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Latter Day Saint

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LDS Standard Works

A Latter Day Saint is an adherent of the Latter Day Saint movement, a group of religions tracing their heritage to the teachings of Joseph Smith, Jr. Of the numerous Latter Day Saint denominations, the largest (with over 12 million members) is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (note style difference: Latter-day Saint) and the Community of Christ with over 250,000 members) which was previously known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Usage of the term

The term Latter Day Saint refers to Restorationist belief of Joseph Smith, Jr. that adherents of the religion he established were "saints", in the sense that they are members of the Church of Christ, which Smith believed was a restoration of the 1st century Christian church. They are latter day saints because of Smith's belief that he lived in the end times. Usage of the term Latter Day Saints first appeared in the mid 1830s, when Smith's Church of Christ was renamed Church of Latter Day Saints, and later, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (which was sometimes hyphenated as Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints).

The British styling "Latter-day Saint", including both the hyphenation and lower-case "d", came into use in about 1852 when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was incorporated by that name in Salt Lake City, Utah. This form is used only by that denomination, and its usage generally denotes only those members.

Because the LDS Church is by far the largest and most well-known Latter Day Saint denomination, a number of denominations who consider themselves Latter Day Saints prefer more informal terms to refer to their members, in order to avoid confusion. For example, the denomination that is officially named the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) refers to itself informally as the Strangites. In addition, the Community of Christ, the second largest Latter Day Saint denomination, recently changed its name from the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, partly to avoid this type of confusion.

Latter Day Saints are sometimes also referred to as Mormons (a nickname taken from the title of the Book of Mormon). The size and prominence of the LDS Church however, has led to the terms Mormon and Mormonism being generally understood as applying only to the LDS Church. The desire of the LDS Church to disassociate itself from polygamous denominations to which the term Mormon has been misapplied, has led to the church urging journalists to use the terms Latter-day Saint and Mormon only in reference to the LDS Church. (See LDS Style Guide). The Associated Press Style Guide states the following concerning the use of the term "Mormon" when referring to sects formed after Joseph Smith's death: “The term Mormon is not properly applied to the other churches that resulted from the split after Joseph Smith’s death.”

List of prominent denominations

Beliefs

Below is a passage from The Wentworth Letter that Joseph Smith Jr. wrote after being asked about the basic beliefs of the Church. This collection of thirteen statements are known as the Articles of Faith and present an overview generally accepted by most Latter Day Saint denominations. However, certain denominations have different articles of faith, and others, such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, have modified the Articles to reflect later doctrinal developments.

  1. We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in his son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
  2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins and not for Adam's transgression.
  3. We believe that through the atonement of Christ all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
  4. We believe that these ordinances are 1st, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; 2d, Repentance; 3d, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; 4th, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
  5. We believe that a man must be called of God by "prophesy, and by laying on of hands" by those who are in authority to preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
  6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the primitive church, viz, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists &c.
  7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophesy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues &c.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes. That Zion will be built upon this [the American] continent. That Christ will reign personally upon the earth, and that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiac glory.
  11. We claim the privilege of worshipping Almighty God according to the dictates of our conscience, and allow all men the same privilege let them worship how, where, or what they may.
  12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
  13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed 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 be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praise worthy we seek after these things.

See also

  • LDS.org - Official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  • Mormon.org - Official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about basic beliefs
  • Mormoninfo.org - Mormoninfo.org is a source of links both pro and con for the research of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is a non-LDS website.
  • MormonismSearch.net - Search Mormon Web Sites
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