The Duty to God website has been made available in Spanish and Portuguese. In this new site, young men can create and maintain their plans online. They must first create an LDS Account, which can be easily done using the birth date and Membership Record Number. The site contains videos and other materials that will help the young men complete their program requirements.

The young women of The Church of Jesus Christ have an analogous program known as Personal Progress. This website in those languages will be available in the coming weeks. For more information on members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please visit Christ.org, AboutMormons.org, Mormonbeliefs.com, WhyMormonism.com, or mormonyouth.org.

For the official Church website, please visit lds.org or mormon.org.

Just in time for Easter, watch and share a new Christ-centered message,”He is Risen.” Ponder what the Savior means to all humanity—and to you personally. And then share the good news.

The Life of Jesus Christ Bible Videos: He is Risen

There’s been some waning in our secular culture of the significance of sacred days and a disappearance of reverence for or understanding of God and His Son, Jesus Christ. We live our lives on the surface of frenetic activity, quick fixes, shorter attention spams, abbreviated communications, and sometimes lose the depth of seeking and communication with the spiritual truths that matter most. This week has often been a time to slow down and ponder and remember the story of Christ, in particular, the victory over death and sin that He alone has provided for each of us! It’s a glorious time of hope and remembrance. It’s a time when new blossoms dot the tree-lined avenues and when flowers push forth from the ground, urging us to see and walk in the newness of life provided by Christ. I witness that He has provided that newness for me–and continues to refresh my life and add colors unimagined 30 plus years ago, when I first really encountered Him.

This week is special in Christianity, and among Latter-day Saint Christians particularly, since it draws our focus to the events leading up to the Savior’s crucifixion and resurrection. We reflect on this week the Savior’s final mortal week, known as Holy Week by many Christians: His willing ride into Jerusalem on a donkey as the Passover Lamb, mistaken, rejected, and misunderstood by many; His agonizing suffering for you and I in the Garden; His voluntary submission to the most barbaric and tortuous death on the cross; and His glorious and literal resurrection of the dead. With other Christians, we, as Latter-day Saints (Mormons) attest that He lives! In spite of Resurrection Summits and deconstructionist doubters of the historical accounts, we witness personally and collectively that we know that He lives today, that He is capable of and does intercede to redeem those of the ‘uttermost’ depths of sorrow and sin, as they come unto Him and that He has a glorified resurrected body of flesh and bones, seen personally by Mary, Cleopas, ancient and modern apostles and hundreds of those to whom He appeared in His day (Hebrews 7: 25; Acts 1:3). We witness that He has also appeared in our day and that He lives!

Recently, a living prophet of God, Thomas S. Monson addressed the world and affirmed these salient core, saving truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.In his prophetic words, The President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed “Mormons”), related his special witness of the reality of the resurrected Lord:

My brothers and sisters, we know that death is not the end, this truth has been taught by living prophets throughout the ages. It is also found in our Holy Scriptures. In the Book of Mormon we read specific and comforting words, “Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow” (Alma 40:11-12).

After the Savior was crucified, His body laid in the tomb for three days, the Spirit began entered, the stone was rolled away, and the Resurrected Redeemer walked forth, clothed with an immortal body of flesh and bones. The answer to Job’s question, “if a man die, shall he live again?” came when Mary and the others approached the tomb and saw two men in shining garments who spoke to them “why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here but is risen” (Luke 24:5). As the result of Christ’s victory over the grave, we shall all be resurrected. This is the redemption of the soul. Paul wrote, “There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another” (1 Corinthians 15:40).

It is the Celestial glory, which we seek. It is in the presence of God we desire to dwell. It is a forever family in which we want membership. Such blessings are earned through a lifetime of striving, seeking, repenting and finally succeeding. Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where do we go after this life? No longer need we these universal questions remain unanswered. From the very depths of my soul, and in all humility, I testify that those things of which I have spoken are true. Our Heavenly Father rejoices for those who keep His commandments. He is concerned also for the lost child, the tardy teenager, the wayward youth, the delinquent parent. Tenderly, the Master speaks to these and indeed to all, “come back, come up, come in, come home, and come unto me.”

