In this series (see below), students enrolled in scripture study classes have shared their thoughts, insights, and reflections on the Book of Mormon in the form of letters to someone they know. We invite you to take a look at their epiphanies and discoveries as they delve into the scriptures.

In publishing these, we fulfill their desire to speak to all of us of the relevance, power and beauty of the Book of Mormon, a second witness of Jesus Christ and complement to the Bible. The Book of Mormon includes the religious history of a group of Israelites who settled in ancient America. (The names they use are those of prophets who taught the Book of Mormon peoples to look forward to the coming of Christ—Nephi, Lehi, Alma, Helaman, and other unfamiliar names. We hope those names will become more familiar to you as you read their inspiring words and feel the relevance and divinity of their messages through these letters.)
Let us know if you’d like to receive your own digital copy of the Book of Mormon, and/or if these messages encourage and assist you spiritually as well.

Alma 36: A Message of Hope!

Hi! My name is Kira Webster. I am a freshman at BYU and I am going to be serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 6 months! I am so excited! Here is an excerpt from my blog:

Every week, I am going to post some of my feelings from what I am currently reading in the Book of Mormon. Whether you are of my faith or not, I truly want you to know my feelings of the truths within this book. It is extremely special to me and I want to be able to share with you the things that I know to be true.

To me, Alma 36 is one of the most beautiful chapters within the Book of Mormon. No matter what each one of us may be experiencing in our lives, it is applicable at every stage of our life. Every single one of us makes mistakes. Whether we are making mistakes now or are trying to forgive ourselves for past sins, we can know there is hope for us because of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He did much more than die on a cross for each and every person who has ever lived and will ever live. He took upon Himself our pains, our sins, our afflictions, our trials, and our infirmities. He is the one person who is not only there to support us but actually knows every emotion we are feeling. Through Him, we can overcome anything that may cross our path because He has already overcome it. We just have to look to Him always if we want to be able to do so.

In Alma 36:17, Alma talks about how he was reminded of all of his sins:

     And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by              the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.

The first line of the scripture sounds absolutely horrible. The guilt, the regret and the sorrow Alma must have felt as he remembered his past and the terrible choices he had made must have been unbearable. Then the next line brings hope. Now when I talk about hope, I will always be referring to Jesus Christ. Without Him, we would feel as Alma does in the first line of this scripture at all times. We would not have someone by our side who knows EXACTLY how we feel. It is through Christ that we can repent and forgive ourselves for our past sins and when we do this our joy will exceed our pain (Alma 36:20).
I know this firsthand. I have not always made the best choices in my life. There have been times where I have felt as though I was too far beyond the help of the Savior, but that is NEVER true. Here is a quote from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles today (just like James, Peter and John were during Christ’s time).

I do not know who in this vast audience today may need to hear the message of forgiveness inherent in this parable (Matthew 20:1-15), but however late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines (“The Laborers in the Vineyard,” Ensign, May 2012).

Like the Savior was there for Alma, He will always be there for us. He is just waiting for us to reach out to Him.

This scripture is actually a prophecy about Joseph Smith Jr. who would restore Jesus Christ’s church in modern times. Lehi is explaining how the Lord will take an uneducated farm boy and make him the prophet of the restoration. However I focused in on that first phrase specifically, “And out of weakness he shall be made strong.” This is describing a beautiful and simple doctrine that it is in our moment of greatest need when Heavenly Father will lift us up and make us successful.

Throughout time this pattern has been shown through various prophets and faithful individuals. For example Moses was not a strong speaker or leader and couldn’t understand why the Lord had chosen him to lead the Children of Israel out of captivity. But the Lord knew that because of Moses’ faith in Him the weaknesses would be turned into strength. Indeed Moses was successful in helping the Hebrews escape the Egyptians. There is another powerful example in the New Testament when the woman with an issue of blood seeks out the Savior. Her physical weakness was turned into a strength when, in faith, she touched the hem of Jesus Christ’s robe and she was healed.
Though I am no Moses and struggle to have the same amount of faith as that woman, I too can utilize this principle of the Lord turning weaknesses into strengths. I think one of the greatest weaknesses in my life right now is my distance from my family who live in Virginia. For almost nineteen years my family was my greatest strength and support. Now all of a sudden to be living almost 3000 miles away from them and knowing I won’t see them until December is overwhelming. There are moments every day when I want to cry out because of loneliness and when I would give anything to have them here with me in Utah. But I have spent the last month really praying to Heavenly Father to help me cope with these feelings. He has answered my prayers and helped to turn my weakness into strength. He has helped me understand that this distance is actually forcing me to become independent in various aspects of my life from cooking to laundry to editing my papers to finding transportation. More importantly, the distance has allowed me to come closer to my Heavenly Father and rely on his guidance and wisdom. Had I stayed comfortably at home I would not have had the opportunity to find the truth in Lehi’s powerful statement, “And out of weakness he shall be made strong”.  I know this principle will continue to bless me throughout my life. I am so thankful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Days Saints (inadvertently called the “Mormon Church”), a church that believes in such hopeful doctrine and teaches its members to rely on the strengthening power of the Savior.

By Katie S.

Additional Resources:

Meet with Mormon missionaries.

Learn about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Keith L. Brown is a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and serves as the Ward Mission Leader in the Annapolis, Maryland Ward.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints define the priesthood as “the eternal power and authority of God.” Members of the Church undeniably profess that through the priesthood God created and governs the heavens and the earth, and that it is through that power He redeems and exalts His children, bringing to pass “the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).

President John Taylor, the 3rd President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints taught:

[Priesthood] is … the principle and power by which [God] regulates, controls, dictates and manages His affairs, His worlds, His kingdoms, His principalities, His powers, His intelligences, and all things that are underneath Him and above Him, and with which He has to do.

The power manifested by the priesthood is simply the power of God, for he is the head of the priesthood … ; and it is upon this principle that all the works of God have been accomplished, whether on the earth or in the heavens; and any manifestation of power through the priesthood on the earth is simply a delegated power from the priesthood in the heavens, and the more the priesthood on the earth becomes assimilated with and subject to the priesthood in the heavens the more of this power shall we possess.

