Portal:Latter Day Saint movement

The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Joseph Smith in the late 1820s.

Collectively, these churches have over 17 million nominal members, including over 17 million belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), 250,000 in Community of Christ, and several other denominations with memberships generally ranging in the thousands of members. The predominant theology of the churches in the movement is Mormonism, which sees itself as restoring again on Earth the early Christian church; their members are most commonly known as Mormons, though the LDS Church now rejects the use of that name. An additional doctrine of the church allows for prophets to receive and publish modern-day revelations.

A minority of Latter Day Saint adherents, such as members of Community of Christ, have been influenced by Protestant theologies while maintaining certain distinctive beliefs and practices including continuing revelation, an open canon of scripture and building temples. Other groups include the Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which supports lineal succession of leadership from Smith's descendants, and the more controversial Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which defends the practice of polygamy. (Full article...)

Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890 by between 20 and 30 percent of Latter-day Saint families.

The practice of polygamy by Latter-day Saints has been controversial, both within Western society and the LDS Church itself. The U.S. was horrified by the practice of polygamy, with the Republican platform at one time referencing "the twin relics of barbarism—polygamy and slavery." The private practice of polygamy was instituted in the 1830s by Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. The public practice of polygamy by the LDS Church was announced and defended in 1852 by a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Orson Pratt, at the request of Brigham Young, then president of the church. (Full article...)

Voree (/vɔːriː/) is an unincorporated community in the Town of Spring Prairie in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. It is best known as the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite), a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement. According to James Strang, founder of the Strangite church and of the town, the name means "Garden of Peace". The community is situated along former Wisconsin Highway 11, just west of the Racine County line. (Full article...)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints—usually distinguished with a parenthetical (Strangite)—is one of the several organizations that claim to be the legitimate continuation of the church founded by Joseph Smith on April 6, 1830. It is a separate organization from the considerably larger and better known Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Both churches claim to be the original organization established by Smith. The Strangite church is headquartered in Voree, Wisconsin, just outside Burlington, and accepts the claims of James Strang as successor to Smith. It had approximately 300 members in 1998. An undated FAQ on the church's official website reports there are around 130 active members throughout the United States.

After Smith was murdered in 1844 with no clear successor, several claimants sought to take leadership of the church which Smith founded. Among them was Strang, who competed with other prominent members, notably Brigham Young and Sidney Rigdon. (Full article...)

• Outline of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Outline of the Book of Mormon
• Outline of Joseph Smith

Otto Fetting (November 20, 1871 – January 30, 1933) was an American realtor and editor from Port Huron, Michigan who served first as a pastor and evangelist in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and then later as an apostle in the Church of Christ (Temple Lot), commonly referred to as the "Hedrickites". Fetting claimed to have been visited by John the Baptist thirty or more times between February 4, 1927 and his death on January 30, 1933. Fetting was reportedly given instruction concerning the doctrine and practices of Hedrickites and other factions of Christianity, together with directives to begin construction of a temple on the Temple Lot, including its exact dimensions.

After initially accepting his first eleven revelations, a Hedrickite conference vote in early October 1929 rejected a key portion of Fetting's twelfth message, leading him to found the "Church of Jesus Christ" on April 8, 1930. This breakaway faction, later referred to as "Church of Christ", subsequently gave birth to additional rival factions after Fetting's death, which have still further subdivided. These "Fettingite" or "Dravesite" (named after W.A. Draves, a follower of Fetting) factions include: the Church of Christ "With the Elijah Message" Established Anew 1929; the Church of Christ (Restored); the Church of Christ (Assured Way); and the Church of Christ at Halley's Bluff. (Full article...)

• ... that Jewish Indian theory, the erroneous idea that some lost tribes of Israel became ancestors to Native Americans, influenced the Book of Mormon?
• ... that the name Zenock is misspelled in almost every published edition of the Book of Mormon?
• ... that the name of the "Mormons vs. Mullets" game was a play on the 1988 "Catholics vs. Convicts" game?
• ... that James Goldberg co-founded the Mormon Lit Blitz, an annual writing competition for very short works of Mormon fiction?
• ... that in the Book of Mormon, the city of Ammonihah kills Christians by fire as a deliberately twisted reference to a warning that spiritual death is like a "lake of fire and brimstone"?
• ... that an unnamed abuse survivor risks her life to become a spy in "one of the bravest actions in all of the Book of Mormon"?

• 3 August 1831: The Temple Lot Site (pictured) was dedicated by Joseph Smith.
• 17 August 1835: The Doctrine and Covenants was first introduced to the church body in a general conference.
• 8 August 1844: Quorum of Twelve is created as the leading body of the church.
• August 1844: The hymn, Praise to the Man, was released.
• 22 August 2008: In LDS Cinema, the film The Errand of Angels was released.

“	Being popular can become narcotic. We can come to crave it and to need the frequent "fixes" brought by the world’s praise and caresses of recognition. A turned head bows much less easily. Popularity is dangerous especially because it focuses us on ourselves rather than keeping us attentive to the needs of others. We become preoccupied with self and with being noticed, letting those in real need "pass by" us, and we "notice them not" (Morm. 8:39). It is a sad fact, therefore, that popularity gets in the way of our keeping both of the two great commandments!" (See Matt. 22:36–40.)	”
— Neal A. Maxwell, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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