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Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several groups following different leaders; the majority followed Brigham Young, while smaller groups followed Joseph Smith III, Sidney Rigdon, and James Strang. Most of these smaller groups eventually merged into the Community of Christ, and the term ''Mormon'' typically refers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints membership statistics, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), as today, this branch is far larger than all the others combined. People who identify as Mormons may also be independently religious, secular, and non-practicing or belong to List of denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement, other denominations. Since 2018, the LDS Church has requested that its members be referred to as "Latter-day Saints".
Mormons have developed a strong sense of community that stems from their doctrine and history. One of the central doctrinal issues that defined Mormonism in the 19th century was the practice of Mormonism and polygamy, plural marriage, a form of religious polygamy. From 1852 until 1904, when the LDS Church banned the practice, many Mormons who had followed Brigham Young to the Utah Territory openly practiced polygamy. Mormons dedicate significant time and resources to serving in their churches. A prominent practice among young and retired members of the LDS Church is to serve a full-time Proselytism, proselytizing Missionary (LDS Church), mission. Mormons have Word of Wisdom, a health code that eschews alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tea, coffee, and Substance dependence, addictive substances. They tend to be very family-oriented and have strong connections across generations and with extended family, reflecting their belief that families can be Sealing (Mormonism), sealed together beyond death. They also have a strict law of chastity, requiring abstention from sexual relations outside heterosexual marriage and fidelity within marriage.
Mormons self-identify as Christian, but some non-Mormons consider Mormons non-Christian because some of their Mormonism and Nicene Christianity, beliefs differ from those of Nicene Christianity. Mormons believe that Christ's church was Restoration (Latter Day Saints), restored through Joseph Smith and is guided by living prophet, seer, and revelator, prophets and Apostle (Latter Day Saints), apostles. Mormons believe in the Bible and other books of scripture, such as the Book of Mormon. They have a unique view of cosmology and believe that all people are literal spirit children of God. Mormons believe that returning to God requires following the example of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ and accepting his Atonement in Christianity, atonement through repentance and ordinance (Latter Day Saints), ordinances such as baptism.
During the 19th century, Mormon converts tended to gather in a central geographic location, a trend that reversed somewhat in the 1920s and 30s. The center of Mormon cultural influence is in Utah, and North America has more Mormons than any other continent, although about half of Mormons live outside the United States. As of December 2020, the LDS Church reported having 16,663,663 members worldwide.
The Mormon movement began with the publishing of the Book of Mormon in March 1830, which Smith claimed was a translation of golden plates containing the religious history of an ancient American civilization that the ancient prophet-historian Mormon (Book of Mormon), Mormon had compiled. Smith claimed that Angel Moroni, an angel had directed him to the golden plates buried in the Cumorah, Hill Cumorah. On April 6, 1830, Smith founded the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints), Church of Christ. In 1832, Smith added an account of First Vision, a vision he had sometime in the early 1820s while living in Upstate New York. Some Mormons regarded this vision as the most important event in human history after the birth, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.; (belief in the First Vision now considered second in importance only to belief in the divinity of Jesus.); ("[N]othing we teach, nothing we live by is of greater importance than this initial declaration.").
The early church grew westward as Smith sent missionaries to proselytize. In 1831, the church moved to Kirtland, Ohio, where missionaries had made a large number of converts and Smith began establishing an outpost in Jackson County, Missouri, where he planned to eventually build the city of Zion (Latter Day Saints), Zion (or the New Jerusalem). In 1833, Missouri settlers, alarmed by the rapid influx of Mormons, expelled them from Jackson County into the nearby Clay County, Missouri, Clay County, where local residents were more welcoming.
After Smith led a mission, known as Zion's Camp, to recover the land, he began building Kirtland Temple in Lake County, Ohio, where the church flourished. When the Missouri Mormons were later asked to leave Clay County in 1836, they secured land in what would become Caldwell County, Missouri, Caldwell County.
The Kirtland era ended in 1838 after the failure of a Kirtland Safety Society, church-sponsored anti-bank caused widespread defections, and Smith regrouped with the remaining church in Far West, Missouri. During the fall of 1838, tensions escalated into the 1838 Mormon War, Mormon War with the old Missouri settlers. On October 27, the Lilburn Boggs, governor of Missouri Missouri Executive Order 44, ordered that the Mormons "must be treated as enemies" and be exterminated or driven from the state. Between November and April, some eight thousand displaced Mormons migrated east into Illinois.
In 1839, the Mormons purchased the small town of Commerce, converted swampland on the banks of the Mississippi River, renamed the area Nauvoo, Illinois, and began constructing the Nauvoo Temple. The city became the church's new headquarters and gathering place, and it grew rapidly, fueled in part by converts immigrating from Europe. Meanwhile, Smith introduced temple ceremonies meant to Sealing (Mormonism), seal families together for eternity, as well as the doctrines of eternal progression or Exaltation (Mormonism), exaltation and plural marriage.
Smith created a service organization for women called the Relief Society and the Council of Fifty, representing a future theodemocracy, theodemocratic "Kingdom of God" on the earth. Smith also published the story of his First Vision, in which the God the Father, Father and the Jesus, Son appeared to him when he was about 14 years old. This vision would come to be regarded by some Mormons as the most important event in human history after the birth, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In 1844, local prejudices and political tensions, fueled by Mormon peculiarity, internal dissent, and reports of polygamy, escalated into conflicts between Mormons and "anti-Mormons" in Illinois and Missouri. Smith was arrested, and on June 27, 1844, he and his brother Hyrum Smith, Hyrum were Death of Joseph Smith, killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois. Because Hyrum was Smith's logical successor, their deaths caused a Succession crisis (Latter Day Saints), succession crisis, and Brigham Young assumed leadership over most Latter Day Saints. Young had been a close associate of Smith's and was the senior Apostle (Latter Day Saints), apostle of the Quorum of the Twelve. Smaller groups of Latter-Day Saints followed other leaders to form other denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement, Latter-Day Saints movement.