Latter-day Saints believe that the Biblical miracles performed by prophets and apostles were performed by the power of the priesthood. These include the miracles of Jesus, who holds all of the keys of the priesthood. They further believe that the same priesthood power and authority which existed in Biblical times exists on the earth today. Therefore, Latter-day Saints believe the priesthood to be the power and authority of God, and that wherever that power and authority (and keys) are present, there is the priesthood. Hence, in modern times, the priesthood provides the authority for a priesthood holder to act as a leader in the Church and to perform sacred ordinances. Latter-day Saints further believe that acts (in particular, sacred ordinances) performed by someone holding priesthood authority are recognized by God and are binding in Heaven, on earth, and in the afterlife.

This principle is set forth in the scriptures as recorded in Matthew 16:19, “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Modern day revelation as recorded in Doctrine and Covenants, section 128, verse 8 provides further clarification to this teaching:

Now, the nature of this ordinance consists in the power of the priesthood, by the revelation of Jesus Christ, wherein it is granted that whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Or, in other words, taking a different view of the translation, whatsoever you record on earth shall be recorded in heaven, and whatsoever you do not record on earth shall not be recorded in heaven; for out of the books shall your dead be judged, according to their own works, whether they themselves have attended to the ordinances in their own propria persona, or by the means of their own agents, according to the ordinance which God has prepared for their salvation from before the foundation of the world, according to the records which they have kept concerning their dead.

In the New Testament book of Revelation, in Revelation 1:6 are recorded these words, “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” Who are these “Priests” who comprise this “royal priesthood“? Modern day revelation found in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 76, verses 54 through 60 gives some insight to help answer that question:

They are they who are the church of the Firstborn. They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things— they are they who are priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory; and are priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the Only Begotten Son. Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God— Wherefore, all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. And they shall overcome all things.

In Matthew 22:14 are recorded these words, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Latter-day Saint doctrine teaches that in order to exercise priesthood power or authority a person must (1) be called by God, (2) be ordained or endowed with priesthood power by one having proper authority, and (3) receive the necessary priesthood keys, either through ordination to an office or through being set apart.

God gives priesthood authority to worthy male members of the Church so they can act in His name for the salvation of His children. Male members of the Church may begin their Mormon priesthood service when they reach the age of 12. They begin by holding the Aaronic Priesthood, and they later may qualify to have the Melchizedek Priesthood conferred on them. Priesthood holders can be authorized to preach the gospel, administer the ordinances of salvation, and govern the kingdom of God on the earth. As they prepare themselves to receive different responsibilities, they hold different offices in the priesthood, such as deacon, teacher, or priest in the Aaronic Priesthood and elder or high priest in the Melchizedek Priesthood.

The fifth Article of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints states, “We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.” And in the Bible, Hebrews 5:4 reminds us that, “no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.” Therefore, in order for a male member of the Church to hold the priesthood, it must be conferred upon him by an authorized priesthood holder who in turn ordains him to an office in that priesthood. This is further clarified in modern-day scripture as recorded in Doctrine and Covenants, section 42:11, “Again I say unto you, that it shall not be given to any one to go forth to preach my gospel, or to build up my church, except he be ordained by some one who has authority, and it is known to the church that he has authority and has been regularly ordained by the heads of the church.”

It should well be remembered and understood that although the authority of the priesthood is bestowed only on worthy male members of the Church, the blessings of the priesthood are available to all—men, women, and children. Everyone benefits from the influence of righteous priesthood leadership; therefore, everyone has the privilege of receiving the saving ordinances of the priesthood. The most important exercise of the priesthood takes place in the family. Each husband and father in the Church should strive to be worthy to hold the Melchizedek Priesthood. With his wife as an equal partner, he presides in righteousness and love, serving as the spiritual leader of his home. He leads his family in regular prayer, scripture study, and Family Home Evening. He gives priesthood blessings for direction, healing, and comfort. And, realizing that salvation is a family affair, he works with his wife to teach their children and help them prepare to receive the ordinances of salvation.  Mormon women perform priesthood ordinances in the temples of God, and the covenants they make in those same holy temples promise an eternal priesthood to every worthy woman in the Church.

In the Bible, in the New Testament, in 1 Peter 2:9 are found these words, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” As priesthood holders – the “chosen generation” of the “royal priesthood”, the Savior gives this gentle reminder as recorded in the Bible, in John 15:16, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”

Additional Resources:

 Mormon Temple Ritual

Jesus Christ in Mormonism

Blacks in the Mormon Priesthood

Mormon Families

Keith L. Brown is a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and serves as the Ward Mission Leader in the Annapolis, Maryland Ward.

Mormonism’s Sacred Voice is America’s Choir

After singing the sacred hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes inadvertently called the “Mormon Church”) for more than a century and a half, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has become popularly known as “America’s Choir.” The 360 member choir is comprised of men and women ranging from ages 25 to 60 from many diverse backgrounds and professions whose incomparable voices combine together to create a harmonious melody brought about by their love for singing and their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Founded in August 1847, one month after the Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has appeared at 13 world’s fairs and expositions, performed at the inaugurations of five United States Presidents – Lyndon B. Johnson (1965), Richard M. Nixon (1969), Ronald Reagan (1981), George Bush (1989), and George W. Bush (2001) – and sung for numerous worldwide telecasts and special events. Five of the Choir’s recordings have achieved “gold record” and two have achieved “platinum record” status. Their most popular recording was the 1959 release of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” recorded with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, which won a Grammy award for Richard P. Condie, who was the conductor of the Choir at that time.

Performing live from Temple Square in Salt Lake City, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir can be heard weekly on the broadcast of the longest-running network radio program in the world, Music and the Spoken Word. On 16 July 1989, CBS Radio acclaimed the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s unprecedented sixtieth year of continuous weekly performances. On the occasion of the Choir’s 3,000^th broadcast in 1987, John Burrows, Vice President of the CBS Radio Network, wrote: “The chances of a program that started on a national network in 1929 still being broadcast … are very, very slim. But you have done it. In fact, you’re the only ones to have done it.” It is also of noteworthy interest that neither CBS nor any of the other stations worldwide that carry the broadcast make money by selling air time to the Choir. Instead, the millions of dollars of air time are donated as a public service.

