Mormonism: History and Basic Beliefs/Practices
History
- First Vision
When Joseph Smith was 14 there was a revival in his hometown, and there was some fighting between different denominations. Joseph didn’t know which denomination was right, and he read in James that if a man lacked wisdom he should ask God for wisdom. He decided to try that to see if it would work. He went out into the woods to pray. He had never prayed out loud before. As he prayed, he felt some kind of demon presence around him and he thought he would die. Then, he saw a pillar of light above his head, and the presence seemed to leave, and he saw two persons, and one said, “This is my beloved son, hear him.” Joseph then asked which denomination he should join, and Jesus said none of them, for they were all wrong and they were an abomination in his sight. Rather, he had been chosen to restore the true church to the world, which because of apostasy shortly after the apostle’s death no longer existed on the earth. This apostasy was due to the fact that God removed the power of the priesthood and prophets from the earth.
- Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon
Joseph Smith had another vision while lying in bed a few years after his first vision (1823). An angel named Moroni came to him while he was in bed one night praying to God. Moroni told him about a book that was written on gold plates that was buried in the earth. It contained an account of former inhabitants of the Americas. It also contained the true Gospel message that was given to these people. Also in the chest with the book was the Urim and Thummim, clear stones that he could use like glasses to translate the book. Moroni then quoted several Old Testament passages with variations in some of the verses. Then he forbade Joseph from showing the gold plates or Urim and Thummim to anyone unless he was commanded to. Then Moroni left, but he came back in a couple of minutes and gave the exact same message, and added that there was going to be judgment upon the earth with famine, sword, and pestilence in that generation. He then left, and appeared for a third time, giving the same message, but warning that Satan would try to tempt Joseph into getting the plates merely for money. Then he left, and it was morning.
The next day after fainting he was commanded to tell his father about the visions, and his father told him to go and find the plates. After he found the chest he tried to take the plates and Urim and Thummim but Moroni forbade him and told him he would have to come back to the same spot every year for four years before he could get the things. After he finally got the plates, he went to the work of translating them. He would wear the Urim and Thummim as glasses and would be able to understand what the ancient writing was saying. He finished the translation three years later, and the book that he finished is the Book of Mormon, named after an ancient prophet who compiled the gold plates.
In 1829, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood from John the Baptist, which includes the authority to baptize. Later, Peter, James, and John came and restored the Melchizedek Priesthood, which was the same as the authority given to the Apostles. Joseph Smith then used this authority to reinstitute the true church, “The Church of Christ” (later changed to “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints”), on earth on April 6, 1830, which is referred to as the beginning of The Restoration.
- Brigham Young
In 1844, Joseph Smith was placed in jail under charges related to the wrecking of the Nauvoo Expositor, a newspaper exposing the polygamous practices of the church. While waiting for the trial in Carthage, IL, Smith was murdered during an uprising and made an unwilling martyr for his religion. Brigham Young was accepted as the next leader in the church, and ruled for thirty years. It was under his leadership that the Latter-Day Saints trekked to Salt Lake City, UT, where they have been headquartered ever since.
- Current Membership
There are currently 13 million missionaries worldwide, and the church is growing by about 1 million every three years
The current president, Thomas S. Monson, now carries the prophetic mantle which was passed down from Joseph Smith to Brigham Young, and through all the former presidents of the church.
There are currently over 50,000 Mormon missionaries around the world. They are normally between 19-21 years of age, and serve as missionaries from 18 months to 2 years. They are not supported by the church, but support themselves during this period.
Basic Beliefs/Practices
- Scriptures
There are four books that are considered Scripture.
The Bible: The KJV is accepted, though it has some errors that have slipped in
The Book of Mormon: another Testament of Jesus Christ, a record of God’s dealings with the inhabitants of ancient America.
The Doctrine and Covenants: a collection of divine revelations and inspired declarations given for the establishment and regulation of the Church of Jesus Christ in the last days.
The Pearl of Great Price: a selection of revelations, translations, and writings of Joseph Smith.
- God (Heavenly Father)
God was originally a man like us that lived on another planet, but has grown so much that now he is a god, and the head god. He has a body of flesh and bones. He is referred to as Heavenly Father.
“The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us” (Doctrines and Covenants 130:22)
- Origin of Man
The Mormons believe that all people existed before their birth as spirit-children of God, Heavenly Father, in heaven, near the star Kolob. All people were born from Heavenly Father and his wife, Heavenly Mother. But in order to progress more fully and become like God, people had to come to take a body and come to earth. When people accepted God’s plan of salvation, they were born. However, you do not remember your pre-earth life while you are on earth.