For two years after Joseph Smith's death, conflicts escalated between Mormons and other Illinois residents. To prevent war, Brigham Young led the Mormon pioneers (constituting most of the Latter Day Saints) to a temporary Winter Quarters (North Omaha, Nebraska), winter quarters in Nebraska and then, eventually (beginning in 1847), to what became the Utah Territory.In 2004, the State of Illinois recognized the expulsion of the Latter-day Saints as the "largest forced migration in American history" and stated in the adopted resolution that, "WHEREAS, The biases and prejudices of a less enlightened age in the history of the State of Illinois caused unmeasurable hardship and trauma for the community of Latter-day Saints by the distrust, violence, and inhospitable actions of a dark time in our past; therefore, be it RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we acknowledge the disparity of those past actions and suspicions, regretting the expulsion of the community of Latter-day Saints, a people of faith and hard work." ; "The great Mormon migration of 1846–1847 was but one step in the Mormons' quest for religious freedom and growth." . Having failed to build Zion within the confines of American society, the Mormons began to construct a society in isolation based on their beliefs and values. The cooperative ethic that Mormons had developed over the last decade and a half became important as settlers branched out and colonized a large desert region now known as the Mormon Corridor. Colonizing efforts were seen as religious duties, and the new villages were governed by the Mormon bishop (Latter Day Saints), bishops (local lay religious leaders). The Mormons viewed land as a commonwealth, devising and maintaining a cooperative system of irrigation that allowed them to build a farming community in the desert.
From 1849 to 1852, the Mormons greatly expanded their missionary efforts, establishing several Mission (LDS Church), missions in Europe, Latin America, and the South Pacific.. Converts were expected to "gather" to Zion, and during Young's presidency (1847–77), over seventy thousand Mormon converts immigrated to America. Many of the converts came from England and Scandinavia and were quickly assimilated into the Mormon community. Many of these immigrants crossed the Great Plains in wagons drawn by oxen, while some later groups pulled their possessions in small handcarts. During the 1860s, newcomers began using the new First transcontinental railroad, railroad that was under construction.
In 1852, church leaders publicized the previously secret practice of plural marriage, a form of polygamy. Over the next 50 years, many Mormons (between 20 and 30 percent of Mormon families) entered into plural marriages as a religious duty, with the number of plural marriages reaching a peak around 1860 and then declining through the rest of the century. Besides the doctrinal reasons for plural marriage, the practice made some economic sense, as many of the plural wives were single women who arrived in Utah without brothers or fathers to offer them societal support.
By 1857, tensions had again escalated between Mormons and other Americans, primarily due to accusations involving polygamy and the theocratic rule of the Utah Territory by Brigham Young. In 1857, U.S. President James Buchanan sent an army to Utah, which Mormons interpreted as open aggression against them. Fearing a repeat of Missouri and Illinois, the Mormons prepared to defend themselves, determined to torch their own homes if they were invaded. The relatively peaceful Utah War ensued from 1857 to 1858, in which the most notable instance of violence was the Mountain Meadows massacre when leaders of a local Mormon militia ordered the killing of a civilian emigrant party that was traveling through Utah during the escalating tensions. In 1858, Young agreed to step down from his position as governor and was replaced by a non-Mormon, Alfred Cumming (governor), Alfred Cumming. Nevertheless, the LDS Church still wielded significant political power in the Utah Territory.
At Young's death in 1877, he was followed by other List of presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, LDS Church presidents, who resisted efforts by the United States Congress to outlaw Mormon polygamous marriages.. In 1878, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in ''Reynolds v. United States'' that religious duty was not a suitable defense for practicing polygamy. Many Mormon polygamists went into hiding; later, Congress began seizing church assets. In September 1890, church president Wilford Woodruff issued a 1890 Manifesto, Manifesto that officially suspended the practice of polygamy. Although this Manifesto did not dissolve existing plural marriages, relations with the United States markedly improved after 1890, such that Utah was admitted as a U.S. state in 1896. After the Manifesto, some Mormons continued to enter into polygamous marriages, but these eventually stopped in 1904 when church president Joseph F. Smith Reed Smoot hearings, disavowed polygamy before 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 members found practicing polygamy, and today actively seeks to distance itself from "Mormon fundamentalism, fundamentalist" groups that continue the practice.
During the later half of the 20th century, there was a retrenchment movement in Mormonism in which Mormons became more conservative, attempting to regain their status as a "peculiar people".
Though the 1960s and 1970s brought changes such as Women's Liberation and the civil rights movement, Mormon leaders were alarmed by the erosion of traditional values, the sexual revolution, the widespread use of recreational drugs, moral relativism, and other forces they saw as damaging to the family.
Partly to counter this, Mormons put an even greater emphasis on family life, religious education, and missionary work, becoming more conservative in the process. As a result, Mormons today are probably less integrated with mainstream society than they were in the early 1960s.
