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Women have an unusual place in Mormonism. While they do not hold the priesthood (which is held by all worthy men ages twelve and older) they have the opportunity to do essentially everything a minister in another church might do.

Mormons—a nickname for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—believe that gender was assigned before our births and that each gender has sacred responsibilities. The Bible demonstrates that God sometimes assigns roles based on gender, including childbirth and family leadership. This is not a reflection on the abilities of the gender, but merely a simple way to provide a division of duties.

In general, women have primary responsibility for the home and men for providing financially for the family. However, caring for the home is usually too large a job for one person and so Mormon men are taught to help with the housework and parenting. Children benefit from having both a mother and a father active in their lives, so it is important for men to be active parents. In addition, Mormon women, although asked to make the raising of children their priority, can work outside the home if they have no children or if they have a financial need. Whether or not her income is necessary is left to the discretion of the husband and wife.

The husband presides over the home as the priesthood holder, but this does not mean he is the boss. To preside, in Mormon terms, means to lead by example. It is his responsibility to live as morally as possible so he sets the proper example and pattern for the home. Husbands and wives are considered equal partners in the home. When a decision needs to be made, the husband and wife make it together. If they come to a complete deadlock, the wife often chooses to turn it over to her husband, but this only increases the likelihood she will get what she wants. When he has the final decision, church teachings on respect for wives mean he will usually decide to do things her way. However, since they make important decisions through prayer, they seldom reach those sorts of impasses.

Church leadership is all done by laymen, with roles changing regularly. There are many positions to fill and nearly everyone holds a position. Priesthood is a service position, not a power position, and Mormons have many, many ways to serve.

In most churches, the minister will pray publicly, give sermons, counsel others, and plan programs. Mormon women can do all of these things. Opening and closing prayers are given by different people each week and anyone, male or female, who is twelve or older can offer those prayers at the start and end of the worship service.

Instead of one sermon given by the same person each week, Mormons invite two or three people to give brief sermons, called talks. Teens speak for five minutes and adults for fifteen to twenty minutes. Even children give little sermons in their children’s Primary program. They speak for two and a half minutes. These talks are given by both men and women and each person speaks about once a year. In addition, women have leadership ability over the Relief Society (women’s organization), Young Women (teen girls), and the Primary for children. Men may serve in the Primary but may not hold leadership positions. They can also serve in the literacy program, but only women may run the program, since it is done through the Relief Society.

Women hold leadership responsibilities at all levels of the church, including the international level. Although they work under the direction of the priesthood, they are generally given free reign over their work. When President Hinckley, a former Mormon prophet, was asked what they do with their women, he said they get out of the way and let them do the good work they do.

For Mormons, serving in the church is not about power and authority. All authority comes from God and all Mormons do is to carry out the work the way God has chosen. Leadership is service and it doesn’t matter how we serve God as long as we do.

The Mormon view of womanhood has been a traditional one, but it is one that allows for diversity of practice. It outlines the ideal but does not penalize or judge women who are not living in ideal situations. For instance, while teaching that where possible, women have primary responsibility for child care (but are to be assisted by their spouse), the Church also teaches that others must not judge a woman who is employed. The Lord and the leaders of the Church know there are extenuating circumstances that might necessitate mothers working outside the home (and many Mormon moms do). That is between the family and God.

The Origin of Mormon Beliefs about Gender

Mormons believe that all people were created as spirits by God prior to their birth. As spirits, we had gender, personality, intelligence, and agency. Our spirits resembled our mortal appearance but lacked the substance of a physical body. We lived in this form for a time before we were born into mortality. During the period of pre-mortal life, we began to develop our character. We had many opportunities to learn and to make choices. We were taught the gospel of Jesus Christ, but it was left to us to decide whether or not we wanted to live what was taught. Decisions always have consequences, however, and the decisions we made prior to our birth were no exception.

We were taught God’s plan of salvation, which gave us the opportunity to come to earth to gain bodies, families, and experience. We would retain the gender we had in the pre-mortal life, and we were taught the roles we would fill, both as children of God and as people of our gender. We agreed to all of this. Those who rejected Jesus Christ’s voluntary offer to be our Savior were not permitted to come to Earth. All who are here accepted the plan[1]  God presented to us. It was not negotiated. God created the terms of the plan, and those who wished to live by the terms were permitted to come to earth. Those who did not followed Satan, who was the leader of the opposition. We had our agency, but only to choose who to worship and follow. The consequences, as is true of all consequences, were not ours to choose.

We were not permitted to remember our time in Heaven, although Mormons teach that we can pray to confirm that it occurred. However, the fact that we cannot remember—because doing so would remove the essential need to learn faith—does not excuse us from what we promised. Our promise to honor and respect the assigned roles of each gender is essential to our successful fulfillment of the purposes of mortality.

Women in the Creation of the World

When God created the world, He began with just two people. One was male, and He named him Adam. Then He created Eve, a woman who would serve as Adam’s wife and helpmeet. She would also be the mother of the children they would have together.

The word helpmeet is actually meant to be two separate words that were inadvertently translated as one in the King James Bible. The word meet means fitting or proper. The full term, then, means that Eve was chosen, because she was a proper wife for Adam, because she was like Adam in her talents, aptitude and spiritual stature. It is likely that they had corresponding levels of faith and obedience and that both were competent to handle their specific responsibilities.

President Spencer W. Kimball said the term man in the creation story refers to the complete man, meaning both the husband and wife, who together make a complete unit. He said that God created the family complete with instructions on how they were to operate: Adam to till the ground (support the family) and Eve to have primary responsibility for the children. Neither role was optional. If Adam did not till, the family would not have food or clothing. If Eve did not care for her children, they would die or fail to be prepared for life. Both roles were equally valuable, because without either one, the world could not progress. By assigning each a role, it reduced arguments and discontent. Those who trusted God would find joy in filling the role He chose for them and both parts of the family’s needs would be met[2] .

