Mormons
United States 6,592,195[2] | | |
Mexico | 1,417,011[2] | |
---|---|---|
Brazil | 1,354,127[2] | |
Philippines | 745,959[2] | |
Chile | 585,887[2] | |
Peru | 578,526[2] | |
Argentina | 445,108[2] | |
Religions | ||
Mormonism |
Mormons are a
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
Mormons self-identify as Christian,
During the 19th century, Mormon converts tended to gather in a central geographic location, a trend that reversed somewhat in the 1920s and 1930s. The center of Mormon cultural influence is in Utah, and North America has more Mormons than any other continent, although about 60% of Mormons live outside the United States. As of December 31, 2021, the LDS Church reported a membership of 16,805,400.[7]
Terminology
The terminology preferred by the church itself has varied over time. At various points, the church has embraced the term Mormon and stated that other sects within the shared faith tradition should not be called Mormon.[8]
The word
The LDS Church has made efforts, including in 1982, in 2001 prior to the
In 2018, the LDS Church published a style guide that encourages the use of the terms "the Church", the "Church of Jesus Christ" or the "restored Church of Jesus Christ" as shortened versions after an initial use of the full name.[12][11][13] According to church historian Bowman, 'the term "restored" refers to the idea that the original Christian religion is obsolete, and Mormons alone are practicing true Christianity.'[11]
The 2018 style guide rejects the term Mormons along with "Mormon Church", "Mormonism", and the abbreviation LDS.[11] The second-largest sect, the Community of Christ, also rejects the term Mormon due to its association with the practice of polygamy among Brighamite sects.[14] Other sects, including several 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.[15] From the start, Mormons have tried to establish what they call "Zion", a utopian society of the righteous.[16] 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.[17]
Beginnings
The Mormon movement began with the publishing of the Book of Mormon in March 1830, which Smith claimed was a translation of
The early church grew westward as Smith sent missionaries to proselytize.[22] In 1831, the church moved to Kirtland, Ohio, where missionaries had made a large number of converts[23] and Smith began establishing an outpost in Jackson County, Missouri,[24] where he planned to eventually build the city of Zion (or the New Jerusalem).[25] In 1833, Missouri settlers, alarmed by the rapid influx of Mormons, expelled them from Jackson County into the nearby Clay County, where local residents were more welcoming.[26] After Smith led a mission, known as Zion's Camp, to recover the land,[27] he began building Kirtland Temple in Lake County, Ohio, where the church flourished.[28] When the Missouri Mormons were later asked to leave Clay County in 1836, they secured land in what would become Caldwell County.[29]
The Kirtland era ended in 1838 after the failure of a church-sponsored anti-bank caused widespread defections,[30] and Smith regrouped with the remaining church in Far West, Missouri.[31] During the fall of 1838, tensions escalated into the Mormon War with the old Missouri settlers.[32] On October 27, the governor of Missouri ordered that the Mormons "must be treated as enemies" and be exterminated or driven from the state.[33] Between November and April, some eight thousand displaced Mormons migrated east into Illinois.[34]
In 1839, the Mormons purchased the small town of Commerce, converted swampland on the banks of the Mississippi River, renamed the area Nauvoo, Illinois,[35] 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.[36] Meanwhile, Smith introduced temple ceremonies meant to seal families together for eternity, as well as the doctrines of eternal progression or exaltation[37] and plural marriage.[38] Smith created a service organization for women called the Relief Society and the Council of Fifty, representing a future theodemocratic "Kingdom of God" on the earth.[39] Smith also published the story of his First Vision, in which the Father and the Son appeared to him when he was about 14 years old.[40] 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.[21]
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.