As His special witness, I testify to you that He lives and that He awaits our triumphant return, that such a return will be ours, all of us, I pray humbly in His Holy name, even Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Redeemer. Amen.

The Church of Jesus Christ has a series of inspirational videos and messages for you and loved ones for Easter: He is Risen is a video compilation of special Bible videos prepared by the Church for the world. To view some of these Mormon Easter messages and share these devotionals during Holy Week or Easter Sunday, please see below:

Mormon Identities: Reflections on Gethsemane, Golgotha, and the Resurrection 

Additional Resources:

Prophets speak today.

Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon.

Young women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints live exemplary lives of service, and engage in a program of personal spiritual progress, through which they grow to become wiser and holier as they strive to follow the Savior’s pattern of discipleship in these formative years.

The annual meeting described above precedes what Mormons refer to as “General Conference”- a glorious, global conference of The Church of Jesus Christ where apostles and a living prophet as well as other leaders address those of all faiths, and those particularly, who embrace the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ today.

We invite all to learn more about Mormons, what Mormons believe, Mormon Youth, and General Conference. See Additional Resources listed below:

Learn more about General Conference at the official site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”).

Learn about Jesus Christ.

Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon.

Two new videos are scheduled to be released next week, concluding the series of Easter videos. All Bible Videos are available at BibleVideos.LDS.org, the Bible Videos mobile app, Facebook, iTunes, YouTube, Roku and the Mormon Channel mobile apps.

Additional Resources:

Learn about modern day scripture at the official site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”).

Learn more about Jesus Christ and Easter.

Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon.

Additional Resources:

Learn about Mormon families at the official site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”).

Learn more about General Conference.

Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon.

Additional Resources:

Learn about Mormon families at the official site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”).

Learn more about Mormon history.

Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon.

Additional Resources:

Learn about Mormon families at the official site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”).

Learn about General Conference.

Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon.

Study by Topic The Study by Topic section of LDS.org is a great resource when preparing a lesson, answering doctrinal questions or simply studying the gospel. Each topic contains an overview of the principle, as stated by the Church, as well as additional resources such as General Authority talks, gospel lessons and Church websites.

Testers needed for new LDS Maps The Church needs volunteers to try out the new Maps tool on LDS.org. Some of the new features in the 3.0 version include a new map layer for seminaries, announced temples and tabernacles, as well as high resolution image display for Church temples. Learn how you can help on the LDS Tech blog. Seminary 100 Year Celebration Archives The video files for last week’s 100 year Seminary celebration are now available through the Seminary website. Files are available in ASL, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. New Mormon Message for Youth Sister Elaine S. Dalton tells the story of how she learned as a young woman what true beauty means. This new Mormon Message for Youth shows that every young women was born to be a queen. This video is available through the Youth website,  iTunes,YouTube and the Media Library.

Additional Resources:

Learn more about the resources of the Church at the official site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”).

The Church has many resources available to both members and nonmembers.

Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon.

Several new videos will be released throughout the year. To receive notifications about new videos available, subscribe through the Bible Videos website.

Additional Resources:

Learn more about The Bible at the official site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”).

The Bible is the Word of God, as is the Book of Mormon.

Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon.

A Mormon/LDS temple is a House of the Lord in which certain ordinances or the gospel–or means to grow in a knowledge of Christ through promises and divine rites or commitment-processes–are performed by those holding the Savior’s authority.

We invite you to find an open house near you.

Additional Resources:

Learn more about Mormon Temples at the official site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”).

Mormon temples are houses of the Lord

Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon.

A few interesting remarks and findings from the recent Pew Study on Facebook, Why Most Facebook Users Get More Than They Give, follows:

Facebook users can reach an average of more than 150,000 Facebook users through their Facebook friends; the median user can reach about 31,000 others

At two degrees of separation (friends-of-friends), Facebook users in our sample can on average reach 156,569 other Facebook users. However, the relatively small number of users with very large friends lists, who also tended to have lists that are less interconnected, overstates the reach of the typical Facebook user. In our sample, the maximum reach was 7,821,772 other Facebook users. The median user (the middle user from our sample) can reach 31,170 people through their friends-of-friends.

