The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded during the Second Great Awakening, the church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has established congregations and built temples worldwide. According to the church, Template:As of, it has over 17.5 million members, of which over 6.8 million live in the U.S. The church also reports over 109,000 volunteer missionaries and 202 dedicated temples.
The church was founded by Joseph Smith in 1830, originally as the Church of Christ in western New York. Under Smith's leadership, the church's headquarters moved successively to Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. After his death in 1844 and the resultant succession crisis, the majority of his followers sided with Brigham Young, who led the church to its current headquarters in Salt Lake City. Young and his successors continued the church's growth, first throughout the Intermountain West, and later as a national and international organization. The church has been criticized throughout its history; modern criticism includes disputes over the church's historical claims, treatment of minorities, and finances. The church's practice of polygamy was controversial until it was curtailed in 1890 and officially rescinded in 1904.
Church theology is restorationist and nontrinitarian; the church identifies as Christian and includes a belief in the doctrine of salvation through Jesus Christ and his substitutionary atonement on behalf of mankind. It is often included in the lists of larger Christian denominations, though most Catholics, Orthodox Christians and evangelicals, and some Mainline Protestants have considered the LDS Church to be distinct and separate from mainstream Christianity. The church has an open canon of four scriptural texts: the Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C), and the Pearl of Great Price. Other than the Bible, the majority of the church canon consists of material believed by the church's members to have been revealed by God to Joseph Smith, including texts described as lost parts of the Bible, and other works believed to have been written by ancient prophets, including the Book of Mormon. Members adhere to church laws of sexual purity, health, fasting, and Sabbath observance, and contribute ten percent of their income to the church in tithing. The church teaches ordinances through which adherents make covenants with God, including baptism, endowment, and celestial marriage.
Members of the church, known as Latter-day Saints or informally as Mormons, believe that the church president is a modern-day "prophet, seer, and revelator" and that Jesus Christ, under the direction of God the Father, leads the church by revealing his will and delegating his priesthood authority to its president. The president heads a hierarchical structure descending from areas to stakes and wards. At the local and regional levels, the church has a volunteer clergy, and wards are led by bishops. Male members may be ordained to the priesthood, provided they are living by the standards of the church. Women are not ordained to the priesthood but occupy leadership roles in some church organizations. The church maintains a large missionary program that proselytizes and conducts humanitarian services worldwide; both men and women may serve as missionaries. The church also funds and participates in humanitarian projects which are independent of its missionary efforts.
HistoryEdit
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BeginningsEdit
Template:See also Joseph Smith formally organized the church as the Church of Christ, on April 6, 1830, in western New York;Template:Efn the church's name was later changed to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.<ref name=RoughStone />Template:Rp Initial converts were drawn to the church in part because of the newly published Book of Mormon, a self-described chronicle of Indigenous American prophets that Smith said he had translated from golden plates.Template:Refn
Smith intended to establish the New Jerusalem in North America, called Zion.<ref name=RoughStone/>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Lds</ref><ref>Template:Lds "[T]he city New Jerusalem shall be built by the gathering of the saints, beginning at [Jackson County, Missouri], even the place of the temple, which temple shall be reared in this generation".</ref> In 1831, the church moved to Kirtland, Ohio,Template:Efn<ref name=Brodie>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp and began establishing an outpost in Jackson County, Missouri,<ref name=RoughStone/>Template:Rp<ref name=Brodie/>Template:Rp where Smith planned to eventually move the church headquarters.Template:Efn However, in 1833, Missouri settlers violently expelled the Latter Day Saints from Jackson County.<ref name=RoughStone/>Template:RpTemplate:Efn The church attempted to recover the land through a paramilitary expedition, but did not succeed.Template:Refn Nevertheless, the church flourished in Kirtland as Smith published new revelations and the church built the Kirtland Temple,Template:EfnTemplate:Refn culminating in a dedication of the building similar to the day of Pentecost.Template:Refn The Kirtland era ended in 1838, after a financial scandal rocked the church and caused widespread defections.<ref name=RoughStone/>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Smith regrouped with the remaining church in Far West, Missouri,Template:Efn but tensions soon escalated into violent conflicts with the Missouri settlers.Template:Refn Believing the Latter Day Saints to be an insurrection, the Missouri governor ordered that they be "exterminated or driven from the State".Template:Efn In 1839, the Latter Day Saints converted a swampland on the banks of the Mississippi River into Nauvoo, Illinois, which became the church's new headquarters.<ref name=RoughStone/>Template:Rp
Nauvoo grew rapidly as missionaries sent to Europe and elsewhere gained new converts who flooded into Nauvoo.Template:Refn Meanwhile, Smith introduced polygamy to his closest associates.Template:Refn He also established ceremonies, which he stated the Lord had revealed to him, to allow righteous people to become gods in the afterlife,Template:Efn and a secular institution to govern the Millennial kingdom.<ref name=Origins/>Template:RpTemplate:Efn He also introduced the church to a full accounting of his First Vision, in which he claimed that two heavenly "personages" appeared to him at age 14.Template:Efn This vision would come to be regarded by the LDS Church as the most important event in human history since the resurrection of Jesus.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
On June 27, 1844, Smith and his brother, Hyrum, were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois,<ref name=Brodie/>Template:Rp<ref name=RoughStone/> while being held on charges of treason.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Because Hyrum was Joseph's designated successor, their deaths caused a succession crisis,<ref name=Origins/>Template:Rp<ref name=Brodie/>Template:Rp and Brigham Young assumed leadership over a majority of the church's membership.<ref name=RoughStone/>Template:Rp
Other splinter groups followed other leaders around this time. These groups have no affiliation with the LDS Church,<ref name=Origins/>Template:Rp however they share a common heritage in their early church history. Collectively, they are called the Latter Day Saint movement. The largest of these smaller groups is the Community of Christ, based in Independence, Missouri, followed by the Church of Jesus Christ, based in Monongahela, Pennsylvania. Like the LDS Church, these faiths believe in Joseph Smith as a prophet and founder of their religion. They also accept the Book of Mormon, and most accept at least some version of the Doctrine and Covenants. However, they tend to disagree to varying degrees with the LDS Church concerning doctrine and church leadership.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Pioneer eraEdit
For two years after Smith's death, conflicts escalated between Mormons and other Illinois residents. Brigham Young led his followers, later called the Mormon pioneers, westward to Nebraska and then in 1847 on to what later became the Utah Territory,<ref name="emigration-religious-freedom">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which at the time had been part of the lands of the Ute, Goshute, and Shoshone nations, and claimed by Mexico until 1848.Template:Refn Around 80,000 settlers arrived between 1847 and 1869,<ref name=Britannica/> who then branched out and colonized a large region now known as the Mormon Corridor. Meanwhile, efforts to globalize the church began in earnest around this time, with missionaries being sent off to the Sandwich Islands (present-day Hawaii), India, Chile, Australia, China, South Africa, and all over Europe.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Young incorporated the LDS Church as a legal entity, and initially governed both the church and the state as a theocratic leader. He also publicized the practice of plural marriage in 1852. Modern research suggests that around 20 percent of Mormon families may have participated in the practice.<ref name =Encyclopedia.com/>
By 1857, tensions had again escalated between Mormons and other Americans, largely as a result of accusations involving polygamy and the theocratic rule of the Utah Territory by Young.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Utah Mormon War ensued from 1857 to 1858, which resulted in the relatively peaceful invasion of Utah by the United States Army. The most notable instance of Mormon violence during this conflict was the Mountain Meadows massacre, in which leaders of a local Mormon militia ordered the massacre of a civilian emigrant party who was traveling through Utah during the escalating military tensions.<ref name=Making>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp After the massacre was discovered, the church became the target of significant media criticism for it.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
After the Army withdrew, Young agreed to step down from power and be replaced by a non-Mormon territorial governor, Alfred Cumming. Nevertheless, the LDS Church still wielded significant political power in the Utah Territory.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Coterminously, tensions between Mormon settlers and Indigenous tribes continued to escalate as settlers began colonizing a growing area of tribal lands. While Mormons and Indigenous peoples made attempts at peaceful coexistence, skirmishes ensued from about 1849 to 1873 culminating in the armed conflicts of Wakara's War,<ref>Template:Cite thesis (PDF.)</ref> the Bear River Massacre.,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and the Black Hawk War<ref>The Black Hawk War in Utah, by Phillip B. Gottfredson Template:Webarchive</ref>
