Mormons

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon Church, or the LDS Church, has over 10 million members. Mormons are found in 155 countries and territories throughout the world in more than 22,000 congregations and there are currently over 50,000 missionaries preaching worldwide. Over half of the members live outside of the United States. The largest nonUS Mormon populations are in South America and Mexico, followed by Asia, Europe, Central America, the South Pacific, Canada, Africa and the Caribbean. The church has a male lay priesthood and, except for an extremely small number of general authorities, no paid clergy Church members, both men and women, assist in the administration and spiritual sustenance of the congregations. Members are voluntarily tithed at 10 percent of their income. Participation in congregations, community service and missionary work extend well beyond Sabbath worship.

Joseph Smith, Jr., founder and first prophet, organized the church in 1830 at Fayette, New York. Persecution drove the Mormons from New York to Ohio, Missouri and Illinois where Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred in 1844. Following his death, Smith’s successor, Brigham Young, led the main body of the church west in the Mormon pioneer exodus that ended in the building of the Mormon Zion in Utah. Large numbers of European converts migrated west. Mormons were important colonizers of the western United States and, despite disputes over the economic structuring of Mormon society (strongly communitarian) and the practice of plural marriage among some church members (discontinued in 1890), Utah was granted statehood in 1896. Despite difficulties with the federal government and anti-Mormon sentiment nationally the Mormon Church exemplified nineteenth-century American idealism. Mormonism can be seen as the embodiment of manifest destiny and the American dream.

In the post-Second World War period, the LDS Church has experienced a period of rapid growth, organizational consolidation and financial security Currently it is undergoing the transition from an American to a global religion. Doctrinally the church relies on the Bible and The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, as well as two smaller volumes, The Doctrine and Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price. Latter-day Saints believe the book is a record of God’s dealings with his children in the Western Hemisphere from 600 BC to AD 421, culminating in the visitation and ministry of Jesus Christ in the Americas after his crucifixion. The doctrine of continuing revelation (on an individual basis for all members of the church and through the president, sustained as prophet, seer and revelator, of the church for church matters) is central. Distinctive tenets include: belief in a premortal and postmortal life; sacred ordinances for deceased ancestors; moral and health codes; individual progression; the eternal nature of the family; family history and genealogy In 1978 the priesthood was extended to all worthy male members of the church. Women are not ordained to the priesthood, and the church has drawn criticism from some Mormons and many non-Mormons concerning public stances against the Equal Rights Amendment, anti-abortion legislation and full-time employment for mothers of young children. However, Mormon women are active participants in congregations, auxiliary organizations and temple worship.

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