Mormons

{{Main|Mormon (word)#Popular usage}}

The terminology preferred by the church itself has varied over time. At various points, the church has embraced the term Mormon and stated that other sects within the shared faith tradition should not be called Mormon.The LDS Church has taken the position that the term Mormon should only apply to the LDS Church and its members, and not other adherents who have adopted the term. (See: {{cite web |date=April 9, 2010 |title=Style Guide – The Name of the Church |url=http://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide |access-date=November 11, 2011 |publisher=LDS Newsroom |archive-date=June 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190613210818/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide |url-status=live }}) The Church cites the AP Stylebook, which states, "The term Mormon is not properly applied to the other Latter Day Saints churches that resulted from the split after [Joseph] Smith's death." ("Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The", Associated Press, The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law, 2002, {{ISBN|0-7382-0740-3}}, p.48) Despite the LDS Church's position, the term Mormon is widely used by journalists and non-journalists to refer to adherents of Mormon fundamentalism.

The word Mormon was initially coined to describe any person who believes in the Book of Mormon as a scripture volume. Mormonite and Mormon were originally descriptive terms used both by outsiders to the faith, church members, and occasionally church leaders.{{cite web |title=The Original Intention Behind the Term Mormon |url=https://mormonscholar.org/the-original-intention-behind-the-term-mormon/ |website=Mormon Scholar |date=November 22, 2018 |access-date=31 August 2019 |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111213009/https://mormonscholar.org/the-original-intention-behind-the-term-mormon/ |url-status=live }}{{Better source needed|reason=Appears to be a blog; insufficiently reliable (WP:NOTRS).|date=March 2023}} The term Mormon later was sometimes used derogatorily; such use may have developed during the 1838 Mormon War,{{cite news |title=From the Illinois State Register |url=http://boap.org/LDS/Nauvoo-Neighbor/1844/11-13-1844.pdf |access-date=31 August 2019 |issue=2 |publisher=The Pioneer |date=13 November 1844 |archive-date=April 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200414001942/http://boap.org/LDS/Nauvoo-Neighbor/1844/11-13-1844.pdf |url-status=live }} although church members and leaders "embraced the term", according to church historian Matthew Bowman, and by the end of the 1800s it was broadly used.{{Cite news |last=Jacobs |first=Julia |date=2018-08-18 |title=Stop Saying 'Mormon,' Church Leader Says. But Is the Real Name Too Long? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/18/us/mormon-latter-day-saints-name.html |access-date=2023-03-19 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200505165938/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/18/us/mormon-latter-day-saints-name.html |url-status=live }}

The LDS Church has made efforts, including in 1982, in 2001 prior to the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, in 2011 after The Book of Mormon appeared on Broadway, and again in 2018, to encourage the use of the church's full name, rather than the terms Mormon or LDS. According to Patrick Mason, chair of Mormon studies at Claremont Graduate University and Richard Bennett, a professor of church history at Brigham Young University, this is because non-church members have historically been confused about whether it represents a Christian faith, which concerns church leaders, who want to emphasize that the church is a Christian church. The term Mormon also causes concern for church leaders because it has been used to include splinter groups such as Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, who practice polygamy, which the LDS Church does not; Mason said "For more than 100 years, the mainstream LDS Church has gone to great pains to distance itself from those who practice polygamy. It doesn't want to have any confusion there between those two groups."

In 2018, the LDS Church published a style guide that encourages the use of the terms "the Church", the "Church of Jesus Christ" or the "restored Church of Jesus Christ" as shortened versions after an initial use of the full name.On August 18, 2018, church president Russell M. Nelson asked followers and non-followers to characterize the denomination with the name "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" instead of "Mormons", "Mormonism" or the shorthand of "LDS".{{cite news |title=Latter Day Saints church leader rejects 'Mormon' label |work=BBC News |date=August 18, 2018 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-45236892 |access-date=19 August 2018 |archive-date=August 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819191629/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-45236892 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Stack |first=Peggy Fletcher |date=22 August 2018 |title=LDS Church wants everyone to stop calling it the LDS Church and drop the word 'Mormons' — but some members doubt it will happen |url=https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/08/16/lds-church-wants-everyone/ |access-date=2023-03-19 |website=The Salt Lake Tribune |language=en-US |archive-date=April 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420203816/https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/08/16/lds-church-wants-everyone/ |url-status=live }} According to church historian Bowman, 'the term "restored" refers to the idea that the original Christian religion is obsolete, and Mormons alone are practicing true Christianity.'

The 2018 style guide rejects the term Mormons along with "Mormon Church", "Mormonism", and the abbreviation LDS. The second-largest sect, the Community of Christ, also rejects the term Mormon due to its association with the practice of polygamy among Brighamite sects.{{Cite journal|last=Shields|first=Steven L.|date=2014|title=The Early Community of Christ Mission to "Redeem" the Church in Utah|journal=Journal of Mormon History|volume=40|issue=4 |pages=158–170|doi=10.5406/jmormhist.40.4.158 |s2cid=246562695|doi-access=free}} Other sects, including several fundamentalist branches of the Brighamite tradition, embrace the term Mormon.

{{Main|History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints}}

The history of the Mormons has shaped them into a people with a strong sense of unity and commonality.{{Harvtxt|O'Dea|1957|pp=75,119}}. From the start, Mormons have tried to establish what they call "Zion", a utopian society of the righteous.A Mormon scripture describing the ancient city of Enoch became a model for the Saints. Enoch's city was a Zion "because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there were no poor among them" {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|pp=36–38}}; ([http://churchofjesuschrist.org/scriptures/pgp/moses/7.18?lang=eng#17 {{nowrap|Book of Moses 7:18}}]).

Mormon history can be divided into three broad periods: (1) the early history during the lifetime of Joseph Smith, (2) a "pioneer era" under the leadership of Brigham Young and his successors, and (3) a modern era beginning around the turn of the 20th century. In the first period, Smith attempted to build a city called Zion, where converts could gather. Zion became a "landscape of villages" in Utah during the pioneer era. In modern times, Zion is still an ideal, though Mormons gather together in their individual congregations rather than in a central geographic location."In Missouri and Illinois, Zion had been a city; in Utah, it was a landscape of villages; in the urban diaspora, it was the ward with its extensive programs." {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=107}}.

{{See also|History of the Latter Day Saint movement}}

File:Joseph Smith first vision stained glass.jpg 1820 First Vision]]

The Mormon movement began with the publishing of the Book of Mormon in March 1830, which Smith claimed was a translation of golden plates containing the religious history of an ancient American civilization that the ancient prophet-historian Mormon had compiled. Smith stated that an angel had directed him to the golden plates buried in the Hill Cumorah.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=19}}. On April 6, 1830, Smith founded the Church of Christ.Scholars and eye-witnesses disagree as to whether the church was organized in Manchester, New York at the Smith log home, or in Fayette at the home of Peter Whitmer Sr. {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=109}}; {{Harvtxt|Marquardt|2005|pp=223–23}} (arguing that organization in Manchester is most consistent with eye-witness statements). In 1832, Smith added an account of a vision he had sometime in the early 1820s while living in Upstate New York.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|pp=1, 9}}; {{Harvtxt|O'Dea|1957|p=9}}; {{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5Zx9qOay304C&pg=PA30 |title = Joseph Smith and the Origins of the Book of Mormon |first = David |last = Persuitte |page = 30 |publisher = McFarland |date = October 2000 |access-date = January 25, 2012 |isbn = 9780786484034 }}. Some Mormons regarded this vision as the most important event in human history after the birth, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.{{cite web |author = LDS Church |title = Joseph Smith Home Page/Mission of the Prophet/First Vision: This Is My Beloved Son. Hear Him! |year = 2010 |url = http://josephsmith.net/article/the-first-vision |access-date = April 29, 2010 }}; {{Harvtxt|Allen|1966|p=29}} (belief in the First Vision now considered second in importance only to belief in the divinity of Jesus.); {{Cite journal |title = What Are People Asking about Us? |last = Hinkley |first = Gordon B. |journal = Ensign |issue = November |year = 1998 |url = http://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/ensign/1998/11/what-are-people-asking-about-us |access-date = May 30, 2019 |archive-date = July 5, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200705085517/http://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/ensign/1998/11/what-are-people-asking-about-us |url-status = live }} ("[N]othing we teach, nothing we live by is of greater importance than this initial declaration.").

The early church grew westward as Smith sent missionaries to proselytize.{{Harvtxt|O'Dea|1957|p=41}} (by the next spring the church had 1,000 members). In 1831, the church moved to Kirtland, Ohio, where missionaries had made a large number of converts{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=97}} (citing letter by Smith to Kirtland converts, quoted in {{Harvtxt|Howe|1834|p=111}}); {{Harvtxt|O'Dea|1957|p=41}}. and Smith began establishing an outpost in Jackson County, Missouri,{{Harvtxt|Smith|Cowdery|Rigdon|Williams|1835|p=154}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=162}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=109}}. where he planned to eventually build the city of Zion (or the New Jerusalem).Smith said in 1831 that God intended the Mormons to "retain a strong hold in the land of Kirtland, for the space of five years." (Doctrine and Covenants 64:21); {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=122}}. In 1833, Missouri settlers, alarmed by the rapid influx of Mormons, expelled them from Jackson County into the nearby Clay County, where local residents were more welcoming.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=222–27}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=137}} (noting that the brutality of the Jackson Countians aroused sympathy for the Mormons and was almost universally deplored by the media); {{Harvtxt|O'Dea|1957|pp=43–45}} (The Mormons were forced out in a November gale, and were taken in by Clay County residents, who earned from non-Mormons the derogative title of "Jack Mormons").

