by Gale | Jan 14, 2012 | About Mormons, Mormons in the News
In a world where we often are looking for answers to big questions, we search long and hard to find our results. In business for example, companies will spend millions of dollars doing research to find out why their competitors are doing better than they are, or one department will accuse another department of not doing their part and that is why there was failure. When all is said and done, more often than not, the answers are usually found in our own backyard, so to speak.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) has been a global religion for a number of years now. Even though it is the fourth-largest religion in the United States, many here in America are just now starting to understand what it is the ‘Mormons’ believe. Ironically enough, those that are of the LDS faith are now being put in a position to more clearly understand their faith so when they are questioned, they can respond with genuineness and correctness. With the amount of attention that ‘Mormons’ are receiving, in large part because of the political landscape and very deliberate branding campaigns by the Church, getting a better understanding of the ‘Mormons’ is a very hot and trending activity. (more…)
by Karen | Jan 14, 2012 | About Mormons, Mormon Beliefs: Christian Values
Of all the numbers in the Pew Research Center’s recently released survey of “Mormons in America,” the highest, most overwhelming numbers are these: 98 percent of respondents said they believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and 97 percent say their church is a Christian religion.
This comes on the heels of earlier surveys indicating that 32 percent of non-LDS U.S. adults say the LDS Church is not a Christian religion, and an additional 17 percent are unsure of LDS Christianity. The theological and semantic reasons for this can be complex, but for the 1,019 self-identified Mormons who participated in the Pew survey, their theological position is clear: Mormons believe in Jesus Christ, and they consider themselves to be Christian. (more…)
by brady | Jan 13, 2012 | About Mormons, Mormons in the News
SMITHFIELD — After dinner, three baths, four bedtime stories and a half-a-dozen goodnight kisses for 2-year-old twins Brock and Isaac and 6-year-old Ellie, Erin and Brian Thompson finally sink into the couch with weary smiles.
Being parents is just what they always wanted. And they love it.
“Of course we have our crazy moments,” Thompson says, “but for the most part we just try to find the good things in the day and remember that they’re only going to be little for so long.”
As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Thompsons believe that maintaining a strong marriage and raising and teaching children are essential keys to happiness and their most important responsibilities on earth. (more…)
by brady | Dec 1, 2011 | Do Mormons Celebrate Holidays?, Mormon Beliefs: Christian Values
Karen Trifiletti, MA is a Philadelphia-born convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, single mother of two, writer, and non-profit business professional.
Yes, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“Mormons”) living in the United States and also in Canada, do typically celebrate Thanksgiving, which is regarded as a national holiday. (It should be noted that Mormons are a diverse, global religious people, of all ethnicities, and that the majority of Mormons—7,963,489– actually reside ‘outside’ of the United States).
Latter-day Saints (nicknamed “Mormons” as a result of belief in a volume of scripture titled, The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ— recording God’s interaction with ancient inhabitants of the Americas), do celebrate many traditional holidays, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. They are a people, like those of many faiths, who are Christ-centered, family-centered, and who enjoy the communion of friends, a good meal, social gatherings, and opportunities to reflect and renew the most important relational and ultimately, divine, aspects of life. Life in Christ is the life of a striving Latter-day Saint; gratitude. They believe that men and women are “that they may have joy” and have it “more abundantly” through the provisions of Jesus Christ, the results of His Sovereign work in our individual and national and international lives (John 10:10, 2 Nephi 2:25). (more…)
by | Nov 29, 2011 | About Mormons, Mormon Beliefs: Christian Values
By Eric Kotter, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“Mormon“). A student at BYU-Idaho studying communications, and freelance writer.
When Jesus Christ was on the earth He gave bread and wine to His twelve apostles and said, “This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:19-20).
Holy Communion: A Symbol of Jesus Christ’s Atoning Sacrifice
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths, the “Mormon Church”) I participate each week during worship services in an ordinance called the sacrament. The sacrament is similar to Holy Communion which many other faiths participate in. One difference between the Holy Communion that Mormons participate in, and Catholic Communion, is that we do not believe in the doctrine of transubstantiation, which is a belief that the bread and wine literally turn into the blood and body of Jesus Christ as the person partakes. We believe that Jesus Christ instituted the sacrament, the bread and wine, to represent His body and blood, which were given to us as a sacrifice to lift the burden and judgments of our sins, trials and weaknesses as we follow Him. We partake of the sacrament as symbols of what He did for us. Partaking of the sacrament is a blessing Jesus Christ gave to His followers so they can renew their baptismal covenants to follow Him that they might become clean from their sins.
In the Doctrine and Covenants, a book of modern revelation given by God, the Lord gave us the purpose of the sacrament. The Lord said, “And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:9). (more…)
