Latter Day Saints Of Jesus Christ

Mormonism Came Out Of A Movement From Joseph Smith

Reports indicate that at 14 years old, Joseph Smith was confused about religion and went to the woods to pray. In 1823, Joseph Smith said the angel Moroni visited him. The angel told him about an ancient record that detailed Gods work with the former inhabitants of America. Smith said he found those records and translated them into what would become the Book of Mormon. In 1830, he organized the first Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and became its first president. He is believed by the church to be a prophet.

He is credited with establishing thriving cities in Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri, and also with growing the church from just six members to some 26,000. He also helped organize the building of church temples. However, he was persecuted by those who opposed him and was killed by a mob in 1844.

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.

The Book Of Mormon Is The Second Sacred Text Of Mormons

Next to the bible, the LDS church believes in the Book of Mormon. Mormon prophets who lived from 600 BC to AD 400 wrote the book. As we touched on above, the Prophet Joseph Smith translated the ancient book by what he called a revelation from God.

It has since been translated into more than 80 languages and more than 150 million copies have been printed. According to the book, Christ established his church in the Old World, or ancient America. People lived in unity for nearly 200 years after Jesus. Later, people abandoned Christs teachings and a war of extermination occurred.

The book refers to Jesus almost 4,000 times. The LDS church calls it another testament of Jesus Christ.

Read Also: How To Make Cold Green Tea For Weight Loss

Duties And Expectations Of Church Members

For members of the church, the greatest commandment is to love God with all their heart and the second is to love others as they love themselves. All other commandments are considered appendages to these great commandments /Matthew#22:37-40″ rel=”nofollow”> Matt 22:37-40). Members are encouraged to pray several times a day, to perform good works, and to read scriptures daily.

Members are expected to donate their time, money, and talents to the church, and those who have participated in the endowment ceremony make an oath to donate all that they have, if required of them, to the Lord. To be in good standing and to enter the church’s temples, church members are asked to tithe their income to the church, which is officially interpreted as 10 percent of annual income. In addition, members are invited to donate monthly charitable “fast offerings” , which are used to help the poor and needy in the community members are also encouraged to make other humanitarian donations through the church.

Church members are permitted to think or believe freely on any issue, but are discouraged from publicly criticizing local leaders or general authorities repeated public criticism of the church or its leaders may subject a person to church discipline for apostasy. The church maintains a Strengthening Church Members Committee which monitors members’ publications and refers critical material to local authorities for possible disciplinary action.

Atonement Images In The Millennial Star Improvement Era And Ensign

In this section, we examine how Christs suffering in Gethsemane and his Crucifixion on Calvary were portrayed in three major magazines for adult Church members: the Millennial Star , the Improvement Era , and the Ensign . We included images of Christ praying or suffering in Gethsemane but excluded images of olive trees or the betrayal of Christ . We also excluded any documentary or location photographs that were not considered artistic expressions. We included any representation of Christ hanging on, being nailed to, or being taken down from the cross, and any representation with Christ on the cross in the background. We excluded any implicit or imminent Crucifixion representations including the crown of thorns on Christ, Christ carrying his cross, his trial before Pilate and scourging, the Christus statue , and any images of Golgotha without Christ represented.

Figure 5.

Recommended Reading: How To Make Peppermint Tea

They Don’t Get Their Own Planet

One of the biggest lies to come out of the “Book of Mormon” musical is that every Mormon hopes to get their own planet. The parallel that the musical draws from is the Mormon vision of “exaltation,” which is when they reach eternal glory alongside God. In response to the misinterpretation, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints penned a 3,500-word article detailing what their eternity view is actually like: Unsurprisingly, they aren’t teaching anyone that they’ll get their own planet after death. In a refutation of this celestial mockery, the church stated that, “while few Latter-day Saints would identify with caricatures of having their own planet, most would agree that the awe inspired by creation hints at our creative potential in the eternities.”

They go on to explain that the Book of Mormon teaches an exaltation that focuses less on what Latter-day Saints will get when they are exalted, but instead on how what they have, and who they are, will be perfected and elevated. So, while God is said to come from near his own celestial body, Kolob , followers are not out there trying to get their own.

Activity Rates And Disaffiliation

The LDS Church does not release official statistics on church activity, but it is likely that only approximately 40 percent of its recorded membership in the United States and 30 percent worldwide regularly attend weekly Sunday worship services. A statistical analysis of the 2014 Pew Religious Landscape Survey assessed that “about one-third of those with a Latter-day Saint background… left the Church”, identifying as disaffiliated. Activity rates vary with age, and disengagement occurs most frequently between age 16 and 25. Young single adults are more likely to become inactive than their married counterparts, and overall, women tend to be more active than men.

Church humanitarian aid includes organizing food security, clean water, mobility, and healthcare initiatives, operating thrift stores, maintaining a service project website, and directly funding or partnering with other organizations. The church reports that the value of all donations in 2021 was $906 million. Independent reporting has found that the Church’s charity organization, LDS Charities, gave a total of $177 million from 2008 to 2020.

Recommended Reading: What Kind Of Green Tea Is Best

What Is The Latter

For Latter-day Saints, mortal existence is seen in the context of a great sweep of history, from a pre-earth life where the spirits of all humankind lived with Heavenly Father to a future life in His presence where continued growth, learning and improving will take place. Life on earth is regarded as a temporary state in which men and women are tried and testedand where they gain experiences obtainable nowhere else. God knew humans would make mistakes, so He provided a Savior, Jesus Christ, who would take upon Himself the sins of the world. To members of the Church, physical death on earth is not an end but the beginning of the next step in Gods plan for His children.

