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Mormon Beliefs Articles
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has one of the largest and most effective humanitarian programs in the world. Its volunteer members provide relief in times of war and natural disaster as well as development projects to help communities and individuals to bring themselves out of poverty and free themselves from disease. All services given by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often misnamed the Mormon Church) are provided without regard to race or religion.
The LDS Church is often one of the first responders to disasters. Church leaders work with government officials where the disasters have occurred to determine exactly what the needs of the people are (e.g. food, clothing, medicine, etc.). Then these materials are sent immediately.
After the first critical needs are met, Church leaders then look for ways to help a community recover. The Church’s principle both in humanitarian aid and welfare is to help people become... Read the rest of this article »
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is commonly nicknamed the “Mormon Church” by those of other faiths, has a large canon of scripture. Whereas most Christian religions only accept the Bible as the word of God, the LDS Church has four canonized books of scripture: the Bible (King James Version), the Book of Mormon (a book of scripture about Jesus Christ’s dealings with some of the inhabitants of ancient America), the Doctrine and Covenants (a collection of modern-day scripture, most of which was revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith), and the Pearl of Great Price (a modern collection of ancient scripture).
The Bible
Latter-day Saints believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly. This means that Latter-day Saints believe it once contained the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but over time many of these simple and precious truths were lost. Some were lost through the transmission... Read the rest of this article »
By Amy Choate-Nielsen
Deseret News
Published: Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012 7:00 p.m. MST
David Letterman knows how to get a laugh.Like most comics, he riffs on the day’s news, deadpans the camera and revels in audacity.”Oh, did you hear about this?” the host of CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman asked his audience recently. “A campaign staffer on the Newt Gingrich campaign was fired because he was making negative comments about Mormons. I thought, now, wait a minute — isn’t Newt in favor of multiple wives?”
Laughter rumbled from the audience followed by applause. The polygamy punch line is a familiar one when it comes to poking fun at Mormons — as though Mormons and polygamy are synonymous in mainstream media. Ironically, the practice that’s most linked to Mormons is a practice most Mormons oppose, according to a groundbreaking new study of Mormons in America released Thursday by the Pew Research Center‘s... Read the rest of this article »
A recent The Pew Research Center‘s Forum on Religion and Public Life conducted an in-depth survey of Mormons in the United States. Mormon is a nickname sometimes used to describe members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The fourth article in a series that appears in Deseret News is evaluating the results of this survey and providing context for the results.
Immigration is a controversial topic in the United States. The survey asked one question on this topic. They were asked which of two statements most closely matched their view, even if they didn’t completely agree. They were asked whether immigrants strengthen or burden the nation. No distinction was made between legal and illegal immigration, leaving those polled to decide for themselves what the question meant.
In the general U.S. population, 45 percent of Americans feel that immigrants strengthen the country, while 44 percent burden it. 12 percent feel that neither or... Read the rest of this article »
Of all the numbers in the Pew Research Center’s recently released survey of “Mormons in America,” the highest, most overwhelming numbers are these: 98 percent of respondents said they believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and 97 percent say their church is a Christian religion.
This comes on the heels of earlier surveys indicating that 32 percent of non-LDS U.S. adults say the LDS Church is not a Christian religion, and an additional 17 percent are unsure of LDS Christianity. The theological and semantic reasons for this can be complex, but for the 1,019 self-identified Mormons who participated in the Pew survey, their theological position is clear: Mormons believe in Jesus Christ, and they consider themselves to be Christian.
“Certainly in Latter-day Saint theology is this idea that if you understand who you are, you understand that there’s a purpose in life, you understand your connection to God, that certainly has... Read the rest of this article »
“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people…and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them” (Matthew 4:23).
As the New Testament clearly illustrates with story after story of miraculous healing for diverse diseases and afflictions, the power to heal is a clear sign of the true church of Jesus Christ. This power to heal was only given to those whom Jesus Christ had called and given the priesthood power. Sadly, the priesthood was lost from the earth when all the apostles were killed, due to the wickedness of men in ancient times. However, the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored through a man called of God in our day, Joseph... Read the rest of this article »
The history of Blacks and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon Church) is at some times difficult to discern, but is much more favorable than the history of Blacks and the United States of America. While many people in the world today continue to criticize the “Mormon Church” for its history with Blacks, particularly African Americans, today Black Mormons enjoy all the same privileges that Mormons of any other race or ethnicity enjoy.
In the early days of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there was no policy regarding Blacks. There were certainly a few free African Americans who joined the LDS Church and who were given equal status to any other member. The first Black Mormon was a man named Elijah Abel. He was baptized in 1832 and was ordained to the priesthood. As far as records show, it was most likely Joseph Smith who ordained Elijah Abel to the priesthood. Elijah served multiple missions... Read the rest of this article »
The history of Mormon polygamy is widely misunderstood, and many people still believe that Mormons (officially members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) practice plural marriage today. However, Mormon polygamy has not been practiced since 1890.
When Joseph Smith, founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was reading through the Bible, he would pray to God for enlightenment on certain principles and practices which he read about and did not fully understand. One of these was the practice of plural marriage in the Old Testament. When Joseph enquired of the Lord on this matter, he was told:
Abraham received concubines, and they bore him children; and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, because they were given unto him, and he abode in my law; as Isaac also and Jacob did none other things than that which they were commanded; and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have... Read the rest of this article »
Critics of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called the Mormon Church) often look at polygamy and immediately assume all kinds of things about Mormon women and their treatment. Misconceptions about this continue into society today, even though polygamy has not been practiced or condoned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1890. Those who continue the practice today may call themselves Mormons, but have no association with the Latter-day Saints. They are all splinter groups, going back more than 100 years.
The fact is, though, that even when Mormons were practicing polygamy in the late 19th century, Mormon women were living lives far better than most other women in the United States, and in many parts of the world, at that time. The practice of polygamy was always very small even within the Mormon Church. People were not crazy about the idea, and only a select few were asked to live this commandment from God.... Read the rest of this article »
While the word “cult” has many definitions, including that of any system of religious beliefs and ritual, it is usually in the sense of a great devotion of a group to a person or idea. There have been many religious cults where followers were enraptured by a personality and that personality could convince his or her followers of nearly anything. This power has often been used in a destructive manner, further adding to a negative connotation associated with the word. Since the founding of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called the Mormon Church) in 1830, many of its critics and enemies have accused it of being a cult. Indeed, this feeling was so strong in the early days of the Mormon Church that vicious enemies truly believed if Joseph Smith could only be taken out of the picture, then the movement would fall apart.
However, Mormonism has never been a cult. The idea of the Mormon cult was put forward by enemies of... Read the rest of this article »