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
From 1849 to 1852, the Mormons greatly expanded their missionary efforts, establishing several missions in Europe, Latin America, and the South Pacific.[53] Converts were expected to "gather" to Zion, and during Young's presidency (1847–77), over seventy thousand Mormon converts immigrated to America.[53] Many of the converts came from England and Scandinavia and were quickly assimilated into the Mormon community.[54] 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 railroad that was under construction.[55]
In 1852, church leaders publicized the previously secret practice of
By 1857, tensions had again escalated between Mormons and other Americans, primarily due to accusations involving polygamy and the
At Young's death in 1877, he was followed by other LDS Church presidents, who resisted efforts by the United States Congress to outlaw Mormon polygamous marriages.[65] 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.[65] In September 1890, church president Wilford Woodruff issued a Manifesto that officially suspended the practice of polygamy.[66] 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 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 excommunicating members found practicing polygamy, and today actively seeks to distance itself from "fundamentalist" groups that continue the practice.[67]
Modern times
During the early 20th century, Mormons began reintegrating into the American mainstream. In 1929, the
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".[74] Though the 1960s and 1970s brought changes such as
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 a policy restricting men of black African descent from being ordained to the church's lay priesthood.[77] The church was sharply criticized for its policy during the civil rights movement, but the policy remained in force until a 1978 reversal that was prompted in part by questions about mixed-race converts in Brazil.[78] In general, Mormons greeted the change with joy and relief.[78] 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.[79] Black membership has continued to grow substantially, especially in West Africa, where two temples have been built.[80] 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.[81]
The LDS Church grew rapidly after World War II and became a worldwide organization as missionaries were sent across the globe. The church doubled in size every 15 to 20 years,[82] and by 1996, there were more Mormons outside the United States than inside.[83] In 2012, there were an estimated 14.8 million Mormons,[84] with roughly 57 percent living outside the United States.[85] It is estimated that approximately 4.5 million Mormons – approximately 30% of the total membership – regularly attend services.[86] A majority of U.S. Mormons are white and non-Hispanic (84 percent).[87] 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.[88] 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.[89]
As of December 2019, the LDS Church reported having 16,565,036 members worldwide.[90] 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).[91] 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
In 2010, around 13–14 percent of Mormons lived in Utah, the center of cultural influence for Mormonism.
Mormons have a strong sense of communality that stems from their doctrine and history.
Mormons adhere to the
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.
Mormons have a strict
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.[118] The beliefs and practices of LDS Mormons are generally guided by the teachings of 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" or "inactive" (akin to the qualifying expressions non-observant or non-practicing used in relation to members of other religious groups).[119] 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.[120] Reasons for inactivity can include rejection of the fundamental beliefs, history of the church, lifestyle incongruities with doctrinal teachings or problems with social integration.[121] 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.[122] As of 2017, the LDS Church was losing millennial-age members,[123] a phenomenon not unique to the LDS Church.[124] 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
Liberal Mormons
Liberal Mormons, also known as Progressive Mormons, take an interpretive approach to LDS teachings and scripture.[119] 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.[128] 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.[129] Liberal Mormons place doing good and loving fellow human beings above the importance of believing correctly.[130] In a separate context, members of small progressive breakaway groups have also adopted the label.
Cultural Mormons
Beliefs
Mormons have
Mormons believe in "a friendly universe" governed by a God whose aim is to bring his children to immortality and eternal life.
According to Mormons, a deviation from the original principles of Christianity, referred to by them as
The LDS Church has a top-down hierarchical structure with a president–prophet dictating
See also
- List of Latter Day Saints
- Brighamite
- List of former or dissident LDS
- Anti-Mormonism
References
- S2CID 254325184. Archived from the original(PDF) on September 23, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2013. (estimating the number of so-called Fundamentalist Mormons at around 20,000).
- ^ a b c d e f g "LDS Statistics and Church Facts – Total Church Membership". mormonnewsroom.org. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Criss, Doug (August 17, 2018). "Mormons don't want you calling them Mormons anymore". CNN. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
- ^ Mormons in America: Certain in Their Beliefs, Uncertain of Their Place in Society Archived September 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life 2012, p.10: Mormons are nearly unanimous in describing Mormonism as a Christian religion, with 97% expressing this point of view
- ^ Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (CARM), Is Mormonism Christian? Archived February 26, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, accessed February 27, 2016
- ^ "Are Mormons Christian?".
- ^ "2021 Statistical Report for 2022 April Conference". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Newsroom. Retrieved April 2, 2022.[permanent dead link]
- ISBN 0-7382-0740-3, p.48) Despite the LDS Church's position, the term Mormon is widely used by journalists and non-journalists to refer to adherents of Mormon fundamentalism.
