World Religions - Personal Religion Comparison
Laura Ricketts
HUM 130
January 17, 2011
Ken Linder
World Religions - Personal Religion Comparison
“The chief feature of the Mormon Church, more formally known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, that distinguishes it from the many variations of mainstream Christianity is that Mormons believe not only in the Bible but also in another scripture, The Book of Mormon” (Fisher, 2005, pp. 453-454).
On April 6, 1830, Joseph Smith formally organized the church that became The Church of Latter Day Saints. Considered to be the first prophet in the end-time before the return of Christ, allegedly Smith was led by God to discover golden tablets that were the sacred word of God.
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The members are allowed to choose which study to attend. The studies lasted a little over an hour.
The scheduling for various traditions and services was performed in a normal fashion; e.g., how the service in the church is held (music, sermon, etc.); how activities within the church are scheduled; bible school for children, etc. No elders or leaders in the church spoke at the services, teaching about the faith or from the Book of Mormon. This is taught in the classes.
Patti warned me that the members of the church do not interact with each other very much, and that they weren’t necessarily friendly. This did not seem to be the case today, as many of the “sisters” came over to speak to Patti, and to “meet” her friend.
Personal Interview
The following is a transcript of an interview with my friend concerning her personal beliefs and faith in her religion:
Interviewer: What was the main reason(s) for you to decide to follow the Mormon faith?
Patti: The church has everything I always felt a church should have, even though I wasn’t active in any church. I still believed there was a God and His Son Jesus Christ.
Interviewer: What is it about the Mormon faith that keeps you coming back?
Patti: Its doctrine, organization and people. The spirit I feel when at church.
Interviewer: If there is one thing about the Mormon faith that you don’t like, what would that be?
Patti: I like everything! (grinning)
Interviewer: How strict are you in keeping
Two of these denominations were the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the African Methodist Episcopal. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - commonly known as Mormons was founded by Joseph Smith; he was inspired to create a new church faction by the revivals he experienced in the western area of New York called the "Burned Over District-" implying it had been "scorched" by so many revivals. Although not regarded as a splinter off from an existing Protestant denomination but a restoration of primitive Christianity having distinctive post-biblical doctrines, the Mormon Church is now a flourishing, worldwide denomination. On the other hand, during the revivals, Baptists and Methodists converted large numbers of blacks. However, because of the mistreatment they received from their fellow believers, under the leadership of Richard Allen, the black population broke away from the Methodist church while creating their own denomination; the African Methodist Episcopal.10 Both churches mentioned above, having developed and sprouted out other denominations over the years, still stand even today.
Latter day saints are just your typical Mormons there group is scarce and not very many exist at least not big in numbers but they are slowly growing and are welcome to take in more members .they don’t ask for a lot when you join besides faith, repentance and baptism. When you marry you marry for life it is believed in this religion that trust in god is also trust in your marriage and should not be broken in any way if you marry you stay married and it is for life they also don’t want to see children get hurt in the case of a broken marriage . This religion also practices polygamy in some forms but members were not reported to have more than four or five wives and it was a choice you did not have to be a polygamist . Latter Day Saints believe the bible to be the word of god so long as it is translated correctly in proper context they also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God . They believe in Baptism for the dead but only for members who have died in close relative to another member and has also taken seriously both there faith and studies for the religion
One of the largest struggles for members in the church is animosity of non-members. On one hand, many express their dislike of the LDS church without even knowing what Sacrament Meeting is or the full the title of the “Mormon church” (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). On the other hand, there are a number supposed experts about Mormon doctrine. Some have belonged to the Church themselves at one point, leaving after finding unresolved dissonance between their beliefs and the Gospel. Others are often learned scholars, criticizing the Mormon doctrine to prove their own views. The following paper involves the latter of the two in an analysis of Ezekiel 37:15-17, a Biblical scripture that the LDS Church believes to refer to The Book of Mormon.
People and religion are a part of everyday life. The world is sure to be empty without the existence of God’s creation. When people and religion are viewed as different, the history, beliefs, and practice are formed unrealistically by outsider, more so than an insider. In an interview with a LDS, the author attempts to write and summarize a Mormon‘s journey through life with God and others.
A homegrown religion originating in the late 1820s, Mormonism arose as a rejection of the existing Christian sects and a return to what the Mormons considered to be pure Christianity. Similarly, the members believed their desire for a new kind of government stemmed from their disillusionment with what they believed was a corrupt government and a desire for the reestablishment of true American values and the original intent of the founding fathers. This sentiment is epitomized by Joseph Smith’s presidential platform, which states “No honest man can doubt for a moment, the glory of American liberty is on the wane; and that calamity and confusion will sooner or later destroy the
Mormonism, the largest church to originate on American soil is not without its own burdens to bear. As one of the younger religions, one that strayed from the foundations of the other already established religions in the United States, it is often viewed with negativity and mockery. Modern day social media, television, news articles and movies often exploit Mormon beliefs. They twist and exaggerated certain facets of the Mormon way of life. This framing of their belief system by the media leads the public opinion toward viewing this representation as a true depiction of the Mormons. Some of the more extreme behaviors exhibited by members that have separated from the main group are used against the entire faith by the media, so in turn this extremist view has become a Mormon stereotype.
