mormon faith/latterday saints

[saggyjuju]

hi,what are the basic beliefs of this faith?

Another Mormon here, been a member of the church about 17 years now. There's a lot of false 'information' about the church out there. Check out mormon.org or lds.org for the facts. People get really hung up on strange things/ things that happened in the early history of the church/ details taken out of context, but some of the core values are here

My FIL was actually head of Public Affairs for the Europe West area of the church for ages. He summed up the key differences between Latter-Day Saints beliefs and other Christian denominations with the word FAR:
F = Families. We believe families are eternal, and are central to God's plan for our happiness. Family relationships are not 'til death do us part' but we can be with our families forever. This is the purpose of temples, to seal families together for eternity.

A = Answers. We believe we have the answers to many questions which worry people eg 'Who am I?' 'Why am I here?' 'Is there any purpose to life on earth' etc etc. Missionaries from the church or indeed members are happy to answer these questions and discuss questions further

R = Restoration. We believe this is the restored church of Jesus Christ. After Jesus died and was resurrected, gradually bits of the gospel and important truths were lost. Through modern-day revelation, God has restored the gospel as it was when Christ was on the earth. Revelation continues, on a world-wide scale through a prophet but also we can receive individual revelation and guidance to help us and our families in our lives.

Essentially we believe that God is our Heavenly Father, and like any parent He wants His children to be happy and live with Him, in His presence, with our families, forever. He wants us to make the decisions that will allow us to return to live with Him after this life. We are commanded in the Bible 'Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect'. However we all make mistakes, so how can we live in God?s perfect kingdom if we are imperfect? God knows this and hence provided a Saviour for us and a way to repent and return to live with Him again. The point of the church is to enable us to live according to God's plan for us.

Sorry for the long post, but if you have any other questions or want me to expand on things, do ask! (Am off to bed right now though so won't see messages until tomorrow!) :)

helizapoppin - I'm sorry to hear that is the case with some of your friends. The church actively encourages education for boys and girls, it's totally down to personal preference whether you choose to study, but the church and church leaders actively encourage people to study - I was even asked to give a talk recently to my congregation about the value of education.

I have no doubt that some LDS couples rush into marriage without always considering what they're doing first, which is why it's important to make it a matter of prayer and serious consideration (ok that sounds a bit trite, but you get my drift). I know loads of LDS couples up and down the country, very few of them on 2nd or 3rd marriages! People tend to tell others about bad experiences more than good though don't they? Eg you receive bad customer service in a shop, so you warn loads of people against going there. You have a negative encounter with someone who professes to belong to the church and that tarnishes your opinion of the whole church and you tell people about it because the negative stuff is more 'interesting' than the positive stories about people who are really happy in their faith.

Anyway I'm rambling now, I really do need to go to bed

What do you mean that black men were unable to hold the priesthood before 1978? I asked 4 or 5 black men in my church how they felt about it and they were fine and understood that things were different at that time for black people in America. As it stands now every worthy male regardless of race can hold the priesthood. I have met people from more nationalities through my church than any other forum. The first counsellor serving in my ward is black and nigerian. Before him there was a filipino man. I have never encountered any racism in the church, in fact we regularly hold intercultural nights where we share food from other cultures and learn about customs etc.. It is a worldwide church and fastly growing in Africa.

With regards to homosexuality, we believe that all sex outside marriage between a man and woman is in breech of the law of chastity. There is no issue with people who are attracted to the same gender its just they can not practice it if the want to receive all the ordinances and blessing of our faith. Same if you are cohabiting or sleeping with someone of the opposite sex, it is seen as breaking this commandment.

What about the funny underwear?
Don't men in Mormonism go to a nicer version of heaven than the women?
(Bit like Muslims).
Pah, all religions are silly.

Wow really ragged I must have been missing that day too. As far as I know myself and dh have been sealed together so where he goes I do and all our family too.

If you are referring to sacred garments I am not sure what is bad about them??? I don't see how that could be a negative aspect to our faith.

The garments are regarded as a sacred reminder of promises you make if you go to the temple. Much like in other religions priests etc wear a dog collar once they've been ordained - it's just that these are worn underneath your clothes so are not an outward sign of the promises made, but a personal one - only the wearer knows they are wearing them.

Men do not go to a 'nicer' version of heaven - I think you just need to check where you're getting your information from :)

Sariah has it spot on with regard to racism and homosexuality. A church spokesperson recently released this statement regarding same sex attraction.

sallyspooky I know that the church categorically welcomes all races and blacks can hold the priesthood and play just as much of a role in the church as whites. I know in some areas of the world there are sects which branched away from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints some time ago and they do have some practices which are not in line with church teaching - maybe they are racist(?) but I know several black men who hold leadership positions within the church. Some of the confusion about the church is due to polygamous sects etc which are nothing to do with the church. WRT gay marriage, the church only recognises marriage between a man and a woman as being in line with God's will and plan for us (see the statement I just linked to which explains more coherently than I can).

I think if we search back far enough in to all our backgrounds you would probably find some dodgy roots.

Was is deemed dodgy now may have been acceptable years ago.

Mormons have not practiced polygamy since 1890 as it was made illegal in US then and so rather than have everyone arrested and all the church properties taken away the church discontinued this practice even though it could in theory be practiced again as it is still believed to be a commandment, just we also believe in living according the rules and laws of our lands.

That was the only change in 1978. Black people could still be members until then just the men couldnt hold the priesthood. By all accounts the thousands and thousands of black people who were members rejoiced on that day and if they had the faith to be members at that time then to me that speaks more than someone in 2010 calling it a racist church.

We really do try to follow the law of chastity, masturbation, porn, same sex, trans gender, ex/pre maritial sex would all be going against this law.

Sspb your experience of mormons is a bit strange tbh. There are a few fundamentalist groups that have nothing to do with our faith and have not or are not members.

We are the Church of Jesus christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS).

No mormons practice polygamy. The church are very very clear that anyone practicing polygamy will be ex-communicated. They made an official declaration and if my computer would let me do links I would post it but if you google first declaration I am sure you will find it.

I don't find it strict at all I find it liberating. All of our practices enhance life not restrict it.

They are not members of our church they belong to a sect that are separate from our faith. They may consider themselves mormons but they are not members of our faith. They may be friends with other mormons as I do not think that there is an issue with living in the same community.

I have very close connections with alot of UTAH mormons. My bishop has just moved there I have loads of friends who live there and polygamy is not practiced. Anyone can call themselves a mormon but that does not mean they are members of our faith.

For one thing polygamy is illegal we do not practice anything that is illegal it is one of our articles of faith.