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What Mormons Believe
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney would be America’s first Mormon president. What are the tenets of his religion?
3/9/2007
Are Mormons Christians?
That’s how they view themselves; they call their religion the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormons consider Jesus the son of God, and they celebrate Christmas and Easter. But many Mormon doctrines differ radically from those of other Christian denominations. Mormons hold that Jesus is only semi-divine; as Mormon scholar Stephen Robinson puts it, he “has 46 chromosomes, like everyone else”—23 from God, and 23 from the Virgin Mary. Mormon leaders are not merely God’s representatives on Earth; as “seers,” they are living prophets who receive ongoing revelations. Mormons believe in the Bible but consider it incomplete and rely on their own sacred texts to fulfill its message.
What is that message?
That Jesus will eventually return to Earth to begin a thousand-year reign. Before then, however, there will be chaos and upheaval. To prepare for this tumult, Mormons believe it is their destiny, as practitioners of God’s “chosen” religion, to provide an inspirational example of hope by practicing industry, frugality, and piety. “Our whole objective,” said the church’s 96-year-old president, Gordon B. Hinckley, “is to make bad men good and good men better, to improve people, to give them an understanding of their godly inheritance.”
How old is Mormonism?
Compared with many other faiths, it’s quite young. On April 6, 1830, New York farmer Joseph Smith published the 580-page Book of Mormon, which he described as a lost gospel of Jesus. Years before, Smith claimed, an angel had guided him to a hill in upstate New York, where he found the buried book, written on golden plates in a language he called “reformed Egyptian.” The book held that two warring tribes of Israel—the good, fair-skinned Nephites and the evil, dark-skinned Lamanites—carried their feud to North America in about 600 B.C. Jesus stopped the fight centuries later, after his resurrection. From this, Smith concluded that the New World was the Promised Land; he subsequently determined that Jackson County, Mo., was the site of both the Garden of Eden and of Jesus’ Second Coming.
What was the reaction to Smith’s teachings?
Overwhelmingly negative. Ostracized and ridiculed, Smith in 1839 set up an armed camp of followers in Nauvoo, Ill., where he was crowned “King, Priest and Ruler over Israel on Earth.” Like the Hebrew patriarchs, Smith’s followers began practicing polygamy; Smith himself had as many as 48 wives. In 1844, he was jailed after being accused of inciting a riot. A lynch mob attacked the jail, killing him. His successor, Brigham Young, then led some 30,000 Mormons to the future Utah Territory. For decades the Mormons led a tumultuous separatist existence there, marked by violent skirmishes with authorities and other settlers. Only in 1890, when the Mormons abolished polygamy, did they begin entering the American mainstream.
How popular is Mormonism now?
It’s one of the world’s fastest growing religions, with more than 12 million members worldwide. Its 5.5 million U.S. adherents—more than Episcopalians and Presbyterians combined—constitute the nation’s seventh largest denomination. Mormons can be found in some 100 countries, and according to some estimates, their rolls may soon equal that of worldwide Jewry, who currently number about 13.5 million. Some experts say that by the end of this century, there could be more than 200 million Mormons.
Why such explosive growth?
Part of the reason is the traditionally large size of Mormon families; the birthrate in Utah is 50 percent higher than the national average. But Mormonism is no longer merely inherited; for decades, Mormons have been aggressive proselytizers. The church expects younger members to devote two years to spreading the faith, especially in Latin America and Africa, where nearly a third of its adherents now live. Ironically, until 1978, Mormons did not allow blacks to become clergy. Brigham Young taught that God marked Cain with “blackness,” and that only white skin was “pure and delightsome.”
What is Mormonism’s appeal?
It offers strict guidelines for people seeking clarity and certainty in a confusing world. Devout Mormons may not drink alcohol, coffee, or tea, or date until they are 16. They fast once a month, read scripture daily, spend three hours in church every Sunday, and devote Monday evenings to structured family activities. Divorce is unthinkable. Yet despite Mormonism’s emphasis on traditional values, many regard it with suspicion.
Why are they suspicious?
Evangelical Christians consider Mormonism blasphemous and resent the proselytizing. The more secular-minded find many Mormon practices odd. When children come of age, for example, a church patriarch bestows a blessing that foretells their future, and these predictions are archived. At “endowment” ceremonies, initiates are given “temple garments”—long, bulky underwear they must don for life. Mormons are also required to give at least 10 percent of their annual income to the church. This tithing has helped the church amass an estimated $30 billion in wealth. Mormon holdings include the biggest beef ranch in the world and the largest producer of nuts in the U.S.
So is Mormonism more than a religion?
It is, in effect, its own culture. In Utah, Mormons occupy every important state office and dominate municipal agencies and school boards. Although Mormons officially believe in the separation of church and state, they do not divorce their spiritual beliefs from their public lives. “I base every decision and aspect of my life around my religion,” says Modesto, Calif., teenager Allison Miguel. “It affects everything, from the things I say to the things I wear.” That’s just what church leaders hope to hear. “It becomes part of a person’s second nature,” said Mormon theologian Sterling McMurrin. “He belongs to the church like he belongs to his family.”
Baptism by Proxy
One of the most controversial Mormon practices is “proxy baptism.” In this ritual, Mormons retroactively baptize the dead, to help ensure their access to heaven. The process involves a member being immersed in water in place of the deceased. Among the millions whom the Mormons have baptized by proxy are Genghis Khan, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and the Marx Brothers. The public became aware of the practice in 1995, when it was disclosed that many Jewish victims of the Holocaust had been baptized. After an outcry, the Mormons promised to stop baptizing dead Jews, but baptisms of other groups have continued. “It does not force a change of religion,” says church spokesman Dale Bills. “Proxy baptism is a caring expression of faith that provides deceased persons the opportunity to accept or reject what we believe.” Many disagree, saying the Mormons are trying to impose their faith on the dead. “It takes away the most essential gift God has given people,” said Father Joseph, a U.S. spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church. “Their freedom.”
