Of all the numbers in the Pew Research Center’s recently released survey of “Mormons in America,” the highest, most overwhelming numbers are these: 98 percent of respondents said they believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and 97 percent say their church is a Christian religion.

This comes on the heels of earlier surveys indicating that 32 percent of non-LDS U.S. adults say the LDS Church is not a Christian religion, and an additional 17 percent are unsure of LDS Christianity. The theological and semantic reasons for this can be complex, but for the 1,019 self-identified Mormons who participated in the Pew survey, their theological position is clear: Mormons believe in Jesus Christ, and they consider themselves to be Christian.

“Certainly in Latter-day Saint theology is this idea that if you understand who you are, you understand that there’s a purpose in life, you understand your connection to God, that certainly has an impact on how you live your life and what you do, but also how you feel about your life and what you are doing,” said Michael Purdy of the LDS Church Public Affairs office.

For the vast majority of Latter-day Saints surveyed, those life choices have much to do with their religious beliefs. Eighty-two percent of survey respondents indicate that religion is “very important” to them, 83 percent say they pray every day and 77 percent say they attend church at least once a week. Beyond that, a stunning 69 percent of respondents fit all three descriptions, saying that religion is very important to them, that they pray every day and that they go to church every week.

“By this measure,” the report says, “Mormons exhibit higher levels of religious commitment than many other religious groups, including white evangelical Christians.”

Part of the explanation for these high numbers may be that the survey focused only on those who self-identified as Latter-day Saints.

“The method they used tended to identify people who are strongly committed,” said BYU sociologist Marie Cornwall, who advised the Pew Forum on the new survey. “They don’t have the people who are kind of marginal. But that’s okay; we just have to be careful with the way we interpret the findings.”

One such finding is the relationship between religious commitment and education among Mormons.

David Campbell, a University of Notre Dame associate professor and another adviser on the survey, noted that the more educated respondents were, the higher their levels of religious commitment.

“I was a little surprised by that,” said Campbell, who is LDS and who has extensively studied on the role of religion in the public square. “The more educated a Mormon is, the more likely they are to be wholehearted in their commitment to the church and its teachings.”

That is different from other churches, he said, where more education tends to lead to more religious skepticism.

Pew Research Center officials also noted “a significant gender gap in religious commitment, with more Mormon women than men exhibiting a high level of religious commitment (73 percent vs. 65 percent).”

According to the Pew report, a similar “gender gap” is seen among the general public. A 2007 survey found 36 percent of U.S. women exhibited a high level of religious commitment, compared with 24 percent of men.

One series of questions asked about what it means to be a good Mormon. According to the respondents, in order to be a good Mormon it is “essential” to believe Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ (80 percent), work to help the poor (73 percent), hold regular family home evenings (51 percent), not drink coffee and tea (49 percent) and not watch R-rated movies (32 percent).

Combining those who said “essential” with those who said “important but not essential,” the order changes a little bit: working to help the poor (97 percent), holding regular family home evenings (96 percent), believing Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ (93 percent), not drinking coffee and tea (81 percent) and not watching R-rated movies (79 percent).

“I think that result is rather interesting,” said Cornwall. “Mormons are known for not drinking coffee or tea and not watching R-rated movies. But compared to believing that Joseph Smith saw God and working for the poor, Mormons don’t seem to focus on the coffee and tea as much as people probably think.”

Other manifestations of religious commitment in the survey included:

The number of respondents (65 percent) who say they hold a current temple recommend (a certificate from local ecclesiastical leaders, issued every other year, indicating that an individual has permission from the church to enter LDS temples and participate in temple rites and sacraments)

The number (79 percent) who say they pay tithing (donating 10 percent of their income to the church)

The number (27 percent) who have served full-time missions for the church (this number includes 43 percent of men and 11 percent of women and varies significantly according to the age and education of the respondent, as well as whether or not the respondent was raised Mormon)

The number (82 percent) who keep food in storage for emergencies or disasters, as they have been counseled to do by LDS Church leaders (This number includes 23 percent who say they have three months’ worth, 35 percent who say they have more than three months’ worth and 23 percent who say they have less than three months’ worth)

The percentage who pay tithing is especially interesting to break down. According to the survey tabulations, “tithing is most common among Mormons with the highest levels of religious commitment (96 percent) … fully 91 percent of college graduates say they pay tithing … compared with 66 percent of those with a high school diploma or less education. And among those whose family income exceeds $30,000, 83 percent say they pay tithing, compared with 69 percent of those with incomes of less than $30,000.”

While previous surveys have clearly established LDS agreement with certain key Christian doctrines — 90 percent of Mormons believe in God, 91 percent believe the Bible is the word of God and 98 percent believe in life after death — the new survey explores Mormon confidence in points of doctrine that are unique to LDS theology. And in these points of doctrine, Mormons proved to be unified and believing. They believe overwhelmingly that God and Jesus Christ are separate physical beings (94 percent), that the president of the LDS Church is a prophet of God (94 percent), that families can be bound together eternally in temple ceremonies (95 percent) and that the Book of Mormon was written by ancient prophets and translated by Joseph Smith (91 percent).

Overall, 77 percent say they believe “wholeheartedly” in all of the teachings of the LDS Church. That number increases to 82 percent among Mormons ages 18-49, and to 85 percent among Mormons who are college graduates.

“Ultimately, I suppose other Americans will judge our church — and perhaps all churches — by their relevance in how they touch and improve human lives right here on Earth as well as what they offer in the life to come,” wrote Michael Otterson, Public Affairs director for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in his “On Faith” blog in the Washington Post. “Meanwhile, we welcome the friendship and regard of all groups, even as we retain our commitment to a unique identity. In the end … Latter-day Saints will strive to be good Mormons, true believers, kind neighbors and faithful friends.”

Pew Study Reflects Mormons’ Religious Commitment to Christ, Mormon Beliefs in Tithes and Temples

Mormons in America

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are informally called Mormons, have just opened their second environmentally-friendly meeting house. It is the second of three prototype buildings and is expected to earn sivler LEED certification, as did the first building. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is earned by creating an environmentally-friendly building according to strict guidelines. It measures performance in sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality and is difficult to attain.

Mesa, Arizona

“For decades we have looked for innovative ways to use natural resources in our meetinghouses that reflect our commitment as wise stewards of God’s creations,” explained H. David Burton, the presiding bishop of the Mormon Church.

The second prototype building is in Mesa, Arizona. It is solar-powered and is designed to produce the same amount of energy over the course of one year as it will use in that same time frame. Studies of the first LEEDS certified meetinghouse shows this is a realistic goal; in twelve months it saved 5,000 dollars in energy costs and reduced the building’s carbon footprint. The building converts solar radiation into electrical current. It also has windows that block 78 percent of the sun’s heat energy, improved insulation, high efficiency furnaces, lighting that is 20 percent more efficient, light switches that turn off when a room is empty, and landscaping and automated irrigation sensors that cut water usage by 50 percent. In addition, internet monitoring allows facility managers to know when there is a problem.

A timeline of Mormon Church environmental practices goes back to the 1950s, encompasses everything from the non-scientific use of verandas and overhangs to reduce heat load to the use of rain water collection and storage to reduce water use in the Pacific . Over the years, the Mormons have instigated a great many environmentally friendly practices based on the needs and local opportunities of the specific building. Following is a sampling of these projects:

In the 1980s, the church began satellite broadcasts of many meetings in order to reduce carbon emissions. They estimated a savings of up to 100,000 gallons of fuel for every broadcasted meeting.

In the same decade, a new chapel in Susanville, California was discovered to have a hidden stream. They quickly made use of the stream to provide geothermal energy for the building.  They pumped hot water into the building to provide heat.

The Church office buildings in Salt Lake City also got a water-based system in the 1970s. There, they used four wells to circulate water through a heat exchanging process. It could heat or cool the water. The unique process prevented the need for water purification chemicals and also prevented evaporation loss. The building also has an alpine garden on the roof that uses a recycled river system for watering.

Chapels in Latvia are heated with radiant flooring, which saves 30 percent in energy usage.

Tahiti actually had the first solar-heated Mormon Church meetinghouse. This building was built in 2007.

The Church History Library received LEEDS certification and international attention when it was built in 2009. It reduced allergens inside the building, especially important to workers. Those same filters also protect the records kept in the building. The wood for the buildings came from forests that are responsibly harvested and are replanted. The building contains a recycling collection center. The landscaping was designed to use less water and the insulation allows the building to use less heat or air conditioning.

Mormons believe God and Jesus Christ created the earth as a gift for mankind. He then gave them stewardship over that land, which means we are responsible for taking care of the planet God created for us. Gordon B. Hinckley, a previous Mormon prophet, said,

Here is the Creator of all that is good and beautiful. I have looked at majestic mountains rising high against the blue sky and thought of Jesus, the Creator of heaven and earth. I have stood on the sand of an island in the Pacific and watched the dawn rise like thunder—a ball of gold surrounded by clouds of pink and white and purple—and thought of Jesus, the Word by whom all things were made and without whom was not anything made that was made. I have seen a beautiful child—bright-eyed, innocent, loving and trusting—and marveled at the majesty and miracle of creation. What then shall we do with Jesus who is called Christ?

This earth is his creation. When we make it ugly, we offend him. (See Gordon B. Hinckley, “What Shall I Do Then with Jesus Which Is Called Christ?,” Tambuli, Apr 1984, 1.)

Mormons consider it disrespectful to abuse any gift God has given us and so the Church feels a special obligation in building its many buildings to be mindful of wisely using the resources needed.

Joan Hackley attends an environmentally friendly LDS meetinghouse in Pahrump, Nevada. She loves her new building:

We started meeting in the Manse Street Building late January 2011 – it’s a beautiful new meetinghouse and of course has garnered many wonderful comments and questions from our non-member friends and neighbors. At the open house, many of the details of the building were highlighted and explained. The lights, turn on and off as we enter and leave rooms, and bathrooms, so no light ever stays on longer than needed as people leave that area. The climate control has been wonderful! We are never too hot or too cold, like in the older building! Audio and Visual connections, hookups as well as equipment is, of course, top of the line. We belong to the Las Vegas South Stake, about 65 miles from Pahrump – however, now we attend most of our stake meetings via, an internet feed, right in our own building. A wonderful saving of time and gas for us! Some of the building is solar powered and so saves energy and money as well. The right and left sides of the chapel pews are set at a slight angle instead of the usual ‘straight’ making it easy to see and hear. The building itself has been built with growth in mind, and has Stake Offices, so that it will serve as our Stake Center, as we expand into that in the Pahrump Valley! We truly feel blessed to have such a marvelous up to date facility to meet and worship in!”

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 for speculations by people of other religions. Journal of Discourses is not an official church publication and is not used as a source of official doctrine. It was compiled by people who took notes of speeches, prayers, sermons, and other events in shorthand and then transcribed them. However, not all the transcriptions were accurate. None were evaluated by or approved by church leaders as being official pronouncements of doctrine. It was privately published in England to provide income for the owner of the journals, although Brigham Young approved the project as a way for European Mormons to find out what was going on in Utah. It was basically the equivalent of a newspaper. Today, the Mormons own Deseret News, but articles that appear in the newspaper are not considered official doctrine, and neither are articles in the Journal of Discourses. With the availability of modern technology, many errors have been officially documented.

Because the church was small, even in General Conference, today a very formal event, people were free to ask questions. Because Mormonism focuses on continuing revelation and learning “line upon line” much of the doctrine was not yet known. Therefore, leaders sometimes speculated about possible answers. These speculations did not become doctrine unless Brigham Young or other prophets prayed and received confirmation of the truthfulness of the doctrine. Otherwise, it was just personal opinion and even a prophet is allowed to have an opinion.

So how does one know if something is an official doctrine? Both official Mormon websites, Mormon.org (intended for people who are not LDS) and LDS.org (aimed more toward Mormons but open to anyone) contain official statements of doctrine. Look for official announcements there.

It is important to remember that not all doctrine is given equal weight or importance in Mormonism. It is also important to remember that in a church that does not refuse to allow God to continue to speak and to lead, doctrine is given in increasing steps, what Mormons call learning line upon line. This means Mormons have, over the years, been given doctrine suitable just for one time period or doctrine that might be considered beginner doctrine. As the church membership grew and people became more informed about the gospel, God gradually added to their knowledge. An easy way to understand how this works is to read the lesson manuals written for children. Although the same subject might be covered in each age group, older children are given more complex information because they are ready for it. Mormons are taught by God in increasingly sophisticated stages.

Joseph Smith outlined thirteen Articles of Faith that explained the core beliefs of Mormonism at that time. These are still taught and even memorized by children. Reading them can help earnest students of Mormonism, those determined to learn only what is true about Mormons, to recognize core doctrine. The first Article of Faith is the very core of Mormonism:

“We believe in God the eternal Father, in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.”

This creates a foundation on which all other doctrines are based. The first Article of Faith makes possible the fourth, which succinctly summarizes the core of Mormonism:

“We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

Faith in Jesus Christ is critical to the mission and doctrine of Mormon beliefs. Repentance, the second portion of this article of faith, refers to Mormon belief in the atonement of Jesus Christ and the importance of both grace and repentance in the process of living a Christian lifestyle. Baptism, performed after the manner in which Jesus was baptized, allows people to be forgiven of their sins and is a result of grace, which came to us through the atonement. The Holy Ghost was a gift Jesus Himself promised to send to His followers once He was gone.

Another principle of Mormonism is that of continuing revelation. Nowhere does the Bible state that once Jesus died, God would no longer be willing to communicate with His children or to send them prophets. While the apostles lived, they received revelation and guidance from God and functioned as apostles, seers, and revelators. Once they died, God did withdraw for a time, an event known as an apostasy. It is not that God is not willing to have prophets on the earth at any given time, but mortals are not always willing to accept and honor prophets. When this happens, they are the ones who remove the gift of prophecy from the earth. This happened frequently throughout the Bible and happened for the longest period of time after the apostles died.

However, the Bible assures us that God will do nothing except through his prophets. (See Amos 3:7.) This means that in order to prepare us for the return of Jesus Christ, another core doctrine of Mormonism, God must restore prophets to the earth. He did this when He chose Joseph Smith as His first prophet in the last days. Today, the Church is led by Thomas S. Monson, the Mormon prophet.

There is no question as to the need for a prophet in today’s world. A short drive around most towns will show a large number of churches, all with conflicting doctrine. Clearly, original doctrine has been corrupted over time—this process started even during the New Testament times, leaving the apostles to regularly fight to overcome misunderstandings in doctrine. Without a prophet, no man can do any more than just guess at what God wants of us today or of what specific doctrines mean. Modern-day revelation is key to giving people a fair chance to prepare for the Second Coming.

Another core doctrine of Mormonism is family life. Mormon beliefs include strong teachings on the sacredness of the family unit. Families were planned by God to help Him further His work on earth and are one reason we came to earth. Mormons teach that God’s plan for families today are that families consist of one mother and one father and are meant to last forever. Mormons can be married in a Mormon temple and have their marriages “sealed” for time and all eternity. This means they do not get a divorce at death, but continue the marriage forever if they live worthy of God’s greatest blessings. In addition, parents and children are joined together forever, something most people instinctively understand, even if they say they don’t believe it. Listening to comments at a funeral often reveal a deep belief in eternal families. (“Mom and Dad are together again.”)

Central to Mormon doctrine is the Plan of Salvation. It is the story of our eternal life and unifies the most important teachings of the Mormons.

Our stories began when God created our spirits. We lived with Him as spirits for a very long time, learning truth, learning to love God, and deciding what kind of person we wanted to be. Eventually, as is the case with children living at home, we could progress no further without leaving home and going out “into the world, one God and Jesus would prepare for us. He explained that when we went there we would lose our memory of our time with Him because this journey was about faith. However, we would gain bodies and families and the Spirit of Christ would go with us to help us recognize truth if we wanted to find it.

During our time here we would face trials—different trials for each person—and we could choose our responses to them. Agency was, in fact, key to the experience. Our choices would, as Mormon prophet Thomas Monson likes to say, determine our destiny. However, we could not choose the consequences of those actions.

God knew we would all sin, and He wanted to make it possible for us to return to Him even when we did sin. He loves us and wants us all to make it back home. For this reason, He promised to send a Savior who would live on earth for a time, teach the gospel, and take our sins on Himself, saving us through grace. This grace would allow us to rise from the dead, repent, and make it back to God if we kept the commandments. Grace cannot be bought—we do not have, in ourselves, the power to bring about resurrection or forgiveness. However, the Bible is very clear that only those who keep the commandments and who repent of sins will be allowed to return to God.

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). The Bible warns us that faith without works is dead. If you say you believe and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are saying only words unless obedience follows the words.

Some were unwilling to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, preferring Satan’s unscriptural promise to save people without any risk of any kind. That meant we would also have no agency. We would simply be puppets of Satan and this would render life meaningless. One-third of the spirits chose to follow Satan and were denied the chance to come to earth. All those who were willing to make a commitment to Jesus were allowed to be born.

Life here on earth is not easy, but it is designed to allow us to have opportunities for growth. It allows us to seek out and find truth if at all possible.

But of course, it is not possible for everyone. Some people live their entire lives never having heard of Jesus Christ—some because they lived before He was born and some because the gospel simply never reached them. Over the centuries, theologians have debated what happens to those people. Would God unfairly punish them for something out of their control?

No, of course not. God is loving and fair and He sent us here. This means He will give everyone a fair chance to accept or reject His gospel. Those who die without being given that opportunity will receive it after their death—not a second chance, but a first chance, the only way a loving God would choose to do it. They can, just as we can, accept or reject Jesus Christ’s teachings and accept the blessings and consequences of their choice.

The Plan of Salvation is a kind, loving, and brilliant plan by our Heavenly Father, designed to give us an opportunity to become everything He intended us to become.

As you continue to study official church websites, take note of what Mormons are being currently taught in their classes. The lesson manuals are all openly online. Those teachings are the core. Mormons are impacted only by core doctrines—those taught by current prophets that affect our eternal salvation.

On February 4, Dallin H. Oaks, an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a former state Supreme Court justice spoke at Chapman University School of Law on religious freedom and it’s constitutional history and importance. The Mormon apostle focused on why the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom is important to the future of the United States and on the dangers of religious relativism.

The speech, which received a standing ovation, focused on four main points, that were summarized in this way near the end of his talk:

1. Religious teachings and religious organizations are valuable and important to our free society and therefore deserving of their special protection.
2. Religious freedom undergirds the origin and existence of this country and is the dominating civil liberty.
3. The guarantee of free exercise of religion is weakening in its effects and in public esteem.
4. This weakening is attributable to the ascendancy of moral relativism. 

Elder Oaks reminded listeners that religious freedom was a founding principle of the new nation and that religion has had a powerful and positive influence on the good changes to our nation.

The earliest documents of the country mention God and religion openly, without fear of censorship. The Declaration of Independence warned the king that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights…”  This statement suggests that the founding fathers understood that human rights are derived from God and religious sources, not the secular desires of humans. Many of these unalienable rights, which had their foundations in religious freedom, found their way into the legal system. Elder Oaks reminds us that the Constitution itself has a foundation in religion. “Its formation over 200 years ago was made possible by religious principles of human worth and dignity, and only those principles in the hearts of a majority of our diverse populations can sustain that Constitution today.

Because the Constitution is the foundation of religious freedom, Elder Oaks discussed what the Constitution says on the subject and what it means.

“The first provision in the Bill of Rights is what many believe to be its most important guarantee. It reads: ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.’

“The prohibition against ‘an establishment of religion’ was intended to separate churches and government, to forbid a national church of the kind found in Europe. In the interest of time I will say no more about the establishment of religion, but only concentrate on the First Amendment’s direction that the United states shall have ‘no law [prohibiting] the free exercise [of religion.]’ for almost a century this guarantee of religious freedom has been understood as a limitation on state as well as federal power.

“The guarantee of religious freedom is one of the supremely important founding principles in the United States Constitution, and it is reflected in the constitutions of all 50 of our states. As noted by many, the guarantee’s ‘pre-eminent place’ as the first expression in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution identifies freedom of religion as “a cornerstone of American democracy.”15 The American colonies were originally settled by people who, for the most part, came to this continent for the freedom to practice their religious faith without persecution, and their successors deliberately placed religious freedom first in the nation’s Bill of Rights.

So it is that our federal law formally declares: “The right to freedom of religion undergirds the very origin and existence of the United States.”16 So it is, I maintain, that in our nation’s founding and in our constitutional order religious freedom and its associated First Amendment freedoms of speech and press are the motivating and dominating civil liberties and civil rights.”

The history of good changes in this nation is often also a history of the efforts of religious people and churches. It is through the churches that much of the charitable work in the country is done and it is from the pulpit that many of the humanitarian changes to The United States’ practices first took hold. Without religion, many millions would be suffering as the resources for financing and volunteer service would disappear, both here and world-wide. For instance, Mormons operate LDS Charities and Humanitarian Aid to provide assistance world-wide, regardless of religion, because Jesus commanded His followers to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, and care for the sick. Mormons, like other Christians, work to emulate the Savior and so they are highly motivated to do good things for the world God made them. Christians, Jew, Muslims, and other religious people take that desire to help into other aspects of their lives, both religious and secular.

“Our nation’s inimitable private sector of charitable works originated and is still furthered most significantly by religious impulses and religious organizations. I refer to such charities as schools and higher education, hospitals, and care for the poor, where religiously motivated persons contribute personal service and financial support of great value to our citizens. Our nation’s incredible generosity in many forms of aid to other nations and their peoples are manifestations of our common religious faith that all peoples are children of God. Religious beliefs instill patterns of altruistic behavior.

Many of the great moral advances in Western society have been motivated by religious principles and moved through the public square by pulpit-preaching. The abolition of the slave trade in England and the Emancipation Proclamation in the United States are notable illustrations. These revolutionary steps were not motivated and moved by secular ethics or coalitions of persons who believed in moral relativism. They were driven primarily by individuals who had a clear vision of what was morally right and what was morally wrong. In our time, the Civil Rights movement was, of course, inspired and furthered by religious leaders.”

Elder Oaks pointed out that if religious people had been banned from the public square during those times, as people are trying to do today, the end of slavery, civil rights for racial minorities, and other critical issues might not have been achieved.

Dallin Oaks also quoted an agnostic Oxford-educated journalist, Melanie Phillips, who said, “One does not have to be a religious believer to grasp that the core values of Western Civilization are grounded in religion, and to be concerned that the erosion of religious observance therefore undermines those values and the secular ideas they reflect.”

A survey of our most basic laws demonstrates a correlation to early religious values, including many found in the Ten Commandments or even earlier. As an example, God punished Cain for killing his brother after the first murder, and murder is an unquestioned illegal act in our society under most circumstances. Many of the values taught in the Bible and preached on Saturday or Sunday are also coded into our laws. In the earliest days of our country laws were based on religious values and many of those laws have survived.

Elder Oaks discussed the government’s role in eroding religious freedom over time, pointing out that these efforts were often leveled at smaller religions with less influence and power to fight back. He accepted that there must occasionally be restrictions on religious freedom, primarily in the case of danger to health or security of others. He argued, however, that in most cases, religious freedom should be a priority over other types of freedoms, and suggests its separate mention and prominent placement in the Bill of Rights demonstrates original intent by the Founding Fathers to secure that freedom above other freedoms.

Elder Oaks suggests the cause of the campaign to end or reduce religious freedom stems from the growing tradition of moral relativism. He told listeners that people are increasingly deciding that all morality, authority, and rules should be man-made and can be changed to meet the current fashions of the time. Many even believe every person should be able to create his or her own morality without consequence. Nothing, according to some is absolute or true.

Elder Oaks quoted Rabbi Harold Kushner:

“As I see it, there are two possibilities. Either you affirm the existence of a God who stands for morality and makes moral demands of us, who built a law of truthfulness into His world even as He built in a law of gravity…Or else you give everyone the right to decide what is good and what is evil by his or her own lights, balancing the voice of one’s conscience against the voice of temptation and need…”

He also referred listeners to Timothy Keller, a popular pastor, author and speaker, and the founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City:

“Though we have all been taught that all moral values are relative to individuals and cultures, we can’t live like that. In actual practice we inevitably treat some principles as absolute standards by which we judge the behavior of those who don’t share our values…People who laugh at the claim that there is a transcendent moral order do not think that racial genocide is just impractical or self-defeating, but that it is wrong….”

Elder Oaks called for an end to moral relativism and for religious groups and people of character to work together to protect morality. He suggested this didn’t require the groups to accept each other’s doctrines or even to care in what ways the doctrines are the same or different. It requires only unity in the belief that there are permanent standards of right and wrong and that those standards are set by God, not man.

“I am not proposing a resurrection of the so-called “moral majority,” which was identified with a particular religious group and a particular political party. Nor am I proposing an alliance or identification with any current political movement, tea party or other. I speak for a broader principle, non-partisan and, in its own focused objective, ecumenical. I speak for what Cardinal Francis George described in his address at Brigham Young University just a year ago. His title was “Catholics and Latter-day Saints: Partners in the Defense of Religious Freedom.” He proposed

“that Catholics and Mormons stand with one another and with other defenders of conscience, and that we can and should stand as one in the defense of religious liberty.  In the coming years, interreligious coalitions formed to defend the rights of conscience for individuals and for religious institutions should become a vital bulwark against the tide of forces at work in our government and society to reduce religion to a purely private reality. At stake is whether or not the religious voice will maintain its right to be heard in the public square.”

We join in that call for religious coalitions to protect religious freedom.”

Read the complete speech on religious freedom and the constitution.

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 as taught in the four gospels of the New Testament, and on the Book of Mormon. They repeat the manuals one time, but at a more grown up level. Nursery toddlers and three year olds have just one lesson manual which covers stories from all scriptures.

The Mormons are offering a solid collection of materials to help both Mormons and non-Mormons study the New Testament this year. The actual lesson manuals are available online, both the student and teacher’s editions. This allows curious non-Mormons to find out what Mormons actually teach their own members about Jesus Christ.

Read or listen to the Adult Sunday School (Gospel Doctrine) teacher’s manual for the New Testament.

Read or listen to the student study guide for adults on the New Testament.

Read the teacher’s manual for the children’s New Testament class. (The children don’t receive a manual.)

Many Mormons like a more in-depth study of the scriptures each year. Teenagers study a book of scripture each year in Seminary that does not match the Sunday School rotation. Seminary is held most weekdays, usually before the school day begins. It is a much more in-depth study of the New Testament and includes scripture memorization. The lesson manual for this class is also online for anyone who wants to use it.

Read the Seminary New Testament Manual online. You’ll note this page also has additional study materials, including music, a list of scriptures to memorize, a reading chart and a timeline.

For even more in-depth study, you might want to explore the Institute of Religion Manual. This manual is a college-level course and has a great deal of interpretation, inspiration, historic and cultural background information and more to help you really dig into your study of the New Testament.

Read the Institute of Religion New Testament manual.

While the Mormons have had the Bible free on the Internet for a long time, the new scripture site has some exciting additions to help people study the scriptures. For many of these features, you will need to sign up for an account. While reading the New Testament, which doesn’t require an account, you can also use account-based tools to write notes, keep a scripture-reading journal, highlight scriptures and even print out your work. You can even, without an account, download MP-3s of an audio New Testament. Mormons use the King James translation of the Bible.

This year the Mormons will be studying the life, ministry, and divinity of Jesus Christ. Why not take a peek and see what they will be learning?

Mormon beliefs sometimes get confused with the beliefs and practices of other religions. One such belief concerns the celebration of Christmas. Mormons tend to be very passionate Christmas celebrators, with many Mormon congregations hosting nativity festivals or free sing-alongs of Handel’s Messiah each year.

While Santa makes an appearance in some Mormon homes, the focus is always on the meaning of Christmas. Christmas is considered a sacred holiday and Mormon families are encouraged to simplify the secular portions of it in order to make more room for the spiritual elements of the Christmas celebration.

Mormons believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ and celebrate His birth as a pivotal moment in eternal life. The Book of Mormon, which Mormons consider a companion book to the Bible, says, “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.” (2 Nephi 25:26.)

Mormon beliefs state that Jesus Christ is the redeemer of all mankind and that there is no other way but through Him to achieve eternal life and be saved. The Book of Mormon contains 284 references to being saved, rather an extensive discussion on the topic. Following are some of the verses on this subject:

And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day (3 Nephi 27:6).

For the fulness of mine intent is that I may persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved (1 Nephi 6:4).

For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do (2 Nephi 25:23.)

Mormons believe that Christmas is meaningful because of Easter and the two holidays are intertwined in their minds and celebration. Talks given on the subject of Christmas generally include discussions of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice on our behalf and His glorious resurrection from the dead.

“When all is said and done, when all the legions of the ages have passed in review, when man’s terrible inhumanity to man has been chronicled, when God’s great love for His children has been measured, then above all stands the lone figure of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world, the Savior of mankind, the living Son of the living God, the Prince of Peace, the Holy One.

Isaiah spoke of Him centuries before His coming: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6). (See Gordon B. Hinckley, “First Presidency Christmas Devotional: “My Redeemer Lives””, Ensign, Feb. 2001, 70–73.)

What might a typical Mormon Christmas season look like? It will be different for each family, but common traditions include:

Service Projects: Many Mormon families do additional service throughout the Christmas season, giving gifts to those in need, volunteering at a church or community service project or helping at a food bank. Gifts are usually collected at church to assist congregation members who have little, but Mormons also often donate to community groups.

Reading of the Four Gospels: The four gospels are the four books in the New Testament that tell of Jesus’ life. Many Mormons use the Christmas season to read these accounts and to work as a family to understand them better. Even the youngest child is encouraged to listen to the stories in the King James translation, perhaps supplemented by a children’s version afterwards. However, they want their children to become familiar with the language of the Bible, even if they are too young to understand it.

Reading quality Christmas literature: Church leaders often quote from great literature that helps to remind us of the deeper meanings of Christmas. For example, the current Mormon prophet, Thomas S. Monson, reads three books every Christmas: Luke (the Biblical account of the Savior’s birth and life), A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, and The Mansion by Henry Van Dyke. Mormon families often incorporate these examples as well as their own personal favorites into their own Christmas celebrations as a distraction from the usual Santa fair.

Singing sacred Christmas hymns: Although the more commercial Christmas songs are fun, Mormons also sing and listen to a wide range of sacred Christmas hymns, many traditional throughout the Christian world. Some of these are included in their official hymn book, such as Silent Night and Away in a Manger.

Displaying nativities. Most Mormon homes will display a nativity scene throughout the holiday season and many Mormons collect nativities. Some families even keep one or more nativity sets on display all year long as a way to keep the meaning of Christmas in their hearts all year.

Of course, Christmas is also a time for families. Mormons hold weekly family nights in which they have a short lesson, games, music, and treats. These are just for the family and are designed to build a bond with family members and to allow parents to share their values with their children. It also increases leadership skills, since everyone takes turns doing the various required tasks—conducting meetings, leading music, teaching lessons and preparing treats. Even a very young child might get an opportunity to teach his older family members about Jesus Christ. In December, many families focus their lessons on Jesus Christ and the messages of Christmas. Family nights also often include planning for a family service project to be done during the Christmas season.

Mormons are encouraged to simplify their holidays to allow more time for family and for spiritual things. We don’t have to go to every party, every parade, or every show. We needn’t spend too much time or money shopping for gifts. When we bring our Christmas down to its simplest components, we find it is a more rewarding season that can strengthen our testimonies of Jesus Christ.

Every year, Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah is a popular destination for tourists and locals alike, but especially so at Christmas time. It is decorated for Christmas with millions of lights, nativities, and special religious programming designed to help us remember that Christmas is a Christian holiday.

A Temple Square Christmas celebration is one that is taken seriously and prepared for many months in advance. Staff begins putting out the cables and extension cords in August, quickly followed by thousands of strands of lights. Volunteers and workers hang garland and lanterns and set up nativities throughout the grounds in November in order to be ready the Friday after Thanksgiving. For many, decorating the Square is a family tradition.

A lesser known aspect of the celebration is that there is a service project going on at the same time. The Mormons buy young trees, string lights on them, and then “plant” them on the grounds. The trees are taken from State Educational Trust Fund lands. This thins the lands, allowing remaining trees to grow better. The Church purchases the trees and the money goes to benefit schools in Utah. Using these young trees protects the more mature trees on the grounds from damage caused by the lights.

The lights, which are not in traditional Christmas colors, represent a reminder that Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. The nativities scattered throughout the grounds help people take a break from the commercial aspects of the holiday and focus instead on the Savior Jesus Christ.

The season also includes performances by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and a Christmas devotional by the First Presidency (the Mormon prophet and his two counselors). A musical production called Savior of the World portrays the Biblical account of Jesus’ birth and his resurrection. This production has been performed for fourteen years on Temple Square.

“The gift of Christmas isn’t wrapped up in presents or parties. The gift of Christmas is Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten of the Father, the Son of God. As you follow Him, you put people first. You may spend less time in lines and more time serving others. You may spend less money on – and more time with – the people you love. You may lose yourself and you may find everything else that matters.”

From Christ: The Real Gift of Christmas

Watch a video of a little girl who helps a family that can’t afford Christmas remember what the point of the holiday is.

Christmas Spirit

Recently, Elder Russell M. Ballard spoke to graduating students at Brigham Young University, a school owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members of this church are often informally known as Mormons. He counseled them in ways to discuss their religion with others, pointing out

that most topics of greatest interest to detractors are not critical elements of the current religion, but are fringe elements or practices no longer carried out. He advised them to keep the discussions focused on the core of the religion, the elements that affect salvation, rather than those that are merely interesting intellectual discussion points.

“When all is said and done, the most important thing about you and your testimony is that you base your beliefs on what Jesus Christ taught, and you try to follow Him by living your life in a way acceptable to our Heavenly Father and to the Lord.

This is your foundation. It was Joseph Smith’s foundation. He said: “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, he was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”

(See Elder M. Russell Ballard: Engaging Without Being Defensive.)

Every religion has information or writings that cover a wide spectrum of information. Some of this information is essential to the salvation of the believer, but much of it is not. For instance, we must know who created the world and believe that, but we don’t have to know exactly how long it took. That is merely interesting fodder for debate or curiosity, but has nothing to do with our salvation. It’s interesting to read the genealogy in the Old Testament, but there won’t be a test on it when we stand before the Savior in judgment. Some stories in the Bible are curious and we don’t really understand why a Biblical prophet made the choices he did, but most of the time, we don’t need to know.

What we do need to know is that God is our loving Father in Heaven, and Jesus Christ is His only begotten Son. Jesus died for us and is the only path through which we may return to God someday. We need to learn how to identify truth by communicating directly with God to learn it.

It is these things the Mormons focus on in their daily spiritual life. They work to build a loving relationship with God and Jesus Christ and to understand how They would have us live from day to day. They strive to be good family members and good citizens. They study the Savior’s life and then try to understand how to live that way themselves.

While groups who work to oppose the church often focus on unimportant intellectual games, the Mormons are busy trying to be like Jesus. When talking with a Mormon, it is important to remember they aren’t generally very interested in those fringe topics. Their testimony isn’t based on history or science, but on faith. This faith came about after developing a close and personal relationship with God and then trusting Him to answer their questions in ways they could understand. They worked to know God so well they easily recognize Him when He communicates with them.

There is little purpose in presenting a Mormon who really knows Christ with the teachings of men, which are unreliable and changing. They aren’t interested in using those teachings as a foundation for their eternal salvation. They know the Creator, and it is only His words that matter.

The Book of Revelation is the last book in our modern copy of the Bible. The following scripture from this book is often quoted to “prove” there can’t be a Book of Mormon:

18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: (Revelation 22:18)

If you read this carefully, you’ll notice it doesn’t say “add unto the Bible.” This is because the Bible didn’t exist when the Book of Revelation was written. It wasn’t until long afterwards that various documents were gathered together and a group of people decided which ones were going to be included in the Bible. Catholics disagree with some of the choices that were made by the committee, and so there is more than one version of the Bible.

However, since the Bible didn’t exist and no one had, as of yet, decided which books were going to become the Bible (in fact, it’s likely no one had even decided to compile a Bible yet), the scripture clearly doesn’t mean you can’t add to the Bible.

In addition, there is another verse in the Old Testament that says the same thing:

1 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you.

2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. (Deuteronomy 4 in the King James version of the Bible)

No Christian wishes to do away with everything after Deuteronomy, especially since that would require us to abandon the New Testament entirely. These scriptures have been misused in an attempt to discredit the Book of Mormon.

These scriptures only mean we can’t add to God’s word or take away from it. Of course, God can add to it at any time. The first recorded information we have from God is found in the book of Genesis, but that was not God’s final word. Additional scripture continued to be written throughout the Old and New Testament. This alone demonstrates that there is no restriction on additional scripture. Otherwise, Genesis would be all we have to work with.

Mormons believe it is not man’s privilege to tell God He is no longer allowed to speak to His children. God can do anything, and that includes speaking whenever He chooses to do so. Those who love Him long to hear more of His teachings, to find out more about His will, and to learn from Him and the mouth of His prophets what He wants us to do in the last days.

This is why the Mormons are thrilled to have the Book of Mormon, which gives additional insights into God, Jesus Christ, and our responsibilities in the last days. Although it was written in ancient days-times paralleling the Bible-it was written for our time. The prophets of that civilization kept the records and added to them regularly, but their people did not have them. They weren’t written for that time. They were written for us and those reading it will find many parallels to our time.

The Book of Mormon contains the story of a prophet named Lehi, who lived in the time and place of King Zedekiah. He, like many other prophets called at that time, warned Jerusalem of impending danger unless they repented. Jerusalem was to be destroyed and its people taken captive. Lehi fared no better than the other prophets however, because the people had no desire to repent. When his life was threatened, God instructed him to leave behind his wealth and home and to flee into the wilderness with only his family and the essentials for survival. In time, Lehi was led to the American continent. He and his family and a few others who came with them joined with others who were already on the continent, but formed their own civilization, most likely intermarrying or converting some others along the way.

This family divided into two groups after Lehi’s death. The two oldest brothers, Laman and Lemuel, were wicked and they threatened the lives of their younger brother Nephi, chosen by God to become the next leader when their father died. Nephi and those of his family and friends who supported him moved away from the older brothers. This formed the foundation for the remainder of the book, with the two groups in conflict.

The people of the Book of Mormon knew of Jesus‘ impending birth, knowing more, perhaps, than the Jewish people who remained in Jerusalem, because they had visions which showed the virgin birth and that Jesus‘ ministry would be a spiritual one, not a political one. When He was born, they received signs of His birth. They also received signs of His death, and when the frightening signs ended, Jesus came to them for a few days, to teach them, help them to establish His church, and to heal and give them blessings. This is the focus of the Book of Mormon, and its purpose. The title page says:

“Which is to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever-And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations” (Book of Mormon Title Page)

The Book of Mormon is yet another proof that Jesus was not just a rabbi or an ordinary man. It testifies, as does the Bible, that He was the Savior. Second Corinthians tells us: “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.” The Book of Mormon is the second witness of the Savior’s divinity and a second witness of the Bible itself.

The Mormon Bible is the King James Bible, but the Book of Mormon stands beside it as a witness that God lives and Jesus is the Christ. In the words of a great Book of Mormon prophet:

26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.  (2 Nephi 25)

Respuesta Personal de Steven

Mientras servía como misionero mormónque era a menudo tan cuestionada sobre si o no nosotros, como los mormones, eran cristianos. Al principio no entendía por qué la gente se pregunta el cristianismo de una religión que lleva el nombre de Jesús Cristo en su título. Me di cuenta de que nosotros, como miembros de la iglesia mormona, son bastante diferentes de los miembros de la mayoría de iglesias cristianas en dos formas principales. Creemos en un libro aparte de las Escrituras para ir junto con la Biblia (el Libro de Mormón), y creemos que Dios sigue trabajando a través de los profetas de nuestro tiempo, empezando por José Smith. Llegué a la conclusión de que la gente debe pensar que no son cristianos, principalmente para los dos razones. Me gustaría compartir una experiencia personal para mostrar cómo estas dos creencias me llevó a una fuerte creencia en Jesucristo.

Cuando tenía 14 años de edad, que era un promedio de niño bonito que participan en algunas de las locuras del mundo. Me gustaría ir a la iglesia todas las semanas con mi familia, pero no necesariamente viven las cosas que aprendí el resto de los días de la semana. Una semana yo estaba en vacaciones de la familia, y me acaba de pasar a abrir el Libro de Mormón y empezar a leer (esto no era una práctica común para mí como un joven de 14 años). Sin embargo, en medio de mi lectura me encontré con una escritura que se hundió profundamente en mi corazón. Era una advertencia para vivir una vida recta, y advirtió de las consecuencias del pecado. Esta escritura permite que el Espíritu Santo para entrar en mi corazón y me dan ganas de cambiar. Recuerdo haber tenido un sentimiento de culpa terrible por haber desobedecido a ciertos mandamientos. Estos sentimientos de que el Espíritu me hizo arrodillar y decir un escrito la oración al Padre en el Cielo. Recuerdo que me pidió perdón, y no llegó de inmediato.

Seguí a orar y leer las Escrituras en las próximas semanas. Aprendí acerca de Jesucristo y su sacrificio expiatorio. Recuerdo que un día de aprendizaje que Cristo había vencido al mundo y todos los pecados del mundo. Me enteré de que Cristo había dado a luz y se sintió la culpa que yo sentía, y que había sufrido más allá de lo que yo era entonces experimentar, ya que su sacrificio fue para todos nosotros. Me enteré de que Jesucristo había superado esos sentimientos, y que ahora Él se levantó y junto a su Padre. Me pregunté entonces: “Si el Salvador había superado sus pruebas, él podría ayudarme a superar la mía?” La respuesta fue un absoluto y rotundo “¡Sí!” Él me ayudó, me ayudó a sentir una remisión de mis pecados y me ayudó a sentir la paz de nuevo en mi vida. Me sentí perdonados por el sacrificio de Jesucristo.

Este fue un punto de inflexión en mi vida. I se convirtió al Evangelio de Jesucristo, y yo no quería mirar hacia atrás. ¿Cómo fue este gran cambio ocurrido? Porque yo estaba leyendo el Libro de Mormón y el Espíritu cambiado mi corazón. ¿Cómo puedo recibir el Libro de Mormón? Debido a que Joseph Smith, un verdadero profeta de Dios, traducido ese libro para que lea hoy. El Espíritu no puede dar testimonio de mí de la veracidad de lo que estaba leyendo, si el libro eran falsas. Lo que yo sentía no era simplemente mi propia emoción artificial. Llegó con una convicción absoluta de que la verdad puede llegar a cada uno de nosotros, como hijos de Dios. José no podía haber traducido el libro si fuera un falso profeta. Doy testimonio de que Jesucristo es el Salvador del Mundo, y mi Salvador personal. Que es donde reside mi fe. Creo con todo mi corazón que Jesucristo llamó a José Smith como un profeta, y que el Libro de Mormón es otro testamento de Jesucristo. La Biblia y el Libro de Mormón van de la mano, tanto en la enseñanza de la misericordia y la gracia de Jesucristo. Creo con todo mi corazón que soy cristiano, y los de mis amigos que son mormones que viven la forma en que los mormones se les enseña a vivir también los verdaderos cristianos. Sé que esto es cierto.