Latter Day Saint movement

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The Book of Mormon Mormon-book.jpg
The Book of Mormon

The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) [1] is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Joseph Smith in the late 1820s.

Contents

Collectively, these churches have over 16 million members, [2] with about 98% belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).[ citation needed ] The predominant theology of the churches in the movement is Mormonism, which sees itself as restoring again on earth the early Christian church; an additional doctrine of the church allows for prophets to receive and publish modern-day revelations.

A minority of Latter Day Saint adherents, such as members of Community of Christ, have been influenced by Protestant theologies while maintaining certain distinctive beliefs and practices including continuing revelation, an open canon of scripture and building temples. 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. [3] [4]

Origins

The movement began in western New York during the Second Great Awakening when Smith said that he received visions revealing a new sacred text, the Book of Mormon, which he published in 1830 as a complement to the Bible. Based on the teachings of this book and other revelations, Smith founded a Christian primitivist church, called the "Church of Christ". The Book of Mormon attracted hundreds of early followers, who later became known as "Mormons", "Latter Day Saints", or just "Saints". In 1831, Smith moved the church headquarters to Kirtland, Ohio, and in 1838 changed its name to the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints". [5] [6]

After the church in Ohio collapsed due to a financial crisis and dissensions, in 1838, Smith and the body of the church moved to Missouri. However, they were persecuted and the Latter Day Saints fled to Illinois. After Smith was killed in 1844, a succession crisis led to the organization splitting into several groups. The largest of these, the LDS Church, migrated under the leadership of Brigham Young to the Great Basin (now Utah) and became known for its 19th-century practice of polygamy. The LDS Church officially renounced this practice in 1890, and gradually discontinued it, resulting in Utah Territory becoming a U.S. state. This change resulted in the formation of a number of small sects who sought to maintain polygamy and other 19th-century doctrines and practices, now referred to as "Mormon fundamentalism". [7]

Other groups originating within the Latter Day Saint movement followed different paths in Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. For the most part, these groups rejected plural marriage and some of Smith's later teachings. The largest of these, Community of Christ (known previously as the "Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints"), was formed in Illinois in 1860 by several groups uniting around Smith's son, Joseph Smith III.

History

The founder of the Latter Day Saint movement was Joseph Smith, and to a lesser extent, during the movement's first two years, Oliver Cowdery. Throughout his life, Smith told of an experience he had as a boy having seen God the Father and Jesus Christ as two separate beings, who told him that the true church of Jesus Christ had been lost and would be restored through him, and that he would be given the authority to organize and lead the true Church of Christ. [8]

The Latter Day Saint church was formed on April 6, 1830, consisting of a community of believers in the western New York towns of Fayette, Manchester, and Colesville. The church was formally organized under the name of the "Church of Christ". By 1834, the church was referred to as the "Church of the Latter Day Saints" in early church publications, [9] and in 1838 Smith announced that he had received a revelation from God that officially changed the name to the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints". [10] [11]

In 1844, William Law and several other Latter Day Saints in church leadership positions publicly denounced Smith's secret practice of polygamy in the Nauvoo Expositor , and formed their own church. The city council of Nauvoo, Illinois, led by Smith, subsequently had the printing press of the Expositor destroyed. In spite of Smith's later offer to pay damages for destroyed property, critics of Smith and the church considered the destruction heavy-handed. Some called for the Latter Day Saints to be either expelled or destroyed. [12] [13]

Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, the Assistant President of the Church, were both killed by a mob while in a Carthage, Illinois jail, and several individuals within the church claimed to be the senior surviving authority and appointed successors. These various claims resulted in a succession crisis. Many supported Brigham Young, the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; others Sidney Rigdon, the senior surviving member of the First Presidency. Emma Hale Smith failed to persuade William Marks, the president of the Presiding High Council and a Rigdon supporter, to assume leadership and the surviving members of Smith's immediate family remained unaffiliated with any larger body until 1860, when they formed the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with Joseph's eldest son Joseph Smith III as prophet. These various groups are sometimes referred to under two geographical headings: "Prairie Saints" (those that remained in the Midwest United States); and "Rocky Mountain Saints" (those who followed Young to what would later become the state of Utah). [14]

