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The Latter Day Saint movement is a religious movement which began in the early 19th century and is generally considered to be founded by Joseph Smith, Jr., whom those involved in the movement regard to be a prophet. It is one of a number of movements within Restorationism, which includes the Restoration Movement and the Millerite movement. These Restorationists attempted to transcend Protestant denominationalism, and to restore what they considered a form of Christianity truer to their interpretation of the New Testament. The Latter Day Saint movement spawned many religious denominations, the most well known being The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, some of which include a set of doctrines, practices, and cultures collectively known as Mormonism, although some do not accept the designation Mormon.
Brief history The driving force behind the Latter Day Saint movement was Joseph Smith, Jr., and to a lesser extent, during the movement's first two years, Oliver Cowdery. Joseph Smith testified to having seen Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ (as two separate beings), who told him that the true church had been lost and restored to him various keys to organize and lead the true Church of Christ. Joseph Smith, with the assistance of Martin Harris and Oliver Cowdery acting as scribes (to record), translated the Book of Mormon from a set of Golden Plates. The first Latter Day Saint church was formed in April 1830, consisting of a community of believers in the western New York towns of Fayette, Manchester, and Colesville. Like many other Restorationist churches of the time, they called themselves the Church of Christ. On April 6, 1830, this church formally organized into a legal institution under the name Church of Christ. In 1834, the church was referred to as Church of Latter Day Saints in early church publication, and in 1838 revelation was received to officially change the name to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints(http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/115/4 From 1831 until the mid-1830's, the movement's theology and failed attempts at Christian communal living were greatly influenced by Sidney Rigdon, a minister within the Restoration Movement who had been associated with the Disciples of Christ. In the late 1830's, when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint's headquarters moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, Mormon apostle Parley P. Pratt became the church's first dynamic writer of religious tracts and theological essays. William Law and several other leading Mormons publicly accused Joseph Smith of blasphemy, atheism and of being a false prophet, resulting in some schisms in the church. Many of these people later returned to the church. Following Smith's martyrdom by a mob in Carthage, Illinois, these and other prominent members of the church claimed to be Smith's legitimate successor resulting in a Succession Crisis. This crisis resulted in several permanent schisms, the body of the church breaking into several denominations. The two main branches of the movement are sometimes called the "Prairie Saints" (those that remained in the region) and the "Rocky Mountain Saints" (those who followed Brigham Young to what would become Utah). At which time Brigham Young cut Emma Smith (Joseph Smith's wife), her friends as well as members of the Smith family off from the church. Today, there are many schism organizations claiming to be a part of the Latter Day Saint movement. Most of these organizations are very small. Most Latter Day Saints belong to the largest denomination, called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which reports more than 12 million members worldwide. The second largest denomination is the more ecumenical Community of Christ which reports over 250,000 members. Denominations through 1844 Denominations which formed prior to the death of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr. include: "Prairie Saint" denominations Prairie Saint denominations include: 14:53, 31 October 2006 (UTC)==="Rocky Mountain Saint" denominations=== Rocky Mountain Saint denominations include: The Community of Christ (see below) was declared (twice) in a court of law to be the true continuation of Smith's church, in the Kirtland Temple case (an amicable action between the RLDS church and its own president, Joseph Smith III, in which no other denomination was represented), and the Temple Lot case (the failure by the then RLDS church to be awarded the Temple Lot in the city of Independence MO., was a result of an appeal made by the current occupants, but this did not overturn the original ruling that the RLDS was the direct continuation of Smith's Church). This situation can be compared to the concept of the Orthodox Church rejecting the concept of having left, or broken away from the Roman Church, and in fact viewing it as the exact opposite, that for matters of apostasy, corruption, etc., the latter became a dead work, making the former a remnant of the true church. The church that Brigham Young led after the death of Joseph Smith overwhelmingly remains the largest Latter Day Saint denomination, with over 12 million members worldwide (2004)* see also: Polygamous Mormon fundamentalists Plural marriage is illegal in most western states but is endorsed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints scripturally. Those not engaged in plural marriage were formerly considered damned as indicated in scripture.(see D&C 132 / http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/132) however the Church banned this practice in October 6, 1890, and added this as a revalation from God to its standard scriptures, (see D&C "OFFICIAL DECLARATION—1" / http://scriptures.lds.org/en/od/1). The LDS church does not endorse polygamy. See also Polygamy For a discussion of the usage of "Mormon," "Latter Day Saint," "Latter-day Saint," and related terms, see Mormon. RLDS / Community of Christ denominations (also generally considered "Prairie Saints") See also | ||||||||
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