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This inspired Smith to go to a nearby grove and pray for guidance. During this prayer, God and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to him there and commanded him not to join any of the existing churches because the Church originally organized by God would soon be restored upon the earth.
In 1823, Smith had another vision, this time of an angel named Moroni. The angel directed Smith to a hill near Palmyra; buried under this hill was a religious history of an ancient American civilization inscribed on golden plates. Four years later, Smith translated this record (which was written in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics) into what is now known as the Book of Mormon . In 1830, Smith established the "Church of Christ" in Fayette, New York; however, later revelation (in 1838) commanded that the name be changed to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
The key belief of the LDS church is that they represent a restoration to the Earth of the original Christian church, which was abandoned through the apostasy during the early centuries of the Christian era. Their main beliefs are outlined in thirteen "Articles of Faith" found at the end of the Pearl of Great Price. Several key beliefs are contained in these statements, including a belief in "God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost." LDS members believe these three personages are one in purpose, but separate in being. Another unique belief held by the Latter-Day Saints is that continual revelation occurs (ninth Article of Faith) and is, indeed, an important part of their faith.
LDS members have confirmed the purpose of life within the framework of three questions:
Life on Earth serves several purposes, the main one being that it is a "test" to determine if people are worthy to return to live with God. According to LDS doctrine, God made several commandments as to what he wanted people to do with their life on Earth: grow in knowledge, develop talents and gifts, to fill and fulfill the missions and callings that were conferred on us, exercise free agency (the right to make our own decisions) without memory of the premortal life, establish the foundations of eternal family relationships. In a sense, mortal life is considered a "dress rehearsal" for the next world.
After completion of life on Earth, Mormons believe that the spiritual body separates from the physical one and enters the Spirit World. It is here where the person is "judged" and it is determined if he or she is worthy to live with God the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, for all eternity.
LDS members do not believe that if one is judged worthy, he or she is automatically placed into the familiar notion of "Heaven." Rather, they believe that people are placed into one of three "degrees of glory" in the afterlife, which commensurate with the laws they have obeyed on Earth: the Telestial , Terrestial and Celestial Kingdoms. This belief comes from Paul's reference to "three heavens" in II Cor. 12:1-4; however, whereas most Christian denominations believe these "three heavens" to be the sky, outer space, and God's kingdom, LDS members believe them to be three "degrees of glory."
The Telestial Kingdom is the lowest degree of glory attainable, and is reserved for those who have willfully rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ and commit serious sins such as adultery, lying and murder andwho fail to repent for these sins in mortality. These people are unable to receive either Jesus Christ or God the Father.
TheTerrestial Kingdom is saved for those who lived honorable lives on Earth but were blinded by the "craftiness" of men and were not valiant in the testimony of Jesus. These people receive the presence of the Son, but not the Fulness of the Father. The highest degree of glory, and the one LDS members strive to reach, is the Celestial Kingdom . This Kingdom is reserved for those who received the testimony of Jesus, believed in his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial. Entrance into this Kingdom requires a temple marriage and sealing (see below); people are able to dwell in the presence of both God the Father and Jesus Christ for all eternity. Latter-day Saints believe that eternal life is the greatest of all God's gifts, and the Plan of Salvation is His way of making it available to them. They also believe that every person has the potential to become a God with all the power and glory that God the Father possesses.Members are typically baptized at the age of eight, although the age obviously differs for those who convert later in their life. The Aaronic Priesthood is first conferred upon boys at age twelve, and they are ordained to the office of Deacon. They pass the sacrament after it has been administered (blessed) by the priests. At fourteen young men are ordained to the office of Teacher. They prepare the sacrament and teach the Gospel. At sixteen they are ordained to the office of Priest. As Priests, they have the authority to Baptist and administer (bless the Sacrament. After eighteen, the Melchezedek Priesthood may be conferred upon them. The Malchizedek Priestood has the authority to give the Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. The Aaronic Priesthood may be understood as an appendage to the Melchezedek Priestoooh and performs the lower ordinances of the Gospel. Each successive office of the priesthoodhas the power and authority to perform ordinances of the lower offices (Doctrines and Covenants , Section 20, verses 38 to 60).
Another unique belief held by LDS members is that of baptism for the dead. Mormons believe that all deceased beings, dwelling as spirits and awaiting the time of resurrection and judgement, will be given the opportunity to hear and accept the message of the Gospel; whereas ordinary baptisms take place in normal church houses, baptisms for the dead are only performed in the temples.
Along with these beliefs, LDS members adhere to a strict set of moral codes. They abide by the "Word of Wisdom" which prohibits the use of illegal drugs, tobacco, alcoholic beverages, tea and coffee. Young men and women are strongly encouraged to be honest and chaste; all members must abstain from premarital sex, pornography, foul language and gambling. Members also pay tithing, or 10% of their income; strict adherance to this principle has made the Mormon church one of the wealthiest in the world.
The church has no paid clergy; rather, people are called to various positions and must fulfill their duties in their spare time.The church has a very successful missionary program in which young men and women, aged 19 and 21, respectively,serve for one and a half to two years (retired married couples may also serve for longer or shorter periods of time). Currently, there are 53,000 missionaries in 160 countries.
Perhaps the most important and central focus of the LDS church is the family. Marriages performed in the Church's temples do not end at death; rather, both the marriage and family relationships are sealed for "time and all eternity." This idea - of an "eternal family" - governs their way of life; every effort is made to live a life worthy of returning to live with God the Father (and thus their family in the Celestial Kingdom).
