Mormon beliefs?

Question

Tell me about the Mormon religion. Where I live now, there are a lot here. Some people say their weird and others just don't like them.

And where did the terms "Jack" Mormon and "Molly" Mormon come from??

Answer 1

The term Jack Mormon is a slang term that originated in the nineteenth century. It was used to describe somebody who was not officially a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or LDS Church), but who was friendly to Church members and Mormonism, sympathized with them, and/or took an active interest in their belief system. In today's Mormon culture, the term "dry-Mormon" is its equivalent. Sometime in the early to mid twentieth century, the term changed culturally to refer to someone deemed by LDS adherents to be an inactive or lapsed member of the LDS Church who maintained good relations with and positive feelings toward the Church. Molly Mormon is a term for the popular stereotype of a female member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A Molly Mormon is thought to be the "perfect Mormon woman" - an attractive and pure woman whose life revolves around the family and marriage and the social demands of Mormonism, and who embodies the cheery, chipper and domesticated female in Latter-day Saint culture.
I'm sorry but Yahoo answers is not going to get you the full answer of what you may be looking to learn. But I guess it is a place you can gain "some" insight and scratch the surface.

Mormons believe that the Priesthood that Christ held in his time on Earth has been restored in these days. It was the priesthood in which He held and passed onto his disciples through the laying on of hands... The name of the priesthood was the Melchizedek priesthood in which the Bible clearly defines. There is a Vast amount of theology behind what Mormon values are, what they practice, and what they believe and preach.. Mormons take their beliefs from the Bible and a new discovered testament of Holy Scripture. The teaching of both the Bible and Book of Mormon coincide parallel to one another...

http://scriptures.lds.org/en/contents

And Here in the words through the Prophet Joseph Smith as to what Mormons Believe. (In Short)

THE ARTICLES OF FAITH
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
History of the Church, Vol. 4, pp. 535—541
1 We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
2 We believe that men will be apunished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.
3 We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
4 We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
5 We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6 We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
7 We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
8 We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
9 We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
10 We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
13 We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Answer 2

Jack Mormon: originally meant someone who wasn't officially a member, but was friendly to the church. Now it means someone who is a member of the church, likes the church, but doesn't practice the religion, goes to church and doesn't follow guidelines of the church such as smoking, drinking, and extramarital affairs.


Molly Mormon: a stereotype. This stereotype portrays a female ember of the church whose life revolves around the social demands of the church, is very close-minded, and tends to be self righteous. However, the term can also be positive and means someone who is pure, doesn't do anything questionable, and isn't self righteous.

Answer 3

As you can tell, there are many different types of opinions. Some true, some not, and some twisted. But, it will be difficult to know which really is the truth.

One thing you'll find out is that not everything you hear will be true about the Church and that there are strong opposers that say that Mormon's are not Christian, they still practice polygamy, Joseph Smith was a gold digger, etc... (these things mentioned are not true about the Church). That's the thing about ANYTHING in the world and it really makes it difficult to know what truth really is. If you have a person that hates another, they will say all kinds of bad things about them and twist things or lie to support that idea. The truth of the matter, and I think you'd agree, is that we are not perfect. Are we always right? No... We may think something is true and it may not be at all. It's the same about things that we may think are False and find out they are true. We can't go with what's popular and you have to have an open mind that what you've been taught and believe may not be true. People may try to tell you and convince you that what they're saying is true, but it doesn't make it true. (It almost sounds like a confusing tongue twister). They could be deceived and fit things together to make it fit just to confirm their theories. And that's one of the problems... You can't totally rely on the Bible because people believe and interpret the Bible so differently that it makes it really difficult to know which is the correct translation or interpretation. That's why we need to rely on God. And this is the most important choice you could make. If you choose to rely in man, then that could affect you in this as well as the next life. There's only ONE way back to God. Not 20 ways.

The most important thing to find out first, is if you believe in God. If you believe in God, do you believe that He knows ALL things and is the source of ALL truth? If He's the one that set up religion, wouldn't He be the one that would know the only way to return back to Him and which teachings are true? Where do the scriptures come from? Scripture comes through inspiration from God to His prophets (like Matthew, Peter, John, etc...). Do you believe that God answers prayer? Do you think that finding truth is the most important thing we can do? If so, then do the following:
Do your research on the Church, the good and the bad... remembering that not all of the information you get may be true of fully true. Then once you study it out in your mind, really studying it, and then take it to God and ask him if it's true. If you are truly honest and sincere and really want to know the truth, God will let you know through the spirit (if you're not really sincere, then why should God answer and leave you condemned for not acting upon that answer). It will be one or a combination of the following: a peacefull feeling, a warm feeling in the chest, a calm and comfortable feeling, a tingly / almost electrical type of feeling (not the painful type), a soft spiritual voice/whisper.
If it's not true, your thoughts will go off on something else and you'll forget what you asked for (this is called a stupor of thought), confusion will replace peace, a bad/wrong type of feeling.

