What Is A Temple
Temples existed throughout biblical times. These buildings were considered the house of the Lord . Latter-day Saint temples are likewise considered houses of the Lord by Church members.
To Latter-day Saints, temples are sacred buildings in which they are taught about the central role of Christ in Gods plan of salvation and their personal relationship with God.
In temples, members of the Church make covenants, or promises, with God to live a virtuous and faithful life. They also participate in ordinances on behalf of their deceased ancestors.
Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are also used to perform marriage ceremonies in which the faithful are promised eternal life with their families. For members of the Church, family is of central importance.
Migration To Utah And Colonization Of The West
Under the leadership of Brigham Young, Church leaders planned to leave Nauvoo, Illinois in April 1846, but amid threats from the state militia, they were forced to cross the Mississippi River in the cold of February. They eventually left the boundaries of the United States to what is now Utah where they founded Salt Lake City.
The groups that left Illinois for Utah became known as the Mormon pioneers and forged a path to Salt Lake City known as the Mormon Trail. The arrival of the original Mormon Pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, is commemorated by the Utah State holidayPioneer Day.
Groups of converts from the United States, Canada, Europe, and elsewhere were encouraged to gather to Utah in the decades following. Both the original Mormon migration and subsequent convert migrations resulted in much sacrifice and quite a number of deaths. Brigham Young organized a great colonization of the American West, with Mormon settlements extending from Canada to Mexico. Notable cities that sprang from early Mormon settlements include San Bernardino, California, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Mesa, Arizona.
There Are A Few Different Sects Of The Mormon Church
A common misconception is that all Mormons are part of the LDS church. The LDS church is the main group with its roots with Joseph Smith. Another group of Mormons that are not affiliated with the official LDS church is the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This sect came to media attention with the conviction of church leader Warren Jeffs. The FLDS do practice polygamy, which was suspended by the LDS church in 1890.
Another different offshoot of Mormonism is the Apostolic United Brethren, which has members in many states. This group came about when their leader, Joseph W. Musser, split with other Mormon fundamentalists. This group practices polygamy as well.
Another Arizona sect, called Centennial Park group, came from conflict over leadership in the 1980s leadership of the FLDS church. The Centennial Park group, unlike other sects of the FLDS church, advocates spreading the groups message. While they do practice polygamy, they are against underage girls being forced to marry.
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Relationship With Mainstream Christianity
Mormonism categorizes itself within , and nearly all Mormons self-identify as . For some who define Christianity within the doctrines of , and , the , and , Mormonism’s differences place it outside the umbrella of Christianity.
Since its beginnings, the faith has proclaimed itself to be Christ’s Church with its original authority, structure and power maintaining that existing denominations believed in incorrect doctrines and were not acknowledged by God as his church and kingdom. Though the religion quickly gained a large following of Christian seekers, in the 1830s, many American Christians came to view the church’s early doctrines and practices as politically and culturally , as well as doctrinally heretical, abominable, and condemnable. This discord led to a series of sometimes-deadly conflicts between Mormons and others who saw themselves as orthodox Christians. Although such violence declined during the twentieth century, the religion’s unique doctrinal views and practices still generate criticism, sometimes vehemently so. This gives rise to efforts by Mormons and opposing types of Christians to proselytize each other.
Mormons believe in Jesus Christ as the literal and , as a conclusion of a , and subsequent . However, Latter-day Saints reject the ecumenical creeds and the definition of the . Mormons hold the view that the prophesied both the from the teachings of Christ and his apostles as well as the of all things prior to the second coming of Christ.
Transfers To Foreign Institutions
Charities in Canada are allowed to transfer donations to foreign charities and universities as long as those institutions are on the CRAs list of qualified donees.
If a school regularly enrols Canadian students, it can make the list.
Established by Brigham Young, LDS president from 1847 to 1877, Brigham Young University is a private institution, owned and operated by the church and headquartered in Salt Lake City.
Three BYU schools in Utah, Idaho and Hawaii are popular among Mormons. As many as 98 per cent of students at those schools are members of the church.
The number of Canadian students fluctuates, but by any measure is small. According to available data, in the fall of 2018, there were 1,394 Canadian students in the three LDS schools, representing 1.6 per cent of the student body that semester.
Other U.S. universities on the CRAs qualified donees list include well-known schools such as Harvard, Berkeley and Stanford, along with some lesser-known universities such as Loma Linda University, a part of the Seventh Day Adventist church, and Yeshiva University, a private Orthodox Jewish school.
However, none gets the same amounts of money as BYU.