Although black people have been members of Mormon congregations since Joseph Smith's time, before 1978, black membership was small. From 1852 to 1978, the LDS Church enforced black people and Mormonism, a policy restricting men of black African descent from being ordained to the church's lay Priesthood (LDS Church), priesthood. The church was sharply criticized for its policy during the civil rights movement, but the policy remained in force until 1978 Revelation on Priesthood, a 1978 reversal that was prompted in part by questions about mixed-race converts in Brazil.. In general, Mormons greeted the change with joy and relief. Since 1978, black membership has grown, and in 1997 there were approximately 500,000 black church members (about 5 percent of the total membership), mostly in Africa, Brazil, and the Caribbean. Black membership has continued to grow substantially, especially in West Africa, where two Temple (LDS Church), temples have been built. Some black Mormons are members of the Genesis Group, an organization of black members that predates the priesthood ban and is endorsed by the church.
The LDS Church grew rapidly after World War II and became a worldwide organization as Mormon missionary, missionaries were sent across the globe. The church doubled in size every 15 to 20 years, and by 1996, there were more Mormons outside the United States than inside. In 2012, there were an estimated 14.8 million Mormons, with roughly 57 percent living outside the United States. It is estimated that approximately 4.5 million Mormons – approximately 30% of the total membership – regularly attend services. A majority of U.S. Mormons are white and non-Hispanic (84 percent). Most Mormons are distributed in North and South America, the South Pacific, and Western Europe. The global distribution of Mormons resembles a contact diffusion model, radiating out from the organization's headquarters in Utah. The church enforces general doctrinal uniformity, congregations on all continents teach the same doctrines, and international Mormons tend to absorb a good deal of Mormon culture, possibly because of the church's top-down hierarchy and missionary presence. However, international Mormons often bring pieces of their own heritage into the church, adapting church practices to local cultures.
As of December 2019, the LDS Church reported having 16,565,036 members worldwide."2019 Statistical Report for April 2020 Conference"
''Church Newsroom'', April 4, 2020. Chile, Uruguay, and several areas in the South Pacific have a higher percentage of Mormons than the United States (which is at about 2 percent). South Pacific countries and dependencies that are more than 10 percent Mormon include American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, and Tonga.
Mormons have a strong sense of communality that stems from their doctrine and history. LDS Church members have a responsibility to dedicate their time and talents to helping the poor and building the church. The church is divided by locality into congregations called "Ward (LDS Church), wards", with several wards or branches to create a "Stake (Latter Day Saints), stake". Most church leadership positions are Laity, lay positions, and church leaders may work 10 to 15 hours a week in unpaid church service. Observant Mormons also contribute 10 percent of their income to the church as tithe, tithing and are often involved in LDS Humanitarian Services, humanitarian efforts. Many LDS young men, women, and elderly couples choose to serve a Proselytism, proselytizing Missionary (LDS Church), mission, during which they dedicate all of their time to the church without pay.
Mormons adhere to the Word of Wisdom, a health law or code that is interpreted as prohibiting the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, coffee and tea, while encouraging the use of herbs, grains, fruits, and a moderate consumption of meat. The Word of Wisdom is also understood to forbid other harmful and addictive substances and practices, such as the use of illegal drugs and abuse of prescription drugs. Mormons are encouraged to keep a year's supplies, including food and financial reserves. Mormons also oppose behaviors such as viewing pornography and gambling.
The concept of a united family that lives and progresses forever is at the core of Latter-day Saint doctrine, and Mormons place a high importance on family life. Many Mormons hold weekly Family Home Evenings, in which an evening is set aside for family bonding, study, prayer, and other activities they consider to be wholesome. Latter-day Saint fathers who hold the Priesthood (LDS Church), priesthood typically name and baby blessing, bless their children shortly after birth to formally give the child a name. Mormon parents hope and pray that their children will gain testimonies of the "gospel" so they can grow up and marry in temples.
Mormons have a strict law of chastity, requiring abstention from sexual relations outside opposite-sex marriage and strict fidelity within marriage. All sexual activity (heterosexual and homosexual) outside marriage is considered a grave sin, with marriage recognized as only between a man and a woman. Same-sex marriages are not performed or supported by the LDS Church. Church members are encouraged to marry and have children, and Latter-day Saint families tend to be larger than average. Mormons are opposed to abortion, except in some exceptional circumstances, such as when pregnancy is the result of incest or rape or when the life or health of the mother is in serious jeopardy. Many practicing adult Mormons wear Temple garment, religious undergarments that remind them of covenant (Latter Day Saints), covenants and encourage them to dress modestly. Latter-day Saints are counseled not to partake in any form of media that is obscene or pornographic in any way, including media that depicts graphic representations of sex or violence. Tattoos and body piercings are also discouraged, with the exception of a single pair of earrings for LDS women.
Homosexual Mormons, LGBT Mormons remain in good standing in the church if they abstain from homosexual relations and obey the law of chastity. While there are no official numbers, LDS Family Services estimates that, on average, four or five members per Ward (LDS Church), LDS ward experience same-sex attraction. Gary Watts, former president of Family Fellowship, estimates that only 10 percent of homosexuals stay in the church. Many of these individuals have come forward through different support groups or websites discussing their homosexual attractions and concurrent church membership.
Mormons believe in "a friendly universe" governed by a God whose aim is to bring his children to immortality and eternal life. Mormons have a unique perspective on the Plurality of gods, nature of God, the origin of man, and the purpose of life. For instance, Mormons believe in a pre-mortal existence where people were literal spirit children of God and that God presented a Plan of salvation (Latter Day Saints), plan of salvation that would allow his children to progress and become more like him. The plan involved the spirits receiving bodies on earth and going through trials in order to learn, progress, and receive a "fullness of joy". The most important part of the plan involved Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, the eldest of God's children, coming to earth as the literal Son of God to conquer sin and death so that God's other children could return. According to Mormons, every person who lives on earth will be resurrected, and nearly all of them will be received into various Degrees of glory, kingdoms of glory. To be accepted into the highest kingdom, a person must fully accept Christ through faith, repentance, and through Ordinance (Latter Day Saints), ordinances such as Baptism (Mormonism), baptism and the Confirmation (Latter Day Saints), laying on of hands.
