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Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (whose members are commonly nicknamed is a Church Christian born in the State of New York, USA in 1830. It presents itself as a Church revealed through a modern prophet, Joseph Smith , after he witnessed a series of spiritual manifestations, such as the First Vision.

The Church, which claims to be led by Jesus Christ through a prophet living, currently Thomas S. Monson , 16thPresident of the Church , and twelve apostles , sees itself as the restoration of the church 's original Jesus Christ after a long period of apostasy and in preparation for his Second Coming.

The terms and holy days are used in New Testament . The temple of Rome , under construction in 2011, will be the 12th temple in Europe, the first being the temple of Switzerland , built in 1953.

The global headquarters of the Church is Salt Lake City in Utah. Since July 2010, she claimed four million members.

The Latter-day Saints believe in the Bible , as far as it is translated correctly, and other writings which the Book of Mormon. This book was introduced by Joseph Smith as the translation of plates old, found by him in the Hill Cumorah. It traces 1,000 years of history of Lehi and his family fled Jerusalem just before its destruction by the sea and its progeny, the Nephites and Lamanites , the peoples of ancient America.

They also believe in a salvation plan , allowing the man and woman worthy to attain the exaltation , that is to say back to God's presence. The notion of family takes pride of place: the Latter-day Saints believe that the family may be eternal through the sacraments celebrated in a temple of the Church.

The Church is recognized as a religion in many countries. However, it is considered a sect in the polemical sense of the term, some organizations struggle against cults. In France, however, for the Mission for the Fight against Sects (MILS) and MIVILUDES , it should not be described as a sect. The Church is not taken as a cult in the French parliamentary report on sects nor Jean Vernette , national secretary of the French episcopate to the study of sects and new religious movements in the Catholic Church in France .

The Church is criticized because of polygamy (plural marriage) practiced in the nineteenth century , his conception of the role of the woman who does not hold the priesthood , his perception of homosexuality and for not ordered the men in black members of the Church for the priesthood until the 1960s.

The terms Mormon and Mormonism, but unofficial designations recognized generally means the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members. Other movements from the Mormons are sometimes mistakenly equated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .

Summary

Name of Church

The Church has been called the first Church of Christ, its members saw it in the restored Church of Jesus Christ. In 1830 , it is called Church of Latter Day Saints 'holy' means 'followers' and 'days' to distinguish it from the one established by Christ in the early stages. Finally, in 1838 Joseph Smith gave him his current name: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Although the nickname of 'Mormon' is tolerated by the Church members, their name is "Latter Days", which is abbreviated LDS.

Views on Jesus Christ

Reproduction of the statue of the Risen Christ of Bertel Thorvaldsen , Temple Square , Salt Lake City.

Christ (Christos in Greek) and Messiah (Hebrew) means " anointed. " The Latter-day Saints affirm that Jesus Christ is the Firstborn of the Father in spirit and the only son of the Father in the flesh. It would be Jehovah , foreordained to this great call before the creation of the world. Under the leadership of the Father, he created the earth and everything therein. Born of Mary in Bethlehem , he led a sinless life and performed the expiation of sins perfect of all mankind by shedding his blood and giving his life on the cross. It would be resurrected from the dead, thus guaranteeing the resurrection of all mankind final. By his atonement and resurrection, those who repent of their sins and obey the commandments of God could live forever with Jesus and the Father. The Latter-day Saints affirm that Jesus Christ is the greatest being that is born, his life is a perfect example of how humanity should live. According to them, all the prayers, blessings and ordinances of the priesthood must be done in its name. They claim that Jesus Christ, Creator, Savior and the God of all the earth, will return with power and glory to reign on earth during the millennium and at the last day he will judge the whole of humanity

On 1 January 2000, the First Presidency issued an official statement The Living Christ The Testimony of the Apostles

Statue of Moroni Temple Zollikofen, Bern.

Symbols

The Christian cross is not used as a symbol, the LDS prefer the idea of Christ risen and alive, which, according to their belief, is its reality. In the churches are not crosses, statues or icons of any kind.

The most commonly used symbol is the angel Moroni , proclaiming the everlasting gospel to the inhabitants of the earth (cf. Apocalypse 14:6). A statue of an angel blowing a trumpet arrow adorns many temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

History

Events founders

Main article: Joseph Smith.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, called "LDS" or more commonly "Mormons" believe that their church has been restored by Jesus of Nazareth himself, by means of a prophet, and was organized as the early Church, that of the New Testament , after a period of 18 centuries of change and loss called the Great Apostasy.

According to him, Joseph Smith , then aged 14, would have prayed in a grove near his home in 1820 , to know which church he should join. He said that two characters appeared to him: God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. He added that Jesus Christ told him then that the true church had been transformed and lost by men, and that if he remained faithful, he would later be the one through which it would be restored.

  • Visits of Moroni

Joseph Smith says that three years later, in September 1823 he was visited by an old prophet named Moroni who revealed the location of the Holy Scriptures ( Hill Cumorah ), written in Egyptian reformed on plates of metal and today ' hui published under the title Book of Mormon. According to Joseph Smith, these writings were the work of prophets original Jews who lived on the American continent between 600 BC. BC and 420 AD. AD

Portrait of Joseph Smith to 1842 (author unknown).
  • Restoration of the Priesthood

Joseph Smith also said that his secretary Oliver Cowdery and himself, working in 1829 to translate the Book of Mormon, there lurent the story of the visit of Messiah to the people of ancient America and its teachings on baptism. According to their story, May 15, they went to pray on the banks of the Susquehanna River , near Joseph's home in Harmony. They tell them that a heavenly being appeared, purporting to be John the Baptist , that this character gave them the priesthood of Aaron and commanded them to baptize each other and arrange themselves. They say that later in the month, the ancient Apostles Peter , Jacques and Jean also appeared to them and conferred the Melchizedek priesthood and ordained apostles.

  • Restoring keys

March 27, 1836, Joseph Smith dedicated the Kirtland Temple. Joseph Smith said that a week later, April 3, 1836, Jesus Christ appeared to him and Oliver Cowdery in the temple, saying: "I have accepted this house, and my name will be here and reveal myself with mercy to my people in this house "(Doctrine and Covenants 110:7). He added that three messengers from the era of the Old Testament , Moses , Elias and Elijah also appeared and restored the keys and authority of the priesthood which had been long lost to earth. Still according to Joseph Smith, the authority to gather Israel from the ends of the earth and to seal families together for time and eternity were restored ( Doctrine and Covenants 110:11-16).

Era of the pioneers

Destruction of the Nauvoo Temple by CCA Christensen
Mormon pioneers in 1847
  • Exodus of pioneers
Main article: Mormon Pioneers.

Since the foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830, its members were often harshly treated and persecuted by their neighbors, mainly because of their social and political unity and religious beliefs. Were acts of violence directed against the Church, its members and its leader, Joseph Smith , which, among other reasons, was forced to move from one place to another: Ohio , Missouri , then Illinois , where church members built the city of Nauvoo and the temple.

In 1838, Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs issued the extermination order against all Mormons who lived in the state leading to the Haun's Mill Massacre. In 1844 occurred the murder of Joseph Smith, who was killed by a mob in the town of Carthage , Illinois. In 1846, tensions reached their peak and, in 1848, the mob burned the temple in Nauvoo.

The early Mormon pioneers, driven from Nauvoo in Illinois (USA) during the winter of 1845-1846, and suffered an exodus began on foot or by wagon, under the leadership of Brigham Young , successor to Joseph Smith the journey over 2000 miles that took them to the valley of Great Salt Lake , a place completely deserted in the Rocky Mountains , located in the current State of Utah , where they settled permanently from 1847.

Between 1847 and 1860 (date of completion of the transcontinental railroad), 86 000 pioneers went through the valley of Great Salt Lake. 6000 of them died during the voyage. The first settlers were Americans, and tens of thousands of Europeans, Britons , Germans , Scandinavians , French , Swiss , etc.. crossed the Atlantic to get to Salt Lake City where, under the leadership of Brigham Young, they prospered.

A French, Louis Auguste Bertrand , editor of the newspaper Le Populaire and Icarian Communist recounts his conversion in 1850 and his experience of crossing the plains in Memoirs of a Mormon .

  • Plural marriage

Plural marriage was the name given by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to practice a type of polygamy (the polygyny ) by some of its members, until 1889. Courtesy of the President of the Church, plural marriages were celebrated only in the first temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Only female members of the Church and only men who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood had access to marriage in these temples. According to Mormon doctrine, plural marriage restored the biblical practice of multiple wives, and was willed by God, in a given time, to increase its people.

The percentage of polygamous Mormons varied places and times. After the institutionalization of the practice by Brigham Young to his suspension, between 20 and 40% of men entered in such plural marriages, while the percentage of polygynous women was 10 to 15% higher (sometimes exceeding the number that monogamous women in Utah ) .

On 7 April 1889, Wilford Woodruff , fourth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ended the practice of plural marriage.

