Church Of Latter Day Saint

Queen Elizabeth Ii: 7 Times Latter

Her reign began when David O. McKay was president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints70 years later, Queen Elizabeth II has passed away at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

Queen Elizabeth was a woman of faith who looked to Jesus Christs example. As she said in her 2015 Christmas message, Despite being displaced and persecuted throughout his short life, Christs unchanging message was not one of revenge or violence but simply that we should love one another.

President Thomas S. Monson commended the Queen in 2012 for her love of God, her acts of charity, and her sublime example of service and duty.

Six months ago, in celebration of her Platinum Jubilee, the European Area Presidency of the Church sent through the Queens private secretary, Sir Edward Young. The tribute read in part, During the past 70 years Her Majesty has faced and overcome challenges with fortitude. Yet despite challenging times often on a global scale, she continued to set such a wonderful example of service and devotion, of dignity, and decency. She has shown immense care for people of all nationalities, faiths, and ages.

Over the decades of her service and devotion, the Queen had many brushes with members and leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Here is a look back on a few.

What Are The Core Tenets Of The Mormon Religion

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• Read the comments of historians, scholars and Mormons on and the .
• Read the comments of historians, scholars and Mormons on .

Many of the central concepts of the Mormon religion are laid out in the Articles of Faith, a 13-point list of the Latter-day Saints’ most important beliefs.

These key elements of the faith include belief in God the Father, his Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit belief in modern prophets and continuing revelation belief that through Christ’s atonement all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of Christ’s Gospel belief in the importance of repentance and baptism by immersion for the forgiveness of sins and belief in the right of all people to worship God as they please. The Articles of Faith also affirm a belief in the Bible as the word of God, insofar as it is correctly translated, and in the Book of Mormon as an equally important scriptural source.

Doctrinal Development Prior To 1830

The first Latter Day Saint references to the “church of Christ” are found in passages of the Book of Mormon that Smith dictated from April to June 1829. During the course of this dictation, the outlines for a community of believers or church structure gradually became apparent. Such a structure would have authority from God, ordinances such as baptism, and ordained clergy. Some time in April 1829, Smith dictated a story of Alma the Elder, the former priest of a wicked king, who baptized his followers by immersion, “having authority from the Almighty God”, and called his community of believers the “church of God, or the church of Christ”. The book described the clergy in Alma’s church as consisting of priests, who were unpaid and were to “preach nothing save it were repentance and faith in the Lord”. Alma later established many churches , which were considered “one church” because “there was nothing preached in all the churches except it were repentance and faith in God.” In addition to priests, the book mentions that the clergy of these churches also included teachers.

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Name Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter

The name of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is derived from an 1838 revelation church founder Joseph Smith said he received. Church leaders have long emphasized the church’s full name , and have resisted the application of informal or shortened names, especially those which omit “Jesus Christ”. These informal and shortened names include the “Mormon Church”, the “LDS Church”, and the “Church of the Latter-day Saints”.

Relationship With Mainstream Christianity

Mormonism categorizes itself within , and nearly all Mormons self-identify as . For some who define Christianity within the doctrines of , and , the , and , Mormonism’s differences place it outside the umbrella of Christianity.

Since its beginnings, the faith has proclaimed itself to be Christ’s Church with its original authority, structure and power maintaining that existing denominations believed in incorrect doctrines and were not acknowledged by God as his church and kingdom. Though the religion quickly gained a large following of Christian seekers, in the 1830s, many American Christians came to view the church’s early doctrines and practices as politically and culturally , as well as doctrinally heretical, abominable, and condemnable. This discord led to a series of sometimes-deadly conflicts between Mormons and others who saw themselves as orthodox Christians. Although such violence declined during the twentieth century, the religion’s unique doctrinal views and practices still generate criticism, sometimes vehemently so. This gives rise to efforts by Mormons and opposing types of Christians to proselytize each other.

Mormons believe in Jesus Christ as the literal and , as a conclusion of a , and subsequent . However, Latter-day Saints reject the ecumenical creeds and the definition of the . Mormons hold the view that the prophesied both the from the teachings of Christ and his apostles as well as the of all things prior to the second coming of Christ.

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Activity Rates And Disaffiliation

The LDS Church does not release official statistics on church activity, but it is likely that only approximately 40 percent of its recorded membership in the United States and 30 percent worldwide regularly attend weekly Sunday worship services. A statistical analysis of the 2014 Pew Religious Landscape Survey assessed that “about one-third of those with a Latter-day Saint background” outright “left the Church”, identifying as disaffiliated. Activity rates vary with age, and disengagement occurs most frequently between age 16 and 25. Young single adults are more likely to become inactive than their married counterparts, and overall, women tend to be more active than men.