According to Mormons, a deviation from the original principles of Christianity, known as the Great Apostasy#The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Great Apostasy, began not long after the ascension of Jesus Christ. It was marked by the corruption of Christian doctrine by Greek philosophy, Greek and other philosophies, with followers dividing into different ideological groups. Mormons claim the martyrdom of the Apostles in the New Testament, apostles led to a loss of Priesthood (LDS Church), priesthood authority to administer the church and its ordinances.; Cf
John 14:16–17
an
16:13
Acts 2:1–4
, an
Galatians 1:6–9
. Mormons believe that God Restoration (Latter Day Saints), restored the Early Christianity, early Christian church through Joseph Smith. In particular, Mormons believe that Angel#Latter Day Saints, angels such as Saint Peter, Peter, James, son of Zebedee, James, John the Apostle, John, John the Baptist, Moses, and Elijah appeared to Smith and others and bestowed various priesthood authorities on them. Mormons believe that their church is the "only true and living church" because of the divine authority restored through Smith. Mormons self-identify as being Christian, while many Christians, particularly evangelical Protestants, disagree with this view. Mormons view other religions as having portions of the truth, doing good works, and having genuine value. The LDS Church has a top-down hierarchical structure with a president–prophet dictating revelation (Latter Day Saints), revelations for the entire church. Lay Mormons are also believed to have access to inspiration and are encouraged to seek their own Revelation (Latter Day Saints)#Personal revelation, personal revelations. Mormons see Joseph Smith's First Vision as proof that the heavens are open and that God answers prayers. They place considerable emphasis on "asking God" to find out if something is true. Most Mormons do not claim to have had heavenly visions like Smith's in response to prayers but feel that God talks to them in their hearts and minds through the Holy Ghost. Though Mormons have some beliefs that are considered strange in a modernized world, they continue to hold onto their beliefs because they feel God has spoken to them. (Outside observers sometimes react to Mormonism as "nice people, wacky beliefs." Mormons insist that the "wacky" beliefs pull them together as a people and give them the strength and the know-how to succeed in the modern world).
churchofjesuschrist.org
an
comeuntochrist.org
official websites of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
''The Mormons''
(PBS documentary series) {{authority control Latter Day Saint terms Mormon studies Mormonism Latter Day Saints, *Mormons Religious identity
Terminology
The word ''Mormon (word)#Origin of the term, Mormon'' was initially coined to describe any person who believes in the Book of Mormon as a scripture volume. ''Mormonite'' and ''Mormon'' were originally descriptive terms used by outsiders to the faith and occasionally used by church leaders. The term ''Mormon'' later evolved into a derogatory term, likely during the 1838 Mormon War, although Joseph Smith later adopted the term. Today, while the term ''Mormonism'' can act as a blanket term for all sects following the religious tradition started by Joseph Smith, many sects do not prefer the term ''Mormon'' as an acceptable label. For example, the largest sect, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, based in Salt Lake City, recently clarified in a style guide that it prefers the term ''Latter-day Saints'' among other acceptable terms. The term preferred by the Salt Lake-based LDS church has varied in the past, and at various points, it has embraced the term ''Mormon'' and stated that other sects within the shared faith tradition should not be called ''Mormon''. The second-largest sect, the Community of Christ, also rejects the term ''Mormon'' due to its association with the practice of polygamy among List of denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement#Apostolic succession by Brigham Young, Brighamite sects. Other sects, including several Mormon fundamentalism#Mormon fundamentalist sects, fundamentalist branches of the Brighamite tradition, embrace the term ''Mormon''.History
The history of the Mormons has shaped them into a people with a strong sense of unity and commonality. From the start, Mormons have tried to establish what they call "Zion (Latter Day Saints), Zion", a utopian society of the righteous. Mormon history can be divided into three broad periods: (1) the early history during the lifetime of Joseph Smith, (2) a "pioneer era" under the leadership of Brigham Young and his successors, and (3) a modern era beginning around the turn of the 20th century. In the first period, Smith attempted to build a city called Zion, where converts could gather. Zion became a "landscape of villages" in Utah during the pioneer era. In modern times, Zion is still an ideal, though Mormons gather together in their individual congregations rather than in a central geographic location.Beginnings
The Mormon movement began with the publishing of the Book of Mormon in March 1830, which Smith claimed was a translation of golden plates containing the religious history of an ancient American civilization that the ancient prophet-historian Mormon (Book of Mormon), Mormon had compiled. Smith claimed that Angel Moroni, an angel had directed him to the golden plates buried in the Cumorah, Hill Cumorah. On April 6, 1830, Smith founded the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints), Church of Christ. In 1832, Smith added an account of First Vision, a vision he had sometime in the early 1820s while living in Upstate New York. Some Mormons regarded this vision as the most important event in human history after the birth, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.; (belief in the First Vision now considered second in importance only to belief in the divinity of Jesus.); ("[N]othing we teach, nothing we live by is of greater importance than this initial declaration.").
The early church grew westward as Smith sent missionaries to proselytize. In 1831, the church moved to Kirtland, Ohio, where missionaries had made a large number of converts and Smith began establishing an outpost in Jackson County, Missouri, where he planned to eventually build the city of Zion (Latter Day Saints), Zion (or the New Jerusalem). In 1833, Missouri settlers, alarmed by the rapid influx of Mormons, expelled them from Jackson County into the nearby Clay County, Missouri, Clay County, where local residents were more welcoming.
