Search

The Online Encyclopedia and Dictionary

 
     
 

Encyclopedia

Dictionary

Quotes

   
 

Latter Day Saint

A Latter Day Saint (LDS) is a person who identifies with the Latter Day Saint movement and is a follower of Mormonism. The name "Latter Day Saint" should not to be confused with the different but similar term "Latter-day Saint", which is used to refer specifically to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the largest LDS organisation. The non-hyphenated term "Latter Day Saint" is often used by other sects within the movement, and refers more generally to all followers of Mormonism, whether those followers are members of the LDS Church or not.

Latter Day Saints trace their religious heritage through Joseph Smith, Jr., who claimed to have restored the original "Church of Christ", which had disappeared from the earth after a period of apostasy. Latter Day Saints consider themselves to be "saints" in the original sense of the word, meaning members of the original Christian church established in the First Century, AD.

Latter Day Saints are sometimes referred to as Mormons (a nickname taken from the title of the Book of Mormon). The dwarfing dominance of the LDS Church in the Latter Day Saint movement and significant differences of doctrine and practice between it and the next largest branch (Community of Christ), have led to the terms Mormon (as a noun or adjective) and Mormonism being generally understood as applying only to the LDS church, or less so to its 20th century schisms. The LDS Church strongly prefers applying the term solely to the LDS Church while at the same time encouraging the increased use of historic self-designations such as "Latter-day Saints", "Saints", and "Church of Jesus Christ" instead of Mormon. (See LDS Style Guide http://www.lds.org/newsroom/page/0,15606,4043-1---15-168,00.html ). Though using "Mormon" to describe the Church and its members was once a pejorative reference to the isolated Utah-based church, it has generally lost that sense for most people, and nearly all Latter Day Saints today renounce polygamy.


List of Latter Day Saint sects

(See http://www.adherents.com )
* The largest of these churches, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, sometimes called the LDS Church or Mormon Church.
† Formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or RLDS Church.

See also:

External links

  • Official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints http://lds.org
  • Mormon.org - Official Mormon site about basic beliefs http://mormon.org
  • Online version of the scriptures of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints http://scriptures.lds.org
  • Mormon Links and Resources About Mormon Doctrine http://www.ldsresources.net



Last updated: 02-07-2005 12:47:31
Last updated: 05-03-2005 17:50:55