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The Fifth Estate also collected the list from CRA of the money Canadian charities have sent to all foreign universities in the same 15 years.
Thats what Kennett was expecting the church to do with his donations.
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Brigham Young’s Later Years
The church had attempted unsuccessfully to institute the United Order numerous times, most recently during the Mormon Reformation. In 1874, Young once again attempted to establish a permanent Order, which he now called the “United Order of Enoch” in at least 200 Mormon communities, beginning in St. George, Utah on February 9, 1874.In Young’s Order, producers would generally deed their property to the Order, and all members of the order would share the cooperative’s net income, often divided into shares according to how much property was originally contributed. Sometimes, the members of the Order would receive wages for their work on the communal property. Like the United Order established by Joseph Smith, Young’s Order was short-lived. By the time of Brigham Young’s death in 1877, most of these United Orders had failed. By the end of the 19th century, the Orders were essentially extinct.
Brigham Young died in August 1877. After the death of Brigham Young, the First Presidency was not reorganized until 1880, when Young was succeeded by President John Taylor, who in the interim had served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Responses To Abuse Allegations
Reacting to accusations of abuse by teachers,Boy Scouts leaders, clergy, etc., social welfare activists have campaigned for more robust of measures toward greater prevention of abuse of individuals served by counselors and other professionals, advocating greater transparency and quicker referral of allegations to criminal investigators.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and others have criticized one-on-one interviews between LDS pastoral leaders and adolescent congregants, believing them “an invitation” for abuse. An editorial in the sectarian Deseret News responded:
The LDS Church has a zero tolerance policy concerning sexual misconduct. It also gives specific instruction on conducting one-on-one interviews with youths, including encouraging them to have parents or other trustworthy adults sit directly outside the room. Church leaders are to avoid any situation that could be misinterpreted.
In 2018 over 800 protesters gathered and marched to the LDS Church headquarters to deliver a petition with over 55,000 signatures asking for an end to semiannual, closed-door, one-on-one interviews between adult male local church leaders and children and teens during which many members have been asked about their sexual behaviors and thoughts in ways they felt were harmful.
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What Is The Latter
For Latter-day Saints, mortal existence is seen in the context of a great sweep of history, from a pre-earth life where the spirits of all humankind lived with Heavenly Father to a future life in His presence where continued growth, learning and improving will take place. Life on earth is regarded as a temporary state in which men and women are tried and testedand where they gain experiences obtainable nowhere else. God knew humans would make mistakes, so He provided a Savior, Jesus Christ, who would take upon Himself the sins of the world. To members of the Church, physical death on earth is not an end but the beginning of the next step in Gods plan for His children.
Chapel And Temple Services
Weekly worship services, including sacrament meetings, are held on Sundays, in meeting houses, also referred to as “chapels” or “stake centers.” All people, regardless of belief or standing in the church are welcome to attend. The Sacrament, similar to Communion or the Eucharist in other churchesconsecrated bread and water in remembrance of the body and blood of Christis offered weekly.
The primary Sunday service is sacrament meeting and attended by the combined congregation. The foremost purpose of sacrament meeting is the blessing and passing of the Sacrament to members of the church. After the Sacrament, the service usually consists of two or three “talks” prepared and delivered by members of the congregation. Once a month however, usually on the first Sunday, instead of prepared talks, members are invited to bear their testimonies about gospel principles. Hymns are sung throughout the service.
During the other two segments, the congregation divides into smaller groups based on age and/or gender. The church publishes manuals for each type of class, usually including a teacher’s manual as well as a student booklet for youth and adult classes.
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The Church Has Increasingly Supported Lgbtq Rights So Long As Its Free To Police Boundaries For Its Members
Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints surprised many Tuesday when they announced their support for the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill enshrining protections for marriage equality that cleared a key procedural hurdle in the Senate on Wednesday. This bill, the church stated, includes appropriate religious freedom protections while respecting the law and preserving the rights of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters, and it is therefore the way forward for the nation to address the topic.
Observers correctly noted the seismic departure from the Mormon Churchs traditional staunch opposition to same-sex marriage and LGBTQ rights. From the 1990s through the Supreme Courts 2015 Obergefell decision legalizing LGBTQ marriage across America, Latter-day Saints were at the forefront of the fight to maintain the traditional definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.
But this new statement is less surprising when viewed in the context of evolving LDS thinking over the past decade. Even as it has tried to acknowledge the changing broader cultural circumstances, the church has also battled to protect the right to vigorously police boundaries around gender and sexuality for its members.