After Smith led a mission, known as Zion's Camp, to recover the land, he began building Kirtland Temple in Lake County, Ohio, where the church flourished. When the Missouri Mormons were later asked to leave Clay County in 1836, they secured land in what would become Caldwell County, Missouri, Caldwell County.
The Kirtland era ended in 1838 after the failure of a Kirtland Safety Society, church-sponsored anti-bank caused widespread defections, and Smith regrouped with the remaining church in Far West, Missouri. During the fall of 1838, tensions escalated into the 1838 Mormon War, Mormon War with the old Missouri settlers. On October 27, the Lilburn Boggs, governor of Missouri Missouri Executive Order 44, ordered that the Mormons "must be treated as enemies" and be exterminated or driven from the state. Between November and April, some eight thousand displaced Mormons migrated east into Illinois.
In 1839, the Mormons purchased the small town of Commerce, converted swampland on the banks of the Mississippi River, renamed the area Nauvoo, Illinois, and began constructing the Nauvoo Temple. The city became the church's new headquarters and gathering place, and it grew rapidly, fueled in part by converts immigrating from Europe. Meanwhile, Smith introduced temple ceremonies meant to Sealing (Mormonism), seal families together for eternity, as well as the doctrines of eternal progression or Exaltation (Mormonism), exaltation and plural marriage.
Smith created a service organization for women called the Relief Society and the Council of Fifty, representing a future theodemocracy, theodemocratic "Kingdom of God" on the earth. Smith also published the story of his First Vision, in which the God the Father, Father and the Jesus, Son appeared to him when he was about 14 years old. This vision would come to be regarded by some Mormons as the most important event in human history after the birth, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In 1844, local prejudices and political tensions, fueled by Mormon peculiarity, internal dissent, and reports of polygamy, escalated into conflicts between Mormons and "anti-Mormons" in Illinois and Missouri. Smith was arrested, and on June 27, 1844, he and his brother Hyrum Smith, Hyrum were Death of Joseph Smith, killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois. Because Hyrum was Smith's logical successor, their deaths caused a Succession crisis (Latter Day Saints), succession crisis, and Brigham Young assumed leadership over most Latter Day Saints. Young had been a close associate of Smith's and was the senior Apostle (Latter Day Saints), apostle of the Quorum of the Twelve. Smaller groups of Latter-Day Saints followed other leaders to form other denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement, Latter-Day Saints movement.
Pioneer era
For two years after Joseph Smith's death, conflicts escalated between Mormons and other Illinois residents. To prevent war, Brigham Young led the Mormon pioneers (constituting most of the Latter Day Saints) to a temporary Winter Quarters (North Omaha, Nebraska), winter quarters in Nebraska and then, eventually (beginning in 1847), to what became the Utah Territory.In 2004, the State of Illinois recognized the expulsion of the Latter-day Saints as the "largest forced migration in American history" and stated in the adopted resolution that, "WHEREAS, The biases and prejudices of a less enlightened age in the history of the State of Illinois caused unmeasurable hardship and trauma for the community of Latter-day Saints by the distrust, violence, and inhospitable actions of a dark time in our past; therefore, be it RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we acknowledge the disparity of those past actions and suspicions, regretting the expulsion of the community of Latter-day Saints, a people of faith and hard work." ; "The great Mormon migration of 1846–1847 was but one step in the Mormons' quest for religious freedom and growth." . Having failed to build Zion within the confines of American society, the Mormons began to construct a society in isolation based on their beliefs and values. The cooperative ethic that Mormons had developed over the last decade and a half became important as settlers branched out and colonized a large desert region now known as the Mormon Corridor. Colonizing efforts were seen as religious duties, and the new villages were governed by the Mormon bishop (Latter Day Saints), bishops (local lay religious leaders). The Mormons viewed land as a commonwealth, devising and maintaining a cooperative system of irrigation that allowed them to build a farming community in the desert.
From 1849 to 1852, the Mormons greatly expanded their missionary efforts, establishing several Mission (LDS Church), missions in Europe, Latin America, and the South Pacific.. Converts were expected to "gather" to Zion, and during Young's presidency (1847–77), over seventy thousand Mormon converts immigrated to America. Many of the converts came from England and Scandinavia and were quickly assimilated into the Mormon community. Many of these immigrants crossed the Great Plains in wagons drawn by oxen, while some later groups pulled their possessions in small handcarts. During the 1860s, newcomers began using the new First transcontinental railroad, railroad that was under construction.
In 1852, church leaders publicized the previously secret practice of plural marriage, a form of polygamy. Over the next 50 years, many Mormons (between 20 and 30 percent of Mormon families) entered into plural marriages as a religious duty, with the number of plural marriages reaching a peak around 1860 and then declining through the rest of the century. Besides the doctrinal reasons for plural marriage, the practice made some economic sense, as many of the plural wives were single women who arrived in Utah without brothers or fathers to offer them societal support.
By 1857, tensions had again escalated between Mormons and other Americans, primarily due to accusations involving polygamy and the theocratic rule of the Utah Territory by Brigham Young. In 1857, U.S. President James Buchanan sent an army to Utah, which Mormons interpreted as open aggression against them. Fearing a repeat of Missouri and Illinois, the Mormons prepared to defend themselves, determined to torch their own homes if they were invaded. The relatively peaceful Utah War ensued from 1857 to 1858, in which the most notable instance of violence was the Mountain Meadows massacre when leaders of a local Mormon militia ordered the killing of a civilian emigrant party that was traveling through Utah during the escalating tensions. In 1858, Young agreed to step down from his position as governor and was replaced by a non-Mormon, Alfred Cumming (governor), Alfred Cumming. Nevertheless, the LDS Church still wielded significant political power in the Utah Territory.
