by Cathy Z. Wilson

Created on: May 22, 2008   Last Updated: September 21, 2010

Mormons (which is a nickname for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) believe in the one true God of the Old and New Testaments, and they believe that Jesus Christ was God's son who was crucified on the cross for our sins and was resurrected on the third day. (Mormons call this the "Atonement".) Because of this Mormons identify themselves as Christian.

Mormons believe that after the death of Christ and the subsequent deaths of his Apostles, the church became divided and influenced by the Greeks and the Romans. The church fell into a state of "apostasy;" in other words, it was no longer the church that Jesus had envisioned, and it had become an institution ruled by men who were swayed by the various cultures of the times. Jesus Christ's original Christian church had become a collection of churches, each informed by different cultural and even pagan beliefs and ceremonies.

The L.D.S (Mormon) church was founded by a young man named Joseph Smith who was raised in upstate New York during the early 19th century, a time of vigorous church revivals. Confused by the many differing messages he heard from the various denominations, he looked to his Bible for answers and found the following verse: "5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering" (James 1:5-6)

It was at this point that the Mormon religion diverged significantly from mainstream Christianity. Deciding to follow James' advice, Joseph prayed to God with unwavering faith and sincerity, asking Him to tell Joseph which church he should join. According to Joseph's account, "two Personages" appeared to him, which were God and Jesus Christ, and they told him he was not to join any of the churches. Over a period of several years, Joseph received more visitations and revelations, ultimately leading him to a book of inscribed golden plates which had been buried underground. Joseph was given the means to translate these plates, which turned out to the story of a group of Israelites who came to America after the destruction of Jerusalem and who were visited by the resurrected Christ and some of his Apostles. Through divine revelation, Joseph learned that God wanted his "true" church restored to the earth. The golden plates translated by Joseph Smith became what is now known as "The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Christ." Joseph Smith and his followers believed that

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