Today, the moral code defined by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the law of chastity mean abstinence from all sexual relations before marriage and fidelity and loyalty to his total for sole legal spouse marriage.

Minorities, located in the United States, now practicing polygamy, prohibited by the law of this country, as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , which considers that the Church of Jesus Christ of Saints Latter-day was wrong to terminate in 1889, are not recognized as the Mormon Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .

Modern times

During the twentieth century , the Church has grown considerably and has become an international organization of this in part to growth in the number of missionaries in the world. In 2000, the church had 60,784 missionaries and the number of members of the church in the world amounted to just over 11 million . In 2007, it exceeded 13 million and reached 14 million in July 2010, with about six million people living in the U.S. . The Church warns against the overemphasis on statistics of growth in comparison with other churches, because the relevant factors, including activity rates and mortality rates, the methodology used for recording or the membership count, the factors constituting the membership, and geographical variations are rarely taken into account in comparisons .

The Church has become an influential leader and recognized the protection of the family unit and has sometimes played a leading role in politics, including as regards the opposition to MX Peacekeeper missiles based in Utah and Nevada , opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment , opposition to the legalization of gambling , opposition to gay marriage , and opposition to the legalization of assisted death by a physician .

Outside of topics identified as issues of morality, the Church usually maintains a position of political neutrality

A number of formal changes have been made to the organization during the modern era. An important change was the ordination of black men to the priesthood in 1978, reversing a policy originally introduced by Brigham Young in 1852 The periodic variations of the structure and organization of the Church took place, mainly to meet the growing international organization. For example, since the early 1900s, the Church has established a program of coordination of the Priesthood in order to centralize operations of the church and place them in a hierarchy of priesthood leaders. During the Great Depression , the church has also established a system of social protection of the Church, and has conducted numerous humanitarian actions in cooperation with other religious organizations.

In Francophonie

  • Metropolitan France
    • Nineteenth century:

John Taylor , who later became the third President of the Church happens June 18th 1850 at the seaport of Boulogne-sur-Mer on the Steamer Emerald with his two colleagues Curtis Bolton and William Howells . He was received by the mayor of Boulogne-sur-Mer, L. Fontaine and obtained permission to preach. Political instability creates frequent crises that hinder the work of early missionaries.

    • Twentieth century:

In 1912 , the French mission was formally organized. The First World War forced the missionaries to evacuate the territory, and the mission is closed 30 August 1914. It will again be open 5 years after the armistice of 1918.

In 1939 , following the declaration of war, the missionaries were ordered to return to their consulate in the United States. A sole owner of the priesthood of Melchizedek then exercises his priesthood in France: Leon Fargier of Valencia. Paris , Lyon , Grenoble , Saint-Diez, Besanon , Montpellier , Saint-Etienne , Valence , Tarbes , Nimes and Saint-Florent are the cities where members are not held since without priesthood. Throughout this period of World War II , and despite the warnings of the Vichy government, he visits them every two months and it must cross the area occupied by the Germans . His activities attracted the attention of the mainstream press. Monday 1 July 1941 , Paris-Soir front-page headline: "Mr. Fargier, only Mormon pastor of the free zone has christened its fifteen parishioners in the local pool of Grenoble. "

In 1946 , after the war, local units are reorganized. Fargier Leon becomes the district president for all of France until 1950 when the district was reorganized Lyon.

In 1955 , the Tabernacle Choir toured Europe and performed at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. At the time, there are about 1500 members of the Church throughout the country. The temple of the Church is built in Switzerland, the first temple built outside the United States.

In 1965 , building the first house of worship in France will be completed in Bordeaux.

    • XXI Century

In 2009 , the 1905 law on the separation of church and state under which the cult was organized by the legal regime of religious associations enter into force for the Church in France . There would be more than 34 000 members and 100 places of worship in France.

  • French Polynesia

In 1842, proclaiming religious freedom for Catholics, French ( Queen Pomare IV ) proclaimed religious freedom for all . In 1843, Joseph Smith called missionaries to visit the islands of the Pacific. It was the first time that the church turned into a foreign language and culture. They remained committed to their mission for nine years and more. On July 29, 1844 was organized branch of Tubuai of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the first in the Pacific. After ten months, Addison Pratt wrote to Brigham Young : "The Lord has greatly blessed my feeble efforts to spread the Gospel. I baptized fifty-seven people on this island ... Among them, there is the queen ... a viceroy, his wife and daughter, ... the Master Chief and his wife ... and several junior leaders ... "

May 1, 1845, Benjamin F. Grouard approached the island of Anaa. On September 24, 1846, ten branches of the Church were represented with a total of 866 souls 'reputable'.

The departure of Addison Pratt and his colleagues marked the end of the first period in the history of the Church in French Polynesia and ushered in a period characterized by the efforts of local leaders to maintain the planning and teachings of the Church. During a period of violent religious persecution, the organization of branches and forms of worship were preserved until the arrival of missionaries from Utah in 1892.

Tahiti Temple

The mission of the Society Islands, reopened in 1892, included residents of six groups of islands, the Society Islands , the Austral Islands , the Tuamotu Archipelago , the Marquesas Islands , the Gambier Islands and Cook Islands. As of December 31, 1895, there were 984 Latter-day Saints in the islands and the beginning of the century, around 1000. Of a population of 429 souls to Tubuai , 159 were Latter-day Saints. Of a total population of 4743 souls in the Tuamotu , 905 were members of the Church, the fifth of the population of the islands.

At December 31, 1993, the population of the Church in French Polynesia was 11,644 members registered in the records.

With government approval, May 25, 1963 was given the first sod for the construction of Primary School Elementary LDS to Papeete. In 1983, Gordon B. Hinckley , president of the Church, consecrated the temple in Tahiti .

  • Quebec

Joseph Smith has done missionary work in a href = "% C3% Canada_fran A7ais" class = "mw-redirect" title = "French Canada"> Canada French in Ontario. Shortly after, some missionaries visited Montreal during the 1830s. For some reasons, probably including the strong devotion of French-Canadian Catholicism, the missionaries have not had much success among the Francophone population. Despite this, Hazden Aldrich and Winslow Farr called a few people in the township of Stansted in 1836. These people went with the other members of the Church in the United States .

  • Africa
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  • Belgium
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  • Luxembourg
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  • Switzerland
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The Church is established in Switzerland since 1851. In 2010, Switzerland has 35 parishes 6000 members connected by road.

Canonical Structures

One aspect of Mormon doctrine that distinguishes Latter-day Saints from other Christian denominations is a belief in the Scriptures complementary to the Bible, bringing to four the number of books considered canonical and leading the Saints days, and daily personal study, to gain a testimony of their personal spiritual truth:

  • Bible

Mormons believe the Bible is the Word of God as far as it is translated correctly (8th article of faith ). The Bible is to say, the Old Testament and New Testament , is one of the foundations of the Mormon faith.

  • Book of Mormon
Main article: Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon is a book written by Joseph Smith , published in 1830 , and presenting himself as the translation of plates that would have been delivered by an angel. The book recounts, 600 years before Christ to 421 years after Jesus Christ's life and story of two peoples of ancient America, the Nephites and Lamanites. The book takes its name from one of his characters, the Mormon prophet, who lived from about 311 to 385 AD. The latter had collected the records of his predecessors to make a compilation and religious history. In reference to this book are drawn from the words "Mormon" and "Mormonism".

Joseph Smith said he translated the document using the Urim and Thummim. He said it was instruments that were in use among the prophets of the Old Testament (referring to Ezra 2:63 ) and who were with the plates. The Church considers the book as historically authentic and says it is possible to obtain the testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon through prayer. This book is for Mormons the "cornerstone of .

Scientists and critics reject the supernatural aspects of the story of Joseph Smith and believe he has written the book himself, alone or with associates more educated, probably using other books. They reject the historicity of the Book of Mormon by pointing elements of the narrative regarded as anachronistic and a lack of scientific evidence.

  • Doctrine and Covenants

In the Bible and the Book of Mormon, added the Doctrine and Covenants , which, according to Mormon doctrine, canonical scriptures are of modern composition, from modern prophets for the establishment and governance of the Church.

Thumbnail 4 of Papyrus Joseph Smith
  • Pearl of Great Price

The Pearl of Great Price is a selection of texts relating to many aspects of faith and doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These texts are:

The Pearl of Great Price was named the New Testament, which compares the kingdom of heaven to a "pearl of great price" ( Mt 13:45-46 13 ).

Theology

The theology of Mormonism is called Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is based on scripture and modern revelation through prophets. This doctrine was revealed by Jesus Christ as a system of laws and ordinances such as eternal person who would strictly comply with the assurance of being able to enter God's presence. These laws and ordinances would be the system of government of the kingdom of God. Under the doctrine, all will be saved in a kingdom of glory but not all in the celestial kingdom.

Main article: Theology of Mormonism.