There is little evidence of Facebook fatigue

We found no evidence among our sample that length of time using Facebook is associated with a decline in Facebook activity. On the contrary, the more time that has passed since a user started using Facebook, the more frequently he/she makes status updates, uses the “like” button, comments on friends’ content, and tags friends in photos. Similarly, the more Facebook friends someone has, the more frequently they contribute all forms of Facebook content and the more friend requests they tend to send and accept.

Power Users

Only 5% of Facebook users were power users on all of these activities, 9% on three, and 11% on two. Because of these power users, and their tendency to specialize on specific Facebook activities, there is a consistent pattern in our sample where Facebook users across activities tend to receive more from friends than they give to others.

General Activity

And the new findings show that over a one-month period:

• 40% of Facebook users in our sample made a friend request, but 63% received at least one request
• Users in our sample pressed the like button next to friends’ content an average of 14 times, but had their content “liked” an average of 20 times
• Users sent 9 personal messages, but received 12
• 12% of users tagged a friend in a photo, but 35% were themselves tagged in a photo

This study comes on the heels of its announcement regarding filed for a $5 billion initial public offering of stock that could eventually value the company at 100 billion.

Additional Resources:

David French, Julea Ward and Jeremy Tedesco celebrate new Sixth Circuit court victories.  We applaud their tenacity and ability to  present to a knowing judge the high stakes of the Michigan University case. Essentially, the team set out to reverse a trial-court ruling that essentially allowed Eastern Michigan University to erect a “no Christians allowed” sign outside its graduate counseling program. As French aptly remarks, “Had the university prevailed, students would truly have been at the mercy of ad hoc ideological demands reformulated as “curricular requirements.”  We’re seeing this kind of reverse discrimination and depletion of religious freedoms coming at us from all directions, as more and more groups see themselves as constructs and laws unto themselves.

Another Win for Religious Freedom

Another recent 2012 key victory for religious freedom occurred a few weeks ago the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that religious organizations have a First Amendment right to choose their ministers — even in the face of federal nondiscrimination policies.  This is a huge win–though the fact that it’s an issue contested shows where we’ve come in our understanding of freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, and religious exemptions.

In Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the court reversed the Sixth Circuit and ruled, even unanimously ruled, in fact,  that the First Amendment’s Free Exercise and Establishment clauses bar suits brought by ministers against their churches for violations of nondiscrimination laws. This case “re-affirmed the exception as fundamental to religious liberty.”

At the ACLJ David French and others filed an amicus brief (along with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship) in support of Hosanna-Tabor, which he states “was vital in maintaining a firewall against active government attempts to encroach into a church’s most sacred and vital religious decisions — the decision as to who ministers to the faithful”.

Additional Resources:

Learn more about religious freedom at the official site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”).

Religious freedom is essential for a healthy society.

Attend a local meetinghouse.

Meet the Marriage Killer 

It’s More Common Than Adultery and Potentially As Toxic, So Why Is It So Hard to Stop Nagging?  Nagging–the interaction in which one person repeatedly makes a request, the other person repeatedly ignores it and both become increasingly annoyed–is an issue every couple will grapple with at some point. While the word itself can provoke chuckles and eye-rolling, the dynamic can potentially be as dangerous to a marriage as adultery or bad finances. Experts say it is exactly the type of toxic communication that can eventually sink a relationship.  Read more …

Adolescents From Unstable Families Lose Ground in Rigorous High Schools 

Research continues to support a connection between instability in the home and school performance in adolescents, but a new study in the January issue of Sociology of Education takes the research a step further by exploring how the relationship between family structure change and adolescent academic careers is also affected by the kinds of schools they attend.   According to study co-author Shannon Cavanagh, a professor in The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Sociology, schools vary considerably in terms of socio-demographic composition and “academic press,” measured by whether the school is defined by academic, achievement-oriented values, goals, and norms and by specific standards of achievement.  Read more …

The New American Divide

America is coming apart. For most of our nation’s history, whatever the inequality in wealth between the richest and poorest citizens, we maintained a cultural equality known nowhere else in the world–for whites, anyway. “The more opulent citizens take great care not to stand aloof from the people,” wrote Alexis de Tocqueville, the great chronicler of American democracy, in the 1830s. “On the contrary, they constantly keep on easy terms with the lower classes: They listen to them, they speak to them every day.”  Americans love to see themselves this way. But there’s a problem: It’s not true anymore, and it has been progressively less true since the 1960s.  Read more…

 Additional Resources:

Learn more about the critical nature of families to society at the official site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”).

