Today The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes inadvertently referred to by the media or friends of other faiths as "The Mormon Church") has over 14.4 million members in over 160 nations worldwide. Over 140 of its beautiful temples adorn sites in North, South, and Central America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and numerous islands of the sea. Its relief and humanitarian efforts have helped bless the lives of millions around the world, regardless of faith, as it follows the example of its Living Head, Jesus Christ. Sadly, The Church of Jesus Christ is still greatly misunderstood, and many myths and falsehoods still exist. We hope that this site may prove informational to those who visit hoping to find information about Latter-day Saints (nicknamed "Mormons"), either on a given topic in Mormonism or simply about Mormons in general. Articles cover topics about such things as basic Mormon beliefs, Mormon doctrine, Mormon history and leadership, temple work, family life, Mormon literature, controversial topics, and Church organizations and humanitarian efforts.
In the closing session of the April 1999 General Conference, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gordon B. Hinckley, gave the following announcement, “I feel impressed to announce that among all of the temples we are constructing, we plan to rebuild the Nauvoo Temple.” The news was received with joy and tears by members and even those not of the LDS faith. (More about the Nauvoo Temple.)
Humanitarian Aid Updates
LDS Church Continues Aid to Japan
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a world-recognized pattern for quickly providing emergency response in cases of disaster. Latter-day Saints do not choose congregations to attend, but are assigned to "wards" organized geographically. A system of leadership organized among its lay clergy enables fast communication from the bottom up (Home Teaching, Visiting Teaching) and the top down. The Mormon leadership in Northeastern Japan worked tirelessly after the 9.0 earthquake of March, 2011, to account for missionaries serving in the area, members, and facilities of the Church, and then to assess needs of all citizens and decide how to quickly get aid in to stricken areas.
The LDS Church is often the last to leave devastated areas. Help is still being provided to victims of the 2004 tsunami that took the lives of over 200,000 people in southeast Asia. In like fashion, LDS still continues to give aid in Japan. Two recent efforts include the donation of a new industrial size ice maker to fishermen in a small village near Sendai, and the restoration of a Shinto shrine in Tagajo.
The 11 March 2011 tsunami destroyed all but one of 84 fishing boats in a local fishing cooperative near Sendai. Although some boats have been prepared, there has been no access to ice to preserve the fish after they are caught. Now the local fishermen are able to go back to work and support their families. A Mormon missionary from Alpine, Utah, Elder Masahisa Watabe, discovered the need. Elder Watabe is serving as a senior missionary along with his wife. He was born and raised in Sendai, but had not returned for many years. When he returned to help rebuild, he met a prominent friend in the community and learned about the fishermen. The gift was announced on June 15th by the Presiding Bishop of the LDS Church, H. David Burton. The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the huge ice maker, a cold-storage unit and three refrigerated trucks took place on September 1, 2011.
"The ice machine is capable of making 3.3 tons of ice a day. Prefectural Fishing Cooperative President Shinetsu Kikuchi called the gift “a large step for people in the fishing industry” as he presented a plaque of appreciation to the Church." [1]
Also near Sendai is a terribly damaged Shinto shrine, which was recently restored by eighty Mormon missionaries. The shrine is the Yawata Shrine in Tagajo, just outside Sendai. Missionaries from the Church’s Tokyo mission rode a bus all night to spend the next day clearing out debris and salvaging the shrine’s treasures. The Yawata Shrine is hundreds of years old and is designated as a Historical Legacy Site in Japan.
The March tsunami washed over the shrine, flooding it, and washed cars into the grounds and scattered and destroyed sacred artifacts. Priests at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo invited LDS Church leaders to describe how the Church conducts its humanitarian efforts around the world. The presentation was made to 50 Meiji priests and employees. It was organized by Moriyasu Ito, a Meiji priest who studied at Brigham Young University.
Representatives of the LDS Church "explained the Church’s global relief efforts and the extensive contributions made in Japan, which include large cash donations, supplies of gasoline, food, water, blankets, clothing, hygiene kits and large pieces of equipment, such as the aforementioned ice-making and storage facilities for fishermen. The Church has sent more than 18,000 volunteers who have given approximately 160,000 hours of service in the disaster zone."
On January 11, 2012, the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life 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. [2] The Pew Forum titled the survey, "Mormons in America: Certain in Their Beliefs, Uncertain of Their Place in Society." During the 2011 campaign for a Republican candidate for president, members of the Church of Jesus Christ, who are often referred to as Mormons, came under the spotlight for better or for worse. Journalists began to call this the "Mormon moment." (Read more...)
Slate Magazine annually awards honors to 80 influential people over age 80, called "80 Over 80." In October, 2009, the magazine chose Thomas S. Monson, President and Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the number one most influential American over age 80.
"The top spot this year goes to 82-year-old Thomas S. Monson, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the only person on the list to rule over millions of people as a prophet of God. Enjoy it while you can, Monson—you're only old once." [3]
In 2010, President Monson won the award again. [4] "Slate predicts that Monson will claim the top spot until his death. It is expected that at that time Boyd K. Packer, octogenarian current president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, will succeed him as prophet and president, and most likely as Slate's top octagnerian as well." [5]
You Can Find True Happiness
===Mormons Bear Witness of the Resurrection of Christ.===
Easter weekend, 2012, Mormons are bearing their witness that Jesus Christ, our Creator and Redeemer, died for our sins and rose from the dead, the First-Fruits of the Resurrection. Because of His infinite atonement, all of us will rise again, with perfect, immortal bodies, to live eternally. Witnesses to this, the greatest event in history, will be shared at Mormon.org. More information can be found at LDS.org. For news coverage of the event, go to KUTV.com or ABC4.com.
The Latter-day Saint media blitz will also be visible on the following social networking websites — YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Google plus, and Pinterest.
We at More Good Foundation wish you a Happy Easter, and we want you to know that each of us has an individual witness of the joy that is found in accessing God's grace through the Savior of the World. Our blessings are numerous even in times of trouble, because of the atonement and continuing tender mercies of the Lord, Jesus Christ. He has said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27).
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