Mormonism and Marriage

In Mormonism, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes that marriage is only between a man and a woman, unchanged since the fall of Adam. They encourage members to marry in the temple, and to be faithful to each other. Sadly, in this day and age, the principle of marriage is being twisted and trampled by many people today. Elder F. Burton Howard talked about marriage in this day and age and he said, "Far too many marriages today end in divorce. Selfishness, sin, and personal convenience often prevail over covenants and commitment." In this day and age, many people, including in the media, say that cheating on your wife is an OK thing to do, and that everybody does it. They don't say however, the consequences of doing that. First of all, it is against the Ten Commandments, (thou shalt not commit adultery) second of all, it can deeply hurt, or even completely destroy your marriage with your wife. I have read many stories about husbands leaving their wives and children because they found another woman, and vice versa with wives leaving their husbands. I have read the emotional and physical pain it brings to the families when one of the spouses leaves them for someone else. The husband's job is to provide for the family (that is to work) and the wife's job is to look after the family (take care of the children) and when one of them leaves, the other has to do both jobs. Far too many times in this day and age, are when both the husband and the wife leave home for work and take the children to day care or something like that. (this does not include families that suffer from poverty, when both husband and wife must work to support the family. This is more directed towards families living in good homes, with a good income as is, and both spouses work out of the house and leave the children to be looked after by someone else) Because both spouses are gone, the children don't get the love and care they are suppose to have, and this actually increases the chances of them ending up in gangs, or doing drugs, dropping out of high school, etc. They don't have parents to keep them in line, or to help them knowing right and wrong, and to help them grow.
For those who have a healthy marriage, continue to keep it healthy, and continue to love your spouse, and your children. For those who have trouble with marriage, try to make it right. Fast and pray, and let the Holy Ghost guide you.

History of Mormonism: Martin Harris

Martin Harris was and is well known in the  History of Mormonism. Born May 18, 1783, Martin Harris was a wealthy farmer and business man who was one of the early converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a contributor to the translation of the Book of Mormon.
Martin Harris was at first a Presbyterian, and he lived in Palmyra, New York. He then heard about a man named Joseph Smith who was 20 years younger than him lived just outside Palmyra and was struggling to translate the Golden Plates and keep it away from thieves and mobs. Martin, seeing Joseph's plight decided to help him. He gave Joseph and his wife Emma fifty dollars to travel to Harmony, Pennsylvania. Martin arrived there himself and he would be a scribe, sitting on one side of a curtain while Joseph, sitting on the other side, translated the plates and read aloud the words. After Joseph and Martin translated 116 pages, Martin pleaded with Joseph three times to take the 116 pages to his friends and relatives. God told Joseph not to the first two times, then allowed the pages to be given to Martin. He ended up losing the 116 pages to wicked men who revised it, making it that if Joseph decided to rewrite the 116 pages, they could claim that they had them first and would ruin Joseph's work. The Lord took the plates from Joseph for a while, but Joseph and Martin was repentant and after a while, Joseph received the plates and began to translate again.
Joseph allowed Martin to be one of the three witnesses of the Gold Plates. Sadly, Martin's wife Lucy became hostile towards both Martin and Joseph. She filed a complaint against a judge, claiming to him that Joseph is defrauding her husband. She brought three false witnesses testifying against Martin and Joseph. Martin bore his testimony, and after he did, the judge tore up the witness papers.
After Joseph completd his translation of the Book of Mormon, he needed money to print the book and to share it with the world. Martin would later be well known in his contribution for the church when he sold part of his home and farm to pay for 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon to be printed.
Martin Harris contributed much to the church, but also did have his hindrances as well, including the 116 pages, and sometimes not standing with Joseph when real difficult times came. All in all, no one is perfect, neither was Martin Harris, but he made a huge contribution to the church that would make the growth of the church possible.

History of Mormonism: The Salt Lake Temple

In the History of Mormonism, after the mob murdered Joseph Smith, they drove the saints from Nauvoo, Illinois. The saints traveled for hundreds of miles, losing some along the way. In July, 1847, the Mormon Pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. Four days later, Brigham Young, who succeeded Joseph Smith as prophet, walked out for a bit and planted his walking stick in a spot where he saw in a vision, saying that this is the place where to build the Salt Lake Temple. Six years later, he would begin the groundbreaking of the temple, and the cornerstone was laid the same year.
Construction was slow, and funds were insufficient. The foundation was made out of sandstone while the walls were made out of granite. A block of granite would take a team of oxen four days to transport and about 150 men at a given time worked on the temple.
Around 1858, during the Utah war, the saints had to cover the foundation with dirt and make it look like a plowed field. When the tension receded, they uncovered the foundation, and noticed there were huge cracks in the sandstone. Brigham Young sadly told them to demolish the foundation, which took nine years to built, and to replace it with quartz monzonite.
The saints continued to build the temple, the progression was slow because of the long trip with the teams of oxen taking four days to deliver blocks of granite. The construction of the Transcontinental Railroad helped speed up the progress significantly.
The capstone was laid on April 6, 1892. Fifty Thousand church members occupied Temple Square, celebrating the event. Within one year, the interior of the temple was complete. On April 6, 1893, exactly forty years from the laying of the cornerstone, the Salt Lake City Temple was dedicated by President Wilford Woodruff. It is the fourth temple to be operational and the sixth temple to be built by the Latter-day Saints. The building of the temple fulfilled a prophesy by Isaiah in the bible:
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it."
That being said, the temple was built in Utah. Utah, is translated by the Ute tribe as, "Top of the Mountains."
Also, the "all nations shall flow unto it," part happened through the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics.

