The Truth about Mormonism (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)

Below is an article I wrote when I was columnist for my school newspaper The Daily Barometer published around 2011. This Christmas season I felt that this was the best "gift" I could give to anyone bothering to read these posts. 

Please note that although I used "Mormon" quite frequently in this, I am now making more of an effort to use the proper name of the church - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I have also added links throughout so you can gain more information. There are typos and other things, but I like to keep it as I wrote it.  I hope you enjoy! 

The Truth About Mormonism

A couple of Mormon guys traveled around the United States asking people what they knew about Mormons, and made a movie about it called American Mormon (see trailer). Some responses were that the Mormons are a "crazy religious group," have "multiple wives," "don't watch TV, dance, use computers or phones" and that "men don't shave." Well I am a Mormon, or more correctly put, a member of The Churchof Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and here is the truth about Mormonism.

I have personally been asked how I could handle marrying a guy with multiple wives, where I hide my horns (because I’m the devil – didn’t you know?) and why Mormons can’t have fun. My favorite was when a friend of mine told me that, “Mormons can’t eat pretzels on Sundays.” He said that this is because the salt makes a person thirsty and Mormon’s don’t drink. I still don’t know how I have survived my entire life without being able to drink any liquids.

Obviously there are a lot of different ideas about Mormonism, but what are the actual beliefs? Instead of listing a bunch of “We Believe’s,” the best way for anyone to understand Mormonism is to understand a bit of history. So here is the history of the Restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, from a Mormon.

Firstly, we are God’s children and He has a plan for us to be able to return to live with him (That’s right – life after death). Families are very important in this plan, and can be together forever.

God shows His love for us by calling prophets that are given the power and authority to act in God’s name for the salvation of His children. Whenever a prophet is rejected, it is called a period of apostasy. This occurred before Jesus Christ came to the earth and He established His church again on the earth. During his life on earth, He taught the gospel - called twelve Apostles - and most importantly he suffered and died for the sins of all mankind, which is called the Atonement. Later Christ’s Apostles died, and there was a Great Apostasy where there was no prophet to receive God’s revelation.

In the year 1820, a 14-year-old boy named Joseph Smith sought for the true church of Jesus Christ. He knelt in prayer in a nearby grove of trees, and described his experience: “I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me…When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other – This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” (see video)

As God had done with Adam, Noah, and other prophets, He called Joseph Smith to be a prophet to restore the fullness of the gospel.

Joseph Smith was directed to a hill where gold plates had been hidden and was able to translate them by the power of God. He called these plates The Book of Mormon (where the name Mormon comes from).

This book is an ancient volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible, but was written by prophets in the Americas. It follows a family that lived in Jerusalem, and traveled to the Americas. Mormon is one of the last prophets that wrote on the gold plates, and was the historian that compiled the book, which is why the book is called The Book of Mormon. Although we are called “Mormons” the true name is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Latter-Day Saints meaning this time period), LDS for short.

As like any other prophet, Joseph Smith received additional revelation for our days, and one commonly known is called the Word of Wisdom. This explains that as members of The Church we don’t drink alcohol, coffee or tea, use any form of tobacco or use harmful drugs. It teaches what we should and shouldn’t use to maintain the health of our bodies and to keep us free from evil influences.

There have been other prophets called and given God’s authority since Joseph Smith. One such prophet named Wilford Woodruff said, “That my advice to the Latter-day Saints is to refrain from contracting any marriage forbidden by the law of the land,” and by 1890, it was declared that all members should stop the practice of polygamy. Today there is a living prophet named Thomas S. Monson (Now in 2019 Russell M. Nelson). He and the current twelve Apostles can trace their authority directly to Jesus Christ.

Now LDS missionaries travel all over the world to invite others to come unto Christ. Men volunteer for two years, and women for 18 months. Missionaries teach that anyone can know if the message is true by asking in prayer, and the Holy Ghost will testify of the truth.

I'm sure there are people that disagree with my views, and I'm totally okay with that. However, if you want to discuss anything, or understand more, that option is always available to you. There are missionaries, church buildings and comeuntochrist.org to answer questions. I'm not talking about converting, I'm talking about being informed.

Merry Christmas all! May we all find Christ in all we do this season.