Mormonism Topic

[yorky]

Okay, I'll go for it. The way I'll do it is present information little bits at a time (I could go on forever, pretty much), respond to comments, and answer questions when asked. Be sure to read the conditions* at the bottom of this post before responding. Here we go.

Intoduction
Mormonism, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is a church of around 12 million members. It is a Christian church, but it differentiates from mainstream Christianity in many ways (I'll get into this later). Known as a Restoration Church, it is believed by members to be a restoration of the Christian church of the first century, as the original church is believed to have fallen into Apostasy when the last of the original Apostles of the church died. This point between the death of the Apostles to the point of the restoration of the CoJCoLDS (formerly known as the Church of Christ) on April 6, 1830, by the Prophet Joseph Smith Jr. is known as the Great Apostasy, a point of time when the fullness of the Gospel was not on the Earth.

Now, the restoration of the Church is believed to have been set in motion when Joseph Smith Jr, at the age of 14, prayed to God to know which of the sects was correct. His account of this event can be found here. From this event and the ones that followed came the Book of Mormon, the restoration of the Priesthood, and countless other revelations regarding the Plan of Salvation, the pre-mortal existence, and so on (all of which I'll go more in depth on in a bit).

For now, here are the basic beliefs of the LDS church, known as the Articles of Faith:

1 We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
2 We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.
3 We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
4 We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
5 We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6 We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
7 We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
8 We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
9 We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
10 We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisaical glory.
11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
13 We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paulâ€â€

 

[voice-]

Little advice, change the topic heading to something that actually describes your topic. "Are you interested in a topic discussing Mormonism?" gives a lot more information than "A Question".

I do enjoy reading more about the differences and similarities between religions and communities, but at the moment Wikipedia is my tutor on things like this. Would give your topic a read though.

 

[Shaft]

you could probably go a long way in clearing up a lot of misconceptions especially concerning polygamy. I always here people relate polygamy to Mormons and even though i am not Mormon myself it still bothers me since Mormons are not polygamists.

 

[used44]

Go for it. If there's no interest, the topic will die. If people don't want to discuss Mormonism, they can not go in the topic.

It's all pretty simple. Just do it.

 

[yorky]

^ Okay, I'll just go for it. I didn't want to start a topic that nobody would be interested in, but if even a few are willing to participate, I'm satisfied. I'll edit this topic.

 

[TheNesMan]

There's a commercial that is always running on TBS for me that is about the church of the latter day saints and i absolutely abhor it. Everytime it comes on i want to blow my head off. Other than that, i don't know much about mormonism.

 

[Frodo_Bag_Feet]

Mormons are the ones that wear dress clothes and ride on bicycles right?

 

[Shaft]

^i think you may be thinking of the Amish?

 

[Frodo_Bag_Feet]

No, They come and knock on your doors, and ask you if you have been saved. They can be really annoying at times (No offense to TC)

I'm not sure if it was jehovah witnesses, or mormons

Pretty sure it's mormoms though
http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/dail ... _life.html

 

[Shaft]

jehovah witnesses get dressed up and knock on your door and ask you if you want to read a copy of The Watchtower

 

[yorky]

I guess now before I log off for the day, I'll list some noteworthy LDS members and a brief description of them.

Historical Figures:
Joseph Smith Jr - Prophet of the Restoration, he did just that.
Brigham Young - Second Prophet of the Church. Led the Saints West to Utah to escape persecution in the Midwest. (Known especially for polygamy).
Oliver Cowdery - Scribe, one of the three witnesses that testify of the authenticity of the Book of Mormon.
Martin Harris - One of the three witnesses.
David Whitmer - One of the three witnesses.
Hyrum Smith - Joseph Smith's elder brother, fellow leader of the Church.
William Wines Phelps - Assistant President of church, renowned hymn writer.
Emma Smith - Joseph Smith's wife.

Present-Day Figures:
Gordon B. Hinckley - Current Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Thomas S. Monson - Member of the 1st Presidency (1st Counselor)
James E. Faust - Member of the 1st Presidency (2nd Counselor)
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

For pretty much everything I'm going to say in this topic at one point or another, check out the following websites:
Mormon Wiki - Huge database, as are all Wiki's. Still incomplete, but there are around 1000 articles.
LDS.org - The Church's official website.
LDS Scriptures - The Church's canonized scriptures.
Mormon Apologetics & Discussion Boards - Same as the link in my signature. Tough, in depth stuff here. I rarely post as I feel a bit intimidated by the intelligence of the posters there (in general). Made up of college professors and scholars, as well as some very well-informed normal people.
Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research - Full of essays and other interesting stuff...
Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies - More essays and information.

