Back Kerk van Jesus Christus van die Heiliges van die Laaste Dae Afrikaans Ilesia de Chesucristo d'os Santos d'os Zaguers Días AN كنيسة يسوع المسيح لقديسي الأيام الأخيرة Arabic كنيسة يسوع المسيح لقديسى الايام الاخيره ARZ Ilesia de Xesucristu de los Santos de los Últimos Díes AST Krist Jesus ke tumtikeem ke ironokaf vieleem AVK An Simbahan ni Jesukristo nin mga Banal sa mga Huring Aldaw BCL Църква на Исус Христос на светиите от последните дни Bulgarian The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Breton Crkva Isusa Krista svetaca posljednjih dana BS
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | |
|---|---|
 Official logo since 2020 featuring the Christus statue | |
| Classification | Restorationist[1] |
| Orientation | Latter Day Saint movement |
| Scripture | Bible Book of Mormon Doctrine and Covenants Pearl of Great Price |
| Theology | |
| Polity | Hierarchical |
| President[a] | Russell M. Nelson |
| Headquarters | Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. |
| Founder | Joseph Smith[2] |
| Origin | April 6, 1830[3] as Church of Christ Fayette, New York, U.S. |
| Separations | LDS denominations |
| Congregations | 31,490 (2023)[4] |
| Members | 17,225,394 (2023)[4] |
| Missionaries | 99,556 (2023)[b] |
| Aid organization | Philanthropies |
| Tertiary institutions | 4[7] |
| Other name(s) | |
| Official website | churchofjesuschrist |
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a restorationist, nontrinitarian Christian denomination that is the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. 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 17 million members and over 99 thousand volunteer missionaries.[4] As of 2012, the church was the fourth-largest Christian denomination in the U.S.[12] As of 2023, the church reported over 6.8 million U.S. members.[13]
The church was founded as the Church of Christ in western New York, in 1830 by Joseph Smith during the Second Great Awakening. Under Smith's 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.
Church theology includes the Christian doctrine of salvation through Jesus Christ, and his substitutionary atonement on behalf of mankind.[14] The church has an open canon of four scriptural texts: the 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 commentary and exegesis about the Bible, texts described as lost parts of the Bible, and other works believed to be written by ancient prophets, including the Book of Mormon. Because of doctrinal differences, many Christian groups consider the church to be distinct and separate from mainstream Christianity.[15]
Members of the church, known as Latter-day Saints 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, who are drawn from the membership of the wards themselves. 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.[3]
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.[16] 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.[17]
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.
- ^ Lewis, Paul W.; Mittelstadt, Martin William (April 27, 2016). What's So Liberal about the Liberal Arts?: Integrated Approaches to Christian Formation. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4982-3145-9.
The Second Great Awakening (1790-1840) spurred a renewed interest in primitive Christianity. What is known as the Restoration Movement of the nineteenth century gave birth to an array of groups: Mormons (The Latter Day Saint Movement), the Churches of Christ, Adventists, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Though these groups demonstrate a breathtaking diversity on the continuum of Christianity they share an intense restorationist impulse."
- ^ "American Prophet: Joseph Smith". PBS Utah. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
On April 6, 1830, Joseph Smith organized The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and became its first president.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
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- ^ "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". Encyclopædia Britannica. March 22, 2024. Archived from the original on March 7, 2024.
- ^ Goodwin, K. Shane (2019). "The History of the Name of the Savior's Church". BYU Studies. 58 (3). Brigham Young University: 4. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
The origin of the commonly referenced name 'Mormon Church' is difficult to pinpoint with accuracy.
- ^ "Why the 'Mormon' church changed its name. (It's about revelation, not rebranding.)". CNN. March 24, 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
HotCwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "25 Largest Christian Denominations in the United States, 2012". Unitarian Universalist Association. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
- ^ "Facts and Statistics - United States". Newsroom. LDS Church. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ^ "Salvation and Atonement". BBC News Online. October 5, 2009. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
- ^ Kennedy, John W. (February 2004). "Winning them softly". Christianity Today. Vol. 48, no. 2. Archived from the original on October 14, 2006. Retrieved October 7, 2006.
- ^ Noyce, David. "What in the world is the LDS Church doing to help those in need?". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- ^ Van Beek, Wouter (1992). "Covenants". In Ludlow, Daniel H (ed.). Encyclopedia of Mormonism. New York: Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 0-02-879602-0. OCLC 24502140. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021.
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