Church humanitarian aid includes organizing food security, clean water, mobility, and healthcare initiatives, operating thrift stores, maintaining a service project website, and directly funding or partnering with other organizations. The value of all donations from the church in 2021 was $906 million.

Brigham Young’s Later Years

The church had attempted unsuccessfully to institute the United Order numerous times, most recently during the Mormon Reformation. In 1874, Young once again attempted to establish a permanent Order, which he now called the “United Order of Enoch” in at least 200 Mormon communities, beginning in St. George, Utah on February 9, 1874.In Young’s Order, producers would generally deed their property to the Order, and all members of the order would share the cooperative’s net income, often divided into shares according to how much property was originally contributed. Sometimes, the members of the Order would receive wages for their work on the communal property. Like the United Order established by Joseph Smith, Young’s Order was short-lived. By the time of Brigham Young’s death in 1877, most of these United Orders had failed. By the end of the 19th century, the Orders were essentially extinct.

Brigham Young died in August 1877. After the death of Brigham Young, the First Presidency was not reorganized until 1880, when Young was succeeded by President John Taylor, who in the interim had served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

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The Plan Of Salvation

The term Plan of Salvation is used to describe how the gospel of Jesus Christ is designed to bring about the immortality and eternal life of humankind. It includes the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement, along with all God-given laws, ordinances, and doctrines. Members believe that after this life is the Resurrection and Judgment.

The gift of immortality is also believed to be freely given to all because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and his subsequent Resurrection, although salvation from sin is conditional. Entrance to the highest Heavenly Kingdom, the “Celestial Kingdom,” is only granted to those who accept Jesus through baptism into the church by its priesthood authority, follow Church doctrine, and live righteous lives. Faith alone, or faith without works is not considered sufficient to attain exaltation.

Kingdoms

According to the Church, the Celestial Kingdom is where the righteous will live with God and their families. This kingdom includes multiple degrees of glory, the highest of which is exaltation. Those who have had the ordinances of eternal marriage, which is performed in temples, and baptism may be exalted if they are found worthy by God. Accountable individuals must be baptized and repent to gain entrance to the Celestial Kingdom Latter-day Saints profess that all children who die before the age of accountability automatically inherit a celestial glory.

A Stake President At The Queens Party

In 1976, John H. Cox, who was then president of the London England Stake, was invited to a royal garden party on the grounds of Buckingham Palace. He shared in the Ensignhis impressions of the reverence surrounding the Queens entrance at the party.

For me, the most impressive moment of that event was the entrance of the queen herself. The hubbub of the guests immediately subsided, and as she stood on the terrace, with the bands playing God Save the Queen, there was a reverence present that pervaded the entire assembly. I had heard the national anthem many times in my life, but this was the first time in the actual presence of the monarch. The occasion had a special poignancy. I was inspired, and I prayed for the welfare of my country and its leader.

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The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter

MormonismChurch of Christ Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian, Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The church is headquartered in the United States in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has established congregations and built temples worldwide. According to the church, it has over 16.8 million members and 54,539 full-time volunteer missionaries. The church is the fourth-largest Christian denomination in the United States, with over 6.7 million US members as of 2021. It is the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement founded by Joseph Smith during the early 19th-century period of religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening.

The church has been criticized throughout its history. Modern criticisms include disputed claims, treatment of minorities, and financial controversies. The churchs practice of polygamy was also controversial until officially rescinded in 1890.

Tithing And Other Donations

Church members are expected to donate one-tenth of their income to support the operations of the church, including construction of temples, meetinghouses, and other buildings, and other church uses. Members are also encouraged to abstain from food and drink on the first Sunday of each month for at least two consecutive meals. They donate at least the cost of the two skipped meals as a fast offering, which the church uses to assist the poor and needy and expand its humanitarian efforts.

All able LDS young men are expected to serve a two-year, full-time proselytizing mission. Missionaries do not choose where they serve or the language in which they will proselytize, and are expected to fund their missions themselves or with the aid of their families. Prospective male missionaries must be at least 18 years old and no older than 25, not yet married, have completed secondary school, and meet certain criteria for physical fitness and spiritual worthiness. Missionary service is not compulsory, nor is it required for young men to retain their church membership.

Unmarried women 19 years and older may also serve as missionaries, generally for a term of 18 months. However, the LDS Church emphasizes that women are not under the same expectation to serve as male members are, and may serve solely as a personal decision. There is no maximum age for missionary service for women.

