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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a
nontrinitarian Nontrinitarianism is a form of Christianity that rejects the mainstream Christian doctrine of the Trinity—the belief that God is three distinct hypostases or persons who are coeternal, coequal, and indivisibly united in one being, or essenc ...
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by
Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...
. The church is headquartered in the United States in
Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, t ...
, and has established congregations and built temples worldwide. According to the church, it has over 16.8 million
members Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...
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 The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...
founded by
Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, h ...
during the early 19th-century period of religious revival known as the
Second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The Second Great Awakening, which spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching, sparked a number of reform movements. R ...
. Church theology includes the Christian doctrine of
salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...
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 Substitutionary atonement, also called vicarious atonement, is a central concept within Christian theology which asserts that Jesus died "for us", as propagated by the Western classic and objective paradigms of atonement in Christianity, which ...
on behalf of mankind. The church has an open canon of four scriptural texts: the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...
, the
Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude ...
, the
Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chu ...
, 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 Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...
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 The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, Orthodox and many
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
churches consider the church to be distinct and separate from mainstream Christianity. Latter-day Saints believe that the church
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
is a modern-day "
prophet, seer, and revelator Prophet, seer, and revelator is an ecclesiastical title used in the Latter Day Saint movement. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is the largest denomination of the movement, and it currently applies the terms to the membe ...
" and that Jesus Christ, under the direction of
God the Father God the Father is a title given to God in Christianity. In mainstream trinity, trinitarian Christianity, God the Father is regarded as the first person of the Trinity, followed by the second person, God the Son Jesus Christ, and the third pers ...
, 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 A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, drawn from the
laity In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non- ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a lay ...
, 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 A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
. 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 Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organ ...
,
fasting Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...
, and Sabbath observance, and contribute ten percent of their income to the church in
tithing A tithing or tything was a historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit, originally ten hides (and hence, one tenth of a hundred). Tithings later came to be seen as subdivisions of a manor or civil parish. The tithing's leader or ...
. The church teaches sacred ordinances through which adherents make covenants with God, including
baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
,
confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...
, the
sacrament A sacrament is a Christian rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the rea ...
, priesthood ordination,
endowment Endowment most often refers to: *A term for human penis size It may also refer to: Finance * Financial endowment, pertaining to funds or property donated to institutions or individuals (e.g., college endowment) *Endowment mortgage, a mortgage to ...
and
celestial marriage Celestial marriage (also called the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage, Eternal Marriage, Temple Marriage) is a doctrine that marriage can last forever in heaven. This is a unique teaching of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ...
. 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 Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, h ...
, which is in common with all churches associated with the Latter Day Saint movement, (2) a pioneer era under the leadership of
Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as chu ...
and his 19th-century successors, and (3) a modern era beginning around the turn of the 20th century as
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...
achieved statehood.


