Mormon

The term Mormon is a colloquial name referring to Latter Day Saints, derived in the 1830s from the Book of Mormon, one of their books of scripture, whose compiler was called the prophet Mormon. It is also an adjective referring to various aspects of Mormonism. Most often, the term refers to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the largest and most well-known denomination within the Latter Day Saint movement, who are also commonly called Latter-day Saints or LDS.

Scope of the term "Mormon" within the Latter Day Saint movement

Some scholars feel the terms "Mormon" and "Mormonism" are useful to collectively describe all denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement, who claim to originate from the religion founded by Joseph Smith, Jr.. However, some feel the terms "Mormon" and "Mormonism" should be used exclusively to refer to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS Church), which is by far the largest Latter Day Saint denomination. Members of the Community of Christ, for example, rarely use the term "Mormon" to describe themselves, and instead apply it to members of the LDS Church. The Associated Press Stylebook likewise notes: "The term Mormon is not properly applied to the other ... churches that resulted from the split after Smith's death."

Related Topics:
Latter Day Saint movement - Joseph Smith, Jr. - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Latter Day Saint - Community of Christ - Associated Press Stylebook

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However, this usage is problematic because "Mormon" is employed by members of schisms of the early Latter Day Saint movement that were prior to the succession crisis. "Mormon" is also used by some schisms that split from the LDS Church in the 20th Century. However, these groups often refer to themselves as "Mormon fundamentalists" and call members of the LDS church "mainstream Mormons". The more general guidelines of the AP Stylebook recommend that people should be called by those labels with which they self identify.

Related Topics:
Latter Day Saint movement - Succession crisis

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In addition to those members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who seek for that denomination to be the only denomination referred to as Mormon, other members of that church disapprove of the term "Mormon", and prefer instead to be called Latter-day Saints or "LDS". Many members of that denomination also use the term "LDS" when speaking to fellow church members and "Mormon" when speaking to others. The phrase Mormon Church also generally refers colloquially to this denomination, which maintains an official website presenting its basic beliefs and tenets at www.mormon.org and another website directed more at church members at www.lds.org.

Related Topics:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Latter-day Saints

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Therefore, the only universally-accepted terminology in referring to Latter Day Saint denominations is to use the full name of the church, and to refer to individual Latter Day Saints as members or adherents of their particular denomination. The term Mormonism, in addition, is generally considered an acceptable term for most forms of Latter Day Saint theology, culture, and doctrine.

Related Topics:
Latter Day Saint - Mormonism

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