Mormon is a religious and cultural group associated with Mormonism, the main branch of the Latter-day Saint movement of the Christianity of the Restoration, initiated by Joseph Smith in northern New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the Mormons followed Brigham Young to the territory that would become the Utah Territory. Today, most Mormons are understood to be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Some Mormons are also independent or not practicing. The center of Mormon cultural influence is in Utah, and North America has more Mormons than any other continent, although the majority of Mormons live outside the United States.
Mormons have developed a strong sense of commonality derived from their doctrine and history. During the nineteenth century, converted Mormons tended to converge to central geographic locations, and between 1852 and 1890, a minority of Mormons openly practiced plural marriage, a form of religious polygamy. Mormons devote much time and resources to serving in their church, and many young Mormons choose to serve a full-time mission mission. Mormons have health codes that keep alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea, and other addictive substances away. They tend to be very family-oriented and have strong relations across generations and with extended families, reflecting their belief that families can be sealed together beyond death. Mormons also have strict laws of chastity, which require abstention from sexual relations outside of heterosexual marriage and marriage allegiance.
Mormons identify themselves as Christians, though some non-Mormons regard Mormons as non-Christians and some of their beliefs are different from mainstream Christianity. The Mormons believe in the Bible, as well as other scriptures, such as the Book of Mormon. They have a unique cosmological view and believe that everyone is God's spirit children. Mormon believes that returning to God requires following the example of Jesus Christ, and accepts his redemption through ordinances such as baptism. They believe that the church of Christ was restored through Joseph Smith and guided by living prophets and apostles. The central Faith to Mormon is the belief that God speaks to his children and answers their prayers.
Due to their high birth and conversion rates, Mormon populations have grown significantly in recent decades. The number of members in 1971 was 3,090,953 and now in 2017 based on the Annual Report, there are 15,882,417 worldwide.
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Terminology
The word "Mormon" most often refers to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) because of their belief in the Book of Mormon, though members often refer to themselves as Latter-day Saints > or sometimes just the Saints . The term "Mormon" has been embraced by most followers of Mormonism, especially Mormon fundamentalists, while other Latter-day denominations, such as the Community of Christ, have rejected it. Both members of the LDS Church (or "Latter-day Saint") and members of the fundamentalist group generally use the word "Mormon" to refer to themselves. The LDS Church, however, disagrees with this self-characterization, and encourages the use of the word "Mormon" to refer only to members of the LDS Church. Church leaders also encourage members to use the church's full name to emphasize its focus on Jesus Christ.
The word "Mormon" is often associated with polygamy (or plural marriage), which is a practice that distinguishes many early Mormons; However, it was left by the LDS Church in 1890 and was stopped for the next 15 years. Today, polygamy is practiced in Mormonism only by those who have violated the LDS Church.
Maps Mormons
History
Mormon history has shaped them into people with a strong sense of unity and commonality. From the beginning, Mormons have tried to establish what they call "Zion", a utopian society of godly people. The history of Mormon can be divided into three broad periods of time: (1) early history during the lifetime of Joseph Smith, (2) "pioneer times" under the leadership of Brigham Young and his successors; and (3) the beginning of the modern era around the turn of the twentieth century. 20. In the first period, Smith had tried literally to build a city called Zion, where the converts could gather. During the pioneering era, Sion became a "village landscape" in Utah. In modern times, Sion is still ideal, although Mormons gather together in their own congregations rather than the central geographical location.
Beginning
Mormons trace their origins to the vision Joseph Smith reported in the early 1820s while living in upstate New York. In 1823, Smith said an angel directed him to a buried book written on gold plates containing the religious history of the ancients. Smith published what he said as the translation of the plates in March 1830 as the Book of Mormon, named after Mormon, the ancient historians who compiled the book. On April 6, 1830, Smith founded the Church of Christ. The early church grew westward as Smith sent missionaries to apostolate. In 1831, the church moved to Kirtland, Ohio where missionaries had made large numbers of converts and Smith began to set up a outpost in Jackson County, Missouri, where he planned to eventually build the city of Zion (or New Jerusalem). In 1833, Missouri settlers, alarmed by the rapid influx of Mormons, drove them from Jackson County to nearby Clay County, where the locals were more hospitable. After Smith led a mission, known as Zion's Camp, to restore the land, he began building the Kirtland Temple in Lake County, Ohio, where the church flourished. When Mormon Missouri was then asked to leave Clay County in 1836, they acquired land in the area that would become Caldwell County.