Beginnings

Joseph Smith formally organized the church as the
Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * When used in the plural, a New Testament designation for local groups of people following the teachings of Jesus Christ: "...all the churches of Christ greet you", Romans 16:16. * The entire body of Ch ...
, on April 6, 1830, in
western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY i ...
. 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 The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude ...
, a self-described chronicle of indigenous American prophets that Smith said he had translated from
golden plates According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates (also called the gold plates or in some 19th-century literature, the golden bible) are the source from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith. Some acco ...
. Smith intended to establish the
New Jerusalem In the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, New Jerusalem (, ''YHWH šāmmā'', YHWH sthere") is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city centered on the rebuilt Holy Temple, the Third Temple, to be established in Jerusalem, which would be the ...
in North America, called
Zion Zion ( he, צִיּוֹן ''Ṣīyyōn'', LXX , also variously Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated ''Sion'', ''Tzion'', ''Tsion'', ''Tsiyyon'') is a placename in the Hebrew Bible used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Isra ...
. In 1831, the church moved to
Kirtland, Ohio Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,937 at the 2020 census. Kirtland is known for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement from 1831 to 1837 and is the site of the movement's first ...
, and began establishing an outpost in
Jackson County, Missouri Jackson County is located in the western portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 717,204. making it the second-most populous county in the state (after St. Louis County). Although Independence retains ...
, 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 The Kirtland Temple is a National Historic Landmark in Kirtland, Ohio, United States, on the eastern edge of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Owned and operated by the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of La ...
, culminating in a dedication of the building similar to the day of
Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers ...
. 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 Far West was a settlement of the Latter Day Saint movement in Caldwell County, Missouri, United States, during the late 1830s. It is recognized as a historic site by the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, added to the register in 1970. It ...
, but tensions soon escalated into violent conflicts with the old Missouri settlers. Believing the Saints to be in insurrection, the
Missouri governor The governor of Missouri is the head of government of the U.S. state of Missouri and the commander-in-chief of the Missouri National Guard. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to either approve or veto bills passed b ...
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 The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...
into
Nauvoo, Illinois Nauvoo ( ; from the ) is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 950 at the 2020 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its historic importance and it ...
, which became the church's new headquarters. Nauvoo grew rapidly as
missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
sent to Europe and elsewhere gained new converts who then flooded into Nauvoo. Meanwhile, Smith introduced
polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is marr ...
to his closest associates. He also established
ceremonies A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secula ...
, 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 Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western world, Western demography, demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as start ...
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 The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lo ...
. 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 Carthage is a city and the county seat of Hancock County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,490 as of the 2020 census, Carthage is best known for being the site of the 1844 death of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint mov ...
, while being held on charges of treason. Because Hyrum was Joseph's designated successor, their deaths caused a
succession crisis A succession crisis is a crisis that arises when an order of succession fails, for example when a king dies without an indisputable heir. It may result in a war of succession. Examples include (see List of wars of succession): *Multiple periods ...
, 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 The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...
, based in
Independence, Missouri Independence is the fifth-largest city in Missouri and the county seat of Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson County. Independence is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro ...
, followed by the Church of Jesus Christ, based in
Monongahela, Pennsylvania Monongahela, referred to locally as Mon City, is a third class city in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is about south of Pittsburgh proper. The population was 4 ...
. 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 The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chu ...
. 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 The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter Day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the ...
, westward to
Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
and then in 1847 on to what later became the
Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state ...
, 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 Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs. Etymology The word theocracy originates fr ...
leader. He also publicized the practice of
plural marriage Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more th ...
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 Mormon War ensued from 1857 to 1858, which resulted in the relatively peaceful invasion of Utah by the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
. 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 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. 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's War, the Bear River Massacre, and the
Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", cross ...
. After Young's death in 1877, he was followed by other church presidents, who resisted efforts by the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
to outlaw Mormon polygamous marriages. In 1878, the United States Supreme Court, in ''
Reynolds v. United States ''Reynolds v. United States'', 98 U.S. 145 (1878), was a Supreme Court of the United States case that held that religious duty was not a defense to a criminal indictment. ''Reynolds'' was the first Supreme Court opinion to address the First Amen ...
'', 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 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 Wilford Woodruff Sr. (March 1, 1807September 2, 1898) was an American religious leader who served as the fourth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1889 until his death. He ended the public practice of ...
issued a
manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...
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 Joseph Fielding Smith Sr. (November 13, 1838 – November 19, 1918) was an American religious leader who served as the sixth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was the nephew of Joseph Smith, the founde ...
again disavowed polygamy before the United States Congress and issued a "
Second Manifesto The "Second Manifesto" was a 1904 declaration made by Joseph F. Smith, the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), in which Smith stated the church was no longer sanctioning marriages that violated the laws of t ...
", calling for all plural marriages in the church to cease. Eventually, the church adopted a policy of excommunicating its members found practicing polygamy. Some
fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishi ...
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 A nuclear family, elementary family, cereal-packet family or conjugal family is a family group consisting of parents and their children (one or more), typically living in one home residence. It is in contrast to a single-parent family, the larg ...
