Mormon is a colloquial term used to refer to adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement, and most commonly to the movement's original and largest group, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The term is derived from The Book of Mormon, which Joseph Smith claims to have translated from ancient plates containing a history of the early inhabitants of the Americas that was compiled by a prophet called Mormon. Mainstream Christian groups consider Mormonism as a cult.
Origin of the term "Mormon"
The term Mormon and its related terms were first used in modern times in the 1830s for those who believed that Joseph Smith, Jr. had been called as a prophet of God, and who accepted The Book of Mormon as scripture. The Book of Mormon is self-described as a compilation of smaller books, just like the Bible is a compilation of smaller books (Genesis, Exodus, etc.), that was compiled, edited, and abridged by a prophet-historian named Mormon (hence the title of the book).
After the initial publishing of the book, Mormon was used as a term to refer to those who believed in the Book of Mormon.
Who is a Mormon?
A Mormon is anybody who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, although the term Mormon is not officially recognized by the Church for this purpose. Many are also called Mormons by the general population because they are affiliated with or members of other religious denominations derived from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints use the term "LDS" when speaking to fellow church members and "Mormon" when speaking to others. The phrase Mormon Church also generally refers colloquially to this denomination, which maintains an official website presenting its basic beliefs and tenets at www.mormon.org and another website directed more toward church members at www.lds.org.
Claims for exclusivity by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with which the term Mormon is most commonly identified, has changed its position on the term "Mormon" over time. For many years it was common for members to use quotes around the word "Mormon" — to indicate that this is something non-Mormons called Latter-day Saints. By the 1970s, the term had become so common, The Church began to use the term "Mormon" in advertising, including well-known television commercials which ended: "A message from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: The Mormons." More recently the organization has asked the media to use the church's complete name and to follow any second reference with the name "The Church of Jesus Christ", to recognize the importance of the name of Jesus Christ to the religion. Sometimes this style suggestion is incorrectly followed due to the ambiguity of the abbreviation and some still use the previous abbreviation: "LDS Church".
Although The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints objects to the use of the referent "Mormon Church", it stops short of rejecting the terms "Mormonism" and "Mormon" and occasionally claims these terms as exclusive references only to itself and its members. In a press release from 2001, the LDS Church stated that the word "Mormon" as an adjective in such expressions as "Mormon pioneers", "Mormons" as a noun in reference to church members, and "Mormonism" as a doctrine, culture, and lifestyle were all acceptable.
Claims for exclusivity of usage are primarily to avoid confusion between the LDS Church and "Mormon Fundamentalist" groups. The LDS Church argues "Mormon", "Mormon fundamentalist" and "Mormon dissident", when used in reference to organizations or groups outside of the LDS Church (especially those that practice plural marriage), is a misunderstanding of Mormon theology; in particular the principle of continuous revelation and Priesthood authority. Members of the LDS Church who are found guilty of practicing polygamy are excommunicated from the church.
Despite this perspective, the term "Mormon Fundamentalist" is widely used by Latter-day Saints in some areas and by people outside the movement. However, this is strongly discouraged by the current president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gordon B. Hinckley.
In 1998, President Gordon B. Hinckley said, "I wish to state categorically that this Church has nothing whatever to do with those practicing polygamy. They are not members of this Church. Most of them have never been members. They are in violation of the civil law. …
"If any of our members are found to be practicing plural marriage, they are excommunicated, the most serious penalty the Church can impose. Not only are those so involved in direct violation of the civil law, they are in violation of the law of this Church."
Sometimes "Restorationist" or "Restoration Movement" are used as umbrella terms for those derived from the Campbellites or Stone-Campbell churches, for example, the Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ. Mormons, however, are not a break off group of the Campbellites. While they share some beliefs, such as the idea of a "restoration," they differ in their beliefs about it. Most importantly, Mormons believe that the Restoration in question has already happened: The original church of Jesus Christ, known as the "primitive church" by historians, is claimed to have been restored by Joseph Smith, the first Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. There are some general similarities to Campbellite teachings, and many of Mormonism's first adherents (including Sidney Rigdon) were previously Campbellites, but The Book of Mormon and the book of Doctrine and Covenants separate Mormon doctrine from any other restorationist faith.
Utah Mormons and Missouri Mormons
Some scholars, such as Melton, in his Encyclopedia of American Religion, subdivide the Mormons into "Utah Mormons" and "Missouri Mormons"; however, these terms are not of common usage, and even unheard of, among the majority of those who call themselves Mormons.
In this scheme, the Utah Mormon group includes all the organizations descending from those Mormons who followed Brigham Young to what is now Utah. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is by far the largest of these groups, and the only group to initially reside in Utah. When the United States outlawed plural marriage, The Church established a few "Mormon Colonies" like Colonia Juárez in Mexico, as plural marriage was still legal there. When the leaders of the Church proclaimed that God had revealed to them that the practice of plural marriage was to be discontinued (October 6, 1890), however, there were a number of families who left The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and continued to practice plural marriage outside the church in scattered and usually isolated communities. While these smaller groups have a membership in the thousands, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints now claims a world-wide membership of over 12 million [1], but due to heavy media focus on these fractional bodies, misidentification of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with these polygamous groups is not uncommon. These groups include the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Kingston clan, the True & Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days and a few others. The majority of these groups are found in Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Colorado, British Columbia, Alberta, and Mexico. Both the terms "Utah Mormons" and "Missouri Mormons" are problematic because the majority of each of these branches' members no longer live in either of these states. While the majority of the population of the state of Utah are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it has a large membership in many other states, most notably Arizona, California, Idaho and Nevada. The majority of the church's membership today resides outside of the United States.