Today, the vast majority (over 98 percent) of Latter Day Saints belong to the LDS Church, which reports over 16 million members worldwide. [15] The second-largest denomination is the Missouri-based Community of Christ, which reports 252,000 members. [16] Small denominations that trace their origins to Rigdon, James Strang, or other associates of Smith's still exist, and several fundamentalist sects which separated from the LDS Church after it rejected plural marriage in 1890 claim tens of thousands of members. [17]

Beliefs

Saint-designation of members

The beliefs within the LDS Church with regard to saints are similar but not quite the same as the Protestant tradition. In the New Testament, saints are all those who have entered into the Christian covenant of baptism. The qualification "latter-day" refers to the doctrine that members are living in the "latter days", before the Second Coming of Christ, and is used to distinguish the members of the church, which considers itself the restoration of the ancient Christian church. [18] Members are therefore often referred to as "Latter-day Saints" or "LDS", and among themselves, "saints". [19]

Restoration

The Latter Day Saint movement classifies itself within Christianity, but as a distinct restored dispensation. Latter Day Saints hold that a Great Apostasy began in Christianity not long after the ascension of Jesus, [20] marked with the corruption of Christian doctrine by Greek and other philosophies, [21] and followers dividing into different ideological groups. [22] Additionally, Latter Day Saints claim the martyrdom of the apostles led to a loss of priesthood authority to administer the church and its ordinances. [23] [24]

According to Latter Day Saint churches, God re-established the early Christian church as found in the New Testament through Joseph Smith. [25] In particular, Latter Day Saints believe that angels such as Peter, James, John, and John the Baptist appeared to Smith and others and bestowed various priesthood authorities on them. [26] Thus, Smith and his successors are considered modern prophets who receive revelation from God to guide the church. [27]

Theology

Most members of Latter Day Saint churches are adherents to Mormonism, a theology based on Joseph Smith's later teachings and further developed by Brigham Young, James Strang and others who claimed to be Smith's successors. The term Mormon derives from the Book of Mormon, and most of these adherents refer to themselves as Latter Day Saints or Mormons. Mormonism and Christianity have a complex theological, historical, and sociological relationship. Mormons express the doctrines of Mormonism using standard biblical terminology, and claim to have similar views about the nature of Jesus' atonement, resurrection, and Second Coming as traditional Christianity. Nevertheless, Mormons agree with non-Mormons that their view of God is significantly different from the trinitarian view of the Nicene Creed of the 4th century. [28]

Mormons consider the Bible as scripture and have also adopted additional scriptures. These include the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism), [29] although not all denominations use all books as part of their scriptures. Mormons not only practice baptism and celebrate the eucharist but also participate in religious rituals not practiced in traditional Christianity. [27] Focusing on differences, some Christians consider Mormonism "non-Christian"; members of the LDS Church, focusing on similarities, are offended at being so characterized. [30] Mormons do not accept non-Mormon baptism. Mormons regularly proselytize individuals actually or nominally within the Christian tradition, and some Christians, especially evangelicals, proselytize Mormons. [31] The LDS Church has a formal missionary program with nearly 70,000 missionaries, with 15 training centers and 407 missions worldwide. [32] A prominent scholarly view is that Mormonism is a form of Christianity, but is distinct enough from traditional Christianity so as to form a new religious tradition, much as Christianity has roots in but is a distinct religion from Judaism. [33]