President Kimball noted that when the creation was complete, God declared it good. God is perfect, and His plan and creation is perfect. This means, President Kimball explained, that we cannot possibly improve on the plan God put into place. (See President Spencer W. Kimball, “The Blessings and Responsibilities of Womanhood,” Ensign, March 1976.)

The message of the creation, in the study of gender, is that God does indeed approve of dividing the work of the world by gender. He chose that children would be born only to women, and He assigned their care to women. God is not sexist, and so we can understand that it is merely one way to divide the work, not a statement on worth. In fact, God has made it clear throughout the scriptures that children are important, and their proper care is a sacred duty. This helps us to see that parenting is not a demeaning role. It is the sacred gift of being permitted to help raise God’s beloved children.

Jesus and Women in the New Testament

Jesus Christ was absolutely fearless in His ministry. He never worried about what would be popular or politically correct. He did only what His Father in Heaven taught Him to do. Therefore, it is valuable to look at how He organized His Church in order to see how He wants the Church organized today.

Jesus had many women in His life, all of whom He treated with great respect. He did not see them as “merely” homemakers, but considered them intelligent. He expected them to study, to learn, and to be disciples of Christ.

The story of Mary and Martha illustrates the dual nature of womanhood expected by God. When the Savior came to their home, both women sat at Jesus’ feet to learn from Him. However, mealtime approached, and Martha went to prepare the meal. It appears that rather than quickly preparing something they could eat without taking too much time away from the opportunity to learn, she set out to create an elaborate meal. Martha is, of course, like most women. When we have honored guests, we want to give them our best. Her best required a great deal of effort, though, particularly in this time before modern conveniences, and she became tired and frustrated, because she was trying to prepare this meal alone, when she really wanted to be in the other room learning from the Savior.

She asked Jesus to make her sister help her. To her surprise, He did not do so. He praised Martha for her concern for domestic things, but suggested that at this particular moment, the focus should be on the spiritual. There is a time when domestic concerns should take priority, and a time when the spiritual comes first. He taught Martha that He honored both the domestic roles of women and the intellectual and spiritual roles. He expected them to learn the gospel, even while fulfilling their roles as homemakers.

When Jesus Christ began His ministry, He chose twelve apostles. We know who they were. Each of the four gospels names them:

Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphæus, and Lebbæus, whose surname was Thaddæus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him (Matthew 10:2-5).

All of those called to be apostles were men. When new apostles were required, they were also men. It is important to note that apostles and disciples are not the same. The Bible Dictionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints defines a disciple as, “A pupil or learner; a name used to denote (1) the Twelve, also called Apostles, (2) all followers of Jesus Christ. We also read of disciples of John the Baptist and of the Pharisees (Mark 2:18).” While the apostles were all disciples, the disciples were not all apostles.

We can presume, given the number of amazing women in Jesus’ life and world, that had it been desirable to select female apostles, He would have done so. He is not sexist, any more than His Father in Heaven is, and He certainly had wonderful women to choose from, including Mary and Martha, who were discussed above. The fact that He did not, and that He came to set the example and pattern, tells us that apostleship and priesthood were simply not the assignments God chose for women.

Mormons teach that women have long been organized, so we can presume there were women’s organizations like the modern Mormon Relief Society in place and that these women served in those capacities. Their work in the ministry was vital to its success. They provided the Savior with housing and food as needed, but they also listened and learned as He taught. They took the message to their own children and prepared them to face the intense persecutions that would face the early Christians after the Crucifixion. Their parenting helped to ensure the Church would continue when Christ was gone. We can guess that they served in other ways, even when they are not specifically mentioned. Paul noted that older women were to teach younger women how to serve in the Church. They played an important role as disciples in the Church, and ordination was not required in order to make an eternal difference, because ordination didn’t happen to be their specific responsibility.

Women in Early Mormonism

From the beginning, Mormon women played unusually powerful roles in their Church, roles frequently denied women in other religions. The structure of the Church and the early challenges created strong, opinionated, and faithful women. Those who were not strong often did not survive the many challenges of early Mormonism, and so those who remained faithful were a powerful force.

Although today’s missionaries are unmarried or serve as couples, in the early church, married men served missions. They were away for many months and sometimes for years, often coming home for a short time before leaving again. This meant the women were left to support the family, since missionaries were unpaid, to run the home, and to raise the children. They became very skilled at labors traditionally handled by men. They knew how to manage money and to make decisions. It is no surprise, then, that they had far more rights than the women living traditional roles outside the Mormon communities. When their husbands were home, they honored his role as the leader of the home, but they did not stop being competent and independent.

Jane Manning

Jane Manning, an African-American convert to The Church of Jesus Christ, represents the independence and competence of Mormon women. A year after her baptism, she and eight members of her family decided to move to Nauvoo, Illinois, where the Mormons were then gathered. They were not slaves, but Jane had been employed since early childhood and was very mature. Jane, still a teenager, took on the role of leader for this group of travelers. Although they began their journey with a racially integrated group, they were separated when a boat captain refused to allow the African American passengers to board. The reason for this is not clear—Jane’s dictated autobiography says the money was requested too soon—but Jane and her family were forced to continue on by foot, knowing the journey would be simpler with a smaller group. The journey was long and dangerous, particularly when they were mistaken for runaway slaves. Since they had never been slaves, they had no freedom papers to prove they were free.

Jane’s group traveled 800 miles by foot, often with their bleeding feet leaving a trail of blood in the snow. They had little food, and their shoes did not last the trip. Eventually, however, they came to Nauvoo and were directed to Joseph Smith’s home. Joseph Smith was the first Mormon prophet. His wife Emma saw them approaching and called them to her. Joseph brought them to the table and invited them to join the family for their meal. He asked Jane for a report of their journey. Then he invited them to remain in his home until they found employment and houses. When all but Jane had been placed, Joseph and Emma hired Jane themselves.

