Abanes, Richard. 2002. One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church. New York: Four Walls Eight Windows.

Givens, Terry L. 2006. “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” in Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Vol. 2, edited by Eugene V. Gallagher and W. Michael Ashcroft. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, pp. 19-37.

Shields, Steven L. 1995. “The Latter-Day Saints Churches” in America’s Alternative Religions, edited by Timothy Miller. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, pp. 47-60.

Shields, Steven L. 1991. “The Latter Day Saint Movement: A Study in Survival” in When Prophets Die: The Postcharismatic Fate of New Religious Movements, edited by Timothy Miller. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, pp. 59-78.

Further Reading

Davies, Douglas J. 2003. An Introduction to Mormonism. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Mauss, Armand L. 2011. “Rethinking Retrenchment: Course Corrections in the Ongoing Quest for Respectability.” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 44:1-42.

Shepherd, Gordon and Gary Shepherd. 1984. A Kingdom Transformed: Themes in the Development of Mormonism. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.

Shipps, Jan. 1985. Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

Stark, Rodney. 2005. The Rise of Mormonism. New York: Columbia University Press (edited by Reid L. Neilson).

Church Websites

The main websites of Church of the Latter-day Saints: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist

LDS Church news: https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/

A young Latter-Day Saint woman’s blog about her missionary work in Barbados and Guadeloupe: https://sisterholtonamission.com/

Articles of Faith: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/article/articles-of-faith

For the Strength of Youth: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/for-the-strength-of-youth?lang=eng information for young people on diet, lifestyle, entertainment, modesty, etc.

Latter Day Saint youth https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/youth/childrenandyouth?lang=eng

Music: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/radio/music-stream?lang=eng 

Tabernacle Choir: https://www.thetabernaclechoir.org/

Encyclopedia of the Church of Latter-Day Saints: http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Encyclopedia_of_Mormonism

Other Websites

BBC Religion Mormonism page: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/mormon/

Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormons

World Religions and Spirituality page: https://wrldrels.org/2016/10/08/lds/

Pew Research Center: http://www.pewforum.org/2012/01/12/mormons-in-america-executive-summary/

Missionary work is integral to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It has missions all over the world. As already mentioned, the Church encourages young men to go on a mission, and while young women may also serve missions they are not expected to do so. Retired couples are strongly encouraged to serve missions if they are able. All prospective missionaries who choose to serve make application through their local area president and bishop, who consult with the General Authorities who then assign the applicant to a mission. In 2018 there were more than 70,000 Latter-day Saint missionaries in over 100 countries. Young missionaries are mostly focused on teaching and preaching Latter-Day Saint doctrine but they also engage in humanitarian work. Senior couples engage in a wider variety of humanitarian, educational, and leadership missions. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Missions respond to local need; for example they helped in Houston, Texas, after Hurricane Irma. This extends the welfare ethic of the Church. There are over 2,400 humanitarian missionaries in Welfare Services worldwide, with 150 countries reached, and disaster assistance provided in North Korea, Africa, Europe, South America, and Afghanistan. The aim is to solve poverty at its source with the Perpetual Education Fund (PEF), established in 2001. This helps to fund the higher education aspirations of needy Latter-day Saints, and is inspired by the 19th-century Perpetual Emigration Fund that funded immigration and resettlement of converts to Utah. The contemporary PEF provides low-cost educational loans aimed at returned missionaries in underdeveloped nations. The first two years saw 6,000 beneficiaries receiving 100 million US dollars. The overall vision of missionary work is to spread the Gospel to everyone, which is seen as the truth that embodies love of God and humanity, and which they are called to witness to everyone. This emphasis on proselytising, alongside the high birth rate, has made the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints one of the fastest growing religions in America, and its fifth largest Christian denomination. It is also growing rapidly in Latin America and Africa. Since 2000, there are more Latter-Day Saint members speaking Spanish than English. According to its official website, in 2018 the Church counted 15.8 million baptised members worldwide.

The Church teaches that God created the Earth and gave it to us as a gift. This is the stewardship idea of humanity’s relationship to nature. This means that humans are responsible for it. Some Latter-day Saints interpret that as meaning they can do as they want with it, while others focus on environmentalism and conservation as ways to honour God’s creation. The Church teaches that the Earth’s resources should not be wasted, and that they should use them to help the poor and needy.

