the 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 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 . 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.

Church theology includes the Christian doctrine of salvation only through Jesus Christ,"For salvation cometh to none such except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ." Book of Mormon, and his substitutionary atonement on behalf of mankind. The church has an open canon of four scriptural texts: the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. Other than the Bible, the majority of the church canon consists of material the church's members believe to have been revealed by God to Joseph Smith, including commentary and exegesis about the Bible, texts described as lost parts of the Bible, and other works believed to be written by ancient prophets, including the Book of Mormon. Because of doctrinal differences, Catholic, Orthodox and many Protestant churches consider the church to be distinct and separate from mainstream Christianity.

Latter-day Saints believe that the church president is a modern-day " prophet, seer, and revelator" and that Jesus Christ, under the direction of God the Father, leads the church by revealing his will and delegating his priesthood keys to its president. The president heads a hierarchical structure descending from areas to stakes and wards. Bishops, drawn from the laity, lead the wards. Male members may be ordained to the priesthood, provided they are living the standards of the church. Women are not ordained to the priesthood, but occupy leadership roles in some church organizations.

Both men and women may serve as missionaries. The church maintains a large missionary program that proselytizes and conducts humanitarian services worldwide. The LDS Church also funds and participates in humanitarian projects independent of its missionary efforts. Faithful members adhere to church laws of sexual purity, health, fasting, and Sabbath observance, and contribute ten percent of their income to the church in tithing. The church teaches sacred ordinances through which adherents make covenants with God, including baptism, confirmation, the sacrament, priesthood ordination, endowment and celestial marriage.

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 (plural marriage) was controversial until officially rescinded in 1890.

History

The history of the church is typically divided into three broad time periods: (1) the early history during the lifetime of Joseph Smith, which is in common with all churches associated with the Latter Day Saint movement, (2) a pioneer era under the leadership of Brigham Young and his 19th-century successors, and (3) a modern era beginning around the turn of the 20th century as Utah achieved statehood.

Beginnings

Joseph Smith formally organized the church as the Church of Christ, on April 6, 1830, in western New York. Smith later changed the name to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints after he stated he had received a revelation to do so. Initial converts were drawn to the church in part because of the newly published Book of Mormon, a self-described chronicle of indigenous American prophets that Smith said he had translated from golden plates.

Smith intended to establish the New Jerusalem in North America, called Zion. In 1831, the church moved to Kirtland, Ohio, and began establishing an outpost in Jackson County, Missouri, where Smith planned to eventually move the church headquarters. However, in 1833, Missouri settlers violently expelled the Latter Day Saints from Jackson County. The church attempted to recover the land through a paramilitary expedition, but did not succeed. Nevertheless, the church flourished in Kirtland as Smith published new revelations and the church built the Kirtland Temple, culminating in a dedication of the building similar to the day of Pentecost. The Kirtland era ended in 1838, after a financial scandal rocked the church and caused widespread defections. Smith regrouped with the remaining church in Far West, Missouri, but tensions soon escalated into violent conflicts with the old Missouri settlers. Believing the Saints to be in insurrection, the Missouri governor ordered that the Saints be " exterminated or driven from the State". In 1839, the Saints converted a swampland on the banks of the Mississippi River into Nauvoo, Illinois, which became the church's new headquarters.

Nauvoo grew rapidly as missionaries sent to Europe and elsewhere gained new converts who then flooded into Nauvoo. Meanwhile, Smith introduced polygamy to his closest associates. He also established ceremonies, which he stated the Lord had revealed to him, to allow righteous people to become gods in the afterlife, and a secular institution to govern the Millennial kingdom. He also introduced the church to a full accounting of his First Vision, in which two heavenly "personages" appeared to him at age 14. This vision would come to be regarded by the LDS Church as the most important event in human history since the resurrection of Jesus. Members believe Joseph Smith is the first modern-day prophet.

On June 27, 1844, Smith and his brother, Hyrum, were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois, while being held on charges of treason. Because Hyrum was Joseph's designated successor, their deaths caused a succession crisis, and Brigham Young assumed leadership over a majority of the church's membership. Young had been a close associate of Smith's and was the senior apostle of the Quorum of the Twelve.

Other splinter groups followed other leaders around this time. These groups have no affiliation with the LDS Church, however they share a common heritage in their early church history. Collectively, they are called the Latter Day Saint movement. The largest of these smaller groups is the Community of Christ, based in Independence, Missouri, followed by the Church of Jesus Christ, based in Monongahela, Pennsylvania. Like the LDS Church, these faiths believe in Joseph Smith as a prophet and founder of their religion. They also accept the Book of Mormon, and most, but not all, accept at least some version of the Doctrine and Covenants. However, they tend to disagree to varying degrees with the LDS Church concerning doctrine and church leadership.

