Sarah, I totally agree with the fact that drinking cola is unhealthy, and there are many Mormons who don’t drink it. Caffeinated colas and soft drinks are not offered in cafeterias in LDS Church educational institutions (like Brigham Young University), but it’s not spelled out in the Mormon health law, so it’s not breaking the health law to drink it. We don’t know that it’s the caffeine in drinks that caused Heavenly Father to forbid their use. Science came up with the dangers and addictive properties of caffeine years after the health law was given. The Lord did tell Joseph Smith in the revelation why He gave the law: “Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation—” (Doctrine and Covenants 89:4). This helps us know what kinds of foods and drinks might entrap us. Thanks for your comment.

Go to http://www.mormon.org and click on the link to speak with a Mormon missionary. Good luck.

The King James Version seems to be the most accurate translation. That’s the one we use in English. We don’t have our own Bible and have not added or taken away from the Bible. We do have other scriptures: The Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Doctrine and Covenants.

There is no perfect Bible. You can read more at the following link: http://mormonbible.org/holy-bible/lost-books

The charismatic gift of speaking in tongues is an easy one to abuse and easily controlled by Satan. One can tell when it is of God through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, when there is someone there who understands it, and when it acts to increase understanding and edification of those present. The gift of tongues is especially manifest in the Mormon Church among its thousands of missionaries who must learn foreign languages extremely quickly. Miracles occur all the time in this regard and many have tried to analyze our training programs to find the key to their success. The key isn’t in the programs, it’s in the gift of tongues. Mormons do not utilize “prayer talk” in their meetings; the gift of tongues is manifested in the examples I’ve explained.

Eight witnesses saw and hefted the gold plates and never denied their testimonies that they truly exist. Joseph Smith was over twenty years old by the time he obtained the plates, which were both brass and gold. Yes, we believe that Jesus Christ visited a branch of Israelites somewhere in the Americas after His resurrection. The account of this visit is a second witness that Christ lives and is the Son of God, was crucified, and resurrected.

Joseph Smith had several scribes to help him with the translation of the Book of Mormon. It may be that they all saw the Urim and Thummim he used at the beginning.

Yes, Joseph Smith practiced polygamy. You can read more about that at the following website: http://www.mormon-polygamy.org

This is probably too late for your school report, Angeline. So sorry. Here are a few answers: Mormons believe the Holy Bible is the word of God. We’re studying the New Testament in Sunday School this year. Last year we studied the Old Testament. Mormons have not added nor taken away anything from the Bible, but we do have other scriptures that we believe in and study. One is the Book of Mormon, the record of the visit of the resurrected Christ to a branch of Israel in the Americas, and two other books of modern revelation. We expect more scriptures in the future, including what the Ten Lost Tribes will bring with them when they come.

We have a health law called the Word of Wisdom, given by revelation in the early 1800’s. It forbids the use of alcohol, tobacco, coffee and tea, mostly because they are habit-forming. It also tells us what is good for us.

There is nothing in our doctrine about having “our own personal planet.” That’s a rumor created by people who don’t understand. All Christians believe that heaven is eternal, but few think about how long that is. Over the millions of years of eternity, we believe we can progress to become more and more like our Heavenly Father. A few of the very righteous might even learn to create as He does.

We wear Sunday best clothes at church meetings, and we change into white clothes inside our temples.

We enthusiastically celebrate Christmas and Easter along with the rest of the world. All of this information is available in more detail at http://www.mormonwiki.com. Thanks, Angeline

You can read about it at the following link: http://www.mormonwiki.com/Mormon_cult
A cult is usually defined as a group in the thrall of a very powerful personality. Mormons do not worship the first prophet of this period of time before Christ’s second coming — Joseph Smith. He is not the head of our church, Christ is. We do not consider ourselves a cult.

Start at http://www.mormon.org to learn basic doctrine and get free scriptures.

Mormons do believe that Jesus is God. Most people hope to be re-united with their loved ones after death. Most people will be single in the next life, but those who keep the commandments and partake in holy ordinances may retain their marriage vows in the next life, as have all the ancient prophets. The reason that we believe it, it that it is true.