After Young's death in 1877, he was followed in the church presidency by John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff successively, who resisted efforts by the United States Congress to outlaw Mormon polygamous marriages. In 1878, the United States Supreme Court, in Reynolds v. United States, decreed that "religious duty" to engage in plural marriage was not a valid defense to prosecutions for violating state laws against polygamy. Conflict between Mormons and the U.S. government escalated to the point that, in 1890, Congress disincorporated the LDS Church and seized most of its assets. Soon thereafter, Woodruff issued a manifesto that officially suspended the performance of new polygamous marriages in the United States.<ref name=OD1>Template:Lds</ref> Relations with the United States markedly improved after 1890, such that Utah was admitted as a U.S. state in 1896. Relations further improved after 1904, when church president Joseph F. Smith again disavowed polygamy before the United States Congress and issued a "Second Manifesto", calling for all plural marriages in the church to cease. Eventually, the church adopted a policy of excommunicating its members found practicing polygamy.<ref name="Embry19942"/> Some fundamentalist groups with relatively small memberships have broken off and continue to practice polygamy, but the Church distances itself from them.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Modern timesEdit
During the 20th century, the church grew substantially and became an international organization. In 2000, the church reported over 60,000 missionaries and global church membership stood at just over 11 million.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Nominal worldwide membership surpassed 16 million in 2018. Slightly under half of church membership lives within the U.S.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Academics have called the denomination a Restorationist church,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> a new religious movement,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and a potential world religion.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The church has become a strong proponent of the nuclear family and at times played a prominent role in political matters, including opposition to MX Peacekeeper missile bases in Utah and Nevada,<ref name = "Political Clout">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the Equal Rights Amendment,<ref name = "Political Clout" /> legalized gambling,<ref name = "Gambling" /> same-sex marriage,<ref name="Gay Rights"/>Template:Rp and physician-assisted death.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
A number of official changes have taken place to the organization during the modern era. In 1978, the church reversed its previous policy of excluding Black men of African descent from the priesthood, which had been in place since 1852;<ref name="Neither White Nor Black"/>Template:Rp members of all races can now be ordained to the priesthood. Also, since the early 1900s, the church has instituted a Priesthood Correlation Program to centralize church operations and bring them under a hierarchy of priesthood leaders. During the Great Depression, the church also began operating a church welfare system, and it has conducted humanitarian efforts in cooperation with other religious organizations such as Catholic Relief Services, as well as secular organizations like Care International.<ref name=Relief/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> From 1913 to 2020 the church was a major sponsor of Scouting programs for boys, particularly in the United States. The LDS Church was the largest chartered organization in the Boy Scouts of America,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news (LDS Scouts made up nearly 20 percent of all enrolled Boy Scouts)</ref> but in 2020, the church ended its relationship with the BSA and began an alternate, religion-centered youth program, which replaced all other youth programs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
During the second half of the 20th century and early 21st, the church has responded to various challenges to its doctrine and authority. Challenges have included rising secularization,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> challenges to the correctness of the translation of the Book of Abraham,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and primary documents forged by Mark Hofmann purporting to contradict important aspects of official early church history.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
BeliefsEdit
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Nature of GodEdit
Template:See also LDS Church theology includes the belief in a Godhead composed of God the Father, his son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost as three separate persons who share a unity of purpose or will; however, they are viewed as three distinct beings. This is in contrast with the predominant Christian view, which holds that God is a Trinity of three distinct persons in one essence. The Latter-day Saint conception of the Godhead is similar to what contemporary Christian theologians call social trinitarianism.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The church also believes that God the Father and his son, Jesus Christ, are separate beings with bodies of flesh and bone, while the Holy Ghost lacks such a physical body.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
According to statements by church leaders, God sits at the head of the human family and is married to a Heavenly Mother, who is the mother of human spirits.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> However, church leaders have also categorically discouraged prayers to her and counseled against speculation regarding her.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Jesus ChristEdit
Church members believe in Jesus Christ as the literal Son of God and Messiah, his crucifixion as a conclusion of a sin offering, and his subsequent resurrection.<ref name=Explanation>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=MormonJesus/>Template:Rp However, Latter-day Saints reject the ecumenical creeds and the definition of the Trinity.<ref name=CNN>Template:Cite news</ref> Jesus is also seen as the elder brother of all who live in this world.<ref name=MormonJesus>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp The church teaches that Jesus performed a substitutionary atonement.<ref name="BBC Religions Atonement">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In contrast with other Christian denominations, the church teaches this atonement began in the garden of Gethsemane and continued to his crucifixion (rather than the orthodox belief that the crucifixion alone was the physical atonement).<ref name=MormonJesus/>Template:Rp The church also teaches that Jesus appeared to other peoples after his death, including spirits of the dead in the spirit world,<ref name=Explanation/><ref name=MormonJesus/>Template:Rp and Indigenous Americans.<ref name=CNN/><ref name=Explanation/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The church also teaches that Jesus is the true founder and leader of the church itself.<ref>"Today members preach that the Lord has indeed restored His Church with living apostles and prophets, starting with the founding prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith." Latter-day Saints 101: What Church Members Believe. Newsroom, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. N.d. Accessed July 29, 2023.</ref> The physical establishment of the church by Smith in 1830 is seen as simply the reestablishment of the same primitive church that existed under Jesus and his Apostles.<ref name = "PMG" />Template:Rp Similarly, the church teaches that Jesus leads the church presently through its apostles and prophets,<ref>The Lord Leads His Church through Prophets and Apostles. Dallin H. Oaks. Ensign, March 2020.</ref> especially its current president.<ref name = "PMG" />Template:Rp
Comparison with Nicene ChristianityEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The LDS Church shares various teachings with other branches of Christianity. These include a belief in the Bible,<ref name = Mason2015>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> the divinity of Jesus, his atonement and resurrection, and a form of apostolic succession.Template:Efn
Nevertheless, the LDS Church differs from other churches within contemporary Christianity in other ways. Differences between the LDS Church and most of traditional Christianity include disagreement about the nature of God, belief in a theory of human salvation that includes three heavens, a doctrine of exaltation which includes the ability of humans to become gods and goddesses in the afterlife,<ref name="EoM Godhood" /><ref name=Fundamentals/> a belief in continuing revelation and an open scriptural canon, and unique ceremonies performed privately in temples, such as the endowment and sealing ceremonies. A number of major Christian denominations view the LDS Church as standing apart from creedal Christianity.Template:Efn<ref name="kennedy2004">Template:Cite magazine</ref> However, church members self-identify as Christians.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The faith itself views other modern Christian faiths as having departed from true Christianity by way of a general apostasy and maintains that it is a restoration of 1st-century Christianity and the only true and authorized Christian church. Church leaders assert it is the only true church and that other churches do not have the authority to act in Jesus' name.Template:Efn
Cosmology and plan of salvationEdit
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The church's cosmology and plan of salvation include the doctrines of a pre-existence,<ref name=PremortalSpirits>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=Development>Template:Cite journal</ref> an earthly mortal existence, three degrees of heaven<ref name=Idiots/> and exaltation.<ref name=Idiots/>
According to these doctrines, every human spirit is a spiritual child of a Heavenly Father and each has the potential to continue to learn, grow, and progress in the eternities, eventually achieving eternal life, which is to become one with God in the same way that Jesus Christ is one with the Father, thus allowing the children of God to become divine beings—that is, gods—themselves.<ref name=VeryShort>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp This view on the doctrine of theosis is also referred to as becoming a "joint-heir with Christ".<ref name="EoM Godhood">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The process by which this is accomplished is called exaltation, a doctrine which includes the reunification of the mortal family after the resurrection and the ability to have spirit children in the afterlife and inherit a portion of God's kingdom.<ref name="EoM Godhood"/><ref name=Continuation/>
