Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) or (Mormon Church)

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS (LDS) -  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS Church or, informally, the Mormon Church) is a Christian restorationist church that is considered by its followers to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has established congregations (called wards or branches) and built temples worldwide. According to the church, it has over 74,000 missionaries and a membership of over 15 million.  It is ranked by the National Council of Churches as the fourth-largest Christian denomination in the United States.  It is the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement founded by Joseph Smith during the period of religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening.

Adherents, often referred to as "Latter-day Saints", or, less formally, "Mormons", view faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement as the central tenet of their religion. LDS theology includes the Christian doctrine of salvation only through Jesus Christ, though LDS doctrines regarding the nature of God and the potential of mankind differ significantly from mainstream Christianity. The church has an open canon which includes four scriptural texts: the Bible (both Old and New Testaments), the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. Other than the Bible, the majority of the LDS canon constitutes revelation spoken by Joseph Smith and recorded by his scribes which includes commentary and exegesis about the Bible, texts described as lost parts of the Bible, and other works believed to be written by ancient prophets.

Under the doctrine of continuing revelation, Latter-day Saints believe that Jesus Christ, under the direction of God the Father, leads the church by revealing his will to its president, whom adherents regard as a modern-day "prophet, seer, and revelator". The current president is Thomas S. Monson. Individual members believe that they can also receive personal revelation from God in conducting their lives. The president heads a hierarchical structure with various levels reaching down to local congregations. Bishops, drawn from the laity, lead local congregations. Male members, after reaching age 12, may be ordained to the priesthood, provided they are living the standards of the church. Women do not hold positions within the priesthood, but do occupy leadership roles in church auxiliary organizations.

Both men and women may serve as missionaries, and the church maintains a large missionary program which proselytizes and conducts humanitarian services worldwide. Faithful members adhere to laws regarding sexual purity, health, fasting, and Sabbath observance, and contribute ten percent of their income to the church as a tithe. In addition, the church teaches sacred ordinances through which adherents make covenants with God, including baptism, confirmation, the sacrament (holy communion), endowment, and celestial marriage (marriage blessings which extend beyond mortality)—all of which are of great significance to church members.

A number of official changes have taken place to the organization during the modern era. One significant change was the ordination of men of black African descent to the priesthood in 1978, which reversed a policy originally instituted by Brigham Young in 1852. There are also periodic changes in the structure and organization of the church, mainly to accommodate the organization's growth and increasing international presence. For example, since the early 1900s, the church has instituted a Priesthood Correlation Program to centralize church operations and bring them under a hierarchy of priesthood leaders. During the Great Depression, the church also began operating a church welfare system, and it has conducted numerous humanitarian efforts in cooperation with other religious organizations including Catholic Relief Services and Islamic Relief, as well as secular organizations such as the American Red Cross.

NOTE: EMBLEM IS (ANGEL MORONI) -  The Angel Moroni is, in Mormonism, an angel who visited Joseph Smith on numerous occasions, beginning on September 21, 1823.  According to Smith, the angel was the guardian of the golden plates, which Latter Day Saints believe were the source material for the Book of Mormon, buried in a hill near Smith's home in western New York.  An important figure in the theology of the Latter Day Saint movement, Moroni is featured prominently in Mormon architecture and art.  Besides Smith, the Three Witnesses and several other witnesses also reported that they saw Moroni in visions in 1829.

Moroni is thought by Latter Day Saints to be the same person as a Book of Mormon prophet-warrior named Moroni, who was the last to write in the golden plates.  The book states that Moroni buried them before he died after a great battle between two pre-Columbian civilizations.   After he died, he became an angel who was tasked with guarding the golden plates and directing Smith to their location in the 1820s.   According to Smith, he returned the golden plates to Moroni after they were translated and, as of 1838, Moroni still had the plates in his possession.