After Smith led a mission, known as Zion's Camp, to recover the land,{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=141, 146–59}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=322}}. he began building Kirtland Temple in Lake County, Ohio, where the church flourished.{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=101}}; {{Harvtxt|Arrington|1992|p=21}} (by summer of 1835, there were 1500 to 2000 Saints in Kirtland); Desert Morning News 2008 Church Almanac p. 655 (from 1831 to 1838, church membership grew from 680 to 17,881); {{Harv|Bushman|2005|pp=310–19}} (The Kirtland Temple was viewed as the site of a new Pentecost); {{Harv|Brodie|1971|p=178}}. Smith also published several new revelations during the Kirtland era. When the Missouri Mormons were later asked to leave Clay County in 1836, they secured land in what would become Caldwell County.{{Harvtxt|O'Dea|1957|p=45}} (In December 1836, the Missouri legislature granted the Mormons the right to organize Caldwell County).

The Kirtland era ended in 1838 after the failure of a church-sponsored anti-bank caused widespread defections,{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=328–38}}; {{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|p=221}} ("Ultimately, the rituals and visions dedicating the Kirtland temple were not sufficient to hold the church together in the face of a mounting series of internal disputes.") and Smith regrouped with the remaining church in Far West, Missouri.{{Harvtxt|Roberts|1905|p=24}} (referring to the Far West church as the "church in Zion"); {{Harv|Bushman|2005|p=345}} (The revelation calling Far West "Zion" had the effect of "implying that Far West was to take the place of Independence.") During the fall of 1838, tensions escalated into the Mormon War with the old Missouri settlers.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=357–64}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=227–30}}; {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=134}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=97–98}}. On October 27, the governor of Missouri ordered that the Mormons "must be treated as enemies" and be exterminated or driven from the state.{{Harv|Bushman|2005|p=367}} (Boggs' executive order stated that the Mormon community had "made war upon the people of this State" and that "the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace"). {{Harv|Bushman|2005|p=398}} (In 1976, Missouri issued a formal apology for this order) {{Harvtxt|O'Dea|1957|p=47}}. Between November and April, some eight thousand displaced Mormons migrated east into Illinois.{{Harvtxt|O'Dea|1957|p=47}} ("the Saints, after being ravaged by troops, robbed by neighbors, and insulted by public officials from February to April, crossed over into Illinois").

File:Joseph Smith Preaching to the Indians by William Armitage.png who visited Nauvoo on August 12, 1841]]

In 1839, the Mormons purchased the small town of Commerce, converted swampland on the banks of the Mississippi River, renamed the area Nauvoo, Illinois,{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=383–84}}. and began constructing the Nauvoo Temple. The city became the church's new headquarters and gathering place, and it grew rapidly, fueled in part by converts immigrating from Europe.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=409}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=258, 264–65}}; {{Harvtxt|O'Dea|1957|p=51}} (noting the city growth and missionary success in England). Meanwhile, Smith introduced temple ceremonies meant to seal families together for eternity, as well as the doctrines of eternal progression or exaltation{{Harvtxt|Widmer|2000|p=119}} (Smith taught that faithful Mormons may progress until they become co-equal with God); {{Harvtxt|Roberts|1909|pp=502–03}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=497–98}} (the second anointing provided a guarantee that participants would be exalted even if they sinned). and plural marriage.Initially, Smith introduced plural marriage only to his closest associates.{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=334–36}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=437, 644}} The practice was acknowledged publicly in 1852 by Brigham Young.

Smith created a service organization for women called the Relief Society and the Council of Fifty, representing a future theodemocratic "Kingdom of God" on the earth.{{Harvnb|Quinn|1980|pp=120–122, 165}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=519–21}} (describing the Council of Fifty). Smith also published the story of his First Vision, in which the Father and the Son appeared to him when he was about 14 years old.{{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|p=30}} The first extant account of the First Vision is the manuscript account in Joseph Smith, "Manuscript History of the Church" (1839); the first published account is Orson Pratt, An Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions and of the Late Discovery of Ancient American Records (Edinburgh: Ballantyne and Hughes, 1840); and the first American publication is Smith's letter to John Wentworth in Times and Seasons, 3 (March 1842), 706–08. (These accounts are available in {{Cite book |title=Early Mormon Documents |publisher=Signature Books |year=1996 |isbn=978-1-56085-072-4 |editor-last=Vogel |editor-first=Dan |editor-link=Dan Vogel |volume=1 |place=Salt Lake City}}.) As the LDS historian Richard Bushman wrote in his biography of Smith, "At first, Joseph was reluctant to talk about his vision. Most early converts probably never heard about the 1820 vision." {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=39}}. This vision would come to be regarded by some Mormons as the most important event in human history after the birth, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In 1844, local prejudices and political tensions, fueled by Mormon peculiarity, internal dissent, and reports of polygamy, escalated into conflicts between Mormons and "anti-Mormons" in Illinois and Missouri.{{Harvtxt|O'Dea|1957|pp=64–67}} Smith was arrested, and on June 27, 1844, he and his brother Hyrum were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois.Encyclopedia of Latter-Day Saint History, p. 824; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=393–94}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=539–50}}; Many local Illinoisans were uneasy with Mormon power, and their unease was fanned by the local media after Smith suppressed a newspaper containing an exposé regarding plural marriage, theocracy, and other sensitive and oft misinterpreted issues. The suppression resulted in Smith being arrested, tried, and acquitted for "inciting a riot". On June 25, Smith let himself be arrested and tried for the riot charges again, this time in Carthage, the county seat, where he was incarcerated without bail on a new charge of treason. {{citation |contribution-url = http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/4208 |contribution = Smith, Joseph: Legal Trials of Joseph Smith |first = Joseph I. |last = Bentley |pages = 1346–1348 |editor1-last = Ludlow |editor1-first = Daniel H |editor1-link = Daniel H. Ludlow |title = Encyclopedia of Mormonism |location = New York |publisher = Macmillan Publishing |year = 1992 |isbn = 978-0-02-879602-4 |oclc = 24502140 |title-link = Encyclopedia of Mormonism |access-date = July 10, 2014 |archive-date = November 15, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141115202830/http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/4208 |url-status = live }}. Because Hyrum was Smith's logical successor,Brigham Young later said of Hyrum, "Did Joseph Smith ordain any man to take his place. He did. Who was it? It was Hyrum, but Hyrum fell a martyr before Joseph did. If Hyrum had lived he would have acted for Joseph." Times and Seasons, 5 [October 15, 1844]: 683. their deaths caused a succession crisis,{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|p=143}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=398}}. and Brigham Young assumed leadership over most Latter Day Saints.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=556–57}}. Young had been a close associate of Smith's and was the senior apostle of the Quorum of the Twelve.Smith's position as President of the Church was originally left vacant, based on the sentiment that nobody could succeed Smith's office. Years later, the church established the principle that Young, and any other senior apostle of the Quorum of the Twelve, would be ordained President of the Church as a matter of course upon the death of the former President, subject to unanimous agreement of the Quorum of the Twelve. Smaller groups of Latter-Day Saints followed other leaders to form other denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement.{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=198–211}}.

For two years after Joseph Smith's death, conflicts escalated between Mormons and other Illinois residents. To prevent war, Brigham Young led the Mormon pioneers (constituting most of the Latter Day Saints) to a temporary winter quarters in Nebraska and then, eventually (beginning in 1847), to what became the Utah Territory.In 2004, the State of Illinois recognized the expulsion of the Latter-day Saints as the "largest forced migration in American history" and stated in the adopted resolution that, "WHEREAS, The biases and prejudices of a less enlightened age in the history of the State of Illinois caused unmeasurable hardship and trauma for the community of Latter-day Saints by the distrust, violence, and inhospitable actions of a dark time in our past; therefore, be it RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we acknowledge the disparity of those past actions and suspicions, regretting the expulsion of the community of Latter-day Saints, a people of faith and hard work." {{cite web |url = http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?GAID=3&SessionID=3&GA=93&DocTypeID=HR&DocNum=0793&LegID=12984&SpecSess=&Session= |title = Official House Resolution HR0793 (LRB093 21726 KEF 49525 r) |author = Illinois General Assembly |date = April 1, 2004 |access-date = April 4, 2011 |archive-date = June 20, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220620015748/http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?GAID=3 |url-status = live }}; "The great Mormon migration of 1846–1847 was but one step in the Mormons' quest for religious freedom and growth." {{citation |url = http://www.nps.gov/mopi/historyculture/index.htm |title = Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail: History & Culture |work = NPS.gov |publisher = National Park Service |access-date = July 9, 2014 |archive-date = December 8, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141208215457/http://www.nps.gov/mopi/historyculture/index.htm |url-status = live }}. Having failed to build Zion within the confines of American society, the Mormons began to construct a society in isolation based on their beliefs and values.{{Harvtxt|O'Dea|1957|p=86}} ("Having failed to build Zion within the confines of American society, the Latter-day Saints found in the Great Basin the isolation that would enable them to establish a distinctive community based upon their own beliefs and values"). The cooperative ethic that Mormons had developed over the last decade and a half became important as settlers branched out and colonized a large desert region now known as the Mormon Corridor.{{Harvtxt|O'Dea|1957|p=84}} (From 1847 to 1857 ninety-five Mormon communities were established, most of them clustering around Salt Lake City); {{Cite journal |journal = Pacific Historical Review |volume = 8 |issue = 2 |title = The Mormon Corridor |last = Hunter |first = Milton |date = June 1939 |jstor = 3633392 |pages = 179–200 |doi = 10.2307/3633392 }}. Colonizing efforts were seen as religious duties, and the new villages were governed by the Mormon bishops (local lay religious leaders).{{Harvtxt|O'Dea|1957|pp=86–89}}. The Mormons viewed land as a commonwealth, devising and maintaining a cooperative system of irrigation that allowed them to build a farming community in the desert.{{Harvtxt|O'Dea|1957|pp=87–91}}.

