Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the "LDS Church" or the "Mormon Church", is the largest and best known denomination within the Latter Day Saint movement (a form of Christian Restorationism). The church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

History

Members of the church — known as Latter-day Saints — believe their faith to be the divinely appointed restoration of the church established by Jesus Christ as depicted in the New Testament. They believe that after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the death of his apostles, and faced with organized persecution and hostility from within the pagan Roman Empire, the church that Christ had established and its authority began rapidly to change, leading ultimately to the Great Apostasy. As a result, new doctrine influenced by Hellenistic philosophy came to the fore, and by the fourth century, the Priesthood —or the authority to act in the name of God— had been lost from the Earth completely. Without the priesthood to guide the original church Christ established, spiritual leaders began to stray from the original doctrine of Christ.

Related Topics:
Restoration - New Testament - Jesus Christ - Apostles - Roman Empire - Great Apostasy - Priesthood

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Church members further believe that in the spring of 1820, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to a 14-year-old boy named Joseph Smith, Jr. in response to his prayer regarding which church was true. He was commanded to join none of the existing churches, and through other angelic visits was eventually called as the first prophet of the restored church. This event is believed to have set in motion the events that led to the earthly restoration of the ancient church of Jesus Christ with its truths and priesthood authority. Ten years later, after a series of other revelations and visitations to Joseph and others, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was officially organized on 6 April 1830, in Fayette, New York.

Related Topics:
God the Father - Joseph Smith, Jr. - Prophet - Restoration - 6 April - 1830 - Fayette, New York

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In the process, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery are believed to have received the priesthood lost to the earth from resurrected beings who held the authority anciently, including John the Baptist, the apostles Peter, James and John, and the ancient prophet Elijah. Members believe that the restoration of the priesthood brought with it the restoration of the authority to perform baptism and other ordinances.

Related Topics:
Oliver Cowdery - John the Baptist - Peter - James - John - Elijah - Baptism - Ordinances

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Church members (and others in the Latter Day Saint movement) believe in additional scriptural canon, making them unique among Christian religions. Chief among these is The Book of Mormon, which members believe is a record that was kept by ancient prophets who lived in the Americas and was engraved on gold plates, translated by the power of God through the Urim and Thummim. Eleven witnesses signed testimonies of its divine authenticity, which are now included in the preface to The Book of Mormon. Eight handled the plates when shown them, and three more professed to have seen an angel present them and to have heard God bear witness to its truth. A history of revelations given to the church primarily through Joseph Smith are also published as The Doctrine and Covenants.

Related Topics:
Latter Day Saint movement - The Book of Mormon - Prophets - Gold plates - Urim and Thummim - Eight - Three - Doctrine and Covenants

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After Smith was killed by a mob, Brigham Young, then President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was sustained by the majority of the church as the next Prophet and President of the church (see also succession crisis). Faced with further persecution in Nauvoo, Illinois and surrounding towns, members of the church eventually followed Brigham Young to the Salt Lake Valley, where the church is headquartered today. The church is currently led by President Gordon B. Hinckley. He is assisted in the First Presidency by two counselors and twelve Apostles, each of whom are also sustained by members as "prophets, seers, and revelators."

Related Topics:
Killed - Brigham Young - President - Quorum of the Twelve Apostles - President - Succession crisis - Nauvoo, Illinois - Gordon B. Hinckley - First Presidency - Apostles - Prophet - Seer

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