There are good and bad people in all religions and we all make bad choices. So, have an open mind. God will let you know.

As for myself, I studied the Church and prayed about it. I received an answer for myself and know that it's true. It took me a while to receive that answer, because I wasn't spiritually prepared. Don't take an unanswered prayer as an answered prayer. We may need to prepare ourselves more and/or study more. When there have been teachings or practice that seem hard to believe or not make sense, that would drive me to study and find out more about it and then I would understand and it would make total sense. God's ways are not our ways. God has a higher understanding than we do. He not a God of confusion. But, that's me. For all you know, I could be lying or am deceived and trying to do the same to you. That's why it's so important that you find out for yourself and get your own answer. You can have people trying to prove things through the scriptures, history, other people's opinions/theories, etc... But, that doesn't prove that it's true or what's right and what's wrong. Only God knows what's really true and what's really right and wrong. That's why I say you need to go to the source of ALL truth through prayer.

And if you aren't sure if there is a God... do the same thing. Study and research it out and pray and ask Him if He's real. And if you really are honest and sincere about it, He'll let you know. You are His child and He loves you.

And the greatest feeling is knowing that you received an answer, not from man, but from God. Once you find out which Church is true, then you can trust in the teachings of the leaders. If there's something that you question, you can always take it to God to find out if it's true or not. That's where our faith should lie, not in people or objects. And once you find the truth, you'll feel a peace and a happiness that cannot be duplicated with anything else.

Answer 4

Invariably when someone asks about "Mormon" beliefs on Yahoo Answers, they get a wide range of answers, some of which are true and some not true, or at least misleading. Since there are some good answers already posted, I'll focus on how to tell the difference between the true and false.

One strategy I've learned is to use both my mind and heart together or in other words, reason and feelings. It's easy to be deceived if you don't use both together.

For example, the mob that killed Joseph Smith and his brother was probably made up of mostly good people who let someone control them through their emotions (feelings) leading them to violate basic good sense and descency.

You can also be mislead if you put to much emphasis on reason since many people find it tempting to exagerate their position. When the stated facts seem compelling, it becomes easy to assume their truth. History is notorias for its bias and it's very difficult to know the truth for certain. That doesn't stop some people from claiming to know exactly what happened hundreds of years ago. Sometimes our feelings can detect something wrong with the evidence even if our mind can't.

I'm a firm believer in using prayer to sort through the "competing truths." It has helped me a great deal in understanding the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One of the LDS scriptures indicates that God will speak to us through both our mind and heart.

A primary purpose of earth life is to develop an understanding of how to discern truth from error. I wish you the best as you sort it out.

Answer 5

Mormonism is a religion created in America by a man named Joseph Smith who "borrowed" the contents of his book, The Book of Mormon, in the 1800s from the King James Version of the Bible and local newspaper accounts. This is well documented here: http://www.utlm.org/

Smith claimed that the Book of Mormon was given to him by the angel Moroni on plates written in "Reformed Egyptian" a language archaeologists have never unearthed in Egypt.

Smith was jailed in Missouri for alleged sexual issues (adultery, polygamy and sex with minors) and alleged financial fraud, but killed by angry towns people in the jail before he came to trial.

Brigham Young led his followers to Utah and built the Mormon Temple, killed innocent people in the Mt Meadows Massacre and practice polygamy until forced to stop by the U.S. government.

Today, many people think Mormonism is a great family religion. However, even though their official name is "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints," they are not Christian in any accepted sense. It is a non-Christian religion.

Jim Jones (Peoples Temple)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jones , David Koresh (Branch Davidians) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Koresh are all modern American religious cult leaders. It is widely accepted that Joseph Smith was like them, and that Mormonism has never been as wholesome as Mormons would like you to believe.

NOTE: Mormons will give thumbs down to this content, but I hope you will do independent research before getting involved with Mormons.Many people/familieshave been severely damaged by Mormon teaching.

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Answer 6

My friend is mormon and they are not racist at all. There are older mormons that believed in men having lots of wives, they don't do that now except for weirdos :)

They ARE super SUPER family oriented. They don't drink coffee...but my friend drinks soda..so I dunno on that one. They don't drink any alcohol. They believe on not working on Sunday... and tend to take that rule a lot more seriously to heart than a lot of Christians.

They have their own version of the bible, a newer new testament of sorts, by someone named..no kidding...John Smith. They I believe think he was some latter day prophet??