From 1849 to 1852, the Mormons greatly expanded their missionary efforts, establishing several missions in Europe, Latin America, and the South Pacific.{{Harvtxt|O'Dea|1957|p=91}}. Converts were expected to "gather" to Zion, and during Young's presidency (1847–77), over seventy thousand Mormon converts immigrated to America. Many of the converts came from England and Scandinavia and were quickly assimilated into the Mormon community.{{Harvtxt|O'Dea|1957|pp=91–92}}; {{citation |url = http://welshmormon.byu.edu/ |title = Welsh Mormon History |work = WelshMormon.BYU.edu |publisher = Center for Family History and Genealogy, Brigham Young University |access-date = July 10, 2014 |archive-date = July 14, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140714202310/http://welshmormon.byu.edu/ |url-status = live }} During the 1840s and 1850s many thousands of Welsh Mormon converts immigrated to America, and today, it is estimated that around 20 percent of the population of Utah is of Welsh descent. Many of these immigrants crossed the Great Plains in wagons drawn by oxen, while some later groups pulled their possessions in small handcarts. During the 1860s, newcomers began using the new railroad that was under construction.{{Harvtxt|O'Dea|1957|pp=95–96}}.

In 1852, church leaders publicized the previously secret practice of plural marriage, a form of polygamy.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=88}} (Plural marriage originated in a revelation that Joseph Smith apparently received in 1831 and wrote down in 1843. It was first publicly announced in a general conference in 1852); {{citation |first = Jessie L. |last = Embry |contribution = Polygamy |contribution-url = http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/p/POLYGAMY.html |editor-last = Powell |editor-first = Allan Kent |year = 1994 |title = Utah History Encyclopedia |location = Salt Lake City, Utah |publisher = University of Utah Press |isbn = 978-0-87480-425-6 |oclc = 30473917 |access-date = October 31, 2013 |archive-date = April 17, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170417163937/http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/p/POLYGAMY.html |url-status = dead }} The Mormon doctrine of plural wives was officially announced by one of the Twelve Apostles, Orson Pratt, and Young in a special conference of the elders of the LDS Church assembled in the Mormon Tabernacle on August 28, 1852, and reprinted in an extra edition of the Deseret News

{{cite news |title = Minutes of conference: a special conference of the elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints assembled in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, August 28, 1852, 10 o'clock, a.m., pursuant to public notice |publisher = Deseret News Extra |date = September 14, 1852 |page = 14 }}. See also The 1850s: Official sanction in the LDS Church Over the next 50 years, many Mormons (between 20 and 30 percent of Mormon families){{cite book |last = Flake |first = Kathleen |title = The Politics of American Religious Identity |year = 2004 |publisher = University of North Carolina Press |isbn = 978-0-8078-5501-0 |pages = 65, 192 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GLLCAB5vmMQC }}. entered into plural marriages as a religious duty, with the number of plural marriages reaching a peak around 1860 and then declining through the rest of the century.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=88}} (If asked why they entered these relationships, both plural wives and husbands emphasized spiritual blessings of being sealed eternally and of submitting to God's will. According to the federal censuses, the highest percentage of the population in polygamous families was in 1860 (43.6 percent) and it declined to 25 percent in 1880 and to 7 percent in 1890). Besides the doctrinal reasons for plural marriage, the practice made some economic sense, as many of the plural wives were single women who arrived in Utah without brothers or fathers to offer them societal support.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=88}} ("The close study of the marriages in one nineteenth-century Utah community revealed that a disproportionate number of plural wives were women who arrived in Utah without fathers or brothers to care for them...Since better-off men more frequently married plurally, the practice distributed wealth to the poor and disconnected").

File:Crossing the Mississippi on the Ice by C.C.A. Christensen.png on the ice]]

By 1857, tensions had again escalated between Mormons and other Americans, primarily due to accusations involving polygamy and the theocratic rule of the Utah Territory by Brigham Young.{{citation |last = Tullidge |first = Edward |author-link = Edward Tullidge |title = History of Salt Lake City |url = https://archive.org/details/historyofsaltlak00tull |contribution-url = https://archive.org/stream/historyofsaltlak00tull#page/n155/mode/2up |contribution = Resignation of Judge Drummond |pages = 132–35 |place = Salt Lake City |publisher = Star Printing Company |year = 1886 |oclc = 13941646 }} In 1857, U.S. President James Buchanan sent an army to Utah, which Mormons interpreted as open aggression against them. Fearing a repeat of Missouri and Illinois, the Mormons prepared to defend themselves, determined to torch their own homes if they were invaded.{{Harvtxt|O'Dea|1957|pp=101–02}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=95}}. The Utah War ensued from 1857 to 1858, in which the most notable instance of violence was the Mountain Meadows massacre when leaders of a local Mormon militia ordered the killing of a civilian emigrant party that was traveling through Utah during the escalating tensions.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|pp=96–97}} (calling the Mountain Meadows massacre the greatest tragedy in Mormon history). In 1858, Young agreed to step down from his position as governor and was replaced by a non-Mormon, Alfred Cumming.To combat the notion that rank-and-file Mormons were unhappy under Young's leadership, Cumming noted that he had offered to help any to leave the territory if they desired. Of the 50,000 inhabitants of the state of Utah, the underwhelming response—56 men, 33 women, and 71 children, most of whom stated they left for economic reasons—impressed Cumming, as did the fact that Mormon leaders contributed supplies to the emigrants. Cumming to [Secretary of State Lewis Cass], written by Thomas Kane, May 2, 1858, BYU Special Collections. Nevertheless, the LDS Church still wielded significant political power in the Utah Territory.{{Cite book |last1 = Firmage |first1 = Edwin Brown |last2 = Mangrum |first2 = Richard Collin |title = Zion in the Courts: A Legal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1830–1900 |page = 140 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9AimifP2a-4C&pg=PR7 |isbn = 978-0-252-06980-2 |publisher = U. of Illinois Press |year = 2002 }}.

At Young's death in 1877, he was followed by other LDS Church presidents, who resisted efforts by the United States Congress to outlaw Mormon polygamous marriages.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=97}}. In 1878, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Reynolds v. United States that religious duty was not a suitable defense for practicing polygamy. Many Mormon polygamists went into hiding; later, Congress began seizing church assets. In September 1890, church president Wilford Woodruff issued a Manifesto that officially suspended the practice of polygamy.{{LDS|Official Declaration|od|1}} Although this Manifesto did not dissolve existing plural marriages, relations with the United States markedly improved after 1890, such that Utah was admitted as a U.S. state in 1896. After the Manifesto, some Mormons continued to enter into polygamous marriages, but these eventually stopped in 1904 when church president Joseph F. Smith disavowed polygamy before Congress and issued a "Second Manifesto" calling for all plural marriages in the church to cease. Eventually, the church adopted a policy of excommunicating members found practicing polygamy, and today actively seeks to distance itself from "fundamentalist" groups that continue the practice.{{citation |url = https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide |title = Style Guide – The Name of the Church: Topics and Background |work = MormonNewsroom.org |date = April 9, 2010 |publisher = LDS Church |access-date = July 9, 2014 |quote = When referring to people or organizations that practice polygamy, it should be stated that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not affiliated with polygamous groups. |archive-date = June 13, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190613210818/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide |url-status = live }}. The church repudiates polygamist groups and excommunicates their members if discovered: {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=91}}; {{cite news |url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna25396937 |title = Mormons seek distance from polygamous sects |date = June 26, 2008 |agency = AP |publisher = NBCNews.com |access-date = July 10, 2014 |archive-date = October 21, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141021221253/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/25396937/ns/us_news-faith/t/mormons-seek-distance-polygamist-sects |url-status = live }}.

{{Further|Mormonism as a world religion}}

During the early 20th century, Mormons began reintegrating into the American mainstream. In 1929, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir began broadcasting a weekly performance on national radio, becoming an asset for public relations.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=103}}. Mormons emphasized patriotism and industry, rising in socioeconomic status from the bottom among American religious denominations to the middle class.{{Harvtxt|Mauss|1994|p=22}}. "With the consistent encouragement of church leaders, Mormons became models of patriotic, law-abiding citizenship, sometimes seeming to "out-American" all other Americans. Their participation in the full spectrum of national, social, political, economic, and cultural life has been thorough and sincere".

In the 1920s and 1930s, Mormons began migrating out of Utah, a trend hurried by the Great Depression, as Mormons looked for work wherever they could find it.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=105}}. As Mormons spread out, church leaders created programs to help preserve the tight-knit community feel of Mormon culture.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=106}}. In addition to weekly worship services, Mormons began participating in numerous programs such as Boy Scouting, a Young Women organization, church-sponsored dances, ward basketball, camping trips, plays, and religious education programs for youth and college students.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=53}}. During the Great Depression, the church started a welfare program to meet the needs of poor members, which has since grown to include a humanitarian branch that provides relief to disaster victims.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|pp=40–41}}.

File:Mtchoirandorchestra ConferenceCenter.jpg]]

During the later half of the 20th century, there was a retrenchment movement in Mormonism in which Mormons became more conservative, attempting to regain their status as a "peculiar people".The term peculiar people is consciously borrowed from [http://churchofjesuschrist.org/scriptures/nt/1-pet/2.9?lang=eng#8 1 Peter 2:9], and can be interpreted as "special" or "different", though Mormons have certainly been viewed as "peculiar" in the modern sense as well. {{Harvtxt|Mauss|1994|p=60}}.

Though the 1960s and 1970s brought changes such as Women's Liberation and the civil rights movement, Mormon leaders were alarmed by the erosion of traditional values, the sexual revolution, the widespread use of recreational drugs, moral relativism, and other forces they saw as damaging to the family."Developments mitigating traditional racial, ethnic, and gender inequality and bigotry were regarded in hindsight by most Americans (and most Mormons) as desirable  .... On the other hand, Mormons (and many others) have watched with increasing alarm the spread throughout society of 'liberating' innovations such as the normalization of non-marital sexual behavior, the rise in abortion, illegitimacy, divorce, and child neglect or abuse, recreational drugs, crime, etc." {{Harvtxt|Mauss|1994|p=124}}.

Partly to counter this, Mormons put an even greater emphasis on family life, religious education, and missionary work, becoming more conservative in the process. As a result, Mormons today are probably less integrated with mainstream society than they were in the early 1960s."[T]he church appears to have arrested, if not reversed, the erosion of distinctive Mormon ways that might have been anticipated in the 60s." {{Harvtxt|Mauss|1994|p=140}}. "However, in partial contradiction to their public image, Mormons stand mostly on the liberal side of the continuum on certain other social and political issues, notably on civil rights, and even on women's rights, except where these seem to conflict with child-rearing roles." {{Harvtxt|Mauss|1994|p=156}}.

