Mormons Vs Latter Day Saints

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.

A Comparison Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter

Many who are investigating The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are interested in the similarities and differences between our church, Catholicism, and Protestantism. Ive compiled the following table to help those who are interested in comparative religion. Im happy to entertain any corrections in the comments section. I hope this chart helps!

Other Social And Religious Customs

Mormon religious customs include ordinances, or religious rites. Several of them, including the ordinance to be married at a Mormon temple, are necessary to reach exaltation, or the highest level of heaven. At the time of the temple endowment, when they promise to keep the convenants of the church, Mormons are given special temple garments they must wear underneath their regular clothing at all times, except when they bathe or swim.

Jehovahs Witnesses do not celebrate Christmas or Easter, as they believe that these holidays are not holy and are tainted by other belief systems. They also abstain from celebrating birthdays, and refuse to participate in government-based activities such as military service. Members can be disfellowshipped if and when they commit what the church considers serious sins, such as adultery. However, those who are disfellowshipped may eventually be reinstated after they repent.

references

Dont Miss: What To Use Instead Of Creamer For Coffee

Also Check: Dunkin Iced Matcha Latte Caffeine

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.

Prayer And Religious Attendance

More than four out of five Mormons pray at least once a day, with nearly two-thirds saying they pray multiple times per day. Mormons pray at rates similar to those seen among black Protestants and white evangelicals . Mormons pray much more frequently than Catholics and white mainline Protestants .

Upwards of three-quarters of Mormons say they attend religious services at least once a week, and in response to a separate question two-thirds say they are very active in the LDS Church. Mormon rates of worship attendance are well above the national average, with 39% of the general public saying they attend religious services at least weekly. Mormons church attendance exceeds that reported by white evangelical Protestants, among whom nearly two-thirds say they attend church at least once a week.

You May Like: Teas From Around The World Gift Set

A Major Victory For Satan

Raised in a non-religious home, Nelson read the Mormon scriptures at a young age and was convinced. So convinced that he went home and smashed his parents liquor supply.

Since then, divine omens have played an important role in his life, Nelson says. A former heart surgeon who conducted Utahs first open-heart operation, the Mormon president said he has prayed for the Holy Ghosts help while wielding a scalpel over a patients body.

Revelations have seeded Nelsons love life as well. After his first wife died in 2005, Nelson proposed to the former Wendy Watson. To strengthen my proposal to Wendy, I said to her, I know about revelation and how to receive it, the Mormon president has said. Wendy Nelson said she, too, had received a revelation about their relationship.

During his time as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, one of the churchs top echelons of leadership, Nelson said that he prayed for revelations daily. In 2016, before he became president, he defended the churchs then-new policy of calling LGBT couples apostates and effectively barring their children from baptism.

When liberal Mormons criticized the policy, Nelson called it the will of the Lord as expressed to former president Thomas Monson.

Some Mormons say Nelson was trying to shore up a man-made decision by calling it a revelation, but the criticism seems not to have slowed his revelation roll.

Myth : Mormons Practice Polygamy

Polygamy, also known as plural marriage, was a central practice for Mormons in the 19th century, but the church outlawed it in 1904 and anyone suspected of practicing polygamy today is excommunicated.

In 1840, Joseph Smith received a revelation directing church members to reinstate the ancient practice of plural marriage as a way of quickly growing the faith’s numbers. Since plural marriage was illegal in the United States, Mormons became an outlaw people and the subject of bitter persecution, driven from place to place until they finally found sanctuary in the wilds of Utah, which wasn’t yet a state.

In 1890, as Mormons were lobbying Congress to admit Utah as a state, the then-prophet of the church Wilford Woodruff promised to end the practice of plural marriage in the faith. And in 1904, polygamy officially became punishable by excommunication from the church.

The ongoing confusion about Mormons and polygamy is that there are splinter sects living in Northern Mexico and rural parts of Arizona and Utah who continue to practice polygamy and call themselves the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. These groups, which often dress in 19th-century garb and live in isolated compounds, are separate and distinct from mainstream Mormons.

Don’t Miss: Where To Find Green Tea Extract

Brigham Youngs 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 âUnited Order of Enochâ in at least 200 Mormon communities, beginning in St. George, Utah on February 9, 1874.In Youngâs Order, producers would generally deed their property to the Order, and all members of the order would share the cooperativeâs 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, Youngâs Order was short-lived. By the time of Brigham Youngâs 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.

You May Like: What Type Of Tea Is Good For High Blood Pressure

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.Credit…Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

Supported by

• Send any friend a story

  As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share.

  Give this article

By Elizabeth Dias

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.

