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Mormons
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the Second Great Awakening. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several groups following different leaders; the majority followed Brigham Young, while smaller groups followed Sidney Rigdon and James Strang. Many who did not follow Young eventually merged into the Community of Christ, led by Smith’s son, Joseph Smith III. The term Mormon typically refers to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the largest branch, which followed Brigham Young. People who identify as Mormons may also be independently religious, secular, and non-practicing or belong to other denominations.
Since 2018, the LDS Church has expressed the desire that its followers be referred to as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or just members, if the identity of the church is made clear previously in the context, as the term Mormon can be considered offensive by the community.
Members have developed a strong sense of community that stems from their doctrine and history. One of the central doctrinal issues that defined Mormonism in the 19th century was the practice of plural marriage, a form of religious polygamy. From 1852 until 1904, when the LDS Church banned the practice, many members who had followed Brigham Young to the Utah Territory openly practiced polygamy. Members dedicate significant time and resources to serving in their churches. A prominent practice among young and retired members of the LDS Church is to serve a full-time proselytizing mission. Members have a health code that eschews alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tea, coffee, and addictive substances. They tend to be very family-oriented and have strong connections across generations and with extended family, reflecting their belief that families can be sealed together beyond death. Members also adhere to a law of chastity, requiring abstention from sexual relations outside heterosexual marriage and fidelity within marriage.
Mormons identify as Christian, but some non-Mormons consider church members to be non-Christian because some of their beliefs differ from those of Nicene Christianity. They believe that Christ's church was restored through Joseph Smith and is guided by living prophets and apostles. Members believe in the Bible and other books of scripture, such as the Book of Mormon. They have a unique view of cosmology and believe that all people are literal spirit children of God: they believe that returning to God requires following the example of Jesus Christ and accepting his atonement through repentance and ordinances such as baptism.
During the 19th century, converts into LDS Church tended to gather in a central geographic location, a trend that reversed somewhat in the 1920s and 1930s. The center of LDS Church cultural influence is in Utah, and North America has more members than any other continent, although about 60% of LDS Church members live outside the United States. As of December 31, 2021, the LDS Church reported a membership of 16,805,400.
The terminology preferred by the church itself has varied over time. At various points, the church has embraced the term Mormon and stated that other sects within the shared faith tradition should not be called Mormon.
The word Mormon was initially coined to describe any person who considers the Book of Mormon to be a scripture volume. Mormonite and Mormon were originally descriptive terms used both by outsiders to the faith, church members, and occasionally church leaders.[better source needed] The term Mormon later was sometimes used derogatorily; such use may have developed during the 1838 Mormon War, although church members and leaders "embraced the term", according to church historian Matthew Bowman, and by the end of the 1800s it was broadly used.
The LDS Church has made efforts, including in 1982, in 2001 prior to the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, in 2011 after The Book of Mormon appeared on Broadway, and again in 2018, to encourage the use of the church's full name, rather than the terms Mormon or LDS. According to Patrick Mason, chair of Mormon studies at Claremont Graduate University and Richard Bennett, a professor of church history at Brigham Young University, this is because non-church members have historically been confused about whether it represents a Christian faith, which concerns church leaders, who want to emphasize that the church is a Christian church. The term Mormon also causes concern for church leaders because it has been used to include splinter groups such as Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, who practice polygamy, which the LDS Church does not; Mason said "For more than 100 years, the mainstream LDS Church has gone to great pains to distance itself from those who practice polygamy. It doesn't want to have any confusion there between those two groups."
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Mormons
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the Second Great Awakening. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several groups following different leaders; the majority followed Brigham Young, while smaller groups followed Sidney Rigdon and James Strang. Many who did not follow Young eventually merged into the Community of Christ, led by Smith’s son, Joseph Smith III. The term Mormon typically refers to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the largest branch, which followed Brigham Young. People who identify as Mormons may also be independently religious, secular, and non-practicing or belong to other denominations.
Since 2018, the LDS Church has expressed the desire that its followers be referred to as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or just members, if the identity of the church is made clear previously in the context, as the term Mormon can be considered offensive by the community.
Members have developed a strong sense of community that stems from their doctrine and history. One of the central doctrinal issues that defined Mormonism in the 19th century was the practice of plural marriage, a form of religious polygamy. From 1852 until 1904, when the LDS Church banned the practice, many members who had followed Brigham Young to the Utah Territory openly practiced polygamy. Members dedicate significant time and resources to serving in their churches. A prominent practice among young and retired members of the LDS Church is to serve a full-time proselytizing mission. Members have a health code that eschews alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tea, coffee, and addictive substances. They tend to be very family-oriented and have strong connections across generations and with extended family, reflecting their belief that families can be sealed together beyond death. Members also adhere to a law of chastity, requiring abstention from sexual relations outside heterosexual marriage and fidelity within marriage.
Mormons identify as Christian, but some non-Mormons consider church members to be non-Christian because some of their beliefs differ from those of Nicene Christianity. They believe that Christ's church was restored through Joseph Smith and is guided by living prophets and apostles. Members believe in the Bible and other books of scripture, such as the Book of Mormon. They have a unique view of cosmology and believe that all people are literal spirit children of God: they believe that returning to God requires following the example of Jesus Christ and accepting his atonement through repentance and ordinances such as baptism.
During the 19th century, converts into LDS Church tended to gather in a central geographic location, a trend that reversed somewhat in the 1920s and 1930s. The center of LDS Church cultural influence is in Utah, and North America has more members than any other continent, although about 60% of LDS Church members live outside the United States. As of December 31, 2021, the LDS Church reported a membership of 16,805,400.
The terminology preferred by the church itself has varied over time. At various points, the church has embraced the term Mormon and stated that other sects within the shared faith tradition should not be called Mormon.
The word Mormon was initially coined to describe any person who considers the Book of Mormon to be a scripture volume. Mormonite and Mormon were originally descriptive terms used both by outsiders to the faith, church members, and occasionally church leaders.[better source needed] The term Mormon later was sometimes used derogatorily; such use may have developed during the 1838 Mormon War, although church members and leaders "embraced the term", according to church historian Matthew Bowman, and by the end of the 1800s it was broadly used.
The LDS Church has made efforts, including in 1982, in 2001 prior to the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, in 2011 after The Book of Mormon appeared on Broadway, and again in 2018, to encourage the use of the church's full name, rather than the terms Mormon or LDS. According to Patrick Mason, chair of Mormon studies at Claremont Graduate University and Richard Bennett, a professor of church history at Brigham Young University, this is because non-church members have historically been confused about whether it represents a Christian faith, which concerns church leaders, who want to emphasize that the church is a Christian church. The term Mormon also causes concern for church leaders because it has been used to include splinter groups such as Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, who practice polygamy, which the LDS Church does not; Mason said "For more than 100 years, the mainstream LDS Church has gone to great pains to distance itself from those who practice polygamy. It doesn't want to have any confusion there between those two groups."
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