Mormonism
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''LDS redirects here. If you have dyslexia you may have been looking for [[LSD|this]] article instead'' | ''LDS redirects here. If you have dyslexia you may have been looking for [[LSD|this]] article instead'' | ||
| − | '''Mormonism''' is a [[religion]] and refers to the practices of the followers of the ''[[Book of Mormon]]''. The overwhelming majority of such people -- normally referred to as <s>Morons</s> '''Mormons''', are members of the '''Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints''' (LDS); this church, based in Salt Lake City, [[Utah]], descends from the original congregation founded by New York-born conman turned spiritual leader [[Joseph Smith, Jr.]]. | + | '''Mormonism''' is a [[religion]] and refers to the practices of the followers of the ''[[Book of Mormon]]''. The overwhelming majority of such people -- normally referred to as <s>Morons</s> '''Mormons''', are members of the '''Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints''' (LDS); this church, based in Salt Lake City, [[Utah]], descends from the original congregation founded by New York-born conman turned spiritual leader [[Joseph Smith, Jr.]]. Strangely the oldest surviving branch of the church is not in the US, but in Preston. And at nearby Chorley, the church has one of its two UK temples as well as its missionary training centre.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7227889.stm BBC report]</ref> |
==Related groups== | ==Related groups== | ||
Revision as of 20:21, 1 January 2009
LDS redirects here. If you have dyslexia you may have been looking for this article instead
Mormonism is a religion and refers to the practices of the followers of the Book of Mormon. The overwhelming majority of such people -- normally referred to as Morons Mormons, are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS); this church, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, descends from the original congregation founded by New York-born conman turned spiritual leader Joseph Smith, Jr.. Strangely the oldest surviving branch of the church is not in the US, but in Preston. And at nearby Chorley, the church has one of its two UK temples as well as its missionary training centre.[1]
Contents |
Related groups
There are numerous spinoff groups, the most significant being the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), a liberal spinoff started by the most senior of Joseph Smith's wives and her son, Joseph Smith III, and the cultish Fundamentalist LDS church (FLDS), the largest sect still supporting polygamy. The Missouri-based Community of Christ has numerous fundamentalist spinoff sects of its own. Yet another group, the Strangites, followed James Strang to Wisconsin after Joseph Smith was murdered, Strang having claimed to find yet another "lost" book, the Book of the Law of the Lord. The Strangites were once a sizable group but fell apart after Strang was murdered by disaffected followers and most of the rest drifted back to Missouri. The fourth largest of the Mormon-related sects, after the LDS, CofC, and FLDS, is the Church of Christ (Bickertonite) based in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. The remaining spinoff sects number in the hundreds but with few members; a small group called the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) which claims to be neither a spinoff of the Utah LDS nor the Missouri CofC owns the site in Independence, Missouri which Joseph Smith prophesized would be the location of the second coming of Christ.
Theology
Nominally a Christian religion (although there are many Christians who consider them heretics)[2], they claim that the Book of Mormon was originally written by followers of the Hebrew prophets and Jesus who lived in the Americas around the time of Jesus' life and death. Mormon is supposedly the name of the prophet who originally compiled the text. Mormons believe these people split into two tribes, Nephites and Lamanites, that the Nephites remained true to God but eventually died off while the Lamanites turned far from God, and that American Indians are descended from the Lamanites.[3] There is no archeological evidence supporting this claim. Much of the Book of Mormon is stories of fighting between the Nephites and Lamanites.
The Mormons have a very strong connection with the American West, as they migrated in the mid 1800's to what is now Utah, to avoid religious persecution. The Mormons basically founded the state and its major city — Salt Lake City — and consequently Utah and the city are the world headquarters for the LDS religion, and Utah has the highest concentration of Mormons in the world. Utah also has the highest concentration of poor conservatives and Prozac consumers.
Good Mormons do not drink cocoa, coffee or tea, because Joseph Smith, Jr. had a revelation from God that "hot drinks" are bad, m'kay (although the rationale given today is that caffeine is an evil drug)? This in addition to the usual fundamentalist religions prohibitions against smoking and drinking. Good Mormons also tithe, which they have to keep up to maintain their "temple recommend". [4]
Perhaps the greatest claim to fame by the Mormons, at least as far as the general public is concerned, is their continued acceptance of polygamy up until recent times. "Officially" they renounced polygamy in 1890 as a condition of Utah being granted statehood, but continued to tolerate it for several more decades. Polygamy is still practised among some Mormons and Mormon sub-sects in Utah and Texas.