Read Also: How Much Caffeine Is In Matcha Tea

Church Has Been Involved In Other First Amendment Cases

When Utah gained statehood in 1896, its constitution provided for freedom of religion and protection against church domination of state and local government. Since then, relations between the government and the LDS Church have been more peaceful, with only occasional legal challenges over personal injury, property issues, and business concerns. One such recent challenge, Utah Gospel Mission v. Salt Lake City Corporation , concerned the churchs effort to buy a section of main street next to the Temple square in Salt Lake City and convert it into a plaza with easements for public access. The church was given the right to restrict behavior and speech in the plaza, which raised free speech concerns and charges of improper establishment of religion. Many government officials were members of the church. The case was resolved when the city and the church agreed that the city would relinquish the public easement in the plaza and in return the church would give the city other land that it wanted, as well as some financial consideration.

Another establishment clause case, Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. Amos , involved church termination of several employees in alleged violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Supreme Court ruled that a religious exemption, section 702, in the act did not violate the establishment clause and that the religious anti-discrimination exemption was constitutional.

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, often informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian, Christian 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 claims, treatment of minorities, and financial controversies. The churchs practice of polygamy was also controversial until officially rescinded in 1890.

Recommended Reading: Tea Bag Draw Out Infection Tooth

Mormons And Family Life

The survey confirms that family life is very important to most Mormons. Four out of five Mormons believe that being a good parent is one of the most important goals in life, and roughly three out of four Mormons put having a successful marriage in this category. This puts family concerns significantly above career concerns, having free time and even living a very religious life as priorities for Mormons.

Two-thirds of Mormon adults are married, compared with 52% of the general public.3 More than four out of five married Mormons are married to another Mormon. By comparison, 81% of married Protestants are married to another Protestant, and 78% of married Catholics are married to another Catholic, according to the Pew Forums 2007 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey.

Nearly six-in-ten Mormons say that the more satisfying kind of marriage is one where the husband provides for the family and the wife takes care of the house and children, while 38% say that a marriage where the husband and wife both have jobs and both take care of the house and children is preferable. Among the general public, the balance of opinion on this question is reversed 30% prefer a marriage where the husband is the sole breadwinner, while 62% prefer a marriage in which both husband and wife work.

Dont Miss: Does Tea Help You Lose Weight

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: What Tea Is Best For Period Cramps

Members Of Fairmormon Are Not Paid For Their Efforts

FairMormon is a 501 non-profit, and all of its members, with the exception of the part-time Bookstore manager, are unpaid volunteers.

All efforts devoted to FairMormon are performed only after its members spend time with their families, perform their âday job,â and fulfill church responsibilities. FairMormon is not, and should not be, the top priority in any of its membersâ lives. This means that the work sometimes proceeds slowly, but it does proceed forward.

Historical Differences Between The Churches

The RLDS Church was founded by the confederation of a number of smaller groups that declined to migrate with Brigham Young to Utah Territory or follow any of the others vying to become the successor to Joseph Smith. Prior to the 1860 Amboy Conference, in which the church was formally âreorganizedâ into the RLDS Church, numerous doctrinal differences were espoused by the leaders of the various splinter groups. Following the reorganization, these differences were solidified into a litany of what might now be called âwedge issuesâ that would distinguish it from Youngâs LDS Church in Utah.

The differences enumerated below characterize the major differences between Community of Christ and the LDS Church.

You May Like: Coffee Bean And Tea Leaf Delivery

Also Check: Does Green Tea And Lemon Help You Lose Weight

The Doctrine Of Scriptures And Authority:

Myth : Mormons Aren’t Really Christians

In the 1980s, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints debuted a new logo with the words “Jesus Christ” in a much larger font. The Book of Mormon was also given a subtitle, “The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.” Both of these moves were in response to the persistent myth that Mormons aren’t Christians.

Bowman says that at the heart of this misunderstanding is a legitimate question: What does it mean to be a Christian?

“The broadest and most inclusive definition of a Christian is someone who believes in Jesus Christ,” says Bowman, and by that definition Mormons are clearly Christians.

The earthly ministry and eternal role of Jesus Christ as the savior of mankind are the focus of Mormon doctrine and worship, and faithful members strive to cultivate a personal relationship with Christ through scripture study and prayer.

But there are also narrower definitions of Christianity where Mormon beliefs can be problematic. In Catholicism and mainline Protestantism, for example, there’s the belief of the Trinity as a single Godhead manifested as three persons: God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit.

In Mormon teachings, based on the Book of Mormon and other revelations and visions received by Joseph Smith, the Godhead is not a Trinity, but rather three separate and distinct beings acting with one will and purpose.

Read Also: How To Make Matcha Milk Tea