Mormonism was founded in the 1820s’ by Joseph Smith. Smith, wanting to expand his religious following migrated to Illinois where he established a settlement that included a temple of worship and a village (Green 57). In Illinois the Mormon peoples’ were met with threats, violence, and occasionally they were even killed. This was the case for their leader Joseph Smith; Smith was met with disgust from non-mormons when he attempted to run for presidency and his church riddled with scandal when the word of polygamy got out. With his tarnished reputation, Smith was ultimately murdered by an outraged mob, who then threatened other Mormons that if they did not leave they would be met with the same fate (Mormons into the West). With that warning, the Mormons picked a new leader, Brigham Young, who wanted to flee the American Border. Young set for travel with his new followers to the Great Salt Lake, which at the time was located in Mexico.
The Mormon service I visited, had a few similarities but also a few distinct differences from the Catholic service that I am used to. Before this particular Sunday, I had never attended a Mormon service, nor had I spoken to anyone who believed in Mormonism or the “Latter Day Saints.” With that being said, I was welcomed much more openly than I had originally thought. Before entering, I was approached by two members of the church; two young women (sisters) between the ages of roughly 19 to 22. I arrived about an hour before service, that way I could ask a few people some questions, but the two girls beat me to the punch. They initially asked me if I had visited before and I responded saying that it was my first time, and I was attending as a student observer, with no intention of converting, but would love to learn about the faith. They nodded and proceeded to explain to me the reasons as to why they believed so strongly, and also a bit of background information on the faith. One of the girls, explained to me that there has been a lot of skepticism about Mormonism due in part to the fact that Joseph Smith Jr, was so young and how his explanation of “Moroni” (An angel no one had ever heard of), and his entire religion and the scripture used, “Book of Mormon,” could have just been a part of his imagination. The other girl told me how she was beginning to lose faith a couple years back, but she then regained it, after she experienced her own tests, and was able to get passed her
To some it may even be a backhanded jab, but to me it is It’s literally who I am. The idea of waking up at 5 am every weekday morning for religious study classes would typically make high schoolers cringe. For me studying and discussing the scriptures every morning kick starts each day with a sense of fulfillment and purpose; shaping and guiding me as I go through a day filled with choices and decisions. For others Sunday is just one extra day of the week. For me Sunday is a special day that revolves around the gospel, spending time with family and serving others less fortunate than me. To the outside being Mormon may seem like a hassle filled with only restrictions and rules, but I don’t see it this way. To me it truly represents who I am and what has shaped me into the person I am
Based upon the information gathered from Robert Millet about the Mormon perspectives on their religion. The Mormons renounced a distant, unknowable god of the Neoplatonists God of philosophers and worshiping a God, who possesses every divine attribute.(251 Metzger) Some of the Mormons views of God is similar in nature to the Christianity God. Joseph Smith, who is the founder of the Mormons, do realize God is an omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent God. He also knows God is a Holy God, who desire to reveal himself to his people. Muck points out; Mormons believe in the Jesus Christ of the New Testament. They believe "salvation is in Christ and that it comes by and through his holy name. The Mormons
On April 6, 1980, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka the Mormon Church) was founded. [It is interesting to note that according to Mormon doctrine (Doctrine and Covenants 20:1), April 6 is the birthday of Jesus Christ.] 10 years prior to this event, in 1820, fourteen-year-old Joseph Smith
Mormonism is a form of Christian faith and many of those that practice Mormonism are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the 4th largest Christian church in America ("Mormonism 101: What is Mormonism."). About 1% of those that are Mormon belong to the Community of Christ Church. Mormonism is a worldwide religion and is practiced by approximately 4.5 million people ("Mormonism 101: What is Mormonism."). Mormons have some strong beliefs, sacred rituals and rites that are practiced by people of both genders and those of different races. The religion Mormonism or Mormon was originated by Joseph Smith.
The Mormon religion is tied to millennialism, or the belief that Jesus Christ will someday return to Earth and rule in righteousness for 1000 years only after there have been many catastrophes and much suffering. This belief served a purpose for Joseph Smith, it solidified him as a prophet, meaning as long as his followers would heed his words, also known as the revelations he received directly from God , they would be saved. Millennialism, or “dooms-day” preaching was nothing new to the early colonists, Puritans as early as the 1600’s were convinced the end was near, greatly contributing to societies beliefs.# The Millerites were a very popular “dooms-day” sect that was established in the early 1830’s, numbering nearly 50,000, they believed that the world would end in 1844, and Christ would return to rule.# Mormon religion was also founded on communal living, meaning that all members were expected to “consecrate” their
Mormons are well known for the missionaries that come door to door to proselyte non-believers, this is done in efforts to share the love of God and the mercy for His people. They want to unify the community in God because they are commanded to by their scripture and they believe this with better sustain society spiritually. I have known many Mormons in my life and while I never converted to Mormonism I do believe that their strong conviction to the family principals would definitely benefit society. We as a secular community have stayed from our traditions not only in faith & religion but with our funeral traditions that are dying out with cremation, “green burial”, and water resonation become increasingly more popular. Mormons place their traditions very high in the Mormon life.
Mormonism is a name meaning the spiritual principles of followers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well known as Mormons. Mormonism defines the guidelines of the Church that were reestablished to the world by the Prophet Joseph Smith. If you would ask the question “what is Mormonism” to a member, there’s a high change they would respond by acknowledging their love of Jesus Christ, he is the dominant part of the religion. Where can you find a continuing participant of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, well they're instituted at every level of civilization. For instance, in a charity, business, education, science, political parties, government, news media, and lastly the entertainment productions. The originator of The Church, Joseph Smith, wrote, “the essential philosophies of our religion are regarding Jesus christ, he died and was buried, rose again and on the third day ascended into the heavens; all supplementary things which relate to our religion is only accessories to it.”The main beliefs and practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are that Jesus Christ is the redeemer of the earth and the Son of our