Histories Of Local Church Units

Many histories of wards, stakes, and missions are available at the Family History Library and the Church History Library. These unit histories sometimes include biographical sketches of members, photographs, maps, lists of ward officers, and a history of the local community. For books and articles that give short histories of many local Church units see:

• Jenson, Andrew. Encyclopedic History of the Church cited fully in .

The Church History Library has manuscript histories, and historical reports for local Church units from the 1830s to 1983. Since 1983, the yearly histories have been known as annual reports. Wards and branches submit their reports to the stake or mission, which compiles them and submits the reports to the Church History Library. These records often include the names of the Church units officers and teachers. Histories of the Mormon Battalion, the Pioneers of 1847, , and other prominent groups are also available.

Read Also: Twisted Tea Variety Pack Price

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.

Episcopal Government In Other Denominations

The and the in may sometimes be called “episcopal”. In these latter cases, the form of government is not radically different from the form, except that their councils of bishops have hierarchical over the local ruling bodies to a greater extent than in most and other . As mentioned, the Lutheran Church in Sweden and Finland are exceptions, claiming apostolic succession in a pattern somewhat like the Anglican churches. Otherwise, forms of polity are not mandated in the Lutheran churches, as it is not regarded as having doctrinal significance. Lutheranism, for historical reasons, has tended to adopt theories of episcopal authority . In the United States, the Lutheran churches tend to adopt a form of government more comparable to . A small minority of exists.

Most churches of the tradition follow an episcopal system, at least in name. Congregational governance is strongly emphasized, and each congregation elects its pastor. Bishops enforce inter-congregational unity and may discipline pastors for breaking from traditional norms.

Don’t Miss: Where Do You Buy Dandelion Tea

Succession After Smith’s Death

Smith left ambiguous or contradictory succession instructions that led to a crisis in the early church. Several church members claimed rights to leadership.

An August 8, 1844 conference that established Brigham Young’s leadership is the source of an oft-repeated legend. Multiple journal and eyewitness accounts from those who followed Young state that when Young spoke regarding the claims of succession by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he appeared to look or sound like the late Smith. Although many of these accounts were written years after the event, there were contemporary records.

Most Latter Day Saints followed Young, but some aligned with other various people claiming to be Smith’s successor. One of these was Smith’s own son, Joseph Smith III, who in 1860 led the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, now called the Community of Christ church. Many of these smaller groups were spread throughout the Midwestern United States, especially in Independence, Missouri. Reverberations of the succession crisis continue to the present day.

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

Also Check: Twisted Tea 18 Pack Price

The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter

MormonismChurch of Christ Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarianChristian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The church is headquartered in the United States in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has established congregations and built temples worldwide. According to the church, it has over 16.8 million members and 54,539 full-time volunteer missionaries. The church is the fourth-largest Christian denomination in the United States, with over 6.7 million US members as of 2021. It is the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement founded by Joseph Smith during the early 19th-century period of religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening.

The church has been criticized throughout its history. Modern criticisms include disputed factual claims, treatment of minorities, and financial controversies. The church’s practice of polygamy was controversial until officially rescinded in 1890.

Criticism Of Joseph Smith

In the 1830s, the church was criticized for Smith’s handling of a banking failure in Kirtland, Ohio. After the Mormons migrated west, there was fear and suspicion about the LDS Church’s political and military power in Missouri, culminating in the 1838 Mormon War and the Mormon Extermination Order by Governor Lilburn Boggs. In the 1840s, criticism of the church included its theocratic aspirations in Nauvoo, Illinois. Criticism of the practice of plural marriage and other doctrines taught by Smith were published in the Nauvoo Expositor. Opposition led to a series of events culminating in the death of Smith and his brother while jailed in 1844.

Recommended Reading: How To Make Matcha Tea With Matcha Powder

Restorationism And Prophetic Leadership

The LDS Church teaches that, subsequent to the death of Jesus and his original apostles, his church, along with the authority to act in Jesus Christ’s name and the church’s attendant spiritual gifts, were lost, due to a combination of external persecutions and internal heresies. The restorationas represented by the church began by Joseph Smithrefers to a return of the authentic priesthood power, spiritual gifts, ordinances, living prophets and revelation of the primitive Church of Christ. This restoration is associated with a number of events which are understood to have been necessary to re-establish the early Christian church found in the New Testament, and to prepare the earth for the Second Coming of Jesus. In particular, Latter-day Saints believe that angels appeared to Joseph Smith and a limited number of his associates, and bestowed various priesthood authorities on them.

Mormonism Is The Core Theology Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter

Mormonism is the theology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members of the church are often called Mormons. The term was originally considered derogatory, but today it is considered acceptable. However, the LDS church has explained that the word Mormon is sometimes used to describe other splinter groups that are not affiliated with the Church of Latter-day Saints, such as polygamist groups.

Mormonism is marked by several saving ordinances, or what other religions may call sacraments. These ordinances include baptism by immersion, confirmation, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, an endowment in the temples, and marriage.

Ordinances and covenants help us remember who we are, the LDS church says on its official site. They remind us of our duty to God. The Lord has provided them to help us come unto Him and receive eternal life. When we honor them, He strengthens us.

Recommended Reading: What Is Ginger Turmeric Tea Good For

Current Source Of Funding

According to the Church, most of its revenues come in the form of tithes and fast offerings contributed by church members. Tithing donations are used to support operations of the church, including construction and maintenance of buildings and other facilities, and are transferred from local units directly to church headquarters in Salt Lake City, where the funds are centrally managed. It is estimated that about ten percent of its funding also comes from income on its investments, mostly direct investments.

Fast offerings donations are used to assist both church members and non-members in need. As part of the church’s welfare program, the funds may be used to stock a local Bishop’s Storehouse or food bank to assist in caring for those in need.

An independent analysis from 2012 estimates that the Church brings in approximately $7 billion annually in tithes and other donations.