The Church supports its community of believers, and the believers support the Church. Members are committed to their tithing 10 per cent of their income to the Church, a requirement for attending the Temple. For those in need, there are many forms of welfare programmes to help them. Church welfare programmes began during the Great Depression, and it now has a system of welfare farms, production facilities, distribution centres, and bishop’s storehouses that both produce and store resources for members. From the 1930s, the Church wanted to replace handouts and idleness with self-reliance and industry, and so they not only distributed aid to the needy but they also created the means to provide jobs for those who needed them. Welfare Square in Salt Lake City is the centre of the Church’s welfare operation. The LDS Church corporation owns approximately 172,000 acres of farmland, 199 agricultural production projects, 51 canneries, 63 grain storage facilities, and 113 central, regional, branch storehouses. Local bishops have funds for people in their ward to support life, e.g. basic needs, but not lifestyle. These are for immediate need only, and they teach budgeting at the same time. The aim is to develop long-term self-reliance and try to avoid future handouts.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints emphasises self-reliance, especially economically. Agency is seen as given by God. Individuals are responsible for their own choices. God has a plan but the onus is on individuals to follow it; they have the choice not to. There are repeated affirmations of promises made to God (called covenants) by individuals in baptism and then in Temple endowments. If individuals break their covenant by, for example committing a serious sin, they can be stripped of their priesthood authority (if they have it). The individual is given every opportunity to choose to repent of their sins.

The human body is seen as the Temple of God. The Word of Wisdom, a health code, was received in 1833, and adherence to key parts of it became required for Temple admission in the 1920s. It mandates moderation in diet and abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, tea, coffee; sparing consumption of meat; use of grains as the basis of the diet; eating fruits and herbs that are in season. Further to this, the Church does not allow the use of recreational illegal drugs. Caffeine is a grey area. It is generally agreed by Latter-day Saints that the prohibition against tea or coffee through the revelation to Joseph Smith are specific signs of the Latter-day Saints covenant. This is extrapolated by some to mean complete abstinence from caffeine, but the official Church position is that other caffeinated drinks are not forbidden, although they are not good for you. Other guidance within the health code is generally to eat everything in moderation, meat only sparingly, and try to keep a healthy diet. The Church also teaches principles of modesty, encouraging members in day-to-day dress to cover their shoulders to their knees with clothing. Swearing would be discouraged and members are taught to avoid vulgar music and films and violent video games. There are variations in orthodoxy in the interpretations of these teachings.

There is no formal or institutional pilgrimage required in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, not even to Salt Lake City, where the Church is headquartered. God can be found anywhere, so they do not need to go on a specific journey to a specific place to find him. However, in Utah the Church has built memorials to the early pioneer history that members visit if they wish to, and individuals may view such visits in terms of their personal relationship with God. One such monument was built in 1947 in Emigration Canyon in the hills above Salt Lake City. It is a 60-ft stone pylon with statues of Brigham Young, Woodruff Wilson, and Heber C. Kimball, all early prophets of the Church. It marks the place where Young declared they would build their Zion and gather the faithful. Echoing Young’s famous declaration, it is called “This is the Place”. Latter-day Saints liken it to their Plymouth Rock, the place where the Puritan pilgrims first landed on the North American continent.

Other places of significance for Latter-day Saints to visit include early Church history sites where Joseph Smith and early Church members lived, worshipped and suffered, including major memorials in upstate New York, Illinois and Missouri.

The organisation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hierarchy claims to be based on the primitive Christian Church and operates primarily through a lay leadership. Russell M. Nelson, originally an internationally known heart surgeon, became the current prophet or President in 2018. He is a literal spokesman for God. The First Presidency is made up of the prophet and two counsellors, each of whom is addressed as ‘President’. These are followed by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the most senior of whom in terms of date of ordination becomes the next prophet when the previous prophet dies. He also is addressed as ‘President’; all other members of the Quorum of Twelve are addressed as ‘Elder’. This structure of succession was established after Joseph Smith died without appointing an heir, as a way to ensure smooth transitions in leadership of the Church. The general Church leadership also includes seven Quorums of Seventy, which are councils that work alongside the prophet. Members of these quorums are addressed as ‘Elder’, although they usually only serve until the age of 70. Then there is a Presiding Bishopric and General Officers. These positions make up the General Authorities in Salt Lake City, which is the highest organisational level of the Church. Also at this level are three organisations led by women: the Relief Society, as previously mentioned, the Primary (a children’s organisation) and the Young Women’s organisation, which provides similar educational, growth and leadership opportunities for young women that are provided through priesthood quorums for young men.