and at times played a prominent role in political matters, including opposition to MX Peacekeeper missile bases in Utah and
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, the
Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Proponents assert it would end legal distinctions between men and ...
, legalized gambling,
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
, and 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 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 Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, 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 Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the Bishops of the United States, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 110 ...
and
Muslim Aid Muslim Aid is a UK based Islamic International Non-Governmental Organization (INGO).Muslim Aid Souvenir Brochure, (2010) Published by Muslim Aid, London The international humanitarian charity has relief and development programmes in countries ac ...
, as well as secular organizations such as the
American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the des ...
. 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 The Book of Abraham is a collection of writings claimed to be from several Egyptian scrolls discovered in the early 19th century during an archeological expedition by Antonio Lebolo. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pu ...
, and primary documents forged by
Mark Hofmann Mark William Hofmann (born December 7, 1954) is an American counterfeiting, counterfeiter, forgery, forger, and convicted murderer. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished forgers in history, Hofmann is especially noted for his creatio ...
purporting to contradict important aspects of official early church history. The church's positions regarding
homosexuality Homosexuality is Romance (love), romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romant ...
,
women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...
, and
black people Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...
have all been publicly debated during this timeframe. For over 100 years, the church was a major sponsor of
Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth Social movement, movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hik ...
programs for boys, particularly in the United States. The LDS Church was the largest chartered organization in the
Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded in ...
, 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 Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...
being the brother of all who live in this world. The church has a positive view on
Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
's fall, believing that it was essential to allow humankind to experience separation from God to exercise full
agency Agency may refer to: Organizations * Institution, governmental or others ** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients ** Employment agency, a business that ...
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
promises A promise is a transaction whereby a person makes a vow or the suggestion of a guarantee. Promise(s) may also refer to: Places * Promise, Oregon * Promise, South Dakota * Promise City, Iowa * Promise Land, Tennessee or Promise Film and TV * '' ...
to him. Members believe that through ordinances including the temple sealing and 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
gods A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater ...
. 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 Atonement (also atoning, to atone) is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other ...
and
resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...
. LDS theology also includes belief in the doctrine of salvation through Jesus alone,
restorationism Restorationism (or Restitutionism or Christian primitivism) is the belief that Christianity has been or should be restored along the lines of what is known about the Apostolic Age, apostolic early church, which restorationists see as the search ...
,
millennialism Millennialism (from millennium, Latin for "a thousand years") or chiliasm (from the Greek equivalent) is a belief advanced by some religious denominations that a Golden Age or Paradise will occur on Earth prior to the final judgment and futu ...
,
continuationism Cessationism versus continuationism involves a Christian theological dispute as to whether spiritual gifts remain available to the church, or whether their operation ceased with the Apostolic Age of the church (or soon thereafter). The cessation ...
, conditional
substitutionary atonement Substitutionary atonement, also called vicarious atonement, is a central concept within Christian theology which asserts that Jesus died "for us", as propagated by the Western classic and objective paradigms of atonement in Christianity, which ...
or
penal substitution Penal substitution (sometimes, esp. in older writings, called forensic theory)D. Smith, The atonement in the light of history and the modern spirit' (London: Hodder and Stoughton), p. 96-7: 'THE FORENSIC THEORY...each successive period of history ...
, and a form of
apostolic succession Apostolic succession is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is held to be derived from the apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bisho ...
. The practices of baptism by immersion, the
eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...
, and 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 human salvation that includes three heavens a doctrine of exaltation which includes the ability of humans to become gods and goddesses in the
afterlife The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving es ...
, a belief in continuing
revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
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
creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...
al 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 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 composed of
God the Father God the Father is a title given to God in Christianity. In mainstream trinity, trinitarian Christianity, God the Father is regarded as the first person of the Trinity, followed by the second person, God the Son Jesus Christ, and the third pers ...
, his son, Jesus Christ, and the
Holy Ghost For the majority of Christian denominations, the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is believed to be the third person of the Trinity, a Triune God manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each entity itself being God.Gru ...
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 The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...
of three distinct persons in 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 A mother goddess is a goddess who represents a personified deification of motherhood, fertility goddess, fertility, creation, destruction, or the earth goddess who embodies the bounty of the earth or nature. When equated with the earth or the ...
, 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 Mormon cosmology is the description of the history, evolution, and destiny of the physical and metaphysical universe according to Mormonism, which includes the doctrines taught by leaders and theologians of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...
and plan of salvation include the doctrines of a
pre-mortal life Pre-existence, preexistence, beforelife, or premortal existence, is the belief that each individual human soul existed before mortal conception, and at some point before birth enters or is placed into the body. Concepts of pre-existence can enco ...
, an earthly mortal existence, 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 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 Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...
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, 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 Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, the endowment and
celestial marriage Celestial marriage (also called the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage, Eternal Marriage, Temple Marriage) is a doctrine that marriage can last forever in heaven. This is a unique teaching of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ...
. 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, such as
baptism for the dead Baptism for the dead, vicarious baptism or proxy baptism today commonly refers to the religious practice of baptizing a person on behalf of one who is dead—a living person receiving the rite on behalf of a deceased person. Baptism for the dea ...
. The church teaches that all will have the opportunity to hear and accept or reject the gospel of Jesus Christ, either in this life or the next.


