Search Results - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is the largest Latter Day Saint denomination. Founded by Joseph Smith during the Second Great Awakening, the church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has established congregations and built temples worldwide. According to the church, as of 2023, it has over 17.2 million members of which over 6.8 million live in the U.S. The church also reports over 99,000 volunteer missionaries and 350 temples.}}

The church was founded as the Church of Christ in western New York, in 1830 by Smith. Under his leadership, the church's headquarters moved successively to Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. After Smith's 1844 death and a resultant succession crisis, the majority of his followers sided with Brigham Young, who led the church to its current headquarters in Salt Lake City. Young and his successors continued the church's growth, first throughout the Intermountain West, and more recently as a national and international organization. The church has been criticized throughout its history. Modern criticism includes disputes over the church's historical claims, treatment of minorities, and finances. The church's practice of polygamy was controversial until it was curtailed in 1890 and officially rescinded in 1904.

Church theology is restorationist and nontrinitarian; the church strongly identifies as Christian including a belief in the doctrine of salvation through Jesus Christ and his substitutionary atonement on behalf of mankind. It is often included in the lists of larger Christian denominations, though some Catholics, mainline Protestants and Evangelicals have considered the church to be distinct and separate from mainstream Christianity. The church has an open canon of four scriptural texts: the Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C), and the Pearl of Great Price. Other than the Bible, the majority of the church canon consists of material the church's members believe to have been revealed by God to Joseph Smith, including texts described as lost parts of the Bible, and other works believed to be written by ancient prophets, including the Book of Mormon. Members adhere to church laws of sexual purity, health, fasting, and Sabbath observance, and contribute ten percent of their income to the church in tithing. The church teaches ordinances through which adherents make covenants with God, including baptism, confirmation, the sacrament, priesthood ordination, endowment and celestial marriage.

Members of the church, known as Latter-day Saints and "Saints" is the same denomination used at the time of Jesus Christ in the New Testament.}} or informally as Mormons, believe that the church president is a modern-day "prophet, seer, and revelator" and that Jesus Christ, under the direction of God the Father, leads the church by revealing his will and delegating his priesthood keys to its president. The president heads a hierarchical structure descending from areas to stakes and wards. The church has a volunteer clergy at the local and regional levels; wards are led by bishops. Male members may be ordained to the priesthood, provided they are living the standards of the church. Women are not ordained to the priesthood but occupy leadership roles in some church organizations. Both men and women may serve as missionaries. The church maintains a large missionary program that proselytizes and conducts humanitarian services worldwide. The church also funds and participates in humanitarian projects independent of its missionary efforts. Provided by Wikipedia