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. 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...)

The Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies (often simply referred to as the BYU Jerusalem Center or BYU–Jerusalem, and locally known as the Mormon University), situated on Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem, is a satellite campus of Brigham Young University (BYU), the largest religious university in the United States. Owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the center provides a curriculum that focuses on Old and New Testament, ancient and modern Near Eastern studies, and language (Hebrew and Arabic). Classroom study is built around field trips that cover the Holy Land, and the program is open to qualifying full-time undergraduate students at either BYU, BYU-Idaho, or BYU-Hawaii.

Plans to build a center for students were announced by LDS Church president Spencer W. Kimball in 1979. By 1984, the church had obtained a 49-year lease on the land and had begun construction. The center's prominent position on the Jerusalem skyline quickly brought it notice by the Ultra-Orthodox Jews, or Haredim, of Israel. Protests and opposition to the building of the center springing from the Haredim made the issue of building the center a national and even international issue. After several investigative committees of Israel's Knesset reviewed and debated the issue, Israeli officials decided to allow the center's construction to continue in 1986. The center opened to students in May 1988 and was dedicated by Howard W. Hunter on May 16, 1989. It did not admit students from 2001 to 2006 due to security issues during the Second Intifada but continued to provide tours for visitors and weekly concerts. (Full article...)

Map of Wisconsin highlighting Walworth County where the unincorporated community of Voree is located

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...)

1856 daguerreotype of James Strang, taken on Beaver Island, Lake Michigan

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

Photo of Alpheus Cutler

John Alpheus Cutler (February 29, 1784 – June 10, 1864) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement who founded the Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) in 1853. He had previously served in several church positions under Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, as well as captain of Smith's personal bodyguard and "Master Builder and Workman on all God's Holy Houses." Following the death of Joseph Smith in June 1844, Cutler at first followed the Twelve Apostles under Brigham Young, but later left Young's church to reorganize the Church of Jesus Christ, with himself serving as its first president. Cutler claimed that this was the sole legitimate continuation of Smith's organization, and he served as its leader until his death. (Full article...)

• ... that No, Ma'am, That's Not History, Hugh Nibley's rebuttal to Fawn Brodie's divisive biography of Joseph Smith, started a trend of polemics in Mormon apologetics?
• ... 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 the name Zenock is misspelled in almost every published edition of the Book of Mormon?
• ... that Songs and Flowers of the Wasatch represented a shift in Mormon history toward a "socially-accepted American cultural and religious heritage", according to historian Jennifer Reeder?
• ... that the name of the "Mormons vs. Mullets" game was a play on the 1988 "Catholics vs. Convicts" game?
• ... that Latter-day Saint diarist Ida Hunt Udall turned down a marriage offer from her longtime boyfriend because he was a monogamist, and she wanted a polygamous marriage?

• 23 December 1805: birth of Joseph Smith
• December 1833: The Word of Wisdom was first published as a stand-alone broadsheet.
• 1 December 1838: Joseph Smith and other associates were imprisoned in Liberty Jail.
• 14 December 2001: In LDS Cinema, the film The Other Side of Heaven was released.
• 25 December: Nativity of Jesus, Christmas (pictured)