Pioneer era

For two years after Smith's death, conflicts escalated between Mormons and other Illinois residents. Brigham Young led his followers, later called the Mormon pioneers, westward to Nebraska and then in 1847 on to what later became the Utah Territory, which at the time had been part of the indigenous lands of the Ute, Goshute, and Shoshone nations, and claimed by Mexico until 1848. Over the course of many years, over 60,000 settlers arrived, who then branched out and colonized a large region now known as the Mormon Corridor.

Young incorporated the LDS Church as a legal entity, and initially governed both the church and the state as a theocratic leader. He also publicized the practice of Mormonism and polygamy, plural marriage in 1852. Modern research suggests that around 20 percent of Mormon families may have participated in the practice.

By 1857, tensions had again escalated between Mormons and other Americans, largely as a result of accusations involving polygamy and the theocratic rule of the Utah Territory by Young. The Utah War, Utah Mormon War ensued from 1857 to 1858, which resulted in the relatively peaceful invasion of Utah by the United States Army. The most notable instance of violence during this conflict was the Mountain Meadows massacre, in which leaders of a local Mormon militia ordered the massacre of a civilian emigrant party who was traveling through Utah during the escalating military tensions. After the massacre was discovered, the church became the target of Mountain Meadows massacre and the media, significant media criticism for it.

After the Army withdrew, Young agreed to step down from power and be replaced by a non-Mormon territorial governor, Alfred Cumming (governor), Alfred Cumming. Nevertheless, the LDS Church still wielded significant political power in the Utah Territory. Coterminously, tensions between Mormon settlers and indigenous tribes continued to escalate as settlers began colonizing a growing area of tribal lands. While Mormons and indigenous peoples made attempts at peaceful coexistence, skirmishes ensued from about 1849 to 1873 culminating in the armed conflicts of Walkara, Walkara's War, the Bear River Massacre, and the Black Hawk War (1865–1872), Black Hawk War.

After Young's death in 1877, he was followed by other church presidents, who resisted efforts by the United States Congress to outlaw Mormon polygamous marriages. In 1878, the United States Supreme Court, in ''Reynolds v. United States'', decreed that "religious duty" to engage in plural marriage was not a valid defense to prosecutions for violating state laws against polygamy. Conflict between Mormons and the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government escalated to the point that, in 1890, Congress disincorporated the LDS Church and seized most of its assets. Soon thereafter, church president Wilford Woodruff issued a 1890 Manifesto, manifesto that officially suspended the performance of new polygamous marriages in the United States. Relations with the United States markedly improved after 1890, such that Utah was admitted as a U.S. state in 1896. Relations further improved after 1904, when church president Joseph F. Smith again Reed Smoot hearings, disavowed polygamy before the United States Congress and issued a "Second Manifesto", calling for all plural marriages in the church to cease. Eventually, the church adopted a policy of excommunication, excommunicating its members found practicing polygamy. Some Mormon fundamentalism, fundamentalist groups with relatively small memberships have broken off and continue to practice polygamy, but the Church distances itself from them.

Modern times

During the 20th century, the church grew substantially and became an international organization. In 2000, the church reported 60,784 missionaries and global church membership stood at just over 11 million. Worldwide membership surpassed 16 million in 2018. Slightly under half of church membership lives within the United States.

The church has become a strong proponent of the nuclear family and at times played a prominent role in political matters, including opposition to LGM-118 Peacekeeper, MX Peacekeeper missile bases in Utah and Nevada, the Equal Rights Amendment, legalized gambling, same-sex marriage, and euthanasia, physician-assisted death. Apart from issues that it considers to be ones of morality, however, the church maintains a position of political neutrality. Despite this it encourages its members to be politically active, to participate in elections, and to be knowledgeable about current political and social issues within their communities, states, and countries.

A number of official changes have taken place to the organization during the modern era. In 1978, the church 1978 Revelation on Priesthood, reversed its previous policy of excluding black men of African descent from the priesthood, which had been in place since 1852; members of all races can now be ordained to the priesthood. Also, since the early 1900s, the church has instituted a Priesthood Correlation Program to centralize church operations and bring them under a hierarchy of priesthood leaders. During the Great Depression, the church also began operating a church welfare system, and it has conducted humanitarian efforts in cooperation with other religious organizations including Catholic Relief Services and Muslim Aid, as well as secular organizations such as the American Red Cross.

During the second half of the 20th century and beginnings of the 21st, the church has responded to various challenges to its doctrine and authority. Challenges have included rising secularization, challenges to the correctness of the translation of the Book of Abraham, and primary documents forged by Mark Hofmann purporting to contradict important aspects of official early church history. The church's positions regarding Homosexuality and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, homosexuality, Women and Mormonism, women, and Black people and Mormonism, black people have all been publicly debated during this timeframe.

