Not all Mormon's are Latter Day Saints

Okay So I know you are going UH? Well I have been thinking and i stumbled upon the theme of this weeks blog while pulling things together for a different subject. (I will post that blog latter this week)

So do you know that just like every church since the time of Christ there was a split in the Church of Christ. Well for that matter did you know that the original name of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was The Church Of Christ. These churches all fall under something that has come to be called the Restoration Movement. The Restoration movement started in the United States with Joseph Smith. Many people had different views after Joseph Smith Died and They spilt off an formed other churches. The most known of the different denominations under the Restoration movement (or for our purpose the Mormon's) are as follows

• Churches of Christ
  • The churches of Christ (non-institutional), an identifiable subgroup within the churches of Christ
  • International Churches of Christ, an offshoot of the Churches of Christ
• Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ
• Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

• Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints), the original name of the first Latter Day Saint church, founded in 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr.
• Church of Christ (Temple Lot), a Latter Day Saint denomination based in Independence, Missouri
• Church of Christ with the Elijah Message, which broke away from the Temple Lot church in 1929
• Church of Christ at Halley's Bluff, which broke away from the Temple Lot church in 1932
• Church of Christ (Whitmerite), an extinct Latter Day Saint denomination
• Church of Christ (Brewsterite), an extinct Latter Day Saint denomination
• Church of Christ (Parrishite), an extinct Latter Day Saint denomination
• Latter Day Church of Christ, a Mormon fundamentalist denomination based in Utah
• And other denominations called the Church of Jesus Christ

*** Courtesy of Wikipedia***

The Basic thing about Mormon's is that they Recognize the Book of Mormon as Scripture. They do not worship Mormon. It was a derogatory term that was used by Mobs during an era of persecution. The name stuck. While The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is working to use the term LDS vs the term Mormon it has not diminished the use of the term.

Again we hop to Wikipedia for some easy distinctions regarding other churches who use and read the Book of Mormon

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Book of Mormon is one of four sacred texts or standard works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The other texts are the Bible (the King James Version), the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.^[85] Church members officially regard the Book of Mormon as the "most correct" book of scripture, in that "a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than any other book."^[86] This is, in part, because church members believe the Bible was the result of a multiple-step translation process and the Book of Mormon was not.^[87]

The church encourages discovery of the book’s truth by following the suggestion in the final chapter to study, ponder, and pray to God concerning its veracity. This passage is referred to as Moroni's Promise.^[91]

[edit]Community of Christ

The Community of Christ, formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, views The Book of Mormon as an additional witness of Jesus Christ and publishes two versions of the book through its official publishing arm, Herald House. The Authorized Edition is based on the original printer's manuscript and the 1837 Second Edition (or Kirtland Edition) of the Book of Mormon. Its content is similar to the Book of Mormon published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but the versification is different. The Community of Christ also publishes a 1966 "Revised Authorized Edition" which attempts to modernize some of the language.

In 2001, Community of Christ President W. Grant McMurray reflected on increasing questions about the Book of Mormon: "The proper use of The Book of Mormon as sacred scripture has been under wide discussion in the 1970s and beyond, in part because of long-standing questions about its historical authenticity and in part because of perceived theological inadequacies, including matters of race and ethnicity."^[92]

At the 2007 Community of Christ World Conference, President Stephen M. Veazey ruled out of order a resolution to "reaffirm the Book of Mormon as a divinely inspired record." He stated that "while the Church affirms the Book of Mormon as scripture, and makes it available for study and use in various languages, we do not attempt to mandate the degree of belief or use. This position is in keeping with our longstanding tradition that belief in the Book of Mormon is not to be used as a test of fellowship or membership in the church."^[93]

[edit]Greater Latter-Day Saint movement

There are a number of other churches that are part of the Latter Day Saint movement.^[94] Most of these churches were created as a result of issues ranging from differing doctrinal interpretations and acceptance of the movement's scriptures (the Book of Mormon, theDoctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price), to disagreements with the leadership of the original Church of Christ as formed by Joseph Smith or his successors. These groups all have in common the acceptance of The Book of Mormon as scripture. It is this acceptance which distinguishes the churches of the Latter Day Saint Movement from other Christian denominations. A number of churches in the Latter- Day Saint Movement have published their own editions of the Book of Mormon, along with private individuals and foundations not endorsed by any specific denomination

So basically what I am getting at is. There are so many other people that consider themselves Mormon how do you know which church they are from. I personally had a friend in Childhood who was a member of the Community of Christ. She referred to herself Mormon and in high-school many would question her as why she was not in Seminary. Well I then found out she was not LDS but RLDS (Reformed) After much further discussion her church appeared to believe the same things however she had some greatly varying ideas on some beliefs and even for me they were way out there.

So Why do I bring this up? Well did you know most of the Anti-Mormon literature that other Christian churches provide is a compilation of beliefs from all of these sects and many of them actually have nothing to do with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints and even more come from sects that have passed into extinction. Don't listen blindly to what someone says we believe ask and study and you will find out that honestly we really are not as crazy or weird as we are made out to be. We simple are Followers of Christ who believe in Modern Revelation and the Restoration of Jesus Christ's church in this dispensation. We believe that this is the final Dispensation as foretold in the book of Revelations and we Feel that these prophecies are coming to pass and many have been fulfilled. So take some time and sort out which Mormon's you are being told about of if it is some fictional hybrid of all of them.