Mormonism

Mormonism is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity. Joseph Smith founded the movement in Western New York in the 1820s. The faith drew its first converts while Smith was dictating the text of the Book of Mormon from golden plates which had reformed Egyptian writing on them which he said he found buried after being directed to their location by the Angel Moroni. The book described itself as a chronicle of early indigenous peoples of the Americas, known as the Nephites, portraying them as believing Israelites who had a belief in Christ many hundred years before his birth. According to the book, the Nephites are one of four groups (the others being the Lamanites, Jaredites, and Mulekites) which settled in the ancient Americas. The Nephites are described as a group of people that descended from or were associated with Nephi, the son of the prophet Lehi, who left Jerusalem at the urging of God c. 600 BC and traveled with his family to the Western Hemisphere, arriving in the Americas c. 589 BC. After the translation was complete, Smith said he returned the golden plates to the Angel Moroni. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism distinguished itself from traditional Protestantism. Mormonism today represents the new, non-Protestant faith taught by Smith in the 1840s. After Smith's death in 1844, most Mormons followed Brigham Young on his westward journey to the area that became the Utah Territory, calling themselves The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Variations not a part of the LDS Church include Mormon fundamentalism, which seeks to maintain practices and doctrines such as polygamy (which the LDS Church abandoned), and various other small independent denominations. The word Mormon originally derived from the Book of Mormon. Based on the name of that book, early followers of Smith were more widely known as Mormons, and their faith was called Mormonism. The term was initially considered pejorative, but Mormons no longer consider it so (although generally preferring other terms such as Latter-day Saint, or LDS). Mormonism shares a common set of beliefs with the rest of the Latter Day Saint movement, including use of, and belief in, the Bible, as well as in other religious texts including the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants. It also accepts the Pearl of Great Price as part of its scriptural canon, and has a history of teaching eternal marriage, eternal progression, and polygamy (plural marriage) (although the LDS Church formally abandoned the practice of plural marriage in 1890). Cultural Mormonism, a lifestyle promoted by Mormon institutions, includes cultural Mormons who identify with the culture, but not necessarily with the theology. Brief history: Mormonism originated in the 1820s in western New York during a period of religious excitement known as the Second Great Awakening. In spring 1820 in answer to his prayer of which denomination he should join Smith described having had a vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ. Called the "First Vision", Smith's vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ as two separate beings was reportedly the basis for the initial difference in doctrine between Mormonism's view of the nature of God and that of orthodox Christianity. Smith further said that in answer to his prayer the Lord instructed him to join none of the existing churches because they were all wrong. During the 1820s Smith reported having several angelic visitations, and by 1830 Smith said that he had been instructed that God would use him to re-establish the true Christian church and that the Book of Mormon would be the means of establishing correct doctrine for the restored church. Founded by Joseph Smith, the faith drew its first converts while Smith was dictating the text of The Book of Mormon from golden plates which had reformed Egyptian writing on them which he said he found buried after being directed to their location by the Angel Moroni. The book described itself as a chronicle of early indigenous peoples of the Americas, known as the Nephites, portraying them as believing Israelites, who had a belief in Christ many hundred years before his birth. According to The Book of Mormon, the Nephites are one of four groups (including the Lamanites, Jaredites, and Mulekites) which settled in the ancient Americas. The Nephites are described as a group of people that descended from or were associated with Nephi, the son of the prophet Lehi, who left Jerusalem at the urging of God c. 600 BC and traveled with his family to the Western Hemisphere, arriving in the Americas c. 589 BC. Smith dictated the book of 584 pages over a period of about three months saying that he translated it from an ancient language "by the gift and power of God". During production of this work in mid-1829, Smith, his close associate Oliver Cowdery, and other early followers began baptizing new converts into a Christian primitivist church, formally organized in 1830 as the Church of Christ. Smith was seen by his followers as a modern-day prophet. To avoid confrontation with New York residents, the members moved to Kirtland, Ohio, and hoped to establish a permanent New Jerusalem or City of Zion in Jackson County, Missouri. However, they were expelled from Jackson County in 1833 and forced to flee Kirtland in early 1838. In Missouri, violent conflicts with other Missourians resulted in the governor of Missouri issuing an "extermination order," expelling Latter Day Saints from Missouri. The displaced Mormons fled to Illinois and settled the city of Nauvoo, where they were able to live with a degree of peace and prosperity for a few years. However, tensions between Mormons and non-Mormons again escalated to the point that in 1844, Smith was killed by a mob, precipitating a succession crisis. The largest group of Mormons (LDS Church) accepted Brigham Young as the new prophet/leader and emigrated to what became the Utah Territory. There, the church began the open practice of plural marriage, a form of polygyny which Smith had instituted in Nauvoo. Plural marriage became the faith's most sensational characteristic during the 19th century, but vigorous opposition by the United States Congress threatened the church's existence as a legal institution. In his 1890 Manifesto, church president Wilford Woodruff announced the official end of plural marriage. Because of the formal abolition of plural marriage in 1890, several smaller groups of Mormons broke with the LDS Church forming several denominations of Mormon fundamentalism. Meanwhile, the LDS Church has become a proponent of monogamy and patriotism, has extended its reach internationally by a vigorous missionary program, and has grown in size to 15 million members. The church is becoming a part of the American and international mainstream. However, it consciously and intentionally retains its identity as a "peculiar people" set apart from the world by what it believes is its unique relationship with God. Theology- Nature of God: Unlike most other Christian groups, Mormonism espouses a distinctly nontrinitarian theology in regards to the nature of God. The LDS Church teaches that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three separate and distinct beings, the Father and Son having perfected physical bodies and the Holy Ghost having only a body of spirit. While the three beings are physically distinct, in Mormon theology they are one in thoughts, actions, and purpose and commonly referred to collectively as "the "Godhead". Also, Mormonism teaches that God the Father is the literal father of the spirits of all men and women, which existed prior to their mortal existence. The LDS Church also believes that a Heavenly Mother exists. Further, it is believed that all humans as children of God can become exalted, inheriting all that God has, as joint-heirs with Christ, and becoming like him as a God.