They also thought black people were ineligible for the "priesthood" (which in Mormon theology is all believers in good standing) until recently — 1978 to be precise — due to the Book of Mormon teaching that dark skin was a curse from God resulting from sinful ancestors. [5] Hmmm... apparently they realized they were missing out on a much larger pool of potential converts for their missionaries, which they send around the world.
On the other hand, that 74-time Jeopardy champion was a Mormon.
Marriage
The LDS church puts a large premium on marriage within the church, and having large families. Single Mormon young adults and converts are under pressure to marry somebody in the church, and areas with larger Mormon congregations will have a special "singles ward" for single members to attend so you can meet that special someone. Marrying outside the church bars you from the most sacred of Mormon ceremonies, the Temple Marriage, which is done inside the Mormon temple, although this often becomes another source of new Mormon converts as the non-member is pressured to convert to Mormonism so they can be married in the temple. Non-Mormon family members are also barred from attending the Temple Marriage ceremony, so often Mormon couples will hold two wedding ceremonies, one in the temple and a separate one which non-Mormon family and friends can attend. According to Mormon theology, being married in the temple opens one up to the highest levels of heaven when you die, while an unmarried member of the church or one who did not marry in the temple, even if otherwise in good standing, can only attain a lower level of heaven. (Mormons also believe that good religious people of other, non-Mormon religions go to this lower level of heaven, non-believers in God who are still good people go to the lowest level of heaven, and hell is reserved only for the truly wicked such as murderers).
Missionaries
Mormons are expected to spend two years of their young adulthood in the mission field, at mostly their own and their families' expense. The LDS church picks where they go and missionaries are expected to live an austere lifestyle during those two years, refraining from TV, sports, or reading books other than the Book of Mormon and selected books on Mormon theology. Being an "RM" (returned missionary) is a mark of especially good standing in the church, while failure of a young adult to go on a mission is generally a sign they have "backslidden".
The LDS church has had some success in converting people in Latin American countries, aided by the contention that Jesus traveled around the New World appearing in visions looking remarkably like whatever deity happened to be worshiped locally (a tactic used with great success by the Catholic Church, as well). Missionaries start out with a decided disadvantage in countries such as Japan, where if they are so fortunate as to be invited into someone's home, they are immediately offered some green tea. Which they must refuse, making a whopper of a bad impression right off the bat.
Many of their visits come as a result of people calling the LDS church or visiting their website to request free Bibles and Books of Mormon. Mormon missionaries will show up at your door in pairs, dressed in identical suits looking like Amway salesmen, and say the opposite of this. They give out free Books of Mormon like candy and want you to read it. If you show interest, they will have a series of followup visits where they give filmstrip or flip-chart presentations[6], and will invite you to attend church on Sundays. The flip-chart presentations are a sanitized version of Mormon theology that leaves out the most ridiculous parts of their theology;[7] for example they won't mention that God lives near the star Kolob with his multiple spirit wives having celestial sex to breed spirit children, who then inhabit human bodies. Nor will they mention their now-abandoned beliefs regarding polygamy or Blacks. If asked about one of these beliefs they are well-trained in changing the subject or putting a favorable spin on it. One of their big hooks is to ask you to pray over the Book of Mormon after reading some of it. You are supposed to have a subjective "burning in the bosom" feeling to prove the Book of Mormon is true. I don't know about you but if I had just read that book I'd be likely to suffer from indigestion too... I dunno. Pop a Zantac and get over it, I guess.
See also
External links
- The LDS Church's home page
- Recovery from Mormonism, an ex-Mormon board dissecting the church's more bizarre culture and practices
- The Community of Christ, the former Reorganized LDS Church
Footnotes
- ↑ BBC report
- ↑ Usually the same sort of Catholic who views Protestants as heretics, and vice versa.
- ↑ Hardly a compelling theological argument, as the apparent lesson to be learned is that turning away from God keeps one from dying out.
- ↑ The "temple recommend" is a document issued by the believer's local church certifying said believer's worthiness to enter an LDS temple. Not all LDS Mormons carry them, for various reasons, though it is highly advised that church members obtain and keep them in good standing for the various ceremonies done in the temple, including temple weddings.
- ↑ It seems that in 1978 God decreed that BYU might wish to bring in some black athletes if they ever wanted to schedule another football game again.
- ↑ If you're in the mood for being a stubbon prick that likes to ask awkward questions and watch people squirm, this can be a very amusing way of passing the time.
- ↑ This is referred to within the church as milk before meat.