According to LDS Church theology, men and women may be sealed to one another so that their marital bond continues into the eternities.Template:Efn Children may also be sealed to their biological or adoptive parents to form permanent familial bonds, thus allowing all immediate and extended family relations to endure past death.Template:Efn<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The most significant LDS ordinances may be performed via proxy in behalf of those who have died, such as baptism for the dead. The church teaches that all will have the opportunity to hear and accept or reject the gospel of Jesus Christ, either in this life or the next.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Within church cosmology, the fall of Adam and Eve is seen positively. The church teaches that it was essential to allow humankind to experience separation from God, to exercise full agency in making decisions for their own happiness.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
RestorationismEdit
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The LDS Church teaches that, subsequent to the death of Jesus and his original apostles, his church, along with the authority to act in Jesus Christ's name and the church's attendant spiritual gifts, were lost, due to a combination of external persecutions and internal heresies.<ref name=PMG>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp The "Restoration"—as begun by Joseph Smith and embodied in the church itself—refers to a return of the authentic priesthood power, spiritual gifts, ordinances, living prophets and revelation of the primitive Church of Christ.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Early Christ Quest">Template:Cite news</ref> This restoration is associated with a number of events which are understood to have been necessary to re-establish the early Christian church found in the New Testament, and to prepare the earth for the Second Coming of Jesus.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
LeadershipEdit
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The church is led by a president. Within the church, he is referred to as "the Prophet." He is considered to be a "prophet, seer and revelator," and is the only person who is authorized to receive revelation from God on behalf of the whole world or entire church. As such, the church teaches that he is essentially infallible when speaking on behalf of God—although the exact circumstances when his pronouncements should be considered authoritative are debated within the church.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In any case, modern declarations with broad doctrinal implications are often issued by joint statement of the First Presidency; they may be joined by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as well.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Church members believe Joseph Smith was the first modern-day prophet.<ref name=Lyon2013>Template:Cite journal</ref> Following the death of church president Thomas S. Monson on January 2, 2018,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> senior apostle Russell M. Nelson was announced as president on January 16.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Normally, the president chooses two other ordained apostles to serve alongside him in the First Presidency, the presiding body of the church; twelve other apostles form the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> When a president dies, his successor is chosen from the remaining apostles. By longstanding convention, the longest-tenured apostle becomes the next president of the church.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In recent years, this process has contributed to the church's leadership being of increasingly advanced age.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
New apostles are chosen by the church president after the death of an existing apostle.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, first two Quorums of Seventy and the Presiding Bishopric make up the general authorities of the church. The general presidencies of the church-wide Relief Society, Sunday School, Young Women, Young Men, and Primary organizations make up the general officers of the church.<ref name="leadership">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Women serve as presidents and counselors in the presidencies of the Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary, while men serve as presidents and counselors of the Sunday School and Young Men.<ref name="leadership"/>
Home and familyEdit
The church and its members consider marriage and family highly important, with emphasis placed on large, nuclear families.<ref name =Encyclopedia.com/> In 1995, the church's First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve issued "The Family: A Proclamation to the World", which asserts the importance of a heterosexual, nuclear family. The proclamation defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman and stated that the family unit is "central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children." The document further says that "gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose," that the father and mother have differing roles as "equal partners" in raising children, that "children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony", and that successful marriages and happy families are most likely established when founded upon the teachings of Jesus Christ.Template:Refn The proclamation also promotes specific roles essential to maintaining the strength of the family unit—the traditional roles of a husband and father as the family's breadwinner and those of a wife and mother as a nurturing caregiver. It concludes by inviting its audience to "promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society".<ref name =Encyclopedia.com>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Senior church leaders have continued to emphasize conservative teachings on marriage and gender to the present time.<ref>Mormon leaders double down on gender and marriage. Axios Salt Lake City. October 2, 2023. Accessed October 5, 2023.</ref>
LDS Church members are encouraged to set aside one evening each week, typically Monday, to spend together in "Family Home Evening" (FHE), which typically consists of gathering as a family to study the faith's gospel principles, and other family activities. Daily family prayer is also encouraged.<ref name =Encyclopedia.com/>
Sources of doctrineEdit
The theology of the LDS Church consists of a combination of biblical doctrines with modern revelations and other commentary by LDS leaders, particularly Joseph Smith. The most authoritative sources of theology are the faith's canon of four religious texts, called the "standard works". Included in the standard works are the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the D&C and the Pearl of Great Price.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
The Book of Mormon is a foundational sacred book for the church; the terms "Mormon" and "Mormonism" come from the name of the book itself. The LDS Church teaches that the Angel Moroni told Smith about golden plates containing the record, guided him to find them buried in the Hill Cumorah, and provided him the means of translating them from Reformed Egyptian. It claims to give a history of the inhabitants from a now-extinct society living on the American continent and their distinct Judeo-Christian teachings. The Book of Mormon is very important to modern Latter-day Saints, who consider it the world's most correct text.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
The Bible, also part of the church's canon, is believed to be the word of God—subject to an acknowledgment that its translation may be incorrect, or that authoritative sections may have been lost over the centuries. Most often, the church uses the Authorized King James Version.<ref name = Mason2015/> Two extended portions of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible have been canonized and are thus considered authoritative.Template:Efn Additionally, over 600<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> of the more doctrinally significant verses from the translation are included as excerpts in the current LDS Church edition of the Bible.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Other revelations from Smith are found in the D&C, and in the Pearl of Great Price.<ref name =Encyclopedia.com/> Another source of authoritative doctrine is the pronouncements of the current Apostles and members of the First Presidency. The church teaches that the First Presidency and the Quorum of Twelve Apostles are prophets<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and that they are therefore authorized teachers of God's word.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In addition to doctrine given by the church as a whole, individual members of the church believe that they can also receive personal revelation from God in conducting their lives,<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> and in revealing truth to them, especially about spiritual matters. Generally, this is said to occur through thoughts and feelings from the Holy Ghost, in response to prayer.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Similarly, the church teaches its members may receive individual guidance and counsel from God through blessings from priesthood holders. In particular, patriarchal blessings are considered special blessings that are received only once in the recipient's life, which are recorded, transcribed, and archived.<ref name=Idiots/>Template:Rp
PracticesEdit
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RitualsEdit
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In the church, an ordinance is a sacred rite or ceremony that has spiritual and symbolic meanings, and is performed under priesthood authority.<ref>Ordinances. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. N.D. Accessed March 31, 2025.</ref> For some ordinances, the act is tied to a covenant between the ordinance recipient and God.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The ordinance of baptism is believed to bind its participant to Jesus Christ, who saves them in their imperfection if they continually keep their promises to him.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Baptism is performed by immersion, and is typically administered to children starting at age eight.<ref name="Idiots"/>
