Culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The basic beliefs and traditions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) have a cultural impact that distinguishes church members, practices and activities. The culture is geographically concentrated in the Mormon Corridor in the United States, and is present to a lesser extent in many places of the world where Latter-day Saints live. In some aspects, Latter-day Saint culture is distinct from church doctrine. Cultural practices which are centrally based on church doctrine include adhering the church's law of health, paying tithing, living the law of chastity, participation in lay leadership of the church, refraining from work on Sundays when possible, family home evenings, and home and visiting teaching. The church also emphasizes the moral standards that Mormons believe were taught by Jesus Christ, including personal honesty, integrity, obedience to law, chastity outside of marriage, and fidelity within marriage. The majority of Mormons live outside the United States. Therefore, even though the global differences are important, there are some common traits around Mormons worldwide. Family: The church puts notable emphasis on the family, and the distinctive concept of a united family which lives and progresses forever is at the core of Latter-day Saint doctrine. Church members are encouraged to marry and have children, and as a result, Latter-day Saint families tend to be larger than average. All sexual activity outside of marriage is considered a serious sin. All homosexual activity is considered sinful and same-sex marriages are not performed or supported by the LDS Church. Latter-day Saint fathers who hold the priesthood typically name and bless their children shortly after birth to formally give the child a name and generate a church record for them. Education: Latter-day Saints believe that one of the most important aspects of life on Earth is the opportunity for individuals to learn and grow. They further believe that whatever learning they obtain in this life is retained in the next life. Accordingly, the church strongly emphasizes education and as part of the Church Educational System, subsidizes Brigham Young University (BYU) and its Jerusalem Center, BYU–Idaho, BYU–Hawaii, and LDS Business College. All participating members ages twelve years and older attend Sunday School classes, which emphasize personal scripture studies and other forms of spiritual education and self-improvement. Seminary is an established religious education program for secondary school students, which is often scheduled before or after school hours. In some areas with large LDS populations, provisions are made by the school to allow students to attend Seminary off-campus during the school day. Attendance at seminary is voluntary, although it is considered when a person applies to a church-owned university. CES administers the seminary program and also an Institute of Religion program for tertiary education-age church members. The church sponsors a low-interest educational loan program known as the Perpetual Education Fund. This fund is designed to benefit young men and women from developing areas to receive student loans. Many of them have served a mission, returned to their home, and lack needed funds to improve their standard of living. As they finish their education and enter the work force, they pay back the funds, which are then loaned to other individuals. In Buena Vista, Virginia, a group of LDS businessmen bought out a failing college and renamed it Southern Virginia University (SVU). It is not owned by the church, nor does it receive any funding from the church. SVU depends heavily upon donations from church members and friends. The school enforces an honor code that is similar to that of the higher education units of CES. Recreation: The LDS Church encourages and hosts social activities such as sports, dances and picnics. Local Young Men and Young Women organizations sponsor weekly activities, and the Primary and other auxiliaries of the church hold occasional activities. Politics: In general, the LDS Church distances itself from politics, although it encourages its members to be politically active. Each summer in U.S. election years the church sends a letter to each bishop to be read over the pulpit stating that the church does not endorse any political parties or candidates, does not allow its buildings to be used for political events, and that no titles or positions that a person may have in the church may be used to imply church endorsement of any party or candidate. However, the church has endorsed or opposed specific political positions which it regards as moral issues: - Opposition to repeal of right-to-work section of the Taft-Hartley Act - Opposition to MX (Peacekeeper) missile bases in Utah and Nevada. - Opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment during the 1970s. - Support of the Defense of Marriage Act to define marriage in the United States as between one man and one woman. - Support of the 2000 California initiative to define marriage in California as between one man and one woman. - Support of the 2004 Utah constitutional amendment to define marriage in Utah as between one man and one woman. - Opposition to the storage of nuclear waste in Utah. - Support of Proposition 8 to define marriage in California as between one man and one woman. A 2012 Pew Center survey on Religion and Public Life indicates that 74 percent of U.S. Latter-day Saints church members lean towards the Republican Party. Some liberal members have stated that they feel that they have to defend their worthiness due to political differences. In recent decades, the Republican Party has consistently won a majority of the LDS vote in most national and state-level elections. As a result, Utah, a state with a majority LDS population, is also one of the most heavily Republican states in the country. However, Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic Senate Majority Leader from 2007 to 2014, became an LDS Church convert as a college student. James E. Faust (1920–2007), an apostle and member of the First Presidency, also identified himself as a Democrat prior to his full-time church service as a general authority (1972–2007). Mormons' political affiliations tend to vary geographically: while in Utah and Idaho the majority of members incline to vote Republican, in traditionally more Democratic U.S. regions such as New England and California, there is a tendency to have more Democratic members. Outside the United States, Mormons tend to follow national and geographical political trends.