At Young's death in 1877, he was followed by other List of presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, LDS Church presidents, who resisted efforts by the United States Congress to outlaw Mormon polygamous marriages.. In 1878, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in ''Reynolds v. United States'' that religious duty was not a suitable defense for practicing polygamy. Many Mormon polygamists went into hiding; later, Congress began seizing church assets. In September 1890, church president Wilford Woodruff issued a 1890 Manifesto, Manifesto that officially suspended the practice of polygamy. Although this Manifesto did not dissolve existing plural marriages, relations with the United States markedly improved after 1890, such that Utah was admitted as a U.S. state in 1896. After the Manifesto, some Mormons continued to enter into polygamous marriages, but these eventually stopped in 1904 when church president Joseph F. Smith Reed Smoot hearings, disavowed polygamy before 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 members found practicing polygamy, and today actively seeks to distance itself from "Mormon fundamentalism, fundamentalist" groups that continue the practice.
Modern times
During the early 20th century, Mormons began reintegrating into the American mainstream. In 1929, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir began broadcasting a weekly performance on national radio, becoming an asset for public relations. Mormons emphasized patriotism and industry, rising in socioeconomic status from the bottom among American religious denominations to the middle class. In the 1920s and 1930s, Mormons began migrating out of Utah, a trend hurried by the Great Depression, as Mormons looked for work wherever they could find it. As Mormons spread out, church leaders created programs to help preserve the tight-knit community feel of Mormon culture. In addition to weekly worship services, Mormons began participating in numerous programs such as Scouts BSA (Boy Scouts of America), Boy Scouting, a Young Women (organization), Young Women organization, church-sponsored dances, ward basketball, camping trips, plays, and LDS Seminaries, religious education programs for youth and college students. During the Great Depression, the church started a LDS Humanitarian Services, welfare program to meet the needs of poor members, which has since grown to include a humanitarian branch that provides relief to disaster victims.
During the later half of the 20th century, there was a retrenchment movement in Mormonism in which Mormons became more conservative, attempting to regain their status as a "peculiar people".
Though the 1960s and 1970s brought changes such as Women's Liberation and the civil rights movement, Mormon leaders were alarmed by the erosion of traditional values, the sexual revolution, the widespread use of recreational drugs, moral relativism, and other forces they saw as damaging to the family.
Partly to counter this, Mormons put an even greater emphasis on family life, religious education, and missionary work, becoming more conservative in the process. As a result, Mormons today are probably less integrated with mainstream society than they were in the early 1960s.
Although black people have been members of Mormon congregations since Joseph Smith's time, before 1978, black membership was small. From 1852 to 1978, the LDS Church enforced black people and Mormonism, a policy restricting men of black African descent from being ordained to the church's lay Priesthood (LDS Church), priesthood. The church was sharply criticized for its policy during the civil rights movement, but the policy remained in force until 1978 Revelation on Priesthood, a 1978 reversal that was prompted in part by questions about mixed-race converts in Brazil.. In general, Mormons greeted the change with joy and relief. Since 1978, black membership has grown, and in 1997 there were approximately 500,000 black church members (about 5 percent of the total membership), mostly in Africa, Brazil, and the Caribbean. Black membership has continued to grow substantially, especially in West Africa, where two Temple (LDS Church), temples have been built. Some black Mormons are members of the Genesis Group, an organization of black members that predates the priesthood ban and is endorsed by the church.
The LDS Church grew rapidly after World War II and became a worldwide organization as Mormon missionary, missionaries were sent across the globe. The church doubled in size every 15 to 20 years, and by 1996, there were more Mormons outside the United States than inside. In 2012, there were an estimated 14.8 million Mormons, with roughly 57 percent living outside the United States. It is estimated that approximately 4.5 million Mormons – approximately 30% of the total membership – regularly attend services. A majority of U.S. Mormons are white and non-Hispanic (84 percent). Most Mormons are distributed in North and South America, the South Pacific, and Western Europe. The global distribution of Mormons resembles a contact diffusion model, radiating out from the organization's headquarters in Utah. The church enforces general doctrinal uniformity, congregations on all continents teach the same doctrines, and international Mormons tend to absorb a good deal of Mormon culture, possibly because of the church's top-down hierarchy and missionary presence. However, international Mormons often bring pieces of their own heritage into the church, adapting church practices to local cultures.
As of December 2019, the LDS Church reported having 16,565,036 members worldwide."2019 Statistical Report for April 2020 Conference"''Church Newsroom'', April 4, 2020. Chile, Uruguay, and several areas in the South Pacific have a higher percentage of Mormons than the United States (which is at about 2 percent). South Pacific countries and dependencies that are more than 10 percent Mormon include American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, and Tonga.