Church members believe that through the ordinances of temple sealing and temple endowment, anyone can reach the highest level of salvation in the celestial kingdom and eternally live in God's presence, continue as families, become gods, create worlds, and make spirit children over whom they will govern.<ref name=Continuation>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="EoM Godhood"/><ref name=Fundamentals>Template:Cite book</ref>
Other ordinances performed in the church include confirmation, the sacrament (analogous to the Eucharist or holy communion<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>), priesthood ordination, patriarchal blessing, anointing of the sick, and priesthood blessings.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Diet and healthEdit
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The LDS Church asks its members to adhere to a dietary code called the Word of Wisdom, in which they abstain from the consumption of alcohol, coffee, tea, tobacco, and illicit or harmful substances.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Word of Wisdom also encourages the consumption of herbs and grains along with the moderate consumption of meat.<ref name =Encyclopedia.com/>
When Joseph Smith published the Word of Wisdom in 1833, it was considered only advice; violation did not restrict church membership. During the 1890s, though, church leaders started emphasizing the Word of Wisdom more. In 1921, church president Heber J. Grant made obeying the Word of Wisdom a requirement to engage in worship inside of the faith's temples. From that time, church leadership has emphasized the forbidding of coffee, tea, tobacco, and alcohol, but not the other guidelines concerning meat, grains, and herbs.<ref name =Encyclopedia.com/> In 2019, the church further clarified that the usage of marijuana and opioids is prohibited except as prescribed by a competent physician for medical purposes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
SexualityEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:See also Church members are expected to follow a moral code called the law of chastity, which prohibits adultery, homosexual behavior, and sexual relations before or outside of marriage.Template:R As part of the law of chastity, the church strongly opposes pornography, and considers masturbation an immoral act.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Law of chastity violations can be grounds for church discipline; resulting penalties may include having access to the temple and sacrament revoked, as well as excommunication.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The church discourages romantic dating until around the age of 16.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Tithing and other donationsEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Church members are expected to donate one-tenth of their income to support the operations of the church. After initially relying on a communal lifestyle known as the law of consecration throughout most of the 1830s, the church created the law of tithing in July 1838 when the membership was concentrated in Missouri.<ref name="givens">Template:Cite book</ref> Church members would frequently tithe by giving ten percent of their livestock and produce; nowadays donations are generally done with money.<ref name="givens"/>
Annual donations were estimated to total $7 billion<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> to $33 billion<ref name=Hidden/> USD donated in 2012 (equivalent to $Template:Inflation billion to $Template:Inflation billion in Template:Inflation/yearTemplate:Inflation/fn). To qualify for participation in temple ordinances (which Latter-day Saints believe are necessary for their salvation), paying a full tithe is a requirement, regardless of one's temporal circumstances.Template:Refn Members are also encouraged to fast (abstain from food and drink) on the first Sunday of each month for two consecutive meals. They donate at least the cost of the two skipped meals of the fast as a "fast offering", which the church uses to assist people in need and expand its humanitarian efforts.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Local leadership is not paid, and is expected to tithe as well. Full-time missionaries, however, are not expected to pay tithing as they are usually paying to be a missionary.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Missionary serviceEdit
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All able-bodied LDS young men are expected to serve a two-year, full-time proselytizing mission.<ref name=Feminism>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Missionaries do not choose where they serve or the language in which they will proselytize, and are expected to fund their missions themselves or with the aid of their families.<ref name =Encyclopedia.com/> Prospective male missionaries must be between the ages of 18 and 25 and have completed secondary school.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> All proselytizing missionaries are organized geographically into administrative areas called missions. The efforts in each mission are directed by an older adult male mission president. Template:As of, there are 450 missions of the LDS church.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Although missionary service is expected for men, it is not compulsory and is not a requirement for retaining church membership.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Unmarried women between the ages of 19 and 29 may also serve as missionaries,<ref name=Feminism/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> generally for a term of 18 months. Retired couples are also encouraged to serve missions, with terms ranging from six to 23 months.<ref name=Health>Template:Cite journal</ref> Unlike younger missionaries, these senior missionaries may serve in non-proselytizing capacities such as humanitarian aid workers or family history specialists.<ref name=Health/> Other men and women who wish to serve a mission but are unable to perform full-time service in another state or country due to health issues, may serve in a non-proselytizing mission. They might assist at Temple Square in Salt Lake City or aid in the seminary system in schools.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Sabbath day observanceEdit
Template:See also Church members are expected to set aside Sundays as a day of rest and worship. Typically, weekly worship meetings occur solely on Sundays. Shopping and recreation are discouraged on Sundays as well.<ref name=Dummies>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp
Worship and meetingsEdit
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Weekly meetingsEdit
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Meetings for worship and study are held at meetinghouses, which are typically utilitarian in character.<ref name =Encyclopedia.com/> The main focus of Sunday worship is the Sacrament meeting, where the sacrament is passed to church members; sacrament meetings also include prayers, the singing of hymns by the congregation or choir, and impromptu or planned sermons by church members.<ref>What to Expect at Church Services. Church Newsroom. N.D. Accessed March 31, 2025.</ref> Also included in weekly meetings are times for Sunday School, or separate instructional meetings based on age and gender, including the Relief Society for women.<ref>A New Balance between Gospel Instruction in the Home and in the Church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. October 6, 2018. Accessed March 31, 2025.</ref>
Church congregations are organized geographically.<ref name=Dummies/>Template:Rp Members are generally expected to attend the congregation within their assigned geographical area; however, some geographical areas also provide separate congregations for young single adults, older single adults, or for speakers of alternate languages.<ref name=Dummies/>Template:Rp For Sunday services, the church is grouped into either larger congregations known as wards, or smaller congregations known as branches.<ref name=Dummies/>Template:Rp Regional church organizations, encompassing multiple congregations, include stakes,<ref name=Dummies/>Template:Rp missions, districts and areas.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Temple worshipEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} In LDS theology, a temple is considered to be a holy building, dedicated as a "House of the Lord" and held as more sacred than a typical meetinghouse or chapel. In temples, church members participate in ceremonies that are considered the most sacred in the church, including marriage, and an endowment ceremony that includes a washing and anointing, receiving a temple garment, and making covenants with God. Baptisms for the dead—as well as other temple ordinances on behalf of the dead—are performed in the temples as well.<ref name =Encyclopedia.com/>
Temples are considered by church members to be the most sacred structures on earth, and as such, operating temples are not open to the public.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Then after the temple is dedicated, permission to enter is reserved only for church members who pass periodic interviews with ecclesiastical leaders and receive a special recommendation card, called a temple recommend, that they present upon entry.<ref name =Encyclopedia.com/> Church members are instructed not to share details about temple ordinances with non-members or even converse about them outside the temple itself.<ref name =Encyclopedia.com/>
Template:As of, there are over 200 dedicated temples worldwide.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:LDS Temple status
To perform ordinances in temples on behalf of deceased family members, the church emphasizes genealogical research, and encourages its lay members to participate in genealogy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It operates FamilySearch, the largest genealogical organization in the world.<ref name=Genealogy>Template:Cite news</ref>
ConferencesEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Twice each year (the first weekend of April and October), general authorities and general officers address the worldwide church through general conference. General conference sessions are translated into as many as 80 languages and are broadcast from the 21,000-seat<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Conference Center in Salt Lake City. During this conference, church members formally acknowledge, or "sustain", the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Individual stakes also hold formal conferences within their own boundaries biannually; wards hold conferences annually.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Organization and structureEdit
