What I know to be the Truth About Mormonism!

"Seeking Common Ground" series: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS)!

Five years ago this June, Elizabeth Smart, then 14 years old, was kidnapped from her bedroom at her parents’ home in Salt Lake City, Utah. For nine months, she was held captive by a drifter and his wife, until she was recognized on a city street with her captors and reunited with her parents.




When Elizabeth was found, I was thrilled, yet fascinated with the fact that she was indeed found safely, albeit a bit dazed and somewhat altered. I saw the joy of her father, Ed, who for all the nine months had never wavered in his faith, composure and “knowing” that she would eventually be returned home.

So of course when I saw a recent cover story on Elizabeth, five years after the ordeal, I was very interested to learn how she was doing. Well, of course she’s fine.

Elizabeth Smart today is a poised and, seemingly, well adjusted 20 year old. She also seems much wiser than her years. “We are all tested and tried,” Elizabeth said in the interview. “But I don’t think we were sent here to be unhappy or hold on to hurt feelings.”


She also said, “I feel so fortunate that I was able to come through this unscarred. I want to tell other people ’Don’t give up. Miracles do happen.’ ” She also added at another point,”I no longer feel that this was something bad to happen to me.”

According to reports, Elizabeth declined psychotherapy, choosing instead to speak with her parents and grandparents whenever she felt the need for guidance. In truth, I’m not a least bit surprised about Elizabeth’s resilience and the tremendous growth and “wisdom beyond her years” that she has gained from the ordeal.

If you’ve spent any time with Mormons, you’d know that these are people who not

only try to teach their faith, they live it!

My close exposure to Mormonism started sometime in 2003 when two missionaries, in their late teens/early 20s, knocked on my door in Hayward, California. I welcomed them in but quickly told them I was not interested in being “preached” to about the Mormon teachings; I had my own beliefs.

Those two young men were so respectful that I told them to stop by anytime they were in the neighborhood, and we could chat. Well, they did.


Even when those two moved on, others came, with a set of two Mormons stopping by my home throughout 2003. They knew that it was one of the homes in my neighborhood that had an “open-door” policy towards them. So, if it rained or if they were simply tired, they came in and sat and chatted with me. We talked about everything else... but not... religion.

I was especially grateful for my friendship with these young Mormon missionaries, when I needed to have someone available in my home for a large-item donation to the Salvation Army. I needed to be away, attending to business elsewhere, and it was two missionaries who stayed in my home and waited for the Salvation Army to show up.

The Mormons I’ve known are trustworthy, loving and full of faith. I was thrilled meeting so many in the three years I spent in Arizona and always had great encounters with them too.

Today, my home always will be open to any Mormon who wants to stop by and visit.



I know people in neighborhoods throughout the country are not always so open to Mormons, and possibly don’t even give them a hearing, because of presumptions they make about the Mormon teachings. That really is too bad! They truly are missing out on meeting some wonderful people, especially young men who are so full of hope and love and respect.

I am not blind...nor deaf...to the many controversies surrounding Mormonism. But the truth is...I don’t care what the Mormons teach! Those teachings have...nothing...no-thing...to do with me! The teachings of Mormonism is strictly between the church and its followers. All that I am concerned about and all I know is true about the teachings is that the “product” of a Mormon upbringing is one most parents would be proud.

For our purposes, here, today I will not focus on the many and deep controversies of the Mormon church. Instead, I’ll share with you information I know provide some truth about the teachings so that you have a basic understanding.

The Mormon Church is known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS).


The history of Mormonism began in 1820 near Palmyra, New York. Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of Mormonism, claimed to have received a series of visions in which he was told by God that all the churches were "wrong," their "creeds were an abomination in his sight," and all their "professors were corrupt." Smith was told that God would restore the true New Testament church, using him as a mouthpiece. Consequently, Mormons believe that the Christian Church went into apostasy after the death of the Apostles. Smith came to restore the church as it was before the Apostles died, thus, the Mormon church considers Joseph Smith, Jr. to be the first prophet of a new dispensation.


In the course of his visions, Smith was visited by an angel, Moroni, who disclosed to him the location of a book "written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this [American] continent, and the source from whence they sprang". Moroni also said that "the fullness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants" Smith was instructed to retrieve the plates and translate them with God's assistance. The result is called the Book of Mormon, first published on March 26, 1830. Smith referred to the Book of Mormon as "the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion"


In conjunction with its belief in modern prophets and revelation, Mormonism teaches that the Bible is not the sum total of God's words to man, though it is certainly one major portion. The canon of scriptures in Mormonism contains the Bible and three other books: the Book of Mormon (a record of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas whom Christ visited after His resurrection), the Doctrine and Covenants (revelations given to Joseph Smith and his successors concerning Church policy and doctrine), and the Pearl of Great Price (which includes additional writings by Moses and Abraham as well as a section that outlines the basic tenets of Mormonism).


Another major teaching of Mormonism concerns the Godhead. Mormonism teaches that God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three separate and distinct individuals united in purpose.


About Jews and the Mormon Faith
The theology of LDS incorporates many Old Testament ideas. As such, Mormonism has a historical affinity for Judaism. The beliefs of Mormons sometimes seem to parallel those of Judaism and certain elements of Jewish culture. These are primarily historical and doctrinal connections with Judaism.

In his time, Joseph Smith named the largest Mormon settlement he founded Nauvoo, which means "to be beautiful" in Hebrew. Later, Brigham Young, LDS leader from 1847 to 1887, named a tributary of the Great Salt Lake the "Jordan River." The LDS Church created a writing system, the Deseret Alphabet, based, in part, on Hebrew. Currently, the LDS Church has a Jerusalem Center in Israel, at which some college-aged youth study and learn to appreciate and respect the region.