- ^ "The Original Intention Behind the Term Mormon". Mormon Scholar. November 22, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
- ^ "From the Illinois State Register" (PDF). No. 2. The Pioneer. November 13, 1844. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ On August 18, 2018, church president Russell M. Nelson asked followers and non-followers to characterize the denomination with the name "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" instead of "Mormons", "Mormonism" or the shorthand of "LDS"."Latter Day Saints church leader rejects 'Mormon' label". BBC News. August 18, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
- ^ Stack, Peggy Fletcher (August 22, 2018). "LDS Church wants everyone to stop calling it the LDS Church and drop the word 'Mormons' — but some members doubt it will happen". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- S2CID 246562695– via JSTOR Journals.
- ^ O'Dea (1957, pp. 75, 119).
- Enoch became a model for the Saints. Enoch's city was a Zion "because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there were no poor among them" Bushman (2008, pp. 36–38); (Book of Moses 7:18).
- ^ "In Missouri and Illinois, Zion had been a city; in Utah, it was a landscape of villages; in the urban diaspora, it was the ward with its extensive programs." Bushman (2008, p. 107).
- ^ Bushman (2008, p. 19).
- Manchester, New York at the Smith log home, or in Fayette at the home of Peter Whitmer Sr. Bushman (2005, p. 109); Marquardt (2005, pp. 223–23) (arguing that organization in Manchester is most consistent with eye-witness statements).
- ISBN 9780786484034. Retrieved January 25, 2012..
- ^ a b LDS Church (2010). "Joseph Smith Home Page/Mission of the Prophet/First Vision: This Is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!". Retrieved April 29, 2010.; Allen (1966, p. 29) (belief in the First Vision now considered second in importance only to belief in the divinity of Jesus.); Hinkley, Gordon B. (1998). "What Are People Asking about Us?". Ensign (November). ("[N]othing we teach, nothing we live by is of greater importance than this initial declaration.").
- ^ O'Dea (1957, p. 41) (by the next spring the church had 1,000 members).
- ^ Brodie (1971, p. 97) (citing letter by Smith to Kirtland converts, quoted in Howe (1834, p. 111)); O'Dea (1957, p. 41).
- ^ Smith et al. (1835, p. 154); Bushman (2005, p. 162); Brodie (1971, p. 109).
- ^ Smith said in 1831 that God intended the Mormons to "retain a strong hold in the land of Kirtland, for the space of five years." (Doctrine and Covenants 64:21); Bushman (2005, p. 122).
- ^ Bushman (2005, pp. 222–27); Brodie (1971, p. 137) (noting that the brutality of the Jackson Countians aroused sympathy for the Mormons and was almost universally deplored by the media); O'Dea (1957, pp. 43–45) (The Mormons were forced out in a November gale, and were taken in by Clay County residents, who earned from non-Mormons the derogative title of "Jack Mormons").
- ^ Brodie (1971, pp. 141, 146–59); Bushman (2005, p. 322).
- revelationsduring the Kirtland era.
- ^ O'Dea (1957, p. 45) (In December 1836, the Missouri legislature granted the Mormons the right to organize Caldwell County).
- ^ Bushman (2005, pp. 328–38); Brooke (1994, p. 221) ("Ultimately, the rituals and visions dedicating the Kirtland temple were not sufficient to hold the church together in the face of a mounting series of internal disputes.")
- ^ Roberts (1905, p. 24) (referring to the Far West church as the "church in Zion"); (Bushman 2005, p. 345) (The revelation calling Far West "Zion" had the effect of "implying that Far West was to take the place of Independence.")
- ^ Bushman (2005, pp. 357–64); Brodie (1971, pp. 227–30); Remini (2002, p. 134); Quinn (1994, pp. 97–98).
- ^ (Bushman 2005, p. 367) (Boggs' executive order stated that the Mormon community had "made war upon the people of this State" and that "the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace"). (Bushman 2005, p. 398) (In 1976, Missouri issued a formal apology for this order) O'Dea (1957, p. 47).
- ^ O'Dea (1957, p. 47) ("the Saints, after being ravaged by troops, robbed by neighbors, and insulted by public officials from February to April, crossed over into Illinois").