The Kirtland era ended in 1838, after a church-sponsored anti-bank failure led to extensive defections, and Smith rejoined the remaining church in Far West, Missouri. During the autumn of 1838, tensions escalated into the Mormon War with the old settlers of Missouri. On October 27, the governor of Missouri ordered that Mormons "should be treated as enemies" and exterminated or expelled from the state. Between November and April, about eight thousand Mormon refugees migrated east to Illinois.
In 1839, the Mormons bought a small trading town, changed the swamps on the banks of the Mississippi River, and renamed the Nauvoo area, Illinois, and began construction of the Nauvoo Temple. The city became the new headquarters and gathering place of the church, and it grew rapidly, partly driven by converts from Europe. Meanwhile, Smith introduced temple ceremonies intended to seal the family together for eternity, as well as the doctrines of eternal progress or exaltation, and plural marriage. Smith created a service organization for women called the Relief Society, as well as an organization called the Council of the Fifty, representing the theodemocratic "Kingdom of God" in the future on earth. Smith also published the story of the First Vision, in which the Father and Son appeared to him when he was about 14 years old. This vision will be regarded by some Mormons as the most important event in human history after the birth, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In 1844, local prejudices and political tensions, fueled by Mormon's peculiarities and internal dissent, escalated into conflict between Mormon and "anti-Mormon". On June 27, 1844, Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed by mobs in Carthage, Illinois. Because Hyrum was Smith's logical successor, their deaths caused a succession crisis, and Brigham Young took over the leadership of the majority of Latter-day Saints. Young has been a close associate of Smith and became a senior apostle of the Quorum of the Twelve. Smaller Latter-day Saint groups follow other leaders to form other denominations of the Latter-day Saint movement.
The pioneer era
For two years after Smith's death, the conflict escalated between Mormon and other Illinois citizens. To prevent the war, Brigham Young led the Mormon pioneers (who were mostly Latter-day Saints) to temporary winter spaces in Nebraska and later, finally (beginning in 1847), into what became the Utah Territory. Having failed to build Zion within the boundaries of American society, Mormons begin to build a society separately, based on their beliefs and values. The cooperative ethics that Mormon has developed over the last decade and a half has become important when the settlers branch and colonize the large desert region now known as the Mormon Corridor. The colonization efforts were seen as religious duties, and new villages were ruled by the Mormon bishops (local lay religious leaders). The Mormons view the land as a commonwealth, designing and maintaining a cooperative irrigation system that enables them to build a farming community in the desert.
From 1849 to 1852, the Mormons expanded their missionary efforts, setting up missions in Europe, Latin America and the South Pacific. The converts are expected to "gather" to Zion, and during Young's presidency (1847-77), more than seventy thousand Mormons are migrating to America. Many of the converts came from England and Scandinavia, and were quickly assimilated into the Mormon community. Many of these immigrants crossed the Great Plains in bullock-drawn wagons, while some groups then pulled their belongings on small wagons. During the 1860s, newcomers began using new railroads under construction.
In 1852, church leaders publicized the secret practice of plural marriage before, a form of polygamy. Over the next 50 years, many Mormons (between 20 and 30 per cent of the Mormon family) enter into plural marriage as a religious duty, with plural marriages peaking around 1860, and then declining throughout the remainder of the century. In addition to doctrinal reasons for plural marriage, the practice makes economic sense, since many of the plural wives are single women who arrive in Utah without siblings or fathers to offer social support to them.
In 1857, tensions again increased between Mormon and other Americans, largely as a result of allegations involving polygamy and the theocratic rule of the Utah Territory by Brigham Young. In 1857, US President James Buchanan sent troops to Utah, whom Mormons regarded as open aggression against them. Afraid of repeating Missouri and Illinois, Mormons prepare to defend themselves, determined to burn their own homes if they are attacked. The relatively peaceful Utah War took place from 1857 to 1858, where the most notorious example of violence was the Mountain Meadows massacre, when local Mormon militia leaders ordered the killing of a civilian emigre party traveling through Utah during heightened tensions. In 1858, Young agreed to resign from his post as governor and was replaced by non-Mormon, Alfred Cumming. However, the LDS Church still has significant political power in the Utah Territory.