The Mormonism that originated with Smith in the 1820s shared strong similarities with some elements of 19th-century Protestant Christianity including the necessity of baptism, emphasis on family, and central doctrine on Christ as a means to salvation. However, beginning with his accounts of the First Vision in the 1830s and 1840s, Smith—who said that Christ had told him not to join any existing church—departed significantly from traditional Christianity, claiming all churches of his day were part of a Great Apostasy that had lost the authority to direct Christ's church. Mormonism does not characterize itself as a Protestant religion, as Smith taught that he had received revelation direct from Christ to restore his original church. Mormons believe that God, through Smith and his successors, restored these truths and doctrinal clarifications, and, initiating a new heavenly dispensation, restored the original church and Christianity taught by Jesus. For example, Smith rejected the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity as of one body and substance, with no "body, parts, or passions", and instead taught that the Godhead included God, the Eternal Father, also known as Elohim; his only-begotten son in the flesh, Jesus Christ, also known as Jehovah, the savior and redeemer of the world; and the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit, an individual personage of spirit whose influence can be felt in many places at once. Further, Smith taught that the essence of all humans is co-eternal with God and that humans, as the spirit offspring of God the Father, have the potential to become like God. The LDS Church, the largest Mormon denomination, while acknowledging its differences with mainstream Christianity, often focuses on its commonalities, which are many, the most important of which is that Christ is the savior of the world and that he suffered for the world's sins so that the penitent can return to live in heaven. [27]

A small fraction of Latter Day Saints, most notably those within Community of Christ, the second largest Latter Day Saint denomination, follow a traditional Protestant theology. Community of Christ views God in trinitarian terms, and reject the distinctive theological developments they believe to have been developed later in Mormonism. [34]

Denominations

A Brighamite-centric timeline of formations and origins for most Mormon denominations Mormon Denominations.png
A Brighamite-centric timeline of formations and origins for most Mormon denominations

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doctrine and Covenants</span> Part of the scriptural canons of Latter Day Saint denominations

The Doctrine and Covenants is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God, editions of the book continue to be printed mainly by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Community of Christ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormons</span> Religious group; part of the Latter Day Saint movement

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 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several groups following different leaders; the majority followed Brigham Young, while smaller groups followed Joseph Smith III, Sidney Rigdon, and James Strang. Most of these smaller groups eventually merged into the Community of Christ, and the term Mormon typically refers to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as today, this branch is far larger than all the others combined. 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 requested that its members be referred to as "members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," or more simply as "Latter-day Saints".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormonism</span> Religious tradition and theology founded by Joseph Smith

Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of the Latter Day Saint movement, although there has been a recent push from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to distance themselves from this label. A historian, Sydney E. Ahlstrom, wrote in 1982, "One cannot even be sure, whether [Mormonism] is a sect, a mystery cult, a new religion, a church, a people, a nation, or an American subculture; indeed, at different times and places it is all of these." However, scholars and theologians within the Latter Day Saint movement, including Smith, have often used "Mormonism" to describe the unique teachings and doctrines of the movement.

In Mormonism, the restoration refers to a return of the authentic priesthood power, spiritual gifts, ordinances, living prophets and revelation of the primitive Church of Christ after a long period of apostasy. While in some contexts the term may also refer to the early history of Mormonism, in other contexts the term is used in a way to include the time that has elapsed from the church's earliest beginnings until the present day. Especially in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints "the restoration" is often used also as a term to encompass the corpus of religious messages from its general leaders down to the present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)</span> Latter Day Saint sect

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints—usually distinguished with a parenthetical (Strangite)—is one of the several organizations that claim to be the legitimate continuation of the church founded by Joseph Smith on April 6, 1830. It is a separate organization from the considerably larger and better known Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Both churches claim to be the original organization established by Smith. The Strangite church is headquartered in Voree, Wisconsin, just outside Burlington, and accepts the claims of James Strang as successor to Smith. It had approximately 300 members in 1998. Currently, there are around 130 active members throughout the United States.