The salvation plan means the plan by which God achieves immortality and eternal life of man:

The 10 Commandments
Mormon baptism (immersion) in 1850
  • Premortal life with God: for Latter-day Saints, all people have chosen in life premortal to come on earth and are here on earth to experience life in a body of flesh and bone and to develop the Christian virtues before returning in the presence of God.
  • Exit the presence of God: The Fall of Adam and Eve was a necessary step in the birth of the spirit children of the Father. Without the step of Fall , Adam and Eve would not have had seed, and would not have known good and evil nor later life eternal (2 Nephi 2:22-25).
  • Communicating with God: according to doctrine, prayer , the teachings of prophets and scripture study are the means of communicating with God.
  • Jesus Christ: The focus of Mormon theology is Jesus Christ : his birth, his life, his atoning sacrifice and resurrection. The establishment has the Fall which required the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is considered the most important event in the history of mankind. Because he led a perfect life, Christ was qualified to offer his life as a ransom for the sins of mankind. The Atonement makes faith in Christ and His salvation.
  • Contracting alliances with God: faith , the repentance , the baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit by laying on of hands and perseverance in obedience to the commandments until the end are necessary for salvation. The sacrament , held each Sunday can renew the covenants made at baptism.
  • The perfecting of the saints: the respect of day Sabbath , the law of chastity (abstinence before marriage and fidelity during) the payment of tithes , the fasting , work and personal responsibility, the Word of Wisdom (abstain tobacco, alcoholic beverages, coffee and tea, drugs), the missionary work , obedience to commands designed to develop in the Christian virtues
  • The eternal family: Reaching the excitement or the continuity of life, needs to have previously received the sacrament of eternal marriage in the temple. Thus, the LDS couples are married or "sealed" for eternity and that children are "sealed" to their parents.
  • The temple and the genealogy : Under the doctrine, the Gospel is taught to the dead in the spirit world where, with their free will , they can accept or reject the sacraments made for them in this life . These sacraments, the work of salvation for the dead are performed by proxy in temples by members of the Church considered worthy. The Latter-day Saints are researching genealogy to find out the names and birth dates of their ancestors so that the saving ordinances ( baptism , confirmation , ordination , endowment, marriage , sealing to parents and children) are performed for them.
  • Life after death:
    • The spirit world is post-land where the spirit of waiting for the man between the death and resurrection. It has two distinct parts or separate states: the Paradise, where receipts are those who have accepted the gospel , and the spirit prison, where receipts are those who have not obeyed the Gospel or who have not accepted while they were on the ground or have not had the opportunity to hear it. The Gospel is taught in the spirit prison and those who accept the sacrament of baptism celebrated in their favor in the temples are in paradise. These sacraments, the work of salvation for the dead are performed by proxy.
    • The resurrection universal resurrection of every human being before it is brought before God on Judgement.
    • The Last Judgement , where he will take into account the totality of the person found (knowledge, deeds, words, thoughts, desires, repentance).
    • The award of a degree of glory : the trial is assigned to each according to his choice in mortality and the afterlife, one of three degrees of glory: telestial , terrestrial or celestial.

Structure

Administrative buildings of the Church in Salt Lake City

There are four levels of administration in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: the general level, the regional level, the local level and family level. At a general level are the officers and general offices and some staff. The regional level is for the administration only. At the local level are in areas where members of the church are many, the stakes (dioceses) and parishes, and in regions where they are less numerous, missions, districts and branches. At the family level, each family member has its own responsibilities.

  • General Level

A council of three men comprised the First Presidency , who chairs the Church worldwide. It comprises the President of the Church and his two counselors. The First Presidency is assisted by a panel of twelve men, the twelve apostles , who form a panel of reviewers who run the establishment and growth of the Church throughout the world .

In April 2008, at the 178thGeneral Conference Annual Church, Thomas S. Monson was sustained as the 16thPresident of the Church. His counselors in the First Presidency are Henry B. Eyring and Dieter F. Uchtdorf. In 2009, the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are: Boyd K. Packer , L. Tom Perry , Russell M. Nelson , Dallin H. Oaks , Russell Ballard , Richard G. Scott , Robert D. Hales , Jeffrey R. Holland , David A. Bednar , Quentin L. Cook , D. Todd Christofferson and Neil L. Andersen

After the death of Church President automatically becomes the new President who, among the Twelve Apostles, is the oldest in this appeal. Colleges seventy (eight in number late 2007) and the Presiding Bishopric complement the organization of general officers of the Church. The seventy are responsible to preach the gospel. A Presiding Bishopric, consisting of three men, handles the temporal affairs of the Church. Helped architects, landscape experts, engineers and other specialists, they manage the buildings around the world and other buildings. They also manage the program Humanitarian of the Church. Members of the Presiding Bishopric are also the leaders of the Priesthood. As they oversee tens of thousands of college boys and young men ordained to the priesthood. Members of the First Presidency , the Quorum of Twelve Apostles , the Presidents of the Seventy, the first two colleges of the Seventy and Presiding Bishopric up the group of General Authorities of the Church. General Authorities (numbering a hundred) working full time for the Church and what they get from him is named differently in different sources: the Church speaks of a "maintenance allowance "when other sources mention a" wage "and" benefits "or a" pay . In addition to general officers, there are general offices at the head of auxiliary organizations and programs of the Church. These offices oversee the work of organizations and programs at the whole Church. Added to these few specialists and a team of employees who are employed by the Church ..

  • Regional level

For administration only, the Church is divided into thirty regions in the world. Leaders of the Church experienced, called the Seventy are designated to oversee the activities of the Church in these regions. France is part of the Eastern Europe.

  • Local
    • Pile : a pile covers several parishes and is chaired by three men, the president and two counselors. They are assisted, too, by a council of twelve men, members of the general council of the pile. The office oversees the work pile auxiliary organizations of the parishes of the pile. This office consists of a sample of instructors and administrators from various parishes. During their visits to the parishes, they form the parish officers.
Church in Heidelberg-Wieblingen (Germany)
    • Parishes: The local unit of the organization of the Church is the parish that can reach several hundred people. The authority that runs the parish is the episcopate, made up of three men, a bishop and two counselors, and assisted by a group of officers and instructors. It is at the parish level that are formed colleges priesthood. Every priesthood quorum is headed by a president and two counselors, assisted by a secretary. Each auxiliary organization is headed by a three-person presidency, and provided with a secretary, a director of music, an organist and a group of instructors. The bishop has responsibilities similar to those pastors or priests from other churches. He prepares and conducts worship services, blessed the sick, ensure that assistance is given to the needy, and directing funerals, etc.. However, he exercises his priesthood on a voluntary and temporary, in addition to his family and professional responsibilities
    • Missions, districts and branches: In areas where members of the Church are fewer, more branches form a district and many districts are a mission. Until a pile is created, the mission president presides not only full-time missionaries but also members of the Church. The mission presidents are called to work full time for a period of three years. Apart from the General Authorities, they are the only ones to receive compensation for their ministry. While a parish is a necessary part of a pile, a branch may be part of a stake or district. A branch is like a miniature church, and a district is like a miniature pile. In both cases, the difference, besides the size, resides in the keys of authority are their respective leaders.
Gardens of the Hall of Madrid
  • Family level

The family is the basic organization structure. Under the doctrine, the father and mother, as equal partners, the responsibility of educating children. The father and his family presided responsibility to provide for basic needs and protection of his family. The mother was the sacred call to put children in the world. Children have a responsibility to honor and respect their parents (Exodus 20:12)

Operation

  • Priesthood
Main article: Priesthood (Mormonism).

The term "priesthood" is a generic which includes all offices of the priesthood. There are two kinds:

The offices of the priesthood of Aaron are those of deacon, teacher, priest and bishop (a bishop, however, must also hold the Melchizedek Priesthood).

Statue 'Restoration of Melchizedek Priesthood' at Temple Square

The offices of the priesthood of Melchizedek are those alumni, High Priest of Patriarch of the Seventy and Apostle.

The holders of the priesthood are organized into colleges and have the authority to administer the sacraments and perform certain administrative functions in the Church. These sacraments are baptism , confirmation (or gift of the Holy Spirit ), ordination to the priesthood of Melchizedek for men, staffing and celestial marriage.

Other sacraments exist, such as: the blessing of a newborn, the patriarchal blessing , blessings of health, blessings to advise and comfort, the father's blessings, the latest in a separate function in the Church and blessing of a grave. Other sacraments are not addressed to the individual: the consecration of a temple , church or other building, the consecration of a country preaching the gospel, etc.. The sacraments are administered by the priesthood. The following are the sacraments by imposition of hands, confirmation, ordination, the latest and most share the blessings.

The term "priesthood" includes all men who hold office in the priesthood. Women are given responsibilities in the Church without holding the priesthood.

Colleges of the priesthood are: colleges Deacons (boys 12-13), college instructors (boys 14-15), colleges of priests (males aged 16-17), College Alumni (males 18 years and over), college of high priests (each consisting of all the high priests of a pile), colleges of seventy (eight in number since 2005), college the twelve apostles.

