MormonFAQ

Mormon FAQ page is under construction.

The purpose of this page is two-fold. First it is to give factual information about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons); second it is to give advice on the consistent use of words, names, places and other elements in writing. It is hoped that the information given will be helpful to journalists and others who write about the LDS church, its doctrines or beliefs. While this page is sponsored by a pro-LDS group, every effort has been made to take a neutral position on the issues presented here. There may be links in some of the entries. Be forewarned that following those links will lead to information that is likely sponsored by pro-LDS sources.

WHO ARE THEY?

Restorationist Faiths.

Restorationist faiths or churches are defined as all faiths who can trace their origins to Joseph Smith, Jr. [1805-1844] and the religious manifestations that he had over the course of his life. Either directly or through some other faith. It is most important that the writer keep a neutral tone when reporting on events. This is of particular concern when the writer is a member of one of the restorationist churches. Pejoratives such as apostate or break-off should never be used except in direct quotes.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS).

This is the largest of all of the restorationist movements and is based in Salt Lake City. Note the lower case on the word "day" and the use of hyphenation.

The Community of Christ (CofC) (previously known as The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints).

http://www.cofchrist.org/

Restoration Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

This group was formally organized in 1991 in response to what they felt was the liberal direction of the Community of Christ.

Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

http://www.theremnantchurch.com/

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS)

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS Church) is one of America's largest practitioners of plural marriage. The FLDS Church emerged in the 1930s largely because of the LDS Church's continued practice of excommunicating any practitioners of plural marriage. There is no connection between the FLDS Church and the LDS Church as members of the FLDS church are mostly children or grandchildren of people who were excommunicated from the LDS church because of their practice of polygamy.

Others

There are many other small denominations of restorationist churches. The purpose of this guide is not to list them all, but just to be aware that they exist. The various denominations are not affiliated with each other, so it is important to correctly identify which denomination you are referring to in anything you may write.

Mormon

The term Mormon originally started as a pejorative to identify a person who believed in The Book of Mormon. Some early newspapers used the term Mormonite. While it may be tempting to use that label the same way today, the term "Mormon" used without additional modifiers has come to represent members of the Salt Lake City based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is not appropriate to identify members of the Community or Christ or members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as "Mormon" as that would be confusing. It becomes especially objectionable to the LDS church members to identify members of the FLDS as Mormons because the founders of that denomination were excommunicated from the LDS church.

OGANIZATION AND LEADERSHIP

BELIEFS AND PRACTICES