Changes

The practice of plural marriage, a source of considerable dissension within the Mormon religion (especially between the Utah Mormons and the Community of Christ, which rejected polygamy), caused considerable trouble with the U.S. government until the LDS church finally banned it in 1890. During the twentieth century, the Mormons successfully fought to project an image of wholesome, family-oriented Christianity, reaping millions of converts and emerging as a force to be reckoned with on the world religous scene. With the fall of communism, Mormons extended their prosletyzing efforts into traditionally Orthodox countries, including Russia, which passed a law in 1997 designed to hamper their efforts and those of other Western sects.

''(This section is concerned with the organization and theology of the Utah LDS church, which encompasses over 95% of the world's Mormons. While the Community of Christ church is similarly organized, its beliefs differ rather sharply from LDS Mormonism in many respects, as do the beliefs and organization of the smaller sects.)''

Mormonism as a whole encompasses a mélange of many different religious beliefs, the vast majority of which are contrary to the teachings of the Orthodox Church. Joseph Smith gleaned inspiration from various religious movements of his time, including [[Campbellism|Campbellite]], [[Restorationism|Restorationist]], and [[Universalism|Universalist]]. However, the foundation of Mormon belief is the acceptance of modern prophecy and revelation, and an "open canon" of [[Scripture|Holy Scripture]].

Joseph Smith and early Mormon leaders taught that any person with a testimony of Christ is a [[prophet]]. However, the LDS church itself is a highly hierarchial organization, with a president-prophet (usually assisted by two "Counselors") who claims to alone possess all the "keys" to prophetic power and authority. Most modern members of the LDS church believe that their current president, Gordon B. Hinkley (as of 2008), is a living prophet, and the sole person authorized to speak definitively for God on the earth today. Below this president and his counselors are twelve "Apostles," who are also considered "prophets, seers, and revelators," but do not exercize the authority held by the church president. Beneath the Mormon apostles are the "Seventies," concerned mainly with heading up Mormon missionary efforts worldwide, together with a "presiding Bishopric" mostly concerned with temporal church affairs. These men are collectively referred to as the "General Authorities" of the Mormon church.<ref>All Utah LDS priesthood offices are limited to men; the Community of Christ, on the other hand, ordains both men and women (since 1984).</ref>

A local Mormon congregation, called a "ward" (equivalent to an Orthodox parish) is headed by a "bishop" (equivalent to an Orthodox parish priest), while a group of wards occupying a specific geographical area is organized into a "stake" (equivalent to an Orthodox diocese), headed by a "stake president" (equivalent to an Orthodox bishop; the disparity between Mormon and Orthodox usage of the term "bishop" can cause confusion for the uninitiated!).

A major pillar of Mormon belief is their concept of [[theosis|deification]], which they refer to as the "Doctrine of Eternal Progression." This doctrine bears little genuine resemblance to the Orthodox doctrine of [[theosis]], as explained by the [[Holy Fathers]] of the Church. In diametric opposition to the Trinitarian dogmas of the [[First Ecumenical Council|First]] and [[Second Ecumenical Council|Second]] [[Ecumenical Council|Ecumenical Councils]], Mormons believe that [[God]] the Father, whom they refer to as "Eloheim," was originally a flesh-and-blood human being, who was spiritually "begotten" by another "god" (and his "godess" wife) who had lived before him and then physically born on another planet (not Earth). "Eloheim" lived an ordinary human life, and by following his world's version of Mormonism, he gradually "progressed" to "become" the "god" he is today.

:'''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 sharp contrast to Orthodoxy, which views angels (whether righteous or fallen) as a separate class of beings created by God prior to (and separate from) humanity, Mormonism sees angels as being either the pre-existent spirits of human beings not yet physically born, or the spirits of departed "righteous" men (such as characters from the Bible and the ''Book of Mormon'', for instance). "Moroni," the alleged "angel" who showed the original golden plates of the ''Book of Mormon'' to Joseph Smith (see below), was supposed to have been an ancient American prophet who figures prominently in the final portions of that book.

==="The Great [[Apostasy]]" and Apostolic Succession===

Mormons point to New Testament scriptures<ref>I Timothy 4:1, II Timothy 3:1-5, Acts 20:28-31, among others.</ref> that they assert as speaking of a complete apostasy of the entire Church, as proof of their assertions. While Orthodox Christians would agree that these passages did indeed speak of apostates to come (such as [[Arius]], [[Nestorius]] and [[Paul of Samosata]], for instance), they emphatically reject the Mormon interpretation (advanced to varying degrees by nearly all Protestants) that the entire Apostolic Church would fall into heresy. In St. Matthew 16:18, our Lord clearly states that the "gates of hell shall not prevail" against the Church He Himself founded, and which the Mormons themselves agree indeed existed (but which they claim to have been subsequently lost).

===The Book of Mormon===

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.