Culture and practices
Isolation in Utah had allowed Mormons to create a culture of their own.. As the faith spread worldwide, many of its more distinctive practices followed. Mormon converts are urged to undergo lifestyle changes, repent of sins, and adopt sometimes atypical standards of conduct. Practices common to Mormons include studying Religious text, scriptures, praying daily, fasting regularly, attending Sunday worship services, participating in church programs and activities on weekdays, and refraining from work on Sundays when possible. The most important part of the church services is considered to be the Lord's Supper (commonly called Sacrament (LDS Church), sacrament), in which church members renew covenants made at Baptism (Mormonism), baptism. Mormons also emphasize standards they believe were taught by Jesus Christ, including personal honesty, integrity, obedience to the law, chastity outside marriage, and fidelity within marriage. In 2010, around 13–14 percent of Mormons lived in Utah, the center of cultural influence for Mormonism. Religion in Utah, Utah Mormons (as well as Mormons living in the Intermountain West) are on average more culturally and/or politically conservative than those living in some cosmopolitan centers elsewhere in the U.S. Utahns self-identifying as Mormon also attend church somewhat more on average than Mormons living in other states. (Nonetheless, whether they live in Utah or elsewhere in the U.S., Mormons tend to be more culturally and/or politically conservative than members of other U.S. religious groups.) Utah Mormons often emphasize Mormon pioneer, pioneer heritage more than international Mormons, who generally are not descendants of the Mormon pioneers.
Mormons have a strong sense of communality that stems from their doctrine and history. LDS Church members have a responsibility to dedicate their time and talents to helping the poor and building the church. The church is divided by locality into congregations called "Ward (LDS Church), wards", with several wards or branches to create a "Stake (Latter Day Saints), stake". Most church leadership positions are Laity, lay positions, and church leaders may work 10 to 15 hours a week in unpaid church service. Observant Mormons also contribute 10 percent of their income to the church as tithe, tithing and are often involved in LDS Humanitarian Services, humanitarian efforts. Many LDS young men, women, and elderly couples choose to serve a Proselytism, proselytizing Missionary (LDS Church), mission, during which they dedicate all of their time to the church without pay.
Mormons adhere to the Word of Wisdom, a health law or code that is interpreted as prohibiting the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, coffee and tea, while encouraging the use of herbs, grains, fruits, and a moderate consumption of meat. The Word of Wisdom is also understood to forbid other harmful and addictive substances and practices, such as the use of illegal drugs and abuse of prescription drugs. Mormons are encouraged to keep a year's supplies, including food and financial reserves. Mormons also oppose behaviors such as viewing pornography and gambling.
The concept of a united family that lives and progresses forever is at the core of Latter-day Saint doctrine, and Mormons place a high importance on family life. Many Mormons hold weekly Family Home Evenings, in which an evening is set aside for family bonding, study, prayer, and other activities they consider to be wholesome. Latter-day Saint fathers who hold the Priesthood (LDS Church), priesthood typically name and baby blessing, bless their children shortly after birth to formally give the child a name. Mormon parents hope and pray that their children will gain testimonies of the "gospel" so they can grow up and marry in temples.
Mormons have a strict law of chastity, requiring abstention from sexual relations outside opposite-sex marriage and strict fidelity within marriage. All sexual activity (heterosexual and homosexual) outside marriage is considered a grave sin, with marriage recognized as only between a man and a woman. Same-sex marriages are not performed or supported by the LDS Church. Church members are encouraged to marry and have children, and Latter-day Saint families tend to be larger than average. Mormons are opposed to abortion, except in some exceptional circumstances, such as when pregnancy is the result of incest or rape or when the life or health of the mother is in serious jeopardy. Many practicing adult Mormons wear Temple garment, religious undergarments that remind them of covenant (Latter Day Saints), covenants and encourage them to dress modestly. Latter-day Saints are counseled not to partake in any form of media that is obscene or pornographic in any way, including media that depicts graphic representations of sex or violence. Tattoos and body piercings are also discouraged, with the exception of a single pair of earrings for LDS women.
Homosexual Mormons, LGBT Mormons remain in good standing in the church if they abstain from homosexual relations and obey the law of chastity. While there are no official numbers, LDS Family Services estimates that, on average, four or five members per Ward (LDS Church), LDS ward experience same-sex attraction. Gary Watts, former president of Family Fellowship, estimates that only 10 percent of homosexuals stay in the church. Many of these individuals have come forward through different support groups or websites discussing their homosexual attractions and concurrent church membership.