The Church is considered by many to be a cultic movement. However, because of its tremendous growth (it is the fastest growing major denomination in the world today), it is beginning to gain acceptance by more and more people. If the current growth rate continues, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may become the fourth major monotheistic denomination (the other three being Christianity, Judaism and the Islamic faith).
All About Mormons
This is perhaps the most comprehensive and accurate site on the Internet. You can
find virtually anything about the LDS religion on this page, and can be confident that
it represents LDS doctrine. A major defect in the utility of this site is that it is
structured with frames so that every page displays the home page address. In addition,
we found the internal search engine to be non-responsive on multiple occasions. These
defects diminish the utility of an otherwise wonderful resource.
http://www.mormons.org
Mormon.Com: An Internet Resource for Latter-day Saints
This site results from an initiative of a Utah businessman named Warren Osborn who
visited this address and found the content "utterly appalling." He bought the domain
name from the owner and has developed an attractive and reasonably comprehensive site.
While much of the content,as indicated in the title page, is "for Latter-day Saints," it
is an good source to learn about Mormons and the broad array of LDS Church activities.
http://www.mormon.com
Mormon History: A
Research Guide
This site contains a print bibliography of the sizable holdings of the Research
Libraries of the New York Public Library. Also, links to other major collections of
archival materials on the LDS Church. An excellent place to begin for those interested
in a serious investigation of Mormons.
http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/grd/resguides/mormon.html
Mormons Online
This is a simple, but useful page for exploring LDS created materials on the Internet.
When this link was established, the page contained 216 links of LDS sites, and a gateway
to Mormon "chat rooms" and "forums."
http://www.mormons.com/
Basic Beliefs of the LDS Church
This is a good site to go to if you are interested in a basic "list" of LDS Church
beliefs. It highlights the main principles the Church is based on.
http://www.trib.com/SUPPORT/RESTORATION/lds.html
ISAR on the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints
J. Gordon Melton, Director of the Institute for the Study of American Religions
offers a succinct and authorative essay on the Mormon faith tradition.
http://www.americanreligion.org/cultwtch/mormon.html
ISAR on Polygamy-Practicing
Groups
The practice of polygamy was one important doctrine that placed the early LDS Church
in hightension with the broader culture. While officially outlawed a church doctrine in
the early 20th century, polygamy survives in a number of splinter groups. This essay by
J. Gordon Melton, Director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion, addesses
the persistence of polygamy in sectarian Mormon groups.
http://www.americanreligion.org/cultwtch/polygamy.html
Mormon Fundamentalism and Violence: A
Historical Analysis
This article by Garn LeBaron Jr. examines the case history of a polygamist church
groupheaded by Ervil Morel LeBaron. This piece explores the history of Mormon
polygamist groups and seeks to explain why and how their doctrines often lead them toward
violence.
http://www.exmormon.org/violence.htm
Youth Standards Page
This is the "standards site" and describes in detail the moral codes and "rules" that
the youth of the Church are expected to live by.
http://www.npl.com/~jradford/soy/strength.html
Links to LDS Resources
Another page of links, although substantially smaller than LDS World.
http://www.Mormon.NET/
SHIELDS Home Page
SHIELDS (Scholarly and Historical Information Exchange for Latter-day Saints) deals
mainly with claims made by anti and counter cult movements. A good place to visit if
you are confused about accusations made on these types of sites.
http://shields-r.simplenet.com/
WWW 1ST Ward Homepage
The "WWW 1st Ward" - this site will give you an idea of Mormon culture as well as what
is taught during the 3 hour service each week.
http://www.uvol.com/www1st/homepage.html
Utah Missions, Inc.
This is a typical anti-Mormon page which raises several interesting and challenging
questions. Be careful, though, because some of these claims are not in accordance with
LDS doctrine.
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/larrying/umi.htm
Utah Lighthouse Ministry
The Utah Lighthouse Ministry is the product of Jerald and Sandra Tanner, perhaps the
best know anti-Mormons who turned their apostacy into careers. In early December 1999,
the U.S. District Court for Utah issued a preliminary injunction against the Utah
Lighthouse Ministry for linking to pages posting the
Church Handbook of Instructions
, a document owned by an LDS organization. They had earlier been barred from posting
this same text on their web page. See the
Cesnur
story for details on this development, as well as a link to the court injunction. The
Tanner's on accounting and chronology are presented on their web site at
Under the Cover of Light: News
http://www.utlm.org/
The Watchman Expositor
A "counter-cult" history of the church, which specifically rejects several key beliefs
of the Church on the basis of Biblical scripture.
http://rampages.onramp.net/~watchman/ldspro.htm
Mormons in Transition
This page is sponsored by the Institute for Religious Research. They identify their
mission as as "the study of religious claims in light of history, science, and the
Bible." They present here a very substantial body of materials aimed at disputing the
theological truth of the LDS faith. The site is available in a dozen languages.
http://www.irr.org/mit/
Recovery From Mormonism
This is an apostate site created by a person who joined the LDS Church in college and
left after twenty years. The front page leads with links to more than 95 personal
accounts of people who left the Mormon tradition. While the general character of the
author's content is civil, the focus on "recovery" and "thought reform" leads us to
characterize this page as anti-cult.
http://www.exmormon.org/
Articles
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Joseph Smith Memorial Building
15 East South Temple Street
Salt Lake City, Utah 84150
(801) 240-2205
Created by Ryan C. Miller
For Soc 257: New Religious Movements
University of Virginia
Spring Term: 1997
Last modified: 09/30/01
Mr. Miller has graduated from the University of Virginia
For comments email:
hadden@virginia.edu