But Proposition 8 proved to be the churchs final victory against LGBTQ marriage. The political winds shifted quickly, and by 2015, Obergefell legalized LGBTQ unions everywhere.
Cosmology And Plan Of Salvation
The Mormon cosmology and plan of salvation include the doctrines of a pre-mortal life, an earthly mortal existence, three degrees of heaven, and exaltation.
According to these doctrines, every human spirit is a spiritual child of a Heavenly Father, and each has the potential to continue to learn, grow, and progress in the eternities, eventually achieving eternal life, which is to become one with God in the same way that Jesus Christ is one with the Father, thus allowing the children of God to become divine beings that is, gods themselves. This view on the doctrine of theosis is also referred to as becoming a “joint-heir with Christ”. The process by which this is accomplished is called exaltation, a doctrine which includes the reunification of the mortal family after the resurrection and the ability to have spirit children in the afterlife and inherit a portion of God’s kingdom. To obtain this state of godhood, the church teaches that one must have faith in Jesus Christ, repent of his or her sins, strive to keep the commandments faithfully, and participate in a sequence of ceremonial covenants called ordinances, which include baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, the endowment, and celestial marriage.
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Succession After Smith’s Death
Smith left ambiguous or contradictory succession instructions that led to a crisis in the early church. Several church members claimed rights to leadership.
An August 8, 1844 conference that established Brigham Young’s leadership is the source of an oft-repeated legend. Multiple journal and eyewitness accounts from those who followed Young state that when Young spoke regarding the claims of succession by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he appeared to look or sound like the late Smith. Although many of these accounts were written years after the event, there were contemporary records.
Most Latter Day Saints followed Young, but some aligned with other various people claiming to be Smith’s successor. One of these was Smith’s own son, Joseph Smith III, who in 1860 led the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, now called the Community of Christ church. Many of these smaller groups were spread throughout the Midwestern United States, especially in Independence, Missouri. Reverberations of the succession crisis continue to the present day.
The Rules Of Being A Latter
I kind of laugh inside writing about the rules. Just like you, we can do anything we want! But we choose to do the following things to help us to be happier, to avoid sin, and to lead the best lives we can.
This is a brief look at some of the rules we follow, but I wrote a more complete post of the rules of being a latter-day saint here.
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Duties And Expectations Of Church Members
For members of the church, the greatest commandment is to love God with all their heart and the second is to love others as they love themselves. All other commandments are considered appendages to these great commandments /Matthew#22:37-40″ rel=”nofollow”> Matt 22:37-40). Members are encouraged to pray several times a day, to perform good works, and to read scriptures daily.
Members are expected to donate their time, money, and talents to the church, and those who have participated in the endowment ceremony make an oath to donate all that they have, if required of them, to the Lord. To be in good standing and to enter the church’s temples, church members are asked to tithe their income to the church, which is officially interpreted as 10 percent of annual income. In addition, members are invited to donate monthly charitable “fast offerings” , which are used to help the poor and needy in the community members are also encouraged to make other humanitarian donations through the church.
Church members are permitted to think or believe freely on any issue, but are discouraged from publicly criticizing local leaders or general authorities repeated public criticism of the church or its leaders may subject a person to church discipline for apostasy. The church maintains a Strengthening Church Members Committee which monitors members’ publications and refers critical material to local authorities for possible disciplinary action.
Polygamy Officially Discontinued In 1890
The Tanners argue that the church’s 1890 reversal of its policy on polygamy was done for political reasons, citing the fact that the change was made during the church’s lengthy conflict with the federal government over property seizures and statehood. The Ostlings say that, soon after the church received the revelation that polygamy was prohibited, Utah again applied for statehood. This time the federal government did not object to starting the statehood process. Six years later, the process was completed and Utah was admitted as a state in 1896. The Ostlings note that soon after the church suspended the practice of polygamy, the federal government reduced its legal efforts to seize church property. Despite this, Mormon leaders after 1890 continued to sanction and participate in plural marriages in secret, in smaller numbers, both in the U.S. and in Mexico, for the next several decades.
Mormons Ron Wood and Linda Thatcher do not dispute that the change was a result of federal intervention and say that the church had no choice in the matter. The 1887 EdmundsTucker Act was crippling the church and “something dramatic had to be done to reverse trend.” After the church appealed its case to the U.S. Supreme Court and lost, church president Wilford Woodruff issued the 1890 Manifesto. Woodruff noted in his journal that he was “acting for the temporal salvation of the Church”.
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