  • Auxiliary organizations
    • the Sunday School. Sunday School for Everyone 12 and older. Its aims are to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, strengthen individuals and families, inviting them to study the scriptures, obey the commandments, to receive the essential ordinances and keep the covenants that accompany them.
Relief Society House (home of the Relief Society), built in 1907, Santa Clara, Utah

The following auxiliary organizations are headed by women in general and local levels of the hierarchy of the Church:

    • the Relief Society. At the time it was founded, the Relief Society had two main objectives: to rescue the poor and needy and save souls. This organization remains faithful to the guiding principles of its origin.
    • the Young Girls 12 to 17 have a complete program for teaching. All girls are encouraged to participate in the 'Personal Progress' , a program of accomplishment that helps them to experience the virtues for Young Girls by projects and activities
    • the Primary , organization aimed at all children aged 3 to 11 years and held for two hours every Sunday while their parents participate in weekly meetings. Primary is divided into two parts, the 'trading period, and classes. The trading period allows children to participate in activities to learn and sing songs that teach gospel principles. In addition, "Days of accomplishment" offer them opportunities to interact with each other by having fun with healthy physical activities, creative, cultural and service activities .
  • Programs and Activities
Seminar Center and Institute for Barranquilla, Venezuela
    • Similarly, nearly all Latter-day Saints in Africa with friends or family members who are HIV positive or have AIDS, the Church has developed a program and educational materials to help members of the Church .
  • Communication relay

At all levels of the hierarchy, different church meetings were held for the proper functioning of the church, conferences, meetings of the presidency council meetings, committee meetings, coordination meetings. At these meetings, there are other communication relay: visits and interviews.

  • Documentation

The headquarters of the Church publishes manuals tailored to different levels of ecclesiastical authority, administration, organizations and programs, without counting letters and internal memos.

The Church publishes the scriptures ( Bible , Book of Mormon , Doctrine and Covenants , Pearl of Great Price ), the textbooks and the magazine The Ensign which serve to support the instruction in the various classes.

  • Offices and meetings
Conference center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where the conference is held semi-annual general

Members participate in meetings at general, regional and local levels.

    • General Level

The General Conference is broadcast twice a year (April and October) from Salt Lake City, Utah. In 2008 the general conference was broadcast live on 5 and April 6 through the Internet and was of particular importance in that a new church president, Thomas S. Monson , was presented for a vote of support at a solemn assembly.

    • Regional level

The conference pile at the regional level, is held twice a year and brings together members of parishes who depend on it.

    • Local

Locally, the Sunday meetings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are spread over three consecutive hours, three meetings with two hauls of 10 minutes between each. These meetings are open to the public.

      • Sacrament meeting: families together to participate in the distribution of the sacrament (bread and water), generally followed three speeches prepared in advance by members on a theme. The first Sunday of each month, day of fasting , the sacrament meeting is a testimony meeting. No speech is required, but members of the church who want it, come speak freely at the meeting on spiritual topics.
      • Sunday School : for ages.
      • Meeting Priesthood (for men) and Relief Society (for women) during two time slots, attendees participate freely in discussions. Meanwhile, children attending the Primary , educational classes and activities.
  • Instruction home

Since it would be impossible for the bishop and his advisers to visit the home of all members of the parish, the bishop has a set of colleges in the priesthood among them men to whom he delegates responsibility to visit homes and to work as instructors at home. The home teachers visit each household in the parish at least once a month. They form two teams responsible for ensuring the well-being temporal and spiritual families. When the bishop wants to transmit a message to these families, it can do so by the home teachers. They are attentive to the needs of the families they visit. If assistance is needed, the home teachers shall immediately hand their leaders that necessary measures are taken.

Women have their own tour program of instruction. They form teams of two. Each team establishes a monthly contact with one or more women of the parish. Unlike men who visit a whole family, women visit each other.

Culture

Mormon Corridor

A culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reflecting the cultural impact of basic beliefs and traditions of the church, distinguished members of the Church, practices and activities. Culture is geographically concentrated in the Mormon corridor (or Jell-O Belt) to the United States , but it is, to a lesser extent, present in many parts of the world inhabited by Latter-day Saints.

Education

  • Perpetual Education Fund
Main article: Perpetual Education Fund.

Inspired Perpetual Immigration Fund, system low interest loan that allowed the converts to go to Utah in the mid-nineteenth century, Gordon B. Hinckley, president of the Church, in 2001 announced the establishment of a Perpetual Education Fund (or Perpetual Education Fund), after finding that many young men and young women back in their country after full-time mission, were unable to find adequately paid employment, after failing to find financing necessary to start a school curriculum or vocational training

Main article: Brigham Young University.
BYU

The Latter-day Saints believe that one of the most important aspects of life on earth is an opportunity for individuals to learn and grow. They are also convinced that, whatever the knowledge gained in this life, they are forfeited for life after death. Consequently, the Church places great emphasis on education and finance Brigham Young University (BYU or tea Y), Brigham Young University Hawaii , Brigham Young University-Idaho , BYU Jerusalem Center , BYU Salt Lake Center , LDS Business College

.

His website FamilySearch , whose resources are freely available to the public, is one of the sites genealogical most used on the Internet .

  • Family History Centers
Main article: Family History Center.

The Church administers the Family History Centers worldwide, open to anyone interested in genealogy and family history. They offer access to millions of records of births, marriages, deaths and other records .

Humanitarian

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes that humanitarian service is an essential part of his mission (Acts 10:38). The humanitarian assistance is provided by the Church to those who need it, wherever they live and whatever their religion, race, ethnicity or political system. The funds for the operation of these organizations rely on volunteers and come from the gift of fasting members of the Church .

  • Relief Society
Main article: Relief Society.
Administrative building of the Relief Society in Salt Lake City

In 1842, Joseph Smith organized the Relief Society , with the objective of providing relief to church members in need. Relief Society continues to fulfill that mission today, while the Church has expanded its humanitarian efforts .

In the early years of the Church after its founding in 1830, humanitarian action has systematically been delayed because of the loss of members and the ongoing persecutions. The first permanent humanitarian organization of the Church was founded in 1955 in the Brigham Young University (BYU)

  • Humanitarian Centre
Wheat silo Welfare Square.

Built in 1991 on the site called Welfare Square located in the outskirts of Temple Square , near the Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City , the humanitarian center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Humanitarian Center) is intended to respond to emergency situations worldwide and to support the programs of the LDS Foundation (Foundation of Latter-day Saints) .

  • LDS Foundation

Foundation of Latter-day Saints also known LDS Charities, created in late 1920s, is one of the branches of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This organization aims to help impoverished families around the world by enhancing their autonomy, their health and education and to provide assistance in emergency situations caused by wars or natural disasters. Aid is given to those who need it, wherever they live and whatever their religion, race, ethnicity or political system. Funds for operating the Foundation of Latter-day based on volunteerism, emanate from the gift of fasting members of the Church .

  • Shops Bishop

Locally, the store of the bishop is part of the outreach program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It benefits the families of the church in need. A storehouse (also known as the 'storehouse of the Lord'), in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints generally refers to a central resource base used by the Bishops of the Church to provide goods to the needy. The store stocks basic food and essential household items.

The term 'storehouse' can also be used figuratively to designate the whole time, talents, skills, materials, services, compassionate, and financial resources of members of the church available for use serving the needy .

  • Family Services

LDS Family Services is a nonprofit association created and run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It offers members of the Church adoption agencies and placement services for children, family counseling and marital counseling on addiction and drug addiction, counseling and psychotherapy services and counseling to single mothers. These services are intended for those in need, regardless of their religion and are free.

  • Helping Hands

Helping Hands is a program of the Church led by the priesthood and designed to render service to the community and providing relief to those in need during disasters , . It is to provide volunteers and usually no assets or equipment.

There is also a program of services to the company also aimed to improve and beautify living spaces. In collaboration with civic leaders, members of the church volunteer their time to improve or beautify local communities where they live or carry out service projects These projects include the general cleaning of public places: parks, public buildings and roads, hospitals, or people with special needs (3rd age or disability). In general, the materials required are provided by the beneficiaries of these service projects. Participants wear vests with the logo Helping Hands . This program also allows the provision of churches for actions in support of humanitarian agencies such as for blood donation .

Finally, it provides members of the Church of opportunities to volunteer their time and talents in an organized manner to those in need, with the aim of strengthening youth and adults of the Church through 'Helping Hands ', may become more sensitive to others' problems. Projects have been implemented in Latin America , the United States, Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe

Music

Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Orchestra at Temple Square
  • Tabernacle Choir
Main article: Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, founded in 1847, is one of the most famous choral institutions in the world. It is formed by 360 votes and is usually accompanied by an organ of 11,623 pipes and the Orchestra at Temple Square consists of 110 musicians. All members of the Tabernacle Choir are volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .

  • Orchestra at Temple Square

The Orchestra at Temple Square was created in 1999 under the direction of Gordon B. Hinckley , President of the Church, as part of ongoing initiatives created to enhance and expand the capacity of musical organizations of the Church. Composed of volunteers, it improves the quality of performance previously Tabernacle Choir accompanied by instrumental groups like the renowned Philadelphia Orchestra and Utah Symphony, and proposes to instrumental musicians, the possibility serving as a missionary musician.

