Mormonism
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon church) is a Christian religion. The people that belong to this religion are called Latter-day Saints or Mormons. Members of the Church believe that it is the original Christian Church started by Jesus Christ and restored by Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1830. In the beginning it was called the Church of Christ.
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[edit] First Vision
Joseph Smith, Jr. said that he had visits from God the Father, Jesus Christ, and many angels. The first visit is called the First Vision. It happened in the spring of 1820 when Joseph was 14 years old. He had decided to pray about which religion to join. He went to the woods behind his family's house in New York, prayed, felt evil powers fighting him, and was rescued when a bright light appeared above him. In the bright light, he said that he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. They told him not to join any church, because every church of that time had some mistakes in what they believed. They also told him that they had work for him to do.
[edit] The Book of Mormon
Part of the work that Joseph did was translating the Book of Mormon. Joseph said that an angel named Moroni visited him and showed him where a very old book was buried. This book was written on pages of gold (sometimes called the Golden Plates). It was buried in a stone box on the side of the "Hill Cumorah", a hill near Joseph's home. Moroni visited Joseph once a year for four years until he told Joseph to take the Golden Plates. Since the book was written in a very old language, Joseph translated the book into English. He did this with help from God. The book was published as The Book of Mormon in 1830. It tells the story of two main groups of people who lived in North and South America hundreds of years ago. It also teaches many things about Jesus. To members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Book of Mormon is a special book from God just like the Bible. By reading the Book of Mormon and the Bible, people can learn how to get closer to God and how to find happiness in life. This book is also the reason church members are sometimes called "Mormons."
[edit] Mormon Beliefs and Practices
Today the center of the church is in Utah, but there are more than 12 million Mormons living all over the world. The leader of the church is called the president, and Mormons call him a prophet. They believe that God guides the prophet, just like He guided Joseph Smith. Mormons believe that it is important for families to spend a lot of time together, and that after they die, they can live together forever. Mormons do not drink alcohol, coffee, or some kinds of tea, or smoke tobacco. They meet once a week on Sunday for church, where they have the sacrament and listen to short talks or sermons. They also have Sunday School to learn more. Mormons also have buildings called temples. Only Mormons that are living good lives can go in the temple. This is because the temple is the most holy building in their religion.
[edit] Different Groups beliefs
Some people who call themselves Mormons are not part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These people have made other Mormon churches. Some of their beliefs are different.
When Brigham Young became the second president of the church after Joseph Smith was killed, some people did not think he was the rightful president. When Brigham Young lead most of the Mormons to Utah, these people stayed in Illinois. They believed that Joseph Smith's son should be the next president. Today, this church is called the Community of Christ. It is the second largest church to call themselves Mormons. They have more than 250,000 people in their church.
Other splits in the church happened later. The official Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says that a man should only marry one woman. This is called monogamy. In the beginning of the church, this was different. A man could be married to more than one woman at the same time (called polygamy). When the church changed its position, some people left the official church (and continued with polygamy). These groups are very small compared to the official church.