Literally millions of people enjoy the melodic sounds of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir each week. Tabernacle Choir programs are carried on approximately 450 radio stations in the United States and Canada and are broadcast on radio and television stations in some countries of Europe and the South Pacific. Via the Armed Services Radio Network, the Choir is also carried into twenty-two countries. The program is recorded live by KSL Television in Salt Lake City Utah and then aired on a one-week delayed basis on more than 280 television/cable systems (the number increases weekly) in the United States and Canada.

As unlikely as it may seem, this nonprofit group of volunteer singers has truly become a superstar sensation in the music industry and entertainment world. The Choir has produced more than one hundred albums, five of them “gold”—signifying that more than 500,000 copies have been sold. It is interesting to note that only seventeen “gold” albums have ever been earned in classical music. In addition, the Choir performs annual concerts, not only in Salt Lake City and other parts of the United States, but throughout the world. It has performed to packed audiences in some of the world’s greatest concert halls in eighteen countries. Tabernacle Choir concerts, featuring internationally famous guest artists, such as David Archuleta of American Idol fame for the 2010 Christmas concert, are recorded and later broadcast as major television specials around the world.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints love their choir as well. Yet, if there is any criticism given of the Choir, it generally comes from Church members. The most common criticism or complaint is about the Choir’s musical repertoire. Some members feel it’s too classical; others say it’s too secular. Some feel the Choir should sing more hymns; others prefer more contemporary LDS music. The spoken portion of the weekly radio broadcasts also has its critics, mostly from a few Church members who feel that its content is too generic. They feel that it should be more specific and unique to LDS doctrines and beliefs.

Speaking to this subject, Jerold D. Ottley, director of the Choir from 1974 to 1999, said, “I realize there are members of the Church who do not understand that the Choir has a specific mission to the world, nor do they comprehend the enormous good the Choir does out there for the reputation of the Church. The Choir works under the direct supervision of the First Presidency, and our repertoire and daily operations keep pace with that direction.”

When listening to the broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word, listeners need to keep in mind that they are listening to a program of inspiration, not a Sunday-morning worship service. The Sunday-morning repertoire is chosen by the Music Director, Mack Wilberg, and the organists on a more eclectic basis. Given that people in most countries are familiar with classical works, music may be chosen from such great composers as Bach, Mendelssohn, or Handel. Secular selections may be chosen from Broadway musicals, traditional spirituals such as Alex Boye‘ (a member of the Choir who also has his own musical career) leading the Choir in a rising rendition of “Rock My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham”, nostalgia, or folk music. And sacred selections are selected that appeal to both LDS and non-LDS audiences. Music often appears on the broadcast in preparation for other events that the Choir will be a part of.

Likewise, the spoken portion of the Sunday-morning broadcast is not intended to be a forum for proselytizing. The “Spoken Word” was developed in 1930 by Richard L. Evans, who later became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and who was the Choir’s announcer for forty-one years, as a three-minute sermonette on Christian thought. The same format is now used by Lloyd D. Newell, the Choir’s current announcer. He is careful that the pieces address a general religious audience and deal with universal principles and concerns.

The Mission of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s mission is basically two-fold: (1) to be a missionary, with a special calling to reach out to the world, and (2) to be an ambassador for the Church, with a charge to bring credibility and goodwill to the Church in all areas of the world. The objective of the Mormon Choir is to warm people’s hearts, rather than to warn them. President Gordon B. Hinckley often told the Choir that, except for the Book of Mormon, there is no greater missionary for the Church than the Tabernacle Choir. Wendell Smoot, former President of the Choir, once said, “The Choir is the band that leads the parade, as far as the public relations image of the Church is concerned. Wherever we go in the world, literally everywhere, people know us. They associate the Choir with that which is good, wholesome, and uplifting.”

Throughout the years of their dedicated service the Choir has become something of an unofficial ambassador for the United States as well. On the occasion of the Choir’s 3,000^th radio broadcast, Ronald Reagan, then President of the United States, sent a letter to the Choir in which he identified the Tabernacle Choir as “an inspiring American landmark of musical achievement. For many years, the choir has been a source of pride not only to its Church sponsors but to all Americans. It has become an esteemed part of the cultural life of our nation, combining outstanding musicianship with dedicated service to God.”

Additional Resources:

Mormon Tabernacle Choir Official Website

Mormons Sing!

Basic Mormon Beliefs and Real Mormons

Mormons in America

HistoryofMormonism.com

“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings” (Malachi 3:8).

On 8 July 1838, Joseph Smith, the first Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, received a revelation now recorded as Doctrine and Covenants 119. In this revelation, the Lord revealed the law of tithing to the Church,

“Those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever” (D&C 119:4). Members of the Church of Jesus Christ accept this revelation as a commandment and consecrate one tenth of their increase to the Church.

Funds received from tithing are regarded as sacred by the Church today as they were in the time of Ancient Israel “the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord” (Leviticus 27:32). Disposition of these sacred funds is governed by a revelation received on the same day as D&C 119:

“Verily, thus saith the Lord, the time is now come, that it [tithing] shall be disposed of by a council, composed of the First Presidency of my Church, and of the bishop and his council, and by my high council; and by mine own voice unto them, saith the Lord. Even so. Amen” (D&C 120).

As with every commandment, there are attendant promises and blessings. In Malachi, after reproving Ancient Israel for not paying tithing, the Lord said,

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10).

As always, paying tithing is a matter of faith. And that faith is two-fold. We know that all we have is given to us by the Lord, who as King Benjamin, a Book of Mormon prophet, so eloquently said,

“…has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another” (Mosiah 2:21).

And if we acknowledge that, then giving back a tenth of what he has given us is a small thing. Even in hard economic times, because of the promised blessings, and perhaps especially then, we should make that leap of faith. The other part of that faith is that the money will be regarded as sacred and put to good use.