  • Songs

All Sunday meetings of the Church begins with a song selected from the hymnbook '. Many songs and hymns are specific to the Church. Among the best known: I am a child of God , Oh, Father, Lord, thank you for the prophet of God the Holy Spirit, Christ is my light, Called to Serve, Together forever.

The children of the Primary use a collection entitled Songs for Children

Missionary work

Missionaries
Main article: Mormon Missionaries.

Single people or retired couples, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, may be candidates to fill a full-time mission. If they are regarded as morally worthy and fit, they are sent for 18 or 24 months preaching the Gospel with the support of their family or their parish. Thus, more than 50,000 missionaries are constantly active in about 145 countries .

Common Practices

  • Rules of life

The Church insists that the moral standards which Mormons believe was taught by Jesus Christ. They include the Word of Wisdom , the Law of Chastity , the payment of tithes , participation in secular clergy of the Church, to refrain from work on Sunday if possible, the family night , the instruction at home , visiting teaching, obedience to laws and governments

  • Call to serve

Each member of the Church desires and is capable receiving one or more tasks to fulfill in the Church. The number of people receiving a call to serve is in a parish average of about two cents. Each of these individuals has a clear responsibility. Each member of the Church receives during his life, various opportunities to serve in the Church. Those who wish to receive a responsibility. The local bishops and others who perform a task at the local level in the Church are in addition to their family and work without financial compensation. Each is named for an indefinite period until relieved of his post by a release of thanks for his work. Another person is then called in his place.

  • Family

The Church emphasizes the importance of family, and the concept that a united family lives and eternal progression, a concept at the heart of the doctrine of Latter days.Imports Church members are encouraged to marry and have children, the families of Latter-day Saints thus tend to be larger than average. Any sexual activity, heterosexual and homosexual, outside of marriage is considered a grave sin. Marriages between people of the same sex are not conducted or supported by the Church.

Fathers day Saints holding the Priesthood usually give a 'blessing for children, shortly after their birth, to formally assign a name and save them as members of the Church. But children can not be baptized before the age of eight, considered the age of discernment.

  • Entertainment

The LDS Church encourages social activities such as sports, dance, recreational activities . The Young Men and Young Women have weekly activities sponsored by the Church .

  • Personal Preparation

The Church strongly encourages each family to prepare for all types of disasters, including economic, in difficult times. Members are encouraged to plant gardens, store reserves for a year and hold a "72 hour kit", containing supplies needed for autonomy in case of natural disaster. The Church is organized for quick responses to immediate needs, but it is expected of them to be autonomous, to meet their own needs, and be able to help their neighbors and their surroundings. The Church's response to emergencies or disasters is led by the storehouse and is not limited to members of the Church.

The Church also supports programs that help its members become operators of amateur radio , for communication between the facilities of the church, disaster. The amateur radio equipment in High Frequency allow ongoing communication throughout the world, while operations in Very High Frequency connect local leaders. In risk areas such as southern California exposed to earthquakes, sessions of courses and exams amateur radio license are regularly performed in local chapels and are open to all, regardless of age or religious affiliation.

  • Prayers

Personal and public prayers are addressed to "Heavenly Father," offered in the name of Jesus Christ and followed Amen. When the prayer is given in public, it is customary that participants say "amen" at the end of prayer. The English-speaking members are welcome to use thee, thou, thy and thine (tu) when they come to God as a form of familiarity and respect. Members who speak other languages use syntax similar respect in familiar prayer. Most prayers are improvised and can be done kneeling, standing or sitting or others. Bow their heads and fold their arms during prayer is common and encouraged.

Buildings and structures

  • Temple Square
Main article: Temple Square.
Temple Square in 1897

Temple Square is a site of 700,000 sq m located in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At Temple Square are two visitor centers and the Salt Lake Temple , the Tabernacle , the Assembly Hall (Assembly Hall), the Seagull Monument ( Monument of Seagulls )

In recent years the use of the name of Temple Square was amended to include other buildings immediately adjacent to Temple Square, the Joseph Smith Memorial Building , the humanitarian center part of the Foundation of Latter-day Saints (LDS Foundation) the conference center , administrative buildings of the Church, the Family History Library (Library of History of the Family), the Museum of Church History , the History Library of the Church , the administration building Relief Society (Relief Society Building)

  • Temples
Swiss Temple in Zollikofen , Switzerland

The Church also built temples The temple stands a church as the temple of Jerusalem differs from a synagogue. The Sunday meetings are not held. The temple is for Latter-day Saints the Lord's house, a holy place. They are built to allow men to perform ordinances sacred and prepare for life after death.

The most important of these orders is the eternal marriage , or sealing. Only a man who has the authority required (sealer) can pronounce the words of union for a couple, a family, to be united eternally. The condition that the spouses can enter the temple and be united forever with their families (ancestors and descendants), is worthy of staying in obeying the laws and commandments of God. A written recommendation, issued by the bishop , attests to this dignity and allows access to the temple. All other temple ordinances are performed not only for living but also for the dead by proxy. They serve to teach man about the purpose of its creation and its potential eternal. The main purpose of these orders is the return of man in God's presence. The first temple built in Europe (1954) is the temple of Zollikofen near Bern in Switzerland , also called Temple of Bern . The first temple built in France is the Papeete Tahiti Temple. It serves more than 21,000 members of the Church of French Polynesia since 1984.

Church of Warsaw, Poland

.

  • Churches

The churches are places of Sunday worship, and the place of multiple activities during the week and are open to the public .

Society

Interfaith Relations

  • Catholics and Latter-day Saints

According to Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago, president of the Episcopal Conference of the United States, received the Brigham Young University , :

Signage of Churches in Trona, California
"The lesson teaches American history is that churches and other religious bodies thrive in a nation and a social order that respects freedom of religion and recognize that civil government should never stand between awareness and practices Religious citizens and God Almighty ... I am personally grateful that after having lived mostly apart for 180 years, Catholics and Latter-day Saints began to see themselves as reliable partners in the defense of moral principles and promoting the common good of our country beloved. "

- Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago, February 2010, Brigham Young University

More generally, and particularly the United States, relations between the two faiths are cooperation between the Catholic Relief Services and LDS Humanitarian Center in assisting victims of famines and natural disasters, and in recent years, the Mormon Church has sometimes joined the Catholic representatives in joint initiatives such as opposition to same-sex marriage

13 and 14 September 2010, Russell Ballard , an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day visit to Rome , met with Vatican Cardinal Levada, Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith and Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue .

  • Latter-day Saints and Muslims

The appreciation of the Church for the role of Muhammad in history can be read in the declaration of 1978 the First Presidency. This statement has Muhammad among the "great religious leaders of the world" who received "a portion of the divine light" and asserts that "... moral truths were given by God According to BH Roberts (1857-1933), of the Seventy, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is established for the education of men and is one of the ways God uses to make known the truth but not limited to this institution to accomplish this goal, it is not limited in time or place. God raises here and there among all the children of men, sages and prophets within their own language and their own nationality and speak to people so they understand. ... All great masters are servants of God; in all countries and all eras. They are inspired men, chosen to instruct the children of God, under conditions in which they live "

In recent years, compliance with the spiritual heritage of Muhammad and the religious values of the Muslim community has led the Latter-day Saints and Muslims around the world have more and more contacts and to cooperate more. The Church respects the laws and Muslim traditions that prohibit the conversion of Muslims to other religions. It has therefore adopted a policy of non-proselytizing in Muslim countries in the Middle East. However, dialogue and cooperation are many, such as visiting Muslim dignitaries at the head of the Church in Salt Lake City , the use of the Church canneries by Muslims to produce food halal (purified by a ritual) the humanitarian aid and first aid for the Church in predominantly Muslim areas, including Jordan , the Kosovo and Turkey , the university agreements between Brigham Young University and other academic institutions and government in the Muslim world The existence of the Association of Muslim Students of Brigham Young University, and collaboration between the Church and Muslim organizations for the preservation of traditional family values . Also, the publication of the 'Islamic Translation Series' (collection of Islamic books translated into English) is sponsored by BYU and the Church and led to multiple exchanges between authorities and Muslim leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A Muslim ambassador to the UN said that this collection of translated works will "play a positive role in the effort by the West to gain a better understanding of Islam" . In addition, the installation of two centers of academic and cultural exchanges in the Middle East, 1989 (in Jerusalem and Amman ), reflect the traditional respect for Church leaders for Islam. A member of the Egyptian Council of Ministers told Howard W. Hunter of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles : "If we get one day to fill the gap between Christianity and Islam, it will necessarily by the Mormon Church"

  • Mormonism and Judaism
Main article: Mormonism and Judaism.

The Latter-day Saints claim to the house of Israel , for some direct line to the other by adoption. As such, Judaism is the basis of the history of Mormonism. Jews are seen as a covenant people of God, held in high esteem and respected in the Mormon faith. The Church is consequently very philo in its doctrine. From the perspective of the Jewish community, the Mormon beliefs regarding their membership in the House of Israel are generally rejected both theologically and culturally.

