Learn about the Church of Latter-day Saints and pending sexual abuse claims against its claims leaders.

What is the Church of Latter-day Saints?

According to PBS’s The American Experience, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or LDS for short, has its roots in 1800s America. The founder of the LDS church, Joseph Smith, claimed that he experienced visions and received an ancient golden book that would become the Book of Mormon.

Smith and other founders of the LDS Church were persecuted during their attempts to spread their beliefs throughout the eastern part of the United States in the 1830s. As a result, the group moved west, eventually settling in what is now Utah.

Currently, the Church of Latter-day Saints boasts the fourth-largest Christian church membership in the U.S., and another 9.6 million members worldwide, according to The News Room of The Church of Jesus Christ.

Is the Church of Latter-day Saints Mormon?

Members of the Church of Latter-day Saints have colloquially been known as Mormons, although church leaders prefer the use of the official Church of Latter-day Saints, according to a 2018 news release by President Russell M. Nelson.

Beliefs of Church of Latter-day Saints

According to the church’s website, ChurchofJesusChrist.org, despite persistent rumors and myths about Mormons, there are a few simple core beliefs its members share.

First, members must believe that “Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and the Son of our loving Heavenly Father,” according to the website. The second tenant is that “Christ’s Atonement allows humankind to be saved from their sins and return to live with God and their families forever.” Finally, members must accept that “Christ’s original Church as described in the New Testament has been restored in modern times.”

The LDS Church asserts that it is a Christian denomination, though not Protestant or Catholic. Members believe many of the same things as other Christian denominations. They contend that they believe in the Bible, as well as the Book of Mormon. They say they see the Book of Mormon as another holy scripture, like the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.

There was a pre-earth life where human spirits lived with “Heavenly Father,” according to the church website. Current life “is regarded as a temporary state in which men and women are tried and tested—and where they gain experiences obtainable nowhere else.” Church members believe that death is not the end, but the next step in “God’s plan.”

The American Experience details an LDS belief that, after death, Jesus Christ visited the Americas and preached to people there, known as Nephites. They believe that the Book of Mormon was written on gold plates by a prophet named Moroni during this time and eventually sealed until discovered by the church’s founder, Joseph Smith.

Founder of the Church of Latter-day Saints

According to The American Experience, LDS founder Smith was born in Vermont in 1805 to a poor farming family. In the summer months, the Smith family went on treasure hunts using “divination tools, including seer stones that, when viewed at the bottom of a hat, are said to convey special sight.”

Smith’s family moved often but eventually settled in an evangelical section of New York.

Smith claimed a series of visions starting when he was 14 years old warned him against joining any current denominations of the Christian church and told him about the Book of Mormon written on gold plates and buried in nearby hills.

According to The American Experience, Smith eventually located the gold plates, interpreted and transcribed them, lost them, and convinced thousands to join his new church based on their teachings. After attempting to settle in various locations in the East and Midwest, as well as an unsuccessful bid to run for president, Smith and his followers pioneered what is now Utah.

Church of Latter-day Saint Sex Abuse Claims

Though the modern LDS Church no longer allows polygamy and other questionable practices, it has been accused of failing to prevent or report child sex abuse by members. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has reportedly been named in some 43 lawsuits alleging abuse, including at least one class action lawsuit.