The word Mormon most colloquially denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism in restorationist Christianity. Mormon also commonly refers, specifically, to a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is often colloquially, but imprecisely, referred to as the Mormon Church. In addition, the term Mormon may refer to any of the relatively small sects of Mormon fundamentalism, and any branch of the Latter Day Saint movement that recognizes Brigham Young as the successor to founder Joseph Smith. The term Mormon applies to the religion of Mormonism, as well as its culture, texts, and art.
Mormonism is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 30s. After Smith was killed in 1844, most Mormons followed Brigham Young on his westward journey to the area that became the Utah Territory, calling themselves The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Other sects include Mormon fundamentalism, which seeks to maintain practices and doctrines such as polygamy, and other small independent denominations. The second-largest Latter Day Saint denomination, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, since 2001 called the Community of Christ, does not describe itself as "Mormon", but follows a Trinitarian Christian restorationist theology, and considers itself Restorationist in terms of Latter Day Saint doctrine.
The Nephites are one of four groups to be described in the Book of Mormon as having settled in the ancient Americas. The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement. The term is used throughout the Book of Mormon to describe the religious, political, and cultural traditions of the group of settlers.
The Book of Mormon, a work of scripture of the Latter Day Saint movement, describes itself as having a portion originally been written in reformed Egyptian characters on plates of metal or "ore" by prophets living in the Western Hemisphere from perhaps as early as the 6th century BC until as late as the 5th century AD. Joseph Smith, the movement's founder, published the Book of Mormon in 1830 as a translation of these golden plates. Scholarly reference works on languages do not, however, acknowledge the existence of either a "reformed Egyptian" language or "reformed Egyptian" script as it has been described in Mormon belief. No archaeological, linguistic, or other evidence of the use of Egyptian writing in ancient America has been discovered.
The Lamanites are one of the four ancient peoples described as having settled in the ancient Americas in the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement. The Lamanites also play a role in the prophecies and revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants, another sacred text in the Latter Day Saint movement.
Since the publication of the Book of Mormon in 1830, Mormon archaeologists have attempted to find archaeological evidence to support it. Although historians and archaeologists consider the book to be an anachronistic invention of Joseph Smith, many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement believe that it describes ancient historical events in the Americas.
The Latter Day Saint movement is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 16 million members, although the vast majority of these—about 98%—belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The predominant theology of the churches in the movement is Mormonism, a form of Christianity usually categorized as Restorationist. A minority of Latter Day Saint adherents, such as members of the Community of Christ, believe in traditional Protestant theology, and have distanced themselves from some of the distinctive doctrines of the LDS Church. Other groups include the Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which supports lineal succession of leadership from Smith's descendants, and the more controversial Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which defends the practice of polygamy.
Jerald Dee Tanner was an American writer and researcher. With his wife Sandra McGee Tanner, he was noted for publishing archival and evidential materials about the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are both ex-Mormons. The Tanners founded the Utah Lighthouse Ministry, whose stated mission is "to document problems with the claims of Mormonism and compare LDS doctrines with Christianity". Sandra Tanner continues to operate it.
According to most adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement, the Book of Mormon is a 19th-century translation of a record of ancient inhabitants of the American continent, which was written in a script which the book refers to as "reformed Egyptian". This claim, as well as all claims to historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon, are rejected by non-Latter Day Saint historians and scientists. Linguistically based assertions are frequently cited and discussed in the context of the subject of the Book of Mormon, both in favor of and against the book's claimed origins.
The Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) was an informal collaboration of academics devoted to Latter-day Saint historical scholarship. In 1997, the group became a formal part of Brigham Young University (BYU), which is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2006, the group became a formal part of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, formerly known as the Institute for the Study and Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts, BYU. FARMS has since been absorbed into the Maxwell Institute's Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies.
Mormon is believed by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to be a prophet-historian and a member of a tribe of indigenous Americans known as the Nephites, one of the four groups described in the Book of Mormon as having settled in the ancient Americas.
Mormons are people who are members of a religious group that is part of Mormonism and the Latter-Day Saint movement.
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Three Nephites are three Nephite disciples of Jesus described in the Book of Mormon who were blessed by Jesus to "never taste of death; but ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father unto the children of men, even until all things shall be fulfilled according to the will of the Father, when I shall come in my glory with the powers of heaven." As described in Third Nephi chapter 28, this change occurred when they were caught up into heaven. Since they will never "taste death", in the Book of Mormon the Nephite prophet Mormon contemplates if they are already immortal. After Mormon prays for wisdom, Jesus tells him that there would be another change made at his coming so that they may become immortal.
Many members of the Latter Day Saint movement claim historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Most, but not all, Mormons hold the book's connection to ancient American history as an article of their faith. This view finds no acceptance outside of Mormonism. The theory that the Book of Mormon is an ancient American history is not accepted as scientifically verifiable by the mainstream academic community. Mormon apologists have proposed multiple theories to explain apparent inconsistencies with the archaeological, genetic, linguistic and other records.
There are several theories as to the origin of the Book of Mormon. Most adherents to the Latter Day Saint movement view the book as a work of inspired scripture. The most common belief of adherents is that promoted by Joseph Smith, who said he translated ancient golden plates inscribed by prophets. Smith claimed the angel Moroni, a prophet in the Book of Mormon, directed him in the 1820s to a hill near his home in Palmyra, New York where the plates were buried. Besides Smith himself, there were at least 11 witnesses who said they saw the plates in 1829, and three also claiming to have been visited by an angel. Several other witnesses observed Smith dictating the text that eventually became the Book of Mormon.
There are a number of words and phrases in the Book of Mormon that are anachronistic—their existence in the text of the Book of Mormon is at odds with known linguistic patterns or archaeological findings.
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2200 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith as The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi, who claimed that it had been written in otherwise unknown characters referred to as "reformed Egyptian" engraved on golden plates. Contemporary followers of the Latter Day Saint movement typically regard the text primarily as scripture, but also as a historical record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas.
The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording contains the songs from the American musical The Book of Mormon, with music, lyrics, and book by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. It was recorded by the musical's original Broadway cast and released on May 17, 2011 to digital outlets. The album saw a physical release on June 7, 2011, in a deluxe package with liner notes provided by former The New York Times theatre critic Frank Rich, as well as full lyrics and a synopsis of the musical. The Book of Mormon was named best musical theater album at the 2012 Grammy Awards.