Offerings

In addition to tithing, members of the Church of Jesus Christ have the opportunity to consecrate funds for various uses within the Church. First of these is Fast Offerings. Each month, usually the first Sunday, every member of the Church who can fasts for 2 meals and donates the cost of those two meals, or as much as they can. These fast offerings, equally sacred in the eyes of the Church and the Lord are designated for the poor and needy. Other destinations for offerings include the Perpetual Education Fund. This fund has been established to help members of the Church in communities throughout the world pay for an education they would not otherwise be able to afford. As they complete their education and embark on their careers, they repay the loan so that others may be educated.

What are Tithing Funds Used for?

Dallin H. Oaks, an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in an address during the General Conference of the Church, reported on the use of tithing funds:

“The Lord has directed by revelation that the expenditure of his tithes will be directed by his servants, the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, and the Presiding Bishopric (see D&C 120). Those funds are spent to build and maintain temples and houses of worship, to conduct our worldwide missionary work, to translate and publish scriptures, to provide resources to redeem the dead, to fund religious education, and to support other Church purposes selected by the designated servants of the Lord.”[2]

Perhaps one of the most visible uses of those funds is for humanitarian service.

Humanitarian service—reaching out to the world at large in times of need— whether it be natural disasters such as the recent tsunami in Japan, helping children with medical problems, or providing wheelchairs, clean water, neonatal resuscitation training, and vision care in poorer countries, is a priority for the Church.[3]

Wherever there is a major natural disaster, supplies are shipped out from Salt Lake City. Working with local leaders and other relief organizations, Church members in the area don yellow t-shirts bearing the “Helping Hands” logo and get to work.[4]

In December 2004, a tsunami hit Indonesia. Elder Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles gave an account of the Church’s effort to help in that disasters,

“They first asked for 20,000 body bags. We located them in China and had them air-freighted to Jakarta. Not long after that, they asked for 30,000 more. Shortly thereafter, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve, Dr. Gerrit Gong of Brigham Young University, and I traveled to Jakarta and then on to Banda Aceh which is on the north end of the island of Sumatra, vulnerable to the open ocean. We witnessed scenes words cannot describe. Over 200,000 were dead, families broken and dislocated, homes washed away. We saw one cemetery where 40,000 bodies had been buried. . . .The First Presidency called a special fast for funds to aid the victims of the tsunami. The money flowed in—several million dollars. Part of our purpose in traveling to Indonesia was to review the significant Church humanitarian relief to those hardest hit. The assistance began flowing immediately.”[5]

This is just one example of the many ongoing humanitarian service initiatives that are partly funding by tithing and partly by other contributions from members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

What Is Tithing?

Tithing, which literally means “tenth,” is an ancient practice. Tithing was paid by Abraham and other Old Testament figures. The Old Testament prophet Malachi blasted the people of his time for neglecting their tithes and offerings:

Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, …saith the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 3:8, 10)

The payment of tithing and other offerings is common in many Christian faiths throughout the world today. Faithful Mormons pay tithing regularly as a voluntary expression of gratitude to God for His blessings.  Tithing contributions are confidential.  Faithful Mormons who desire to attend and make higher covenants in Mormon temples must be full tithe-payers, but that is determined by their own declaration to their bishop (pastor).

How Is Tithing Used?

Unlike most other Christian religions, all leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ are lay volunteers who do not receive any financial support from the tithes of church members, aside from travel expenses on church business. Tithing funds go to support individual congregations, building funds, missionary work, administrative departments, publications, educational institutions, and humanitarian efforts.  (See Mormonwiki.com – LDS Church Finances.)

Fast Offerings

Other contributions made by Mitt Romney and his wife to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints include “fast offerings.” At least once a month, faithful Mormons fast by skipping meals for 24 hours and donating the cost of those meals to their local leader, called a Bishop, who uses the money to help support members of the local congregation who are struggling to meet basic needs. Often, members who are well-off will contribute much more than the actual cost of the meals missed. Surplus fast offering funds are passed on to other local and regional leaders so they can be distributed where they are needed. Excess funds eventually find their way to the Bishop’s Storehouse, a type of food bank where the needy are given food, clothing, and household goods, while they are helped and encouraged to become self-reliant again as soon as possible.

Other Contributions

Tithing, fast offerings, support for The Church of Jesus Christ’s humanitarian efforts, funds for missionary work, and education for the poor are all part of the contributions listed on Mitt Romney’s tax returns. Mormons take Christ’s injunction to “Feed my lambs” (John 21:15) seriously, both literally and figuratively. The contributions made by Romney and his fellow Mormons go a long way toward helping fulfill that injunction.

Additional Resources:

“LDS Church Finances,” from mormonwiki.com

“Mitt Romney’s Mormon Donations,”  from mittromneymormon.net

“The Finances of the Church,” from The Encyclopedia of Mormonism

Deseret News
Published: Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012 7:00 p.m. MST

David Letterman knows how to get a laugh.Like most comics, he riffs on the day’s news, deadpans the camera and revels in audacity.”Oh, did you hear about this?” the host of CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman asked his audience recently. “A campaign staffer on the Newt Gingrich campaign was fired because he was making negative comments about Mormons. I thought, now, wait a minute — isn’t Newt in favor of multiple wives?”

Image via Wikipedia

Laughter rumbled from the audience followed by applause. The polygamy punch line is a familiar one when it comes to poking fun at Mormons — as though Mormons and polygamy are synonymous in mainstream media. Ironically, the practice that’s most linked to Mormons is a practice most Mormons oppose, according to a groundbreaking new study of Mormons in America released Thursday by the Pew Research Center‘s Forum on Religion and Public Life.

According to the study, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unequivocally reject polygamy — only 2 percent said the practice is morally acceptable — evidence of a yawning gap in what Mormons believe and how they are perceived. Mormons’ opinions are overwhelmingly conservative, the study shows, but in many ways, their views are also surprising — especially when it comes to opinions on moral issues, divorce, homosexuality and polygamy.

Morality

Mormons also take a significant stance on moral issues in other areas, such as divorce, sex outside of marriage and consumption of alcohol.
Although teachings from the LDS Church emphasize the importance and eternal nature of the family, only 25 percent of Mormons surveyed said divorce is morally wrong, according to the study. That means Mormons are slightly less morally opposed to divorce than the general public.

