by Kimi Pollett

Created on: January 25, 2007   Last Updated: May 11, 2007

One of the biggest challenges facing the LDS Church (Mormons) is the overwhelming amount of false information being disseminated today. This is a topic that seems to be exempted from the standard journalistic practice of actually verifying your information before you publish it. Just because your great aunt's cousin's neighbor's preacher said something does *not* make it true. Here are few of the most common, along with the facts behind them.

-The first tenant of the Mormon church is, "We believe in God the Eternal father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost." They are then, by definition, Christians.

-They do not and have not ever worshipped Joseph Smith their founder. They look on him as a prophet, and honor him as the person who restored their religion, but do not consider him a deity. Just a man they love and respect.

-Polygamy has been against the laws of the church since the 1870's and is punishable by excommunication from the church and referral to local law enforcement. The practice was begun in the church, in part, at the time of the infamous Extermination Order in Missouri. At that time the state had enacted a law allowing the extermination of the Mormons. As a result men and boys were murdered without provocation. This left large numbers of widows and children with no means of support and protection. The majority of the "marriages" were in name only and were never consummated (as supported by numerous journals of the time). Once the church settled in the Salt Lake Valley and had a small measure of protection, polygamy was banned.

-There is no minimum number of children that Mormons are told to have. Just like any other Christian faith, families are an important part. However, the decision to have a family and how many to have in your family is entirely a personal one. Mormons are counseled to have only as many children as they can emotionally, physically and financially support.

-Mormons do not baptize dead people or small children. They believe that a child does not have the understanding and maturity to make a decision regarding such an important matter as religion until they turn eight years old. No children are baptized before the age of eight. They do perform proxy baptisms or "Baptism for the Dead" on themselves on behalf of deceased relatives, they believe that the deceased relative then has the right to accept or reject the baptism done on their behalf. According to their church policies they can only submit names from their own

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