“Before you began your life on Earth, you lived with your Heavenly Father as one of His spirit children. Although it was a joyful existence, God knew that you could not continue to progress unless you left Him for a time… The purpose of the plan is to help you become more like your Heavenly Father. The fact that you are living on Earth means that you accepted Heavenly Father’s plan and came here wanting to do all you could to receive all He has to offer.” (“God Has A Plan For Your Life” http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/heavenly-father-s-plan-of-happiness/god-has-a-plan-for-your-life)
- Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the only flesh child of Heavenly Father (everyone else is a spirit child.) He is also our elder spirit brother, and a spirit brother of Lucifer. He also has a body of flesh and bones. He was sent down to earth to live a perfect life and die to atone for sins. He is now a god also. He not only appeared in the record in the Bible, but also to a people here in America recorded in the Book of Mormon.
“Jesus also married Mary and Martha and the other Mary at Cana of Galilee, ‘Whereby he could see his seed, before he was crucified’” (Apostle Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses, 4:259; 2:82)
- Holy Spirit
He is a separate god from the other two gods. He does not have a body of flesh and bones, otherwise he could not dwell in us to comfort and guide us.
“but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us” (Doctrines and Covenants 130:22)
- Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were the first two spirit-children to come to earth. When they came, they could still enjoy God’s presence. God told them not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in order to test them. If they passed this test, they could live on earth forever, but they would not progress and become more like God, because they needed to face opposition and experience pain and suffering. Thus, it was necessary for them to sin. Once they sinned, they could now have children and provide physical bodies for the rest of the spirit-children in heaven. However, no one will be punished for Adam’s sin.
- Salvation
The Mormons claim to have the answers to three key questions: Where did I come from? What is my purpose? Where will I go when I die? The first question is answered by people’s pre-existence as spirit children. Although they were happy as spirit children in heaven, Heavenly Father knew that they had stopped progressing. The only way for them to continue to progress and become like Heavenly Father was to become human and learn to make choices between good and evil. However, everyone makes mistakes on earth, so Heavenly Father sent Jesus to earth to die as atonement for our sins. There are four things that you must do to gain salvation. You must have faith, repent, be baptized, and keep the commandments. Then you will be able to live with Heavenly Father when you die. However, every person is saved in the sense that they will live forever, and that is what Jesus death brought about. Christ’s death paid for Adam’s sin and enables all people to be resurrected. All you have to pay for is your own sin. However, there are also some sins that Christ’s death cannot pay for which you will have to shed some of your own blood in order to atone for it.
- Baptism
In order to gain eternal life through the church, you must be baptized. Baptism cleans you from your sin and gives you spiritual birth.
Mormons also practice baptism for the dead, where you can be baptized by proxy in a temple for a deceased family member. If the deceased family member chooses to accept this baptism, he/she will live with the other family members in heaven. Since Mormons believe that all people will get a second chance to hear the gospel while they are in the spirit world after death, even those who died before the church was “restored” will have an opportunity to accept the Mormon teaching. However, baptism is still necessary, and since these people are now spirits and do not have bodies, it is necessary for someone else to be baptized by proxy in order for the person to be fully saved.
- Resurrection
When people die, they go to be in the spirit world. However, Christ’s death means all people will be united with their bodies again, which is caused resurrection. They will live forever. Thus all people are given the gift of immortality (but not all people will receive eternal life, which is living with God forever with eternal families)
- Heaven
There are three levels of heaven: the Celestial Kingdom where faithful Mormons can continue to progress to become gods or angels, the Terrestial Kingdom for non-mormons who lived righteous lives (a part of God’s glory but not his fullness) and the Telestial Kingdom for those who were wicked. Hell is not a permanent place, but merely a place where people remain for a period of time to pay for their sins.
- Commandments to be kept
It is very important to keep the commandments given from Joseph Smith in the Scriptures he gave. Included in these commandments are keeping the Sabbath, which means Mormons must go to church and refrain from other activities on Sunday; eating/drinking healthily according to the Word of Wisdom, which means refraining from tobacco, alcohol, coffee and tea, and harmful, habit-forming drugs; and tithing, or giving 10% of your income to the Mormon Church. Mormons are also encouraged to give “fast offerings” where they give up 2 meals on one Sunday each month and donate the money from those meals to the church to help feed the needy.
- Temples
Mormon Temples are used for eternally binding marriages and baptism for the dead. In order to facilitate these baptisms, the Mormon Church is actively involved in determining family genealogies.
Only those who are temple worthy are allowed to enter the temple, which means you must follow the commandments in order to enter the temple (word of wisdom, tithes, etc.)
