The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS)
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS)
* Founder
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), also known as the Mormon Church, was founded by Joseph Smith in 1830 (The New York Times, 2018). Smith was born in 1805 in Vermont, United States. He later relocated with his family to Palmyra, New York. The region was a hotbed of religious enthusiasm and hosted various camp meetings and revivals. In 1820, Smith received a vision, which he claimed resolved his religious confusion (conflicting claims of the various faiths) (churchofjesuschrist.org, 2021). In this first vision, Smith said that God and Jesus Christ appeared to him while praying and commanded him not to join any existing churches because God would restore the church commissioned initially by Jesus Christ.
In 1823, Smith claimed that he had another vision where an angel called Moroni informed him about engraved golden plates buried in a neighboring hill (Melton, 2021). Smith said that subsequent instructions he received from the Angel led him to excavate the plates and translate them into English. The ensuing Book of Mormon was published in 1830. This book talked about the history of the Israelites who moved to America in ancient times (History.com, 2021). These two visions influenced Smith to establish a church, and on April 6, the same year, Smith founded the Church of Christ of LDS in Fayette and became its first president (newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org, 2021). The church rapidly attracted converts, and Smith established LDS communities in Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri. However, LDS was profoundly criticized for its nonconformist practices like polygamy. Smith was assassinated alongside his brother by an ant-LDS mob on June 27, 1844 (History.com, 2021).
B. Polity
LDS is governed at headquarters and local levels. At headquarters, the church is led by fifteen apostles (newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org, 2021). The president is the most senior apostle and the head of the hierarchical structure. He appoints two apostles as counselors. The remaining apostles are the church's second-highest governing (The Denver Post, 2016). The president and the remaining apostles oversee the whole church. This structure originates from the New Testament. Church members regard all the apostles as special witnesses of Jesus Christ throughout the world. Leaders, known as the Seventies, assist the Twelve Apostles and serve in different locations worldwide (newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org, 2021). Seventy contains eight quorums, each consisting of up to 70 members (The Denver Post, 2016). Most Seventies live and work around the church, but some are assigned to headquarters administrative functions.
At the local level, the bishop is the leader of the congregation. His administrative parish is known as ''ward''. A group of wards forms a stake, headed by a president. Stake presidents and bishops are...