What do Latter-day Saints believe?
Latter-day Saints (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes called Mormons) are Christians who believe Joseph Smith restored the original church of Jesus Christ in 1830. They believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost as three separate beings. The Book of Mormon is additional scripture alongside the Bible. And families can be sealed together for eternity, not just until death.
1 · MindWhat people believe, and how they know
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded in 1830 in New York by Joseph Smith, who said he had been visited by God and Jesus Christ as a teenager and later received golden plates that he translated into the Book of Mormon. The church grew rapidly, faced intense persecution, and eventually settled in the Salt Lake Valley under Brigham Young.
Core theological claims: God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three separate, distinct beings, not one essence as in the Trinity doctrine. Humans existed as spirit children of God before birth (pre-mortal existence) and can become exalted in the afterlife. The Church is led by a living prophet. Priesthood authority, lost after the early church, was restored through Joseph Smith.
Distinctive practices: Temple ordinances including endowment and sealing of families for eternity. Two-year missionary service is common for young adults. The Word of Wisdom health code prohibits coffee, tea, alcohol and tobacco. Weekly church attendance, tithing, and home teaching are expected.
The church has about 17 million members worldwide. It does not use the term Mormon officially, though many members and others still use it. The church prefers the full name or the abbreviation LDS.
What each tradition or community says
LDS members consider themselves fully Christian. They believe in Jesus Christ as savior and follow the Bible (King James Version primarily) alongside additional scripture. The restoration, not reformation, of Christ’s original church is a central claim.
Most Protestant and Catholic theologians consider LDS theology to depart significantly from historic Christianity, particularly on the nature of God, scripture, and salvation. The relationship is sometimes tense.
Most members you meet are focused on family, service, and faith. They’re not trying to debate theology. They’re more likely to invite you to a potluck than a theology seminar.
2 · HeartWhat it feels like
Latter-day Saints in many parts of the country are a minority who’ve encountered a lot of assumptions, that they’re polygamists (the mainstream church stopped practicing it in 1890 and excommunicates members who do), that they’re a cult, that they’re not really Christian.
Most LDS families you’d meet are deeply devoted to their faith, tightly knit, and genuinely kind to neighbors. The doctrine is complex; the people are usually approachable.
The LDS missionaries at my door were twenty years old and from somewhere in Utah. They left me a book. I still haven’t finished it, but I appreciated that they were so earnest. Hard to dislike earnest.Neighbor Radio
3 · HandsHow to be a good neighbor
If you have LDS neighbors, you may notice they’re home a lot on Sundays, their kids knock on your door sometimes selling things for youth activities, and they seem to have an unusually large extended family network.
Ask them about their faith if you’re curious. They’re accustomed to explaining it.
This weekThink of something you believe that most of your neighbors would find surprising or unfamiliar. How would you want someone to ask you about it?
Plain wordsWhat do these words mean?
- Book of Mormon
- Scripture that Latter-day Saints read alongside the Bible, first published in 1830.
- Trinity
- The Christian belief that there is one God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Not three gods.
- Prophet
- Someone believed to speak a message from God.
- Protestant
- Christian churches that came from the Reformation in the 1500s, like Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist and many others.
- Catholic
- The largest Christian church in the world, led by the Pope in Rome.
- Baptism
- A washing with water that marks becoming part of the Christian church. Some churches baptize babies; others baptize people old enough to choose.
Four questions to take with you
From Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan, about the stranger who stopped to help. We call it the Samaritan Test.
- Did they see? Or look right past?
- Did they stop? Even when it was inconvenient?
- Did it cost them? Time, money, comfort, reputation?
- Did they treat the person like a person? Not like a label?
Try it on: a faith tradition you know mostly from headlines or jokes. What’s the best version of what they actually believe?
Quick questions
Do Latter-day Saints still practice polygamy?
The mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially ended polygamy in 1890. Members who practice it today are excommunicated. Some small fundamentalist splinter groups (not affiliated with the LDS Church) still practice it.
What’s inside an LDS temple?
Temples are used for sacred ordinances including baptism for the dead, endowment ceremonies, and sealing families together. They’re not regular Sunday meeting places. Non-members aren’t admitted after dedication.
Do they believe in the same Jesus as other Christians?
Both honor Jesus Christ as savior and son of God. LDS theology has distinctive beliefs about his nature and about scripture that most other Christian traditions don’t share.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Gospel Topics
- Pew Research Center: Mormons in America (2012)
- Britannica: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Written in plain words by the Neighbor Radio team. Each faith's and community's section is checked by someone from that faith or community. Until then, this page says so. Spot something wrong? Tell us. We read every note and fix mistakes.