- ^ Bushman (2005, pp. 383–84).
- ^ Bushman (2005, p. 409); Brodie (1971, pp. 258, 264–65); O'Dea (1957, p. 51) (noting the city growth and missionary success in England).
- ^ Widmer (2000, p. 119) (Smith taught that faithful Mormons may progress until they become co-equal with God); Roberts (1909, pp. 502–03); Bushman (2005, pp. 497–98) (the second anointing provided a guarantee that participants would be exalted even if they sinned).
- ^ Initially, Smith introduced plural marriage only to his closest associates.Brodie (1971, pp. 334–36); Bushman (2005, pp. 437, 644) The practice was acknowledged publicly in 1852 by Brigham Young.
- ^ Quinn 1980, pp. 120–122, 165; Bushman (2005, pp. 519–21) (describing the Council of Fifty).
- ISBN 978-1-56085-072-4..) As the LDS historian Richard Bushman wrote in his biography of Smith, "At first, Joseph was reluctant to talk about his vision. Most early converts probably never heard about the 1820 vision." Bushman (2005, p. 39).
- ^ O'Dea (1957, pp. 64–67)
- OCLC 24502140.
- ^ Brigham Young later said of Hyrum, "Did Joseph Smith ordain any man to take his place. He did. Who was it? It was Hyrum, but Hyrum fell a martyr before Joseph did. If Hyrum had lived he would have acted for Joseph." Times and Seasons, 5 [October 15, 1844]: 683.
- ^ Quinn (1994, p. 143); Brodie (1971, p. 398).
- ^ Bushman (2005, pp. 556–57).
- apostle of the Quorum of the Twelve, would be ordained President of the Churchas a matter of course upon the death of the former President, subject to unanimous agreement of the Quorum of the Twelve.
- ^ Quinn (1994, pp. 198–211).
- ^ 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." Illinois General Assembly (April 1, 2004). "Official House Resolution HR0793 (LRB093 21726 KEF 49525 r)".; "The great Mormon migration of 1846–1847 was but one step in the Mormons' quest for religious freedom and growth." "Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail: History & Culture", NPS.gov, National Park Service, retrieved July 9, 2014.
- ^ O'Dea (1957, p. 86) ("Having failed to build Zion within the confines of American society, the Latter-day Saints found in the Great Basin the isolation that would enable them to establish a distinctive community based upon their own beliefs and values").
- JSTOR 3633392..
- ^ O'Dea (1957, pp. 86–89).
- ^ O'Dea (1957, pp. 87–91).
- ^ a b O'Dea (1957, p. 91).
- ^ O'Dea (1957, pp. 91–92); "Welsh Mormon History", WelshMormon.BYU.edu, Center for Family History and Genealogy, Brigham Young University During the 1840s and 1850s many thousands of Welsh Mormon converts immigrated to America, and today, it is estimated that around 20 percent of the population of Utah is of Welsh descent.
- ^ O'Dea (1957, pp. 95–96).
- Mormon Tabernacle on August 28, 1852, and reprinted in an extra edition of the Deseret News"Minutes of conference: a special conference of the elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints assembled in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, August 28, 1852, 10 o'clock, a.m., pursuant to public notice". Deseret News Extra. September 14, 1852. p. 14.. See also The 1850s: Official sanction in the LDS Church
- ISBN 978-0-8078-5501-0..
- ^ Bushman (2008, p. 88) (If asked why they entered these relationships, both plural wives and husbands emphasized spiritual blessings of being sealed eternally and of submitting to God's will. According to the federal censuses, the highest percentage of the population in polygamous families was in 1860 (43.6 percent) and it declined to 25 percent in 1880 and to 7 percent in 1890).
- ^ Bushman (2008, p. 88) ("The close study of the marriages in one nineteenth-century Utah community revealed that a disproportionate number of plural wives were women who arrived in Utah without fathers or brothers to care for them...Since better-off men more frequently married plurally, the practice distributed wealth to the poor and disconnected").
- OCLC 13941646
- ^ O'Dea (1957, pp. 101–02); Bushman (2008, p. 95).
