Mormon Beliefs Archive
On December 5,2011, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are sometimes called Mormons, announced a new website devoted to free online videos about Jesus Christ. The first videos are now available and teach the Christmas story in the exact words of the King James Bible.
The project is the first of many films to be produced on a film set near Goshen, Utah. 830 acres have been turned into a replica of ancient Jerusalem and other New Testament locations. It is not a re-creation of the city of Jerusalem. It is a collection of settings that can be used and re-used for the needed scenes. Digital imaging will create some aspects of the city, such as the temple, that are not being built. Researchers went to Jerusalem, studied it, and photographed it. They also studied the scriptures to understand how things needed to look. The goal was to create as authentic a set as possible. Months of searching finally led them to a large piece of land that included sand dunes, desert,... Read the rest of this entry »
In the Book of John, we learn, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (See John 1:3.)
It is clear, then, that anything that exists was created by God, and so God made Satan. However, he wasn’t Satan at his creation and he was not created evil. The prophet Isaiah helps us to understand what turned Lucifer into Satan and demonstrates that he is not the being God created him to be: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” (See Isaiah 14:12.)
In other words, Satan, as created, was not evil. God does not create anything that is evil. The creation accounts in Genesis consistently remind us that everything God creates is good. How did Satan go from being a good creation of God to being the source of evil?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are sometimes called Mormons, teach that agency was an essential part of God’s... Read the rest of this entry »
There have been black Mormons since the 1830s. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the true name of the church commonly called the Mormon Church) accepted black people as members and did not segregate their congregations. They were officially opposed to slavery, which upset Missouri when they lived there. The newspapers published complaints that Mormons had a plan to convert and bring to Missouri free blacks at a time Missouri was trying to enter the United States as a slave state. Missouri, which beat free blacks entering the state, saw the Mormon plan to increase the black population as justification for increased persecution of Mormons.
There have been black Mormons since the earliest days of Mormonism.
The Mormon Church was organized in 1830 and the first black Mormon was baptized in 1832. His name was Elijah Abel. He would also receive the priesthood and become a seventy, a high-ranking church leader. Abel is believed to have escaped slavery through the underground railroad.... Read the rest of this entry »
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who are often called Mormons by others, believe that Jesus Christ will return to earth one day. Mormons focus on what we know about that time and leave the rest to God.
Jesus Christ will return to Earth.
“Four matters are indisputable to Latter-day Saints: (1) The Savior will return to the earth in power and great glory to reign personally during a millennium of righteousness and peace. (2) At the time of His coming there will be a destruction of the wicked and a resurrection of the righteous. (3) No one knows the time of His coming, but (4) the faithful are taught to study the signs of it and to be prepared for it. (See Dallin H. Oaks, “Preparation for the Second Coming,” Liahona, May 2004, 7–10)
Let’s look first at the first and second principles Elder Oaks mentioned. Mormons believe in the Second Coming. We can over cover what will happen briefly in this article. For a more detailed explanation, read the chapter on... Read the rest of this entry »
The media has spent a lot of time on the Book of Mormon Musical, a Broadway production people either love or hate. The reviews have often demonstrated the biases of the reviewers. One rejoiced that the musical showed that religion believes in a lot of silly things (not just Mormonism, but all religion). Another suggested the message was that blind faith is a sin, with his unspoken message being that religious faith is always blind. A Jewish writer argued that Jewish people, with their great knowledge of the dangers of religious persecution, should speak out loudly against the musical. Other writers have noted that the musical attacks all religions, even though it focused on only one. Some have noticed it is an inherently vicious portrayal of Africans, mocking their poverty and suffering.
The official statement of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was a single sentence:
“The production may attempt to entertain audiences for an evening, but the Book of Mormon as a volume of... Read the rest of this entry »
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are sometimes called Mormons, recently held its semi-annual General Conference. In this conference, Mormon leaders instruct members and other listeners in ways to better live Christ’s teachings.
In the April 2011 General Conference, Paul V. Johnson answered the question, “Why is life so hard?” He taught that trials often come to us because Jesus loves us. It might not seem, at first glance to be much of a gift, but when we understand why we came to earth, the reasoning behind this becomes clear.
Mormon beliefs teach that God created our spirits. As spirits—meaning we had no body—we lived with God, getting to know Him and becoming the people we are today. Eventually, of course, every child needs to leave home and so God prepared the earth for us. When we came to earth we would take with us our own personalities but we would forget who we had been and where we had come from. We’d gain bodies and families. Many of us... Read the rest of this entry »
When people talk about Mormonism, they often focus in on small things that are not important, aren’t taught currently, aren’t even practiced today. By doing so they miss an opportunity to understand Mormonism as it lives today and even as it was originally taught.
To understand Mormonism, you must focus on core doctrines, those things which are canonized as official doctrine and taught consistently. While church practices sometimes change, truth does not.
There are a few guidelines that can help you evaluate whether or not a teaching is a core doctrine—or even a true doctrine of Mormonism.
First, it is important to understand that every word spoken by a prophet is not necessarily doctrine, particularly in the earliest days of the church. In the beginnings, the church was run much more informally. People talked among themselves and sometimes others took notes and published those conversations or informal speculations of church leaders.
The Journal of Discourses is the usual source... Read the rest of this entry »
Brigham Young University, also called BYU, is a university in Provo, Utah. It is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are also known as Mormons.
BYU Honor Code helps students live a Christ-like life.
Although a student does not have to be Mormon to attend BYU, most students are LDS (Mormon.) Any student, whether or not they are Mormon, must sign the honor code and then live what it says. For BYU, unlike some universities, the honor code is not a PR tool or a suggestion, but a serious way of life. Students know about the honor code before agreeing to come to the university and they have given their word to live it. Not doing so results in suspension. The university puts this code above all other considerations and will enforce it even when the person who violates it is the star of a sports team. Some newspapers have noted that most schools who suspend a student for violating an honor code or even for breaking a law will do so during exhibition games... Read the rest of this entry »
Recently, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, spoke to Mormon teachers and leaders at the Church Educational System fireside about teaching as a Christ-like activity. President Uchtdorf is the second counselor to the Mormon prophet.
President Uchtdorf said, “The call to teach is an opportunity to follow Jesus Christ, the Master Teacher.” He offered five suggestions to help teachers educate students spiritually in a manner that is pleasing to our Savior, Jesus Christ:
Center our teachings on Jesus Christ in order to help our students center their lives on Jesus Christ and grow in their love for Him.
Teach truth. He instructed teachers to not be afraid of the truth. Teach it with courage and teach it so clearly it won’t be misunderstood. Focus on the core doctrine.
Teach by the Spirit. The Holy Ghost has the power to testify to listeners of the truthfulness of what is being taught. He also knows what the students need to hear. When a teacher is guided by the... Read the rest of this entry »
This year, Mormon Sunday School classes for adults and teens and the Senior Primary children who are ages eight to twelve are studying the New Testament. All Primary children—those ages 3 to 11, will have a sharing time (a time when a number of classes meet together to be taught by their leaders) focusing on the truthfulness of scripture.
The Sunday School classes and senior Primary are on a four year rotation system. Each year they study one book of scripture—Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon and Church History/Doctrine and Covenants (a book of modern revelation). The Senior Primary, the teens, and the adults study the same book of scripture at the same pace but at their own level. This allows families to come together after church and during the week to discuss what they’ve learned and lets parents reinforce those teachings.
Younger children, ages four to seven, are on a two year rotation, covering two books of scripture in one year, with an emphasis on the life of Christ... Read the rest of this entry »
