Introduction
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints focuses on the belief in Jesus Christ as the central entity of the religion. The members of the church are present at different levels of society throughout the world, ranging from charities to the entertainment industry. It is the fourth-largest Christian church in the United States, with an estimated 6.7 million followers located in the country (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2022). Besides, more than half of the total number, 9.6 million, live outside the country (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2022).
The church has been characterized as a group of people who, whenever they are located, can “find themselves part of a network of mutual concern; in their theology, everyone is a minister of a kind, everyone is empowered in some way to do good to others, and to have well done to them: it is a 21st-century covenant of caring” (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2022, para. 2). Notably, the caring for others is not limited church members but also extends to other people regardless of their religious denomination.
Main Body
Latter-Day Saints (LDS) believe there is a distinction between the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as three separate beings. Within this framework of belief, they state that the Father and Jesus have ideal physical bodies, while the Holy Ghost is a spirit that has no physical form (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2022).
In addition, they believe that there are goddesses and gods outside the trinity, which include the Heavenly Mother and the wife of God the Father. To describe God, they use the term omnipotent and view him as the creator and the Almighty and eternal being. Another significant difference in Latter-day Saints’ belief is that God the Father was once a human being that got resurrected, exalted, and provided with godhood through eternal progression.
In terms of themselves, the followers of the Church of the Latter-day Saints believe that human beings, like God the Father, can also go through the process of being exalted to godhood. This view is quite controversial because, in the traditional Christian doctrine, it is believed that the yearning to become God is the fall of humankind, and it is taught that humans should humbly recognize that they are creatures.
Within the LDS perspective on becoming Gods, humans are seen as uncreated beings that existed in the heavens and thus have the same potential as their heavenly parents. Humans become mortals to fulfill the journey toward becoming Gods the same way in which their heavenly parents did, which means that they will have the same powers as Gods in their own worlds.
The followers of the church believe that God provided life for them to grow through experiences, both positive and negative. Loving and respecting others can add meaning to life, with families becoming a great source of love. No matter the circumstances that an individual endures when they show love to others, they can get closer to God and understand his plan (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2022).
In addition, it is suggested that people can find joy in following the plan that God intended for them to follow. Its purpose is to provide humans with eternal happiness, and the more they understand the plan, the more they realize that it is impossible to return to God on their own. Thus, through sincere repentance, baptism, and receiving the Holy Ghost, the followers of the LDS church can return to God.
Overall, the understanding of the world from the LDS perspective entails the understanding that life begins in a pre-mortal existence in which every person has free will and can progress spiritually from learning from the ideas of God’s truth and happiness. Whether or not to participate is a free choice that every person makes, which then determines the position in life and the steps that a person may take. Throughout their life, every individual maintains their central identity and has a vast capacity for progress and growth. Within the discussed religious perspective, the primary purpose of life as created by God is to allow His children to be happy and share their happiness with others through good deeds.
One of the critical challenges that the LDS church experiences is the academic criticism of its profit, Joseph Smith, in terms of his legitimacy as well as the historical authenticity of the Book of Abraham and the Book of Mormon. In addition, the criticism broadens to include claims that the church engaged in historical revisionism as well as had homophobic, racist, and sexist policies.
Regarding the Book of Mormon’s authenticity, modern scholarship could not conclude that it had origins in ancient times and thus considered it Smith’s creation, possibly with contributions to others who drew on ideas and materials of the early nineteenth century but not a translation of an ancient record. The challenges of authenticity were also based on the findings of anachronisms within the text, as well as the presence of general genetic and archaeological evidence that did not support the statements made in the book (Tanner & Tanner, 2008). Finally, the text is said to have undergone some changes and revisions, which critics suggested alter the meaning and can be seen as a rebuttal of the divine origins.
An important thing that one should know about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that its adherents perceive knowledge acquisition as a spiritual mandate. As proclaimed by their profit, Joseph Smith, it is one of the “fundamental principles of ‘Mormonism’ is to receive truth, let it come from whence it may,” and “whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life” will follow people hereafter (Scott, n.d., para. 3).
Therefore, all humans that strive for knowledge get closer to eternity. As people seek spiritual knowledge, they search for principles that they can apply to their lives. Such principles are concentrated truths intended for application in a broad range of circumstances. A true and valuable principle is the one that makes decisions clear and understandable even under the most ambiguous situations.
Conclusion
After unfolding spiritual knowledge, it is important that people understand, value, obey, remember, and expand it. Knowledge serves believers as the foundation for certain truths that can be expanded through experience and by doing good to others.
To conclude, it is possible that God may be asked to engage with the community further through the shared attainment of intelligence and knowledge. This sharing of knowledge can be done not only in life but also in their eternal journeys to blend seamlessly into our lives after passing on.
References
Scott, R. G. (n.d.). Acquiring spiritual knowledge. Web.
Tanner, J., & Tanner, S. (2008). Mormonism – Shadow or reality? Utah Lighthouse Ministry.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (2020). Latter-day Saints 101: What church members believe. Web.