I love my kids being best friends with her kids because they are SSOOOOO family oriented. I think that's great.

Answer 7

They are a cult. They do not believe in the deity of Christ.

Answer 8

Please do not listen to the Trolls here... if you'd like, please check out the links below, and do your own research, and make up your own mind.

You can find links to FAQ's, find a meetinghouse, or have missionaries come and teach you more about our beliefs.

Hope it helps. :o)

Answer 9

Overview of most fundamental beliefs
The fourth article of faith gives an overview of basic Mormon belief. The first principles and ordinances of the gospel are faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Mormons believe that having faith in these principles and applying them to our lives will allow us to live with Heavenly Father forever. Mormons believe that the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth. Mormons believe in the priesthood authority, ordained by God, to every worthy male member of the church. The priesthood can be used to bless and comfort those in need. Mormons believe in two scriptural texts, The Bible and the Book of Mormon. Mormons confirm that these books are true and are inspired by God. Mormons believe in a modern day prophet who leads the church and receives inspiration from God on how to lead the church. Mormons believe that families will live together forever. Showing mercy, charity, and love, As a Christ did, can strengthen our relationship with the Lord and draw us closer to God, the Father.

What Mormons believe is the purpose of life

Mormons believe that God, our Heavenly Father, has a plan for you. He knows you individually and will help guide and direct you through your life. You have divine purpose. You were sent here to receive a physical body. Before we came to earth, we dwelt with our Father in Heaven lacking a body of flesh and bone. We were sent to this world to experience pain and hurt in order to learn and grow. We were sent here to receive the gift of agency to choose good and evil. Without the ability to chose right from wrong, our faith would never be tried or tested. Here on earth, we have the choice to follow God’s plan or Satan’s plan everyday. Through making wise decisions, we strengthen our faith and commitment in Jesus Christ and show God our true commitment to Him. The purpose of your life is to follow God’s plan.

How Jesus Christ affects our lives

God’s plan for his children is called the Plan of Salvation. Mormons believe that before you were born, you lived with your Heavenly Father in heaven. You did not have a body of flesh and bone. Heavenly Father knew that in order for you to grow and develop you needed to experience mortality. Without mortality, our growth would be stunted. Heavenly Father sacrificed His son, Jesus Christ, when he was crucified, so that we might be able to repent of our sins and be forgiven. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ, you can be forgiven for your mistakes and be worthy to dwell with God in the eternities. Heavenly Father knew that we would make mistakes here on earth so he had Jesus Christ, his son, suffer for the sins of the world. Because Jesus Christ paid the price for sin, we don’t have to if we accept Him in our lives and live according to His teachings.

Mormons believe in serving others.

Mormons believe that Joseph Smith restored the true church on the earth.
The Church of Jesus Christ was restored to its fullness to Joseph Smith in 1820. As a fourteen year old boy, Joseph Smith went into the sacred grove of trees in Manchester, New York, and prayed to know which church he should join. It was then that Joseph Smith had the First Vision. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Him and told him he was not to join any of the churches. Instead, he was to restore the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Through inspiration from an Angel, Moroni, Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith spent his life acting as missionary and leading the church as a prophet. The restored Mormon Church has the same teachings and organization as the Church established by Jesus in New Testament times. Revelation through a modern day prophet has helped the church adapt to modern day.

Summary of Mormon Beliefs
At the core of a Mormon’s testimony is faith in God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, and Joseph Smith’s restoration of the true church on earth. A basic belief in these truths is the foundation of a testimony of the Mormon Church. Mormons believe and strive to follow the Ten Commandments and the Articles of Faith, which outline more basic Mormon beliefs. Because the Mormon Church believes in a modern day prophet, we are open to revelation from the Lord to change or expand the church. Membership in the Mormon Church influences every aspect of your life. Mormons follow The Word of Wisdom, a law in the Mormon Church that forbids drinking alcohol, coffee or using drugs. The law of tithing was later given to the people. Mormons believe in dressing modesty. Mormons refrain from shopping on Sundays in order to keep the Sabbath Day Holy. These laws may seem small but have a large impact on our lives. By following the counsels of the prophet, we can strengthen our testimony of the major beliefs in Mormonism. Having a firm belief in the major beliefs of Mormonism, like having faith in a God and Jesus Christ, will help us follow the commandments and counsel of the Lord. Living the Mormon lifestyle is easy when one has a true and strong testimony of the fundamental beliefs.

Answer 10

a Jack Mormon is a mormon who goes to church on sunday, but doesn't follow the teachings of the church the rest of the time

Molly Mormon is like calling someone a goody two shoes