Eliza R. Snow

Eliza R. Snow was an outspoken Mormon leader. She exemplified the strong, outspoken nature of Mormon women in pioneer Utah. Governor Boggs of Missouri, who issued the infamous extermination order on Mormons, was startled to discover that Eliza R. Snow was not afraid of him. He said he was going to “cure” her of her Mormonism after she confronted him concerning the order. She told him it would take a great deal more than he could do to carry out that threat, and he backed down, admitting that she was a better soldier than he was. She said later she didn’t consider that much of a compliment.

Eliza was the sister of future Mormon prophet Lorenzo Snow, and it was she who converted him. She taught school in response to Joseph Smith’s determination to see to it that Mormon girls were well-educated. She refused a number of marriage proposals, but agreed to be married to Joseph Smith as a plural wife two years before his death. After his death, she was married to Brigham Young, the second Mormon prophet, but this appears to have been a courtesy on his part, and the two were simply very good friends. However, he valued her intelligence and competence and would use her in increasingly important roles in the Church.

She was an author and poet, but her most valuable contribution might have been her fierce defense of Mormon women. When the women wanted to re-establish the Relief Society, the women’s auxiliary, in Utah, Brigham Young asked Eliza to help each congregation set up an organization. She was called to preside over all the branches in 1880, but served unofficially in that role long before, helping to organize 300 branches of the program. She worked to fulfill Brigham Young’s request that women become more self-sufficient. To this end, she taught them to store wheat for emergencies, to raise silk as a way of providing income, and to receive medical training. Many Mormon women went to medical school to become doctors or nurses long before it was considered acceptable for women to do so. She directed women’s suffrage activities through the Relief Society.

Women’s Suffrage in Utah

Mormon women had been permitted to vote before Utah became a state. When they achieved statehood, the federal government removed that privilege. Naturally, the women were furious. With the full support of Brigham Young and other men in the Church, Mormon women fought hard to regain their rights.

One month before Utah women regained the right to vote as the second state to offer it to women, Eliza R. Snow gave a speech at a meeting on women’s rights in Utah:

Our enemies pretend that, in Utah, woman is held in a state of vassalage—that she does not act from choice, but by coercion. What nonsense!

I will now ask of this assemblage of intelligent ladies, Do you know of any place on the face of the earth, where woman has more liberty and where she enjoys such high and glorious privileges as she does here as a Latter-day Saint? No! the very idea of a woman here in a state of slavery is a burlesque on good common sense … as women of God, filling high and responsible positions, performing sacred duties—women who stand not as dictators, but as counselors to their husbands, and who, in the purest, noblest sense of refined womanhood, are truly their helpmates—we not only speak because we have the right, but justice and humanity demands we should!  (quoted in Jaynann Morgan Payne, “Eliza R. Snow: First Lady of the Pioneers,” Ensign, Sep 1973, 62).

Emmaline B. Wells

Emmaline B. Wells was a leader in the Women’s Suffrage Organization in Utah. Abandoned by her first husband and widowed by her second, she then married polygamist Daniel Wells. She was a school teacher and then a writer. After her marriage to Wells, she eventually became editor of the second women’s magazine, the Women’s Exponent. The magazine’s goal was to encourage women to be knowledgeable concerning politics and world events. Through her work with this publication, she met many of the leaders of the women’s movement and developed a friendship with Susan B. Anthony. Emmaline B. Wells was vice-president of the Women’s Suffrage Association and was serving in that position when Utah women successfully won back the right to vote.

While many argued that polygamy was a violation of the aims of the women’s movement, she said she had more freedom to do whatever she wanted than did women in non-polygamist marriages. Her husband divided his time between his wives, and this allowed her the freedom, time, and money to have her own life and career.

When she died, Utah flags were flown at half-mast, the first time this had been done for a woman, and the president of the Church spoke at her funeral.

Mormon Women Today

Mormon history is filled with women such as these, but today’s Mormonism also has strong and capable women. The structure of the modern church gives women opportunities to learn leadership and life skills that are unique among most churches.

Continuing the calls by Jesus, Joseph Smith, and Brigham Young for women to be well-educated, the Mormons encourage literacy and education among its members. The Relief Society operates a literacy program that helps people learn to read in just a year and a half. While men may take the classes and teach them, the literacy leader must be female—not because men couldn’t lead it but because it is not their responsibility. It is a Relief Society program and the responsibility of the women. The program encourages those who complete the literacy program to then become teachers in it, helping them to go from illiterate to teacher in just a few years. Many congregations also offer classes to help people learn the native language. These skills allow women to better support their families or to train their children. Employment specialists help them find better jobs.

In most religions, restricting the priesthood to men means that women have few opportunities to participate in the ministry. This also holds true for men who do not enter the ministry. This situation is not valid in Mormonism.

Mormons operate a lay church, and because they have extensive staffing needs, nearly everyone has a volunteer church job, referred to as a “calling.” In addition, the bishop—a lay pastor—does not give the weekly sermon or say the prayers during services. Each member of the congregation has an opportunity to do this. Sermons, called talks, are given by two to three people each week. Teenagers twelve and older speak for five minutes and adults for ten to twenty minutes, depending on whether or not there are youth speakers. The opening and closing prayers for worship services are also given by congregational members. While most churches allow one or two people to preach or pray, Mormons give this opportunity to every teen and adult, male and female. They were doing so long before most churches accepted women into the ministry.