- ^ Bushman (2008, pp. 96–97) (calling the Mountain Meadows massacre the greatest tragedy in Mormon history).
- ^ To combat the notion that rank-and-file Mormons were unhappy under Young's leadership, Cumming noted that he had offered to help any to leave the territory if they desired. Of the 50,000 inhabitants of the state of Utah, the underwhelming response—56 men, 33 women, and 71 children, most of whom stated they left for economic reasons—impressed Cumming, as did the fact that Mormon leaders contributed supplies to the emigrants. Cumming to [Secretary of State Lewis Cass], written by Thomas Kane, May 2, 1858, BYU Special Collections.
- ISBN 978-0-252-06980-2..
- ^ a b Bushman (2008, p. 97).
- ^ Official Declaration 1
- ^ "Style Guide – The Name of the Church: Topics and Background", MormonNewsroom.org, LDS Church, April 9, 2010, retrieved July 9, 2014,
When referring to people or organizations that practice polygamy, it should be stated that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not affiliated with polygamous groups.
. The church repudiates polygamist groups and excommunicates their members if discovered: Bushman (2008, p. 91); Mormons seek distance from polygamous sects, NBCNews.com, June 26, 2008{{citation}}
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ignored (help). - ^ Bushman (2008, p. 103).
- ^ Mauss (1994, p. 22). "With the consistent encouragement of church leaders, Mormons became models of patriotic, law-abiding citizenship, sometimes seeming to "out-American" all other Americans. Their participation in the full spectrum of national, social, political, economic, and cultural life has been thorough and sincere".
- ^ Bushman (2008, p. 105).
- ^ Bushman (2008, p. 106).
- ^ Bushman (2008, p. 53).
- ^ Bushman (2008, pp. 40–41).
- ^ The term peculiar people is consciously borrowed from 1 Peter 2:9, and can be interpreted as "special" or "different", though Mormons have certainly been viewed as "peculiar" in the modern sense as well. Mauss (1994, p. 60).
- ^ "Developments mitigating traditional racial, ethnic, and gender inequality and bigotry were regarded in hindsight by most Americans (and most Mormons) as desirable .... On the other hand, Mormons (and many others) have watched with increasing alarm the spread throughout society of 'liberating' innovations such as the normalization of non-marital sexual behavior, the rise in abortion, illegitimacy, divorce, and child neglect or abuse, recreational drugs, crime, etc." Mauss (1994, p. 124).
- ^ "[T]he church appears to have arrested, if not reversed, the erosion of distinctive Mormon ways that might have been anticipated in the 60s." Mauss (1994, p. 140). "However, in partial contradiction to their public image, Mormons stand mostly on the liberal side of the continuum on certain other social and political issues, notably on civil rights, and even on women's rights, except where these seem to conflict with child-rearing roles." Mauss (1994, p. 156).
- ISBN 978-0-252-02803-8.; Bushman (2008, pp. 111–12) ("The origins of this policy are not altogether clear. "Passages in Joseph Smith's translations indicate that a lineage associated with Ham and the Egyptian pharaohs was forbidden the priesthood. Connecting the ancient pharaohs with modern Africans and African Americans required a speculative leap, but by the time of Brigham Young, the leap was made.")
- ^ a b Bushman (2008, pp. 111–12).
- ^ "1999–2000 Church Almanac". Adherents.com: 119. 1998. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) "A rough estimate would place the number of Church members with African roots at year-end 1997 at half a million, with about 100,000 each in Africa and the Caribbean, and another 300,000 in Brazil." - ^ "The Church Continues to Grow in Africa". Genesis Group. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012.
- ^ Newell G. Bringhurst, Darron T. Smith (December 13, 2005). Black and Mormon. University of Illinois Press. pp. 102–104.
- , February 25, 2012 (In 2010 alone the church grew by 400,000 new members, including converts and newborns).
- ^ Todd, Jay M. (March 1996). "More Members Now outside U.S. Than in U.S". Ensign. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
- ^ "2012 Statistical Report for 2013 April General Conference". April 6, 2013.
- ^ In 2011, approximately 6.2 million of the church's 14.4 million members lived in the U.S. "Facts and Statistics: United States". LDS Newsroom. December 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2018..
