned Brigham Young University to produce short films for use in the Church Educational System. These films, shown mostly in the seminaries and institutes of religion, teach religious principles, church history, and general kindness. Released on VHS , they became popular home entertainment. A wide variety of these films are now available through BYU’s Creative Works Office.

These films differ from those of Mormon cinema, which are produced without official church involvement.

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What Do Followers Believe

The church follows 13 articles of faith, the first of which states that members believe in God the Father, his son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. However, the church is non-Trinitarian: they are understood as three separate beings.

Salvation or individual exaltation requires repentance of ones own sins , baptism through immersion, confirmation and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, through the laying on of hands.

Members believe in three realms of existence: the premortal, mortal, and postmortal world. Souls move from the premortal, through mortal existence, into the spirit world, then to a resurrected state. Hence they live with God before and after their time on earth life is an intermediate stage of trial and improvement. The postmortal world is comprised of three kingdoms of glory: celestial, terrestrial, and telestial.

Exaltation, or eternal life, is salvation in the Celestial Kingdom. This is a doctrine of human theosis humans can become as God, if they choose to fulfil Gods plan.

Gods plan is seen as working through the family unit. Human beings, in marriage, partner with God to provide a mortal experience for Gods children. This is why members tend to have larger-than-average families.

The spirit world is believed to have a physical existence: families live together for ever there, so long as their relationships were sealed in the temple .

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Mormon Involvement In National Politics

Mormons and the women’s suffrage movement

In 1870, the Utah Territory had become one of the first polities to grant women the right to voteâa right which the U.S. Congress revoked in 1887 as part of the Edmunds-Tucker Act.

As a result, a number of LDS women became active and vocal proponents of women’s rights. Of particular note was the LDS journalist and suffragist Emmeline Blanch Wells, editor of the Woman’s Exponent, a Utah feminist newspaper. Wells, who was both a feminist and a polygamist, wrote vocally in favor of a woman’s role in the political process and public discourse. National suffrage leaders, however, were somewhat perplexed by the seeming paradox between Utah’s progressive stand on women’s rights, and the church’s stand on polygamy.

In 1890, after the church officially renounced polygamy, U.S. suffrage leaders began to embrace Utah’s feminism more directly, and in 1891, Utah hosted the Rocky Mountain Suffrage Conference in Salt Lake City, attended by such national feminist leaders as Susan B. Anthony and Anna Howard Shaw. The Utah Woman Suffrage Association, which had been formed in 1889 as a branch of the American Woman Suffrage Association , was then successful in demanding that the constitution of the nascent state of Utah should enfranchise women. In 1896, Utah became the third state in the U.S. to grant women the right to vote.

Mormons and the debate over temperance and prohibition

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How Mormons Live And Worship

Mormons tend to have large families, due to their beliefs. They strive for a clean, family-oriented lifestyle and participate in family councils, family and individual prayer, hard work, and wholesome recreational activities. Mormons worship on Sunday in Christian societies, but may meet on Friday in Moslem countries, and Saturday in Israel. They believe in keeping the Sabbath day holy and avoid shopping, recreating, or working on the Sabbath day.

Sunday meetings usually last for three hours, divided into three types of meetings. Sacrament meeting consists of taking the sacrament in remembrance of the Savior. Sermons are given mostly by lay members requested to speak before the congregation. The first Sunday of each month is usually fast and testimony meeting, wherein the saints spontaneously bear testimony to the truthfulness of the gospel and reality of God the Father and Jesus Christ.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints address each other as brother or sister and then usually append the last name . Additionally, those that hold specific leadership positions may be addressed by their title and then their last name . Some frequently-used titles are as follows: