Mormon Church

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. (more…)

By Amy Choate-Nielsen

Deseret News
Published: Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012 7:00 p.m. MST

David Letterman knows how to get a laugh.Like most comics, he riffs on the day’s news, deadpans the camera and revels in audacity.”Oh, did you hear about this?” the host of CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman asked his audience recently. “A campaign staffer on the Newt Gingrich campaign was fired because he was making negative comments about Mormons. I thought, now, wait a minute — isn’t Newt in favor of multiple wives?”
Laughter rumbled from the audience followed by applause. The polygamy punch line is a familiar one when it comes to poking fun at Mormons — as though Mormons and polygamy are synonymous in mainstream media. Ironically, the practice that’s most linked to Mormons is a practice most Mormons oppose, according to a groundbreaking new study of Mormons in America released Thursday by the Pew Research Center‘s Forum on Religion and Public Life.

According to the study, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unequivocally reject polygamy — only 2 percent said the practice is morally acceptable — evidence of a yawning gap in what Mormons believe and how they are perceived. Mormons’ opinions are overwhelmingly conservative, the study shows, but in many ways, their views are also surprising — especially when it comes to opinions on moral issues, divorce, homosexuality and polygamy. (more…)

The Pew Foundation survey of Mormons released this past week confirms that U.S. Mormons are more conservative (66 percent) compared to the general public (37 percent), and on most issues, they closely track white evangelicals. But immigration is one issue that sets Mormons apart from their evangelical counterparts.

Asked whether immigrants are a strength or a burden, 59 percent of white evangelicals said they were a burden, while only 41 percent of Mormons felt the same, compared to 44 percent of the general public. The result is surprising given how staunchly conservative Mormons are on nearly every measure. Interestingly, 50 percent of white mainline Protestants and 49 percent of white Catholics also tilt against immigration, though neither group is as uniformly conservative as evangelicals or Mormons on other measures.

Dan Cox, Research Director at the Public Religion Research Institute in Washington, D.C. sees several reasons for the surprising result. He points first to demographics to explain why Mormons are more open to immigrants than are white evangelicals. “White evangelicals are significantly lower on the socioeconomic scale than most other religious groups. Those who are more economically vulnerable are more likely to see newcomers as threats,” he says.

The Pew results validate the socioeconomic explanation. The key is a strong link between Mormon religious commitment and socioeconomic status. Eighty-four percent of Mormon college graduates are highly committed to the Church, but just 50 percent of those with high school education share that same level of commitment. This socioeconomic gap also translates to immigration: 50 percent of less committed Mormons see immigrants as a burden, against 36 percent of highly committed Mormons. (more…)

Latter-day Saints (nicknamed Mormons, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), like other Christians, accept both the Old and New Testaments as Holy Scripture. Additionally, they accept the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price as part of their standard works (canonized scripture).  The Doctrine and Covenants, first published in 1835, contains one hundred thirty-eight sections or individual documents generally arranged in chronological order beginning in 1823 through 1918 and two “Official Declarations” announcing new policies in 1890 and 1978. These documents are a selection from the revelations and other inspired writings given through Joseph Smith (1805-44) and his successors as president of the Church.

Mormon Beliefs: Mormon Books of Scripture

Like chapters in The Bible, sections in the Doctrine and Covenants are divided into verses. Much of the Doctrine and Covenants, like the Pauline letters in the New Testament, deals with time- and culture-specific directions. However, members of the Church believe that the Doctrine and Covenants contains general principles that can inspire those living today to strengthen their faith in God and encourage them to fulfill the Lord’s will in their lives.

The Doctrine and Covenants also contains doctrinal teachings that provide modern-day disciples insights to the purpose of life and God himself, such as “The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:36) and “There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21).

Today, when people want to learn about something, they frequently turn to the Internet for information. Of course, that can be an overwhelming experience when a search engine returns thousands of places to search for that information.

A responsible researcher knows that sources are not equally reliable. Anyone can post on the Internet, and while that is a wonderful thing, it also means there are more opportunities for people to intentionally or unintentionally mislead others. (more…)

Personal Response by Karen R. Trifiletti

Mormons & Texas Polygamy:  No Connection

Mormons, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have nothing to do with the Texas polygamy sect, or FLDS recently covered in the national and international press. We wish to convey compellingly that those who practice polygamy today are not Mormons. They are fundamentalists or members of other religious groups who defy the teachings of the Savior in our day, and who are in no way affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ (sometimes errantly called by the media the Mormon Church). This is true of the FLDS Texas polygamy sect and of all other splinter groups that have formed in the West and in various parts of the world.

As Mike Otterson of LDS Public Affairs has stated, we have made this distinction clear in the past and we reiterate to the press and to all those who are desirous to know the facts, and the reality of the doctrines and practices of all identifiable Mormons worldwide.

Mormon Beliefs: Monogamous Marriage, No Polygamy in Our Day

Mr. Otterson makes this additional request in terms of how the public and the press use the terms “Mormon” and “polygamy”: “We ask the press and public, therefore, to dissociate the terms “Mormon” and “polygamist” and “Mormon” and “fundamentalist” when referring to anyone who practices polygamy in our day. It is a violation of both our creed and our civil law.”  Mormon polygamy does not exist today.

Again, this simply means, then, that the phrase “Mormon polygamy” is an oxymoron in our day. Polygamy is denounced as present practice. “Mormon polygamy” existed during the time that it served the Lord’s purposes.  Mormons are governed by God’s laws. There was a time o heavy persecution in the Church, and women were left with fatherless families and hardly enough to subsist. The Lord instituted polygamy (known by some as Mormon polygamy--actually God’s revelation to His Church members for circumstances relevant to their day) for a season and withdrew its practice.

Mormon Beliefs: Monogamous Marriage; Temple Weddings

The teachings of the Savior for our day include monogamous marriage between a man and a woman. There is no Mormon polygamy secret rites or hidden rituals..We also oppose same sex marriages while we extend a hand of fellowship to those wishing to overcome same gender attraction.

Additional Resources on Mormon Polygamy:

Mormons not practicing polygamy in our day, and the history of Mormon polygamy

Members of the Godhead are united in purpose and will but consist of three separate Beings: God, the Eternal Father; Jesus Christ, His Son, our Redeemer; and the Holy Ghost. This view of the Godhead is based on ancient and modern revelation, and Mormons‘ belief in the personal appearance of the Father and the Son to Joseph Smith in 1820.

Personal Response by Roger Keller

The Latter-day Saint (nicknamed Mormon) understanding of the Godhead and the nature of God are rooted in the prophet Joseph Smith’s first vision in which the Father and the Son appeared to Joseph standing side by side. The two members of the Godhead were clearly two separate, distinct personages. These two with the Holy Ghost, also an individual person of spirit, constitute the Godhead of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. They are absolutely one in love, will, purpose, and direction. There is no variation among them, and to underline this unity, even though it is not an ontological unity, Latter-day Saints often define the doctrine of the Godhead as “Social Trinitarianism,” thereby underlining the indivisible unity of the three.

(more…)