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:Baptism for the Dead, where proxies act on behalf of deceased persons who are then "baptized" into the LDS church; names are obtained from geneological research, for which the Mormons are world-famous. This practice was rejected by the Council of Hippo and the Third Council of Carthage, and St. John Chrysostom associated it with the heretical Marcionites. St. Clement of Alexandria indicated that Baptism for the Dead was a doctrine also particular to the [[Gnostics]].:The so-called "Endowment," where initiates are taught the "fullness" of Mormon doctrine on such subjects as the "plurality of Gods," the Mormon version of creation, and the process by which one may "progress to godhood." Additionally, participants take a solemn oath never to reveal anything that goes on in the temple, as well as oaths to faithfully abide by all of the Mormon teachings. This ceremony essentially becomes a "contract" between the Mormon "god" and his adherents, by which they promise to obey his laws and earthly leadership, and he in turn promises to advance them to "godhood" upon their resurrection. Many elements of this ceremony were stolen from the rituals of the heretical [[Freemasons]], and Joseph Smith (who had been a Master Mason himself) was expelled from membership in that fraternity as a result.:Marriage for Eternity, where participants, upon receiving their "Endowment," are married "for time and all eternity." This is seen as an indespensible requirement for "godhood." The Orthodox Church has traditionally rejected this concept.

In 1823 Smith claimed to have a visitation by an [[angel]] named Moroni, who told him of a chronicle of ancient history which was supposedly engraved in an ancient Egyptian dialect (which Smith referred to as "Reformed Egyptian") on tablets of gold and buried in a hill near Manchester, New York. Smith was also told that he would be the instrument to bring this knowledge to the world. He allegedly obtained these plates in 1827 and supposedly translated them into English via the use of two seer-stones which he called the "Urim and Thummim" (Hebrew for ''lights and perfections''). These stones are not to be confused with the [[Old Testament]] Urim and Thummim, the stones on the High Priest’s breastplate used to relay messages from God to his people, though Mormons themselves sometimes try to connect the two.

This translation became ''The Book of Mormon'', which is revered as another [[testament]] "Another Testament of Jesus Christ " by Mormons. The monikers referring to the church as "the Mormon Church" or "Mormonism" and its members as "mormonsMormons" are derivations from the name ''The Book of Mormon.'' The book purports to be a religious and secular history of groups the ancient inhabitants of the Americas, called Nephites, Lamanites, Mulekites, and Jaredites, among others, from about 2200 B.C. to A.D. 421. It claims that at least some of the Amerindians American Indians are descended from various groups of Near Eastern peoples (including mostly [[Jews]]) who immigrated during pivotal periods in [[Israel|Israel’s]] history.

Smith claimed that many of these people were openly-practicing [[Christians]] , ''before '' the birth of Jesus Christ, with a functioning church organization that mirrored that later taught by the Holy Apostles, administering baptisms, confirmations and the Holy Eucharist eons before the coming of the Savior. FurthermoreThe book even claims that our Lord came to visit these peoples Himself after His [[Ascension]]--after raining down several days of death and destruction on the apostates and other evildoers among them. About four-hundred years after this alleged event, connections the godly "Nephites" were destroyed by the evil "Lamanites," who became the principal ancestors of the Native American peoples. Interestingly, over 3,000 changes have been noted between the Book of Mormon currently published by the LDS Church, and the original edition published by Joseph Smith. Most of these changes were made by Smith himself, in later editions of the book printed during his lifetime. Of potential interest to Orthodox Christians are passages in I Nephi 11:32, where our Lord is originally referred to as "the eternal God," but is now referred to as "the son of the eternal God;" and I Nephi 11:18, where the Theotokos is originally referred to as "the mother of God, after the manner of the flesh," while today she is referred to as "the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh."<ref>http://www.geocities.com/swickersc/mormonbkchange.html.</ref> Connections between the history and civilization portrayed in ''The Book of Mormon'' and evidence found by archaeologists in the Americas is debatable. Evidence of items like horses, elephants, cattle, barley, wheat, steel swords, chariots, shipbuilding, and other Old World paraphernalia has not been found to exist in the Americas until the advent of the Europeans. Evidence of these people, the gold plates, or the "seer-stones" has yet to be found.<ref>See, for instance, the Smithsonian Institutes' offical statement on the Book of Mormon, at http://www.irr.org/mit/smithson.html.</ref>

Plural marriage was practiced by early Mormon church leaders. Many sources say that Smith had as many as twenty to thirty wives, while Brigham Young counted fifty-two.<ref>D. Michael Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power, Signature Books, Salt Lake City, 1994, 685 pages, ISBN 1-56085-056-6; Appendix 6, "Biographical Sketches of Officers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints, 1830-47" pp. 607-608).</ref> The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the mainstream Mormon sect, practiced [[polygyny]] until 1890, when they ended the doctrine to ensure Utah’s statehood.  Today about 70% of Utah is Mormon and around 60,000 practice polygyny (5% of Utah Mormons), though the main LDS Church excommunicates anyone advocating or practicing it. Also, there are other Other Mormon sects practicing practice polygyny secretly all over the world. Despite the huge publicity campaign the LDS Church has constructed to dissuade people from associating them with polygyny, Mormons and plural marriages are still commonly associated in contemporary culture. While such a practice may have been given up by the mainstream, there is no doubt that Mormonism and the unholy practice of plural marriage remain closely entwined, especially since even mainline LDS members are required to affirm the propriety of polygamy ''when it was authorized by their church'' (prior to 1890).