40 Facts About Mormons

Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s.

Mormons have developed a strong sense of community that stems from their doctrine and history.

From 1852 until 1904, when the LDS Church banned the practice, many Mormons who had followed Brigham Young to the Utah Territory openly practiced polygamy.

Mormons dedicate significant time and resources to serving in their churches.

Mormons have a health code which eschews alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tea, coffee, and addictive substances.

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Mormons believe that Christ's church was restored through Joseph Smith and is guided by living prophets and apostles.

Mormons believe in the Bible, as well as other books of scripture, such as the Book of Mormon.

Mormons believe that returning to God requires following the example of Jesus Christ, and accepting his atonement through repentance and ordinances such as baptism.

In modern times, Zion is still an ideal, though Mormons gather together in their individual congregations rather than a central geographic location.

In 1833, Missouri settlers, alarmed by the rapid influx of Mormons, expelled them from Jackson County into the nearby Clay County, where local residents were more welcoming.

In 1839, the Mormons purchased the small town of Commerce, converted swampland on the banks of the Mississippi River, and renamed the area Nauvoo, Illinois, and began construction of the Nauvoo Temple.

The cooperative ethic that Mormons had developed over the last decade and a half became important as settlers branched out and colonized a large desert region now known as the Mormon Corridor.

The Mormons viewed land as commonwealth, devising and maintaining a co-operative system of irrigation that allowed them to build a farming community in the desert.

From 1849 to 1852, the Mormons greatly expanded their missionary efforts, establishing several missions in Europe, Latin America, and the South Pacific.

Mormons emphasized patriotism and industry, rising in socioeconomic status from the bottom among American religious denominations to middle-class.

Partly to counter this, Mormons put an even greater emphasis on family life, religious education, and missionary work, becoming more conservative in the process.

Some black Mormons are members of the Genesis Group, an organization of black members that predates the priesthood ban, and is endorsed by the church.

The global distribution of Mormons resembles a contact diffusion model, radiating out from the organization's headquarters in Utah.

The church enforces general doctrinal uniformity, and congregations on all continents teach the same doctrines, and international Mormons tend to absorb a good deal of Mormon culture, possibly because of the church's top-down hierarchy and a missionary presence.

However, international Mormons often bring pieces of their own heritage into the church, adapting church practices to local cultures.

Practices common to Mormons include studying scriptures, praying daily, fasting regularly, attending Sunday worship services, participating in church programs and activities on weekdays, and refraining from work on Sundays when possible.

Mormons emphasize standards they believe were taught by Jesus Christ, including personal honesty, integrity, obedience to law, chastity outside marriage and fidelity within marriage.

Mormons have a strong sense of communality that stems from their doctrine and history.

Observant Mormons contribute 10 percent of their income to the church as tithing, and are often involved in humanitarian efforts.

Mormons adhere to the Word of Wisdom, a health law or code that is interpreted as prohibiting the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, coffee and tea, while encouraging the use of herbs, grains, fruits, and a moderate consumption of meat.

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Mormons are encouraged to keep a year's supplies that include a food supply and a financial reserve.

Many Mormons hold weekly Family Home Evenings, in which an evening is set aside for family bonding, study, prayer and other activities they consider to be wholesome.

Many practicing adult Mormons wear religious undergarments that remind them of covenants and encourage them to dress modestly.

LGBT Mormons remain in good standing in the church if they abstain from homosexual relations and obey the law of chastity.

The beliefs and practices of LDS Mormons are generally guided by the teachings of LDS Church leaders.

Liberal Mormons, known as Progressive Mormons, take an interpretive approach to LDS teachings and scripture.

For liberal Mormons, revelation is a process through which God gradually brings fallible human beings to greater understanding.

Liberal Mormons place doing good and loving fellow human beings above the importance of believing correctly.

Mormons have a scriptural canon consisting of the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and a collection of revelations and writings by Joseph Smith known as the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price.

Mormons believe in "a friendly universe", governed by a God whose aim it is to bring his children to immortality and eternal life.

Mormons have a unique perspective on the nature of God, the origin of man, and the purpose of life.

For instance, Mormons believe in a pre-mortal existence where people were literal spirit children of God, and that God presented a plan of salvation that would allow his children to progress and become more like him.

Mormons believe that God restored the early Christian church through Joseph Smith.

In particular, Mormons believe that angels such as Peter, James, John, John the Baptist, Moses, and Elijah appeared to Smith and others and bestowed various priesthood authorities on them.

Mormons believe that their church is the "only true and living church" because of the divine authority restored through Smith.