In orthodox Mormonism, the term God generally refers to the biblical God the Father, whom Latter Day Saints also refer to as Elohim or Heavenly Father, and the term Godhead refers to a council of three distinct divine persons consisting of God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. However, in Latter Day Saint theology the term God may also refer to, in some contexts, the Godhead as a whole or to each member individually. Latter Day Saints believe that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three distinct beings, and that the Father and Jesus have perfected, glorified, physical bodies, while the Holy Ghost is a spirit without a physical body. Latter Day Saints also believe that there are other gods and goddesses outside the Godhead, such as a Heavenly Mother—who is the wife of God the Father—and that faithful Latter-day Saints may attain godhood in the afterlife. The term Heavenly Parents is used to refer collectively to the divine partnership of Heavenly Father and a Heavenly Mother. Joseph Smith taught that God was once a man on another planet before being exalted to Godhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Latter Day Saint movement</span> History of the LDS movement

The Latter Day Saint movement is a religious movement within Christianity that arose during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century and that led to the set of doctrines, practices, and cultures called Mormonism, and to the existence of numerous Latter Day Saint churches. Its history is characterized by intense controversy and persecution in reaction to some of the movement's doctrines and practices and their relationship to mainstream Christianity. The purpose of this article is to give an overview of the different groups, beliefs, and denominations that began with the influence of Joseph Smith.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has several unique teachings about Judaism and the House of Israel. The largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement, the LDS Church, teaches the belief that the Jewish people are God's chosen people and it also teaches the belief that its members share a common and literal Israelite ancestry with the Jewish people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormon fundamentalism</span> Advocates of some early Mormon doctrines

Mormon fundamentalism is a belief in the validity of selected fundamental aspects of Mormonism as taught and practiced in the nineteenth century, particularly during the administrations of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and John Taylor, the first three presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormon fundamentalists seek to uphold tenets and practices no longer held by mainstream Mormons. The principle most often associated with Mormon fundamentalism is plural marriage, a form of polygyny first taught in the Latter Day Saint movement by the movement's founder, Smith. A second and closely associated principle is that of the United Order, a form of egalitarian communalism. Mormon fundamentalists believe that these and other principles were wrongly abandoned or changed by the LDS Church in its efforts to become reconciled with mainstream American society. Today, the LDS Church excommunicates any of its members who practice plural marriage or who otherwise closely associate themselves with Mormon fundamentalist practices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Origin of Latter Day Saint polygamy</span> Inception of plural marriage in Mormons

Polygamy in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or plural marriage, is generally believed to have originated with the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith. According to several of his associates, Smith taught that polygamy was a divine commandment and practiced it personally, by some accounts marrying more than 30 women, some of whom had existing marriages to other men. Evidence for Smith's polygamy is provided by the church's "sealing" records, affidavits, letters, journals, and diaries. However, until his death, Smith and the leading church quorums denied that he preached or practiced polygamy. Smith's son Joseph Smith III, his widow Emma Smith, and the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints challenged the evidence and taught that Joseph Smith had opposed polygamy. They instead claimed that Brigham Young, the head of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, introduced plural marriage after Smith's death. In 1852, leaders of the Utah-based LDS Church publicly announced the doctrine of polygamy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Degrees of glory</span> Mormon afterlife concept

In the Mormon theology and cosmology there are three degrees of glory which are the ultimate, eternal dwelling place for nearly all who lived on earth after they are resurrected from the spirit world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comparison of the Community of Christ and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints</span>

Community of Christ and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are two denominations that share a common heritage in the Church of Christ founded by Joseph Smith on April 6, 1830. Since Smith's death in 1844, they have evolved separately in belief and practices. The LDS Church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and claims more than 16 million members worldwide; Community of Christ is headquartered in Independence, Missouri, and reports a worldwide membership of approximately 250,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormonism and Nicene Christianity</span> Comparison of Mormonism and Nicene Christianity

Mormonism and Nicene Christianity have a complex theological, historical, and sociological relationship. Mormons express their doctrines using biblical terminology. They have similar views about the nature of Jesus Christ's atonement, bodily resurrection, and Second Coming as mainstream Christians. Nevertheless, most Mormons do not accept the doctrine of the Trinity as codified in the Nicene Creed of 325 and the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed of 381. Although Mormons consider the Protestant Bible to be holy scripture, they do not believe in biblical inerrancy. They have also adopted additional scriptures that they believe to have been divinely revealed to Joseph Smith, including the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. Mormons practice baptism and celebrate the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, but they also participate in other religious rituals. Mormons self-identify as Christians.

