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Interesting Facts About The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Commonly known as "LDS" or "Mormon”
Fearing mob attacks, 158 years ago the first Mormon pioneers desperately started their Westward trek from Illinois in the dead of winter. Of the 70,000 who began this 1300-mile journey, 6,000 were buried along the way, including many children. In 1820, 14-yr-old Joseph Smith told of a vision of God and Christ foretelling a church restoration. Organized in New York in 1830, the church moved to near Cleveland, then near Kansas City, then Illinois. Fleeing Illinois, Mormon pioneers founded Salt Lake City in Utah and over 600 other Western communities.
Image: My Church in Santa Rosa, California -
SALT LAKE CITY: Temple Square in Salt Lake has over 5 million annual visitors, more than the Grand Canyon. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is the world's most famous and has the world's oldest radio program. The Salt Lake Temple is the most famous, but there are 128 other temples built or underway. Home of the world's largest genealogy database; visit it online at www.familysearch.org or through 3,700 free branch libraries.
Image: Temple Square in Salt Lake City -
ACTIVE CONGREGATIONS: Sunday services entail a three-hour block of three meetings; about 27,000 congregations exist worldwide. Programs exist for youth, children, singles, men, and women very strong family focus. Everyone has a calling; some surveys show LDS have the highest U.S. attendance and service rates.
FINANCES: Members tithe 10 percent, plus donate generously to the needy the first Sunday of each month. Except for janitorial services, clergy and all other congregational positions are unpaid. The church has no debt; all buildings are paid for in cash. The paid positions in Salt Lake are low-salaried; funds are frugally used and tightly audited.
HEALTH CODE: With a health code from 1833, LDS avoid alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs, coffee, and tea (herbal tea is okay). This 1833 code also teaches grains (especially wheat), fresh fruits and vegetables, and sparing use of meat. A UCLA study showed that active LDS live longer than white Americans, men by 11 years, women by eight. Utah is 50th in smoking, alcohol consumption, drunk driving, heart disease cancer, and sick days.
EDUCATION: With four colleges, Utah's BYU with 30,000 students is the largest single-campus private college. BYU Independent Study with 130,000 students is North America (340 web courses, 530 via mail). Seminary classes teach religion to high school students. Institutes of Religion classes are available to college students. The church operates schools in parts of the Pacific Ocean and Mexico for 10,000 students.
SHARING CHRIST'S GOOD NEWS: 61,000 missionaries serve in 165 countries; 93 percent are college-age; 22 percent are female. Unpaid and paying their own way, most work 65 hours a week for two years, often in a new language.
MEMBERSHIP DISTRIBUTION: LDS are 70 percent of Utah, 30 percent of Idaho; after Catholics, LDS are the largest sect in 10 states. The church has 5.5 million members in the U.S., making it the fourth largest individual U.S. denomination. Some memberships: New Zealand 95k, Japan 115k, UK 175k, Philippines 500k, Brazil 900k, Mexico 925k. Worldwide 51 percent are female; about 55 percent are not Caucasian; about 70 percent are converts. For the last 15 years, every day an average of 800+ people worldwide joined the LDS church.
CHARITY/SERVICE AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE: Members in need obtain welfare from the LDS. The church operates 46 thrift stores, in part to provide employment for the disadvantaged. Over 200 million pounds of food, clothing, and medicine were donated in the last 20 years in 147 countries. Almost all of this help is to non-LDS. Very rapid disaster relief has been given in 144 major disasters since
1986.
OTHER INTERESTING FACTS: Noted LDS includes five senators, the Osmonds, Gladys Knight, Former NFL Steve Young, and the inventor of TV. LDS played a key role in the 2002 Winter Olympics; the chair is now the governor of Massachusetts. Hawaii's #1 tourist site is the LDS Polynesian Cultural Center (Tonga and the Samoa are one-third LDS). LDS have sponsored Boy Scout troops since 1913. For more information go to www.lds.org or www.mormons.org.