Christianity: Details about 'Mormonism'
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Mormonism is distinct from the Latter Day Saint movement in that it applies to a subset of the branches of that movement. The term Mormonism is also often used to refer specifically to the theology and subculture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is only one (though by far the largest) of the many church organizations that claim to be part of Mormonism. Other prominent churches include the Community of Christ, which sometimes distances itself from the term Mormonism, and the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Mormonism also includes numerous non-denominational adherents to the Latter Day Saint movement, and numerous cultural Mormons who are either non-religious or members of churches outside the Latter-day Saint movement. Most people who associate themselves with Mormonism may be respectfully called Latter Day Saints (or the hyphenated Latter-day Saints in reference to the largest denomination). Other generally acceptable terms include LDS, Saints, and Mormons, although members of some sects (including a few of those belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) prefer not to be identified as Mormons. A small minority object to the terms Mormon and Mormonism, due to their early use as offensive slurs.
Mormonism as a theologyAs a theology, Mormonism as a whole includes a highly diverse and eclectic cluster of religious beliefs. There is much in common with the Campbellite, Restorationist, and Universalist beliefs prevalent in the area where Joseph Smith was raised and where he began his ministry. Smith's theology was seen by contemporary Mormons as answering nearly all of the unresolved religious questions of his day. The bedrock Mormon belief, however, is the acceptance of modern prophecy; each individual may receive personal revelation to guide himself in his personal life, and certain people (prophets) have been divinely appointed to authoritatively speak the mind and will of God, as in Biblical times. Central to this theology is the belief that Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, was such a prophet. When asked in 1842 what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believed in, Joseph Smith wrote what is now known as the Articles of Faith. Though the Articles of Faith are not a complete representation of the beliefs of Mormonism, they do represent some fundamental beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Articles were intended to be a declaration of belief and not of practice, and as such they naturally fail to mention most Latter-day Saint ordinances, some of which are considered controversial by detractors of Mormonism. Typical Mormon doctrinesMormonism is based on belief in Jesus as the Messiah, in the Israelites as a covenant people, and in additional scripture such as the Book of Mormon; as a form of Restorationism, it professes a restoration to the earth of the original Church instituted by Christ himself and thought to have been lost in a Great Apostasy after the death of Christ. Consequently, it has had complex and uneasy relationships with both mainstream Christianity and mainstream Judaism, as discussed in Mormonism and Christianity and in Mormonism and Judaism. Nature of God
Jesus
SalvationThe Mormon concept of salvation includes more than the difference between living in heaven or being punished in hell. God will judge all men "according to their works, according to the desires of their hearts" (Doctrine & Covenants 137:9) to inherit one of three kingdoms of glory (1 Cor. 15:40; Doctrine & Covenants Section 76). Only those who outright choose Satan over God will be consigned to eternal hell. Some key doctrines relating to Mormon beliefs of salvation are listed below:
Pre-mortal life, human existence, and the afterlifeMormons generally believe the spirit passes through at least four stages of existence.
Scripture
Mormonisms' beliefs about other Christian and non-Christian religionsMormons believe that:
Polygamy and early MormonismMain article: Plural marriage. Publicly and privately, Joseph Smith, Jr. insisted that he had been required by God to follow the practice of plural marriage prior to his death. Joseph told Mary Rollins Lightner that an angel "came to me three times between the year of '34 and '42 and said I was to obey that principle or he would lay me." The practice was highly controversial before and after Joseph's death. As for his own personal feelings about plural marriage, no record from Smith himself has been found. Historians debate the real numbers but generally agree that between 1841 and 1843 Smith had married 28 to 33 women (Bushman, 440). Gouverneur Morris Professor of History, Emeritus at Columbia University, Dr. Richard Lyman Bushman recently has written: "Joseph himself said nothing about sex in these marriages." He goes on to explain that there were other "marriage experimenters" in those times that "focused on sexual relations" but Joseph "so far as can be told, never discussed the sexual component of marriage, save for his concern about adultery." (Bushman, 438-441.) Even Fawn Brodie, a critical author of Joseph Smith, said, "There was too much of the Puritan to be a careless libertine." (Brodie, 297.) Joseph Smith never publicly taught polygamy. However, the Church adopted the practice in 1852 when Orson Pratt, under the direction of Brigham Young (president of the Church at the time), publicly announced that the Church was practicing plural marriage under commandment of God. He further stated that the Church believed they had a constitutional right to practice polygamy, which view they held for decades. The United States government opposed polygamy for years but it was not until the Edmunds-Tucker Act of 1887 was enforced that the LDS Church began to abandon the practice. The Act officially dissolved The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a legal corporation, required the Church to forfeit to the government all property in excess of fifty thousand dollars, and stripped all Latter-day Saints of their voting rights, despite the fact that only a small percentage of members of the Church ever practiced polygamy. These provisions prompted the 1890 Manifesto which officially ended the practice of plural marriage among Latter-day Saints. Today, polygamy is still practiced by a number of small splinter organizations, that are not part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who disagree with the LDS Church in regard to the polygamy issue. See Polygamous Mormon Fundamentalists for an overview of some of these groups. Currently, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are excommunicated for practicing polygamy, even in parts of the world where polygamy is lawful and accepted. Historical Book of MormonSee also: Archaeology and the Book of Mormon, Linguistics and the Book of Mormon. The historicity of the Book of Mormon is currently an object of debate. The proponents of a historical Book of Mormon are almost exclusively adherents to Mormonism; those non-Mormons who find history in favour of the Book of Mormon usually convert (such as in the case of Father Jordan Vajda). Detractors of the historical efficacy of the Book of Mormon are typically non-mormon. Most of the modern works published by detractors are published by evangelical groups opposed to the theology of Mormonism. These books are frequently targeted at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and typically mischaracterize mormonism. Most of these authors come from the Christian countercult movement, who produce these works typically have a poor understanding of mormon theology and have . One recent example is a book by Grant Palmer, "An Insider's View of Mormon Origins." Grant Palmer is not in fact an "insider", the title was suggested by the publisher in order to increase sales (Louis Midgley, "Prying into Palmer," FARMS Review 15:2 (2003), 408.). Latter-day Saint apologists have reviewed and the work as they do for all such works. These books tend to drown out scholarship from non-biased academic sources. As a result, most adherents to mormonism completely ignore such works. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continues to strongly proclaim that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and the vast majority of Latter-day Saints believe the Book of Mormon is factual. Current scholarship by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is producing a different understanding of the Book of Mormon from what many of that sect have historically believed about the Book of Mormon. Many historic beliefs about the Book of Mormon, its peoples and its origins are being challenged by this scholarship, which is redefining some aspects of its historical nature. These new approaches to the Book of Mormon are creating some controversy within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as many members must re-evaluate their assumptions about the Book of Mormon. One historical belief about the Book of Mormon is the simplistic view that it is the history of all native americans, i.e. that all native americans are descendants of the prophet Lehi and those who came with him to the Americas. Current scholarship suggests that the Book of Mormon is the lineage history of only a small group of meso-americans which were the descendants of Lehi. The Book of Mormon suggests that there were other inhabitants in the Americas at the time of Lehi's arrival and that his descentants integrated into existing populations, perhaps providing leadership and influencing culture and religion. However, no DNA studies have yet suggested any semetic origins for meso-american people. ReferencesBranch pages
This needs completing in close cooperation with List of articles about Mormonism Ideally, this should be the Root page for that article, and it branches should stem from here See also
Mormonism Mormoniaeth Mormonismo Mormones مورمونها mormonisme モルモン教 몰몬교 Mormoni Mormonismi 摩门教
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