There is within each of us something that longs for kinship with the Almighty, and we feel that there is a response to that as we teach concerning that. The Church is a constant in a world of change. It is an anchor in a world of shifting values. Some of the Latter-day Saint doctrines that address these issues, and that are respected by and particularly attractive to outsiders, include the following:.
As the offspring of God see Acts —29; Hebrews , each person has a divine identity and infinite potential. God has a merciful plan for each of us, a plan of happiness that will both guide and bless us on earth and make right, in the next life, many injustices and inequities inherent in a fallen world. Loving friendships and family relationships will continue. A happy marriage can last for eternity. Everyone, no matter where or when they have lived, will be given an opportunity to learn of the gospel and embrace its principles and ordinances.
As important as the teachings of the Church are, how Mormons live their lives attracts the most interest. That is the fruit of the faith. On the other hand, those who knew many Mormons had quite favorable perceptions of the faith. Even when there was a negative view of Mormon doctrines, there was a positive view of how Latter-day Saints lived their lives.
Wholesomeness and happiness are attributes of Mormonism that are attractive to those not of our faith. Interestingly, many who view Mormonism as weird are quick to acknowledge that Mormons themselves are not weird but very normal in good ways—upright, honest, caring, contributing members of the community. While serving as a mission president, I was invited to participate in a discussion of Mormonism on a popular local radio talk show.
At that time, a prominent Latter-day Saint was running for president of the United States, and his candidacy had generated much interest in and debate regarding his religion. Old stereotypes, misrepresentations, and misconceptions reemerged and were a disturbing part of the discussion. I tried my best to answer questions and contextualize the doctrines and practices of the Church. A prominent evangelical pastor in the community called to inform the listening audience that Mormons, according to his characterization, are not Christians and that their beliefs are not only nonbiblical but Satanically inspired.
He expressed very real contempt for Mormonism. None of my efforts to appropriately address the issues he raised, correct the misconceptions or falsehoods, or properly contextualize the teachings and practices of the Church satisfied him. Then something remarkable happened. One of the hosts of the program spoke of the many Mormons he had personally known. He spoke glowingly of their goodness and integrity. Soon the other host chimed in with similar anecdotes. Even the critical minister acknowledged that all the Mormons he knew were good, decent, wholesome, honorable, God- and family-loving people.
It was interesting to note that although the callers to the show expressed confusion or disbelief regarding doctrines, they clearly understood and appreciated the practical benefits and contributions of the Mormon way of life.
As the Master himself counseled his ancient disciples, we today understand that fruits or outcomes are an integral part of ascertaining the value of something. Prophets and churches can likewise be judged by the products of their ministry and teachings. As the Savior himself taught, evil trees cannot produce good fruit; so, the good fruit is a sign of the goodness of the tree.
Numerous empirical studies [7] have observed that Latter-day Saints who devoutly espouse the teachings of their Church, when compared to society in general, are. Medical researchers have found significantly lower rates of cancer and heart disease in Mormons, resulting in significantly higher life expectancy. The divorce rate is lower among Mormons than Protestants. Approximately one in five Latter-day Saints in the United States have graduated from college, with 14 percent of Latter-day Saint men and nearly 10 percent of Latter-day Saint women having received graduate training.
More education results in a higher rate of Mormon professionals and managers than for Catholics and Protestants. Only about a quarter of Mormons say they drink alcohol, as compared to 65 percent of Protestants, 85 percent of Catholics, and 86 percent of Jews. Teenage substance abuse is significantly lower among Latter-day Saint youth than any other religious group.
These statistics are not presented here to boast or to cast a bad light on people of other religious beliefs or of no belief system at all but rather to demonstrate that as Latter-day Saints seek to live their religion, very real benefits occur. Behavioral statistics and the practical benefits derived from Church affiliation do not prove the truthfulness of the claims of Mormonism.
They are, however, evidences of the faith and devotion of Latter-day Saints. These fruits come as a natural result of striving to live by a foundational article of our faith articulated by Joseph Smith.
Latter-day Saints do not live their religion to impress others. Latter-day Saints earnestly strive to live the second great commandment- "love thy neighbor as thyself"-and have promised to show their love for the Christ by loving and serving others.
The extensive welfare system of the Church and its humanitarian efforts throughout the world, as well as the acts of kindness and generosity exhibited by Church members in neighborhoods and communities, are all byproducts of a sincere effort on the part of members to love their fellowmen and to be true to their covenants.
This Christian service and compassion is not restricted to members of the Church; it has no regard to race, religion, or nationality. Another fruit of Mormonism that attracts others is our faith in the future—a hope for a better world and a confidence that things will all work out for the good; this hope and confidence are born from profound trust in God and his promises. The fact that twenty-two percent of recently polled Americans would oppose voting for a Mormon for President causes one to wonder why there is such opposition to Mormonism in its country of origin.
