Mormon Culture Archive
Mormon funerals are a time for family and friends to gather to share in their sadness at a temporary separation from someone they love, as well as to celebrate the life and future of the person who has died.
Mormons believe life is a three-stage process, the first beginning before birth, the second during our mortal life, and the final stage our eternal lives. For most people, eternity will be spent in Heaven. Mormons know Heaven to be a wonderful place. While not everyone will live with God (because the Bible outlines the rules for returning home to God), God has prepared a wonderful home for all but the most evil. Mormons don’t believe only Mormons go to Heaven—they don’t, in fact, believe only Christians go to Heaven. You do, however, have to accept Jesus as your Savior and agree to live the principles He taught in order to live in the presence of God. Those who die without the opportunity to do so will be taught the gospel after death and be... Read the rest of this entry »
Mormons celebrate Christmas as the birth of Jesus Christ.
Mormon beliefs sometimes get confused with the beliefs and practices of other religions. One such belief concerns the celebration of Christmas. Mormons tend to be very passionate Christmas celebrators, with many Mormon congregations hosting nativity festivals or free sing-alongs of Handel’s Messiah each year.
While Santa makes an appearance in some Mormon homes, the focus is always on the meaning of Christmas. Christmas is considered a sacred holiday and Mormon families are encouraged to simplify the secular portions of it in order to make more room for the spiritual elements of the Christmas celebration.
Mormons believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ and celebrate His birth as a pivotal moment in eternal life. The Book of Mormon, which Mormons consider a companion book to the Bible, says, “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write... Read the rest of this entry »
Barbara B. Smith died on September 13, 2010. She served as the General Relief Society President for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) from 1974 to 1984 and was the first president born in that century. As General Relief Society president, she oversaw this official women’s auxiliary for the entire world-wide church. A life as a wife and as a mother of seven might not seem to be the usual preparation to head up one of the largest women’s organizations in the world, but it taught her organization, leadership, teaching skills, and service. Over the years, she had served in a variety of volunteer positions within the Church, including serving on the governing boards of a number of official LDS auxiliaries prior to overseeing the Relief Society. Read the rest of this entry »
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At the World Congress of Families V in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Aug. 12, 2009, Russell M. Nelson spoke to the delegates about the importance of the traditional family. Elder Nelson is an apostle for The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, whose members are sometimes informally referred to as Mormons. He said,
“Dear friends, future happiness and even the future of nations is linked to children. Families with children need to be re-enthroned as the fundamental unit of society. We simply must value children more than we do! Without a new generation to replace the old, there is no wealth; without families, there is no future.” Read the rest of this entry »
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The Mormons are sometimes seen as having a great many restrictive rules. Mormons themselves know that within the rules are many opportunities for freedom, and that these rules actually make them freer than those with no rules.
An often-used example of freedom within structure is the sonnet. A sonnet is a poem with very strict rules.
Shakespeare’s sonnets each contained fourteen lines. Every line had ten syllables written in iambic pentameter. Despite this very strict structure, Shakespeare managed to come up with 154 sonnets, all different, and many other people have also created sonnets based on this formula. The structure does not prevent people from being creative and writing something close to their heart. Rather, it actually frees the author. By having the structure in place, the poet is free to focus all his attention on the message and wording of the poem, which, after all, is the point of a poem. Read the rest of this entry »
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The Pew Forum, which is not affiliated with the Church in any way, did a study of Mormons in the United States. One aspect of Mormons in their personal lives involved their feelings about and relationships with God.
The study found that every Mormon surveyed believed in God, which was higher than any other religion previously
surveyed. In addition, nine out of ten were absolutely certain of God’s existence. Ninety-one percent of Mormons believe God is someone you can have a relationship with. All these figures are well above the normal for other groups. Read the rest of this entry »
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The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is touring the central United States this summer. Named America’s Choir by Ronald Reagan, they are considered an important part of American culture.
Brigham Young, the second president and prophet of the church, knew the Saints, as Mormons are often called, would need to keep their spirits up as they moved west after being forced from their homes in Illinois. When he put together the small group of people who would make the initial trek to Utah, he included musicians. In fact, every wagon company included at least one musician. Twenty-nine days after the first Mormons settled in Utah, a conference was held on August 22, 1847. A small choir sang at this conference, and the church has actually had a standing choir even before this, since the earliest days of the church in Ohio and Illinois. The first large choir was organized in 1829 under conductor George Careless. Read the rest of this entry »
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