The Mormon religion was founded by Joseph Smith around 1830 in the United States of America. It is a fast growing religious movement which claims more than 12 million adherents worldwide as of 2006.Mormonism spreads primarily through its worldwide missionary efforts - good young unmarried Mormon men are required to do two years missionary service.
There are other recommendations for women and for those who have finished with child rearing responsibilities. Mormonism appeals to many on the basis of its appeal to strong family values. But when you look deeper into this mysterious and fascinating religion, you will find all kinds of bizarre practices and beliefs.
Mormonism now teaches that God was once a man, and that man may become a God (through Mormonism, of course). This contradicts the book of Mormon itself, but Mormons don't really follow what the book of Mormon says anyway. Mormons are taught that God the Father is now on a planet near the star Kolob with his wives having spiritual children. Since the early 1990s, the Mormon Church has surpassed 13,000,000 members worldwide. Much of this growth occurs in South America and Africa as well as in the countries of the former Soviet Union, especially Russia. More Mormons live outside the United States than inside it by the late 1990s.
THINGS TO DOBaptism is laid down in the fourth Article of Faith of the Church. Children, and adult converts go through the same ceremonies. Being submerged and rising out of the water is a symbol of the person's faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It also represents the death of the person's old life and their new birth to life in Christ. Immediately after baptism the person is confirmed into the church by prayers and the laying on of hands, when they get the gift of the Holy Ghost (also called the Baptism of Fire).Mormons regard the gift of the Holy Ghost as a spiritual compass that will guide them through life. Before a person can be baptized they will be interviewed, usually by the local Bishop or equivalent official, to make sure that they have repented of their sins, have faith in Jesus Christ, and understand and are willing to obey the laws of the gospel.
Baptism for the Dead allows this saving ordinance to be offered to all those who have previously passed on without having heard of the Gospel of Jesus. If baptism is a required ordinance, as Mormons believe is evidenced by Jesus's own desire to receive it from John the Baptist, then this ordinance becomes a burden for all those who wish to spread the Gospel with all the inhabitants of the earth who have previously passed on to the afterlife. Mormons say that this is a fundamental error. No-one has to accept a proxy baptism. Just as the soul in paradise has a free choice to accept or reject the true gospel, they have a free choice to accept or reject the baptism. If they choose to accept the gospel, the proxy baptism means that they are fully equipped to move on in their spiritual life.
Cremation is discouraged, as it is believed to be disrespectful to the body, and the grave is consecrated as the body's final resting place. If people don't get the chance to convert to Mormonism in this life, or they decided not to, they can have that option in the afterlife. A service is performed in the temple for someone already passed which gives them the option (in the afterlife) of either accepting the offer to convert or rejecting it. There is always the option, and many will not take the option if they already denied it on earth, as Mormons believe that personality carries over into the afterlife as well.
These wives will make spirit children and work in the heavenly kitchens under their husband's direction (he is 'god' after all!). In the endowment ceremony, the men sit on one side and the women sit on the other side (of the room). The first oath is for the women to stand and take an oath to obey their husbands. Next the men stand and take an oath to obey 'god'. You'd love the film they show in the temple for this ceremony.
Finally, the husbands and wives meet. There is a symbolic embrace through a veil, a final review of the vows and pledges, and the veil is lifted, leaving the couple in an embrace. The wedding itself, that is, the "sealing" of the couple, is quite standard for Judeo-Christian sects--the couple kneels before an altar, they are advised on their duties as a couple by a leader of the temple, and they are wed. This last portion is also undergone when a couple is married by proxy, that is, when a living couple stands in for one that has passed on, to ensure that they are sealed together in the afterlife. Afterward, couples often choose to have a more public "ring ceremony," outside of the temple, for friends and relatives who could not attend the temple ceremony.
On these return visits he will normally by-pass the "Washing, Anointing, and Clothing in the Garment of the Holy Priesthood" rituals, and just receive the "New Name" in a little booth as he leaves the locker room on his way to the theatre type Endowment Rooms. The "New Name" is usually Biblical, such as Abraham, Moses, Seth, or Mary, Martha, Naomi, or they come from the Book of Mormon. Many Mormons are not aware that every person attending the Endowment on a particular day receives the same male or female "new name", or it's alternate. The alternate is given when the first given name of the person receiving the Endowment, deceased or alive, (not the proxy) is the same, or sounds very similar to the "new name". My son and I share the same "new name" of Enoch with the prophet Joseph Smith Jr. and probably millions of other living and dead Mormons. This ceremony is a must in Mormon religion before death because they consider it to be very divine way of attaining spirituality.
Mormonism can look good to sincere people who are untaught in the Scriptures. They have a well-oiled religious organization and an incredible amount of money to back it. They don't teach people all their strange beliefs until later on - especially after they are baptised.
If Mormon beliefs were widely known by all, that cult would have a hard time gaining any new converts. But they will continue to gain converts no doubt, as long as widespread ignorance concerning the Bible exists around the world, and people remain open to the deceptive religious spirits in this world which deceive people by a thousand and one methods of false religion.
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