The Church of the Later-day Saints was founded by Joseph Smith on April 6, 1830. Joseph was born 23 December 1805 in America. In 1820 when he was 14 years old Joseph was concerned that all churches claimed to be the true church. He prayed for guidance and saw God and Jesus in a vision. They told him not to join any existing church as the original church would be restored to the earth. Later in 1823 Joseph had another vision of an angel called Moroni who showed him religious history inscribed on golden plates. These inscriptions told the teachings of an ancient American civilisation.
Joseph Smith used these inscriptions to write the ‘the Book of Mormon’. In 1830 Joseph established the ‘Church of Christ and after a revelation he changed the name to ‘The church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’. The Book of Mormon contains writings about American ancient civilisation between 2200 B. C. – 400 A. D. It details Jesus’s ministry in America after his resurrection. Another important text is ‘The Pearl of Great Price’ which contains material again written by Joseph outlining faith and doctrine of the Later-day Saints church.
Members also follow the Holy Bible and its teachings. In 1854 the Later-day Saints (LDS) church began missionary work in New Zealand but progress was poor until the late 1870’s. The first LDS missionaries arrived in Auckland from Australia. At first the missionary work was centred on Europeans and at the end of 1880 there were 133 members. They then concentrated their missionary work on the Maori population and membership grew rapidly. There are currently 109,920 members in New Zealand. There are 3 missions and 215 churches and one temple.
There are 50 family history centres in New Zealand. Worldwide there are over 15 million members. There are followers of Mormon Fundamentalism which differs from LDS as they follow the practice of Polygamy or plural marriage. In the 1920’s a man called Lorin Woolley taught that men who were not members of the LDS church could solemnise new polygamous marriages. These men take a literal view of scripture and believe in Polygamy. They are Morman fundamentalists and not part of the LDS church. There are also many break-away sects who still practice Polygamy.
Early Mormons practiced polygamy because patriachs from the bible such as Abraham did so. Joseph Smith preached that angels had given him authority for plural marriages. Between 1852-1890 plural marriage was openly taught and practiced by church members of the Mormon Church. In 1890 these practices were stopped but in secret they were still being practiced until 1904. However, since 1904 the church has excommunicated anyone caught in a polygamous marriage. A key belief is that members represent the restoration of the original church abandoned in the early centuries.
Main beliefs are 13 articles of faith from the Pearl of Great Price. Mormons believe in God and his son and the Holy Ghost. They believe in a continual revelation and that members are the spiritual offspring of God. Before they were born they lived in spirit with God where they learned of God’s plan. They consider this life on earth to be a dress -rehearsal for the next world. If a member is deemed worthy after death they are sent to one of three degrees of the afterlife. These degrees are Telestial, Terrestial and Celestial Kingdoms.
The Telestial kingdom is for sinners such as murderers, the Terrestial is for honourable people who have not followed the testimony of Jesus and the Celestial is the Kingdom LDS members strive to reach. The Celestial is reserved for members who are married and sealed in the Temple. Family is the central focus of LDS. Marriages are performed in the temple and are believed to be sealed for all eternity. They strongly believe the importance of making a life worthy enough to continue in the Celestial Kingdom. Because Mormons believe in eternal family they have research centres to trace many of their ancestors.
By taking their ancestors names to the temple and acting as proxies to provide Jesus’s ordinances for them, they believe this will seal the family together as an unbroken chain. This is why it is important for Mormons to baptise the dead. They don’t believe God would damn people that never had the chance to know God. That is the reason they can perform a proxy ordinance on their ancestors behalf. They believe people who die then dwell as spirits awaiting the resurrection and judgement. Before this members can give these dead ancestors the opportunity to hear and accept the gospel.
Normal Baptism occurs at around age 8 or for adults if they are converted later in life. Another important ceremony is the ‘Endowment” or Mormon Temple Ceremony. This is a covenant where members learn about the Creation and the role of Jesus as our saviour. Members wear White garments to symbolise purity. They are given modest underwear which they must wear every-day to remind them of the sacred covenant. Most of this ceremony is secret as members guard the sacredness of the initiation. This has led to speculation about what really goes on in the ceremony.
Mormon ceremonies are held in temples but Sunday worship is held at local meeting houses or local churches. The meeting houses are for everyone whereas temples are reserved for strict Mormons who have good standing in the church. There are 138 temples worldwide and 17,000 chapels or meeting houses. Mormons have strict moral codes to follow. The doctrine Word of Wisdom,’ prohibits recreational drugs, tobacco and alcohol use, as well as the drinking of tea and coffee. Members must be honest and chaste. There is no premarital sex, pornography, swearing or gambling allowed.
The 10% tithing of income has meant that the Mormon church has become one of the wealthiest churches in the world. Mormons have conservative views on cultural and political issues with many against abortion and homosexuality. A majority of Mormons think there is absolute right or wrong and often feel threatened by modern society. Mormons disagree with the scientific theory of evolution. http:// www. pewforum. org/2009/07/24/a-portrait-of-mormons-in-theus-social-and-political-views/ There are no paid clergy and so members perform voluntary duties. The missionary programme sees young members aged 19-21 volunteer for 1-2 years in 160 countries.
There are 85,147 missionaries within 406 missions and 15 missionary training centres. LDS churches provide relief and development projects for humanitarian purposes in many countries with 185 countries receiving aid since 1985. The Mormon Church seems to be similar to traditional Christian religions such as the Catholic Church. They follow moral codes and reinforce the importance on living a good honest life. They believe Jesus is our saviour and God as the eternal father. They have provided humanitarian aid for under developed countries very much like the Catholic Church.
They however do not have a Pope but instead have church a President and 2 councillors, the President is seen as a living prophet who speaks with God; with 12 apostles under them in the hierarchy. Under the apostles are the Quorum of the Seventy, followed by the Stake Presidency which are the high priests that help minister to other members. Their beliefs could be seen to be too strict and old fashioned compared to how the Catholic/Anglican churches have developed with time. These churches now welcome gay members unlike Mormon churches. The Mormon Church is also very family orientated like the Catholic Church.