Although black people have been members of Mormon congregations since Joseph Smith's time, before 1978, black membership was small. From 1852 to 1978, the LDS Church enforced a policy restricting men of black African descent from being ordained to the church's lay priesthood.{{Cite book |title = All Abraham's Children: Changing Mormon Conceptions of Race and Lineage |first = Armand L. |last = Mauss |pages = 213–215 |publisher = University of Illinois Press |year = 2003 |isbn = 978-0-252-02803-8 }}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|pp=111–12}} ("The origins of this policy are not altogether clear. "Passages in Joseph Smith's translations indicate that a lineage associated with Ham and the Egyptian pharaohs was forbidden the priesthood. Connecting the ancient pharaohs with modern Africans and African Americans required a speculative leap, but by the time of Brigham Young, the leap was made.") The church was sharply criticized for its policy during the civil rights movement, but the policy remained in force until a 1978 reversal that was prompted in part by questions about mixed-race converts in Brazil.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|pp=111–12}}. In general, Mormons greeted the change with joy and relief. Since 1978, black membership has grown, and in 1997 there were approximately 500,000 black church members (about 5 percent of the total membership), mostly in Africa, Brazil, and the Caribbean.{{Cite journal |url = http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_218.html |title = 1999–2000 Church Almanac |year = 1998 |website = Adherents.com |page = 119 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110604023854/http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_218.html |access-date = November 11, 2011 |url-status = usurped |archive-date = June 4, 2011 }} "A rough estimate would place the number of Church members with African roots at year-end 1997 at half a million, with about 100,000 each in Africa and the Caribbean, and another 300,000 in Brazil." Black membership has continued to grow substantially, especially in West Africa, where two temples have been built.{{cite web |url = http://www.ldsgenesisgroup.org/africagrowth.html |title = The Church Continues to Grow in Africa |publisher = Genesis Group |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121105130157/http://www.ldsgenesisgroup.org/africagrowth.html |archive-date = November 5, 2012 |df = mdy-all }} Some black Mormons are members of the Genesis Group, an organization of black members that predates the priesthood ban and is endorsed by the church.{{Cite book |title = Black and Mormon |author = Newell G. Bringhurst, Darron T. Smith |date = December 13, 2005 |publisher = University of Illinois Press |pages = 102–104 }}

File:LDS Global Distribution (2009).svg

The LDS Church grew rapidly after World War II and became a worldwide organization as missionaries were sent across the globe. The church doubled in size every 15 to 20 years,{{citation |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wTBUCGwdG8MC&q=doubled+twice+since+then&pg=PA92 |title = The angel and the beehive: the Mormon struggle with assimilation |author = Armand L. Mauss |year = 1994 |page = 92 |publisher = University of Illinois Press |isbn = 9780252020711 }}; {{citation |title = Building a bigger tent: Does Mormonism have a Mitt Romney problem? |url = http://www.economist.com/node/21548247 |date = February 25, 2012 |newspaper = The Economist |access-date = February 27, 2012 |archive-date = February 27, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120227161709/http://www.economist.com/node/21548247 |url-status = live }} (In 2010 alone the church grew by 400,000 new members, including converts and newborns). and by 1996, there were more Mormons outside the United States than inside.{{cite web |last = Todd |first = Jay M. |title = More Members Now outside U.S. Than in U.S |url = http://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/ensign/1996/03/news-of-the-church/more-members-now-outside-us-than-in-us |website = Ensign |date = March 1996 |access-date = April 29, 2018 }} In 2012, there were an estimated 14.8 million Mormons,{{cite web |url = https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/2012-statistical-report-2013-april-general-conference |title = 2012 Statistical Report for 2013 April General Conference |date = April 6, 2013 |access-date = July 18, 2019 |archive-date = June 28, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190628143049/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/2012-statistical-report-2013-april-general-conference |url-status = live }} with roughly 57 percent living outside the United States.In 2011, approximately 6.2 million of the church's 14.4 million members lived in the U.S. {{cite web |url = https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/united-states |title = Facts and Statistics: United States |date = December 2011 |publisher = LDS Newsroom |access-date = April 29, 2018 |archive-date = June 28, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190628015016/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/united-states |url-status = live }}. It is estimated that approximately 4.5 million Mormons – approximately 30% of the total membership – regularly attend services.{{citation |url = http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/57369318-80/church-percent-lds-growth.html.csp |title = New almanac offers look at the world of Mormon membership |first = Peggy Fletcher |last = Stack |author-link = Peggy Fletcher Stack |date = January 10, 2014 |newspaper = The Salt Lake Tribune |access-date = September 24, 2014 |archive-date = October 21, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141021204834/http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/57369318-80/church-percent-lds-growth.html.csp |url-status = live }}. A majority of U.S. Mormons are white and non-Hispanic (84 percent).{{cite web |url = http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Mormon/mormons-in-america-methodology.aspx |title = Mormons in America |publisher = Pew Research Center |date = January 12, 2012 |access-date = May 13, 2012 |archive-date = May 19, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120519042958/http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Mormon/mormons-in-america-methodology.aspx |url-status = dead }}. Most Mormons are distributed in North and South America, the South Pacific, and Western Europe. The global distribution of Mormons resembles a contact diffusion model, radiating out from the organization's headquarters in Utah.{{cite web |url = http://web.natur.cuni.cz/ksgrrsek/acta/2009/2009_reeves.pdf |title = The Global Distribution of Adventists and Mormons in 2007 |author = Daniel Reeves |year = 2009 |access-date = November 11, 2011 |archive-date = December 12, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111212033045/http://web.natur.cuni.cz/ksgrrsek/acta/2009/2009_reeves.pdf |url-status = live }}. The church enforces general doctrinal uniformity, congregations on all continents teach the same doctrines, and international Mormons tend to absorb a good deal of Mormon culture, possibly because of the church's top-down hierarchy and missionary presence. However, international Mormons often bring pieces of their own heritage into the church, adapting church practices to local cultures.{{cite web |url = https://dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V29N01_183.pdf |title = Reinventing Mormonism: Guatemala as Harbinger of the Future? |author = Thomas W. Murphy |year = 1996 |website = Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought |access-date = November 11, 2011 |archive-date = September 27, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110927044542/https://dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V29N01_183.pdf |url-status = live }}

As of December 2019, the LDS Church reported having 16,565,036 members worldwide.[https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/2019-statistical-report "2019 Statistical Report for April 2020 Conference"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629203050/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/2017-statistical-report-april-2018-general-conference |date=June 29, 2019 }}, Church Newsroom, April 4, 2020. Chile, Uruguay, and several areas in the South Pacific have a higher percentage of Mormons than the United States (which is at about 2 percent).{{cite web |url = https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/ |title = LDS Statistics and Church Facts – Total Church Membership |website = www.mormonnewsroom.org |access-date = September 13, 2015 |archive-date = June 6, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190606222321/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics |url-status = live }} South Pacific countries and dependencies that are more than 10 percent Mormon include American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, and Tonga.

{{Main|Culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints}}

Isolation in Utah had allowed Mormons to create a culture of their own.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=47}}. As the faith spread worldwide, many of its more distinctive practices followed. Mormon converts are urged to undergo lifestyle changes, repent of sins, and adopt sometimes atypical standards of conduct. Practices common to Mormons include studying scriptures, praying daily, fasting regularly, attending Sunday worship services, participating in church programs and activities on weekdays, and refraining from work on Sundays when possible. The most important part of the church services is considered to be the Lord's Supper (commonly called sacrament), in which church members renew covenants made at baptism.{{cite web |url = http://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/topics/sacrament |publisher = churchofjesuschrist.org |title = Sacrament }} Mormons also emphasize standards they believe were taught by Jesus Christ, including personal honesty, integrity, obedience to the law, chastity outside marriage, and fidelity within marriage.{{cite web |url = http://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/manual/for-the-strength-of-youth-fulfilling-our-duty-to-god |title = For the Strength of Youth: Fulfilling Our Duty to God |publisher = LDS Church }}{{Dead link|date=August 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

In 2010, around 13–14 percent of Mormons lived in Utah, the center of cultural influence for Mormonism.{{cite web |url = http://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/country/usa-utah |title = USA–Utah |date = July 27, 2011 |publisher = LDS Newsroom |access-date = November 11, 2011 |archive-date = June 29, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190629013943/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/country/usa-utah |url-status = live }}. Utah Mormons (as well as Mormons living in the Intermountain West) are on average more culturally and politically conservative than those living in some cosmopolitan centers elsewhere in the U.S.Mauss often compares Salt Lake City Mormons to California Mormons from San Francisco and East Bay. The Utah Mormons were generally more orthodox and conservative. {{Harvtxt|Mauss|1994|pp=40, 128}}; {{Cite report |url = http://pewforum.org/Christian/Mormon/A-Portrait-of-Mormons-in-the-US--Social-and-Political-Views.aspx |title = A Portrait of Mormons in the U.S.: III. Social and Political Views |date = July 24, 2009 |publisher = Pew Research Center |access-date = September 22, 2011 |archive-date = September 10, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110910044847/http://pewforum.org/Christian/Mormon/A-Portrait-of-Mormons-in-the-US--Social-and-Political-Views.aspx |url-status = dead }}. Utahns self-identifying as Mormon also attend church somewhat more on average than Mormons living in other states. (Nonetheless, whether they live in Utah or elsewhere in the U.S., Mormons tend to be more culturally and politically conservative than members of other U.S. religious groups.){{Cite report |url = http://www.gallup.com/poll/125021/mormons-conservative-major-religious-group.aspx |date = January 11, 2010 |title = Mormons Most Conservative Major Religious Group in U.S.: Six out of 10 Mormons are politically conservative |publisher = Gallup poll |first = Frank |last = Newport |access-date = September 22, 2011 |archive-date = October 12, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111012194112/http://www.gallup.com/poll/125021/Mormons-Conservative-Major-Religious-Group.aspx |url-status = live }}; {{Cite report |url = http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1292/mormon-religion-demographics-beliefs-practices-politics |publisher = Pew Research Center |title = A Portrait of Mormons in the U.S |first = Allison |last = Pond |date = July 24, 2009 |access-date = September 22, 2011 |archive-date = October 12, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111012144516/http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1292/mormon-religion-demographics-beliefs-practices-politics |url-status = dead }}. Utah Mormons often emphasize pioneer heritage more than international Mormons, who generally are not descendants of the Mormon pioneers.