Name and legal entitiesEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The church teaches that it is a continuation of the Church of Christ restored in 1830 by Joseph Smith. This original church underwent several name changes during the 1830s, being changed to "The Church of the Latter Day Saints",<ref name=Name>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> "The Church of Jesus Christ",<ref name=Drop>Template:Cite news</ref> "The Church of God",<ref name=HotC/> "The Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints"<ref name=Name/> and "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" (by an 1838 revelation).<ref name=Name/><ref name=Inventing>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Finally, after Smith died, Brigham Young and the largest body of Smith's followers incorporated the church in 1851 by legislation of the Utah TerritoryTemplate:Efn under the name "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", which included a hyphenated "Latter-day" and a British-style lower-case d.<ref name=Incorporating>Template:Cite book</ref>
Common informal names for the church include the LDS Church, the Mormon Church, and the Latter-day Saints Church.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The church requests that the official name be used when possible or, if necessary, shortened to "the Church" or "the Church of Jesus Christ".<ref name=Drop/> In August 2018, church president Russell M. Nelson asked members of the church and others to cease using the terms "LDS", "Mormon" and "Mormonism" to refer to the church, its membership, or its belief system and instead to call the church by its full and official name.<ref name=nbc_dont_say_mormon>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=washpost_dont_say_mormon>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn Subsequent to this announcement, the church's premier vocal ensemble, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, was officially renamed and became the "Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square".<ref name=pbs_motab_rename>Template:Cite news</ref> Reaction to the name change policy has been mixed.<ref name=sltrib_a_year_later>Template:Cite news</ref>
Legally, the church currently functions as a corporation sole, incorporated in Utah.<ref name=SECfiling/>
Intellectual Reserve is a nonprofit corporation wholly owned by the church, which holds the church's intellectual property, such as copyrights, trademarks, and other media.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Utah Property Management Associates (UPMA), formerly Zions Securities Corporation (ZSC), is a subsidiary of Property Reserve Inc.,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> which manages property owned by the Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints mostly in Salt Lake City, Utah.<ref>Winter, Caroline and Burton, Katherine. "The money behind the Mormon message", The Salt Lake Tribune, 5 October 2012. Retrieved on 12 March 2020.</ref><ref>Riddle, Isaac. "Church wants to add history-inspired signs on Regent Street", Building Salt Lake, 14 July 2016. Retrieved on 12 March 2020.</ref> They manage major corporate, residential, and retail spaces along with parking lots and plazas.<ref>Lockhart, Ben. "One tap can pay for parking in some downtown lots", Deseret News, 1 May 2013. Retrieved on 12 March 2020.</ref>
Priesthood hierarchy and church serviceEdit
The LDS Church is organized in a hierarchical priesthood structure administered by its male members. Members of the church-wide leadership are called general authorities. They exercise both ecclesiastical and administrative leadership over the church and direct the efforts of regional leaders down to the local level. General authorities, general officers and mission presidents work full-time for the church, and typically receive stipends from church funds or investments.<ref name=Pay/> As well as speaking in general conference, general authorities and general officers speak to church members in local congregations throughout the world; they also speak to youth<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and young adults<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in broadcasts and at the Church Educational System (CES) schools, such as Brigham Young University (BYU).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Local congregations are typically led by bishops, who perform similar functions to pastors in the Protestant tradition, or parish priests in the Roman Catholic Church.<ref>"A bishop is the leader of a local congregation (known as a ward) with duties similar to those of a pastor, priest or rabbi." Bishop. Newsroom, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. N.d. Accessed July 29, 2023.</ref>
All males who are living the standards of the church are generally considered for the priesthood and are ordained to the priesthood as early as age 11.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ordination occurs by a ceremony where hands are laid on the head of the one ordained. The priesthood is divided into an order for young men aged 11 years and older (called the Aaronic priesthood) and an order for men 18 years of age and older (called the Melchizedek priesthood).<ref name=Encyclopedia.com/><ref name=Dummies/>Template:Rp
Some church leaders and scholars have spoken of women holding or exercising priesthood power.<ref name=Currently>Template:Cite book</ref> However, women are not formally ordained to the priesthood, and they do not participate in public functions administered by the priesthood—such as passing the Sacrament, giving priesthood blessings, or holding leadership positions over mixed-gender congregations. Since 2013, the Ordain Women organization has sought formal priesthood ordination for women.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2019, church leadership authorized LDS women to serve as witnesses for baptisms, a ceremonial role previously reserved for male priesthood holders.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Each active church member is expected to receive a calling, or position of assigned responsibility within the church. Church members are expected to neither ask for specific callings, nor decline callings that are extended to them by their leaders.Template:Failed verification Leadership positions in the church's various congregations are filled through the calling system, and the vast majority of callings are filled on a volunteer basis.Template:EfnTemplate:Efn Members volunteer general custodial work for local church facilities.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Programs and organizationsEdit
The church operates several programs and organizations in the fields of proselytizing, education, and church welfare such as LDS Humanitarian Services. Many of these organizations and programs are coordinated by the Priesthood Correlation Program, which is designed to provide a systematic approach to maintain worldwide consistency, orthodoxy, and control of the church's ordinances, doctrines, organizations, meetings, materials, and other programs and activities.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name=Making/>Template:Rp
The church also operates CES, which includes BYU, BYU–Idaho, BYU–Hawaii, and Ensign College. The church also operates Institutes of Religion near the campuses of many colleges and universities. For high-school aged youth, the church operates a four-year Seminary program, which provides religious classes for students to supplement their secular education.<ref name =Encyclopedia.com/> The church also sponsors a low-interest educational loan program known as the Perpetual Education Fund, which provides educational opportunities to students from developing nations.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The church's welfare system, initiated in 1930 during the Great Depression, provides aid to the poor. Leaders ask members to fast once a month and donate the money they would have spent on those meals to help the needy, in what is called a fast offering.<ref name =Encyclopedia.com/> Money from the program is used to operate Bishop's storehouses, which package and store food at low cost. Distribution of funds and food is administered by local bishops. The church also distributes money through its Philanthropies division to disaster victims worldwide.<ref name = "LDSP" />
Other church programs and departments include Family Services, which provides adoption resource referrals, marital and family counseling, psychotherapy, and addiction counseling;<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> the LDS Church History Department, which collects church history and records; and the Family History Department, which administers the church's large family history efforts, including FamilySearch, the world's largest family history library and organization.<ref name=Genealogy/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Other facilities owned and operated by the church include Temple Square, the Church Office Building,<ref name=Des>Taylor, Scott. "For 35 years, Church Office Building has been symbolic Mormon headquarters, operational center for church growth", Deseret News, 1 April 2010. Retrieved on 15 March 2020.</ref> the Church Administration Building,<ref>A House for the Presidency: The History of the Church Administration Building. Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University. Matthew O. Richardson. N.D. Accessed March 31, 2025.</ref> the Church History Library<ref name=48years>Template:Cite news</ref> and the Granite Mountain Records Vault.<ref>How our personal records ended up in a Mormon mountain vault in Utah. The Sydney Morning Herald. March 6, 2025. Accessed March 31, 2025.</ref>
FinancesEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:See also Since 1941, the church has been classified by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization and is therefore tax-exempt. Donations are tax-deductible in the United States.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The church has not released church-wide financial statements since 1959.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the absence of official statements, people interested in knowing the church's financial status and behavior, including both members of the church and people outside the church, have attempted to estimate or guess.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In 1997, Time magazine called the LDS Church one of the world's wealthiest churches per capita.<ref name = "Time">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The church has stated that its for-profit, non-profit, and educational subsidiary entities are all audited by professionals independent from other church entities.<ref name=Auditing>Template:Cite news</ref>