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 Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography * Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland *Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
, due to a combination of external persecutions and internal heresies. The restoration—as represented by the church began by Joseph Smith—refers to a return of the authentic priesthood power,
spiritual gifts A spiritual gift or charism (plural: charisms or charismata; in Greek singular: χάρισμα ''charisma'', plural: χαρίσματα ''charismata'') is an extraordinary power given by the Holy Spirit."Spiritual gifts". ''A Dictionary of the ...
, 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 The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...
, and to prepare the earth for the
Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messia ...
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. The church is led by a
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
, who is considered a "prophet, seer, and revelator." He is considered the only person who is authorized to receive revelation from God on behalf of the whole world or entire church. As such, the church teaches that he is essentially infallible when speaking on behalf of God – although the exact circumstances when his pronouncements should be considered authoritative are debated within the church. In any case, modern declarations with broad doctrinal implications are often issued by joint statement of the First Presidency; they may be joined by the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to '' Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...
as well.


Word of Wisdom

The LDS Church asks its members to adhere to a dietary code called the
Word of Wisdom The "Word of Wisdom" is the common name of an 1833 section of the Doctrine and Covenants, a book considered by many churches within the Latter Day Saint movement to be a sacred text. The section defines beliefs regarding certain drugs, nutritious ...
, in which they abstain from the consumption of alcohol, coffee, tea, tobacco, and illicit or harmful substances. The Word of Wisdom also encourages the consumption of herbs and grains along with the moderate consumption of meat. When Joseph Smith published the Word of Wisdom in 1833, it was considered only advice; violation did not restrict church membership. During the 1890s, though, church leaders started emphasizing the Word of Wisdom more. In 1921, church president Heber J. Grant made obeying the Word of Wisdom a requirement to engage in worship inside of the faith's temples. From that time, church leadership has emphasized the forbidding of coffee, tea, tobacco, and alcohol, but not the other guidelines concerning meat, grains, and herbs.


Law of chastity

Church members are expected to follow a
moral code Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...
called the
law of chastity The law of chastity is a moral code defined by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). According to the church, chastity means that "sexual relations are proper only between a man and a woman who are legally and lawfully wedd ...
, which prohibits
adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
, homosexual behavior, and sexual relations before or outside of marriage. As part of the law of chastity, the church strongly opposes pornography, and considers masturbation an immoral act.


Tithing and other donations

Church members are expected to donate one-tenth of their income to support the operations of the church, including construction of temples, meetinghouses, and other buildings, and other church uses. Members are also encouraged to
fast Fast or FAST may refer to: * Fast (noun), high speed or velocity * Fast (noun, verb), to practice fasting, abstaining from food and/or water for a certain period of time Acronyms and coded Computing and software * ''Faceted Application of Subje ...
(abstain from food and drink for two meals) on the first Sunday of each month for at least two consecutive meals. They donate at least the cost of the two skipped meals as a fast offering, which the church uses to assist the poor and needy and expand its humanitarian efforts.


Missionary service

All able LDS young men are expected to serve a two-year, full-time proselytizing mission. Missionaries do not choose where they serve or the language in which they will proselytize, and are expected to fund their missions themselves or with the aid of their families. Prospective male missionaries must be at least 18 years old and no older than 25, not yet married, have completed secondary school, and meet certain criteria for physical fitness and spiritual worthiness. Missionary service is not compulsory, nor is it required for young men to retain their church membership. Unmarried women 19 years and older may also serve as missionaries, generally for a term of 18 months. However, the LDS Church emphasizes that women are not under the same expectation to serve as male members are, and may serve solely as a personal decision. There is no maximum age for missionary service for women. Retired couples are also encouraged to serve missions, and may serve 6-, 12-, 18-, or 23-month terms. Unlike younger missionaries, these senior missionaries may serve in non-proselytizing capacities such as
humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and v ...
workers or
family history Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...
specialists. Other men and women who desire to serve a mission, but may not be able to perform full-time service in another state or country due to health issues, may serve in a non-proselyting mission. They might assist at Temple Square in Salt Lake City or aid in the
seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...
system in schools. All proselyting missionaries are organized geographically into administrative areas called missions. The efforts in each mission are directed by an older adult male
mission president Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A mission president presides over a geographic area known as a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission. Depending o ...
. As of July 2020, there were 407 missions of the church.Eight New Missions to Open in July 2020
, ''Newsrooom'', November 21, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2020.


Sources of doctrine

The theology of the LDS Church consists of a combination of biblical doctrines with modern revelations and other commentary by LDS leaders, particularly Joseph Smith. The most authoritative sources of theology are the faith's canon of four religious texts, called the "
standard works The standard works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church, the largest in the Latter Day Saint movement) are the four books that currently constitute its open scriptural canon. The four books of the standard works are: * ...
". Included in the standard works are the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...
, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. The Book of Mormon is a foundational sacred book for the church; the terms "Mormon" and "Mormonism" come from the book itself. The LDS Church teaches that the
Angel Moroni The Angel Moroni () is an angel whom Joseph Smith reported as having visited him on numerous occasions, beginning on September 21, 1823. According to Smith, the angel was the guardian of the golden plates, buried in the hill Cumorah near Smith's ...
told Smith about golden plates containing the record, guided him to find them buried in the Hill Cumorah, and provided him the means of translating them from
Reformed Egyptian The Book of Mormon, a work of scripture of the Latter Day Saint movement, describes itself as having a portion originally written in reformed Egyptian characters on plates of metal or "ore" by prophets living in the Western Hemisphere from perha ...
. It claims to give a history of the inhabitants from a now-extinct society living on the American continent and their distinct
Judeo-Christian The term Judeo-Christian is used to group Christianity and Judaism together, either in reference to Christianity's derivation from Judaism, Christianity's borrowing of Jewish Scripture to constitute the "Old Testament" of the Christian Bible, o ...
teachings. The Book of Mormon is very important to modern Latter-day Saints, who consider it the world's most perfect text. The Bible, also part of the church's canon, is believed to be the word of God – subject to an acknowledgment that its translation may be incorrect, or that authoritative sections may have been lost over the centuries. Most often, the church uses the
Authorized King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...
. Two extended portions of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible have been canonized and are thus considered authoritative. Additionally, over 600 of the more doctrinally significant verses from the translation are included as excerpts in the current LDS Church edition of the Bible. Other revelations from Smith are found in the Doctrine and Covenants, and in the Pearl of Great Price. Another source of authoritative doctrine is the pronouncements of the current Apostles and members of the First Presidency. The church teaches that the First Presidency and the Quorum of Twelve Apostles are prophets For past sustainings, see also: /www.churchofjesuschrist.org/search?query=sustaining+of+church+officers Search – "The Sustaining of Church Officers" and that their teachings are generally given under inspiration from God through the Holy Spirit. In addition to doctrine given by the church as a whole, individual members of the church believe that they can also receive personal revelation from God in conducting their lives, and in revealing truth to them, especially about spiritual matters. Generally, this occurs through thoughts and feelings from the
Holy Ghost For the majority of Christian denominations, the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is believed to be the third person of the Trinity, a Triune God manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each entity itself being God.Gru ...
, in response to
prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deifie ...
. Similarly, the church teaches its members may receive individual guidance and counsel from God through blessings from priesthood holders. In particular,
patriarchal blessing In the Latter Day Saint movement, a patriarchal blessing (also called an evangelist's blessing) is an ordinance administered by the laying on of hands, with accompanying words of promise, counsel, and lifelong guidance intended solely for the re ...
s are considered special blessings that are received only once in the recipient's life, which are recorded, transcribed, and archived.