File:Igreja SUD uruguaiana rs.jpg

Mormons have a strong sense of communality that stems from their doctrine and history.Early Mormons had practiced the law of consecration in Missouri for two years, in an attempt to eliminate poverty. Families would return their surplus "income" to the bishop, who would then redistribute it among the saints. Though initial efforts at "consecration" failed, consecration has become a more general attitude that underlies Mormon charitable works. {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|pp=36–39}}. LDS Church members have a responsibility to dedicate their time and talents to helping the poor and building the church. The church is divided by locality into congregations called "wards", with several wards or branches to create a "stake".{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=53}} (The name "stake" comes from a passage in Isaiah that compares Zion to a tent that will enlarge as new stakes are planted); See [http://churchofjesuschrist.org/scriptures/ot/isa/33.20?lang=eng#19 {{nowrap|Isaiah 33:20}}] and [http://churchofjesuschrist.org/scriptures/ot/isa/54.2?lang=eng#1 {{nowrap|Isaiah 54:2}}]. Most church leadership positions are lay positions, and church leaders may work 10 to 15 hours a week in unpaid church service.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|pp=35, 52}} Observant Mormons also contribute 10 percent of their income to the church as tithing.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=39}} Paying tithing is one of the prerequisites for entrance into Mormon temples. Many LDS young men, women, and elderly couples choose to serve a proselytizing mission, during which they dedicate all of their time to the church without pay.A full-time mission is looked upon as important character training for a young man. {{Harvtxt|O'Dea|1957|p=177}}. Members are often involved in humanitarian efforts.

Mormons adhere to the Word of Wisdom, a health law or code that is interpreted as prohibiting the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, coffee and tea,{{cite news |author-link = Peggy Fletcher Stack |last = Stack |first = Peggy Fletcher |url = https://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-08-31/national/35492011_1_drink-caffeine-lds-leaders-mormons |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130327204542/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-08-31/national/35492011_1_drink-caffeine-lds-leaders-mormons |url-status = dead |archive-date = March 27, 2013 |title = It's Official: Coke and Pepsi are OK for Mormons |agency = (Religion News Service) |newspaper = Washington Post |date = August 31, 2012 |access-date = September 20, 2013 }}. while encouraging the use of herbs, grains, fruits, and a moderate consumption of meat.{{cite web |url = http://scriptures.churchofjesuschrist.org/en/dc/89 |title = Doctrine and Covenants, section 89 }} The Word of Wisdom is also understood to forbid other harmful and addictive substances and practices, such as the use of illegal drugs and abuse of prescription drugs.{{cite web |url = http://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/manual/true-to-the-faith/word-of-wisdom |title = Word of Wisdom |year = 2004 |website = True to the Faith |pages = 186–88 |access-date = November 11, 2011 }} Mormons are encouraged to keep a year's supplies, including food and financial reserves.February 2007 [http://www.providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,7585-1-4081-1,00.html All Is Safely Gathered In: Family Home Storage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319020514/http://providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,7585-1-4081-1,00.html |date=March 19, 2012 }} The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Mormons also oppose behaviors such as viewing pornography and gambling.

The concept of a united family that lives and progresses forever is at the core of Latter-day Saint doctrine, and Mormons place a high importance on family life.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=59}} (In the temple, husbands and wives are sealed to each other for eternity. The implication is that other institutional forms, including the church, might disappear, but the family will endure); {{Cite report |url = http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Mormon/mormons-in-america-executive-summary.aspx#family |title = Mormons in America |publisher = Pew Research Center |date = January 2012 |access-date = January 15, 2012 |archive-date = January 15, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120115005308/http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Mormon/mormons-in-america-executive-summary.aspx#family |url-status = dead }} (A 2011 survey of Mormons in the United States showed that family life is very important to Mormons, with family concerns significantly higher than career concerns. Four out of five Mormons believe that being a good parent is one of the most important goals in life, and roughly three out of four Mormons put having a successful marriage in this category); {{Cite journal |url = http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700214901/New-Pew-survey-reinforces-Mormons-top-goals-of-family-marriage.html?pg=1 |title = New Pew survey reinforces Mormons' top goals of family, marriage |journal = Deseret News |date = January 12, 2012 |access-date = January 15, 2012 |archive-date = January 16, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120116100601/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700214901/New-Pew-survey-reinforces-Mormons-top-goals-of-family-marriage.html?pg=1 |url-status = dead }}; See also: [http://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/family/proclamation "The Family: A Proclamation to the World"]. Many Mormons hold weekly Family Home Evenings, in which an evening is set aside for family bonding, study, prayer, and other activities they consider to be wholesome. Latter-day Saint fathers who hold the priesthood typically name and bless their children shortly after birth to formally give the child a name. Mormon parents hope and pray that their children will gain testimonies of the "gospel"{{vague|What is a "testimony of the 'gospel' and how does one "gain" it?|date=May 2018}} so they can grow up and marry in temples.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|pp=30–31}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=58}}.

Mormons have a strict law of chastity, requiring abstention from sexual relations outside opposite-sex marriage and strict fidelity within marriage. All sexual activity (heterosexual and homosexual) outside marriage is considered a grave sin, with marriage recognized as only between a man and a woman.{{cite web |title = Chastity |website = True to the Faith |year = 2004 |url = http://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/manual/true-to-the-faith/chastity |pages = 29–33 }}; {{Cite report |url = http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Mormon/mormons-in-america-executive-summary.aspx |title = Mormons in America |publisher = Pew Research Center |date = January 2012 |access-date = January 15, 2012 |archive-date = January 15, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120115005308/http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Mormon/mormons-in-america-executive-summary.aspx |url-status = dead }} (79% of Mormons in the US say that sex between unmarried adults is morally wrong, far higher than the 35% of the general public who hold the same view). Same-sex marriages are not performed or supported by the LDS Church. Church members are encouraged to marry and have children, and Latter-day Saint families tend to be larger than average. Mormons are opposed to abortion, except in some exceptional circumstances, such as when pregnancy is the result of incest or rape or when the life or health of the mother is in serious jeopardy.{{cite web |url = https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/official-statement/abortion |publisher = churchofjesuschrist.org |title = Topic: Abortion |date = November 8, 2012 |access-date = September 17, 2020 |archive-date = October 6, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201006032636/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/official-statement/abortion |url-status = live }}. Many practicing adult Mormons wear religious undergarments that remind them of covenants and encourage them to dress modestly. Latter-day Saints are counseled not to partake in any form of media that is obscene or pornographic in any way, including media that depicts graphic representations of sex or violence. Tattoos and body piercings are generally discouraged.{{cite web |url = http://churchofjesuschrist.org/manual/for-the-strength-of-youth-fulfilling-our-duty-to-god/dress-and-appearance |title = Dress and Appearance |website = For the Strength of the Youth |publisher = LDS Church |year = 2001 |access-date = November 15, 2011 |df = mdy-all }}{{dead link|date=July 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} {{cite web |url=https://www.ldsliving.com/whats-new-in-the-for-the-strength-of-youth-booklet/s/11043 |title=What are the biggest changes to the new 'For the Strength of Youth' booklet? |website=LDSLiving |year=2022 |access-date=October 26, 2023 |archive-date=October 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026172130/https://www.ldsliving.com/whats-new-in-the-for-the-strength-of-youth-booklet/s/11043 |url-status=live }}

LGBTQ Mormons remain in good standing in the church if they abstain from homosexual relations and obey the law of chastity.Homosexual acts (as well as other sexual acts outside the bonds of marriage) are prohibited by the law of chastity. Violating the law of chastity may result in excommunication. {{cite web |url = http://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/ensign/1998/11/what-are-people-asking-about-us |title = What Are People Asking about Us? |author = Gordon B. Hinckley |year = 1998 |access-date = November 11, 2011 |archive-date = July 5, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200705085517/http://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/ensign/1998/11/what-are-people-asking-about-us |url-status = live }}. While there are no official numbers, LDS Family Services estimates that, on average, four or five members per LDS ward experience same-sex attraction.{{citation |url = http://www.evergreeninternational.org/Individuals.htm |title = Resources for Individuals |work = EvergreenInternational.org |publisher = Evergreen International |url-status = usurped |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121120213658/http://www.evergreeninternational.org/Individuals.htm |archive-date = November 20, 2012 }}. Gary Watts, former president of Family Fellowship, estimates that only 10 percent of homosexuals stay in the church.{{Cite journal |url = http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/ci_6668882 |title = Mormon church changes stance on homosexuality; New teachings say lifelong celibacy to be rewarded with heterosexuality in heaven |author = Rebecca Rosen Lum |date = August 20, 2007 |journal = The Oakland Tribune |access-date = December 20, 2007 |archive-date = May 12, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080512075347/http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/ci_6668882 |url-status = live }}. Many of these individuals have come forward through different support groups or websites discussing their homosexual attractions and concurrent church membership.{{cite web |title = Mormons and Gays |url = http://www.mormonsandgays.org/ |publisher = The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints |access-date = February 18, 2013 |archive-date = June 16, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160616190527/http://mormonsandgays.org/ |url-status = dead }}.{{cite web |title = North Star LDS Community |url = http://northstarlds.org/community/community-voices/ |publisher = North Star |access-date = February 18, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130404010645/http://northstarlds.org/community/community-voices/ |archive-date = April 4, 2013 |url-status = dead }}{{cite web |url = http://www.affirmation.org/history/in_the_beginning.shtml |website = Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons |title = In The Beginning: A Brief History of Affirmation |author = Paul Mortensen |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131021171253/http://www.affirmation.org/history/in_the_beginning.shtml |archive-date = October 21, 2013 |df = mdy-all }}; See also:Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons.