The concept of claiming membership in the House of Israel produced a variety of interfaith issues. Although there are conflicts, relations reached rarely, if ever, anti-Semitism or anti-Mormonism.

  • Common commitments

With leaders of various denominations, the Church engages in joint actions.

In 2010, the Presiding Bishop H. David Burton, on behalf of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints co-authored with community leaders Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Evangelical, Jewish, Lutheran, Orthodox, Pentecostal and Sikh, an open letter: "The Protection of Marriage: A shared commitment "to express their common commitment to the protection of marriage as a union between a man and a woman

Ethnicity

  • Situation of Blacks in Mormonism
Mormon temple Abu Nigeria

Blacks have always been officially welcomed into the Church and Joseph Smith (1805-1844), anti-slavery , black men ordered to the priesthood and fought against slavery as a candidate for the presidency United States. At that time, the common belief in American society was that blacks were cursed descendants of Cain. For this reason, after the death of Joseph Smith, his successor, Brigham Young , taught in 1852, that if blacks could be baptized, they could not be ordained to the priesthood or receive the sacraments of the upper temple , stating "they would not receive the blessings of the priesthood before the other descendants of Adam have received the promises and are pleased with the blessings of the priesthood ... if we did, the priest would be removed from the Church and the Kingdom of God ... the church would go to destruction " . This policy has attracted much criticism during the twentieth century, mainly civil rights movement in the United States but also from intellectuals and academics (sometimes Mormons themselves). The attitude of the Church toward other cultures and people of color, which had been shared by the majority of white Americans, began to appear racist and neocolonial. The Church was subject to strong reactions because of its position on the issue of Blacks and Native Americans.

In 1955, the Church began to ordain Melanesian blacks to the priesthood. In the late 1960s, the church grew in Brazil , the Caribbean and Africa. In the case of Africa and the Caribbean, the Church had not yet started its missionary program extensively in these regions. Large groups in Ghana and Nigeria have wanted to join the church and many church members were Brazilians of African descent. On June 8, 1978, under the presidency of Spencer W. Kimball , 12th President of the Church, was adopted a statement of the First Presidency of the Church saying that "all male members of the Church who are worthy may be ordained to the priesthood without regard to race or color". Today, black members of the Church are numerous and many congregations are predominantly black.

  • Mormonism and American First Nations

During the post- World War II , the Church began to focus its expansion into a number of cultures Native American and Oceania that many Mormons consider to be the same ethnicity. These people were called "Lamanites" because of their supposed descendants of Lamanites in the Book of Mormon. In 1947, the church began an investment program where students of Native American Indians (at the request of their parents) were voluntarily placed in homes of Latter-day Saints to take children to the school year when they attended the Public Schools and likened the Mormon culture.

Viewpoints

  • Mormon perception of homosexuality

According to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the homosexuality is officially seen as a set of "thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and not as a" condition "immutable, or indication an "identity" innate . It teaches that, sometimes unwanted, these thoughts, feelings and behaviors can and should be controlled .

The Church says it wants to officially welcome all members to respect the conditional a href = "% C3% Loi_de_chastet A9_ (Mormonism)" title = "Law of Chastity (Mormonism)"> law of chastity, a principle common to all members of the Church. The law of chastity prohibits sex outside marriage heterosexual sexuality and all gay and lesbian. Violate this law means a disqualification (more access to the temple) or excommunication. , .

In 1995, the First Presidency published The Family: A Proclamation to the World 'defining the official position of the Church, the family, gender roles and male and female sexuality.

More generally, considering the both male and female homosexuality as a transgression of divine law, the Church opposes the extension of legal rights for families gays and lesbians , which in his view, would weaken the institution the family created by God ( marriage monogamous heterosexual ) . His position has been criticized by associations working for the recognition of gay rights who believe that the Church promotes the homophobia of its position on this issue.

In 2009, the Church has supported a series of texts against discrimination against homosexuals leading to their adoption by the City Council of Salt Lake City. These texts concerned "the right to have a roof over his head and right to work free from discrimination" and argued that the Church "by nature" .

  • Mormonism and evolution theory

Although the Church has no position on the theory of evolution, she delivered a number of dogmas about the origin of man. These statements generally take the position endorsed by the Encyclopedia of Mormonism ,

The first official declaration of 1909 on the issue of evolution has marked the centenary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 50th anniversary of his work on the origin of species. In this year the First Presidency led by Joseph F. Smith issued a statement on the predominant religious view of creationism , calling the theory of evolution as a "theory of man" wrong or bad. "It is held by some that Adam was not the first man on earth and the origin of man is a descendant of the creative development of the animal. But it is the theories of man " In his Christmas message in 1910, the First Presidency made reference to the Church's position vis--vis science:

"Diversity of opinion does not require the intolerance of the mind and must not embitter or draw rational beings against each other ... Our religion is not hostile to real science. This is demonstrated, we accept it with joy, but we do not accept the vain philosophy, human theory or mere human speculation, and we adopt anything contrary to divine revelation or to common sense. "

In 1925, a new presidency issued a formal declaration that reaffirmed the doctrine that Adam was the first man on earth and was created in the image of God . The LDS Church has not issued a formal statement on the theory of evolution since 1925 .

  • Politics

A declaration of belief regarding governments and laws in general was passed unanimously by a meeting of the Church held August 17, 1835 in Kirtland (Ohio) (Doctrine and Covenants 134: "1-4, Governments must protect freedom of conscience and worship. 5-8, All men must defend their government and show respect and deference to the law. 9-10, Religious organizations shall not exercise civil powers. 11 - 12, men are justified in defending themselves and their property ") .

The Church takes its distance and not get involved in politics, even if it encourages members to be politically active and do their civic duty by voting. Each election year, the Church sent a letter to each bishop (leader of the congregation) to read the panel stating that the Church does not endorse any political parties or candidates, does not allow its buildings to be used for political events, and no titles or positions as a member of the Church can not be used to engage the Church in support of any political party or candidate.

However, the Church has approved or disapproved of specific policy positions which it considers moral questions:

    • Opposition to 'LGM-118A - MX (Peacekeeper) missile, based in Utah and Nevada .
    • Opposition to "the Equal Rights Amendment 'in the 1970s.
    • Support for Proposition 22 (2000) in California defining marriage between a man and a woman.
    • In 2004 to support the constitutional amendment defining marriage in Utah between a man and a woman.
    • Support for the 'defense of marriage act' defining the U.S. marriage between a man and a woman.

In recent decades, the Republican Party won a significant majority of Mormons vote in most elections at national and state level. Accordingly, the Utah , a state with an overwhelmingly Mormon population, is also one of the most Republican states in the country. However, Harry Reid ( Nevada ), the Democrats , Majority Leader of the Senate, is a member of the Mormon Church.

    • Attitude towards the State and society

The Latter-day Saints are required to submit to governments, to be good citizens and obey the laws, to honor them and support them. It is also expected to serve as members of the community and help those in need. (12th Article of Faith )

  • Objections
    • Pornography

The LDS Church believes that pornography is an addiction that breaks the senses, destroys self-esteem and family relationships, leads to dependence and separates a person from God. Pornography is thus subject Combating.Pornography program . It is advised to Latter-day Saints not to take part in any form of obscene or pornographic media, as well as those showing graphic representations of sex or violence.

    • Abortion

The Church opposes abortion, except in exceptional circumstances, as in cases of rape or incest or to save the life of the mother. However, the Church respects the right of individual free will, and the decision was finally taken by the individual, inspired by God through sincere prayer and fasting.

    • Other

She also opposes gambling, as well as games governed by the state, or sponsored by charitable . Tattoos and piercings, except for a pair of earrings for women, are strongly discouraged.

Public life

Honors

  • Distinction by the Church in the United Kingdom

The award ceremony for family values, awarded by the Church to "members of the community who have contributed significantly to assist and support the family," held in London since 2004. Received the distinction:

- In 2009, Reverend Hon John Battle , Member of Parliament, the Prime Minister sent to all denominations of United Kingdom , but also to Jill Kirby , director of the Center for Political Studies and founder and president of Full Time Mothers ( full-time mothers).

- In 2010, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, president of the order, Attorney General of England and Wales before the House of Parliament because of the sustained action taken to combat it the domestic violence .

- In 2011, Edmund Adamus, Director of the Pastoral of the Diocese of Westminster, for working to strengthen marriage and family life .

Among others, have also received this honor Mary Crowley , a member of the Order of the British Empire , and the Reverend Hon Paul Boateng , former finance secretary .