On Young's death in 1877, he was followed by other LDS Church presidents, who rejected attempts by the United States Congress to ban the marriage of Mormon polygamy. In 1878, the US Supreme Court ruled at Reynolds v. United States that religious duty is not an appropriate defense for practicing polygamy, and many Mormon polygamins are hiding; then, Congress begins to rob church assets. In September 1890, church president Wilford Woodruff issued a Manifesto that officially stopped the practice of polygamy. Although the Manifesto did not dissolve the existing plural marriage, relations with the United States increased significantly after 1890, so Utah was recognized as a US state in 1896. After the Manifesto, some Mormons continued to marry polygamy, but eventually stopped in 1904 when the president the Joseph F. Smith church denied polygamy before the Congress and issued a "Second Manifesto" calling for all plural marriages at church to stop. Finally, the church adopted a policy of isolating members who were found practicing polygamy, and today try to actively distance themselves from the "fundamentalist" group that continues the practice.
Modern time
During the early 20th century, Mormons began to rejoin the mainstream of America. In 1929, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir began broadcasting weekly performances on national radio, becoming an asset for public relations. Mormon emphasizes patriotism and industry, rising in socioeconomic status from basic among American religious denominations to the middle class. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Mormons began to migrate out of Utah, a trend that was rushed by the Great Depression, when Mormons sought work wherever they could find it. As Mormons spread, church leaders created programs that would help maintain the community of Mormon culture communities. In addition to weekly worship services, Mormon began participating in programs such as Scouts, Young Women organizations, church-sponsored dances, neighborhood basketball, camping trips, dramas, and religious education programs for youth and students. During the Great Depression, the church began a welfare program to meet the needs of poor members, who have grown to include humanitarian branches that provide assistance to disaster victims.
During the second half of the 20th century, there was a strife movement in Mormonism where Mormons became more conservative, trying to regain their status as "weirdos". Although the 1960s and 1970s brought about changes such as the Liberation of Women and the civil rights movement, Mormon leaders feared the erosion of traditional values, sexual revolutions, the widespread use of drugs, moral relativism, and other forces they considered destructive. family. Partly to counter this, Mormon places greater emphasis on family life, religious education, and missionary work, becoming more conservative in the process. Consequently, Mormons today may be less integrated with mainstream society than in the early 1960s.
Although blacks have been members of the Mormon congregation since the time of Joseph Smith, before 1978, the membership of blacks was small. From 1852 to 1978, the LDS Church implemented a policy restricting black African descendants from ordained to the lay priesthood of the church. The Church was sharply criticized for its policies during the civil rights movement, but the policy remained in effect until the 1978 reversal, fueled in part by the question of a convergent mixed race in Brazil. In general, Mormons welcome the change with joy and relief. Since 1978, black membership has grown, and by 1997 there were about 500,000 black church members (about 5 percent of total membership), mostly in Africa, Brazil, and the Caribbean. Black membership continues to grow substantially, especially in West Africa, where two temples have been built. Many black Mormons are members of the Genesis Group, a black membership organization that precedes the prohibition of the priesthood, and is supported by the church.
The LDS church grew rapidly after World War II and became a worldwide organization when missionaries were sent around the world. The church doubled every 15 to 20 years, and in 1996, there were more Mormons outside the United States than inside. In 2012, there are an estimated 14.8 million Mormons, with about 57 percent living outside the United States. An estimated 4.5 million Mormons - about 30% of total membership - regularly attend services. The majority of US Mormons are white and non-Hispanic (84 percent). Mormons are mostly distributed in North and South America, the South Pacific, and Western Europe. Mormon's global distribution resembles a contact diffusion model, radiating out from the organization's headquarters in Utah. The Church imposes doctrinal uniformity in general, and sessions on all continents teach the same doctrine, and Mormon internationally tends to absorb many Mormon cultures, probably because of the top-down hierarchy of churches and the presence of missionaries. However, international Mormons often carry their own pieces of inheritance into the church, adapting church practices to local culture.
Chile, Uruguay and some areas of the South Pacific have a higher percentage of Mormons than the United States (which is about 2 percent). South Pacific countries and dependencies of more than 10 percent of Mormons include American Samoa, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, and Tonga.
Cultures and practices
Isolation in Utah has enabled Mormons to create their own culture. As faith spreads throughout the world, many of its more distinctive practices follow. Mormon converts are urged to undergo lifestyle changes, repent of sin, and adopt an alien standard of behavior. Common practices for Mormons include studying the scriptures, praying daily, fasting regularly, attending Sunday services, participating in church programs and activities on weekdays, and refraining from working on Sundays whenever possible. The most important part of church services is regarded as the Lord's Supper (commonly called the sacrament), in which members of the church renew the covenant made at baptism. Mormons also emphasize the standards they believe teach by Jesus Christ, including personal honesty, integrity, obedience to the law, extrajudicial sanctity and marital allegiance.
