Year: 2014
Type: reference-entry
Abstract: of Retail & Distribution Management Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) was formally organized on April 6, 1830, in Palmyra, New York, by founding president Joseph Smith during the era of U.S. history known as the Second Great Awakening.Smith was considered a prophet, through whom God restored the church of that Latter-day Saints (i.e., the Mormons), believed to be lost to apostasy in ancient times.As of the early 21st century, there are about 15 million Mormons in the world, including about 6 million in the United States, making Mormonism the fourth largest denomination of Christians in the United States.The LDS Church is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, which was founded by Mormon leader Brigham Young and several others in 1847, three years after Smith was killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois, as the result of his controversial religious views.As of 2012, about 62.5 percent of Utah's population identified as Mormon.In addition to the Bible, the LDS Church also has several other canonical texts, including the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. Familial Nature of GodLatter-day Saints believe that the Godhead consists of God the Eternal Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.Unlike the Christian Trinity, in which there is only one God, manifest in three aspects, Mormons believe the members of the Godhead are separate, distinct persons.God the Father and Jesus each have a glorified body of flesh and bones, while the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit.Mormons pray to Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Ghost.Mormons believe God the Eternal Father is literally the father of the soul (spirit) of every person who has ever lived.Mormons also believe that not only do all human beings have an Eternal Father, but also an Eternal Mother.So, every person's soul is literally the offspring of heavenly parents.Thus, there is a eternal familial relationship between God and all human beings.This emphasis on the familial nature of the relationship between God and humanity is distinct from most other religions that teach that human beings are creatures, not literal children, of God.This doctrine of God is central to how Mormons think about all aspects of life. The Plan of HappinessThe plan of happiness (the plan of salvation, or the great plan of redemption) is a system of doctrines that answer the questions: Where were people before birth?Why are they on earth?Where do they go when they die?The plan teaches that before birth, all individuals lived with God as His spirit sons and daughters, where they accepted God's plan to come to Earth to progress toward becoming more like God.The purpose of Earth life is to gain a physical body, make choices, be tested in a place of opposition and temptation, and learn to form families.When people die, their spirits (souls) go to the spirit world, where they continue to learn and grow and make choices, and at some point, all human beings will receive a resurrected body of flesh and bones.All human beings have the potential to form eternal marriages and families.
Authors: Marilyn J. Coleman, Lawrence H. Ganong
Institution: University of Kentucky
Language: English
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2188075237