Anyways, I doubt any of you will look at all of these unless you're completely captivated by the religion. There's way more than I know included in all of this, but I'm working on it. Anyways, stick to the topic if you want simplicity, because that's what I intend to deliver (in time).

 

[yorky]

No, They come and knock on your doors, and ask you if you have been saved. They can be really annoying at times (No offense to TC)

I'm not sure if it was jehovah witnesses, or mormons

Pretty sure it's mormoms though
[/img]

There are Mormon missionaries, as well as Jehovah Witnesses that go door-to-door. The JW are probably the ones that ask you if you want to be saved, while the Mormons are usually around the ages of 19 or 20, have a tag on their shirt that says "Elder (Last Name)," and tend to offer a Book of Mormon. Most worthy young men, and some young women, go on a mission for two years starting at the age of 19 (next year for me).

All you have to do is say you aren't interested, and they should go away. After 2 years, they won't be offended to have a door closed on them.

 

[Dobby2244]

if people had a question they could easily look it up online or pm you, if no one on the boards didnt know you were mormon, they should be hung because you seem to mention it in every post, modest mormon.. youve started your mission a year early

 

[Nefro]

Actually, I'm glad you've started a topic to describe the religion. I've always been interested in it, but it gets a bad reputation, so most of what I read is biased.

 

[voice-]

yorky, what are your views on women's rights? I mean the religion was founded in the 19th century, and the world was a different place then. Have you adopted a more politically correct view of gender equality, or have you stuck to the old ways?

 

[yorky]

yorky, what are your views on women's rights? I mean the religion was founded in the 19th century, and the world was a different place then. Have you adopted a more politically correct view of gender equality, or have you stuck to the old ways?

I believe in women's rights, and the church has always seemed to as well. When making decisions, women have always been there to give advice and to vote on the decisions. Though women can't hold the priesthood, they serve other vital roles within the church.

The Relief Society, which is the women's organization within the church, began in 1842. It's run by and for women, and today is the world's largest women's organization, with 5.2 million members in over 170 different countries.

Also, Utah (run almost exclusively by Mormons at the time) granted women the right to vote in 1870, but Congress revoked this right until Utah was finally admitted as a state in 1895, making it the 2nd or 3rd state to allow voting for women (beaten by Wyoming in 1890, though Utah would've been first if it had been admitted as a state earlier).

Women (and men) are also encouraged to get an education, and the amount of women within the church with a college education may have surpassed the men recently (not positive, but it's certainly close).

There have been some who say that women should deserve the Priesthood, and the Church leadership is primarily made up of men (save for the Relief Society and Primary leadership), but these concerns are pretty secluded. Personally, I've always been taught that men and women are equals, and, to be honest, to treat women with an extra amount of respect.

 

[coldeath]

I appreciate the Mormons dedication to what they believe. I do not appreciate that they call themselves Christians, since they take a far left hook with the book they wrote. The same way that it bugs me that catholics try to hop on the Christian train, when they think Mary was perfect, and basically worship Mary as being God. By the way, have you guys noticed how Catholics "see" pictures of Mary in EVERYTHING lately? There was a burn mark on a lunch room pan in a school, and it looked like a circle, which is obviously Mary. Now the pan sits in one of their shrines.

 

[Chris_Crime]

Endless Celestial Sex

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.sw ... 9761&hl=en

 

[voice-]

I appreciate the Mormons dedication to what they believe. I do not appreciate that they call themselves Christians, since they take a far left hook with the book they wrote.

If you believe Jesus Christ was the son of God and the savior of man, you are Chrstian. Can't see how they are less Christian than anyone else. Think of the Bible as the constitution and the Book of Mormon as amendments.

Back on topic, your Articles of Faith #10 says Zion will be built on the American continent. How does this sit with the international community? You post impressive numbers, but how big is your faith outside of America?

 

[yorky]

Endless Celestial Sex

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.sw ... 9761&hl=en

Lol! Is that the Godmakers? If it is, it's about as stupid and as inaccurate as I've heard it is. Full of partial truths and lies, pretty much. Good for a nice laugh, however. :lol:


voice-,

I don't think it's been a problem with the international community. Early missionary work in England and other European countries brought thousands of converts, most of which came to America themselves. The same is not true today, as Europeans have different attitudes about religion nowadays.

However, the majority of church membership is outside of the United States, with approximately 20% of the membership being outside of the Americas altogether (1/3 of the membership is from Mexico and South America). I think the Philippines are up there in membership, as are some of the Pacific islands. China hasn't been open to missionary work yet, but it has good relations with the Church, so I wouldn't be surprised if it opened up at some time.

Anyways, that's all that I know off the top of my head (and a bit of research).