Beyond Salt Lake City, ‘Area Seventies’ are responsible for large geographical areas, and their structure replicates that of the General Authorities. Geographical areas of the Church are divided into stakes, each of which has its own president and two counsellors. Each stake is comprised of five to twelve wards and branches. A branch is a unit with fewer members and leadership resources than a ward. Each ward has a bishop who presides over local congregations, also with the assistance of two counsellors. Stakes have a president, two counsellors, a high council made up of 12 high priests, and a patriarch who gives patriarchal blessings to members of the stake. There is no professional priesthood, positions beyond the General Authorities are filled by lay workers, and are voluntary, performed alongside professional and family commitments. Membership requires a commitment to Christian service. Wards revolve around many positions known as ‘callings’ that are filled voluntarily. Members of the priesthood have the authority to act in God’s name. Bishops are selected by stake presidents but they are also called by God. The ‘laying on of hands’ confers priestly authority, but priestly power is said to come from living a worthy life. There were no black priests until 1978, and women cannot hold the priesthood. The priesthood is only for ‘worthy’ males (those who make a genuine effort to live a Christian life), following the Church’s interpretation of early Christianity.

There are two priesthoods in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Aaronic and Melchizedek. The Aaronic Priesthood is given to new converts and men aged 12-18. It is a preparatory stage of priesthood, in which young men learn more about their faith. They are first ordained deacon, then teacher, then priest, each stage conferring a greater responsibility. A young man must be worthy and faithful in his duties, and assist the bishop in service to the ward. Members of the Aaronic Priesthood are responsible for the preparation, distribution, and blessing of the sacrament (which is similar to Holy Communion in some Christian churches) during services. After reaching a certain level of experience and maturity, they are able to baptise, and they are asked to visit and care for members of the Church. The Melchizedek Priesthood is conferred by bishops and stake presidents with the common consent of Church members in their community. It is a higher level of priesthood than the Aaronic. Members of the Melchizedek Priesthood are required to perform sacred ordinances and lead in the Church. Within a ward, members of the Melchizedek Priesthood belong to either the elders’ quorum or the high priests’ group. Once ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood, men can then be ordained into specific offices with different responsibilities: Elder, High Priest, Bishop, Patriarch, Seventy, and Apostle. ‘The Keys of the Priesthood’ refers to the right to exercise authority in the name of God, and preside over a priesthood function, quorum, or organisational division of the Church.

Although priesthood authority is seen as the authority to act in God’s name, this authority is doctrinally circumscribed and limited to appropriate circumstances. Key to understanding Latter-day Saints priesthood is the scriptural injunction that “no power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; by kindness, and pure knowledge ….” (Doctrine and Covenants, Sect. 121).

Women over 18, and married women and single mothers under 18, join the Relief Society. Young men are encouraged to do two years of missionary work from age 18 at their own expense, with a focus on proselytizing. Women can do missionary service from age 19. Retired couples are encouraged to serve in education or humanitarian services.

Church organisation is highly coordinated and hierarchical. Uniformity and conformity of doctrines and practices in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is maintained through the worldwide distribution of instructional materials and Church programmes, called the Church Correlation programme. The Church is maintained through members tithing 10 per cent of their income, a practice encouraged from 1899 to end a long period of financial problems resulting from federal financial oppression.

Prayer is to God and no one else. It consists of a sincere heartfelt talk with Heavenly Father. It is seen as a way of knowing God and moving closer to him, and in the process becoming more like God. In the Book of Mormon, Jesus states that “Ye must always pray unto the Father in my name” (3 Nephi 18:19). There tend to be four formulaic phrases that structure prayer: “Our Father in heaven…”, “We thank thee…”, “We ask thee…”, “In the name of Jesus Christ, amen”. They use respectful language to address God; in English, Thee or Thou.

God hears and answers prayers, but the power of prayer depends on the individual believer. Individuals often pray morning and night. Families may come together morning and evening to pray together about, for example, everyday activities, resisting temptation or for the welfare of persons in need. All members may take turns leading prayer, asking a blessing on food prior to eating, for example. After finishing a heartfelt private prayer, Latter-day Saints try to listen for God’s response. Anyone can offer a prayer at Church meetings. They tend to be simple and brief. There are few formal prayers, those they do have are used in Temple ordinances; there is also a baptismal prayer, and two sacrament prayers.