Worship and meetings


Weekly meetings

Meetings for worship and study are held at meetinghouses, which are typically utilitarian in character. The main focus of Sunday worship is the Sacrament meeting, where the sacrament is passed to church members; sacrament meetings also include prayers, the singing of
hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
by the congregation or choir, and impromptu or planned
sermons A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts ...
by church laity. Also included in weekly meetings are times for
Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. ...
, or separate instructional meetings based on age and gender, including the Relief Society for women. Church congregations are organized geographically. Members are generally expected to attend the congregation with their assigned geographical area; however, some geographical areas also provide separate congregations for young single adults, older single adults, or for speakers of alternate languages. For Sunday services, the church is grouped into either larger congregations known as wards, or smaller congregations known as branches. Regional church organizations, encompassing multiple congregations, include stakes, missions,
districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
and areas.


Social events and gatherings

Additional meetings are also held at the meetinghouse. Church officers may conduct leadership meetings or host training sessions and classes. The ward or branch community may schedule social activities at the meetinghouse, including dances, dinners, holiday parties and musical presentations. The church's Young Men and Young Women organizations meet at the meetinghouse once a week, where the youth participate in activities. At the start of 2020, the church implemented a new initiative for children and youth worldwide, which replaced all other church youth programs.Children and Youth—Overview and Frequently Asked Questions
, Official Notice from Priesthood and Family Department, churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved January 8, 2019.


Temple worship

In LDS theology, a temple is considered to be a holy building, dedicated as a "House of the Lord" and held as more sacred than a typical meetinghouse or chapel. In temples, church members participate in ceremonies that are considered the most sacred in the church, including
marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
, and an endowment ceremony that includes a washing and anointing, receiving a temple garment, and making covenants with God. Baptisms for the dead - as well as other temple ordinances on behalf of the dead - are performed in the temples as well. Temples are considered by church members to be the most sacred structures on earth, and as such, operating temples are not open to the public. Permission to enter is reserved only for church members who pass periodic interviews with ecclesiastical leaders and receive a special recommendation card, called a temple recommend, that they present upon entry. Church members are instructed not to share details about temple ordinances with non-members or even converse about them outside the temple itself. As of November 2022, there are 175 operating temples worldwide. In order to perform ordinances in temples on behalf of deceased family members, the church emphasizes genealogical research, and encourages its lay members to participate in genealogy. It operates
FamilySearch FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization and website offering genealogical records, education, and software. It is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and is closely connected with the church's Family His ...
, the largest genealogical organization in the world.


Conferences

Twice each year, general authorities address the worldwide church through general conference. General conference sessions are translated into as many as 80 languages and are broadcast from the 21,000-seat Conference Center in Salt Lake City. During this conference, church members formally acknowledge, or "sustain", the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators. Individual stakes also hold formal conferences within their own boundaries biannually; wards hold conferences annually.


