AboutHannah Expertise I can answer questions concerning standard doctrines, scriptures, curiousities, Mormon culture and society. I will not respond to debates. I'm sorry, but there are some things that I simply will not answer, not because I don't want to, but there are some things that the LDS people do not discuss casually--it's only talked about within the temple. Though I am a member, I do not believe that anyone could convert anyone to a religion over something as impersonal as the internet. So I won't even try to.
Experience I have been a member of the LDS church for 8 years. Though I'm still a young person, I can answer most things about the church.
Question Okay, thank you , i think i understand a little better. I have another question,
is the Mormon church... formal? Like do you have to wear a suit or dress and
you have to be.... i don't want to say up tight but thats the word that comes
to mind
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The text above is a follow-up to ...
-----Question-----
I have a friend who is a Morman. He is very shy and I have only known him for
a
while but he did say something about not being able to date until he is 16. Is
that true? What other rules do Mormans follow? What is a Morman exactly? I
am
a little confused. Please help me. Also I heard that the Mormans favor the
men a
little bit over the women, is that true?
-----Answer-----
Hey!
Yes and no Mormons can't date until they're sixteen. It's VERY strongly
discouraged for a person do date until sixteen, but it's not forbidden. Gordon
B. Hinckley (current president of the Church) has told that it's not a good idea
to date until sixteen.However, like every religion, Mormonism has a culture
connected to it--a society. And in the Mormon society, it is not at all
acceptable to date until sixteen. If a Mormon teen were to date before
sixteen, people would say, "WHAT? But they're not sixteen," with the look of
supreme disdain, and then mumble under their breath. President Hinckley
has told the Mormon youth that sixteen is the dating age, because prior to
that, that sort of socialization is unneccesary, and you're not mature to
handle it morally, and emotionally well.
Mormons follow many rules. Among these (apart from the standard "don't
lie," "don't kill," "don't steal," etc.), are the Law of Chastity (no adultery, no
premarital sex, no pornography, R-rated movies strongly discourage. R-rated
movies are a bit like dating before sixteen.) The Word of Wisdom is one that a
lot of people think is a little odd. No drugs, no tobacco, no alcohol, no tea, no
coffee, and most Mormons interpret it to mean no caffeine. Mormons also
don't swear, and don't take the name of the Lord, Christ, Holy Spirit, or Hell in
vain. (Hell should be a place to be feared, not an expression to be thrown
around lightly). Rules of modesty. No two-piece swim suits, no tank tops,
tube tops, no short shorts/miniskirts, no bare midriffs/backs, etc. There are
other rules too, those are just some of the less mainstream ones.
A Mormon is a slang term for a member of "The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints." It is a form of a Christian, but a very much so non-
mainstream one. There are three branches of Christianity, according to
religion scholars (people who trace the origins of religion). The Orthodox
branch: this is Catholicism and Orthodox churches (Eastern/Greek/Russian
Orthodox). The second is the Reformative Branch: aka Protestants.
Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Lutherans, Adventists, Unitarians,
Puritans, Quakers, Campbellites, Shakers, et cetera, et cetera. Their intent in
creation was to reform the Catholic Church/ Orthodox branch to the "true
gospel of Jesus Christ." The third branch is the Restoratative Branch. This
branch is started with the Mormons (LDS). Their intent was that all of
Christianity was off the path, and reformation wasn't what was needed, a big
honking restoration was needed. This started with the First Vision of Joseph
Smith in 1820. It all goes from there. So, frankly Joseph Smith was the first
prophet of this Dispensation, the Book of Mormon (companion to the Bible)
was translated, etc.
When asked to summarize Mormonism, Joseph Smith wrote the "13 Articles of
Faith." You can read them: http://lds.about.com/library/weekly/
previousyears/aa060801a.htm
There. No better way to summarize it than what Joseph Smith said.
You're probably interested in the term Mormon. Why Mormon? Well, Mormon
was a prophet in the Book of Mormon. It's called the "Book of Mormon,"
because it was on lots and lots of plates, and Mormon compiled and abridged
them, through inspiration of God on what was important.
It is not true that Mormons favor men. This misconception comes from the
fact that women cannot hold the priesthood. It's balanced out because men
cannot be mothers. A church leader (male) once told me, "A woman cannot
unlock all the blessings of her divine role (motherhood) without a man. But a
man cannot unlock all the blessings of his divine role (priesthood holder)
without a woman. Furthermore, a woman is born with the ability to fulfill her
divine potential (aka the ability to bear children). A man has to earn it. That's
because women are so pure and strong and faithful, that the Father already
trusts them to respect the beauty of their power. He doesn't trust the men.
They have to prove they're worthy first."
Any other questions, don't hesitate.
Answer Well, yeah. It's pretty formal. To church, you wear your best, because after all, you're visiting a king. It's pretty formal. But then there are activities and daily seminary and such, which a less formal. Seminary is like a class, and activities are just fun/enrichment/low key classes. There's also Sunday School and Young Womens/Young Men's/Relief Society/Melchizedek priesthood/primary on Sundays.
