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

Landmark Pew Study of Christian Mormon Beliefs

As the “Mormon moment” extends into 2012, the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life today released a groundbreaking new survey, the first ever published by a non-LDS research organization to focus exclusively on members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their beliefs, values, perceptions and political preferences.

Entitled “Mormons in America: Certain in Their Beliefs, Uncertain of Their Place in Society,” the survey was conducted between Oct. 25 and Nov. 16, 2011 among a national sample of 1,019 respondents who identified themselves as Mormons. The results validate a number of long-held stereotypes (most American Mormons are white, well-educated, politically conservative and religiously observant) while providing a few interesting surprises (care for the poor and needy is high on the list of LDS priorities, while drinking coffee and watching R-rated movies aren’t as taboo among the rank and file as you might think).

“While this survey comes amid a contentious election campaign, it is not solely or even chiefly about politics,” said Luis Lugo, Pew Research Center director, in the published survey’s preface. “Rather, we hope that it will contribute to a broader public understanding of Mormons and Mormonism at a time of great interest in both.”

For example, in one very interesting section of the new survey, respondents were asked several questions about what is essential to being a good Mormon. According to the survey, 80 percent said “believing Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ” is essential to being a good Mormon, 73 percent said “working to help the poor,” 51 percent said “regular Family Home Evenings,” 49 percent said “not drinking coffee and tea” and 32 percent said “not watching R-rated movies. Read more

Mormon Self-Reliance and Philanthropy

The welfare system of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was established during the Great Depression in America, when so many people were out of work and in dire straits financially.  Its central concept was self-reliance, and that continues to be its watch-word today.

Touring the Mormon Humanitarian Center at Welfare Square, Photo by Tom Smart, Deseret News

This exemplary system has been studied by many governments and organizations wishing to emulate its successes.  Recently, a group of philanthropists visited “Welfare Square” in Salt Lake City, the LDS Humanitarian Center and the Bishop’s Central Storehouse.  Welfare Square consists of a storehouse, a bakery, a cannery, a milk processing plant, a thrift store and an employment center.

The LDS Church, sometimes erroneously called the Mormon Church, owns ranches, orchards, and farms staffed by volunteer workers.  It also has its own canneries, again manned by members of the Church offering their labors free of charge.  The food produced by these efforts finds its way to “Bishop’s Storehouses,” which look like small grocery stores that also carry basic linens and clothing.  Members of the Church in temporary need approach their local congregational leaders who help them fill out order forms for their basic necessities.  Meanwhile, the family receiving aid participates in volunteering, while engaging in educational and employment counseling.  They can then “shop” free of charge at the Bishop’s Storehouse closest to home.  The LDS Church welfare system is funded by Mormon donations and is one of many Mormon charities.

The philanthropists visiting the central facilities in Utah were part  of a conference sponsored by the  The Philanthropy Roundtable based in Washington, D.C. ,  which seeks to improve charitable outcomes by educating donors.

“We came to Utah to see Welfare Square because it is one of the nation’s greatest models of cultivating self-reliance, not only for members of the Mormon faith but for people of all backgrounds,” said Shannon Toronto, COO of The Philanthropy Roundtable, a national network of individual donors, corporate giving officers and foundation trustees.  [1]

Mormon Donations

Mormon contributions to their church mainly consist of the paying of Mormon tithing.  Based on the ancient biblical law of paying ten percent of one’s increase (either in money or “in kind” — paying with goods), Mormon tithing funds go to running the LDS Church.  (Read more — how Mormon tithing funds are used.)

Mormon donations also include “fast offering.”  Mormons fast for two meals the first Sunday of each month and offer the monetary value of the food to the Church of Jesus Christ for the care of the poor and the needy.  These are the funds that drive the exemplary welfare system of the Church.  Mormons are asked to be generous with their fast offerings, and many give far more than the value of two meals.  During the 1980′s the First Presidency of the Church asked members to make generous fast offerings, with the total collected during one “Fast Sunday” to go to Ethiopia, where starvation was rampant.  Six million dollars were collected and sent to help those starving people.

Mormon donations also include specific donations to Mormon humanitarian aid.    One hundred percent of these funds actually to to Mormon humanitarian aid, which includes disaster relief and rebuilding and ongoing projects around the world.  The Church has donated over a billion dollars of aid since 1985.  Special humanitarian aid missionaries serve all over the world at their own expense.

Mormons who can also donate to the LDS Church’s Perpetual Education Fund and to help missionaries afford to serve (since missionaries serve at their own expense).

Additional Resources

How the LDS Church Uses its Money

Is the “Mormon Church” Wealthy?

Mitt Romney’s Mormon Tithing

Mormon Philanthropies