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Historical Authenticity Of The Book Of Mormon

Discussion regarding the historicity of the Book of Mormon often focuses on archaeological issues, some of which relate to the large size and the long time span of the civilizations mentioned in the book. Joseph Smith founded the movement in upstate New York in the 1820s. The faith drew its first converts while Smith was dictating the text of the Book of Mormon from golden plates which had reformed Egyptian writing on them which he said he found buried after being directed to their location by the Angel Moroni. The book described itself as a chronicle of early indigenous peoples of the Americas, known as the Nephites, portraying them as believing Israelites who had a belief in Christ many hundred years before his birth. According to the book, the Nephites are one of four groups which settled in the ancient Americas. The Nephites are described as a group of people that descended from or were associated with Nephi, the son of the prophet Lehi, who left Jerusalem at the urging of God c. 600 BC and traveled with his family to the Western Hemisphere, arriving in the Americas c. 589 BC. After the translation was complete, Smith said he returned the golden plates to the Angel Moroni.

Doctrinal Reforms And Influences

In 1927, the Church implemented its “Good Neighbor policy“, whereby it removed any suggestion in church literature, sermons, and ordinances that its members should seek vengeance on US citizens or governments, particularly for the assassinations of its founder Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum. The Church also reformed temple ordinance around this time.

Beginning soon after the turn of the 20th century, four influential Latter-day Saint scholars began to systematize, modernize, and codify Mormon doctrine: B. H. Roberts, James E. Talmage, John A. Widtsoe, and Joseph Fielding Smith. In 1921, the church called chemistry professor John A. Widtsoe as an apostle. Widtsoe’s writings, particularly Rational theology and Joseph Smith as Scientist, reflected the optimistic faith in science and technology that was pervasive at the time in American life. According to Widtsoe, all Mormon theology could be reconciled within a rational, positivist framework.

Reaction to evolution

Soon after the 1909 statement, Joseph F. Smith professed in an editorial that “the church itself has no philosophy about the modus operandi employed by the Lord in His creation of the world.” Juvenile Instructor, 46 , 208-209 .

Some also cite an additional editorial that enumerates various possibilities for creation including the idea that Adam and Eve:

Reacting to pluralism

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Religious Authority And Ritual

Smith’s teachings were rooted in . He taught that the restored through him was a of the early Christian faith, which had been lost in the . At first, Smith’s church had little sense of hierarchy his religious authority was derived from visions and revelations. Though Smith did not claim exclusive prophethood, an early revelation designated him as the only prophet allowed to issue commandments “as Moses”. This religious authority encompassed economic and political as well as spiritual matters. For instance, in the early 1830s, he temporarily instituted a form of , called the , that required Latter Day Saints to give to the church all their property, to be divided among the faithful. He also envisioned that the theocratic institutions he established would have a role in the worldwide political organization of the Millennium.

Smith taught that the High Priesthood’s endowment of heavenly power included the powers of , allowing High Priests to effect binding consequences in the afterlife. For example, this power would enable proxy baptisms for the dead and that would be effective into the afterlife. Elijah’s sealing powers also enabled the , or “fulness of the priesthood”, which, according to Smith, sealed married couples to their .

Purported Pagan Origins Of The Trinity

The , whose influence on early religious thought was considered profound, usually arranged their gods and goddesses in groups of three, or trinities: some examples of this are the trinity of , , and , the trinity of , , and , and the trinity of , , and .

Some nontrinitarians also say that a link between the doctrine of the Trinity and the Egyptian Christian theologians of suggests that Alexandrian theology, with its strong emphasis on the deity of Jesus, served to infuse Egypt’s pagan religious heritage into Christianity. They accuse the Church of adopting these Egyptian tenets after adapting them to Christian thinking by means of Greek philosophy.

Some anti-trinitarians note also that the Greek philosopher Plato believed in a special “threeness” in life and in the universe. In Plato’s work Phaedo, he introduces the word “triad” , which is rendered in English as “trinity”. This was adopted by 3rd and 4th century professed Christians as roughly corresponding to “Father, Word, and Spirit “. Nontrinitarian Christians contend that such notions and adoptions make the Trinity doctrine extra-biblical. They say there is a widely acknowledged synthesis of Christianity with evident in trinitarian formulas appearing by the end of the 3rd century. They allege that beginning with the Constantinian period, these pagan ideas were forcibly imposed on the churches as Catholic doctrine. Most groups subscribing to the theory of a generally concur in this thesis.

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