Organization and structure


Name and legal entities

The church teaches that it is a continuation of the Church of Christ established in 1830 by Joseph Smith. This original church underwent several name changes during the 1830s, being called the Church of Jesus Christ, the Church of God, and then in 1834, the name was officially changed to the Church of the Latter Day Saints. In April 1838, the name was officially changed to "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints". After Smith died, Brigham Young and the largest body of Smith's followers incorporated the LDS Church in 1851 by legislation of the
State of Deseret The State of Deseret (modern pronunciation , contemporaneously ) was a proposed state of the United States, proposed in 1849 by settlers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Salt Lake City. The provisional stat ...
under the name "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", which included a hyphenated "Latter-day" and a British-style lower-case ''d''. Common informal names for the church include the LDS Church, the Latter-day Saints, and the Mormons. The term ''Mormon Church'' is in common use. The church requests that the official name be used when possible or, if necessary, shortened to "the Church", "the Church of Jesus Christ", or "Latter-day Saints". In August 2018, church president Russell M. Nelson asked members of the church and others to cease using the terms "LDS", "Mormon" and "Mormonism" to refer to the church, its membership, or its belief system and instead to call the church by its full and official name. Subsequent to this announcement, the church's premier vocal ensemble, the
Mormon Tabernacle Choir The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir, acting as part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for ...
, was officially renamed and became the "Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square". Reaction to the name change policy has been mixed. In 1887, the LDS Church was legally dissolved in the United States by the
Edmunds–Tucker Act The Edmunds–Tucker Act of 1887 was an Act of Congress that focused on restricting some practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). An amendment to the earlier Edmunds Act, it was passed in response to the dispute ...
because of the church's practice of polygamy. For the next century, the church as a whole operated as an unincorporated entity. During that time, tax-exempt corporations of the LDS Church included the ''Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'', a corporation sole used to manage non-ecclesiastical real estate and other holdings; and the ''Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'', which governed temples, other sacred buildings, and the church's employees. By 2021, the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop and Corporation of the President had been merged into one corporate entity, legally named "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". Intellectual Reserve is a nonprofit corporation wholly owned by the church, which holds the church's intellectual property, such as copyrights, trademarks, and other media.


Priesthood hierarchy

The LDS Church is organized in a hierarchical priesthood structure administered by its male members. Latter-day Saints believe that Jesus leads the church through revelation and has chosen a single man as his spokesman on the earth called "the Prophet" or the "President of the Church." Normally, he and two counselors are ordained apostles and form the First Presidency, the presiding body of the church; twelve other apostles form the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. When a president dies, his successor is chosen from the remaining apostles, and is invariably the longest-tenured of the group. Following the death of church president
Thomas S. Monson Thomas Spencer Monson (August 21, 1927 – January 2, 2018) was an American religious leader, author, and the 16th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). As president, he was considered by adherents of the rel ...
on January 2, 2018, senior apostle Russell M. Nelson was announced as president on January 16. Members of the church-wide leadership are called general authorities. They exercise both
ecclesiastical {{Short pages monitor", 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.


Humanitarian services

The LDS Church provides worldwide humanitarian service, and is considered widely known for it. The church's welfare and humanitarian efforts are coordinated by Philanthropies, a church department under the direction of the Presiding Bishopric. Welfare efforts, originally initiated during the Great Depression, provide aid for the poor, financed by donations from church members. Philanthropies is also responsible for philanthropic donations to the LDS Church and other affiliated charities, such as the Church History Library, the Church Educational System (and its subsidiary organizations), the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square and funds for LDS missionaries. Donations are also used to operate bishop's storehouses, which package and store food for the poor at low cost, and provide other local services. In 2016, the church reported that it had spent a total of $1.2 billion on humanitarian aid over the previous 30 years. 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 charitable 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. The church also distributes money and aid to disaster victims worldwide. In 2005, the church partnered with Catholic Relief Services to provide aid to Niger. In 2010, it partnered with Islamic Relief to help victims of flooding in Pakistan. Latter-day Saint Charities (a branch of the church's welfare department) increased food production during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
and donated healthcare supplies to 16 countries affected by the crisis. The church has donated $4 million to aid refugees fleeing from the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...
. In 2022, the church gave $32 million to the United Nations World Food Programme, in its largest one-time donation to a humanitarian organization to that point.