Families are the fundamental unit in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Request a free Book of Mormon today.

Seminary Program Celebrates Century of Teaching Mormon Teens

19 January 2012   |   Seminary, or the study of religious history and scripture among high school students of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“Mormons“), grew from the original 70 students in one location in 1912 to nearly 370,000 enrollees in more than 140 countries today. Students study four years to complete the program; courses include Old and New Testaments, the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History.  FULL MORMON NEWSROOM STORY

The First Presidency (leaders) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) tells how the guidelines in For the Strength of Youth lead to good decisions, pointing toward a Christlike life.

The standards in this booklet will help you with the important choices you are making now and will yet make in the future….Our Father in Heaven has placed great trust in you. He has a work for you to do….The decisions you make now will set the course for much of what will follow during your mortal life and throughout eternity.

The pamphlet is divided into topics that the leaders of the LDS (Mormon) Church feel are necessary guidelines for our young people to live with virtue in an X-rated world. The topics include Agency and Responsibility, Dating, Dress and Appearance, Education, Entertainment and Media, Family, Friends, Gratitude, Honesty and Integrity, Language, Music and Dancing, Physical and Emotional Health, Repentance, Sabbath Day Observance, Service, Sexual Purity, Tithes and Offerings, Work and Self-Reliance, and Go Forward with Faith.

Why was the pamphlet revised? Sister Elaine S. Dalton (President of the Young Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) has declared, “The standards have not changed, but times have changed. For the Strength of Youth has been revised to address the issues youth face today—to teach them the doctrine behind the standards and the promised blessings of obedience.”

Source:

https://lds.org/church/news/for-the-strength-of-youth-updated-and-refreshed?lang=eng

Additional Resources:

Read the updated version of For the Strength of Youth

Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon

This comes on the heels of earlier surveys indicating that 32 percent of non-LDS U.S. adults say the LDS Church is not a Christian religion, and an additional 17 percent are unsure of LDS Christianity. The theological and semantic reasons for this can be complex, but for the 1,019 self-identified Mormons who participated in the Pew survey, their theological position is clear: Mormons believe in Jesus Christ, and they consider themselves to be Christian.

“Certainly in Latter-day Saint theology is this idea that if you understand who you are, you understand that there’s a purpose in life, you understand your connection to God, that certainly has an impact on how you live your life and what you do, but also how you feel about your life and what you are doing,” said Michael Purdy of the LDS Church Public Affairs office.

For the vast majority of Latter-day Saints surveyed, those life choices have much to do with their religious beliefs. Eighty-two percent of survey respondents indicate that religion is “very important” to them, 83 percent say they pray every day and 77 percent say they attend church at least once a week. Beyond that, a stunning 69 percent of respondents fit all three descriptions, saying that religion is very important to them, that they pray every day and that they go to church every week.

“By this measure,” the report says, “Mormons exhibit higher levels of religious commitment than many other religious groups, including white evangelical Christians.”

Part of the explanation for these high numbers may be that the survey focused only on those who self-identified as Latter-day Saints.

“The method they used tended to identify people who are strongly committed,” said BYU sociologist Marie Cornwall, who advised the Pew Forum on the new survey. “They don’t have the people who are kind of marginal. But that’s okay; we just have to be careful with the way we interpret the findings.”

One such finding is the relationship between religious commitment and education among Mormons.

David Campbell, a University of Notre Dame associate professor and another adviser on the survey, noted that the more educated respondents were, the higher their levels of religious commitment.

“I was a little surprised by that,” said Campbell, who is LDS and who has extensively studied on the role of religion in the public square. “The more educated a Mormon is, the more likely they are to be wholehearted in their commitment to the church and its teachings.”

That is different from other churches, he said, where more education tends to lead to more religious skepticism.

Pew Research Center officials also noted “a significant gender gap in religious commitment, with more Mormon women than men exhibiting a high level of religious commitment (73 percent vs. 65 percent).”

According to the Pew report, a similar “gender gap” is seen among the general public. A 2007 survey found 36 percent of U.S. women exhibited a high level of religious commitment, compared with 24 percent of men.