- ^ Stack, Peggy Fletcher (January 10, 2014), "New almanac offers look at the world of Mormon membership", The Salt Lake Tribune.
- ^ "Mormons in America". Pew Research Center. January 12, 2012..
- ^ Daniel Reeves (2009). "The Global Distribution of Adventists and Mormons in 2007" (PDF). Retrieved November 11, 2011..
- ^ a b Thomas W. Murphy (1996). "Reinventing Mormonism: Guatemala as Harbinger of the Future?" (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
- ^ "2019 Statistical Report for April 2020 Conference", Church Newsroom, April 4, 2020.
- ^ "LDS Statistics and Church Facts – Total Church Membership". www.mormonnewsroom.org. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
- ^ a b Bushman (2008, p. 47).
- ^ "Sacrament". churchofjesuschrist.org.
- ^ a b "For the Strength of Youth: Fulfilling Our Duty to God". LDS Church.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "USA–Utah". LDS Newsroom. July 27, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2011..
- East Bay. The Utah Mormons were generally more orthodox and conservative. Mauss (1994, pp. 40, 128); A Portrait of Mormons in the U.S.: III. Social and Political Views(Report). Pew Research Center. July 24, 2009..
- Gallup poll.; Pond, Allison (July 24, 2009). A Portrait of Mormons in the U.S (Report). Pew Research Center..
- ^ Early Mormons had practiced the law of consecration in Missouri for two years, in an attempt to eliminate poverty. Families would return their surplus "income" to the bishop, who would then redistribute it among the saints. Though initial efforts at "consecration" failed, consecration has become a more general attitude that underlies Mormon charitable works. Bushman (2008, pp. 36–39).
- ^ Bushman (2008, p. 53) (The name "stake" comes from a passage in Isaiah that compares Zion to a tent that will enlarge as new stakes are planted); See Isaiah 33:20 and Isaiah 54:2.
- ^ Bushman (2008, pp. 35, 52)
- ^ Bushman (2008, p. 39)
- ^ A full-time mission is looked upon as important character training for a young man. O'Dea (1957, p. 177).
- Washington Post. (Religion News Service). Archived from the originalon March 27, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013..
- ^ "Doctrine and Covenants, section 89".
- ^ "Word of Wisdom". True to the Faith. 2004. pp. 186–88. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
- ^ February 2007 All Is Safely Gathered In: Family Home Storage Archived March 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- ^ Bushman (2008, p. 59) (In the temple, husbands and wives are sealed to each other for eternity. The implication is that other institutional forms, including the church, might disappear, but the family will endure); Mormons in America (Report). Pew Research Center. January 2012. (A 2011 survey of Mormons in the United States showed that family life is very important to Mormons, with family concerns significantly higher than career concerns. Four out of five Mormons believe that being a good parent is one of the most important goals in life, and roughly three out of four Mormons put having a successful marriage in this category); "New Pew survey reinforces Mormons' top goals of family, marriage". Deseret News. January 12, 2012. Archived from the original on January 16, 2012. Retrieved January 15, 2012.; See also: "The Family: A Proclamation to the World".
- ^ Bushman (2008, pp. 30–31); Bushman (2008, p. 58).
- ^ "Chastity". True to the Faith. 2004. pp. 29–33.; Mormons in America (Report). Pew Research Center. January 2012. (79% of Mormons in the US say that sex between unmarried adults is morally wrong, far higher than the 35% of the general public who hold the same view).
- ^ "Topic: Abortion". churchofjesuschrist.org. November 8, 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2020..
- ^ "Dress and Appearance". For the Strength of the Youth. LDS Church. 2001. Retrieved November 15, 2011.[dead link] "What are the biggest changes to the new 'For the Strength of Youth' booklet?". LDSLiving. 2022.
- ^ Homosexual acts (as well as other sexual acts outside the bonds of marriage) are prohibited by the law of chastity. Violating the law of chastity may result in excommunication. Gordon B. Hinckley (1998). "What Are People Asking about Us?". Retrieved November 11, 2011..
- ^ "Resources for Individuals", EvergreenInternational.org, Evergreen International, archived from the original on November 20, 2012.