  • Council of Autism

In 2009, Autism Council (French: Council of Autism) of Utah has named the Church 'Award remarkable Organization of the Year' for its website dedicated to disability assistance

  • American Red Cross

In 2005, the American Red Cross has awarded the Church of the American Red Cross Circle of Humanitarians, after participating in the vaccination campaign against measles in Africa in 2004 and 2005

Films

Personalities

Stephenie Meyer , writer.
David Kennedy , an economist.
Don Lind , astronaut.
Torah Bright , Olympic champion.
  • Indians
    • Kanosh , chief of the tribe HVMP Utes , Utah Territory

Statistics

Countries and territories with at least one temple Countries and territories without a temple but with members and missionaries Countries and territories without official presence of the Church 2007

The number of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the fourth made religion of the United States . She claimed thirteen million members worldwide in 2007 . She claimed to have reached a total of 13,508,509 members in 2008 including 166 000 in Canada (with 10 226 in Quebec ), 34 906 in France , 6043 in Belgium and 7939 in Switzerland . More than half of church members live outside the United States in nearly 180 countries, and in 178 languages. .

  • The number of missionaries called since 1830 had reached one million.

    • At December 31, 2007:

    • Number of units of the Church: Piling (dioceses): 2790; Missions: 348; Districts (small dioceses): 618; Wards and branches (small congregations): 27 827
    • People of the Church: Total Church: 13,193,999; Increased number of children enrolled in 2007: 93,698; Converts baptized in 2007: 279,218
    • Missionaries : Missionaries full time: 52 686
    • Temples : Temples consecrated in 2006: 0; Temple rededicated in 2006: 1; Temples in service: 124

    Statistics by country and by language (31 December 2003):

    • Countries with the largest number of members of the Church:
    • Countries with the largest percentage of church members (10,000 members minimum):

    English : 5828000; Spanish : 3681000; Portuguese : 907 000; Tagalog (Philippines): 165 000; Cebuano (Philippines): 126 000, Japanese 117, 000; Ilocano (Philippines): 109 000; Samoan : 102 000 ; Korean : 75 000

    (Source: Ensign, May 2007, August 2005, News of the Church, p. 2; January 2005, News of the Church, pp. 2-3)

    The report of the Church on the population membership includes all baptized members as well as "saving children" unbaptized less than eight years. (Children are not baptized before the age of eight.) Although the Church does not publish attendance figures public, researchers estimate that the presence in worship weekly Latter-day Saints worldwide is approximately 4 million . Members living in the United States and Canada account for 46% of assistance, 38% in Latin America and the rest of the world population, 16% .

    A survey conducted by the 'City College of New York' in 2001 estimated that there were 2.787 million Latter-day Saints identified with the United States in 2001, or 1.3% of the population of the United States, making the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, through their telephone survey of over 50,000 households, the 10 th religious organization in order of importance . One source she cites is the second religion in advancing the United States, with an annual growth rate of 1.63% .

    2007 Survey, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life ' Mormons (U.S.) Average U.S.
    Married 71% 54%
    Divorced or separated 9% 12%
    3 or more children at home 21% 9%
    Support Week (or more) at religious services 75% 39%

    In 2007, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, published a study on the religious beliefs of 35,556 adults living in the United States , 1.7% said they were Mormons. Comparatively, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has reported 5,873,408 members, representing 1.9% of the population of the United States at the end of 2007. Responses to this survey believe that 3.9 million Mormons in the United States, only 1.3% of the population of the United States, attend services once a week, or more than once a week.

    Finance

    The main income of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints comes from the tithe and the gift of fasting paid by its members.

    The Church uses an accounting firm (now Deloitte Touche ) to perform annual inspections, the United States, its agencies, non-profit , gain and educational , . The Church has an internal audit verifying that the donations and expenses are used and distributed according to the rules of the Church, and that makes her view, without numbers or financial details to each biannual general conference of the Church .

    The Church has not published its financial statements in the U.S. since 1959 and does so only in countries where this is required by law, as in the United Kingdom where the financial audit conducted by the office PricewaterhouseCoopers.

    The Church asserts that its financial situation is similar to other religious organizations, non-profit. She also says that if it receives more donations than it has loads, it uses the surplus to establish a reserve asset in anticipation of future years, for periods where the costs are higher for donations.

    The Church uses tithing funds for construction and maintenance of buildings and other facilities, printing of the Scriptures, the work of mission, social welfare and relief, education and other programs it sponsors .

    The Church has also invested in companies for profit and commercial enterprises, such as Bonneville International , Deseret Book Company , and beef farms in Utah , in Florida and Canada. These farms are destined for the welfare of the Church ( the storehouse and the humanitarian center ), where the tithing funds are used and which are nonprofit. .

    The Church communicates the financing of humanitarian action. For example, in total, since 1991, the church gave 275,000 to Operation Smile through the founding of the Church and is preparing to give 900,000 . Since 2003, LDS Charities joins the international campaign against measles and has pledged one million dollars per year to support the .

    Reviews

    Main article: Criticism of Mormonism.

    Mormonism, like any religion , has been criticized since its formation. The criticism comes from religious groups, scientists and former members. Critics are divided into three main areas:

    The critical theological

    Mormonism is criticized for some of its doctrines disagree with the generally accepted Christian dogma. The main criticisms concern the nature of the Godhead: God the Father has a physical body and immortal man is deified, and the notion of continuing revelation (the cannon is not closed).

    The critical scientific

    The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints consider the Book of Mormon is not only a religious text, but also the historical account of pre-Columbian civilizations. Critics of Mormonism and have found many elements considered anachronisms: the word for steel, horses, etc.;. or linguistic inconsistencies. It is an area where Mormon scholars and apologists are actively trying to dismantle the arguments of critics.

    Ethical criticism

    Mormonism is also criticized for some doctrines, past and present, posing ethical problems, mainly:

    • the role of women: only men can hold the priesthood, the woman whose role is distinctive but not exclusive to bear and raise children. Furthermore, until 1890, plural marriage was practiced by some Mormons.
    • Racism: the Church has long refused to ordain black people to the priesthood (1844-1978), which has attracted much criticism against a regulation that was racist, until its repeal (see Status of Blacks in Mormonism ).
    Protesters outside the temple in Newport Beach, California expressing their opposition to the Church to support the Prop 8 in California
    • Homophobia: The Church strongly condemns the homosexuality , the statements of its leaders are sometimes considered homophobic (see Perception of Homosexuality in Mormonism ).
    • The Mountain Meadows Massacre: In September 1857, hundreds of emigrants from Arkansas and Missouri, bound for California were slaughtered by Mormon militiamen assisted by Indians (see Mountain Meadows Massacre ).
    • Financial aspects: the Church derives most of its income from tithes paid by its members (10% of their income). It controls many commercial companies and does not publish its balance sheet. Moreover, the Church claims an unpaid clergy, while the General Authorities are rewarded.
    Potential cultic
    Main article: Mormonism and sectarian.

    The potentially sectarian Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was reviewed in the Commissions of Inquiry on Cults in France and Belgium and the church was not mentioned in the list of sects drawn up by the French Commission (Belgium, only a list of movements studied was derived).

    The French association UNADFI condemn the sectarian movement, because of the role of the woman she is inferior, and religious education to children she describes indoctrination. It denounces, as other associations abroad, the organization of free English classes given by the missionaries for 'baiting' the public , .

    Other associations, a href = "Centre_contre_les_manipulations_mentales" title = "Centre against mind control"> CCMM CIAOSN, the Interministerial Mission of Fight against Sects (MILS) and MIVILUDES , however, n have not considered that it should be described as a sect. The Church is not taken as a cult in the French parliamentary report on sects nor Jean Vernette , national secretary of the French episcopate to the study of sects and new religious movements in the Catholic Church in France.

    Notes

    Bibliography

    • LeGrand Richards, Salt Lake City, 1950
    • Joseph Fielding Smith ,
      • Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith (1805-1844), Salt Lake City, 1976
      • Much of the history of the Church, Salt Lake City, 1922, 1950, Frankfurt, 1973
    • William E. Berret, Salt Lake City, 1961, Torcy, 1985, ( ISBN 2-903879-15-X )
    • E. Carter Grant, 1955, 1964
    • John A. Widsoe, Salt Lake City, 1926
    • Parley P. Pratt, 1837
    • Thomas BH Stenhouse, Les Lausanne, 1854
    • Louis Auguste Bertrand , Collection Hetzel, Paris, 1862
    • Sabine Delmart, 1997
    • Deborah Laake, 1993
    • Bernadette Rigal-Cellard, transatlantic Mutations of religions, Christian Lerat and Bernadette Rigal-Cellard, eds. Presses Universitaires de Bordeaux, 2000 279-308
    • Jad Hatem , Paris, Ed Swan, 2007