Discrimination and persecution

The LDS Church and other churches within Mormonism have been the subject of discrimination and sometimes violent persecution. The most vocal and strident opposition occurred during the 19th century, particularly the forceful expulsion from Missouri and Illinois in the 1830s and 1840s, during the Utah War of the 1850s, and in the second half of the century. Violent persecution against the LDS Church occurred in the early 1830s in
Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
. Mormons tended to vote as a bloc there, wielding "considerable political and economic influence," often unseating local political leadership and earning long-lasting enmity in the frontier communities. These differences culminated in the Missouri Mormon War and the eventual issuing of an
executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...
(since called the extermination order within the LDS community) by
Missouri governor The governor of Missouri is the head of government of the U.S. state of Missouri and the commander-in-chief of the Missouri National Guard. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to either approve or veto bills passed b ...
Lilburn Boggs, which declared that "the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State." Three days later, a renegade militia unit attacked a Mormon settlement at Haun's Mill, resulting in the death of 18 Mormons and no militiamen. The extermination order was not formally rescinded until 1976. Among those with religious motives,
Daniel C. Peterson Daniel Carl Peterson (born January 15, 1953) is a former professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic in the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages at Brigham Young University (BYU). Background A native of southern California, Peterson receiv ...
has identified two major streams of modern anti-Mormon thought. The first is "traditional anti-Mormonism", and the second,
Evangelicals Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...
who state themselves as being anti-cult practitioners. Peterson alleges that critics in this category generally try to explain Mormonism in naturalistic terms. In recent years, an increasing number of meetinghouses and other church facilities have been the targets of vandalism or arson. In 2022, the Orem Utah Temple was damaged by arson while under construction.


Criticism and controversy

The LDS Church has been subject to criticism and the subject of controversy since its early years in New York and
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. Modern criticism of the church includes disputed factual claims, claims of historical revisionism by the church, child sexual abuse, homophobia, racism, and sexist policies. Notable 20th-century critics include
Jerald and Sandra Tanner Jerald Dee Tanner (June 1, 1938 – October 1, 2006) and Sandra McGee Tanner (born January 14, 1941) are American writers and researchers who publish archival and evidential materials about the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa ...
and historian Fawn Brodie.


Child sexual abuse

The church has been criticized for a number of alleged abuses perpetrated by local church leadership. In other cases, church leaders have been criticized for failing to properly report abuse to law enforcement.


Scriptures

In the late 1820s, criticism centered on the claim by Joseph Smith to have been led to a set of gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was reputedly translated. Mainstream academic scholarship does not conclude the Book of Mormon is of an ancient origin and considers the book to be a 19th-century composition. Scholars have pointed out a number of
anachronisms An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common type ...
within the text. They argue that no evidence of a reformed Egyptian language has ever been discovered.Standard language references such as Peter T. Daniels and William Bright, eds., ''The World's Writing Systems'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996) (990 pages); David Crystal, ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language'' (Cambridge University Press, 1997); and Roger D. Woodard, ed., ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages'' (Cambridge University Press, 2004) (1162 pages) contain no reference to "reformed Egyptian." "Reformed Egyptian" is also ignored in Andrew Robinson, ''Lost Languages: The Enigma of the World's Undeciphered Scripts'' (New York: McGraw Hill, 2002), although it is mentioned in Stephen Williams, ''Fantastic Archaeology: The Wild Side of North American Prehistory'' (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991). Also, general archaeological and genetic evidence has not supported the book's statements about any known indigenous peoples of the Americas. Since its publication in 1842, the Book of Abraham (currently published as part of the canonical Pearl of Great Price) has also been a major source of controversy. Numerous non-Mormon Egyptologists, beginning in the late 19th century,. have disagreed with Joseph Smith's explanations of the book's facsimiles. The translation of the original papyri does not match the text of the Book of Abraham as purportedly translated by Joseph Smith. Indeed, the transliterated text from the recovered papyri and facsimiles published in the Book of Abraham contain no direct references, either historical or textual, to Abraham... Scholars have also asserted that damaged portions of the papyri have been reconstructed incorrectly by Smith or his associates.


Plural marriage

Polygamy (called plural marriage within the church) was practiced by church leaders for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890 by between 20 and 30 percent of Latter-day Saint families. It was instituted privately in the 1830s by founder Joseph Smith and announced publicly in 1852 at the direction of Brigham Young. For over 60 years, the church and the United States were at odds over the issue: at one point, the Republican platform referenced "the twin relics of barbarism—polygamy and slavery." The church defended the practice as a matter of religious freedom, while the federal government aggressively sought to eradicate it; in 1862, the United States Congress passed the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act, which prohibited plural marriage in the territories. In 1890, church president Wilford Woodruff issued a Manifesto that officially terminated the practice, although it did not dissolve existing plural marriages. Some church members continued to enter into polygamous marriages, but these eventually stopped in 1904 when church president Joseph F. Smith disavowed polygamy before Congress and issued a "Second Manifesto," calling for all plural marriages in the church to cease. Several small fundamentalist groups, seeking to continue the practice, split from the LDS Church, but the mainline church now excommunicates members found practicing polygamy and distances itself from those fundamentalist groups.


Ethnic minorities


African Americans

From the administration of Brigham Young until 1978, the church did not allow black people to receive the priesthood or to enter the temple. Public pressure during the United States'
civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...
had preceded the priesthood ban being rescinded.


