The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints’ historical origins traces back to 1830 and a young man, John Smith. Smith, “together with his followers, offered claims to combine the restoration of primitive Christianity as it had been lived in the time of the Apostles with modern revelation from on high” (O’Dea 2). Here it is evident that Smith was seeking to form a new type of church that was suggested by a higher power, the Lord, and to have the church community live like the Apostles of Jesus did.
Smith had become disturbed by the religious controversies that occupied the present times, so he turned elsewhere. “Mormonism claimed that God had intervened by special miraculous action in the history of America and of American religion and that Mormonism itself was the product of that very intervention, a divinely established vessel” (O’Dea 5). Specifically, adherents believe their religion was derived directly from the Lord himself, and that their church is the product of the prophet Joseph Smith as he was told to do so by the Lord.
Smith claimed to have translated The Book of Mormon, the predominate scripture of the new church. He translated it from Egyptian characters found on golden plates. The book presented several ideas that offered new hope and possibility. It spoke that “to deny the revelations of God and say that they are done away, that there are no revelations, no prophecies, nor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking with tongues, and interpretation of tongues is to reveal an ignorance and betray a denial of the gospel of Christ” (The Book of Mormon 9:7-9).
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The doctrines in the book announced the “problem of whether to accept it as revelation or to dismiss it as fraud, especially the latter option, gave sufficient grounds to set apart those who embraced the novelty and to separate them from the general run of their fellow citizens” (O’Dea 4-5).
Specifically, the Mormons have basic beliefs in the following things. “God is our heavenly father. He loves us and wants us to return to him. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, our savior. The Holy Ghost helps us recognize truth” (http://www.mormon.org/). These, along with the principles that regard faith in Jesus Christ and repentance from one’s sins, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, are beliefs of the Church. They believe the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth. Their priesthood authority exists as it does today because it is just as it was in the original church. They live their day-to-day lives attempting to imitate the way the Lord lived and how his Apostles lived. The Bible and The Book of Mormon are “the how word of God” (http://www.mormon.org/).
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints recognizes The Bible as “the word of God, written by man. But the Latter-day Saints recognize that errors have crept into this sacred work because of how the book has come to us” (Hinckley 22-23) thus, it is not a complete guide. In addition to translating The Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith recorded the other revelations he received from God. These can be found in The Doctrine of Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price. “These additional books of scripture show that God continues to give revelation through His chosen prophets to guide His children” (http://www.mormon.org/).
More often than not, the striking fact people may remember about Mormons is their historical practice of polygamy. “In the early days, a man with more than one wife provided for them according to his means” (Linn 583). Polygamy was accepted because John Smith claimed it was acceptable due to evidence in the Old Testament. “The Old Testament teaches that the patriarchs had more than one wife under divine sanction” (Hinckley 23). Since the church strived to live just as they had during the apostle’s time, it became acceptable.. Smith wrote in his letters, “It has been made known to one who has left his wife in New York State, that he is entirely free from his wife, and he is a pleasure to take him a wife among the Lamanites” (Linn 274). The practice has since been declared unconstitutional and the church has complied with the law.
Mormonism was very early in the scheme of things to recognize the equality of men and women. Brigham Young, a powerful figure in Mormonism history held that “women would make just as good mathematicians and accountants as many men, and could do the business of any counting house” (O’Dea 249). Although that is a general belief, currently women may not serve in the priesthood, nor is it likely they ever will. Women are subordinate to men within the family, and women must rely upon a man to marry so that they can be exalted into the afterlife.
Upon my experience at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on Sunday, October 27, I observed first-hand, many of the aforementioned concepts. Specifically, I observed how the singing of hymns, the giving of the sacrament, and the invited speakers serve as important methods of demonstrating the concepts of their faith. The place where the “service meeting” was held was very beautiful on the outside. The room where the meeting was held was very simple and unelaborate with no decorations or accents. I noticed how spiritual hymns were an essential part of the service. The purpose of the hymns was to invite the spirit of the Lord, unify members, and of course offer praise to the Lord. The words to the hymns were the worship of God, showing their belief in God as the heavenly father. The deliverance of the sacrament was also a big part of the service. Bread and water were passed around to each member as a symbol of the body and blood of the Lord himself. This was done with complete quietness and seemed to represent volumes to the people who consumed the offerings. Following the receiving of the sacrament, there were three speakers. They were chosen members of the congregation, chosen to speak to the other congregants. One of the speakers addressed her recent baptizing and joining of the Mormon Church. She explained the reason she had joined was that upon visiting it she had found something there that she felt deep inside her that she had not found anywhere else and that upon reading The Book of Mormon she was filled with inspiration and dedication and knew she wanted to become a part of it. She detailed the emotions involved with being baptized and becoming an official member of the church. The other two speakers addressed different parts of The Bible and The Book of Mormon and explained how certain passages held value in their everyday lives.
I was especially concerned with the fact that although they recognize themselves as Christians, there were no customary crosses, crucifixes, paintings, or any memorabilia or decoration, for that matter, of Jesus himself found anywhere in the church building. After the service, I presented my observation to the director for a better understanding. He explained to me that the reason for this was that their beliefs focus on Jesus as he is present in our everyday lives, and not so much on the history of his suffering and death. In a sense, they focus more on the fact that Jesus is still present in the world today. This is what the steeple outside the church was for. It was a symbolic arrow pointing up to God he told me.
I have learned first-hand how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints religion practices its beliefs in everyday life, especially at the church. The religion, although not as old as some other religions, has very detailed routes for living and worshipping for its followers. On a basic level, they simply recognize themselves as a sort of “chosen person” and as a Christian. Word count: 1412
Works Cited
- www.mormon.org
- The official Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints website Hinckley, Gordon B. What of the Mormons? Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ
- of Latter-day Saints.
- Linn, William Alexander. The Story of the Mormons. New York, New York: Russell and Russell Inc, 1963.
- O’Dea, Thomas F. The Mormons. Chicago: The UC Press, 1957. Smith, John. The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
A Mormonism Exploration in The Book of Mormon. (2022, Aug 08). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/a-mormonism-exploration-in-the-book-of-mormon/