One series of questions asked about what it means to be a good Mormon. According to the respondents, in order to be a good Mormon it is “essential” to believe Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ (80 percent), work to help the poor (73 percent), hold regular family home evenings (51 percent), not drink coffee and tea (49 percent) and not watch R-rated movies (32 percent).

Combining those who said “essential” with those who said “important but not essential,” the order changes a little bit: working to help the poor (97 percent), holding regular family home evenings (96 percent), believing Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ (93 percent), not drinking coffee and tea (81 percent) and not watching R-rated movies (79 percent).

“I think that result is rather interesting,” said Cornwall. “Mormons are known for not drinking coffee or tea and not watching R-rated movies. But compared to believing that Joseph Smith saw God and working for the poor, Mormons don’t seem to focus on the coffee and tea as much as people probably think.”

Other manifestations of religious commitment in the survey included:

The number of respondents (65 percent) who say they hold a current temple recommend (a certificate from local ecclesiastical leaders, issued every other year, indicating that an individual has permission from the church to enter LDS temples and participate in temple rites and sacraments)

The number (79 percent) who say they pay tithing (donating 10 percent of their income to the church)

The number (27 percent) who have served full-time missions for the church (this number includes 43 percent of men and 11 percent of women and varies significantly according to the age and education of the respondent, as well as whether or not the respondent was raised Mormon)

The number (82 percent) who keep food in storage for emergencies or disasters, as they have been counseled to do by LDS Church leaders (This number includes 23 percent who say they have three months’ worth, 35 percent who say they have more than three months’ worth and 23 percent who say they have less than three months’ worth)

The percentage who pay tithing is especially interesting to break down. According to the survey tabulations, “tithing is most common among Mormons with the highest levels of religious commitment (96 percent) … fully 91 percent of college graduates say they pay tithing … compared with 66 percent of those with a high school diploma or less education. And among those whose family income exceeds $30,000, 83 percent say they pay tithing, compared with 69 percent of those with incomes of less than $30,000.”

While previous surveys have clearly established LDS agreement with certain key Christian doctrines — 90 percent of Mormons believe in God, 91 percent believe the Bible is the word of God and 98 percent believe in life after death — the new survey explores Mormon confidence in points of doctrine that are unique to LDS theology. And in these points of doctrine, Mormons proved to be unified and believing. They believe overwhelmingly that God and Jesus Christ are separate physical beings (94 percent), that the president of the LDS Church is a prophet of God (94 percent), that families can be bound together eternally in temple ceremonies (95 percent) and that the Book of Mormon was written by ancient prophets and translated by Joseph Smith (91 percent).

Overall, 77 percent say they believe “wholeheartedly” in all of the teachings of the LDS Church. That number increases to 82 percent among Mormons ages 18-49, and to 85 percent among Mormons who are college graduates.

“Ultimately, I suppose other Americans will judge our church — and perhaps all churches — by their relevance in how they touch and improve human lives right here on Earth as well as what they offer in the life to come,” wrote Michael Otterson, Public Affairs director for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in his “On Faith” blog in the Washington Post. “Meanwhile, we welcome the friendship and regard of all groups, even as we retain our commitment to a unique identity. In the end … Latter-day Saints will strive to be good Mormons, true believers, kind neighbors and faithful friends.”

Pew Study Reflects Mormons’ Religious Commitment to Christ, Mormon Beliefs in Tithes and Temples

Mormons in America

Deseret News
Published: Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012 7:00 p.m. MST

David Letterman knows how to get a laugh. Like most comics, he riffs on the day’s news, deadpans the camera and revels in audacity.”Oh, did you hear about this?” the host of CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman asked his audience recently. “A campaign staffer on the Newt Gingrich campaign was fired because he was making negative comments about Mormons. I thought, now, wait a minute — isn’t Newt in favor of multiple wives?”

Laughter rumbled from the audience followed by applause. The polygamy punch line is a familiar one when it comes to poking fun at Mormons — as though Mormons and polygamy are synonymous in mainstream media. Ironically, the practice that’s most linked to Mormons is a practice most Mormons oppose, according to a groundbreaking new study of Mormons in America released Thursday by the Pew Research Center‘s Forum on Religion and Public Life.