In 2010, about 13-14 percent of Mormons lived in Utah, the center of cultural influences for Mormonism. Utah Mormons (as well as Mormons living in Intermountain West) are on average more culturally and/or politically conservative than those living in some cosmopolitan centers elsewhere in the US Utah who identify themselves as Mormons also attends more churches on average, the average of Mormons living in other states. (However, whether they live in Utah or elsewhere in the US, Mormons tend to be more culturally and/or politically conservative than members of other US religious groups.) Utah Mormon often places greater emphasis on pioneering inheritance than in international Mormons that are generally not the descendants of the Mormon pioneers.
Mormons have a strong sense of communality that comes from their doctrine and history. Members of the LDS Church have a responsibility to dedicate their time and talents to helping the poor and building the church. The church is divided by locality into congregations called "wards", with multiple environments or branches to create "pegs". Most church leadership positions are a lay position, and church leaders can work 10 to 15 hours a week in unpaid church services. Mormon Observant also contributes 10 percent of their income to the church as a tithe, and is often involved in humanitarian efforts. Many young LDS, women and elderly couples choose to serve evangelistic missions, where they dedicate all their time to the church, at no cost.
Mormons adhere to Words, laws or health codes that are interpreted as prohibiting the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, coffee and tea, while encouraging the use of moderate herbs, grains, fruits, and meat consumption. Words of Wisdom are also understood to prohibit other harmful and addictive substances and practices, such as the use of illegal drugs and the misuse of prescribed medicines. Mormons are encouraged to keep a one-year supply that includes food supplies and financial reserves. Mormons also oppose such behavior as looking at pornography and gambling.
The concept of a united family that lives and evolves forever is at the heart of the teachings of the Last Days, and Mormon people place high interest in family life. Many Mormons have a weekly Family Home Night, where the night is set aside for family ties, learning, prayers and other activities they deem good. The Latter-day Saint fathers holding the priesthood usually name and bless their children immediately after birth to formally name the child. Mormon parents hope and pray that their children will have a testimony of "the Gospel" so they can grow and get married in the temple.
Mormon has a strict law of purity, requiring the abstention of sexual intercourse outside of same-sex marriage and strict loyalty in marriage. All sexual activity (heterosexual and homosexual) outside marriage is considered a serious sin, with a marriage recognized only between men and women. Same-sex marriage is not performed or endorsed by the LDS Church. Church members are encouraged to marry and have children, and the families of the Latter-day Saints tend to be larger than average. Mormons oppose abortion, except in some extraordinary circumstances, such as when pregnancy is the result of incest or rape, or when the life or health of the mother is in serious danger. Many adults who practice Mormons wear religious underwear that reminds them of the covenants and encourages them to dress modestly. Latter-day Saints are advised not to partake of any form of any obscene or pornographic media in any way, including media depicting graphic representations of sex or violence. Tattoos and body piercings are also not recommended, with the exception of a pair of earrings for LDS women.
LGBT Mormons, or Mormons who identify themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, remain in good standing in the church if they abstain from homosexual relations and obey the law of chastity. Although there are no official figures, the LDS Family Service estimates that on average there are four or five members per LDS ward who experience same-sex attraction. Gary Watts, former chair of Family Fellowship, estimates that only 10 percent of homosexuals live in church. Many of these people have advanced through various support groups or websites that discuss their homosexual attractions and church membership simultaneously.
Group Latter-day Saint ("LDS ")
Members of the LDS Church, also known as Latter-day Saints, constitute more than 95 percent of Mormons. Mormon LDS beliefs and practices are generally guided by the teachings of LDS church leaders. However, some smaller groups are substantially different from "mainstream" Mormonism in various ways.
Members of LDS Churches who are not actively participating in church services or callings are often referred to as "inactive" or "inactive" (similar to non-observant qualification expressions or not practicing relation with members of other religious groups). The LDS Church does not release statistics on church activity, but it is likely that about 40 percent of Mormons in the United States and 30 percent around the world regularly attend worship services. The reasons for inactivity may include lifestyle issues and problems with social integration. Activity rates tend to vary with age, and release occurs most often between the ages of 16 and 25. Most of the less-active members return to church activity later on. Former Latter-day Saints who seek to separate themselves from religion are often referred to as former Mormons.