The Missouri Mormons are those Mormons who did not travel to Utah, and the organizations formed from them — the Community of Christ, Church of Christ (Temple Lot), Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, etc. Not all "Missouri Mormon" groups are based in Missouri, however. Notable exceptions include the Pennsylvania-based Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) which considers Sidney Rigdon Joseph Smith's rightful successor and the Wisconsin-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) which considers James J. Strang Smith's legitimate successor.
Addressing some of the limitations of the Utah/Missouri designations, historian Jan Shipps has now coined the terms Rocky Mountain Saints and Prairie Saints to rename the "Utah" and "Missouri" branches of the movement. These new terms have begun to gain a following among some historians today, but similar to the above mentioned titles, they are not of common usage among the majority of those who call themselves Mormons.
Distinctions from other religious groups
Despite some misconceptions over similar nicknames and stereotypes, Mormons are not the same religious group as Quakers (members of the Religious Society of Friends), Mennonites, or Amish, nor are they Jehovah's Witnesses. Mormons originated separately from these groups and are distinct in culture, practice, and theology. Mormonism originated in the United States; the Quaker and Mennonite faiths originally came from Europe.
One source of confusion in regions where Spanish, French, Russian, Polish, or Italian are the predominant languages comes from a mistranslation in the film Witness (starring Harrison Ford) into Spanish, French, Russian, Polish, Hungarian, and Italian. "Amish" was translated incorrectly to "Mormon". How this happened with different translators into different languages is not clear, but demonstrates a general misunderstanding about the identity of either the Amish or the Mormons, or both.
Mormons as public figures and in popular culture
- See also List of Latter-day Saints
Mormons depicted in movies and television are often presented as very religious blond-haired Caucasians, having large families and a focus on genealogy and fundamentalism. More recent productions with the intent of presenting a more mainstream picture of their culture have portrayed their religion as inclusive, including a vast spectrum of ethnic backgrounds. The emphasis on genealogy is not surprising given the immense importance genealogical research (www.familysearch.org) has in Mormon culture, including, in particular, as a point of outreach/contact with non-Mormons. They have been the object of ridicule in comedic media (Tonight Show, South Park, and other TV shows and films), which usually make fun of the church's history and doctrines, including polygamy. Alternatively, they have been portrayed in a neutral manner (Larry King Live, Newsweek).
The HBO show Big Love stars Bill Paxton as Bill Henrickson, a modern-day Utah polygamist who lives in suburban Salt Lake City with his three wives and seven children. The central characters of Big Love are not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the largest "Mormon" group). HBO has said the script makes it clear that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not practice polygamy.
Mormons have been active in producing general and Mormon-targeted plays, books and cinema. Many films aimed at Mormon audiences have been produced in the last decade. (See "LDS fiction" and "LDS cinema".)
Mormon producers, actors, directors, etc. are present in the television and movie industries, more today than in the past. Producer Glen A. Larson placed elements of his faith in the television series Battlestar Galactica (1978), which mostly didn't survive into the 2003 reimagined series. The movie Napoleon Dynamite also had a largely Mormon crew.
Many Mormons are also well-known authors, particularly in the field of speculative fiction. These include Orson Scott Card and Tracy Hickman, among others.
In music, Mormon singers/songwriters Gladys Knight, and Donny Osmond are well known.
In the world of professional sports, notable Mormon athletes include Hall of Fame NFL quarterback Steve Young, former Vikings quarterback Sean Salisbury, and the Utah Jazz's Thurl Bailey.
Ken Jennings, the second all-time winningest contestant on the television game show Jeopardy! is a Mormon.
Mormons are becoming increasingly prominent in politics within the United States. Some examples of well known LDS politicians include the Senate Minority Leader, Harry Reid, Massachusetts Governor and potential presidential candidate in 2008, Mitt Romney, Oregon U.S. Senator Gordon Smith, and veteran Senator Orrin Hatch.
In business, some of the better-known names include, Kevin Rollins, CEO of Dell, Inc., J.W. Marriott, Jr., President and CEO of Marriott International, David Neeleman, CEO of JetBlue Airways, Mark Wattles, founder of Hollywood Video, and Stephen Covey, Chairman of FranklinCovey. Additionally, Kim B. Clark, the former Dean of the Harvard Business School accepted the position of President of Brigham Young University - Idaho June 5, 2005.
Rick Chaney, the dean of the Madrid, Spain campus of Saint Louis University is the head of the Mormon church in Madrid, Spain. He has been so since the mid 1990's. Although officially a Jesuit university, many of the Mormon values 'come through' in day-to-day campus life. Additionally, there are some members of the staff who also attend the same temple as the dean.
See also