The church receives significant funds from tithes and fast offerings. It has been estimated that during the 2010s its net worth increased by about $15 billion per year ($Template:Inflation billion in Template:Inflation/yearTemplate:Inflation/fn),<ref name=Hidden>Template:Cite news</ref> and by $22 billion during the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to a 2020 estimate by The Wall Street Journal, the LDS Church's investment fund had a net worth of around $100 billion.<ref name=Amassed/><ref name=Receipts/>
The church's assets are held in a variety of holding companies, subsidiary corporations, and for-profit companies including: Bonneville International, KSL, Deseret Book Company, and holding companies for cattle ranches and farms in at least twelve U.S. States, Canada, New Zealand, and Argentina. Also included are banks and insurance companies, hotels and restaurants, real estate development, forestry and mining operations, and transportation and railway companies.<ref name=Database>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Bloomberg/> Investigative journalism from the Truth & Transparency Foundation in 2022 suggests the church may be the owner of the most valuable real estate portfolio in the United States, with a minimum market value of $15.7 billion.<ref name=Database/> The church has also invested in for-profit business and real estate ventures such as City Creek Center.<ref name=Bloomberg>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 2020, the church-owned investment firm Ensign Peak Advisors publicly reported management of $37.8 billion of financial securities.<ref name =SECfiling>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> By summer 2023 assets including "international shares as well as bonds, hybrid investments, real estate and major stakes in private equity" were estimated to exceed $163 billion.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
CultureEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Due to the differences in lifestyle promoted by church doctrine and history, members of the church have developed a distinct culture. It is primarily concentrated in the Mormon corridor of the Intermountain West.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Many of the church's more distinctive practices follow from their adherence to the Word of Wisdom—which includes abstinence from tobacco, alcohol, coffee, and tea—and their observance of Sabbath-day restrictions on recreation and shopping. Common, distinctive cuisine includes funeral potatoes and Jello salad.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Cultural taboos exist on piercingsTemplate:Efn and tattoos<ref name=Idiots/> and the church counsels against the use of crosses as symbols of worship.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Media and artsEdit
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LDS-themed media includes cinema, fiction, websites, and graphical art such as photography and paintings. The church owns a chain of bookstores called Deseret Book.<ref>More bad news for Tim Ballard: LDS Church-owned Deseret Book yanks his books. Salt Lake Tribune. September 29, 2023. Accessed March 31, 2025.</ref> The church also produces several pageants annually depicting various events of the primitive and modern-day church. Its Easter pageant Jesus the Christ has been identified as the "largest annual outdoor Easter pageant in the world".<ref name="EVT">Template:Cite news</ref> The church encourages entertainment without violence, sexual content, or vulgar language; many church members specifically avoid rated-R movies.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The church's official choir, the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, was formed in the mid-19th century and performs in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. They have traveled to more than 28 countries,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and are considered one of the most famous choirs in the world.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The choir has received a Grammy Award, four Emmy Awards,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> two Peabody Awards,<ref name="1961 Peabody Award 2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the National Medal of Arts.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Political involvement in the U.S.Edit
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The LDS Church states it generally takes no partisan role in politics,<ref name="PN">Template:Cite news</ref> but encourages its members to play an active role as responsible citizens in their communities, including becoming informed about issues and voting.<ref name=Voting>Template:Cite news</ref> The church maintains that the faith's values can be found among many political parties.<ref name=Voting/><ref name ="PN" /> It also generally does not take sides in global conflicts.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
A 2012 Pew Center on Religion and Public Life survey indicated that 74 percent of U.S. members lean towards the Republican Party.<ref name="ABC News">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some liberal members say they feel that they have to defend their worthiness due to political differences.<ref name="USA Today">Template:Cite news</ref> Democrats and those who lean Democrat made up 18 percent of church members surveyed in the 2014 Pew Research CenterTemplate:'s Religious Landscape Survey.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="WP92721">Template:Cite news</ref>
The church sometimes involves itself in politics when it believes the issues at hand to have moral implications or that they "directly affect [its] mission, teachings or operations."<ref name = "PN" /> The church played an important role in defeating same-sex marriage legalization in Hawaii, Alaska, Nebraska, Nevada, California, and Utah.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="nyt_review">Template:Cite news</ref> It supported a gay rights bill in Salt Lake City which bans discrimination against homosexual persons in housing and employment,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> opposed gambling,<ref name="Gambling">Template:Cite news</ref> opposed storage of nuclear waste in Utah,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and supported an approach to U.S. immigration policy as outlined in the Utah Compact.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It also opposed a ballot initiative legalizing medicinal marijuana in Utah,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but supported a possible alternative to it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2019 and 2021, the church stated its opposition to the Equality Act, which would prohibit discrimination in the United States on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, but supported alternate legislation that it said would protect both LGBTQ rights and religious freedom.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2022, the church stated its support for the Respect for Marriage Act—which codified same-sex marriage as legal in the United States—due to the "protections for religious freedom" it included.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In the 117th United States Congress, there are nine LDS Church members, including all six members of Utah's congressional delegation, all of whom are Republicans.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Utah's current governor, Spencer Cox, is a church member,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> as are supermajorities in both houses of the Utah State Legislature.<ref name="9of10">Template:Cite news</ref>
DemographicsEdit
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| Pew 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study<ref name="pew">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
LDS (U.S.) | U.S. Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Married | 66% | 49% | |
| Divorced or separated | 7% | 11% | |
| Have children under 18 | 41% | 31% | |
| Attendance at religious services (weekly or more) | 77% | 40% |
The church reports a worldwide membership of 17 million,<ref name="statistics 2022">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Current Statistics">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> of which over 6.8 million live in the U.S.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The church's definition of "membership" includes all persons who were ever baptized, or whose parents were members while the person was under the age of eight (called "members of record"),<ref name=Handbook2006>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp who have neither been excommunicated nor asked to have their names removed from church records.<ref name=Handbook2006/>Template:Rp Template:As of, approximately 9.6 million members reside outside the United States.Template:Efn
| Pew Research Center 2014 Survey: Ethnicity<ref name=Racial>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
LDS (U.S.) | U.S. (2020)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 85% | 62% | ||
| Black | 1% | 12% | ||
| Latino | 8% | 12% | ||
| Asian | 1% | 6% | ||
| Other/Multiracial | 5% | 21% |
According to its statistics, the church is the fourth largest religious body in the United States.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Although the church does not publish attendance figures, researchers estimate that attendance at weekly LDS worship services globally is around 4 million.<ref name="Stack 2005">Template:Cite news</ref> Members living in the U.S. and Canada constitute 46 percent of membership, Latin America 38 percent, and members in the rest of the world 16 percent.<ref name="Current Statistics"/> The 2012 Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, found that approximately 2 percent of the U.S. adult population self-identified as Mormon.<ref name=pew/>
Membership is concentrated geographically in the Intermountain West, in a specific region sometimes known as the Mormon corridor.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Church members and some others from the U.S. colonized this region in the mid-to-late 1800s, dispossessing several Indigenous tribes.Template:Refn
The church experienced rapid numerical growth in the 20th century, especially in the 1980s and 1990s.<ref name=Contemporary>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp In the 21st century, however, church membership growth has slowed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 2022, eight of the top ten nations with the highest LDS membership growth rate were in Africa,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Latino people are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups with millions of LDS adherents in Latin American countries.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In the United States, church members tend to be more highly educated than the general population.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The racial and ethnic composition of membership in the United States is one of the least diverse in the country.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Black membership is significantly lower than the general U.S. population.<ref name=Racial/>