{{See also|Mormon spectrums of orthodoxy and -praxy|List of denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement|The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints membership statistics}}

Note that the categories below are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

{{Anchor|LDS}}

Members of the LDS Church, also known as Latter-day Saints, constitute over 95 percent of Mormons.As of the end of 2015, the LDS Church reported a membership of over 15 million ({{cite web |url = https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/2015-statistical-report-april-2016-general-conference |title = 2015 Statistical Report for 2016 April General Conference |date = April 2, 2016 |access-date = July 18, 2019 |archive-date = June 29, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190629065405/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/2015-statistical-report-april-2016-general-conference |url-status = live }}). Most other Brigham Young–lineage sects number in the tens of thousands. Historically, the Latter Day Saint  movement has been dominated by the LDS Church, with over 95 percent of adherents. One denomination dominates the non-LDS Church section of the movement: the Community of Christ, which has about 250,000 members.)
Also note the use of the lower case d and hyphen in "Latter-day Saints", as opposed to the larger "Latter Day Saint movement". The beliefs and practices of LDS Mormons are generally guided by the teachings of LDS Church leaders. However, several smaller groups substantially differ from "mainstream" Mormonism in various ways.

LDS Church members who do not actively participate in worship services or church callings are often called "less-active" or "inactive" (akin to the qualifying expressions non-observant or non-practicing used in relation to members of other religious groups).{{cite news |last = Stack |first = Peggy Fletcher |author-link = Peggy Fletcher Stack |date = September 23, 2011 |title = Active, inactive – do Mormon labels work or wound? |url = http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/52631643-80/mormon-church-lds-says.html.csp |newspaper = The Salt Lake Tribune |access-date = September 20, 2013 |archive-date = September 21, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054458/http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/52631643-80/mormon-church-lds-says.html.csp |url-status = live }}. The LDS Church does not release statistics on church activity, but it is likely that about 40 percent of Mormons in the United States and 30 percent worldwide regularly attend worship services.Member activity rates are estimated from missionary reports, seminary and institute enrollment, and ratio of members per congregation – {{cite web |url = http://ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com/2011/07/countries-of-world-by-estimated-member.html |title = Countries of the World by Estimated Member Activity Rate |date = July 11, 2011 |website = LDS Church Growth |access-date = November 11, 2011 |archive-date = March 22, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120322135322/http://ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com/2011/07/countries-of-world-by-estimated-member.html |url-status = live }}; See also: {{cite web |url = http://rsc.byu.edu/archived/latter-day-saint-social-life-social-research-lds-church-and-its-members/8-consequential-dim |title = The Consequential Dimension of Mormon Religiosity |author = Stan L. Albrecht |year = 1998 |access-date = November 11, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111006013004/http://rsc.byu.edu/archived/latter-day-saint-social-life-social-research-lds-church-and-its-members/8-consequential-dim |archive-date = October 6, 2011 |url-status = dead }}; {{cite news |first = Peggy Fletcher |last = Stack |author-link = Peggy Fletcher Stack |date = July 26, 2005 |title = Keeping members a challenge for LDS church |url = http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2890645 |newspaper = The Salt Lake Tribune |access-date = September 20, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054322/http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2890645 |archive-date = September 21, 2013 |url-status = dead |df = mdy-all }} Reasons for inactivity can include rejection of the fundamental beliefs, history of the church, lifestyle incongruities with doctrinal teachings or problems with social integration.{{citation |contribution-url = https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/EoM/id/5447 |contribution = Activity in the Church |last = Cunningham |first = Perry H. |pages = 13–15 |editor-last = Ludlow |editor-first = Daniel H |editor-link = Daniel H. Ludlow |year = 1992 |title = Encyclopedia of Mormonism |location = New York |publisher = Macmillan Publishing |isbn = 978-0-02-879602-4 |oclc = 24502140 |title-link = Encyclopedia of Mormonism |access-date = September 18, 2020 |archive-date = August 5, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210805154721/https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/EoM/id/5447 |url-status = live }} Activity rates tend to vary with age, and disengagement occurs most frequently between age 16 and 25. In 1998, the church reported that most less active members returned to church activity later in life.{{cite web |url = http://rsc.byu.edu/archived/latter-day-saint-social-life-social-research-lds-church-and-its-members/8-consequential-dim |title = The Consequential Dimension of Mormon Religiosity |author = Stan L. Albrecht |year = 1998 |access-date = November 11, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111006013004/http://rsc.byu.edu/archived/latter-day-saint-social-life-social-research-lds-church-and-its-members/8-consequential-dim |archive-date = October 6, 2011 |url-status = dead }} As of 2017, the LDS Church was losing millennial-age members,{{Cite news|url=https://kutv.com/news/local/losing-their-religion-millennials-including-utahns-leaving-church|title=KUTV|last=Hatch|first=Heidi|date=May 10, 2017|access-date=December 7, 2019|archive-date=November 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191122155455/https://kutv.com/news/local/losing-their-religion-millennials-including-utahns-leaving-church|url-status=live}} a phenomenon not unique to the LDS Church.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/12/millennials-increasingly-are-driving-growth-of-nones/|title=Millennials increasingly are driving growth of 'nones'|last=Lipka|first=Michael|date=May 12, 2015|website=Pew Research Center|access-date=December 7, 2019|archive-date=December 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209050406/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/12/millennials-increasingly-are-driving-growth-of-nones/|url-status=live}} Former Latter-day Saints who seek to disassociate themselves from the religion are often referred to as ex-Mormons.

Members of sects that broke with the LDS Church over the issue of polygamy have become known as fundamentalist Mormons; these groups differ from mainstream Mormonism primarily in their belief in and practice of plural marriage. There are thought to be between 20,000 and 60,000 members of fundamentalist sects (0.1–0.4 percent of Mormons), with roughly half of them practicing polygamy.Martha Sonntag Bradley, "Polygamy-Practicing Mormons" in J. Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann (eds.) (2002). Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia 3:1023–24; Dateline NBC, January 2, 2001; Ken Driggs, [https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V24N04_46.pdf "Twentieth-Century Polygamy and Fundamentalist Mormons in Southern Utah"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225032210/https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V24N04_46.pdf |date=February 25, 2014 }}, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Winter 1991, pp. 46–47; Irwin Altman, "Polygamous Family Life: The Case of Contemporary Mormon Fundamentalists", Utah Law Review (1996) p. 369; Stephen Eliot Smith, "'The Mormon Question' Revisited: Anti-Polygamy Laws and the Free Exercise Clause", LL.M. thesis, Harvard Law School, 2005. There are many fundamentalist sects, the largest two being the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church) and the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB). In addition to plural marriage, some of these groups also practice a form of Christian communalism known as the law of consecration or the United Order. The LDS Church seeks to distance itself from all such polygamous groups, excommunicating their members if discovered practicing or teaching it,{{cite web |url = http://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide |title = Style Guide |date = April 9, 2010 |publisher = LDS Newsroom |access-date = November 11, 2011 |quote = When referring to people or organizations that practice polygamy, it should be stated that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not affiliated with polygamous groups. |archive-date = June 13, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190613210818/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide |url-status = live }}; The church repudiates polygamist groups and excommunicates their members if discovered – {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=91}}; {{cite web |url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna25396937 |title = Mormons seek distance from polygamous sects |year = 2008 |publisher = NBC News |access-date = July 10, 2014 |archive-date = November 2, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221102040703/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide |url-status = live }} and today, a majority of Mormon fundamentalists have never been members of the LDS Church.{{Cite journal |journal = Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought |url = https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V31N02_19.pdf |author = Quinn, Michael D. |issue = 2 |date = Summer 1998 |title = Plural Marriage and Mormon Fundamentalism |page = 7 |volume = 31 |doi = 10.2307/45226443 |jstor = 45226443 |s2cid = 254325184 |access-date = February 1, 2012 |archive-date = October 29, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121029155811/https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V31N02_19.pdf |url-status = dead }}

{{anchor|Liberal Mormon}}

Liberal Mormons, also known as Progressive Mormons, take an interpretive approach to LDS teachings and scripture. They look to the scriptures for spiritual guidance, but may not necessarily believe the teachings to be literally or uniquely true. For liberal Mormons, revelation is a process through which God gradually brings fallible human beings to greater understanding.{{cite web |url = http://www.liberalmormon.net/501whl.shtml |title = LiberalMormon.net |access-date = October 27, 2011 |archive-date = December 12, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111212040004/http://www.liberalmormon.net/501whl.shtml |url-status = live }}. A person in this group is sometimes mistakenly regarded by others within the mainstream church as a Jack Mormon, although this term is more commonly used to describe a different group with distinct motives to live the gospel in a non-traditional manner.{{Cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1974/03/i-have-a-question/where-does-the-term-jack-mormon-come-from?lang=eng|title=Where does the term 'Jack-Mormon' come from?|website=www.churchofjesuschrist.org|access-date=2019-09-14|archive-date=March 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305033341/https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1974/03/i-have-a-question/where-does-the-term-jack-mormon-come-from?lang=eng|url-status=live}} Liberal Mormons place doing good and loving fellow human beings above the importance of believing correctly.{{cite web |url = http://latterdaymainstreet.com/2010/09/21/bringing-back-liberal-mormonism/ |title = Bringing back Liberal Mormonism |author = Chris H |date = September 21, 2010 |publisher = Main Street Plaza |access-date = October 27, 2011 |archive-date = October 16, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111016113824/http://latterdaymainstreet.com/2010/09/21/bringing-back-liberal-mormonism/ |url-status = dead }}. In a separate context, members of small progressive breakaway groups have also adopted the label.

