Many religions today have some kind of text which tells them what there religious organisation is based on and this is true with Mormonism. As stated before there sacred text is one called the book of Mormon. The book of Mormon is organized as a compilation of smaller books, each named after its main named narrator or a prominent leader, beginning with the and ending with the . Most modern editions of the book have been divided into chapters and verses. Most editions of the book also contain supplementary material, including the Testimony of and the Testimony of , which are statements by men who said they saw the golden plates with Joseph Smith and could verify their existence. Mormons believe that the book of Mormons is the word of God and the correct translation is impossible as Catholics have removed the word god and made it plainer. Joseph believed it had to be restored to fulfill the purpose of God and Jesus.
The movement today
The has continued to grow and evolve even today. Today there are thousands of active organizations, as the various denominations have continued to give birth to new expressions of the movement. By far the largest denomination is which reports 13 million members worldwide. The reports 250,000 members. This movement nowadays has its location in Salt Lake City in which is the base of the work of Mormonism. A group of led by their prophet founded Salt Lake City in Utah and it is now the headquarters of .
Key beliefs and ideas of Mormonism
- Latter-day Saints believe the Bible is sacred.
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They include in their canon , which includes two lost books of the Bible, a translation of the Gospel of Matthew, and the 13 Articles of Faith; , a group of 138 revelations from God and two other official documents; and , originally published in 1830.
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Latter-day Saints believe that Jesus is the Son of God in the most literal sense. He is eldest brother of all mortals and firstborn spirit child of God. They believe that from Mary, a mortal , Jesus inherited the capacity to die, and from God, an exalted being, he inherited the capacity to live forever.
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Latter-day Saints believe that salvation comes through Christ's atoning sacrifice. But they don't believe in "original sin" or in human depravity. Still, Latter-day Saints believe that fallen men and do need redemption. Works are a necessary condition, but they are insufficient for salvation.
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Authority - The Church has 4 Standard Works that are authoritative: The Bible (in so far as it is translated correctly), the Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. Speeches and writings of the current president of the church are also authoritative. The Bible is far below the other standard Works because it is full of errors.
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One god - There are many Gods. Brigham Young-Journal of Discourses 7:333 "How many Gods there are, I do not know. But there never was a time when there were not Gods.
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The nature of god - God the Father is an exalted man (a man who has progressed to godhood) with a body of flesh and bones. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 1973 ed., p. 346 - "God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man...I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in a form-like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man."
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The doctrine of salvation - Christ's death on the cross (the atonement) cancelled the penalty of death imposed on ALL men through Adam's sin, thereby ensuring that all men would be redeemed - resurrected and given immortality (the reuniting of spirit with body)-as a gift.
"If there had been no atonement, temporal death would have remained forever, and there never would have remained forever, and there never would have been a resurrection. The body would have remained forever in the grave" (Mormon Doctrine, 1977 ed., p.63)
"Redemption from death, through the sufferings of Christ, is for all men, both the righteous and the wicked.
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Mormons believe that God has a plan for each of us, which began before we came to earth, and which will continue after this life. Those beliefs are set forth in thirteen clear declarations known as The Articles of Faith.
- Members of the Church of Jesus Christ believe that the family unit is fundamental and eternal. Marriage between worthy individuals is intended by the Lord to be forever by virtue of a sealing ordinance in holy temples.
What would a typical follower of Mormonism be like?
Age – 30 years old and over.
Gender – Male
Class – Could be any many celebrities are rumored to be Mormons. Most likely could be said to be middle class in terms of occupation and income.
Sexual attitudes – Disapprove premarital sex and homosexuality. Typical Mormon will wait to have sex after marriage and will be 100% heterosexual as being gay is unacceptable in the latter day saints eyes.
Marriage – most likely to get married than any other group of faiths. Mormons will be married as passing on beliefs to children.
Age of marriage – Will have been married from a young age from as early as 19.
Marital happiness – Most likely to be happy in marriage compared with 65 percent of Protestants and Catholics and 57 percent of those with no religion.
Education – Will have graduated from college and gone to university.
Occupation – Will be a professional or manager.
Income - $10,000 per year – 15% earn more than $50,000 per year.
Health – Will have longer life expectancy than any other religious group as lower rate of cancer and heart disease. They stay away from drugs and anything that affects the body.
Gender roles – Will take on more religious traditions. Women do go out to work but still do housework, while men still main breadwinner in household.
Dietary requirements – Most likely to be vegetarian as believe killing animals as sin before lord – meaning will not ever go hunting.
How is this religious organisation a Sect?
In many ways Mormonism can be said to be a sect as they have a charismatic main leader which was Joseph smith and now Young. They also have very strong boundaries such as Mormons are expected not to drink or smoke or do anything that affects our state of mind.
Mormons believe in God but have written a book which had pt right the misinterpretations in the bible right.
They have no hierarchy of bishops, clergy just like described in sects. Mormonism is very committed into what they believe.
Mormons don’t necessarily worship but are more concerned with emotional expression through singing in a choir at Salt lake city or showing there love through helping the people of the world.
However it can be said that with the original definition of a sect Mormonism does not fit in. Sects are supposed to be short term and Mormonism has been around since the 17th century. Also they are not deviant to the wider society they do all the same of having a job and working hard to get were they want to be they just have certain ways they want to live such as not drinking. These are not really to strong boundaries they just want to protect there bodies. They are still conversing with the rest of society so it can be argued Mormonism is nowhere near a sect which is isolated from rest of society.
It can be said to have evolved into a denomination as they are not now away from society but work together with people telling people there beliefs. As in denomination you don’t have to win membership by personal merit. This is the same in Mormonism, you don’t have to gain acceptance, and anyone can be Mormon if they really want to. All you have to do is make sure you follow the guidance of rules set down by the book of Mormon. Mormons also do have there own church were they like to worship god through the eyes of Joseph Smith. The main ground is in Salt Lake City were Mormons go to worship there god. It can be said to be like a church in this instance as it offers a place of worship for those who follow that particular religion. Also Mormons believe their word is the right one unlike the words mixed up in Christianity. Churches do the same as this and believe their word is the only correct one. However this can be said to be in all religions as all followers believe their word is correct and everyone else is wrong.
Furthermore it can be hard to actually put any religion under any of the definitions as many religions have different characteristics that can classify them as a church but then still seeing signs of cult qualities.
Why is Mormonism classified as a religion?
Yes it is, under the substantive definition of religion Mormonism is a religion. Mormons believe in:
- A supernatural power – they believe God is the power among us in the world just like Christians but they see the traditional church not doing there job properly and have lost the authority of god. They believe god is supernatural and this cannot be explained by science as he is the main power and has his own authority over us.
- The sacred – God is the sacred being to them, who should be worshipped. Mormons have the book of Mormon which is their sacred text were they follow its teachings.
Mormonism can also be said to be an exclusive definition of religion. This is where you worship a god or supernatural being, a holy book, have leaders, worship in some way that God. Mormonism can be said to encounter all these characteristics so it is much more suitable to place under this definition as it is very controlled.
However Mormonism could be put under the functional definition of religion as thus religion does show social solidarity with everyone joining together to worship in a chapel the Mormon book and God. Also it functions to influence people that Mormonism is the way forward.
It is very hard to put Mormonism in a particular definition of religion as it key beliefs and characteristics overlap the definitions. But in my eyes it is a religion as there is a form of worship taking place in a church. There are also a huge number of followers of the Mormon religion and they all meet at Salt Lake City to worship.
Growth of Mormonism
Today there are around 13 million members of the Latter Day Saints church with around 1 million being added every 3 years. There are many reasons why there has been a big growth in Mormonism.
