How does mormonism work

However, many outsiders do not agree. The fact that twenty-two percent of recently polled Americans would oppose voting for a Mormon for President causes one to wonder why there is such opposition to Mormonism in its country of origin. According to a standard dictionary definition of Christians "as believers and followers of Christ", Mormons are Christians. Jan Shipps, a Methodist and noted scholar of Mormonism, is often asked whether she believes Mormons are Christians and responds with questions of whether the question is analytical, analogical, historiographical or theological and religious.

From this viewpoint, Mormonism can be seen to diverge from traditional Christianity in four areas: its views on scripture, the nature of God and the deification of believers; the deity of Christ and the trinity, and finally, salvation. With respect to scripture, Mormons differ from traditional Christian groups in that they accept extra books in their canon. The Doctrine and Covenants is a compilation of the revelations given to the Priesthood, namely those given to Joseph Smith.

The Book of Mormon is the most controversial addition to the canon. It is a supposed record of ancient groups in the Americas, and begins with a family moving from Jerusalem, shortly before its destruction, to the New World. The climax of the record is a visit of the resurrected Jesus Christ in the Americas. Although the records, inscribed on gold plates, were lost shortly after this in the fourth century, the burier of the book, Moroni, is said to have returned in the early 19 th century as an angel in a revelation to Joseph Smith and led him to the plates.

Smith then translated these into English as the Book of Mormon. The lack of evidence about these golden plates and a message reflective of the times led many critics to believe that the book is a fanciful fabrication. As shown by the acceptance of the extra-biblical works, Mormons maintain a canon open to further revelation from God.

Mormons believe that the death of the apostles led to the death of apostolic succession and that the traditional church perpetuated a false line of apostolic succession. Christian critics argue that the canon is closed because the last two verses of the Book of Revelation say that if you add or subtract from the New Testament you will be accursed, but Mormons hold this warning to be only true of the Book of Revelation and not the entire Bible.

Robinson states that it is unbiblical to believe that the Bible is a closed canon as there is no biblical statement within it that prohibits additional revelation and that the Book of Revelation was written prior to the formation of the Bible; therefore, the warning can only speak to its own book.

Another point of divergence between traditional Christian doctrine and Mormon doctrine is the belief in human deification and thus the nature of God. According to a recent study, over three-quarters of Mormons surveyed stated belief in pre-mortal existence of humans as spirits, human deification during mortal life, and eternal marriage after death.

Mormons also present the fact that orthodox Christian groups have a similar view toward human deification. The temple is used to perform the Mormon endowment ceremony which is a ritual where adult Mormons go through a series of exercises and lessons to help them deepen their faith. During this time they make covenants with God to keep His commandments. Once they receive their endowments they begin to wear distinctive underwear known as garments which we spoke bout above , where there are special marks embroidered.

The garment is meant to remind these individuals of the commitment they made to God and to their faith. Typically women receive their endowment before they marry and men receive it before they go on a mission. Unlike baptism, endowment is not a one-time thing. They are encouraged to go throughout their lives several times to help grow their faith with more endowment rituals.

Before going to the temple to receive their endowments they have to obtain a Temple recommend. This is a card that is signed by a church leader to certify that the person holding it is in good standing with the church.

Good standing is given after an interview process, keeping up with the tithing law, following the 10 commandments, following the Word of Wisdom, and having a strong testimony of the truth of the Gospel.

Those that are not Mormons are not allowed into a Mormon temple because they want to preserve the sacred nature of the practices that take place within the temple walls. They also want to avoid any distractions and disruptions from the outside world. The public is allowed to tour newly constructed temples before they are officially dedicated. Sometimes Mormonism is described as a secretive religion mainly because of the temples being closed off to the public after they are dedicated.

The public is no longer allowed to go inside and church members do not ever speak openly about the rituals that occur inside. The church states that they are not being secretive instead they are keeping everything private. They maintain that early Christianity also had similar practices that they kept private not secret in order to preserve their sacred nature. Something else that is kept confidential are church finances.

This is another reason that the public sometimes says that the church is being secretive. The church has been criticized for no one knowing where the money from revenue is going nor the money from tithing. Mormons celebrate Easter and Christmas as their most important religious holidays. Another holiday that is observed is Pioneer day which falls on July This date marks the day the first Mormon pioneers arrived in Salt Lake Valley in Every Sunday the Sabbath is also observed and this is when they attend a sacrament meeting at their chapel and have a few congregation speakers talk, there are readings, hymns, prayers, and communion.

On Sundays, the average Mormon spends three hours in church. The rest of the day is spent at home, performing charitable works, or visiting friends and family.

When Mormons get married this is considered to be eternal. Once a husband and wife are sealed together in matrimony in a temple this means forever and it also means that they can be together in the celestial kingdom after their death. Divorce is seen as an unfortunately necessary evil and it is not encouraged. When a couple goes through a divorce they believe that they are not unsealed automatically.

If they want to become unsealed from each other they have to receive a cancellation of sealing. In order to do this, a high-ranking church official has to approve it first.

Where a couple have decided after prayer that they should not have children for a time, birth control is acceptable, and not just abstinence, since the Church recognises that sexual relations have an important place in expressing and demonstrating the bond of love.

Answering the question, "How many children should a Mormon couple have? Oaks said:. All they can care for! Of course, to care for children means more than simply giving them life. Children must be loved, nurtured, taught, fed clothed, housed, and well started in their capacities to be good parents themselves. Mormons believe that sex between persons who are not husband and wife is wrong. Accordingly they believe that homosexual activity is wrong.

I wish to say that our opposition to attempts to legalise same-sex marriage should never be interpreted as justification for hatred, intolerance, or abuse of those who profess homosexual tendencies, either individually or as a group. We love and honour them as sons and daughters of God. They are welcome in the Church.

It is expected, however, that they follow the same God-given rules of conduct that apply to everyone else, whether single or married. Polygamy was practised by some Mormons during the first 50 years of the Church. The Church ended the practice in , although some Mormons very few outside the main church do still practice it. Mormons are officially opposed to abortion , except where the pregnancy is the result of incest or rape, when the life or health of the mother would be in serious jeopardy, or when the foetus has serious defects that will not allow the baby to survive beyond birth.

Euthanasia is condemned. Anyone who takes part in euthanasia, including 'assisted suicide', is regarded as having violated the commandments of God. However, the Church recognises that when a person is in the final stages of terminal illness there may be difficult decisions to be taken. The Church states that "When dying becomes inevitable, death should be looked upon as a blessing and a purposeful part of an eternal existence.

Members should not feel obligated to extend mortal life by means that are unreasonable. Mormons accept conventional infertility treatment, including artificial insemination by the husband. In vitro fertilisation using semen from anyone but the husband or an egg from anyone but the wife is strongly discouraged, but not banned. Children conceived by artificial insemination have the same family ties as children conceived by the conventional method.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints leaves decisions about organ donation and transplantation entirely up to the individual to decide.

Whether an individual chooses to will his own bodily organs or authorises the transplant of organs from a deceased family member is a decision for the individual or the deceased member's family. The decision to receive a donated organ should be made with competent medical counsel and confirmation through prayer. Suicide is wrong. However, the Church recognises that a person who commits suicide may not be responsible for his or her acts.