The LDS church also teaches that its adherents are members of the House of Israel. Patriarchal blessings are received by most Mormon individuals in their youth. Among other things, the purpose of the blessing is to declare one's lineage i.e. the tribe to which the individual belongs.

There has been some controversy involving Jewish groups and Mormons. In the 1990s, Jewish groups vocally opposed the LDS practice of baptism for the dead on behalf of Jewish victims of the Holocaust and Jews in general. According to LDS Church general authority Monte J. Brough, "Mormons who baptized 380,000 Holocaust victims posthumously were motivated by love and compassion and did not understand their gesture might offend Jews ... they did not realize that what they intended as a 'Christian act of service' was 'misguided and insensitive.'"

About Blacks and the Mormon Faith
The LDS movement has had a range of policies and doctrines relating to black people.

When the Mormons migrated to Missouri they encountered the pro-slavery sentiments, and initially, Joseph Smith, Jr. supported the laws regarding slaves and slaveholders. Eventually, though, Smith rejected the institution and supported its abolition. Smith also welcomed free blacks into the church and ordained black men to the priesthood.
[Entertainer Gladys Knight converted to Mormonism]

Following the death of Joseph Smith, Jr. and a succession crisis, leaders of the major LDS denomination continued to welcome all people, regardless of color to be members. But they began to exclude people of “black African descent” from priesthood ordination and from participation in temple ceremonies. These practices continued until September 30, 1978, when church President Spencer W. Kimball, acting in his office as Living Prophet declared that in early June of 1978 he had received a revelation from God to extend the priesthood and temple ordinances to all worthy male members.

Other Latter Day Saint denominations dealt differently with the issue. The Community of Christ, The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite), and the Strangites have always allowed those of black African descent to hold the priesthood and participate fully in the religion. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and other Mormon fundamentalist groups continue the practice of exclusion based on race.

About Polygamy and the Mormon Faith
Mormonism has been closely associated in public discourse with polygamy.
In the 1830s, Joseph Smith, Jr. instituted a form of polygamy referred to as plural marriage, which Brigham Young acknowledged and promoted after he moved the LDS church's headquarters to Utah.

Upon learning about the practice, various political and church organizations became active in seeking the banning of the practice in the early 1880s. In 1890, the United States Congress finally passed laws that upheld criminalizing polygamy and set about dissolving polygamous families. A few months after the U.S. Supreme Court decision, the LDS church issued its 1890 Manifesto renouncing the practice of polygamy.



The 1890 renunciation of polygamy by the LDS Church also led to a number of schisms involving relatively small groups who today describe themselves as Mormon fundamentalists and who still practice polygamy as well as other elements of 19th-century Mormonism that have been rejected or denounced by the LDS Church. These organizations believe that their doctrines and practices remain true to the original teachings of Joseph Smith, Jr. and Brigham Young.


Today, the LDS Church asserts the time for polygamy has ended, rejects the practice, and excommunicates members who engage in it. In 1998, President Gordon B. Hinckley said, "I wish to state categorically that this Church has nothing whatever to do with those practicing polygamy."

With the recent raid of a polygamist compound in Eldorado, Texas, the LDS organization felt it necessary to issue a strong statement in April 2008, denouncing polygamy and stating unequivocally that it had no ties to Warren Jeffs, the polygamist leader. The statement said, “Jeffs is not now, and never has been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons). Neither does he have any connection or association, official or unofficial, with the Church.”


State of the state of Mormonism Today
There are currently more than 120 LDS temples worldwide. In order to qualify as a temple, approximately 65,000 members must be in an immediate area. Temples are required for Mormon marriages and for proxy baptisms of ancestors. Before an LDS member is allowed to enter a Temple, he or she must prove to be worthy and “pure” in thoughts and intentions. Local LDS churches are called Wards or Stake Centers and members meet for worship in what the LDS calls "meeting houses.”

One prophet leads the Mormon church. Beneath the prophet, in authority, is the Council of the Twelve Apostles. A third group of men is called the First and Second Councils of the Seventy. All of these men together are called the General Authorities.


Teachings of Mormonism
Mormonism also has many teachings regarding the personal lives of those who live by it.


•Family: Family is very important in Mormonism and members of the Mormon Church are encouraged to love their families and strengthen their relationships with them. Through temple work, Mormonism teaches that families and marriages can remain intact after death and throughout eternity.

•Physical and Mental Health: Mormonism has a health code, known as the Word of Wisdom. Mormonism teaches against smoking, drinking alcohol, tea, or coffee, and the use of harmful drugs. It also promotes eating healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, and grains. Mormonism also stresses the importance of everyone receiving the best education they can.


•Missionary Work is a fundamental principle of the Mormon Church, and has become one of the most readily identifiable characteristics of Mormons. Members of the LDS church are easily recognized by the darks suits and white shirts of male missionaries, 19-24 years old, called Elders, biking or walking two by two on the streets of cities, both large and small, throughout the world. Female missionaries, typically 21 years old, who also go forth two by two, are called Sisters. All missionaries have been assigned by Church headquarters to their area of work, which can be in any part of the world where governments allow them to preach. They contribute to their own support for up to two years, frequently learning another language.


But missionaries could also be young, old, or married couples as well, depending on their type of “mission.”

As Elizabeth Smart turns 21, it’ll be interesting to see whether LDS leaders make her “exempt” from missionary work, based on her nine-month ordeal.

I know this...whatever the LDS leaders decide about Elizabeth, they should know that she already has been a faithful, loyal and true “ambassador” of their teachings and beliefs!

Namaste’,

Che’
NOTE: For more information on Mormonism, there is an active Mormon site with a blog: http://www.mormonstories.org. The official site on Mormonism: http://www.lds.org. Also see: http://blacklds.org.