According to the study, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unequivocally reject polygamy — only 2 percent said the practice is morally acceptable — evidence of a yawning gap in what Mormons believe and how they are perceived. Mormons’ opinions are overwhelmingly conservative, the study shows, but in many ways, their views are also surprising — especially when it comes to opinions on moral issues, divorce, homosexuality and polygamy.

Morality

Mormons also take a significant stance on moral issues in other areas, such as divorce, sex outside of marriage and consumption of alcohol.

Although teachings from the LDS Church emphasize the importance and eternal nature of the family, only 25 percent of Mormons surveyed said divorce is morally wrong, according to the study. That means Mormons are slightly less morally opposed to divorce than the general public.

“For Catholics, divorce does not exist. They think it is not only wrong but it is impossible,” said Matthew Bowman, member of a board of expert advisers to the Pew Research Center for the study and author of “The Mormon People,” a book on the history of the LDS Church. “That has not been true for Mormons. There is theological space for divorce within Mormonism. It is undesirable, but Mormons recognize it is sometimes necessary and sometimes the right thing to do.”

Other moral views revealed in the survey — 54 percent said drinking alcohol was morally wrong, compared with 15 percent of the general public — set Mormons apart, Bowman says. The assumption on the part of non-Mormons is that if Mormons think drinking alcohol is wrong, then they must think everyone who imbibes is morally flawed. That apprehension can make people suspicious of Mormons, and wary of an elitist attitude, he says.

Differences in moral viewpoints can create a stumbling block for Mormon acceptance — not only in high-profile arenas, such as a presidential election, but also in communities.
“What you find throughout the report is a tension,” said David Campbell, assistant professor at Notre Dame and an adviser on the study. “Mormons like to use the phrase, ‘Be in the world but not of the world.’ They are certainly living their lives in the world. They are active and involved in their communities, but they have these beliefs and practices that set them apart a little bit, and sometimes there is conflict.”

Homosexuality

Mormons have some of the most conservative opinions when it comes to homosexuality. The survey asked Mormons if homosexuality should be accepted by society or discouraged by society, with an option for neither, both or “don’t know.” The response — 26 percent said homosexuality should be accepted, 65 percent said it should be discouraged — puts Mormons as the least likely to say homosexuality should be accepted by society. But a 26 percent acceptance rate, with roughly 1 in 4 Mormons saying homosexuality should be accepted, might be surprisingly high to some.

Of particular interest is the fact that only 8 percent of Mormons surveyed identified themselves as liberal, and 66 percent said they were conservative. That means some of those who said homosexuality should be accepted also identify themselves as politically conservative, Bowman says. That distinction illustrates the complexity of Mormons’ opinion on sexuality — that it is rooted more in religious precepts than politics.
Still, it’s difficult to draw a conclusion about Mormons‘ views on homosexuality based on the study, says Pew Research Center adviser Terryl Givens, professor of literature and religion at the University of Richmond.

“Results need to be viewed cautiously,” Givens says. “Official LDS pronouncements insist there is a distinction between (sexual) orientation and behavior, but the survey blurs that difference, probably leaving many Mormons unsure how to answer that question. What is clear, however, is that Mormons are trending toward greater acceptance of same-sex relationships, just as society as a whole is, although by a much smaller percentage.”

Polygamy

At one point 120 years ago, some Mormons practiced plural marriage, hence the association between Mormons and polygamy. The practice was discontinued in 1890, but the cultural association persists, perhaps in part because Mormons are sometimes confused with members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church, a polygamist group not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In the October-November 2011 study of a national sample of 1,019 Mormons, 86 percent said polygamy is morally wrong. That’s a number that surprises Bowman.

Were it not for the confusion surrounding Mormons and the FLDS Church practice of plural marriage, Bowman says that statistic might not be as high.

“It’s my experience that Mormons have a fraught relationship with polygamy,” Bowman said of the study results. “There is a sense that rejecting polygamy identifies a member of the LDS Church and distinguishes us from the fundamentalists. That is a cultural signifier as much as a theological statement.”

Some who responded to the survey, 11 percent, said polygamy is not a moral issue.
Email: achoate@desnews.com