The Relief Society, while an auxiliary, is a very important one that works to protect the interests of women in the church. It operates with its own leadership under the direction of the priesthood, but has a great deal of autonomy. Gordon B. Hinckley, who was the Mormon president of the Church, said in 2000:

Of these, approximately 4 million are women who belong to what we call the Relief Society of the Church. I think it is the oldest women’s organization in the world and perhaps the largest. It has its own officers and board, and these officers also sit on other boards and committees of the Church. People wonder what we do for our women. I will tell you what we do. We get out of their way and look with wonder at what they are accomplishing.

The Relief Society’s programs are of as much value as any program in the Church. Only women can lead and serve in it, except in the literacy program, where, as mentioned, men can serve but not lead. They have a three-woman presidency at the congregational level and at the stake level. A stake is similar to a Catholic diocese, and comprises a number of congregations in a geographical area. In addition, a group of three women lead at the international level, and this gives them authority over more women than any CEO in the world. This same pattern is followed by the Young Women program for teenage girls, and the Primary program for children, both of which are led only by women. However, in the Primary program, men may serve as teachers and Cub Scout leaders, but may not serve in the presidency of the organization. All men serve under female leaders.

The Relief Society oversees the majority of humanitarian work in a congregation, which is naturally an essential part of any religious organization. The Relief Society president works with the bishop to provide for families with temporary food insecurity or other temporal needs. She sees to it that each woman has visiting teachers—two women who visit, establish a true friendship, and meet or report any special needs the woman might have. This program has received awards from organizations for senior citizens because it helps to provide companionship and protection for elderly women who live alone.

The program also offers both temporal and spiritual education. In the past, the Relief Society operated medical schools, hospitals, and social service agencies. Today, the organization runs programs on a more local level to meet the unique needs of a world-wide church. They offer classes and clubs in any field of interest to the women in a congregation—genealogy, home repair, languages, and literature, for instance, each congregation chooses its own, generally from suggestions made by members of the congregation.

At each level, women sit on the boards that lead the congregation. Linda K. Burton spoke of her work at the international level of the Church:

“I’m especially thinking of one particular committee that you both were on with me when we talked about missionary age of the — changing the missionary age for the members of the Church, and that was a marvelous experience. At one point in that committee meeting, Elder Nelson stopped and said, ‘We don’t want to hear from anyone except the sisters,’ and then one by one he asked us our opinion: ‘How do you feel about this Sister Dalton? How do you feel about this, Sister Wixom? Sister Burton, what is your feeling? Tell us your honest opinion, and if you have concerns, we want to know.’ And we were very frank.” (SeeTRANSCRIPT:Top Mormon Women Leaders Provide Their Insights into Church Leadership.)

Mormon Women and Priesthood

The three women in the video referenced above, all of whom held the highest positions in the Church for women, spoke of the priesthood:

“There’s a distinction between the authority of the priesthood and the power of the priesthood. And I think sometimes people don’t understand that. It can be — the authority can be conferred upon a man, but the power can only be exercised in purity,” Elaine S. Dalton said. Sister Burton added that men receive its power in the same way women do. She noted that the priesthood isn’t men. They can only use it to bless others. They cannot use it to bless themselves. If a man needs a priesthood ordinance performed for him, he too must seek out one or two priesthood holders to do so. He cannot give himself a blessing, baptize himself, or carry out any of the other ordinances at which the priesthood officiates.

Priesthood is a method of serving God, and through it, the bearers can serve others. The Church provides a multitude of ways for every person, even young children, to serve God, and no specific assignment is more important than any other. What matters is that the work of the kingdom be done—not who does it. Every member’s contribution is counted as equally valid and valuable before God.

With the work of Relief Society sisters, we help build up the kingdom and strengthen the homes of Zion. No other organization in the Church can do the service Relief Society does. (Silvia H. Allred, Previous First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency,“Every Woman Needs Relief Society,” General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, October 2009).

Mormonism accepts both the Bible and the Book of Mormon as scripture. Mormon is a nickname sometimes used to describe the people of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the correct name for their church.

The Bible and the mark of Cain

The Bible is very clear about the purpose of the mark of Cain. Cain killed his brother because he was jealous that God had accepted Abel’s offering but not his own, which had been offered incorrectly. Then, when God asked him about it, he lied. God mentions a curse for the first time in the story:

“And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth (Genesis 4:11-12).

The curse, then, was related to his career, not his skin. Then God prophesied about his future, which would leave him struggling to farm and on the run from angry relatives. Cain was very upset, insisting the punishment was too harsh. In addition, those angry relatives made Cain very nervous. He was suddenly afraid that now that people knew murder was possible, they would decide to use it against him.

God loves all his children, even those who turn against him, as Cain had when he entered into an alliance with Satan. He loved Cain. He had already assured Cain he would be able to produce an offering that was acceptable if he would just try.

However, God’s heart was touched by Cain’s fears and here we learn the purpose of the mark:

And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him (verse 15).

What is the curse of Cain?

It is easy to see, from this verse, that the mark was a gift of love that gave Cain great protection. Anyone harming Cain would have a punishment greater than if he killed someone else. This demonstrates just how much God really loved Cain and also proves the mark was not a curse. Somehow, people combined a few things in the story and failed to note the curse involved farming, not skin. In fact, the Bible does not actually say what the mark is and there is nothing canonized in Mormonism that says. If it is skin, however, then the first darkened skin was a gift. If not, the story has nothing to do with skin color.

Mormons have another book of ancient scripture called the Pearl of Great Price. This repeats the story of Cain and Abel. It is translated and uses essentially the same words as the Genesis translation, demonstrating Mormonism’s acceptance of Genesis’ report:

“And I the Lord said unto him: Whosoever slayeth thee, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And I the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him” (Moses 5:40).

The Pearl of Great Price is canonized scripture, and therefore, it is the official belief of Mormonism concerning Cain’s mark. It was a gift.

