In the Mormon faith, the Bible is considered the word of God, but Mormons also believe God did not stop speaking and that he also spoke to Joseph Smith. Smith's encounter with God is said to have happened when he was a young man in upstate New York. Smith claimed an angel led him to a nearby hill, where he dug up a pair of golden plates from which he translated the Book of Mormon.
God still speaks. Uniquely in the Mormon faith, it is believed that a tribe of ancient Israelites came to America years before Christ. Every summer, hundreds of the faithful act out the story on the same hill where Smith is believed to have dug up the golden plates.
After Jesus' resurrection, according to the Book of Mormon, he visited America. In fact, America plays a special role in Mormonism. Mormons believe that when Jesus returns to Earth, he will first go to Jerusalem and then to Missouri. Members of the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, these groups assert, worship a different Jesus, have a different understanding of the traditional three-member Trinity and a different understanding of God.
Turner was so baffled and intrigued by such allegations that he turned his attention to that faith's teachings about Christ. The faith's foundational scripture, the Book of Mormon, "is about the divinity of Jesus Christ.
Joseph Smith's early revelations are the words of the savior, essentially. In the past 50 years, he said, this has been an "increasing emphasis," he told Riess, "more artwork of Christ, more hymns about Christ, more General Conference talks about Christ. In terms of emphases, there is more of an emphasis now on grace, on an assurance of salvation because of Christ's atonement. Still, clear differences remain between LDS teachings and evangelical Christianity. During this time, those who did not embrace the Gospel are segregated from those who lived according to God's word, and the spirits of individuals who never had a chance to hear the Gospel are given this opportunity.
The Plan of Salvation teaches that Heaven is divided into three separate kingdoms of glory: the celestial, the terrestrial, and the telestial. These kingdoms are where all men and women except a certain few known as Sons of Perdition, who will go to Outer Darkness will go after they are judged by God and their spirits are reunited with what will be their immortal bodies. Those judged to have followed the Gospel move on to the celestial kingdom, ruled by God himself. Those who did not devoutly follow but also did not actively reject the word of God are sent to the Terrestrial Kingdom, and those who actively rejected the Gospel or committed grievous sins must dwell in the Telestial Kingdom, away from God's light.
Latter-day Saints believe entrance into each kingdom depends on a person's worthiness and their adherence to the commandments of God and the ordinances he has prescribed. Since God is the ultimate judge, all people will be judged fairly and put into the kingdom where they will be most happy. Even so, according to Mormon theology, all three kingdoms are kingdoms of glory, and even the lowest is more glorious than man can currently comprehend.
While it is true that the church has recently placed more emphasis on their Christian-ness than it once did, from the time the church was organized in onward, church members have always regarded themselves as Christians. Their name, "Latter-day Saints" references the fact that members of the "primitive" church in New Testament times were called Saints. Gordon B. Hinckley , president of the church, has said, "We are Christians in a very real sense and that is coming to be more and more widely recognized.
Once upon a time people everywhere said we are not Christians. They have come to recognize that we are, and that we have a very vital and dynamic religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ.
There are Christians -- particularly among the modern evangelical and fundamentalist communities -- who argue that Mormons are not Christians. They base this contention on the fact that the Mormon conception of God -- summarized by LDS President Lorenzo Snow, who said, "As man is God once was, and as God is man may become" -- differs from traditional Christian ideas.
They also point to the Mormons' avoidance of the cross as a religious symbol Mormons believe it is a symbol of Christ's death, and they prefer to focus on his life, his suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, and his resurrection ; their belief in the fallibility of the Bible because of its human translation ; their acceptance of continuing revelation which gives Mormonism an open canon ; and their rejection of the Nicene Creed, a list of common Christian beliefs originally authored in AD and subscribed to by most denominations.
Animosity between fundamentalist Christians and Mormons peaked in the s, when the Southern Baptist Convention held an annual meeting in Salt Lake City, partly in hopes of converting Mormons to Protestant Christianity.
More recently, some high-profile fundamentalist Christians have gone on record apologizing for past discord and accepting Mormonism as a branch of Christianity, but some tension remains. The Mormon temple is considered an earthly point of contact with higher spheres of being.
Mormons believe that God is present in the temple space. This makes it a sacred place set aside to learn things that allow individuals to progress toward becoming like God -- the temple ordinances, especially celestial marriage, make "eternal progression toward Godhood" possible.
The family unit is central to Mormonism, and the primary ritual function of the temple is to perform ceremonies that seal families together, thus allowing them to dwell together for eternity when they pass on to the celestial kingdom. The specific rituals supporting this function are marriage and family sealing ceremonies -- in which a husband, wife and children are officially bound together -- and baptism for the dead -- through which individuals who died without accepting the Latter-day Saints' Gospel and no longer possess the physical body required for baptism are represented by living proxies, thereby granting them the opportunity to join their families in the celestial kingdom.
The temple is also used to perform the Mormon endowment ceremony. During this ritual, adult Mormons go through a series of lessons and exercises to deepen their faith, and they make covenants with God to keep his commandments. After receiving their endowments, Latter-day Saints wear a distinctive underwear on which special marks are embroidered. Known as "garments" , this underwear, worn next to the skin at nearly all times , is meant to remind individuals of their commitment to their faith and to God.
Men generally receive their endowment before going on a mission and women before they marry, but it is not a one-time ceremony like baptism. Saints are encouraged to return to the temple throughout their lives to continue growing their faith by experiencing the rituals of endowment. Before Latter-day Saints can go to the temple to receive their Endowments, they must obtain a Temple recommend, a card signed by a church leader to certify that the bearer is in good standing within the church.
Good standing, ascertained by an interview process, includes having a strong testimony of the truth of the Gospel, keeping up with the law of tithing, following the 10 commandments and the Word of Wisdom, and otherwise proving one's faith and commitment. Inside the temple, men wear all-white suits and women wear floor-length white dresses. Non-Mormons and Mormons without a temple recommend are not allowed into the temple. The church says this is to preserve the sacred nature of the practices that take place inside and to avoid potential distractions and disruptions.
Non-Mormons are, however, welcome to attend the Latter-day Saints' chapels, where weekly Sunday services and meetings take place. The general public are also allowed to tour newly-constructed temples during the brief window of time before they are officially dedicated.
The most common and visible target for charges of suspicious secrecy in the Mormon religion are the temples. After dedication, these buildings are closed to the public and church members do not talk openly about the rituals that take place within. The church holds that the temple and its rituals are sacred and therefore private, not secret. They maintain that early Christianity featured similar special practices and bodies of knowledge that were kept quiet to preserve their sacred nature.
Church finances are also kept confidential, provoking criticism that there is no way for church members or outsiders to know where money from tithing and other revenue goes. And the church has also been questioned about the secrecy surrounding their defense of doctrine.
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