- The Oakland Tribune. Retrieved December 20, 2007..
- ^ "Mormons and Gays". The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints. Archived from the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2013..
- ^ "North Star LDS Community". North Star. Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
- Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons.
- non-LDS Church section of the movement: the Community of Christ, which has about 250,000 members.)
Also note the use of the lower case d and hyphen in "Latter-day Saints", as opposed to the larger "Latter Day Saint movement". - ^ a b c Stack, Peggy Fletcher (September 23, 2011). "Active, inactive – do Mormon labels work or wound?". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved September 20, 2013..
- ^ Member activity rates are estimated from missionary reports, seminary and institute enrollment, and ratio of members per congregation – "Countries of the World by Estimated Member Activity Rate". LDS Church Growth. July 11, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2011.; See also: Stan L. Albrecht (1998). "The Consequential Dimension of Mormon Religiosity". Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2011.; Stack, Peggy Fletcher (July 26, 2005). "Keeping members a challenge for LDS church". The Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
- OCLC 24502140
- ^ Stan L. Albrecht (1998). "The Consequential Dimension of Mormon Religiosity". Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
- ^ Hatch, Heidi (May 10, 2017). "KUTV". Retrieved December 7, 2019.
- ^ Lipka, Michael (May 12, 2015). "Millennials increasingly are driving growth of 'nones'". Pew Research Center. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
- ^ Martha Sonntag Bradley, "Polygamy-Practicing Mormons" in J. Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann (eds.) (2002). Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia 3:1023–24; Dateline NBC, January 2, 2001; Ken Driggs, "Twentieth-Century Polygamy and Fundamentalist Mormons in Southern Utah", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Winter 1991, pp. 46–47; Irwin Altman, "Polygamous Family Life: The Case of Contemporary Mormon Fundamentalists", Utah Law Review (1996) p. 369; Stephen Eliot Smith, "'The Mormon Question' Revisited: Anti-Polygamy Laws and the Free Exercise Clause", LL.M. thesis, Harvard Law School, 2005.
- ^ "Style Guide". LDS Newsroom. April 9, 2010. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
When referring to people or organizations that practice polygamy, it should be stated that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not affiliated with polygamous groups.
; The church repudiates polygamist groups and excommunicates their members if discovered – Bushman (2008, p. 91); "Mormons seek distance from polygamous sects". NBC News. 2008. - S2CID 254325184. Archived from the original(PDF) on October 29, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
- ^ "LiberalMormon.net". Retrieved October 27, 2011..
- ^ "Where does the term 'Jack-Mormon' come from?". www.churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
- ^ Chris H (September 21, 2010). "Bringing back Liberal Mormonism". Main Street Plaza. Archived from the original on October 16, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2011..
- JSTOR 483199.
- OCLC 886644501.
- ^ Rogers, Peggy, "New Order Mormon Essays: The Paradox of the Faithful Unbeliever", New Order Mormon, NewOrderMormon.org, Publisher is anonymous, archived from the original on October 2, 2015, retrieved September 19, 2020.
- OCLC 24502140.
- ^ Bushman (2008, pp. 25–26).
- ^ Bushman (2008, p. 8) ("As the name of the church ... suggests, Jesus Christ is the premier figure. Smith does not even play the role of the last and culminating prophet, as Muhammad does in Islam"); "What Mormons Believe About Jesus Christ". LDS Newsroom. Retrieved November 11, 2011.; In a 2011 Pew Survey a thousand Mormons were asked to volunteer the one word that best describes Mormons. The most common response from those surveyed was "Christian" or "Christ-centered".
- ^ Bushman (2008, p. 79).
- ^ a b "Plan of Salvation". True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference: 115. 2004.
- ^ Bushman (2008, p. 75).
- covenants with God. For example, covenants associated with baptism and the Eucharist involve taking the name of the Son upon themselves, always remembering him, and keeping his commandments; "Atonement of Jesus Christ". True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference: 14. 2004.; Bushman (2008, pp. 60–61) Because Mormons believe that everyone must receive certain ordinances to be saved, Mormons perform vicarious ordinances such as baptism for the dead on behalf of deceased persons. Mormons believe that the deceased may accept or reject the offered ordinance in the spirit world.