    Internal Links

    External Links

    References

    1. For the past few days, see Acts 2:17, 2 Tim. 3:1, 2 P. 3:3
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    26. Testimony of Leon Fargier
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    28. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Law 1905, Official Journal
    29. Places of Worship in France
    30. September 9, 1842 Document signed by Queen Pomare IV : 4. The people remain free to consider God according to his wishes; 5. The Churches of British missionaries who are currently not be molested and British missionaries carry out their duties. It's the same for everyone else, they will not be molested for their attitude vis--vis God.
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    36. Organization and Administration
    37. Gordon B. Hinckley, "Questions and Answers," Ensign, November 1985, 49
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    39. eg Sandra Tanner, Do Mormon Leaders Receive Financial Support? citing official residence and credit card
    40. [see for example D. Michael Quinn, op. cit., referring to several General Authorities mentioning the term (including Lorenzo Snow ), a term also used elsewhere in Doctrine & Covenants 42:71-73]
    41. Children in the church
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    44. The Church Responds to HIV / AIDS
    45. Manuals and study guides
    46. Liahona
    47. The Perpetual Education Fund reached a first level
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    49. Video genealogy you it goes by the Mormons, Jean-Louis First Steps
    50. Alexa traffic delay March 21, 2009 (EXCLUDING Ancestry.com # 1)
    51. Family History Centers
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    53. (en) The Mormons: Humanitarian efforts (video)
    54. (en) Latter-day Saint Humanitarian Center.
    55. (en) Welfare and Humanitarian Services.
    56. (en) [pdf] LDS Church (2004). Providing in the Lord's Way: A Leader's Guide to Welfare P. 8.
    57. Helpful Hands after Hurricane Katrina
    58. Helpful Hands after the result of floods in India
    59. Like a Mighty Army, New Zealand, March 2009.
    60. Mormon Helping Hands program has decade of service (Helping Hands Program, a decade of service)
    61. Helpful Hands, a collaboration with Blood Transfusion Centre
    62. Video Helping Hands in Brazil, 10th Anniversary
    63. Memorial Site Cleaned (Helping Hands: 40 young LDS site of the memorial of the Resistance to Vassieux-en-Vercors
    64. Andrea Bocelli and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
    65. Collection of Songs
    66. Song 'I Am a Child of God
    67. Children's Songbook
    68. LDS Newsroom - One Million Missionaries, Thirteen Million Members
    69. Ball pile of Geneva, 2009
    70. Gala and Seminar Institute, Geneva 2009
    71. Temple Square
    72. Relief Society Building
    73. . Video: Why Mormons Build Temples
    74. Religionen in der Schweiz, Religious buildings in Switzerland immigrant religions, the temple of Zollikofen, Switzerland
    75. What we find when we enter into a Mormon church
    76. info Christianity, February 2010, 22,000 Mormons cheer Cardinal George
    77. Cardinal George discusses religious freedom during a speech at BYU
    78. Video Speech of Cardinal George at BYU
    79. Ecumenical meeting marks first time Mormons join in papal gathering, Catholic News Service
    80. An apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day visit to the Vatican, September 23, 2010
    81. "Questions and Answers," Ensign, April 1988, p. 32.
    82. Perspective of the Church on Muhammad - James A. Toronto, Liahona June 2002, p31
    83. Defense of the Faith and the Saints, 2 vols (1907), 1:512-513.
    84. The activities related to the family are coordinated by the World Family Policy Center (Center for Global Policy for the family) at Brigham Young University. The center sponsors an international coalition between people of different religions, the World Congress of Families (World Congress of the family), which includes representatives from many Muslim countries
    85. Islamic diplomats hosted in New York, Michael R. Leonard, Church News, April 3, 1999, p. 6.
    86. <All Are Alike unto God>, Howard W. Hunter, Ensign, June 1979, p. 74.
    87. (en) The leaders of various faiths committed specifically to protect marriage
    88. Elijah Abel
    89. Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol. 7, pages 290 -291
    90. ". The Lord told Cain that he would not receive the blessings of the priesthood and his descendants until the last of the posterity of Abel had received the priesthood, not before the redemption of the earth ... we assume that their asked to come here and we tell them that it is legitimate to mix our posterity with the race of Cain , they can come with us to share all the blessings God has given us. That day and time where we would do that, would be removed from the priesthood and the Church of the Kingdom of God ... the church would go to its destruction ... and we would receive the curse which was placed on the seed of Cain. "

      - Brigham Young, Brigham Young's Address, Church Historical Dept.., February 5, 1852

    91. (en) "The attraction to persons of the same sex," Dallin H. Oaks, March 1996
    92. a and b (in) "Same-Gender Attraction," Dallin H. Oaks, 2007, Salt Lake City, Utah, EJCSDJ
    93. (en) "What Are People Asking about Us?" Gordon B. Hinckley, November 1998, Ensign: 70
    94. "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Religions in Canada":
      "Homosexuality is considered immoral, although it does not condemn those who have homosexual tendencies. "
    95. (en) "First Presidency Statement on Same-Gender Marriage," Gordon B. Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson and James E. Faust, 20 October 2004, Salt Lake City, Utah, EDJCSDJ
    96. Support for gay Mormons, Le Figaro, November 2009.
    97. William E. Evenson and Duane E. Jeffrey (2005). Mormonism and Evolution: The Authoritative LDS Statements (Salt Lake City, Utah: Greg Kofford Books) P. 35 states thats the entry on Evolution In The Encyclopedia of Mormonism WAS Approved by Apostles Neal A. Maxwell and Dallin H. Oaks.
    98. "The texts explain why man was created, but they do not say how, but the Lord has promised he will say when he returns." "Evolution" in Daniel H. Ludlow (ed.) (1992). Encyclopedia of Mormonism (New York: Macmillan) 2:478.
    99. First Presidency ( Joseph F. Smith , John R. Winder, Anthon H. Lund), "The Origin of Man," Improvement Era 13:75-81 (Nov. 1909).
    100. First Presidency ( Joseph F. Smith , John R. Winder, Anthon H. Lund), "Words in Season From The First Presidency," Deseret Evening News 1910-12-17, sec.1, p.3.
    101. First Presidency ( Heber J. Grant , Anthony W. Ivins, Charles W. Nibley), Mormon View of Evolution ", Deseret News, 1925-07-18, reprinted in Improvement Era 28:1090-1091 (Sep. 1925)
    102. William E. Evenson and Duane E. Jeffrey (2005). Mormonism and Evolution: The Authoritative LDS Statements (Salt Lake City, Utah: Greg Kofford Books) ISBN 1-58958-093-1.
    103. http://scriptures.lds.org/fr/dc/134
    104. " First Presidency Statement on Basing of MX Missile ", Ensign, June 1981, 76.
    105. 'Combating.Pornography'
    106. Gambling, Gordon B. Hincley
    107. (en) family values Trophy presented to the Attorney General of the British crown.
    108. Catholic Champion Marriage and Public Policy Adviser Receive UK Family Values Awards
    109. Distinction awarded for family values in the British Parliament
    110. (en) Disibility resources on www.disabilities.lds.org. Accessed May 29, 2010.
    111. (en) The American Red Cross distinguishes the Church for its support of actions against measles in Africa.
    112. (en) On the other side of paradise on www.eglisedejesuschrist.fr.
    113. (en) The Osmonds and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
    114. Torah Bright halfpipe gold medalist in the Olympics in Vancouver.
    115. Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, 2005
    116. a and b for the world statistics on the site lds.org, accessed June 11, 2009.
    117. Deseret Morning News 2007 Church Almanac
    118. Statistics for Quebec lds.org site, accessed June 11, 2009.
    119. Statistics for France lds.org site, accessed June 10, 2009.
    120. Statistics for Belgium lds.org site, accessed June 11, 2009.
    121. Statistics for Switzerland lds.org site, accessed June 11, 2009.
    122. Growth of the Church
    123. Fletcher, Peggy. "Keeping Members a Challenge for LDS Church. "Salt Lake Tribune, June 22, 2006.
    124. Statistical Information , Retrieved December 1, 2007
    125. American Religious Identification author, Egon Mayer, Ph.D., Barry A. Kosmin, Ph.D.; Ariela Keysar, Ph.D. . Accessed July 27, 2007
    126. Duin, Julia: Mormons in mourning , The Washington Times (February 1, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-02-01.
    127. Religion in American culture - Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life
    128. The law of tithing
    129. "Why Deseret Trust Company?" Accessed 15 May 2007
    130. Belo Corp Form 8-K. Accessed 16 May 2007.
    131. "Financial Planning". finserve.byu.edu. Accessed 16 May 2007.
    132. Accessed 16 May 2007 Page 9 "Finance". accredit.byu.edu.
    133. Robert W. Cantwell, "Church Auditing Department Report, 2006, in Ensign, vol. 37, No. 5, May 2007, p. 6 [ Full text (accessed 2008-02-22)]
    134. 4841 "class =" external text "rel =" nofollow ">" Order to Release Financial data has LDS Church, one short collision course. "Salt Lake Tribune. July 13, 2007. Accessed 13 July 2007
    135. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Great Britain Financial Statements - Provided By The Charity Commission based On The Charities Act
    136. Church Finance , newsroom.lds.org
    137. David Van Biem, Kingdom Come, Time Magazine, August 4, 1997, p.2
    138. Operation Smile
    139. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will give more than 900,000 to Operation Smile.
    140. Liahona February 2011 p10
    141. (en) French Republic, National Assembly, December 12, 2006 Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the influence of the sectarian movements and the consequences of their practices on the physical and mental health of minors. Rapporteur Mr. Philippe VUILQUE, MP.
    142. (es) [pdf] Redune Las DESCUBIERTO al Sects, p. 66.
    143. [ read online ]
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