Groups within Mormonism
Note that the categories below are not necessarily mutually exclusive.Latter-day Saints ("LDS")
Members of the LDS Church, also known as Latter-day Saints, constitute over 95 percent of Mormons. The beliefs and practices of LDS Mormons are generally guided by the teachings of general authority, LDS Church leaders. However, several smaller groups substantially differ from "mainstream" Mormonism in various ways. LDS Church members who do not actively participate in worship services or church callings are often called "Less-active Mormon, less-active" or "inactive" (akin to the qualifying expressions ''non-observant'' or ''non-practicing'' used in relation to members of other religious groups).. The LDS Church does not release statistics on church activity, but it is likely that about 40 percent of Mormons in the United States and 30 percent worldwide regularly attend worship services. Reasons for inactivity can include rejection of the fundamental beliefs and/or history of the church, lifestyle incongruities with doctrinal teachings, and problems with social integration. Activity rates tend to vary with age, and disengagement occurs most frequently between age 16 and 25. In 1998, the church reported that most less active members returned to church activity later in life. As of 2017, the LDS Church was losing millennials, millennial-age members, a phenomenon not unique to the LDS Church. Former Latter-day Saints who seek to disassociate themselves from the religion are often referred to as ex-Mormons.Fundamentalist Mormons
Members of sects that broke with the LDS Church over the issue of polygamy have become known as Mormon fundamentalism, fundamentalist Mormons; these groups differ from mainstream Mormonism primarily in their belief in and practice of plural marriage. There are thought to be between 20,000 and 60,000 members of fundamentalist sects (0.1–0.4 percent of Mormons), with roughly half of them practicing polygamy. There are many fundamentalist sects, the largest two being the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church) and the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB). In addition to plural marriage, some of these groups also practice a form of Christian communism, Christian communalism known as the law of consecration or the United Order. The LDS Church seeks to distance itself from all such polygamous groups, excommunicating their members if discovered practicing or teaching it, and today, a majority of Mormon fundamentalists have never been members of the LDS Church.Liberal Mormons
Liberal Mormons, also known as Progressive Mormons, take an interpretive approach to LDS teachings and scripture. They look to the scriptures for spiritual guidance, but may not necessarily believe the teachings to be literally or uniquely true. For liberal Mormons, revelation is a process through which God gradually brings fallible human beings to greater understanding. A person in this group is sometimes mistakenly regarded by others within the mainstream church as a Jack Mormon, although this term is more commonly used to describe a different group with distinct motives to live the gospel in a non-traditional manner. Liberal Mormons place doing good and loving fellow human beings above the importance of believing correctly. In a separate context, members of small List of denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement#Liberal Mormon, progressive breakaway groups have also adopted the label.Cultural Mormons
Cultural Mormons are individuals who may not believe in certain doctrines or practices of the institutional LDS Church yet identify as members of the Mormon ethnic identity. Usually, this is a result of having been raised in the LDS faith or having converted and spent a large portion of one's life as an active member of the LDS Church. Cultural Mormons may or may not be actively involved with the LDS Church. In some cases, they may not be members of the LDS Church.Beliefs
Mormons have Standard Works, a scriptural canon consisting of the Bible (both Old and New Testaments), the Book of Mormon, and a collection of revelations and writings by Joseph Smith known as the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism), Pearl of Great Price. Mormons, however, have a relatively Continuous revelation, open definition of Religious text, scripture. As a general rule, anything spoken or written by a Prophet, seer, and revelator, prophet, while under inspiration, is considered to be the word of God. Thus, the Bible, written by prophets and apostles, is the word of God, so far as it is translated correctly. The Book of Mormon is also believed to have been written by ancient prophets and is viewed as a companion to the Bible. By this definition, the teachings of Smith's successors are also accepted as scripture, though they are always measured against and draw heavily from the scriptural canon.
Mormons believe in "a friendly universe" governed by a God whose aim is to bring his children to immortality and eternal life. Mormons have a unique perspective on the Plurality of gods, nature of God, the origin of man, and the purpose of life. For instance, Mormons believe in a pre-mortal existence where people were literal spirit children of God and that God presented a Plan of salvation (Latter Day Saints), plan of salvation that would allow his children to progress and become more like him. The plan involved the spirits receiving bodies on earth and going through trials in order to learn, progress, and receive a "fullness of joy". The most important part of the plan involved Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, the eldest of God's children, coming to earth as the literal Son of God to conquer sin and death so that God's other children could return. According to Mormons, every person who lives on earth will be resurrected, and nearly all of them will be received into various Degrees of glory, kingdoms of glory. To be accepted into the highest kingdom, a person must fully accept Christ through faith, repentance, and through Ordinance (Latter Day Saints), ordinances such as Baptism (Mormonism), baptism and the Confirmation (Latter Day Saints), laying on of hands.
According to Mormons, a deviation from the original principles of Christianity, known as the Great Apostasy#The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Great Apostasy, began not long after the ascension of Jesus Christ. It was marked by the corruption of Christian doctrine by Greek philosophy, Greek and other philosophies, with followers dividing into different ideological groups. Mormons claim the martyrdom of the Apostles in the New Testament, apostles led to a loss of Priesthood (LDS Church), priesthood authority to administer the church and its ordinances.; CfJohn 14:16–17
an
16:13
Acts 2:1–4
, an
Galatians 1:6–9
. Mormons believe that God Restoration (Latter Day Saints), restored the Early Christianity, early Christian church through Joseph Smith. In particular, Mormons believe that Angel#Latter Day Saints, angels such as Saint Peter, Peter, James, son of Zebedee, James, John the Apostle, John, John the Baptist, Moses, and Elijah appeared to Smith and others and bestowed various priesthood authorities on them. Mormons believe that their church is the "only true and living church" because of the divine authority restored through Smith. Mormons self-identify as being Christian, while many Christians, particularly evangelical Protestants, disagree with this view. Mormons view other religions as having portions of the truth, doing good works, and having genuine value. The LDS Church has a top-down hierarchical structure with a president–prophet dictating revelation (Latter Day Saints), revelations for the entire church. Lay Mormons are also believed to have access to inspiration and are encouraged to seek their own Revelation (Latter Day Saints)#Personal revelation, personal revelations. Mormons see Joseph Smith's First Vision as proof that the heavens are open and that God answers prayers. They place considerable emphasis on "asking God" to find out if something is true. Most Mormons do not claim to have had heavenly visions like Smith's in response to prayers but feel that God talks to them in their hearts and minds through the Holy Ghost. Though Mormons have some beliefs that are considered strange in a modernized world, they continue to hold onto their beliefs because they feel God has spoken to them. (Outside observers sometimes react to Mormonism as "nice people, wacky beliefs." Mormons insist that the "wacky" beliefs pull them together as a people and give them the strength and the know-how to succeed in the modern world).
See also
* List of Latter Day Saints * Brighamite, List of denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement: Followers of Brigham Young * List of former or dissident LDSReferences
Further reading
* . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * * . * . * . * .External links
churchofjesuschrist.org
an
comeuntochrist.org
official websites of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
''The Mormons''
(PBS documentary series) {{authority control Latter Day Saint terms Mormon studies Mormonism Latter Day Saints, *Mormons Religious identity