“For Catholics, divorce does not exist. They think it is not only wrong but it is impossible,” said Matthew Bowman, member of a board of expert advisers to the Pew Research Center for the study and author of “The Mormon People,” a book on the history of the LDS Church. “That has not been true for Mormons. There is theological space for divorce within Mormonism. It is undesirable, but Mormons recognize it is sometimes necessary and sometimes the right thing to do.”

Other moral views revealed in the survey — 54 percent said drinking alcohol was morally wrong, compared with 15 percent of the general public — set Mormons apart, Bowman says. The assumption on the part of non-Mormons is that if Mormons think drinking alcohol is wrong, then they must think everyone who imbibes is morally flawed. That apprehension can make people suspicious of Mormons, and wary of an elitist attitude, he says.

Differences in moral viewpoints can create a stumbling block for Mormon acceptance — not only in high-profile arenas, such as a presidential election, but also in communities.
“What you find throughout the report is a tension,” said David Campbell, assistant professor at Notre Dame and an adviser on the study. “Mormons like to use the phrase, ‘Be in the world but not of the world.’ They are certainly living their lives in the world. They are active and involved in their communities, but they have these beliefs and practices that set them apart a little bit, and sometimes there is conflict.”

Homosexuality

Mormons have some of the most conservative opinions when it comes to homosexuality. The survey asked Mormons if homosexuality should be accepted by society or discouraged by society, with an option for neither, both or “don’t know.” The response — 26 percent said homosexuality should be accepted, 65 percent said it should be discouraged — puts Mormons as the least likely to say homosexuality should be accepted by society. But a 26 percent acceptance rate, with roughly 1 in 4 Mormons saying homosexuality should be accepted, might be surprisingly high to some.

Of particular interest is the fact that only 8 percent of Mormons surveyed identified themselves as liberal, and 66 percent said they were conservative. That means some of those who said homosexuality should be accepted also identify themselves as politically conservative, Bowman says. That distinction illustrates the complexity of Mormons’ opinion on sexuality — that it is rooted more in religious precepts than politics.
Still, it’s difficult to draw a conclusion about Mormons‘ views on homosexuality based on the study, says Pew Research Center adviser Terryl Givens, professor of literature and religion at the University of Richmond.

“Results need to be viewed cautiously,” Givens says. “Official LDS pronouncements insist there is a distinction between (sexual) orientation and behavior, but the survey blurs that difference, probably leaving many Mormons unsure how to answer that question. What is clear, however, is that Mormons are trending toward greater acceptance of same-sex relationships, just as society as a whole is, although by a much smaller percentage.”

Polygamy

At one point 120 years ago, some Mormons practiced plural marriage, hence the association between Mormons and polygamy. The practice was discontinued in 1890, but the cultural association persists, perhaps in part because Mormons are sometimes confused with members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church, a polygamist group not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In the October-November 2011 study of a national sample of 1,019 Mormons, 86 percent said polygamy is morally wrong. That’s a number that surprises Bowman.

Were it not for the confusion surrounding Mormons and the FLDS Church practice of plural marriage, Bowman says that statistic might not be as high.

“It’s my experience that Mormons have a fraught relationship with polygamy,” Bowman said of the study results. “There is a sense that rejecting polygamy identifies a member of the LDS Church and distinguishes us from the fundamentalists. That is a cultural signifier as much as a theological statement.”

Some who responded to the survey, 11 percent, said polygamy is not a moral issue.
Email: achoate@desnews.com

This comes on the heels of earlier surveys indicating that 32 percent of non-LDS U.S. adults say the LDS Church is not a Christian religion, and an additional 17 percent are unsure of LDS Christianity. The theological and semantic reasons for this can be complex, but for the 1,019 self-identified Mormons who participated in the Pew survey, their theological position is clear: Mormons believe in Jesus Christ, and they consider themselves to be Christian.

“Certainly in Latter-day Saint theology is this idea that if you understand who you are, you understand that there’s a purpose in life, you understand your connection to God, that certainly has an impact on how you live your life and what you do, but also how you feel about your life and what you are doing,” said Michael Purdy of the LDS Church Public Affairs office.

For the vast majority of Latter-day Saints surveyed, those life choices have much to do with their religious beliefs. Eighty-two percent of survey respondents indicate that religion is “very important” to them, 83 percent say they pray every day and 77 percent say they attend church at least once a week. Beyond that, a stunning 69 percent of respondents fit all three descriptions, saying that religion is very important to them, that they pray every day and that they go to church every week.

“By this measure,” the report says, “Mormons exhibit higher levels of religious commitment than many other religious groups, including white evangelical Christians.”

Part of the explanation for these high numbers may be that the survey focused only on those who self-identified as Latter-day Saints.

“The method they used tended to identify people who are strongly committed,” said BYU sociologist Marie Cornwall , who advised the Pew Forum on the new survey. “They don’t have the people who are kind of marginal. But that’s okay; we just have to be careful with the way we interpret the findings.”

One such finding is the relationship between religious commitment and education among Mormons.

David Campbell, a University of Notre Dame associate professor and another adviser on the survey, noted that the more educated respondents were, the higher their levels of religious commitment.

“I was a little surprised by that,” said Campbell, who is LDS and who has extensively studied on the role of religion in the public square. “The more educated a Mormon is, the more likely they are to be wholehearted in their commitment to the church and its teachings.”

That is different from other churches, he said, where more education tends to lead to more religious skepticism.

Pew Research Center officials also noted “a significant gender gap in religious commitment, with more Mormon women than men exhibiting a high level of religious commitment (73 percent vs. 65 percent).”

According to the Pew report, a similar “gender gap” is seen among the general public. A 2007 survey found 36 percent of U.S. women exhibited a high level of religious commitment, compared with 24 percent of men.

One series of questions asked about what it means to be a good Mormon. According to the respondents, in order to be a good Mormon it is “essential” to believe Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ (80 percent), work to help the poor (73 percent), hold regular family home evenings (51 percent), not drink coffee and tea (49 percent) and not watch R-rated movies (32 percent).