Mormon Temples are used for eternally binding marriages and baptism for the dead. In order to facilitate these baptisms, the Mormon Church is actively involved in researching family genealogies
I. History
a. First Vision
Exp- When Joseph Smith was 14 there was a revival in his hometown, and there was some fighting between different denominations. Joseph didn’t know which denomination was right, and he read in James that if a man lacked wisdom he should ask God for wisdom. He decided to try that to see if it would work. He went out into the woods to pray. He had never prayed out loud before. As he prayed, he felt some kind of demon presence around him and he thought he would die. Then, he saw a pillar of light above his head, and the presence seemed to leave, and he saw two persons, and one said, “This is my beloved son, hear him.” Joseph then asked which denomination he should join, and Jesus said none of them, for they were all wrong and they were an abomination in his sight. Rather, he had been chosen to restore the true church to the world, which because of apostasy shortly after the apostle’s death no longer existed on the earth. This apostasy was due to the fact that God removed the power of the priesthood and prophets from the earth.
b. Joseph Smith
Exp- Joseph Smith had another vision while lying in bed a few years after his first vision (1823). An angel named Moroni came to him while he was in bed one night praying to God. Moroni told him about a book that was written on gold plates that was buried in the earth. It contained an account of former inhabitants of the Americas. It also contained the true Gospel message that was given to these people. Also in the chest with the book was the Urim and Thummim, clear stones that he could use like glasses to translate the book. Moroni then quoted several Old Testament passages with variations in some of the verses. Then he forbade Joseph from showing the gold plates or Urim and Thummim to anyone unless he was commanded to. Then Moroni left, but he came back in a couple of minutes and gave the exact same message, and added that there was going to be judgment upon the earth with famine, sword, and pestilence in that generation. He then left, and appeared for a third time, giving the same message, but warning that Satan would try to tempt Joseph into getting the plates merely for money. Then he left, and it was morning. The next day after fainting he was commanded to tell his father about the visions, and his father told him to go and find the plates. After he found the chest he tried to take the plates and Urim and Thummim but Moroni forbade him and told him he would have to come back to the same spot every year for four years before he could get the things. After he finally got the plates, he went to the work of translating them. He would wear the Urim and Thummim as glasses and would be able to understand what the ancient writing was saying. He finished the translation three years later, and the book that he finished is the Book of Mormon, named after an ancient prophet who compiled the gold plates.
In 1829, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood from John the Baptist, which includes the authority to baptize. Later, Peter, James, and John came and restored the Melchizedek Priesthood, which was the same as the authority given to the Apostles. Joseph Smith then used this authority to reinstitute the true church, “The Church of Christ” (later changed to “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints”), on earth on April 6, 1830, which is referred to as the beginning of The Restoration.
c. Brigham Young
In 1844, Joseph Smith was placed in jail under charges related to the wrecking of the Nauvoo Expositor, a newspaper exposing the polygamous practices of the church. While waiting for the trial in Carthage, IL, Smith was murdered during an uprising and made an unwilling martyr for his religion. Brigham Young was accepted as the next leader in the church, and ruled for thirty years. It was under his leadership that the Latter-Day Saints trekked to Salt Lake City, UT, where they have been headquartered ever since.
d. Current Membership (13 million, and growing by about 1 million every three years)
The current president, Thomas S. Monson, now carries the prophetic mantle passed down from Joseph Smith to Brigham Young, and through all the former presidents of the church.
e. Missionaries
There are currently over 50,000 Mormon missionaries around the world. They are normally between 19-21 years of age, and serve as missionaries from 18 months to 2 years. They are not supported by the church, but support themselves during this period.
II. Basic Beliefs
a. Scriptures
Exp- There are four books that are considered Scripture. The Bible,
The Book of Mormon: another Testament of Jesus Christ, a record of God’s dealings with the inhabitants of ancient America.
The Doctrine and Covenants, a collection of divine revelations and inspired declarations given for the establishment and regulation of the Church of Jesus Christ in the last days.
The Pearl of Great Price, a selection of revelations, translations, and writings of Joseph Smith.
b. God
Exp- God was originally a man like us that lived on another planet, but has grown so much that now he is a god, and the head god. He has a body of flesh and bones. He is referred to as Heavenly Father.
“The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us” (Doctrines and Covenants 130:22)
c. Origin of Man
Exp- The Mormons believe that all people existed before their birth as spirit-children of God, Heavenly Father, in heaven, near the star Kolob. All people were born from Heavenly Father and his wife, Heavenly Mother. But in order to progress more fully and become like God, people had to come to take a body and come to earth. When people accepted God’s plan of salvation, they were born. However, you do not remember your pre-earth life while you are on earth.