The LDS Church does not release official statistics on church activity, but it is likely that only approximately 40 percent of its recorded membership in the U.S. and 30 percent worldwide regularly attend weekly Sunday worship services.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn A 2016 survey found a majority (54%) of millennials raised in the church had disaffiliated.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Activity rates vary with age, and disengagement occurs most frequently between age 16 and 25. Young single adults are more likely to become inactive than their married counterparts,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and women tend to be more active than men.<ref name=VeryShort/>Template:Rp
Humanitarian servicesEdit
The LDS Church is widely known for providing worldwide humanitarian service.<ref name=pbs>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=philanthropy>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name = "LDSP" /> The church's welfare and humanitarian efforts are coordinated by Philanthropies, a church department under the direction of the Presiding Bishopric.<ref name = "LDSP">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Welfare efforts, originally initiated during the Great Depression, provide aid for the poor, financed by donations from church members. Donations are also used to operate bishop's storehouses, which package and store food for lower-income people at low cost.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2016, the church reported that it had spent a total of $1.2 billion on humanitarian aid over the previous 30 years.<ref name = "LDSP" />
Church humanitarian aid includes organizing food security, clean water, mobility, and healthcare projects, operating Deseret Industries thrift stores, and funding other organizations. The church reports that the value of all charitable donations in 2021 was $906 million.<ref name="Humanitarian2">Template:Cite news</ref> Independent reporting has found that the Church's charity organization, LDS Charities, gave a total of $177 million from 2008 to 2020.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The church also distributes money and aid to disaster victims worldwide.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 2017, the church partnered with Catholic Relief Services and other organizations to provide aid to several African and Middle Eastern nations.<ref name=Relief>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2010, it partnered with Islamic Relief to help victims of flooding in Pakistan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Latter-day Saint Charities increased the conversion of stockpiled raw foods into finished food products during the COVID-19 pandemic and donated healthcare supplies to 16 countries affected by the crisis.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The church has donated $4 million to aid refugees fleeing from the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2022, the church gave $32 million to the United Nations World Food Programme, in its largest known one-time donation to a humanitarian organization so far.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Criticism and controversiesEdit
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Modern criticism of the church includes disputed claims, allegations of historical revisionism by the church,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> child sexual abuse, sexism,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> racism,<ref name=Aspired/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and anti-LGBTQ+ teachings.Template:Refn Notable 20th-century critics included Jerald and Sandra Tanner<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and historian Fawn Brodie.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Child sexual abuseEdit
The church has been criticized for a number of abuses allegedly perpetrated or covered up by local church leadership; several cases have been settled out of court.<ref name=blasts>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name = "Recordings" /><ref>Jury awards Riverside woman $2.3 billion in a sex abuse lawsuit involving the Mormon church. LA Times. April 27, 2023.</ref> In other cases, church leaders have been criticized for: allegedly failing to report abuse to law enforcement;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> improperly invoking clergy–penitent privilege in so doing;<ref name="Recordings">Template:Cite news</ref> and failing to keep records of sexual abuse claims which were reported through its Helpline phone number.<ref name = "Recordings" />
ScripturesEdit
In the late 1820s, criticism centered on the claim by Joseph Smith to have been led to a set of gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was reputedly translated.Template:Refn
Mainstream archaeological, historical, and scientific communities have discovered little to support the existence of the civilizations described in the Book of Mormon, and do not consider it to be an actual record of historical events.Template:R Scholars have pointed out a number of anachronisms within the text. They argue that no evidence of a reformed Egyptian language has ever been discovered;<ref name=Shadow/>Template:RpTemplate:Efn the Book of Mormon explicitly says it was written in a Reformed Egyptian text.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Also, general archaeological and genetic evidence has not supported the book's statements about any known Indigenous peoples of the Americas.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Since its publication in 1842, the Book of Abraham (currently published as part of the canonical Pearl of Great Price) has also been a major source of controversy. Numerous non-Mormon Egyptologists, beginning in the late 19th century,<ref name=Papyri>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp have disagreed with Joseph Smith's explanations of the book's facsimiles. Translations of the original papyri—by both Mormon and non-Mormon Egyptologists—do not match the text of the Book of Abraham as purportedly translated by Joseph Smith.<ref name=OwnHand>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Indeed, the transliterated text from the recovered papyri and facsimiles published in the Book of Abraham contain no direct references to Abraham.Template:Refn Scholars have also asserted that damaged portions of the papyri were reconstructed incorrectly by Smith or his associates.<ref name=OwnHand/>Template:Rp
PolygamyEdit
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Polygamy (called plural marriage within the church) was practiced by church leaders for more than half of the 19th century,<ref name=HoP>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890 by between 20 and 30 percent of Latter-day Saint families.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Embry19942">Template:Citation</ref> It was instituted privately in the 1830s by founder Joseph Smith and announced publicly in 1852 at the direction of Brigham Young.<ref name="Embry19942"/>
For over 60 years, the church and the United States were at odds over the issue: at one point, the Republican platform referenced "the twin relics of barbarism—polygamy and slavery."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The church defended the practice as a matter of religious freedom, while the federal government aggressively sought to eradicate it; in 1862, the United States Congress passed the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act, which prohibited plural marriage in the territories.<ref name="Embry19942"/>
In 1890, church president Wilford Woodruff issued a manifesto that officially terminated the practice in the U.S.,<ref name=OD1/> though it did not dissolve existing polygamous marriages.<ref name=HoP/> Some church members continued to enter into polygamous marriages in Canada and Mexico, but these eventually stopped in 1904 when church president Joseph F. Smith disavowed polygamy before Congress and issued a "Second Manifesto", calling for all plural marriages in the church to cease. Several small fundamentalist groups, seeking to continue the practice, split from the LDS Church, but the mainline church now excommunicates members found practicing polygamy and distances itself from those fundamentalist groups.<ref name=VeryShort/>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The church does allow divorced or widowed men to be sealed to other women without cancelling any existing sealings.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
MinoritiesEdit
Black peopleEdit
The teachings, attitudes, and practices of top LDS Church leaders towards Black people have changed significantly from its founding years to the modern times, and the church has faced criticism and controversy on these topics.Template:Refn Joseph Smith allowed several Black men to be ordained as priests during his presidency, but also taught that the dark skin of people of Black African ancestry was a sign of a curse from God.<ref name="Mauss 2003"/>Template:Rp<ref name=Marks>Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Rp Both Smith and Brigham Young taught that Black people were subject to the Biblical curse of Ham,<ref name="Reeve 2015">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp<ref name=BYHamCurse>Template:Cite journal</ref> and curse of Cain.<ref name=Marks/>Template:R Both made statements in support of Black enslavement,<ref name="Harris2015"/>Template:Rp and Young legalized Black slavery while acting as Utah territory's governor.Template:Refn
