How did the mormon religion come to be?

Question

What are the aspects of mormons that seperates it from other religions?

Is it true about how smith said he translated this book and then someone stole some of the writings and told him to translate it again and he coudlnt' and so he made a different one?

Answer 1

If you talk to non-denominational Christians they vehemently deny Mormonism is a sect of Christanity; it is just a cult.

As a Muslim, I agree. The whole "be polygamous to be Godly" is such crap. It's a step up from scientology.

I respect TRUE Christians and Jews, Hanifs and Zorasthurians. Anything else, I just tolerate.

Answer 2

The LDS religion was founded by Joseph Smith Jr. He had a vision from God letting him know that none of the religions were correct as they had all strayed from the truth (he had been praying to find out which church to join). He was giving instructions on where to find a book written by a group of Jews who had left Israel because of corruption and came to the America's (most likely South America). It has modern day prophets to lead them. They do have some 'rules' that some think are strange but most have been found to be very healthy for you (no liquor, no coffee, no tea) and they do incorporate their beliefs into their everyday life. They are not Polygamists (though at one time they were over 100 yrs ago). and they do use the KJV of the Bible as well as the Book of Mormon as their main scriptures. They don't believe that you are saved by grace alone by just believing because they believe your actions are part of the process so you are saved by works and grace. They don't believe in the Trinity as some Christians do because in the Bible God the Father and Jesus are very distinct beings along with the Holy Ghost. (see scripture about Christ being Baptized as an example).

For more information on their beliefs see www.mormon.org

Answer 3

How the Mormon religion came to be =
a young boy named Joseph Smith was trying to decide which Church to join...

Joseph Smith History 1:9 My mind at times was greatly excited, the cry and tumult were so great and incessant. The Presbyterians were most decided against the Baptists and Methodists, and used all the powers of both reason and sophistry to prove their errors, or, at least, to make the people think they were in error. On the other hand, the Baptists and Methodists in their turn were equally zealous in endeavoring to establish their own tenets and disprove all others.
10 In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?
11 While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

then Joseph Smith asked God directly which Church to join...He was told to join none of them at that time.

JSH 1:19 I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”

Eventually "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" came to be through God to the prophet Joseph Smith.

Some aspects that seperate it from other religions include:
1. After the death of Jesus Christ and apostles that the true and authorized Priesthood was lost from the Church (known as "The Great Apostasy") and had to be restored. (the Prieshood was later restored to the Prophet Joseph Smith)
2. That just as God led people in the past through prophets (Moses, Noah, Isaiah, etc..) the pattern is in effect today as well and that there is a living prophet and apostles on the earth.
3. The Book of Mormon...another testament of Jesus Christ...through the power of the Holy Ghost a person can know that this book is true...and once you learn and know that the Book of Mormon is true, then you will also know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God's Church. The Book of Mormon contains a special promise "The Book of Mormon Promise" found in Moroni 10:3-5 ...which basically tells a person to read the Book and then ask God in the name of Jesus Christ if the Book is true and that God will manifest the truth of it to them by the power of the Holy Ghost...then a person will know for themselves!

well there are many more differences...and if you would like to know more you can ask the missionaries for more information or go to www.lds.org or feel free to email me.

Answer 4

We believe it is a restoration of the 'original' gospel of Jesus Christ, not a "new" religion...
When Jesus Christ was on the earth, He established His Church among His followers. After His Crucifixion and the deaths of His Apostles, the fulness of the gospel was taken from the earth because of widespread apostasy. Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, our Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ restored the fulness of the gospel. The true Church of Jesus Christ is on the earth again. Because of the Restoration, the teachings and ordinances necessary for salvation are available to all people.
The following outline summarizes a few of the important events in the restoration of the gospel and the establishment of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which the Lord has declared is "the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth" (D&C 1:30).
Early spring, 1820. Seeking the true Church of Jesus Christ, 14-year-old Joseph Smith prayed in a grove of trees near his home in Palmyra, New York. In answer to his humble prayer, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ visited him and told him that he must not join any of the churches on the earth at that time. (See Joseph Smith—History 1:11–19.) In the Church we refer to this experience as Joseph Smith's First Vision.
September 21–22, 1823. Joseph Smith was visited by an angel named Moroni. Moroni prophesied of coming events and told Joseph of the Book of Mormon record, written on plates of gold. The angel allowed Joseph to see the gold plates, which were buried in the nearby Hill Cumorah. (See Joseph Smith—History 1:27–53.)
September 22, 1827. Joseph Smith received the gold plates from Moroni at the Hill Cumorah after having met with Moroni on 22 September of each of the previous four years. (See Joseph Smith—History 1:53, 59.)
May 15, 1829. Having read about baptism for the remission of sins as they worked on the translation of the gold plates, Joseph Smith and his scribe Oliver Cowdery went to a secluded area to inquire of the Lord concerning the matter. There, on the banks of the Susquehanna River near Harmony, Pennsylvania, they received the answer to their prayer. John the Baptist, a resurrected being, came to them as "a messenger from heaven . . . in a cloud of light." He conferred upon them the Aaronic Priesthood. Then, in obedience to his instructions, Joseph and Oliver baptized each other and ordained each other to the Aaronic Priesthood. (See Joseph Smith—History 1:68–72; see also D&C 13.)
May 1829. The ancient Apostles Peter, James, and John conferred the Melchizedek Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. (See D&C 128:20.)
June 1829. Guided "by the gift and power of God" (D&C 135:3), the Prophet Joseph Smith completed the translation of the Book of Mormon.
March 26, 1830. The first printed copies of the Book of Mormon became available in Palmyra, New York.
April 6, 1830. The Church was organized in Fayette Township, New York, beginning with six members.
March 27, 1836. The Kirtland Temple, the first temple built in this dispensation, was dedicated. The Prophet Joseph Smith offered the dedicatory prayer, which had been given to him by revelation. (See D&C 109.)
April 3, 1836. The Savior appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple. Moses, Elias, and Elijah also appeared and gave priesthood keys to Joseph and Oliver. Elijah brought the keys of the sealing power, which make it possible for families to be sealed together forever. (See D&C 110.)

