Mormonism
Official title: "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."
An acceptable abbreviation: "Latter Day Saints" (LDS).
Timeline
| date | event |
|---|---|
| 1823 | 21 September: The Angel Moroni, son of the Nephite prophet, Mormon, appeared to Joseph Smith. |
| 1827 | Smith receives the Book of Mormon on gold plates making a six-inch cube. |
| 1830 | First edition of the Book of Mormon. Eleven witnesses claimed to have seen the plates themselves; three later recanted this testimony. |
| 1830 | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints organized at Fayette, NY. |
| 1831 | Joseph Smith moves headquarters of the LDS to Kirtland, Ohio. |
| 1833 | A Mormon missionary community was driven out of Jackson County, Missouri. |
| 1838 | Friction causes the Mormons to leave Kirtland, Ohio. |
| 1838 | Expulsion of entire Mormon community from Faldwell County, Missouri. |
| 1840 | New edition of the Book of Mormon published by Brigham Young in England. |
| 1843 | 12 July: Publication of Smith's revelation that established polygamy. |
| 1844 | 27 June: Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois. |
| 1846 | Brigham Young leads exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois, to the Salt Lake Valley in Utah. |
| 1847 | Salt Lake City founded. |
| 1850 | Brigham Young became governor of the new Territory of Utah. |
| 1890 | Wilford Woodruff issued a manifesto which disavowed the practice of plural marriage. |
| 1896 | Utah admitted as a state. |
| 1904 | Joseph F. Smith, President, reaffirms monogamy as the norm for Mormons in the "Second Manifesto." |
Some elements of the Book of Mormon
- The story of the Jaredites and the Nephites.
- America is "the Land of Zion," in which the New Jerusalem will be built before the Second Coming of Jesus.
- Priesthood of Aaron and priesthood of Melchisedech.
Standard Works
- The Holy Bible (King James version)[1]
- The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ
- The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- The Pearl of Great Price
Creed
- 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 men may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
- 4. We believe that these ordinances 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 the ordinances thereof.
- 6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the primitive church, viz. apostles, prophets, pastors teachers, evangelists, etc.
- 7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, etc.
- 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 will be built upon this continent. That Christ will reign personally upon the earth, and that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisaic glory.
- 11. We claim the privilege of worshipping Almighty God according to the dictates of our 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, president, rulers and magistrates, in obeying. honouring and sustaining that 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 Paul, 'We believe all things, we hope all things' we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely or of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."
Mormon baptism
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith declared that Mormon baptism is invalid, even though it uses water and the Trinitarian formula.[1] The problem is not in form or matter but intention. The Trinitarian theology of the Church is too different from the concept of God in Mormonism.
"The words are similar but the doctrine is not. There is not a true invocation of the Trinity because the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, in Mormon doctrine, are not three persons in which subsists the one Godhead, but three gods who form one divinity. One is different from the other. The very word 'divinity' here is functional, not substantial, because this divinity originates when the three gods decide to unite. This 'divinity' and 'man' share the same nature and are substantially equal. God the Father is an exalted man, native of another planet. God the Father has relatives. God the Father has a wife, the Heavenly Mother, and they procreate sons in the spiritual world. Their first-born is Jesus Christ, who acquired his divinity in a pre-mortal existence. Even the Holy Spirit is the son of heavenly parents. Four gods are directly responsible for the universe, three of whom established a covenant and thus formed the divinity. Thus, the similarity of titles (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) does not correspond at all with the doctrinal content of the Christian Creeds about the Holy Trinity. These words (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) have, for Mormons, an entirely different meaning from the true Christian meaning."[2]