Cultural Mormons are individuals who may not believe in certain doctrines or practices of the institutional LDS Church yet identify as members of the Mormon ethnic identity.{{Cite journal |last=Murphy |first=Thomas W. |date=1999 |title=From Racist Stereotype to Ethnic Identity: Instrumental Uses of Mormon Racial Doctrine |journal=Ethnohistory – Duke University Press |volume=46 |issue=3 |pages=451–480|jstor=483199 }}{{Cite book |title=Mormons and American politics : seeking the promised land: Part I – Mormons as an Ethno-Religious Group |last=Campbell |first=David E. |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2014 |isbn=9781139227247 |location=New York, NY |pages=1–2 |oclc=886644501}} Usually, this is a result of having been raised in the LDS faith or having converted and spent a large portion of one's life as an active member of the LDS Church.{{citation |url = http://www.newordermormon.org/essays/faithful-unbelievers.php |title = New Order Mormon Essays: The Paradox of the Faithful Unbeliever |first = Peggy |last = Rogers |work = New Order Mormon, NewOrderMormon.org |publisher = Publisher is anonymous |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151002184908/http://www.newordermormon.org/essays/faithful-unbelievers.php |access-date = September 19, 2020|archive-date = October 2, 2015 }}. Cultural Mormons may or may not be actively involved with the LDS Church. In some cases, they may not be members of the LDS Church.

{{Main|Mormonism|Mormon cosmology}}

Mormons have a scriptural canon consisting of the Bible (both Old and New Testaments), the Book of Mormon, and a collection of revelations and writings by Joseph Smith known as the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. Mormons, however, have a relatively open definition of scripture. As a general rule, anything spoken or written by a prophet, while under inspiration, is considered to be the word of God.{{citation |contribution-url = http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/4172 |contribution = Scriptures: Authority of Scripture |pages = 1280–1281 |last = Jackson |first = Kent P. |author-link = Kent P. Jackson |editor-last = Ludlow |editor-first = Daniel H |editor-link = Daniel H. Ludlow |year = 1992 |title = Encyclopedia of Mormonism |location = New York |publisher = Macmillan Publishing |isbn = 978-0-02-879602-4 |oclc = 24502140 |title-link = Encyclopedia of Mormonism |access-date = January 19, 2016 |archive-date = February 3, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160203023934/http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/4172 |url-status = live }}. Thus, the Bible, written by prophets and apostles, is the word of God, so far as it is translated correctly. The Book of Mormon is also believed to have been written by ancient prophets and is viewed as a companion to the Bible. By this definition, the teachings of Smith's successors are also accepted as scripture, though they are always measured against and draw heavily from the scriptural canon.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|pp=25–26}}.

File:Christus statue temple square salt lake city.jpg}} as the premier figure of their religion.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=8}} ("As the name of the church  ... suggests, Jesus Christ is the premier figure. Smith does not even play the role of the last and culminating prophet, as Muhammad does in Islam"); {{cite web |url = http://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/what-mormons-believe-about-jesus-christ |title = What Mormons Believe About Jesus Christ |publisher = LDS Newsroom |access-date = November 11, 2011 }}; In a [http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Mormon/mormons-in-america-executive-summary.aspx#beliefs 2011 Pew Survey] a thousand Mormons were asked to volunteer the one word that best describes Mormons. The most common response from those surveyed was "Christian" or "Christ-centered".]]

Mormons believe in "a friendly universe" governed by a God whose aim is to bring his children to immortality and eternal life.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=79}}. Mormons have a unique perspective on the nature of God, the origin of man, and the purpose of life. For instance, Mormons believe in a pre-mortal existence where people were literal spirit children of God{{Cite journal |title = Plan of Salvation |journal = True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference |year = 2004 |url = http://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/manual/true-to-the-faith/plan-of-salvation |page = 115 }} and that God presented a plan of salvation that would allow his children to progress and become more like him. The plan involved the spirits receiving bodies on earth and going through trials in order to learn, progress, and receive a "fullness of joy". The most important part of the plan involved Jesus, the eldest of God's children, coming to earth as the literal Son of God to conquer sin and death so that God's other children could return. According to Mormons, every person who lives on earth will be resurrected, and nearly all of them will be received into various kingdoms of glory.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=75}}. To be accepted into the highest kingdom, a person must fully accept Christ through faith, repentance, and through ordinances such as baptism and the laying on of hands.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=78}}; In Mormonism, an ordinance is a formal act, in which people enter into covenants with God. For example, covenants associated with baptism and the Eucharist involve taking the name of the Son upon themselves, always remembering him, and keeping his commandments; {{Cite journal |title = Atonement of Jesus Christ |journal = True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference |year = 2004 |url = http://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/manual/true-to-the-faith/atonement-of-jesus-christ |page = 14 }}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|pp=60–61}} Because Mormons believe that everyone must receive certain ordinances to be saved, Mormons perform vicarious ordinances such as baptism for the dead on behalf of deceased persons. Mormons believe that the deceased may accept or reject the offered ordinance in the spirit world.

File:Latter Day Saint confirmation (Mayhew 1852).png {{circa|1852}}]]

According to Mormons, a deviation from the original principles of Christianity, referred to by them as The Great Apostasy, occurred after the ascension of Jesus Christ,{{Cite book |author = Missionary Department of the LDS Church |author-link = The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |title = Preach My Gospel |publisher = LDS Church, Inc |year = 2004 |page = 35 |url = http://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/manual/preach-my-gospel-a-guide-to-missionary-service/lesson-1-the-message-of-the-restoration-of-the-gospel-of-jesus-christ |isbn = 978-0-402-36617-1 }} marked by the corruption of Christian doctrine by Greek and other philosophies,{{Cite book |last = Talmage |first = James E. |author-link = James E. Talmage |title = The Great Apostasy |year = 1909 |pages = 64–65 |publisher = The Deseret News |url = https://archive.org/stream/greatapostasycon00atalm#page/68/mode/2up |isbn = 978-0-87579-843-1 }}{{Cite book |last = Richards |first = LeGrand |author-link = LeGrand Richards |title = A Marvelous Work and a Wonder |publisher = Deseret Book Company |year = 1976 |page = 24 |isbn = 978-0-87747-161-5 |title-link = A Marvelous Work and a Wonder }} Mormons claim the martyrdom of the apostles{{Cite book |last = Talmage |first = James E. |author-link = James E. Talmage |title = The Great Apostasy |year = 1909 |page = 68 |publisher = The Deseret News |url = https://archive.org/stream/greatapostasycon00atalm#page/68/mode/2up |isbn = 978-0-87579-843-1 }} led to a loss of priesthood authority to administer the church and its ordinances.{{Cite journal |last = Eyring |first = Henry B. |author-link = Henry B. Eyring |title = The True and Living Church |url = http://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/ensign/2008/05/the-true-and-living-church |journal = Ensign |pages = 20–24 |date = May 2008 }}; Cf. [http://bibref.hebtools.com/bibref.php?book=John&verse=14%3A16-17&src=1000 John 14:16–17] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120718074722/http://bibref.hebtools.com/bibref.php?book=John&verse=14%3A16-17&src=1000 |date=July 18, 2012 }} and [http://bibref.hebtools.com/bibref.php?book=John&verse=16%3A13&src=1000 16:13] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021205848/http://bibref.hebtools.com/bibref.php?book=John&verse=16%3A13&src=1000 |date=October 21, 2013 }}, [http://bibref.hebtools.com/bibref.php?book=Acts&verse=2%3A1-4&src=1000 Acts 2:1–4] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717004335/http://bibref.hebtools.com/bibref.php?book=Acts&verse=2%3A1-4&src=1000 |date=July 17, 2012 }}, and [http://bibref.hebtools.com/bibref.php?book=Galatians&verse=1%3a6-9 Galatians 1:6–9] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717233430/http://bibref.hebtools.com/bibref.php?book=Galatians&verse=1%3a6-9 |date=July 17, 2012 }}.

Mormons believe that God restored the early Christian church through Joseph Smith. In particular, Mormons believe that angels such as Peter, James, John, John the Baptist, Moses, and Elijah appeared to Smith and others and bestowed various priesthood authorities on them. Mormons believe that their church is the "only true and living church" because of the divine authority restored through Smith. Mormons self-identify as being Christian,{{Cite report |title = Mormonism in America |url = http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Mormon/mormons-in-america-executive-summary.aspx |publisher = Pew Research Center |date = January 2012 |access-date = January 15, 2012 |archive-date = January 15, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120115005308/http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Mormon/mormons-in-america-executive-summary.aspx |url-status = dead }} (Mormons are nearly unanimous in describing Mormonism as a Christian religion, with 97% expressing this point of view); {{citation |author = Robinson, Stephen E. |date = May 1998 |url = http://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/new-era/1998/05/are-mormons-christians |title = Are Mormons Christians? |publisher = Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints |work = New Era }}. while many Christians, particularly evangelical Protestants, disagree with this view.{{Cite report |title = Romney's Mormon Faith Likely a Factor in Primaries, Not in a General Election |date = November 23, 2011 |publisher = Pew Research Center |url = http://www.pewforum.org/Politics-and-Elections/Romneys-Mormon-Faith-Likely-a-Factor-in-Primaries-Not-in-a-General-Election.aspx |access-date = January 16, 2012 |archive-date = January 14, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120114203658/http://www.pewforum.org/Politics-and-Elections/Romneys-Mormon-Faith-Likely-a-Factor-in-Primaries-Not-in-a-General-Election.aspx |url-status = dead }} (About a third of Americans and half of evangelical Protestants view Mormonism as a non-Christian religion). Mormons view other religions as having portions of the truth, doing good works, and having genuine value."Have the Presbyterians any truth? Yes. Have the Baptists, Methodists, etc., any truth? Yes. They all have a little truth mixed with error. We should gather all the good and true principles in the world and treasure them up, or we shall not come out true 'Mormons'." {{Cite book |title = Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith |page = 316 |author = Joseph Fielding Smith |year = 1993 |title-link = Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith (book) }}; Mormons take an inclusivist position that their religion is correct and true but that other religions have genuine value. {{Cite book |title = Religions of the World: A Latter-day Saint View |last1 = Palmer |last2 = Keller |last3 = Choi |last4 = Toronto |publisher = Brigham Young University |year = 1997 }}.