Answer 5

The church came to be because Joseph Smith denied so many of the doctrines of the historical Chsitian church.
What was added in the middle was filched from the Church of christ and the freemasons!

Answer 6

Hey, I am LDS (or Mormon).

Let me just give you some links to the official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

This page goes over the history of the church:

http://www.lds.org/churchhistory/history

and this one goes over our basic beliefs:

http://www.mormon.org/welcome/0,6929,403-1,00.html

Those two pages should be able to give you more details than you're even asking for - peruse them as you like.

Have a nice day.

Answer 7

Wow...there are a few people here that are really misinformed.

-Mormons are christians.
-Mormons are not a cult (any more or less than catholics, baptists, Jews, or Muslims).

Wikipedia is pretty informative and non-biased (however they've had to protect it from hackers who do not want it to be that way).

Answer 8

www.mormon.org
www.lsd.org


Quote:
"- they have issues with caffeine
- they require 10% tithing
- they think they get to rule their own planet when they die"
Wrong... We think any drug that can be addicting is bad but technically its not a sin, of course unless u overdose...
So its not really an "issue"...

We dont "require" a tithing...
You can not pay and nobody talks to you about it...
Only Christ and God will know at judgement when you will be judged by your works.

We dont rule our own planets after death...just crazy

Answer 9

Next time one of em knocks at the door, listen to their spiel.

lol, just look up Joseph Smith on wikipedia

Some things I know that are weird,

- they have issues with caffeine
- they require 10% tithing
- they think they get to rule their own planet when they die
- they formerly accepted polygamy

Answer 10

Mormonism is a term used to describe religious, ideological, and cultural aspects of the various denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The term Mormonism is often used to describe the belief systems of those who believe in the Book of Mormon, a sacred text which Mormons believe was translated by Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1829 from golden plates, described as the "sacred" writings of a group of the inhabitants of parts of America from approximately 600 BC to 420 AD. In 1830 Smith published the Book of Mormon and "restored" the Church of Christ, and the faithful were known amongst themselves as Latter Day Saints.

Outside the church, church members have come to be called Mormons because of their belief in the Book of Mormon as scripture, alongside the Bible. As the result of a revelation in 1838, the name to the Church was officially stated as "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints".[1] After the death of Joseph Smith, a succession crisis ensued and the church membership was divided among various sects. The largest group accepted Brigham Young as the new prophet-president of the church and followed him West to the Salt Lake Valley in the current state of Utah. However, there was a sizable faction that did not accept Brigham Young's claim to leadership and remained in the Midwest. The Community of Christ is the largest church that emerged from the Latter Day Saints who did not follow Brigham Young and it also claims to be the original church founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. Nevertheless, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints remains by far the largest and most prominent group called 'Mormons'.

After The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints abandoned the practice of plural marriage, more sects emerged in support of the practice usually in the form of polygamy, or more specifically, polygyny. Mormonism is generally used to describe the main body of the Utah sect exclusively, mainly due to its prominence amongst Latter Day Saint denominations, but the practice of plural marriage is still heavily associated with Mormonism despite the church's efforts to distance itself and the term from polygamy. Other sects embrace or accept the term Mormonism, including the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, other Mormon fundamentalist organizations, and cultural Mormons.

Most adherents of Mormonism may be called Latter Day Saints (or the hyphenated Latter-day Saints in reference to the largest denomination).[1] Other generally acceptable terms include LDS, Saints, and Mormons. A minority of adherents object to the terms Mormon and Mormonism, since these are terms coined by outsiders to label members of the Church.

Answer 11

Check out their websites, you will get information not skewed in someones personal opinion.

Their beliefs may be weird, but to each their own.