Native Americans

Church leadership and publications have previously taught that Native Americans are descendants of
Lamanites The Lamanites () are one of the four ancient peoples (along with the Jaredites, the Mulekites, and the Nephites) described as having settled in the ancient Americas in the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement. The Laman ...
, a dark-skinned and cursed people from the Book of Mormon. More recently, claims by Mormon researchers and publications generally favor a smaller geographic footprint of Lamanite descendants. Mainstream science and archaeology fail to provide any evidence for the existence of populations of Lamanites. Current church publications state that the exact extent and identity of Lamanite descendants is unknown. The church ran an Indian Placement Program between the 1950s and the 1990s, wherein indigenous children were adopted by white church members. Criticism resulted during and after the program, including claims of improper assimilation and even abuse. However, many of the involved students and families praised the program, and positive outcomes were reported for many participants.


Jews

Some Jewish groups, including the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, criticized the LDS Church in 1995 after discovering that vicarious baptisms for the dead for victims of the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
had been performed by members of the church. After that criticism, church leaders put a policy in place to stop the practice, with an exception for baptisms specifically requested or approved by victims' relatives. Jewish organizations again criticized the church in 2002, 2004, 2008, and 2012 stating that the church failed to honor the 1995 agreement. The LDS Church says it has put institutional safeguards in place to avoid the submission of the names of Holocaust victims not related to Mormon members, but that the sheer number of names submitted makes policing the database of names impractical.


Sexual minorities

The church's views on sexual minorities have been criticized, though these mostly conform to the teaching of conservative Christian Catholic and Protestant churches. In 2008, top leaders requested adherents to donate time and money in the campaign for California's Proposition 8 against same-sex marriage; this sparked heated debate and protest by gay-rights organizations and others. In 2009 the church expressed support for a Salt Lake City ordinance protecting gay and lesbian people against discrimination in employment and housing, but wanted an exception for religious institutions from this ordinance. Further controversy resulted when, in November 2015, the church adopted a policy considering those in same-sex unions apostates, and barring their children from receiving blessings or being baptized under most circumstances. In April 2019, the church reversed this policy, citing efforts to be more accepting to people of all backgrounds.


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 (Missouri Executive Order 44) by Governor Lilburn Boggs. In the 1840s, criticism of the church included its
theocratic Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs. Etymology The word theocracy originates fr ...
aspirations in Nauvoo, Illinois. Criticism of the practice of
plural marriage Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more th ...
and other doctrines taught by Smith were published in the ''
Nauvoo Expositor The ''Nauvoo Expositor'' was a newspaper in Nauvoo, Illinois, that published only one issue, on June 7, 1844. Its publication, the destruction of the printed copies (which, according to the Nauvoo Charter, was the legal consequence of a new ...
.'' Opposition led to a series of events culminating in the death of Smith and his brother while jailed in 1844.


Financial allegations

The church's failure to make its finances public has drawn criticism from commentators who consider its practices too secretive. The disclosure of the $100 billion church-controlled fund has led to criticism that its wealth may be excessive. Critical commentators have asserted that the church uses its corporate structure to "optimize its asset and capital management by moving money and assets between ts/nowiki> tax-exempt and regular businesses as loans, donations or investments." The church has been accused of "significant tax evasion" in Australia. According to an investigation by Australian newspapers, The Daily Age and The Sun Herald, the church's corporation LDS Charities Australia was the recipient of nearly $70 million in donations annually (which is tax exempt under Australian law, as opposed to religious donations, which are not) but appeared to actually spend very little of it on charity. According to the investigation, tithing and other religious donations were routed through the corporation to ensure they would be tax exempt. The investigation does not reference any internal church documents to confirm their findings. The church has previously fought to keep its internal financial information out of the public record. In Canada, a total of more than 1 billion dollars collected through tithing has been transferred tax-free to church universities over a 15-year period.


Responses

Mormon apologetics organizations, such as
FAIR A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...
and the Maxwell Institute seek to counter criticisms of the church and its leaders. Most of the apologetic work focuses on providing and discussing evidence supporting the claims of Smith and the Book of Mormon. Scholars and authors such as Hugh Nibley, Daniel C. Peterson, and others are well-known apologists within the church.


See also

*
Christianity in the United States Christianity is the most prevalent religion in the United States. Estimates from 2021 suggest that of the entire US population (332 million) about 63% is Christian (210 million). The majority of Christian Americans are Protestant Christians (1 ...
* Index of articles related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints * List of missions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints * List of temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints * Mormon (word) * Mormonism and Islam * Mormonism and Judaism * List of new religious movements


Notes


References


Bibliography

* *. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *. See
Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chu ...
. *


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Official church websites


ChurchofJesusChrist.org
– Official church website
ComeUntoChrist.org
– Official church website, with information about basic beliefs. (formerly Mormon.org)


Other sites

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints 1830 establishments in New York (state) Christian denominations established in the 19th century Joseph Smith Religious organizations based in the United States Religious organizations established in 1830 Religious belief systems founded in the United States