According to a standard dictionary definition of Christians "as believers and followers of Christ", Mormons are Christians. Jan Shipps, a Methodist and noted scholar of Mormonism, is often asked whether she believes Mormons are Christians and responds with questions of whether the question is analytical, analogical, historiographical or theological and religious.
From this viewpoint, Mormonism can be seen to diverge from traditional Christianity in four areas: its views on scripture, the nature of God and the deification of believers; the deity of Christ and the trinity, and finally, salvation.
With respect to scripture, Mormons differ from traditional Christian groups in that they accept extra books in their canon. The Doctrine and Covenants is a compilation of the revelations given to the Priesthood, namely those given to Joseph Smith.
The Book of Mormon is the most controversial addition to the canon. It is a supposed record of ancient groups in the Americas, and begins with a family moving from Jerusalem, shortly before its destruction, to the New World. The climax of the record is a visit of the resurrected Jesus Christ in the Americas. Although the records, inscribed on gold plates, were lost shortly after this in the fourth century, the burier of the book, Moroni, is said to have returned in the early 19 th century as an angel in a revelation to Joseph Smith and led him to the plates.
Smith then translated these into English as the Book of Mormon. The lack of evidence about these golden plates and a message reflective of the times led many critics to believe that the book is a fanciful fabrication. As shown by the acceptance of the extra-biblical works, Mormons maintain a canon open to further revelation from God.
Mormons believe that the death of the apostles led to the death of apostolic succession and that the traditional church perpetuated a false line of apostolic succession.
Christian critics argue that the canon is closed because the last two verses of the Book of Revelation say that if you add or subtract from the New Testament you will be accursed, but Mormons hold this warning to be only true of the Book of Revelation and not the entire Bible. Robinson states that it is unbiblical to believe that the Bible is a closed canon as there is no biblical statement within it that prohibits additional revelation and that the Book of Revelation was written prior to the formation of the Bible; therefore, the warning can only speak to its own book.
Another point of divergence between traditional Christian doctrine and Mormon doctrine is the belief in human deification and thus the nature of God. According to a recent study, over three-quarters of Mormons surveyed stated belief in pre-mortal existence of humans as spirits, human deification during mortal life, and eternal marriage after death.
Mormons also present the fact that orthodox Christian groups have a similar view toward human deification. However, Bill McKeever, an American author and well-known critic of Mormonism, asserts that the divide is just too wide for Mormonism to be considered Christian.
They divided into two groups who fought each other: the Nephites and the Lamanites. In A. According to the Book of Mormon, Jesus Christ appeared and preached to the Nephites in the Americas after his crucifixion. The book is divided into smaller books that read as narratives. The LDS church states that more than million copies of the Book of Mormon have been distributed as of A young man, 12 years of age or older, can enter into a priesthood known as Aaronic priesthood. Those over 18 can enter into Melchizedek priesthood.
Although the LDS church banned the practice of polygamy in , Mormons have historically wed many wives. In recent years, the church acknowledged that Joseph Smith wed as many as 40 wives, some as young as age Today, Mormons frown upon polygamy and choose to marry just one spouse.
Still, a small number of fundamentalists, who broke from the church, continue to practice plural marriage. Mormon presidential candidate Mitt Romney brought the religion to the forefront of American politics in According to a Pew Research poll, about 62 percent of Mormons say Americans are uninformed about their religion.
Nearly half said that Mormons face a lot of discrimination. Mormonism is thought to be a fast-growing religion. Some experts believe that if present trends continue, there could be million Mormons worldwide by But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!
Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. An early convert to Mormonism, Brigham Young succeeded founder Joseph Smith as the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in ; he led the church until his death in After guiding an exodus of thousands of Mormons westward to the Great Salt Lake The Bible is the holy scripture of the Christian religion, purporting to tell the history of the Earth from its earliest creation to the spread of Christianity in the first century A.
Both the Old Testament and the New Testament have undergone changes over the centuries, The Inquisition was a powerful office set up within the Catholic Church to root out and punish heresy throughout Europe and the Americas. Beginning in the 12th century and continuing for hundreds of years, the Inquisition is infamous for the severity of its tortures and its Islam is the second largest religion in the world after Christianity, with about 1.
Although its roots go back further, scholars typically date the creation of Islam to the 7th century, making it the youngest of the major world religions. Followers of Judaism believe in one God who revealed himself through ancient prophets. The history of Judaism is essential to understanding the Jewish faith, which has a rich heritage of law, Wicca is a modern-day, nature-based pagan religion. Though rituals and practices vary among people who identify as Wiccan, most observations include the festival celebrations of solstices and equinoxes, the honoring of a male god and a female goddess, and the incorporation of
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