| Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints is also known as the 'ILDS Church I' or the "Mormons". They consider themselves to be a restoration of the original church of the Apostles as it existed in the Ist Century CE. Many Gentiles (non-Mormons) consider them to be a unique conservative denomination within Protestant Christianity, who have supplemented traditional Christianity with beliefs concerning an ancient American civilization and additional revelations from God. Others consider the LDS church to be a deviant cult pretending to be Christian, while denying many traditional beliefs. AlJ agree that it is one of the largest and most successful religious groups ever started North America. They have approximately 9 million members world-wide, in over 20,000 churches spread across 150 countries. Their total membership has at least doubled every 15 years since 1945. Some of this gain is due to the large average size of their families. However, most of the increase consists of converts to the LDS church from other Christian denominations. Their geographical base is in the state of Utah in the US, where more than 70% of the population are Mormon. In spite of their strong belief in chastity before marriage and in the importance of close family ties, the rates of child abuse, divorce, suicide and teenage pregnancy in Utah are above the average for the United States (1 ). History of the Movement The Mormons have had a fascinating and turbulent history .Its founder was Joseph Smith (1805-1844), a resident of Palmyra NY. His family of origin were called "Seekers" -Christians who were not affiliated with a church, but which respected the teachings of all denominations. In his teens, his mother and most of the rest of the family converted to Presbyterianism. However, Joseph was deeply troubled by the multiplicity of Christian sects; he wondered which was the "true" Christian religion. He received his First Vision at the age of 14. God and Jesus Christ told Joseph that all of the Christian sects and denominations were in error and that he should not join any of them. At the age of 17, he received three visitations from Moroni (some texts say Nephi) at the time of the Autumn Equinox. The angel revealed to Joseph the location of golden tablets on which was written the history of two early American tribes. He went to the site and found: - a breastplate, such as might have been worn by an ancient Israelite - golden plates upon which ancient American authors Ether, Mormon, Lehi and Nephi had recorded additions to Biblical history - the Urim and Thummim. These were two "stones in silver bows" which appear in Numbers 27:21 and 1 Samuel 28:6 of the Hebrew Scriptures. They were apparently devices (perhaps in the form of flat stones) that the high priest consulted to determine the will of God. They might have worked something like a pair of dice. Smith claimed that the stones had magical powers; he was able to look through the stones and thereby translate the unknown script on the golden plates into English D a copy of the book of Exodus - brass plates upon which another author, Laban, had quoted from Hebrew Scriptures and recorded genealogies. However, he was not permitted to remove the plates at that time. He was instructed to return to the spot at each Autumn Equinox. Four years later, he was finally allowed to take possession of the material. A friend of Smith, Martin Harris, attempted to authenticate the tablets by taking copies of some of the inscriptions to Professor Charles Anthon and is said to have received verbal confirmation that the tablets were written in reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics. No such language exists. Prof. Anton later denied making this statement, and wrote that the symbols that he saw were a combination of Greek, Hebrew, inverted or sideways Roman letters, and elements from a Mexican calendar . Joseph Smith positioned himself behind a curtain and used the special stones to translate the inscriptions on the golden plates. Emma Smith, Martin Harris and Oliver Cowdery served at various times as a scribe. A 116 page Book of Lehi was translated over a two month interval. Unfortunately, Martin Harris showed the only copies to his wife who promptly "lost" them. Lucy Harris was a skeptic, and there is speculation that she believed the book to be a fraud. By forcing Smith to retranslate the book, she hoped to demonstrate discrepancies between the two versions, thus proving that the book was a hoax. God was so angry at this loss that He temporarily took away the special stones. Smith later translated the plates of Nephi which described the same events as the Book of Lehi. Later, John the Baptist appeared to Smith and Cowdery, investing them in the Aaronic Priesthood showing them how to baptize each other by total immersion in water, and commissioning them as the first two elders of the new church. Still later, the Apostles Peter, James and John invested Smith and Cowdery in the Melchizedec priesthood. Smith and a small band of followers first moved to Kirtland (near Cleveland OH) and later to Jackson County, MO, which he called Zion. The church was heavily persecuted, largely because the non-Mormons believed that the church was promoting the establishment ofa religious dictatorship (a theocracy) and polygamy (marriages with multiple wives). They were also distressed at the Mormon's belief that the Book of Mormon was the revealed work of God, with the same status as the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. In spite of the opposition, the church increased greatly in numbers. Their homes were destroyed; many Mormons died while trying to survive winter without adequate shelter. They were expelled from Jackson County and settled in Far West, MO, in Caldwell County which had been reserved for them. A group of Mormons, called Danites was formed as a combined army and secret police to defend the church and to identify backsliders. They created the concept of blood atonement in which a person guilty ofmajor sins is ritually killed, and their blood spilled on the earth. To this day, Utah allows convicted murderers to choose to be killed by firing squad so that their blood can fall upon the earth. |
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