Combining those who said “essential” with those who said “important but not essential,” the order changes a little bit: working to help the poor (97 percent), holding regular family home evenings (96 percent), believing Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ (93 percent), not drinking coffee and tea (81 percent) and not watching R-rated movies (79 percent).

“I think that result is rather interesting,” said Cornwall. “Mormons are known for not drinking coffee or tea and not watching R-rated movies. But compared to believing that Joseph Smith saw God and working for the poor, Mormons don’t seem to focus on the coffee and tea as much as people probably think.”

Other manifestations of religious commitment in the survey included:

The number of respondents (65 percent) who say they hold a current temple recommend (a certificate from local ecclesiastical leaders, issued every other year, indicating that an individual has permission from the church to enter LDS temples and participate in temple rites and sacraments)

The number (79 percent) who say they pay tithing (donating 10 percent of their income to the church)

The number (27 percent) who have served full-time missions for the church (this number includes 43 percent of men and 11 percent of women and varies significantly according to the age and education of the respondent, as well as whether or not the respondent was raised Mormon)

The number (82 percent) who keep food in storage for emergencies or disasters, as they have been counseled to do by LDS Church leaders (This number includes 23 percent who say they have three months’ worth, 35 percent who say they have more than three months’ worth and 23 percent who say they have less than three months’ worth)

The percentage who pay tithing is especially interesting to break down. According to the survey tabulations, “tithing is most common among Mormons with the highest levels of religious commitment (96 percent) … fully 91 percent of college graduates say they pay tithing … compared with 66 percent of those with a high school diploma or less education. And among those whose family income exceeds $30,000, 83 percent say they pay tithing, compared with 69 percent of those with incomes of less than $30,000.”

While previous surveys have clearly established LDS agreement with certain key Christian doctrines — 90 percent of Mormons believe in God, 91 percent believe the Bible is the word of God and 98 percent believe in life after death — the new survey explores Mormon confidence in points of doctrine that are unique to LDS theology. And in these points of doctrine, Mormons proved to be unified and believing. They believe overwhelmingly that God and Jesus Christ are separate physical beings (94 percent), that the president of the LDS Church is a prophet of God (94 percent), that families can be bound together eternally in temple ceremonies (95 percent) and that the Book of Mormon was written by ancient prophets and translated by Joseph Smith (91 percent).

Overall, 77 percent say they believe “wholeheartedly” in all of the teachings of the LDS Church. That number increases to 82 percent among Mormons ages 18-49, and to 85 percent among Mormons who are college graduates.

“Ultimately, I suppose other Americans will judge our church — and perhaps all churches — by their relevance in how they touch and improve human lives right here on Earth as well as what they offer in the life to come,” wrote Michael Otterson, Public Affairs director for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in his “On Faith” blog in the Washington Post. “Meanwhile, we welcome the friendship and regard of all groups, even as we retain our commitment to a unique identity. In the end … Latter-day Saints will strive to be good Mormons, true believers, kind neighbors and faithful friends.

Pew Study Reflects Mormons’ Religious Commitment to Christ, Mormon Beliefs in Tithes and Temples

Mormons in America

Being parents is just what they always wanted. And they love it.

“Of course we have our crazy moments,” Thompson says, “but for the most part we just try to find the good things in the day and remember that they’re only going to be little for so long.”

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Thompsons believe that maintaining a strong marriage and raising and teaching children are essential keys to happiness and their most important responsibilities on earth.

In fact, 81 percent of Mormons say being a good parent is “one of the most important things in life,” according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life — the first survey of Mormons about Mormons, by a non-LDS research organization.

The survey of more than 1,000 self-identified Latter-day Saints from across the country asked how accepted Mormons feel in American culture, as well as their thoughts on religious practices, political issues and family roles.

The survey showed that Mormons are more likely to be married than the general population, 67 percent of the sample size compared to 52 percent of the general public.

And 85 percent of married Mormons married other Mormons. Protestants marry other Protestants 81 percent of the time and Catholics marry each other 78 percent of the time.

With an emphasis on marriage, it should come as no surprise that the Mormons surveyed also had, on average, more children (2.6) than the general U.S. population (1.8).

Thompson grew up wanting to have a large family and be a good mother, but she and her husband have struggled with infertility for nearly nine years — a trial punctuated by the joys of two different adoptions, Ellie, then the twins.

“We said when we finally get to be parents, we’re going to actually sit down and take a little more time to focus on our kids,” Thompson said, who lives in northern Utah. “I’m not saying that other people don’t do that — the perspective we have is just a little different.”

Other Latter-day Saints share the Thompson’s enthusiasm to put family first.

“Family is at the core of our faith,” says Jane Clayson Johnson, a Latter-day Saint and former anchor of CBS’s “The Early Show” who prefers the title of mom to two young children and stepmom to three older ones. “There are so many distractions today that all force us outward, away from core relationships. What our faith does is turn us back toward deep, rich, meaningful relationships in families.”

“It teaches us that families are where we find meaning,” continued Clayson from her home in Boston. “The work I do in my family is the most important work that I’ll ever do.”

Among the general public, 50 percent list being a good parent as “one of the most important things in life,” with 44 percent listing it as “very important but not most important.”

That shouldn’t be taken to mean that the average American doesn’t value marriage or family, just that they don’t “go to church every week and get told that’s what they’re supposed to do,” says Marie Cornwall, a professor of sociology at Brigham Young University. Cornwall advised the Pew Center for this survey.

“There’s nothing to suggest that family life is less valued in the United States over time,” she said, “but there’s more that suggests that people are feeling like it’s not possible for them to attain that.”

The pressure comes when a “successful” marriage is defined as having a good job, a hefty retirement account and a lovely home with a white picket fence, Cornwall said. So when people can’t achieve that in today’s tough economy, many feel like they’ve failed.

“For Mormons, there’s a spiritual aspect brought to that (definition of success),” she said, “an effort, in terms of sermons, to try and downplay the material and place more emphasis on the relationships.”

When the survey asked Mormons about working arrangements in families, nearly six out of 10 Mormons indicated they would prefer a marriage where the man works and the woman stays home to care for the home and the children.

LDS college graduates liked this marital structure more than any other subgroup, with 71 percent of them preferring the man to work and the woman to stay home.