The LDS Church has a top-down hierarchical structure with a president–prophet dictating revelations for the entire church. Lay Mormons are also believed to have access to inspiration and are encouraged to seek their own personal revelations.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=54}}. Mormons see Joseph Smith's First Vision as proof that the heavens are open and that God answers prayers. They place considerable emphasis on "asking God" to find out if something is true. Most Mormons do not claim to have had heavenly visions like Smith's in response to prayers but feel that God talks to them in their hearts and minds through the Holy Ghost. Though Mormons have some beliefs that are considered strange in a modernized world, they continue to hold onto their beliefs because they feel God has spoken to them.{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|pp=15, 35–35}} (Outside observers sometimes react to Mormonism as "nice people, wacky beliefs." Mormons insist that the "wacky" beliefs pull them together as a people and give them the strength and the know-how to succeed in the modern world).

{{Portal|Christianity|Latter Day Saint movement}}

• List of Latter Day Saints
• Brighamite
• List of former or dissident LDS
• Anti-Mormonism

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Refbegin|30em}}

• {{Citation |last = Allen |first = James B. |author-link = James B. Allen (historian) |title = The Significance of Joseph Smith's First Vision in Mormon Thought |journal = Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought |year = 1966 |volume = 1 |issue = 3 |pages = 28–45 |doi = 10.2307/45223817 |jstor = 45223817 |s2cid = 222223353 |df = mdy-all |doi-access = free }}.
• {{Citation

|last = Arrington

|first = Leonard J.

|author-link = Leonard J. Arrington

|title = The Mormon Experience: A History of the Latter-Day Saints

|publisher = University of Illinois Press

|year = 1992

|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ak64mcdZlg4C&q=The+Mormon+Experience

|isbn = 978-0-252-06236-0

}}.

• {{Cite book |last = Brodie |first = Fawn M. |author-link = Fawn M. Brodie |title = No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith |publisher = Knopf |location = New York |edition = 2nd |year = 1971 |isbn = 978-0-394-46967-6 |title-link = No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith }}
• {{cite book |last=Brooke |given=John L. |title=The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644–1844 |year=1994 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=New York, NY |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eyvftt-1F_kC |isbn=0-521-34545-6 }}
• {{Cite book |last = Bushman |first = Richard Lyman |author-link = Richard Bushman |title = Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling |year = 2005 |place = New York |publisher = Knopf |isbn = 978-1-4000-4270-8 |title-link = Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling }}
• {{Cite book |last = Bushman |first = Richard Lyman |title = Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction |year = 2008 |place = New York |publisher = Oxford University Press |isbn = 978-0-19-531030-6 }}
• {{cite book |last=Marquardt |first=H. Michael |date=2005 |title=The Rise of Mormonism, 1816–1844 |publisher=Xulon Press}}
• {{Citation

|editor-last = Howe

|editor-first = Eber Dudley

|editor-link = Eber Dudley Howe

|title = Mormonism Unvailed

|publisher = Painesville, Ohio: Telegraph Press

|year = 1834

|url = https://archive.org/details/mormonismunvaile00howe

}}.

• {{Cite book |last = Mauss |first = Armand |author-link = Armand Mauss |title = The Angel and the Beehive: The Mormon Struggle with Assimilation |location = Urbana & Chicago |publisher = University of Illinois Press |year = 1994 |isbn = 978-0-252-02071-1 }}
• {{Cite book |last = O'Dea |first = Thomas F. |title = The Mormons |year = 1957 |publisher = University of Chicago Press |location = Chicago |isbn = 978-0-226-61743-5 }}
• {{Citation

|last = Quinn

|first = D. Michael

|authorlink = D. Michael Quinn

|title = The Council of Fifty and Its Members, 1844 to 1945

|journal = BYU Studies

|volume = 20

|issue = 2

|year = 1980

|pages = 163–98

|url = http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=5416

|access-date = December 22, 2023

|archive-date = October 21, 2013

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131021170030/https://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=5416

|url-status = dead

}}.

• {{Cite book |last = Quinn |first = D. Michael |author-link = D. Michael Quinn |title = The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power |publisher = Signature Books |location = Salt Lake City |year = 1994 |isbn = 978-1-56085-056-4 }}
• {{cite book |last=Remini |given=Robert V. |author-link=Robert V. Remini |title=Joseph Smith |year=2002 |publisher=Penguin Group |series=Penguin Lives |location=New York |isbn=0-670-03083-X |url=https://archive.org/details/josephsmith00remi }}
• {{Citation

|editor-last = Roberts

|editor-first = B. H.

|editor-link = B. H. Roberts

|title = History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

|volume = 3

|publisher = Deseret News

|location = Salt Lake City

|year = 1905

|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=m2bEVgSvbS8C

}}.

• {{Citation

|editor-last = Roberts

|editor-first = B. H.

|editor-link = B. H. Roberts

|title = History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

|volume = 5

|publisher = Deseret News

|location = Salt Lake City

|year = 1909

|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=m2bEVgSvbS8C

}}.

• {{Cite book |last = Shipps |first = Jan |author-link = Jan Shipps |title = Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition |year = 1985 |publisher = University of Illinois Press |location = Chicago |isbn = 978-0-252-01417-8 }}
• {{Citation

|last1 = Smith

|first1 = Joseph

|author-link1 = Joseph Smith

|last2 = Cowdery

|first2 = Oliver

|author-link2 = Oliver Cowdery

|last3 = Rigdon

|first3 = Sidney

|author-link3 = Sidney Rigdon

|last4 = Williams

|first4 = Frederick G.

|author-link4 = Frederick G. Williams

|title = Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God

|place = Kirtland, Ohio

|publisher = F. G. Williams & Co

|year = 1835

|url = http://www.irr.org/mit/BOC/default.html

|access-date = December 22, 2023

|archive-date = May 20, 2012

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120520135750/http://irr.org/mit/boc/default.html

|url-status = live

}}.

• {{cite book |last=Widmer |first=Kurt |title=Mormonism and the Nature of God: A Theological Evolution, 1830–1915 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |publisher=McFarland |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-7864-0776-7}}

{{refend}}

{{Refbegin|30em}}

• {{Cite journal |last = Alexander |first = Thomas G. |author-link = Thomas G. Alexander |title = The Reconstruction of Mormon Doctrine: From Joseph Smith to Progressive Theology |journal = Sunstone |volume = 5 |issue = 4 |year = 1980 |pages = 24–33 |url = https://www.sunstonemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/022-24-33.pdf |access-date = April 4, 2011 |archive-date = October 20, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111020075510/https://www.sunstonemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/022-24-33.pdf |url-status = live }}
• {{Cite book |last = Bloom |first = Harold |author-link = Harold Bloom |title = The American Religion: The Emergence of the Post-Christian Nation |publisher = Simon & Schuster |location = New York |edition = 1st |year = 1992 |isbn = 978-0-671-67997-2 |url = https://archive.org/details/americanreligio000bloo }}
• {{Cite book |last = Bowman |first = Matthew |title = The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith |publisher = Random House |year = 2012 |isbn = 978-0-679-64491-0 }}
• {{Cite book |contribution = Mormons |last = Epperson |first = Steven |title = A notion of peoples: a sourcebook on America's multicultural heritage |year = 1999 |editor-last = Barkan |editor-first = Elliott Robert |publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn = 978-0-313-29961-2 |url = https://archive.org/details/nationofpeopless00bark }}
• {{cite EB9 |wstitle = Mormons |volume= XVI |last= Fraser |first= John |author-link= | pages= }}
• {{Cite book |last = Hill |first = Marvin S. |author-link = Marvin S. Hill |title = Quest for Refuge: The Mormon Flight from American Pluralism |year = 1989 |publisher = Signature Books |location = Salt Lake City, Utah |isbn=9780941214704 }}
• {{Cite book |editor-last = Ludlow |editor-first = Daniel H. |editor-link = Daniel H. Ludlow |title = Encyclopedia of Mormonism |year = 1992 |publisher = Macmillan |location = New York |isbn = 978-0-02-904040-9 |url = https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo03ludl }}
• {{Cite book |last = May |first = Dean |author-link = Dean L. May |contribution = Mormons |title = Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups |editor-last = Thernstrom |editor-first = Stephan |publisher = Harvard University Press |location = Cambridge, Massachusetts |year = 1980 |page = 720 }}
• {{Cite book |last = McMurrin |first = Sterling M. |author-link = Sterling M. McMurrin |title = The Theological Foundations of the Mormon Religion |publisher = Signature Books |location = Salt Lake City |year = 1965 |isbn = 978-1-56085-135-6 }}
• {{Cite book |last1 = Ostling |first1 = Richard |last2 = Ostling |first2 = Joan K. |author1-link = Richard and Joan Ostling |author2-link = Richard and Joan Ostling |title = Mormon America: The Power and the Promise |publisher = HarperOne |location = New York |year = 2007 |isbn = 978-0-06-143295-8 }}
• {{Cite book |last = Shipps |first = Jan |title = Sojourner in the promised land: forty years among the Mormons |year = 2000 |publisher = University of Illinois Press |location = Chicago |isbn = 978-0-252-02590-7 }}

{{Refend}}

{{Wikisource portal|Mormonism}}

• [http://churchofjesuschrist.org/?lang=eng churchofjesuschrist.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603191254/https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/?lang=eng |date=June 3, 2019 }} and [https://www.comeuntochrist.org/ comeuntochrist.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530113715/https://www.comeuntochrist.org/ |date=May 30, 2019 }}, official websites of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• [https://www.pbs.org/mormons/ The Mormons] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401102538/http://www.pbs.org/mormons/ |date=April 1, 2019 }} (PBS documentary series)

{{LDSaffiliation}}

{{Latter Day Saint movement}}

{{Latter-day Saints}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Latter Day Saint terms

Category:Mormon studies

Category:Mormonism

*Mormons

Category:Religious identity

Category:Christian ethnoreligious groups