Islam and Mormonism have been compared to one another since the earliest origins of the latter in the nineteenth century, sometimes by detractors of one or both religions, but also at least once by Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, himself. Smith was also frequently referred to as "the Modern Muhammad" by several publications of the era, notably in the New York Herald, shortly after his asassination in June 1844. This epithet repeated a comparison that had been made from Smith's earliest career, one that was not intended at the time to be complimentary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints</span> Overview of and topical guide to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The following outline is provided as an overview of and a topical guide to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Joseph Smith</span> Overview of and topical guide to Joseph Smith

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the life and influence of Joseph Smith:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian fellowships of "the Remnants" movement</span> American Mormon denomination (2013-)

Remnant fellowships are a loosely organized branch of the Latter Day Saint movement formed by individuals who accept alleged divine revelations received by Denver Snuffer Jr.. The Remnant Fellowships generally feel called to personal and social renewal preparatory to Christ's eventual second coming. According to movement beliefs, participants anticipate a coming time when remnants remain within the full restored covenant with Jesus Christ: an allusion to a belief that "The Bible, Book of Mormon, and modern revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith, prophesy that the gospel of Jesus Christ would shift from the Gentile stewards of the gospel back to Israel in the last days." The movement places a renewed focus on individual communion with God, gifts of the spirit, tangible expressions of faith, and the eventual establishment of Zion. While the movement has no official name, the term "Snufferite" has been used to denote followers. Other designations include covenant of Christ movement and Denver Snuffer movement. Participants sometimes reference each other as "covenant Brother," "covenant Sister".

This is a bibliography of works on the Latter Day Saint movement.