“Before you began your life on Earth, you lived with your Heavenly Father as one of His spirit children. Although it was a joyful existence, God knew that you could not continue to progress unless you left Him for a time… The purpose of the plan is to help you become more like your Heavenly Father. The fact that you are living on Earth means that you accepted Heavenly Father’s plan and came here wanting to do all you could to receive all He has to offer.” (“God Has A Plan For Your Life” http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/heavenly-father-s-plan-of-happiness/god-has-a-plan-for-your-life)
d. Jesus Christ
Exp- Jesus Christ is the only flesh child of Heavenly Father (everyone else is a spirit child.) He is also our elder spirit brother, and a spirit brother of Lucifer. He also has a body of flesh and bones. He was sent down to earth to live a perfect life and die to atone for sins. He is now a god also. He not only appeared in the record in the Bible, but also to a people here in America recorded in the Book of Mormon.
“Jesus also married Mary and Martha and the other Mary at Cana of Galilee, “Whereby he could see his seed, before he was crucified”” (Apostle Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses, 4:259; 2:82)
e. Holy Spirit
Exp- He is a separate god from the other two gods. He does not have a body of flesh and bones, otherwise he could not dwell in us to comfort and guide us.
“but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us” (Doctrines and Covenants 130:22)
f. Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were the first two spirit-children to come to earth. When they came, they could still enjoy God’s presence. God told them not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in order to test them. If they passed this test, they could live on earth forever, but they would not progress and become more like God, because they needed to face opposition and experience pain and suffering. Thus, it was necessary for them to sin. Once they sinned, they could now have children and provide physical bodies for the rest of the spirit-children in heaven. However, no one will be punished for Adam’s sin.
g. Salvation
Exp- The Mormons claim to have the answers to three key questions: Where did I come from? What is my purpose? Where will I go when I die? The first question is answered by people’s pre-existence as spirit children. Although they were happy as spirit children in heaven, Heavenly Father knew that they had stopped progressing. The only way for them to continue to progress and become like Heavenly Father was to become human and learn to make choices between good and evil. However, everyone makes mistakes on earth, so Heavenly Father sent Jesus to earth to die as atonement for our sins. There are four things that you must do to gain salvation. You must have faith, repent, be baptized, and keep the commandments. Then you will be able to live with Heavenly Father when you die. However, every person is saved in the sense that they will live forever, and that is what Jesus death brought about. Christ’s death paid for Adam’s sin and enables all people to be resurrected. All you have to pay for is your own sin. However, there are also some sins that Christ’s death cannot pay for which you will have to shed some of your own blood in order to atone for it.
h. Baptism
In order to gain eternal life through the church, you must be baptized. Baptism cleans you from your sin and gives you spiritual birth.
Mormons also practice baptism for the dead, where you can be baptized by proxy in a temple for a deceased family member. If the deceased family member chooses to accept this baptism, he/she will live with the other family members in heaven. Since Mormons believe that all people will get a second chance to hear the gospel while they are in the spirit world after death. However, baptism is still necessary, and since these people are now spirits and do not have bodies, it is necessary for someone else to be baptized by proxy in order for the person to be fully saved.
i. Resurrection
When people die, they go to be in the spirit world. However, Christ’s death means all people will be united with their bodies again, which is caused resurrection. They will live forever. Thus all people are given the gift of immortality (but not all people will receive eternal life, which is living with God forever with eternal families)
j. Heaven
Exp- There are three levels of heaven: the Celestial Kingdom where faithful Mormons can continue to progress to become gods or angels, the Terrestial Kingdom for non-mormons who lived righteous lives (a part of God’s glory but not his fullness) and the Telestial Kingdom for those who were wicked. Hell is not a permanent place, but merely a place where people remain for a period of time to pay for their sins.
k. Commandments to be kept
It is very important to keep the commandments given from Joseph Smith in the Scriptures he gave. Included in these commandments are keeping the Sabbath, which means Mormons must go to church and refrain from other activities on Sunday; eating/drinking healthily according to the Word of Wisdom, which means refraining from tobacco, alcohol, coffee and tea, and harmful, habit-forming drugs; and tithing, or giving 10% of your income to the Mormon Church. Mormons are also encouraged to give “fast offerings” where they give up 2 meals on one Sunday each month and donate the money from those meals to the church to help feed the needy.
l. Temples
Mormon Temples are used for eternally binding marriages and baptism for the dead. In order to facilitate these baptisms, the Mormon Church is actively involved in determining family genealogies.
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