Religions of the World Essay

Having the privilege to serve in the military has allowed this writer the opportunity to be exposed to the pluralistic society in a way which has exposed him to the beauty of the diversity enjoyed in American culture. One aspect of said diversity is the interaction which has taken place amongst the Christian and various world religions who also wear the same uniform in defense of America. It was the pleasure of the writer to attend a local synagogue in which his Jewish brothers and sisters welcomed him with open arms. The local congregation of Jewish believers went out of their way in order to ensure their newest visitor understood the flow of service and the significance of the ritual which took place on the first Shabbat or Sabbath of the month. The following essay will serve to detail the worship experience as well as how it and other beliefs of Judaism compare/contrast with the Christian faith.

Christianity is a widespread religion, but many people have never heard of Mormonism, a religion said to have branched from Christianity. However, if you take a closer look at the two faiths, you will find that there are several differences and few similarities.

Joseph Smith established the church of Jesus Christ (Mormon Church) in the 1830, New York. It was established due to a lack of churches that wasn’t organized by Jesus Christ (Bushman, 517-18). The church has been growing larger since then, with 6 million members in the U.S. and 14 million members worldwide (Lyon, 622). Mormonism has been known for having different values and norms compared to other Americans, the ones that seemed most interesting and different were their lifestyle choices, and their views on polygamy.

The Mormon religion is very unique in many of its doctrine. While technically a Protestant faith, the Mormons generally share more doctrine with the Catholics. Because of its unique nature, I will be analyzing the Mormon faith, its history, organization, and doctrine, in comparison with the beliefs held by both Catholics and Protestants.

Mormonism is a religious group part of the main branch of the Latter Day Saints movement, led by Joseph Smith in New York during the 1820s. Mormons believed in the Bible, as well as other scriptures, such as the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon was about Jesus’s travels around the Americas. They also believed that it was Christian to have more than one wife, but to non-Mormons this was abhorrent. Many violent outbreaks have occurred with Mormons and their neighboring states. Technically, Mormons didn’t have a choice to move or not. Because of their different religion, they were forced West, all the way from New York to Utah. Utah had a very open government allowing the Mormons to vote and have a say in government decisions. It also provided

With 14 million followers, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a very interesting religion for many different reasons. Mormons, as they are commonly known, have an interesting origin, different traditions, and a fascinating founder. Mormonism is the term used for describing the practice and beliefs of followers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The core belief is that a prophet named Joseph Smith restored doctrines of the church to earth. Smith became the founder of what is now considered The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and widely followed. One of the ideas most central to the Mormons is their love for Jesus Christ, the savior. That idea is stated very well when Joseph Smith said, “The fundamental

Mormonism Mormonism is a very diverse religion and has a lot of beliefs contrary to other religions. It began in the 1820’s by a man named Joseph Smith. This was just in the same time period as the second great awakening, so that could have very well had an affect on the religion’s foundation. Smith claims having a vision from God after praying to which denomination he should join. In this vision Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ as two different beings. Instead of where christianity God is all one being or known as the trinity, God the Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. He made claims the Lord told him to make his own denomination and to not have anything to do with any other because they were all wrong. Joseph Smith started

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) is technically considered a type of Christian religion. Mainly this is because they believe in God and his son Jesus Christ. Beyond that their beliefs differ and the LDS follow different religious leaders. There are many prophets of God, such as Joseph Smith that the church looks to for guidance. These prophets also

Mormonism is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint Movement of the Restorationist Christianity. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820's. Mormonism originated during the period of religious excitement called Second Great Awakening. When Joseph Smith Jr. prayed about which denomination he should join, Joseph got a "First Vision" by God the Father to join none of the existing churches since they were all wrong. During the 1820's, Smith got several more visitation from God to use him to re-establish the true Christian Church and that the Book of Mormon would be the means of establishing the correct doctrine for the restored church. Buddhism, on the other hand, is a religion and dharma that encompasses a wide variety of traditions, beliefs, and spiritual practicing that is based on Buddha teachings(such as The Four Noble Truth). Buddhism originated in Ancient India between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE and was founded by Siddhartha or Buddha. Buddhism has spread throughout the

The Mormon belief system has many different principles that are unique and set themselves apart from other world religions, one of which being their views on cosmology. The Mormon cosmology belief is the description of the physical and metaphysical universe. Their beliefs on the subject are deeply engrained in the religion’s basic faith; cosmology is related to the church’s views on divinity, extraterrestrial life, pre-mortal existence, and the afterlife.

Since most readers will have a basic understanding of the Christian history, we will focus primarily on Mormon history. Early in Joseph Smith’s life, an angel named Moroni instructed him to travel to the Americas to find an ancient document, which Joseph would later translate into English. It contained various prophesies and commandments and would become the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith observed that the church had fallen from its fullness because the Gospel had not been preached correctly according to the principles in the Book, so following the translation of the Book of Mormon, he preached his new theology and thus restored the Church to its fullness. The re-established church practiced and held the same principles as the Church that Jesus Christ taught. With this basic history in mind, these seemingly similar faiths look quite

W: When Joseph Smith created Mormonism aka the church of Jesus Christ and the latter-day saint, he had never expected it would be the cause of his demise. Founded in New York in 1830, Mormonism was a religion that was very disliked in most communities around the time of its creation.

Mormons view the world with a broad perspective of eternity and a focused concern on the present. Mormons believe that people exist before the world and they enter the world. “Their life journey starts with a pre-mortal existence, where individuals exercise free will and progress spiritually by learning from a loving God the principles of truth and happiness” (Latter Day Saints, 2017). They leave it up to God and know that he has their lives in his hands. Mormons are able to choose how they want to live and it is up to them to make their own decisions about how they take action. They trust in God and know that his main purpose for all of them is for them to be happy. They are firm believers in eternity. “All earthly disappointment and loss

Mormons were created by Joseph Smith in 1820, when Smith was 14 and lived in New York. During that time God supposedly came to him and told him not to join any of the churches in his town. Instead God told Smith to start a new religion that was based on “One Lord, One Faith, and One Baptism”. God also said that no other churches were leading and teaching their people the right way, by God’s way. Smith believed that the figure speaking to him was God so he went out and began this new religion he named Mormon. In 1830, Joseph Smith published “The Book of Mormon”. Also Smith began the Latter-Day Saints Church in 1830 in Palmyra, New York. Brigham Young was the successor to Smith and the second President of the Latter-Day Saints Church. Ezra Taft Benson was also a friend of Smith’s and a former United States Secretary of Agriculture under President Eisenhower and thirteenth President of the Latter-Day Saints Church. George Albert Smith was the 8th President of the Mormon Church. At the moment, Thomas S. Monson is the President and he is the 16th President of the Latter-Day Saints Church of Christ. Each President has the assistance of a group of contemporary apostles. The Church of Latter-Day Saints or any other Church of Mormons estimates between eleven million and twelve million followers.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of religion is as follows: “the belief in a god or in a group of gods, an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods, or an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group” (Merriam-Webster.) My personal definition of religion is that it is a set of beliefs and practices that generally pertain the worship of one or more than one spiritual beings or representations of a spiritual power. Religion can be personal belief or an organization or group of people who have similar beliefs and values. There are many different types of religions in the world and have been since the