References

  1. ↑ Shields, Steven L. (2012). "Proposing an Academic Name for the Movement". Restoration Studies. 13: 47–60. ISBN   9781934901830.
  2. ↑ "15 Million Member Milestone Announced at LDS Church Conference". www.mormonnewsroom.org. 5 October 2013.
  3. ↑ Russell, William D. (Winter 2005). "An RLDS Schismatic Group Finds a Prophet of Joseph's Seed" (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought . 38 (3).
  4. ↑ Adams, Brooke (August 9, 2005), "LDS Splinter Groups Growing", The Salt Lake Tribune , retrieved 2014-01-08
  5. ↑ Manuscript History of the Church, LDS Church Archives, book A-1, p. 37; reproduced in Dean C. Jessee(comp.) (1989). The Papers of Joseph Smith: Autobiographical and Historical Writings(Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) 1:302–303.
  6. ↑ H. Michael Marquardt and Wesley P. Walters (1994). Inventing Mormonism: Tradition and the Historical Record (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books) p. 160.
  7. ↑ Hales, Brian C. (2006). Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations After the Manifesto. Greg Kofford Books. ISBN   978-1-58958-035-0.
  8. ↑ "Saints, THE STORY OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST IN THE LATTER DAYS, Volume 1". ChurchofJesusChrist.org. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Salt Lake City, Utah. 2018. p. 14. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
  9. ↑ See, e.g., Joseph Smith (ed), Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints (Kirtland, Ohio: F. G. Williams & Co., 1835).
  10. ↑ Manuscript History of the Church, LDS Church Archives, book A-1, p. 37; reproduced in Dean C. Jessee (comp.) (1989). The Papers of Joseph Smith: Autobiographical and Historical Writings (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) 1:302–303.
  11. ↑ H. Michael Marquardt and Wesley P. Walters (1994). Inventing Mormonism: Tradition and the Historical Record (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books) p. 160.
  12. ↑ "History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844]". The Joseph Smith Papers. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  13. ↑ Oaks, Dallin H; Hill, Marvin S (May 1979). Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith. University of Illinois Press. p. 15.
  14. ↑ May, Dean L. (June 1994). "Dissent and Authority in Two Latter-day Saint Traditions" (PDF). Sunstone (95): 16–19. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  15. ↑ "LDS Statistics and Church Facts | Total Church Membership". www.mormonnewsroom.org. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
  16. ↑ Saturday/Sunday Bulletin World Conference 2019. Community of Christ. 2019. pp. 15–16.
  17. ↑ The term Mormon fundamentalist appears to have been coined in the 1940s by apostle Mark E. Petersen: Ken Driggs, "'This Will Someday Be the Head and Not the Tail of the Church': A History of the Mormon Fundamentalists at Short Creek", Journal of Church and State43:49 (2001) at p. 51.
  18. ↑ Smith, Joseph Jr. "Pearl of Great Price". Archived from the original on 2000-08-17.
  19. ↑ M. Russell Ballard, "Faith, Family, Facts, and Fruits", Ensign, Nov 2007, 25–27
  20. ↑ Missionary Department of the LDS Church (2004). Preach My Gospel (PDF). LDS Church, Inc. p. 35. ISBN   0-402-36617-4 . Retrieved 2011-10-07. (see also: 2 Thessalonians 2:3)
  21. ↑ Talmage, James E. (1909). The Great Apostasy. The Deseret News. pp. 64–65. ISBN   0-87579-843-8.
  22. ↑ Richards, LeGrand (1976). A Marvelous Work and a Wonder . Deseret Book Company. p. 24. ISBN   0-87747-161-4.
  23. ↑ Talmage, James E. (1909). The Great Apostasy. The Deseret News. p. 68. ISBN   0-87579-843-8.
  24. ↑ Eyring, Henry B. (May 2008), "The True and Living Church", Ensign, LDS Church: 20–24
  25. ↑ Smith's restoration was slightly different from other restorationists of the era (for instance, that of Alexander Campbell). Instead of analyzing the Bible, Smith claimed to write and interpret scripture as the biblical prophets did. Bushman (2008 , p. 5)
  26. ↑ See Joseph Smith–History 1:69, 72 and Doctrine and Covenants 84:19–21
  27. 1 2 3 Mason, Patrick Q. (3 September 2015). "Mormonism". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.75 . ISBN   9780199340378. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  28. ↑ Shipps (1985 , pp. 148–49) (arguing that "Mormonism differs from traditional Christianity in much the same fashion that traditional Christianity ... came to differ from Judaism.").
  29. ↑ "Scriptures". www.churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  30. ↑ Stark & Neilson (2005 , p. 14).
  31. ↑ There are a number of books by evangelical Christians that explain how evangelicals can approach witnessing to Mormons: e.g., David L. Rowe (2005). I Love Mormons: A New Way to Share Christ with Latter-day Saints (Baker Books, ISBN   978-0-8010-6522-4); Ron Rhodes (2001). The 10 Most Important Things You Can Say to a Mormon (Harvest House, ISBN   978-0-7369-0534-3); Mark J. Cares (1998). Speaking the Truth in Love to Mormons (Wels Outreach Resources, ISBN   978-1-893702-06-6).
  32. ↑ "LDS News | Mormon News - Official Newsroom of the Church". www.mormonnewsroom.org. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
  33. ↑ Shipps (2000 , p. 338).
  34. ↑ Stack, Peggy Fletcher (14 November 2021). "Here are some Community of Christ theological stances that differ from those of Latter-day Saints". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 16 January 2023.

Sources

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