Mormon Fundamentalist
Sect members who violate the LDS Church over the issue of polygamy have been known as Mormons fundamentalists; these groups differ from mainstream Mormonism especially in their beliefs and practices of plural marriage. There are estimated between 20,000 and 60,000 members of fundamentalist sects, (0.1-0.4 percent of Mormons), with roughly half of them practicing polygamy. There are a number of fundamentalist sects, two of which are the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS Church) and the United Apostolic Brotherhood (AUB). In addition to plural marriages, some of these groups also practice the form of Christian communalism known as the law of consecration or the Order of Unity. The LDS church is trying to distance itself from all polygamy groups, isolating its members if found practicing or teaching it, and today the majority of Mormon fundamentalists have never been members of the LDS Church.
Mormon Liberal
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Mormon Liberal, also known as Progressive Mormon, takes an interpretive approach to the teachings and teachings of LDS. They see the scriptures for spiritual guidance, but may not need to believe that the teachings are true literally or uniquely. For liberal Mormons, revelation is a process whereby God gradually brings imperfect people to a greater understanding. Liberal Mormons put good and loving people on the importance of believing right. In a separate context, members of a progressive breakaway small group have also adopted the label.
Mormon Culture
The Mormon culture is an individual who may not believe in the doctrine or specific practice of the institutional LDS Church but identifies it as Mormon. Usually this is the result of being raised in the faith of LDS, or having repented and spent most of one's life as an active member of the LDS Church. Mormon culture may or may not be actively involved with the LDS church. In some cases they may not be members of the LDS Church.
Confidence
Mormon has a scriptural canon consisting of the Bible (Old and New Testaments), the Book of Mormon, and a collection of revelations and writings by Joseph Smith known as the Valuable Doctrine and Covenants and Pearls. However, Mormon has a relatively open definition of scripture. As a general rule, everything that is spoken or written by a prophet, when under inspiration, is considered the word of God. Thus, the Bible, written by prophets and apostles, is the word of God, insofar as it is correctly translated. The Book of Mormon is also believed to have been written by ancient prophets, and is seen as a Bible companion. By this definition, the teachings of Smith's successors are also accepted as scriptures, though they are always measured against, and draw many from the canon of the scriptures.
Mormon believes in a "friendly universe", governed by God that aims to bring his children to eternal and immortal life. Mormon has a unique perspective on the nature of God, the origin of man, and the purpose of life. For example, Mormons believe in a pre-mortal existence in which people are the literal spirit children of God, and that God presents a plan of salvation that will allow his children to progress and become more like him. The plan involves the spirits that receive the body on earth and passes the ordeal to learn, grow, and receive "the fulness of joy". The most important part of the plan involves Jesus, the firstborn of God, coming to earth as the literal Son of God, to conquer sin and death so that other sons of God may return. According to Mormon, everyone who lives on earth will be resurrected, and almost all will be accepted into the various kingdoms of glory. In order to be accepted into the highest kingdom, one must fully accept Christ through faith, repentance, and through ordinances such as baptism and the laying on of hands.
According to Mormon, the deviation from the original principles of Christianity, known as the Great Apostasy, began shortly after the ascension of Jesus Christ. It is characterized by the corruption of Christian doctrine by Greek and other philosophy, with followers divided into different ideological groups. Mormon claims the martyrdom of the Apostles caused the loss of Priesthood authority to administer the church and its ordinances. Mormon believes that God restored the early Christian church through Joseph Smith. In particular, the Mormons believe that angels such as Peter, James, John, John the Baptist, Moses, and Elijah appeared to Smith and others and gave priesthood powers to them. Mormons believe that their church is "the only true and living church" because divine authority is restored through Smith. Mormons identify themselves as Christians, while many Christians, especially evangelical Protestants, disagree with this view. Mormons view other religions as part of the truth, do good deeds, and have genuine value.
Although the LDS Church has a top-down hierarchical structure with a prophet-president who dictates revelation for the whole church, there is a bottom-up aspect as well. Ordinary Mormons have access to the same inspiration that is thought to guide their prophets, and is encouraged to seek their own personal revelation. Mormon sees Joseph Smith's First Vision as evidence that heaven is open, and that God answers prayer. They put great emphasis on "asking God" to find out if something is true. Most Mormons do not claim to have a heavenly vision like Smith's response to prayer, but feel that God speaks to them in their hearts and minds through the Holy Spirit. Although Mormons have some beliefs that are considered strange in the modern world, they keep their beliefs because they feel God has spoken to them.
See also
- Latter-day Saint table
- List of sects in the Latter-day Saint movement: Brigham Young Followers
- List of former or dissident LDS
References
External readout
External links
- lds.org and mormon.org, the official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- The Mormon Page on Public Broadcast Services
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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