While many churches do not require the payment of tithing, God does. In Genesis 14, Abraham paid his tithing to Melchizedek. Malachi also taught tithing.

Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it (Malachi 3:8-10).

This verse leaves no room for doubt: refusing to pay a full tithe is to rob God. Therefore, a church has a responsibility to require tithing of its members in order to make certain they are not helping them rob God.

What is a tithe?

The word means a tenth. Tithing, then is a tenth. Mormons teach that your tithe is a tenth of your increase, but do not define what that means. It is left to each person to decide this for himself through prayer, since the scriptures don’t define it any further. It is a voluntary payment, meaning that no one will show up at your home and force you to turn over the money. However, no commandment is consequence—free. From the day Adam and Eve were issued the first commandment, they were warned that their choices would have consequences.

A Mormon must pay a full and honest tithe in order to enter the temple. However, they are on the honor system—no tax forms or other documentation are requested. They are merely asked if they pay a full tithe. God reserves the temple, which is not used for regular weekly worship, for those willing to live the commandments. This is the earthly consequence of tithe paying. As with all commandments, of course, there will be other penalties issued at judgment for non-payment.

Are there blessings for paying tithing?

There are also rewards for paying your tithing. Malachi promised that the payment of tithes would result in so great there is no room to hold them all. Some have mistakenly interpreted that to mean they will become wealthy. However, the scripture does not mention money. It mentions only blessings, and God has many ways to bless us that have nothing to do with money. Gordon B. Hinckley, a former Mormon prophet, warned:

Now, do not get me wrong. I am not here to say that if you pay an honest tithing you will realize your dream of a fine house, a Rolls Royce, and a condominium in Hawaii. The Lord will open the windows of heaven according to our need, and not according to our greed. If we are paying tithing to get rich, we are doing it for the wrong reason. The basic purpose for tithing is to provide the Church with the means needed to carry on His work. The blessing to the giver is an ancillary return, and that blessing may not be always in the form of financial or material benefit. In speaking of opening the windows of heaven, Malachi continues by saying:

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field. …

And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts. (Mal. 3:11–12.)

Tithing is used to carry out God’s work. Although Mormons do not receive salaries for their church positions, costs are incurred for buildings, teachings supplies, missionary work, and other church requirements. In addition, the Mormons, like most churches, carry out humanitarian work and this too costs money. There are strict rules about how tithing can be used and needs outside those rules are paid for from the Church’s for-profit businesses. Unlike most churches, the Mormons do not wrap their businesses into their ministry and maintain a small number of businesses which do not bring in enough funds to sustain the church for any significant length of time. However, they do allow funds to be paid out for things that cannot be covered by tithing. For instance, Mormon apostles and prophets, unlike other volunteers, must serve fulltime until death. While most have other sources of income, such as pensions, those who do not can receive a modest stipend to sustain them. These cannot be paid for out of tithing, so they come for businesses are that taxed.

It should be noted that Mormons believe tithing is a gift to them from God. It allows them to minimize the importance of money in their lives. While money is necessary to live, it should not be so important that we can’t give some of it back to God. Mormons remember that God gave them everything they have and to return just ten percent of it to Him for His work is a small price to pay for the blessings they have received. Many Mormons have experienced God’s concern for both their temporal and their spiritual needs and feel they cannot afford to not tithe—they want those blessings Malachi promised. However, the most important reason Mormons tithe, and all others should as well, is to demonstrate that we recognize the source of everything we have and are happy to share it with God and with others.

The purpose of scripture is to teach the word of God. Mormons (a nickname sometimes applied to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) use four books of scripture: The Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Doctrine and Covenants. Each came to the world in different ways. To understand the impact and meaning of Joseph Smith’s statement, we need to look at how both the Bible and the Book of Mormon came to be.

How We Got the Bible

The Bible was written in ancient times by a variety of people. In fact, we don’t always know who actually wrote each section. It was not written as a single book, but was compiled from a large number of manuscripts by committee. There has never been just one canon for the Bible and various groups include different combinations of ancient books in their own canon. These canons were all compiled long after Jesus and the apostles were gone (approximately 200 A.D)—the Bible didn’t exist during the time the Bible events were happening and so no one with authority from Christ selected the books, although Mormons believe God did help to guide those making these choices.

Over the centuries, the original texts of the Bible were copied again and again by scribes, since no printing press existed. As they were copied, mistakes were made, as is natural. But sometimes changes came about intentionally as things were added or dropped to suit political or religious desires. For this reason, scholars today debate many of the books and passages in the Bible as being later additions. We do not have the original copy of even one book of Bible scripture and must rely entirely on copies of copies. Despite these errors, man-made decisions, and complications, Mormons revere the Bible as the word of God. They teach that as it was first written, it was perfect. Any mistakes and changes are the mistakes of mortals.

How We Got the Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon came about a little differently. The first writer was a man named Lehi, who was a prophet. His son Nephi then added his own words, including copying over many of his father’s writings. Lehi’s records were lost, but we still have the ones Nephi copied. When Nephi died, the records were passed on to another person. This continued throughout the entire span of time the Book of Mormon was being written. Each new writer received the complete record that had come before.

When the records reached Mormon, for whom the book is named, God commanded him to go through the records and pull out just the most important parts to make a more manageable record. He died before this was completed, so his son Moroni finished the task, recording it on golden plates so they would last longer. Of course, this took a great deal of time and material, so he wrote them in what he referred to as reformed Egyptian, which was apparently more compact, but which was not his native language.

Both books, then, were written by mortals, and mortals are imperfect. In the Book of Mormon, Mormon himself noted:

And if there be faults they be the faults of a man. But behold, we know no fault; nevertheless God knoweth all things; therefore, he that condemneth, let him be aware lest he shall be in danger of hell fire (Mormon 8:17).

Is the Book of Mormon Perfect?

