lds.org

Manchester or Fayette, New York, United States Separations LDS denominations Congregations 28,109 Members 13,508,509[1] Missionaries 52,494[1] Temples 128[2] Tertiary institutions 4[3] Official Website www.lds.org This box: view • talk • edit

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church, often colloquially referred to as the Mormon Church) is the largest denomination originating from the Latter Day Saint movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr., on April 6, 1830. The Church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has established congregations (called wards or branches) worldwide. As of 2007, the Church reported just over 13 million members worldwide, with about 6 million in the United States,[1][4][5] thus making it the fourth largest Christian denomination in the United States.[6][7]

Adherents—usually referred to as Latter-day Saints, LDS, or Mormons—are restorationist Christians and are not a part of the Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant traditions. Like other Restorationist organizations, the LDS Church teaches that after the events described in the New Testament, there was a Great Apostasy, or "falling away" from the true Christian faith and priesthood. The Church teaches that this true faith and priesthood were restored to Joseph Smith, Jr. through Smith's prophecy and the visitation of angels in the early 1800s. Thus, the Church teaches that it is the only organization on the Earth with authority to conduct valid Christian sacraments (ordinances) such as baptism or the Eucharist (called by LDS the Sacrament). The Church also practices other sacraments, said to have been restored or instituted by Joseph Smith, such as Celestial marriage.

The LDS Church is organized in a hierarchical structure, with Jesus viewed as the head, who provides revelation to the President of the Church, his counsellors in the First Presidency, and a Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, all of whom are ordained as "prophets, seers, and revelators." Along with additional quorums of men, these men make up the General Authorities of the Church. The Church is further structured in a way that provides a direct chain of authority down to the local congregational level. At the local level, these members of the priesthood are drawn from the laity and work on a purely volunteer basis without stipend. Members, including clergy, are asked to donate a full tithe (10%) of their income to the Church.

The Church has a canon of four scriptural texts:[8] the Bible (both Old and New Testament), the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. Other than the Bible, the majority of the LDS canon constitutes revelation