From 1844 to 1978, the church barred Black people from participating in temple ordinances necessary for the highest level of salvation;<ref name=Kendall>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="bowman">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> prevented most men of Black African descent from being ordained to the church's lay, all-male priesthood;<ref name="embry">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp supported racial segregation in its communities and schools;<ref name="Harris2015" />Template:Rp<ref name=Balmer>Template:Cite book</ref> taught that righteous Black people would be made White after death;<ref name=Aspired/><ref name="US_Commission_1959">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Mueller">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp and opposed interracial marriage.<ref name=Repugnant>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Neither White Nor Black">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Leaders taught on many occasions during this time that Black people were less righteous in the pre-existence.Template:Refn The temple and priesthood racial restrictions were lifted by top leaders in 1978Template:Refn following public pressure during the United States' civil rights movement.Template:Efn In 2013 the church directly disavowed its previous teachings on race for the first time.<ref name=Aspired>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=Despite>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 2018, the Church formed an alliance with the NAACP in an effort to improve race relations.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Native American peopleEdit
Over the past two centuries, the relationship between Native American people and the LDS Church has included friendly ties, displacement, battles, massacres, slavery, education placement programs, official and unofficial discrimination, and criticism.<ref name=Myths>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Struggle/> Church leadership and publications taught that Native Americans are descendants of Lamanites, a dark-skinned and cursed people from the Book of Mormon.<ref name=Gathering>Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Rp<ref name=Struggle>Template:Cite news</ref> More recently, LDS researchers and publications generally favor a smaller geographic footprint of Lamanite descendants.Template:Efn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> There is no direct support amongst mainstream historians and archaeologists for the historicity of the Book of Mormon or Middle Eastern origins for Native American peoples.Template:Refn
Soon after Mormons colonized the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, Native American child slaves became a vital source of labor.<ref name=other>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp The settlers initially had some peaceful relations, but because resources were scarce in the desert, hostilities broke out with the local Native Americans.<ref name=Envision /> According to LDS Church Historian Marlin K. Jensen as more LDS immigrants arrived and took over the land of Native nations, "Resources the Indians had relied on for generations diminished, and in time they felt forced to resist and fight for their own survival ... the land and cultural birthright Indians once possessed in the Great Basin were largely taken from them."<ref name=Envision>Template:Cite news</ref> Within 50 years of Mormon settlement, the population of Utah's Native Americans was reduced by almost 90 percent.<ref name=other/>Template:Rp
The church ran an Indian Placement Program between the 1950s and the 1990s, wherein Indigenous children would live in the homes of church members during one or more school years. Criticism resulted during and after the program, including claims of improper assimilation and even abuse.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Aspired/> However, many of the involved students and families praised the program.<ref name="Making lamanites">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Church leaders taught for decades that Native Americans' darker skin would be made lighter due to their righteousness.<ref name=Shift>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Balmer/><ref name="Mauss 2003">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp
LGBTQ individualsEdit
The church's policies and treatment of sexual minorities and gender minorities have long been the subject of external criticism,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="archive.sltrib.com">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> as well as internal controversy and disaffection by members.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Because of its ban against same-sex sexual activity and same-sex marriage, the LDS church taught for decades that any adherents attracted to the same sex could and should change that through sexual orientation change efforts and righteous striving.Template:Refn The church provided therapy and programs for attempting to change sexual orientation.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Current teachings and policies leave homosexual members with the options of entering a mixed-orientation opposite-sex marriage, or lifelong celibacy.Template:Refn Some have argued that church teachings against homosexuality and the treatment of LGBTQ members have contributed to their elevated rates of PTSD, depression,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> suicide and teen homelessness.Template:Refn The church's decades-long, political involvement opposing U.S. same-sex marriage laws has further garnered criticism and protests.Template:Refn
Those considering gender-affirming surgery are not allowed to be baptized, and those who have already had one need special clearance from the First Presidency before baptism.<ref name=Regulation>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Handbook 2010">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Undergoing a "trans-sexual Template:Sic operation," including feminizing surgery or masculinizing surgery like chest reconstruction (i.e. top surgery)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> may imperil the membership of a current member.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Guardian">Template:Cite news</ref> Ordinances after baptism such as receiving the priesthood and temple endowments are only done according to birth sex.<ref name=Publishes>Template:Cite news</ref> Members that gender express through clothing or pronouns differing from the sex assigned at their birth will receive membership restrictions and a notation on their membership records.<ref name=Publishes/>
Criticism of Joseph SmithEdit
In the 1830s, the church was heavily criticized for Smith's handling of a banking failure in Kirtland, Ohio.Template:Refn After the Mormons migrated west, there was fear and suspicion about the LDS Church's political and military power in Missouri,Template:Efn culminating in the 1838 Mormon War and the Mormon Extermination Order by Governor Lilburn Boggs. In the 1840s, criticism of the church included its theocratic aspirations in Nauvoo, Illinois. Criticism of the practice of plural marriage and other doctrines Smith taught were published in the Nauvoo Expositor in 1844.<ref name=RoughStone/>Template:RpTemplate:Efn After Smith took a leading role in having the paper's printing press destroyed, he was charged with treason and jailed. While he awaited trial, an angry mob stormed the jailhouse and shot him fatally.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In modern popular opinion, non-Mormons in the U.S. generally consider Smith a "charlatan, scoundrel, and heretic."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The Book of Mormon musical mocks his account of the golden plates.<ref>"On Broadway, A 'Mormon' Swipe At ... Everything," NPR. March 24, 2011. Accessed December 27, 2023.</ref> In 2007, Christopher Hitchens, writing in Slate, lambasted Smith as a mountebank, charlatan, and fraud (and the church itself as a "ridiculous cult" and a "racket" that became a religion).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Financial controversyEdit
Template:See also The church has fought to keep its internal financial information out of the public record.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name ="KUTV" /> The church's failure to make its finances public has drawn criticism.Template:Refn
In December 2019, a whistleblower alleged the church held over $100 billion in investment funds through its investment management company, Ensign Peak Advisors (EP); that it used these funds in for-profit ventures rather than charity; and that it misled contributors and the public about the usage and extent of those funds.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The church's First Presidency stated that "the Church complies with all applicable law governing our donations, investments, taxes, and reserves," and that "a portion" of funds received by the church are "methodically safeguarded through wise financial management and the building of a prudent reserve".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The church has not directly addressed the fund's size to the public, but third parties have treated the disclosures as legitimate.<ref name=Amassed>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Receipts>Template:Cite news</ref> The disclosure has led to criticism that the church's wealth may be excessive.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The church has transferred more than a billion dollars of tithing collected in Canada, tax-free, to church universities over a 15-year period.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In October 2022, The Sydney Morning Herald announced that while the church publicly claimed to have donated US$1.35 billion to charity between 2008 and 2020, its private financial reports showed that it donated only US$0.177 billion.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn
In February 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a $5 million penalty to the church and its investment company, EP. The SEC alleged that the church concealed its investments and their management in multiple Shell companies from 1997 to 2019; the SEC believes these shell companies were approved by senior church leadership to avoid public transparency.<ref name = "KUTV">Template:Cite news</ref> The church released a statement that in 2000 EP "received and relied upon legal counsel regarding how to comply with its reporting obligations while attempting to maintain the privacy of the portfolio." After initial SEC concern in June 2019, the church stated that EP "adjusted its approach and began filing a single aggregated report."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
See alsoEdit
Template:Main list Template:Portal
- Index of articles related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- List of missions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Christianity in the United States
- Anti-Mormonism
- List of attacks against Latter-day Saint churches
- Mormon (word)
- Mormonism and Islam
- Mormonism and Judaism
- Mormonism and women
- List of new religious movements
- List of Latter Day Saint periodicals
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- ChurchofJesusChrist.org – main site
- ComeUntoChrist.org – ComeUntoChrist.org, contains information about basic beliefs (formerly Mormon.org)
- Template:Gutenberg author
- Template:Internet Archive author