In other words, Mormon also agreed that man is imperfect. However, these imperfections in either the Bible or the Book of Mormon do not take away from the sacredness of the scriptures themselves and should not be used to judge the original intent of the books.

A recent in-depth study of the changes made to the Book of Mormon found that there were many changes, but none altered doctrine. They were largely errors in punctuation and spelling. Some were the result of the scribe mis-hearing what Joseph said. He did not do the writing himself. He translated orally and scribes wrote his words. Many of these mistakes were found by Joseph himself and corrected. Some were, however, inserted by printers. The few doctrinal types of errors, when corrected, restored the teachings the church offers today, rather than altering them. Joseph taught the doctrines correctly, even when very small word changes would seem to have altered them.

See Critical Text Project Evaluates Changes in the Book of Mormon.

Saying that it is the most correct book, then, is not saying is it a perfect book. It is not saying there are not man-made errors, inevitable in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. What does it mean, then?

It means that the purpose of the Book has been fulfilled more completely than it has in any other book. Translation problems are minimal, since there is only one translation per language. The initial translation was carried about by a prophet and today’s translations into other languages are carefully monitored to be certain political or manipulative changes are not introduced.

The Book of Mormon was translated by a prophet. While there may be some limitations due to the imperfectness of our language, God guided the translation to make certain no important doctrine was changed in any way. The book was written and abridged by prophets. It outlines many essential saving doctrines more completely and more clearly than the Bible, with verses tending to be longer and sermons more completely recorded.

The purpose of the Book of Mormon was to bring people to Jesus Christ and its perfectness must be measured against its ability to do just that. It is the purpose that matters, not minor spelling or punctuation errors. (The original dictation did not even contain punctuation.) The book contains more references to Christ and his gospel than does even the Bible. It is estimated that this is mentioned on average in every 1.7 verses.

In 1984, Monte Nyman, who was an associate dean of religious education at Brigham Young University addressed this bold statement concerning the correctness of the Book of Mormon. He wrote:

“The most important principle, of course, is acceptance of Jesus Christ as the literal Son of God and the Savior of the world. To this principle, the Book of Mormon bears a second witness in dozens of instances. Its primary objective is to convince Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God. This correct second witness has become more and more valuable as the world has increasingly entertained various alternate opinions of Jesus. The Book of Mormon proclaims him to be more than a great teacher, or a great philosopher, or a great moral and ethical proclaimer. These opinions have replaced Isaiah’s prophetic designation of the Christ as “Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isa. 9:6.) In making a substitution, splintered Christianity has assimilated fragments of philosophies and rituals that took the place of original Christian unity and the plan of salvation. For those with eyes to see and ears to hear, the Book of Mormon corrects the false doctrine and affirms the true….Man’s recognition of these teachings and his step-by-step growth and development are highlighted by the third part of the Prophet’s statement that “a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” (See Monte Nyman, The Most Correct Book, Ensign, June 1984)

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Mormon apostle

The faiths invited represented a diverse range of political viewpoints. President Uchtdorf, who attended President Obama’s first inauguration as an official church representative, said that although everyone did not agree on every point, they were all in full agreement that new legislation needed to include respect for the law, protection against dividing families, compassion, and common sense. President Obama noted in a press release that the faith leaders were concerned about the impact of immigration laws on families.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is politically neutral, meaning that as a body, it does not promote or encourage membership in any specific party. It does, as churches should, speak out on the moral issues that are the natural territory of faith. However, those instances are comparatively rare and the stances taken do not tend to fit into the platforms of any party.

In November 2010, Mormon leadership officially expressed support for the Utah Compact, although they did not sign it. They issued a statement saying:

The Church regards the declaration of the Utah Compact as a responsible approach to the urgent challenge of immigration reform.  It is consistent with important principles for which we stand:

“We follow Jesus Christ by loving our neighbors.  The Savior taught that the meaning of “neighbor” includes all of God’s children, in all places, at all times.

We recognize an ever-present need to strengthen families.   Families are meant to be together.  Forced separation of working parents from their children weakens families and damages society.

We acknowledge that every nation has the right to enforce its laws and secure its borders.  All persons subject to a nation’s laws are accountable for their acts in relation to them.

Public officials should create and administer laws that reflect the best of our aspirations as a just and caring society.   Such laws will properly balance love for neighbors, family cohesion, and the observance of just and enforceable laws.” (See Church Supports Principles of Utah Compact on Immigration.)

Following the meeting, President Uchtdorf told the Salt Lake Tribune:

“He just said in this value process we need to stand together and make sure the United States is still a place where people can come and, once they come, feel not at fear. And do it, of course, in a lawful way. He was talking about his principles and what he said was totally in line with our values.” (See Mormon leader: Obama’s immigration plan matches LDS values.)

President Uchtdorf shared his own immigration experience during the meeting. He has been an immigrant three times in his life. He was born in what is now the Czech Republic and which was then occupied by Nazi Germany. His mother took the children to Eastern Germany while their father was away at war. There, his grandmother first learned about Mormonism in a soup line. When President Uchtdorf was ten, his father’s political beliefs caused the family to be in danger from the Soviets. They again fled, this time moving to West Berlin, which was occupied by the Americans. Today he is a naturalized American citizen, due to his call as a Mormon apostle, a position which lasts until death. He immigrated legally but said the process is cumbersome. He noted that the legal process needs to be one of dignity and also noted that there is a difference between those who came decades ago, when the United States essentially invited people to enter illegally in order to work in the fields, and those who have come recently.

President Uchtdorf said the Church will not be involved in any actual legislation, but does have an interest in the humane treatment of God’s children and in protecting families. He told the Deseret News, “Whether we are Christians or other faith groups, we focus on the human side. Yes, we should obey the law, but we need to take a look at how it impacts individuals and families.” (See President Uchtdorf, faith leaders counsel President Obama on Immigration.)

