With all of the media coverage in Texas surrounding the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), I feel compelled to speak out. Many of you know that I am an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), commonly called Mormonism.
A great deal of the mainstream media has made it a point to accurately distinguish the FLDS from the LDS church. I am grateful for this. There are some organizations, however, and some individuals, who continue to persist the notion that the two religions are the same.
While it is true that the LDS church used to practice polygamy, that practice was ended by a revelation through the prophet of the church, Wilford Woodruff, in 1890. The FLDS started as a group that refused to discontinue this practice and broke from the mainstream religion shortly thereafter.
I denounce the practice of polygamy as being unlawful and unfair to women and children.
For those of you who may not know, the basic tenets of the Mormon religion are as follows:
We are Christian. We believe in Jesus Christ, that he literally lived, and that he literally died for our sins. We believe in a literal resurrection and that we can live in heaven with Christ and God.
We believe in modern revelation. While many Christian denominations believe the Bible to be the final word of God, we believe that God continues to speak through his servants, the prophets (see Amos 3:7). The current prophet on the earth is Thomas S. Monson. We have contemporary scriptures – The Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants. We also believe that individuals can receive revelation to guide their day to day lives.
Joseph Smith was a prophet. We don’t worship Joseph Smith. He was the founder of the LDS church and the first prophet after a long Apostasy. We revere him for what he did, and respect his legacy. He acted to found the LDS church after being visited by God and Jesus Christ in answer to his prayer as to which church he should join.
Families are eternal. On the top right portion of this web page, you will notice a link to The Family: A Proclamation to the World. This is the LDS church’s manifesto the world as to what is important. We believe that marriage is a sacred covenant and that a husband and wife have the opportunity to be together after this life, with all of their children, forever. Couples must live worthy lives in order for this to happen.
Tithing. We donate 10% of all of our income to the church. While our entire ministry is volunteer (all the way up to the Prophet and Apostles), we do have paid administrative staff based in Salt Lake City. Tithing pays for that, for temples, churches, and other operating costs.
The Word of Wisdom. Since joining the church at 17, and in fact even before that, I have never drank alcohol or done drugs. The church also discourages caffeine, teaches to eat meat moderately and to take care of your body.
With more than 55% of the church’s 13 million members now based outside of the USA, the LDS church is truly a global religion. My faith is a central part of who I am and what I do. It’s the motivating force behind this blog, and indeed, my every day life. I truly believe that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that he died for me. I also truly believe that our prophet receives divine guidance from God.
I hope this might help to answer some of the questions you might have about the LDS church, and I hope that if you have any questions, you will feel free to comment, contact me directly, or visit www.lds.org.
Actually, a home is much more than a house. A house may be constructed of lumber, brick, and stone. A home is made of love, sacrifice, and respect. A house can be a home, and a home can be a heaven when it shelters a family. Like the structure in which it dwells, the family may be large or small. It may be old or young. It may be in excellent condition or it may show signs of wear, of neglect, of deterioration.
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