In the general population, only 30 percent of Americans would prefer a marriage where the husband works and the wife stays home. Among religiously unaffiliated Americans, it drops to 15 percent who would pick such a scenario.

Almost four-in-10 Mormons would prefer that both parents work and both parents help with child rearing and housework.

For American Fork mom Ruth Ann Dupaix, 37, it’s not a black-or-white decision. Throughout her marriage she has both worked and stayed at home.

“The way we look at it, we try to make it a partnership,” Dupaix says. “It’s more who’s able at the time to do it best. It’s working together, a give and take.”

When she and her husband, Geoff, were first married, her job helped pay for his school. When he finished, she kept working because her employer would pay for her to complete her degree, and education was important to both of them.

Dupaix stopped working when her sixth child was born but has recently gone back to work at a local grocery store three nights a week to help fulfill a family goal to reduce their debt load.

It’s a big pay cut from the job she used to have at a bank, but it’s a more family friendly schedule.

“As part of a family you make sacrifices,” she said. “I’m gone when the kids are asleep, but I’m still here during the day when they need me.

Additional Resources:

For original source Deseret News article: Mormon family marriage focus Pew.

Mormons in America Pew Study.

Entitled “Mormons in America: Certain in Their Beliefs, Uncertain of Their Place in Society,” the survey was conducted between Oct. 25 and Nov. 16, 2011 among a national sample of 1,019 respondents who identified themselves as Mormons. The results validate a number of long-held stereotypes (most American Mormons are white, well-educated, politically conservative and religiously observant) while providing a few interesting surprises (care for the poor and needy is high on the list of LDS priorities, while drinking coffee and watching R-rated movies aren’t as taboo among the rank and file as you might think).

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“While this survey comes amid a contentious election campaign, it is not solely or even chiefly about politics,” said Luis Lugo, Pew Research Center director, in the published survey’s preface. “Rather, we hope that it will contribute to a broader public understanding of Mormons and Mormonism at a time of great interest in both.”

For example, in one very interesting section of the new survey, respondents were asked several questions about what is essential to being a good Mormon. According to the survey, 80 percent said “believing Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ” is essential to being a good Mormon, 73 percent said “working to help the poor,” 51 percent said “regular Family Home Evenings,” 49 percent said “not drinking coffee and tea” and 32 percent said “not watching R-rated movies.

“To be honest, I found the strong sentiment that ‘working to help the poor’ is essential to being a good Mormon refreshing and a little surprising,” said David Campbell, an LDS Church member who is an associate professor at the University of Notre Dame and who consulted with the Pew Research Center on the new survey. “As a Mormon, I would hope it would be that way, but I wasn’t sure what to expect. It’s good to see the church’s genuine compassion for the poor and needy reflected in these numbers.”

People outside the church may or may not be aware of the LDS propensity for compassionate service and other . According to the survey, 62 percent of Mormons think that Americans are generally uninformed about Mormonism, and 68 percent feel that they are not viewed as part of mainstream American society. But they remain optimistic, with 63 percent expressing the belief that Mormonism will eventually become part of mainstream society and 56 percent saying that the American people are ready for a Mormon president.

In fact, optimism is one of the themes to emerge from the survey relative to Latter-day Saints. Some 87 percent say they are satisfied with the way things are going in their own life, and 92 percent say their respective communities are excellent (52 percent) or good (40 percent) places to live (this is especially true among Mormons in Utah, of whom 71 percent say their communities are excellent).

But evidently, optimism only goes so far with Mormons.

“I think it is interesting that the respondents are overwhelmingly positive about their communities. They love their communities and everything’s fine there,” said Marie Cornwall, professor of sociology at Brigham Young University and another advisor to the Pew Research Center on this study. “But when you ask them about the way things are going in the country today, they are overwhelmingly (75 percent) dissatisfied. You would think that their satisfaction with their personal lives would factor into their feelings about how things are going in the country, but there seems to be a total disconnect there.”

It should be noted that the Mormon view of how things are going in the country today closely resembles the view of the American public as a whole, among whom 78 percent said they were dissatisfied in an October 2011 Pew Research Center survey.

Generally speaking, the new survey looks at Mormons and their perspectives in four key areas: politics and ideology, religious beliefs and practices, cultural and moral issues and family life.

Politically, there are few surprises. Most Mormons (66 percent) describe themselves as politically conservative, and 74 percent of Mormon voters identify with or lean toward the Republican Party. Philosophically, 75 percent of respondents said they prefer a smaller government providing fewer services to a bigger government providing more services.

Among a number of politicians currently in the spotlight, Mitt Romney is a favorite, being viewed favorably by 86 percent of all Mormons and 94 percent of Mormon Republicans. Even among Mormon Democrats, 62 percent rate Romney favorably.

The other Mormon running for president, Jon Huntsman, is viewed favorably by 50 percent of Mormon voters, while President Barack Obama is viewed favorably by 25 percent — slightly ahead of the rating Mormons bestowed upon another one of their own: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (22 percent).

Interestingly, Latter-day Saints seem to be somewhat divided on the issue of immigration. They are fairly evenly split on whether immigrants strengthen the U.S. because of their hard work and talents (45 percent) or burden the U.S. by taking American jobs, housing and health care (41 percent).

Campbell, who is an expert in the field of religion, politics and civic engagement, said he wasn’t surprised by that result.

“Although Mormons are caricatured as being really right wing, on the issue of immigration they are not,” he said. “The church itself has been quite a voice of moderation on this issue, and that has resulted in Mormons being more positive toward immigrants than other conservative religious groups tend to be.”

Campbell suggests that the LDS Church’s missionary program has something to do with that, with Latter-day Saints tending to develop a broader worldview as a result of their missionary service around the world. In any event, he said, “this result really does cut against the stereotype.”

In terms of religious beliefs and practices, the survey makes it clear that Mormons are highly religious — again, not a big surprise. Eighty-two percent say that religion is very important in their lives, and 77 percent say they believe wholeheartedly in all of the church’s teachings. Fully 83 percent say they pray every day, 79 percent say they donate 10 percent of their earnings to the church in tithing and 77 percent say they attend church at least once a week. According to Pew, “Mormons exhibit higher levels of religious commitment than many other religious groups, including white evangelical Protestants.”