One video includes the amusing story of a man with just one leg. Most of his young martial arts students don’t know that one of his legs is artificial so when a child yanked it off by mistake, the class—including the waiting mothers—were thrown into chaos of tears and screaming. This man, Tim Hurst is also a marathon runner.

Ingrid Maldonado, a Guatemalan amputee, is a college student and also works for the government, helping people who can’t read or write with applications. She lost her legs a little at a time after catching on fire and had a series of surgeries from ages two to twelve. When she gets depressed, she remembers that others suffer far more and that Jesus Christ, though suffering great trials, went through life essentially happy and that she can, too. She considers herself a person with no limits.

Jarom Frye survived cancer as a teenager but lost a leg when he chose amputation over the other options. He is a serious athlete—he climbs rocks, water skis, snow skis, and rides a mountain bike. He couldn’t find just the leg he needed…so he built his own. Today he creates products to help other people with disabilities to carry out their own dreams. He decided as a teenager to ignore the experts who told him he couldn’t continue his athletic life and he has proven them all wrong. He is a husband, a father, an innovator, and of course, a Mormon.

The Mormons have a wide range of resources for people with disabilities. Children with special needs are integrated into their regular classrooms at church, both for their own advantage and for the benefit of their classmates. Materials for church members are available in braille, audio, captioned video, American Sign Language and large print. A website about disabilities for members with special needs, parents, teachers, and leaders is available in ten languages. Buildings are accessible to those who need accessibility. When a child has a special need, the teachers and leaders are taught how to meet those needs and when necessary, an aid is provided. The humanitarian services program offers a wheelchair program and a vision program for people who are not Mormon in many countries.

When visiting a Mormon ward (congregation), you might find a sign language interpreter in the worship service, an aid for an autistic child in the Primary children’s organization, a blind toddler nursery leader, or a boy in a wheelchair passing the sacrament (communion). Most Mormons have volunteer positions referred to as callings, and people with disabilities serve in most of those positions, including leadership positions. Sometimes leaders become very creative in finding meaningful work for someone who has intense special needs. One congregation appointed a young adult with an intellectual disability to ring the bells each week signifying the end of class—a calling that required her to learn to tell time first. Another built a special tool to help a teenage boy pass the sacrament effectively.

In one congregation, a teenager with autism was unable to earn her Personal Progress award, which required a challenging series of accomplishments. The girl’s church classmates decided to earn it for her. Each girl completed one part of her award in addition to doing that part for herself. When they had all finished, she received her award as a gift from the other teenagers.

A thirteen-year-old boy named Spencer, featured in the video below, was chosen as the youth leader for his church class. He was given a responsibility to look after the needs of all the other boys in his class. One boy was named Dayton. Dayton has cerebral palsy and can only communicate through blinking. Spencer is an athlete who runs triathlons and he wanted to give Dayton opportunities he might never have. He asked Dayton if he’d like to enter a triathlon with Spencer and Dayton did. It took some planning, but they figured out how to do it. Spencer swam and biked pulling Dayton behind him in a boat and cart and then on a specially made bike. Spencer was exhausted, but finished the race happily. Each boy also passes the sacrament with Dayton so he can do what the other boys do—they push his chair while carrying the sacrament on a tray on his chair. This is the sort of training young Mormons receive in their church classes by caring association with those who have special needs and this impacts how they will interact the rest of their lives.

Mankind has always been taught to pray for truth. After Adam and Eve left the Garden, they needed to pray to God for what they needed and for wisdom. The first specific mention of prayer is found in Genesis 20, when Abraham prayed for Abimelech.

We know, then, that prayer is found in the Bible. Throughout the Bible, we learn of people praying for wisdom and truth—and prophets still existed. The ability to pray did not alleviate the need for prophets at any time in the Bible.

Individuals have always had the ability to seek God’s wisdom for anything within their own sphere of influence. They can pray to know what is true, what to do, how to care for their families, how to carry out their employment, and how to do their church work. They cannot, however, pray to learn how to do someone else’s job. If a Mormon, for instance, is the Primary president over the children, she can pray to learn how to be a better Primary president and to learn how God wants the Primary run. However, she cannot pray to find out how the Relief Society (women’s auxiliary) is to be run, because that isn’t her responsibility.

Mormons, a nickname for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believe the only person who can pray to learn how God’s entire church should be run and what doctrines are true for the entire church is the prophet. This has been so since the beginning of time.

Surely the Lord God will do nothing, abut he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets (Amos 3:7).

The Bible demonstrates just why we need continuous revelation. Each prophet added new information to the gospel of Jesus Christ—every word after God’s first instruction to Adam has been continuous revelation. It has added to our knowledge of eternal truths, enlarged our understanding, or changed practices. God adapted what was to be practiced at any given time based on the specific needs and abilities of the people.

An example of this is found in Matthew 19. Jesus was asked by the Pharisees why Moses allowed men to divorce their wives. He explained that God allowed it due to the hardness of men’s hearts, but that in the beginning, it was not so. Divorce has not initially been allowed. God had made a change because of the limited capacity of His children at that time. Then Jesus added a new level of requirement to this practice. He taught that if they divorced for any reason other than adultery, they could not remarry. Again, the practice changed to meet the capacity of the people.

Without prophets, God could not have made these changes. He didn’t reveal them to each person individually. He revealed them to Moses and then to Jesus Christ, who then took the information to the people.

We can see, as we look around the world, that the idea of individual revelation only has not really been effective. There are thousands of different religions, even within the Protestant tradition, all disagreeing with each other on essential issues such as marriage or baptism. If individual prayer was all that was needed, there would be just one faith and everyone would agree. However, the role of individual prayer has always been to confirm the truths revealed to the prophets, not to turn each of us into prophets, something God has never done in the history of the world. The Bible shows us only certain people are called to be prophets—we cannot call ourselves to that role and it has never been given to everyone to receive new revealed truths. New universal revelation has always come through God’s chosen prophets.