For over 100 years, the church was a major sponsor of Scouting programs for boys, particularly in the United States. The LDS Church was the largest Boy Scouts of America#Chartered organizations and units, chartered organization in the Boy Scouts of America, having joined the Boy Scouts of America as its first charter organization in 1913. In 2020, the church ended its relationship with the BSA and began an alternate, religion-centered youth program. Prior to leaving the Scouting program, LDS Scouts made up nearly 20 percent of all enrolled Boy Scouts, more than any other church.

Teachings and practices

Church members believe in a spiritual family, with Jesus, Jesus Christ being the brother of all who live in this world. The church has a positive view on Adam and Eve in Mormonism, Adam and Eve's fall, believing that it was essential to allow humankind to experience separation from God to exercise full Agency (sociology), agency in making decisions for their own happiness. Members believe if they participate in ordinances like baptism, under priesthood authority, they are bound to Jesus Christ and he saves them in their imperfection if they continually keep their Covenant (biblical), promises to him. Members believe that through ordinances including the temple sealing and Endowment (Latter Day Saints), temple endowment, anyone can be eternally connected with their families beyond this life and can be perfected in Jesus Christ to eventually become like their Heavenly Parents—in essence Apotheosis, gods.

The LDS Church shares various teachings with other branches of Christianity. These include a belief in the Bible, the divinity of Jesus, and his Atonement in Christianity, atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ, resurrection. LDS theology also includes belief in the doctrine of salvation through Jesus alone, Restorationism (Christian primitivism), restorationism, millennialism, continuationism, conditional substitutionary atonement or penal substitution, and a form of apostolic succession. The practices of baptism#Submersion, baptism by immersion, the eucharist, and Sabbath in Christianity, Sabbath observance are also held in common.

Nevertheless, the LDS Church differs from other churches within contemporary Christianity in other ways. Differences between the LDS Church and most of traditional Christianity include disagreement about the nature of God, belief in a theory of Plan of salvation (Latter Day Saints), human salvation that includes three degrees of glory, heavens a doctrine of Exaltation (Latter Day Saints), exaltation which includes the ability of humans to become gods and goddesses in the afterlife, a belief in continuous revelation, continuing revelation (Latter Day Saints), revelation and an open scriptural canon, and unique ceremonies performed privately in temples, such as the endowment and sealing ceremonies. A number of major Christian denominations view the LDS Church as standing apart from creedal Christianity. However, church members self-identify as Christians.

The faith itself views other modern Christian faiths as having departed from true Christianity by way of a Great Apostasy, general apostasy and maintains that it is a restoration of 1st-century Christianity and the only true and authorized Christian church. Church leaders assert it is the only true church and that other churches do not have the authority to act in Jesus' name.

Nature of God

LDS Church theology includes the belief in a Godhead (Latter Day Saints), Godhead composed of God the Father, his son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost as three separate Persons who share a unity of purpose or will; however, they are viewed as three distinct Beings making one Godhead. This is in contrast with the predominant Christian view, which holds that God is a Trinity of three distinct persons in Homoousian, one essence. The Latter-day Saint conception of the Godhead is similar to what contemporary Christian theologians call ''social trinitarianism.'' The beliefs of the church also include the belief that God the Father and his son, Jesus Christ, are separate beings with bodies of flesh and bone, while the Holy Ghost lacks such a physical body.

According to statements by church leaders, God sits at the head of the human family and is married to a Heavenly Mother (Mormonism), Heavenly Mother, who is the mother of human spirits. However, church leaders have also categorically discouraged prayers to her and counseled against "speculation" regarding her.

Cosmology and plan of salvation

The Mormon cosmology and plan of salvation include the doctrines of a pre-mortal life, an earthly mortal existence, Degrees of Glory, three degrees of heaven and exaltation.

According to these doctrines, every human spirit is a spiritual child of a Heavenly Father and each has the potential to continue to learn, grow, and progress in the eternities, eventually achieving eternal life, which is to become one with God in the same way that Jesus Christ is one with the Father, thus allowing the children of God to become divine beings – that is, gods – themselves. This view on the doctrine of Divinization (Christian), theosis is also referred to as becoming a "joint-heir with Christ". The process by which this is accomplished is called exaltation, a doctrine which includes the reunification of the mortal family after the resurrection and the ability to have spirit children in the afterlife and inherit a portion of God's kingdom. To obtain this state of godhood, the church teaches that one must have faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, repent of his or her sins, strive to keep the commandments faithfully, and participate in a sequence of ceremonial covenants called ordinances, which include baptism (LDS Church), baptism, Confirmation (Latter Day Saints), receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, the endowment and celestial marriage.

This latter ordinance, known as a sealing ceremony, reflects a singular LDS view with respect to families. According to LDS Church theology, men and women may be sealed to one another so that their marital bond continues into the eternities. Children may also be sealed to their biological or adoptive parents to form permanent familial bonds, thus allowing all immediate and extended family relations to endure past death. The most significant LDS ordinances may be performed via proxy in behalf of those who have died, suc