Looking at basic, core religious beliefs, 98 percent say they believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 94 percent believe the president of the LDS Church is a prophet of God, 95 percent believe that families can be bound together eternally in temple ceremonies, 94 percent believe that God the Father and Jesus Christ are separate, physical beings and 91 percent believe that the Book of Mormon was written by ancient prophets.

Clearly, Mormons are believers.

But are they Christian? Ninety-seven percent of Mormons think so. And when asked to volunteer the one word that best describes Mormons, the most common responses were “Christian” and “Christ-centered.” By way of contrast, a November Pew Research Center survey found that nearly half (49 percent) of non-Mormon U.S. adults say that Mormonism is NOT Christian or that they are unsure whether or not it is Christian. In that same survey, when respondents were asked for one word that best describes the LDS Church, the most commonly offered response was “cult.”

Culturally, Mormon conservatism extends to a wide variety of moral issues. Polygamy (86 percent), sex between unmarried adults (79 percent), abortion (74 percent) and drinking alcohol (54 percent) are viewed as morally wrong. Divorce, on the other hand, is largely considered “not a moral issue” by respondents (46 percent).

Similarly, 65 percent of respondents said that homosexuality should be discouraged by society, compared with 58 percent of the general public who say homosexuality should be accepted by society.

“Mormons like to use the phrase, ‘Be in the world but not of the world,’” Campbell noted. “They are active and involved in their communities, but they have these beliefs and practices that set them apart a little bit, and sometimes that creates conflict or tension. [Homosexuality] is one of those issues where, rightly or wrongly, Mormons just have a different position than most of the rest of America.”

The survey also illustrates how important family life is to most members of the LDS Church. Among life’s priorities, being a good parent (81 percent) and having a successful marriage (73 percent) place higher than career concerns, having free time or even living a religious life. Some 67 percent of Mormon adults are married (compared with 52 percent of the general public), and 85 percent of them are married to another Mormon.

“As the Church and its members are increasingly the focus of media attention, we’re eager to participate in conversations that help the public get to know us better,” said LDS Church spokesman Michael Purdy. “Even though the recent Pew study did not survey any of the Church’s eight million members who live outside the U.S., it highlights some important aspects regarding who we are and what we believe.

“For example,” Purdy continued, “the study found that Church members subscribe to traditional Christian beliefs, have high moral standards,                   Pew Study on Mormons in America

are overwhelmingly satisfied with their lives and communities, are active in serving others and have a profound dedication to family. These results reflect the Church’s message that a deep commitment to the teachings of Jesus Christ brings lasting happiness.”

Speaking for the Pew Research Center, Lugo said the idea for the survey was born last summer, “around the time that a Newsweek cover story and a New York Times article declared that the United States was experiencing a ‘Mormon moment.’”

“That got us thinking,” Lugo said in the survey’s preface.

Over the years, numerous polls have gauged public attitudes toward Mormons, who make up about 2 percent of all U.S. adults. But what do Mormons think about their place in American life? With the rising prominence of members of the LDS Church in politics, popular culture and the media, do Mormons feel more secure and accepted in American society? What do they think about other religions? What do they believe, how do they practice their faith and what do they see as essential to being a good Mormon and to leading a good life?

An advisory panel was recruited to help the Pew Forum staff create the survey. The panel featured a number of Latter-day Saints who have professional experience in Mormon studies and research, including Campbell, Cornwall, Matthew Bowman of Hampden-Sydney College, Terryl Givens of the University of Richmond and Allison Pond of the Deseret News.

“We helped them to formulate the questions, and to frame them in the kind of language that Mormons use,” Campbell said.

After a period of testing, the survey was conducted among respondents who identified themselves as Mormons (it also included qualifying questions that made it clear that respondents were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as opposed to other churches whose members may refer to themselves as Mormons).

“Since Mormons represent about 2 percent of the population, you’d have to call 98 people before you’d get a Mormon, and that would be very expensive,” said Cornwall, who is also editor of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. “But they had a fancy way of finding Mormons, including going back to Mormons they had found in the course of doing previous surveys, so they were able to get their sample in a cost-effective way.”

Care was also taken to make sure the survey included those who had land lines as well as those who have only cell phones — a growing area of concern among those who conduct public opinion research today.

Among other interesting findings of the Pew Forum’s survey of Mormons:

• 71 percent of respondents reside in the American West, including 53 percent who live in the Mountain states and 34 percent who live in Utah;

• 88 percent are white, 7 percent Hispanic, 1 percent black and 4 percent other racial and ethnic backgrounds;

• 50 percent say that evangelical Christians are generally unfriendly to Mormons;

• 54 percent say that the way their religion is portrayed on television and in movies hurts society’s image of Mormons;

• 57 percent of Mormons said that most or all of their close friends are other Mormons (this number was significantly higher in Utah, where the number climbed to 73 percent);

• 65 percent of respondents say they hold a current temple recommend;

• 27 percent say they believe in yoga not just as exercise but as a spiritual practice;

• 11 percent say they believe in reincarnation;

• 74 percent were raised in the LDS Church;

• 59 percent of converts cite the church’s beliefs as the main reason they joined the church;

• 59 percent of converts joined the church between the ages of 18 and 35;

• 27 percent have served a full-time mission, including 43 percent of men and 11 percent of women;

• 82 percent say they have a supply of food in storage, and 58 percent keep at least a three-month supply.

The margin of error for the survey is =/- 4.5 percentage points.

“I think this survey is a really good summary of the hyper-committed Mormon community that shows up at church every week,” Cornwall said. “I’m not sure it captures Mormons on the margins very well, but that’s OK — hopefully we can do that the next time. Meanwhile, this is a pretty good picture — and an interesting picture — of Mormons

By Joseph Walker, Deseret News

Additional Resources:

Full original source Deseret News article: Pew Study on Mormons in America.

Learn more about the results of this survey of Mormons in America.

See infographic from the Deseret News article.

Pew Mormon Study Highlights Christianity.

Come Unto Christ