The Bible offers a clue to people who want to know if the Bible is true:

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (James 1:5, King James version of the Bible)

The Bible promises that if we need to know something important, we can ask God and He will tell us if we ask in faith. This same promise applies to the Book of Mormon. In fact, the Book of Mormon comes with its own promise:

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

6 And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is. (Moroni 10)

Mormons who are considering joining the Church, and those who are already in the Church, are taught not to take the word of any mortal person concerning the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. They learn that all truth comes from God and that a testimony from Him is one we can’t deny. If a mortal person tells us something is true, that can help us, but it is shaky—if our relationship with that person changes, we may find ourselves doubting his words. However, if God tells us something is true, we know it is.

For that reason, Mormons are taught to read the Bible and the Book of Mormon and to pray as they read. Then they should ponder what they’ve learned, make a decision, and pray for confirmation of their decision. A warm, peaceful feeling of truth is reassurance they have made the right choice.

The person who made this promise, Moroni, was an extraordinary young man. He was a child of war. His society was at war with another group of people and all his people were killed. He lost his parents, siblings, friends…everyone. The only people remaining in his part of the world were the enemy, who had sworn to murder anyone who would not deny the divinity of Jesus Christ. He would not, and so, alone in the world and possibly only a teenager, he hid away and finished the work his father, an ancient prophet, had started. His father, Mormon, had been abridging the records of their people to make them a more manageable size. Moroni finished the task, translated some additional records, and added the end of his civilization’s story. He was alone and sad:

3 And my father also was killed by them, and I even remain alone to write the sad tale of the destruction of my people. But behold, they are gone, and I fulfil the commandment of my father. And whether they will slay me, I know not.

4 Therefore I will write and hide up the records in the earth; and whither I go it mattereth not.

5 Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath written the intent thereof. And behold, I would write it also if I had room upon the plates, but I have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long the Lord will suffer that I may live I know not. (Mormon 8)

This is one of the most powerful portions of an extraordinary record. Moroni had been kept alive, faced daily with loneliness and the potential of being murdered, solely to preserve this record for people in our times. It had been written just for us and saved until our time. Mormons consider it a debt of honor to read the record and to gain a testimony of it, to make his extraordinary sacrifice worthwhile.

We owe it to Moroni to find out if he is real, if his record is real, and if we have been called by God to learn of it. It is a companion to the Bible, testifying of it. It is impossible to believe in the Book of Mormon and not also believe in the Bible or the divinity of Jesus Christ.

Read the Book of Mormon free online.

Mormons believe that we cannot save ourselves. No one can live a perfect life—only Jesus Christ was able to do that. He met all the requirements of a Savior and was the only One who could save us. What does it mean that He saved us?

Mormons teach that the atonement has two aspects. Some portions of it are given freely to all, regardless of the choices they make on the earth. For instance, because Jesus atoned for our sins, died on the cross, and was resurrected, we all are resurrected and live forever—even the wicked receive that particular gift.

Others require action on our part to activate. To receive the full measure of the atonement, one must accept Jesus Christ as his or her Savior (an act), be baptized (an act), and keep the commandments of God. Most Christian religions accept that certain acts are required to be saved. They accept that one must accept Jesus Christ as the Savior, and many also require baptism.

Baptism is so important and essential that even Jesus insisted on being baptized by immersion, despite having no sins to be forgiven of. He taught his disciples that both faith and baptism is required for salvation: Baptism is an act. We are not saved by our actions, but actions are required as part of the process—and must, as this Bible verse makes clear, be accompanied by faith:

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned (Mark 16:16).

Peter also taught this doctrine: Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:37-38).

Jesus warned us that while confessions of faith are an important part of our salvation, they must be accompanied by righteousness:

“9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10)

These verses tell us that we need to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, but also have that confession of faith be sincere and life-changing enough to cause us to obey the commandments and to become righteous. A confession of faith that doesn’t change our lives is meaningless. The mouth says the words, but the heart obeys God.

Many scriptures emphasize the importance of keeping the commandments in order to return to God. This is where the confusion about Mormon beliefs concerning being saved come from. Many people misinterpret the Mormon emphasis on keeping commandments as being a belief that we can earn our way into Heaven. This is not actually what Mormons teach. In fact, the true Mormon belief is not that different from traditional Christianity, except that we emphasize it more, making certain our members understand that love must be accompanied by action:

If ye love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15).

The Bible is emphatic in its teachings that faith without works is dead. If we say we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, but spend our days harming others and committing sins, we clearly didn’t really mean it. Our works are a manifestation of our faith—if, and only if—they are done for the right reason, which is love for Jesus Christ. Jesus consistently condemned the Pharisees for carrying out their faith for show, but then sinning privately, and He condemned those who obeyed for all the wrong reasons. For this reason, the claimed differences between Mormon beliefs and Protestant beliefs on this subject is really just wordplay. Mormons believe our works will develop out of our love. A former Mormon prophet, Ezra Taft Benson, once said, “When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power.” Our attitude toward obedience is a direct measure of our love for Jesus Christ, and it is for this reason Mormons spend a lot of time talking about commandments. Mormons want their members to live the way God has asked them to live—and to do so joyfully and for the right reasons.

Are Mormons saved? They have faith, they are baptized, and they receive the Holy Ghost. They repent of their sins and work to keep the commandments of God. They trust in the atonement of Jesus Christ to do for them what they cannot possibly do for themselves. They are saved as far as they can be saved in mortality, but no one completes the process until the final judgment. At that time, the Savior, and no one else, will determine their final status. Only Jesus Christ may say who is saved and who is not.