Portal:LDS Church
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- For a topic outline on this subject, see Outline of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes referred to as the LDS Church or the Mormon Church, describes itself as the restoration of the original church established by Jesus Christ. It is classified as a Christian church; separate from the Catholic or Protestant traditions, though many of those denominations disavow the LDS Church. The church teaches that God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith, Jr., called him to be a prophet and to restore the original church as established by Jesus Christ during his mortal ministry. This restoration is often referred to by members of the church as the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which they believe was had by prophets and righteous civilizations throughout the earlier history of the earth. The restoration included all elements that had been missing from Christianity since the early days of Christianity due to apostasy. This restoration included the return of priesthood authority, new sacred texts, and the continual calling of a prophet and twelve apostles. The LDS Church was organized under the leadership of Smith in Fayette, New York, on April 6, 1830, soon after Smith's translation of the Book of Mormon from which adherents—also called Latter-day Saints—get their nickname Mormons. Smith led the church until he was killed in 1844. After a period of confusion during which the church was led by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and various claims of succession were made, Brigham Young led a group of Mormon pioneers away from the former church headquarters in Nauvoo, Illinois, and then eventually to Utah's Salt Lake Valley in July 1847. Young was sustained as the church's president at general conference in December 1847. Now a more international organization, the church has its world headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, where it is led by its current president. The church sends tens of thousands of missionaries throughout the world yearly, with over 85,000 currently in service. As of December 31, 2013, the church reported a worldwide membership of 15,082,028, with more than 50% living outside the United States. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found. Anti-Mormonism is discrimination, persecution, hostility or prejudice directed at members of the Latter Day Saint movement, particularly The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The term is often used to describe persons or literature that are critical of their adherents, institutions, or beliefs, or physical attacks against specific Mormons or the LDS Church as a whole. Opposition to Mormonism began before the first Latter Day Saint church was established in 1830 and continues to the present day. The most vocal and strident opposition occurred during the 19th century, particularly during the Utah War of the 1850s, and in the second half of the century when the practice of polygamy in Utah Territory was widely considered by the U.S. Republican Party as one of the "twin relics of barbarism" along with slavery. Modern-day opposition generally takes the form of websites offering alternative views about Mormonism or non-violent protest at large Latter-day Saint gatherings such as the church's biannual General Conference, outside of Latter-day Saint pageants, or at events surrounding the construction of new LDS temples. Opponents generally allege that the church's claims to divine origin are false, that it is non-Christian, or that it is a religion based on fraud or deceit on the part of its past and present leaders. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.  An etching of the Carthage, Illinois jail, circa 1885. This was the location of the Death of Joseph Smith on June 27, 1844 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found. 
Stained glass depiction of the first vision of Joseph Smith, completed in 1913 by an unknown artist (Museum of Church History and Art).
The First Vision (also called the grove experience) refers to a vision that Joseph Smith said he received in the spring of 1820, in a wooded area in Manchester, New York, which his followers call the Sacred Grove. Smith described it as a personal theophany in which he received instruction from God. Smith's followers believe the vision reinforces his authority as the founder and prophet of the Latter Day Saint movement. According to the account Smith told in 1838, he went to the woods to pray about which church to join but fell into the grip of an evil power that nearly overcame him. At the last moment, he was rescued by two shining "personages" (implied to be Jesus and God the Father) who hovered above him. One of the beings told Smith not to join any existing churches because all taught incorrect doctrines. Smith wrote several accounts of the vision beginning in 1832, but none of the accounts was published until the 1840s. Though Smith had described other visions, the First Vision was essentially unknown to early Latter Day Saints; Smith's experience did not become important in the Latter Day Saint movement until the early-20th century, when it became the embodiment of the Latter Day Saint restoration. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found. The Freiberg Germany Temple (formerly the Freiberg GDR Temple) is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), located in Freiberg, Saxony, Germany. The church announced the temple in October 1982, ground was broken for construction on April 23, 1983, and the temple was dedicated on June 29 and June 30, 1985. Built in what was then the German Democratic Republic, the Freiberg Germany Temple was the first LDS temple in a communist state. After the Bern Switzerland Temple was dedicated in 1955, Latter-day Saints throughout Europe visited it for the Endowment and other temple rites. After 1957, East German governmental restrictions on foreign travel prevented the country's Latter-day Saints—about 5,000 in 1970—from easily obtaining visas to travel to the temple. Church members repeatedly applied for visas, were rejected, then applied again. An attempt in the early 1970s by Henry Burkhardt, the de jure head of the church in East Germany, to present the government with a list of 300 church members interested in visiting the temple almost led to his arrest. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found. Lorenzo Snow (April 3, 1814 – October 10, 1901) was the fifth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1898 to his death. Snow was the last president of the LDS Church in the nineteenth century and the first in the twentieth. The LDS Church was also in severe financial difficulties, some of which were related to the legal problems over plural marriage. Snow approached this problem first by issuing short term bonds with a total value of one million dollars. This was followed by emphatic teaching on tithing. It was during Snow's presidency that the LDS Church adopted the principle of tithing—being interpreted as the payment of 10 percent of one's income—as a hallmark of membership. In 1899, Snow gave an address at the St. George Tabernacle in St. George, imploring the Latter-day Saints to pay tithes of corn, money or whatever they had in order to have sufficient rain. Eventually, it rained in southern Utah. For the remainder of his tenure, Snow emphasized tithing in his sermons and public appearances. By April 1907, the members' practice of paying tithing had eliminated the church's debt.
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found. Section 113 Answers to certain questions on the writings of Isaiah, given by Joseph Smith the Prophet, at or near Far West, Missouri, March 1838. 1–6, The Stem of Jesse, the rod coming therefrom, and the root of Jesse are identified; 7–10, The scattered remnants of Zion have a right to the priesthood and are called to return to the Lord. 1 Who is the Stem of Jesse spoken of in the 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, and 5th verses of the 11th chapter of Isaiah? 2 Verily thus saith the Lord: It is Christ. 3 What is the rod spoken of in the first verse of the 11th chapter of Isaiah, that should come of the Stem of Jesse? 4 Behold, thus saith the Lord: It is a servant in the hands of Christ, who is partly a descendant of Jesse as well as of Ephraim, or of the house of Joseph, on whom there is laid much power. 5 What is the root of Jesse spoken of in the 10th verse of the 11th chapter? 6 Behold, thus saith the Lord, it is a descendant of Jesse, as well as of Joseph, unto whom rightly belongs the priesthood, and the keys of the kingdom, for an ensign, and for the gathering of my people in the last days. History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Extermination Order - Mormon handcart pioneers - Mormon Battalion - Succession crisis - Mormon Reformation - Mountain Meadow massacre Standard Works: Old Testament - New Testament - Book of Mormon - Doctrine and Covenants - Pearl of Great Price Criticism and analysis: Criticism of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Origin of the Book of Mormon - Archaeology and the Book of Mormon - Prophecies of Joseph Smith, Jr. - Mormonism and polygamy - Mormon studies
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