LDS religious commitment high, Pew survey finds

Of all the numbers in the Pew Research Center’s recently released survey of “Mormons in America,” the highest, most overwhelming numbers are these: 98 percent of respondents said they believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and 97 percent say their church is a Christian religion.

This comes on the heels of earlier surveys indicating that 32 percent of non-LDS U.S. adults say the LDS Church is not a Christian religion, and an additional 17 percent are unsure of LDS Christianity. The theological and semantic reasons for this can be complex, but for the 1,019 self-identified Mormons who participated in the Pew survey, their theological position is clear: Mormons believe in Jesus Christ, and they consider themselves to be Christian.

“Certainly in Latter-day Saint theology is this idea that if you understand who you are, you understand that there’s a purpose in life, you understand your connection to God, that certainly has an impact on how you live your life and what you do, but also how you feel about your life and what you are doing,” said Michael Purdy of the LDS Church Public Affairs office. Read more

Mormons Say Polygamy Morally Wrong

By Amy Choate-Nielsen

Deseret News
Published: Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012 7:00 p.m. MST

David Letterman knows how to get a laugh.Like most comics, he riffs on the day’s news, deadpans the camera and revels in audacity.”Oh, did you hear about this?” the host of CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman asked his audience recently. “A campaign staffer on the Newt Gingrich campaign was fired because he was making negative comments about Mormons. I thought, now, wait a minute — isn’t Newt in favor of multiple wives?”
Laughter rumbled from the audience followed by applause. The polygamy punch line is a familiar one when it comes to poking fun at Mormons — as though Mormons and polygamy are synonymous in mainstream media. Ironically, the practice that’s most linked to Mormons is a practice most Mormons oppose, according to a groundbreaking new study of Mormons in America released Thursday by the Pew Research Center‘s Forum on Religion and Public Life.

According to the study, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unequivocally reject polygamy — only 2 percent said the practice is morally acceptable — evidence of a yawning gap in what Mormons believe and how they are perceived. Mormons’ opinions are overwhelmingly conservative, the study shows, but in many ways, their views are also surprising — especially when it comes to opinions on moral issues, divorce, homosexuality and polygamy. Read more

Why Don’t Mormon Women Hold the Priesthood?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths, the “Mormon Church”) holds women in the highest respect. The Lord has given worthy male members of the Church, the specific responsibility to administer the priesthood of the Church. Women in the Church are given different responsibilities and callings to serve, teach, and help other members. Below, D. Lauritsen, a Mormon professor, shares an answer as to why Mormon women don’t hold the priesthood:

Why Don’t Mormon Women Hold the Priesthood?

Brief Answer: Though Jesus Christ was the earliest, kindest, and most outspoken proponent and defender of womanhood of whom we have written record (Matthew 15:21–28; John 7:37–50; John 4:6–30; John 8:3–11), he nevertheless did not confer the ecclesiastical responsibilities of the Aaronic or Melchizedek Priesthood on women. He has continued to follow that pattern in his restored Church.

Detailed Answer: Why the Lord established and continues to follow the pattern mentioned above has not been revealed. But if the Lord chooses to change this pattern, his Saints are assured that he will first reveal it through the living prophet, for “surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

Nevertheless, the Lord has revealed major changes in the role of women in his restored Church, beginning with his establishment of the relief Society on March 17, 1842. With the exception of the grueling years of Church persecution, flight, and relocation, the relief Society has steadily grown in numbers, influence, and accomplishments. Its humble rebirth began in the Utah Territory in 1854 when sixteen women responded to President Brigham young’s exhortation to form a women’s organization to make clothing for Native American women and children. By 1866, the local “Indian relief Society” had become known throughout the Church as relief Society, and by 1880, the organization had units in each of three hundred wards. Read more