Who Are Mormons?

Being brought up in an evangelical Southern Baptist family, I would always look with disdain when those young men in the black suits knocked on the door of my grandparent's home. . .little did I know that in later years that I would fall in love with - and later marry - a devout Mormon woman. Having said that I will try to explain what a Mormon (or more correctly a Latter Day Saint) is and what they believe.

Who was Joseph Smith?

Back around 1819 at the tender age of fourteen (14) a young man named Joseph Smith was seeking the truth about God during a great upheaval between the various denominations in Palmyra, New York where he lived with his dad, mom and siblings. Explained he: "Indeed, the whole district of country seemed affected by it, and great multitudes united themselves to the different religious parties, which created no small stir and division amongst the people, some crying, 'Lo, here!' and others, Lo, there!" Some were contending for the Methodist faith, some for the Presbyterian, and some for the Baptist1" Trying to determine which one of these he should join he read chapter 1, verse 5 in the Epistle of James which says: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." Joseph took the message of James 1:5 to heart and, on a beautiful Spring morning in 1820, took to the woods near his home seeking the will of God. He explained: "So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty (1820). It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally." He continues: "After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction." What does this mean? Joseph explained: ". . .just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other - This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!" Jesus Christ, the Messiah, gave young Joseph Smith the following answer to his dilemma: "I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: "they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness but they deny the power thereof." Joseph had the answer to his question.

What do we believe?

The beliefs of Latter Day Saints are stated by our Articles of Faith2

We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.
We believe through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
We believe that a man must be called of God by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers evangelists and so forth.
We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelations, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; We also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisaical glory.
We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where or what they may.
We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers and magistrates, in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law.
We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous and doing good to all men; in deed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul - We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things and hope to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

After reading the LDS Articles of Faith, you might ask how we got them. In the early days of the church, the missionaries wrote their own brief statements of faith and their own missionary pamphlets called tracts. This created a need for an official statement of the Church's beliefs.

At the invitation of John Wentworth, editor of the Chicago Democrat, Joseph Smith sent a letter which outlined briefly the history and of the Latter-Day Saints called the Wentworth letter. It closed by stating thirteen (13) points of faith which are now known as the ARTICLES OF FAITH. Except for some minor changes, specifically in the 4th , 5th , 6th , and 10th articles, the Articles of Faith used today are the same as appeared March 1, 1842 in the Times and Seasons, III, pp. 709-710.

Editors Note:

In attempt not to overwhelm you, my readers, I will stop here. In the coming weeks I will write additional articles explaining what the LDS church is and what we believe.