Mormonism: Family History

In Mormonism, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints strongly believe in family history. Members volunteer in family history church buildings, categorizing and indexing tens of thousands of names a day, making it so that those who are curious about their ancestors can more easily find out their lineage. Members that do find their ancestors, and the ancestors weren't members, they do temple work for them.
Many non-members also do family history. Some do go to the church buildings to find out their ancestors. In fact, the First Presidency presented Barack Obama in 2009 with an account of his family history.
Doing family history can be exciting, as many members have said. They are interested in what their ancestors did in their time, where they lived, what they did for a living, and if they were related to anyone famous. Doing family history and work for the ancestors not only helps you fell good in the spirit, but it also gives you knowledge of what you did for those who passed on before you.

Mormonism: The Ten Commandments

In Mormonism, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe in the Ten Commandments.
Just like other churches, the LDS Church believes completely in the Ten Commandments, leaders of the church saying it is important for members to follow the Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments are listed, with what it can mean in today's world:
1# Thou shalt have no other Gods before me. (Meaning that We should do all things with an eye single to the glory of God. We should love and serve the Lord with all our heart, might, mind, and strength.)
2# Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. (We don't bow and worship before graven images or idols, but we can replace our hearts and thoughts from the Living God, to money and material possessions.)
3# Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. (Sadly, this is one of those commandments that is being broken repeatedly.)
4# Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. (This means once a week, you take a break from doing worldly activities, and you spend time resting, time with family, and time focusing on God.)
5# Honour thy father and mother. (Doesn't need much explaining. Although this is a commandment that is being broken more in this generation. Mainly through the use of phones and computers.)
6# Thou shalt not kill. (This commandment does not need any explaining!)
7# Thou shalt not commit adultery. (This also includes fornication, homosexuality, and other sins in that category. This is probably one of the most broken commandments today, behind taking the Lord's name in vain.)
8# Thou shalt not steal. (This commandment does not need explaining. You take something, whether from a store, neighbors house, or even from the internet (pirating) and you did not pay for it, then you broke this commandment.)
9# Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. (This means pretending to be a witness to get gain. This is happening a lot in lawsuits.)
10# Thou shalt not covet. (This means that if you see someone with something, and you want it, as in can't stop thinking about it, it can hurt you spiritually and even financially.)
These commandments are all important to follow. However, in the bible, some pharisees asked Jesus which is the most important commandment. He told them the first is the most important, to love the Lord with all thy heart, might, mind, and strength. He also told them to love thy neighbor as thy self is second most important, and is similar, because if you love your neighbor, you love God.

History of Mormonism: John Taylor

In the History of Mormonism, John Taylor was the third president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Born November 1, 1808, in Milnthrope, Westmorland England, John Taylor received formal schooling until he was 14, where he received training in wood turning and cabinetmaking.  He originally joined the Church of England, but then switched to a Methodist church at the age of 16.  In 1830, he and his family moved to Ontario Canada.  John met his future wife, Leonora Cannon in a Canadian Methodist church.  He married her in 1833.
When Parley Pratt went on a mission, he went to Canada and met the Taylor's.  Leonora was converted first, and then John decided to join.  They both were baptized, and did not realize how much they would contribute to the church.  In 1838, John was ordained an Apostle, and in 1839, he went with some elders and served a mission into England.
Taylor returned to Nauvoo, Illinois to serve as a city councilman, a chaplain, a colonel, a newspaper editor, and a judge advocate for the Nauvoo Legion.  
John was there with Joseph and Hyrum Smith in Carthage Jail when a large mob came to the jail.  They successfully murdered Joseph and Hyrum, and John was severely wounded, but his life was spared when a musket ball hit him in the chest and his pocket watch caught the ball, saving his life.  
John went with the saints to Salt Lake, and after Brigham Young died, he presided as President of the Church.  
He died of congestive heart failure in 1887, and is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. 

History of Mormonism: The Mormon Battalion

In the History of Mormonism, the LDS Church recently was driven from their homes by a mob in Illinois, and they camped near Omaha Nebraska.  They repeatedly asked the government for federal aid, but was denied.  Brigham Young sent Elder Jesse Little to Washington D.C. to ask for government assistance. Jesse arrived eight days after Congress declared war on Mexico.  After some debating, the President allowed for a  few hundred men to be recruited.  Around 500 were recruited, and formed the Mormon Battalion.  Women required for laundry were recruited as well.  The men were able to get their uniforms free of charge, and a $42 advance pay.  The money went towards the saints to get food and necessities and preparing for the trip to what is now known as Utah.
The Mormon Battalion was split into five companies.
Soon after the Battalion was under command of James Allen, he became ill and later died.  Soon after, Andrew Jackson Smith became the commanding officer.  He and the doctor made life miserable for the Battalion.  They weren't used to the vigorous marching, nor the medicine at the time (the elders counseled with members of the Battalion to not use the medicine from the Army, maybe because it had to do with consuming alcohol)
Later when the Battalion arrived in Santa Fe, much to their relief, Smith was replaced by Phillip Cooke, and they soon learned to respect him well.  All the women and many sick men were sent to Pueblo.
Cooke and the Battalion marched into some of the most difficult terrain in North America.  They had help from a guide, Jean Baptiste, who was as an infant carried by Sacajawea during the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Along the way, the men helped some local tribes, and some of the locals taught the men some irrigation techniques that would later be critical and beneficial when the saints moved to Utah.
The Battalion never participated in a real battle, besides fighting some bulls and guarding a tribe.  22 men died from disease or natural causes.
After their year was up, some decided to re-enlist, and most decided to head home.  On the way, in California, Some of the men discovered gold, which would result in the 1849 gold rush.
The Mormon Battalion brought home around $30,000 in salaries and another $17,000 worth of gold, which helped them significantly in the trip to Utah.