- ISBN 978-0-402-36617-1.
- ISBN 978-0-87579-843-1.
- ISBN 978-0-87747-161-5.
- ISBN 978-0-87579-843-1.
- ^ Eyring, Henry B. (May 2008). "The True and Living Church". Ensign: 20–24.; Cf. John 14:16–17 Archived July 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine and 16:13 Archived October 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Acts 2:1–4 Archived July 17, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, and Galatians 1:6–9 Archived July 17, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Mormonism in America (Report). Pew Research Center. January 2012. (Mormons are nearly unanimous in describing Mormonism as a Christian religion, with 97% expressing this point of view); Robinson, Stephen E. (May 1998), "Are Mormons Christians?", New Era, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
- ^ Romney's Mormon Faith Likely a Factor in Primaries, Not in a General Election (Report). Pew Research Center. November 23, 2011. (About a third of Americans and half of evangelical Protestants view Mormonism as a non-Christian religion).
- ^ "Have the Presbyterians any truth? Yes. Have the Baptists, Methodists, etc., any truth? Yes. They all have a little truth mixed with error. We should gather all the good and true principles in the world and treasure them up, or we shall not come out true 'Mormons'." Joseph Fielding Smith (1993). Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. p. 316.; Mormons take an inclusivist position that their religion is correct and true but that other religions have genuine value. Palmer; Keller; Choi; Toronto (1997). Religions of the World: A Latter-day Saint View. Brigham Young University..
- ^ Bushman (2008, p. 54).
- ^ Bushman (2008, pp. 15, 35–35) (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).
Sources
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- ISBN 978-0-252-06236-0.
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- Brooke, John L. (1994). The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644–1844. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-34545-6.
- ISBN 978-1-4000-4270-8.
- Bushman, Richard Lyman (2008). Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-531030-6.
- Marquardt, H. Michael (2005). The Rise of Mormonism, 1816–1844. Xulon Press.
- Howe, Eber Dudley, ed. (1834), Mormonism Unvailed, Painesville, Ohio: Telegraph Press.
- ISBN 978-0-252-02071-1.
- O'Dea, Thomas F. (1957). The Mormons. Chicago: ISBN 978-0-226-61743-5.
- Quinn, D. Michael (1980), "The Council of Fifty and Its Members, 1844 to 1945", BYU Studies, 20 (2): 163–98, archived from the original on October 21, 2013, retrieved December 22, 2023.
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- Roberts, B. H., ed. (1905), History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 3, Salt Lake City: Deseret News.
- Roberts, B. H., ed. (1909), History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 5, Salt Lake City: Deseret News.
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- Smith, Joseph; Cowdery, Oliver; Rigdon, Sidney; Williams, Frederick G. (1835), Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God, Kirtland, Ohio: F. G. Williams & Co.
- Widmer, Kurt (2000). Mormonism and the Nature of God: A Theological Evolution, 1830–1915. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-0776-7.
Further reading
- Alexander, Thomas G. (1980). "The Reconstruction of Mormon Doctrine: From Joseph Smith to Progressive Theology" (PDF). Sunstone. 5 (4): 24–33.
- ISBN 978-0-671-67997-2.
- Bowman, Matthew (2012). The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith. ISBN 978-0-679-64491-0.
- Epperson, Steven (1999). "Mormons". In Barkan, Elliott Robert (ed.). A notion of peoples: a sourcebook on America's multicultural heritage. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-29961-2.
- Fraser, John (1883). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. XVI (9th ed.). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. . In Baynes, T. S.; Smith, W. R. (eds.).
- ISBN 9780941214704.
- ISBN 978-0-02-904040-9.
- May, Dean (1980). "Mormons". In Thernstrom, Stephan (ed.). Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 720.
- ISBN 978-1-56085-135-6.
- ISBN 978-0-06-143295-8.
- Shipps, Jan (2000). Sojourner in the promised land: forty years among the Mormons. Chicago: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-02590-7.
External links
- churchofjesuschrist.org and comeuntochrist.org, official websites of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- The Mormons (PBS documentary series)