LDS — Foundation for Religious Diplomacy

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Chapter Director: Charles Randall Paul

WELCOME & PURPOSE STATEMENT

WELCOME & PURPOSE STATEMENT

Welcome to the website of the Foundation for Religious Diplomacy (FRD) chapter established for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) to engage in trust-building intra and interreligious diplomacy mainly by means of Heart & Mind Conversations. The LDS chapter is led by committed Latter-day Saints but claims no affiliation with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Unless otherwise authorized, FRD LDS members will be thinking, speaking and acting as individuals.

The world can be a dangerous place, but proven trust provides healthy families, friendships, organizations and societies the confidence to face the challenges of life with lighter hearts and good will. The LDS FRD chapter members join in the purpose of building trust between groups or individuals that might be suspicious of each other due to the different religious or spiritual convictions, values and practices by which they interpret the world and order their lives.

Think about this: Is it possible to trust someone that sincerely believes you have been following the wrong spiritual path and incorrectly prioritizing your values? The LDS chapter believes as a religious principle it is vital that we learn to do so—to become trustworthy critics and rivals—in a continual search for more truth together as brothers and sisters on earth. As Christians we desire to be peacemakers that digest with confidence the inevitable tension that results from honest contestation over conflicting perspectives of the common good. We believe Christlike love manifests most powerfully in throws of serious disagreement; thus, God has allowed ambiguity over ultimate truth in order to provide humans an effective way to learn to love their neighbors.

INTRODUCTION TO THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

Latter-day Saints believe that Jesus Christ, the divine man and exemplar for those who trust in him, called apostles who established a church charged with spreading the good news. This early church eventually lost its apostolic priesthood authority, but it was restored when ancient, resurrected apostles visited Joseph Smith, Jr. ordaining him to organize in 1830 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed Mormons.) The church today is continually led by living apostles and prophets who strive to receive divine revelation to direct the church and serve the greater world. The church leaders aim to teach the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, a growing body of truth enhanced by continual revelation in our time.

Latter-day Saints believe individuals may also receive personal revelation from God to direct their lives through prayer and other means. They believe they should seek and be inspired to interpret the truth from any source, with particular emphasis on The Hebrew Bible, The New Testament, and additional scriptures revealed through Joseph Smith such as The Book of Mormon and several other volumes of scripture.

The Church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA and is led by President Russell Nelson, twelve apostles, and other general officers including the leadership of the largest women-led relief organization in the world, the Church Relief Society. In addition to weekly worship services in chapels, the Church members attend temples dispersed around the world to learn with lectures, symbolic rituals and covenants that the purpose and destiny of humanity to become resurrected Christlike beings.

Latter-day Saints meet regularly in local community wards to worship, to partake of the emblems of bread and water in the sacrament rite, to study the scriptures and to fellowship together. They also worship in sacred temples where members covenant with God to consecrate their lives to serving the church and humanity to build a revolutionary society based on Christlike love. In temples the Latter-day Saints perform ordinances of marriage and family bonding that last beyond mortality and sustain social bonds after the resurrection. Their mission is to eventually inspire all members of the human family to desire to live in Christlike love and to enjoy everlasting lives in a resurrected society of divine friends.

To become more godlike is an ongoing personal and social experience of improvement throughout eternity. Thus, Latter-day Saints worship God as a personal, social being that leads the way through the sacrificial example of Christ for all humanity to join in the everlasting process of growing in joyful capacities and interpersonal relations of love.

More information about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its membership programs and humanitarian efforts can be found at the church’s website, www.churchofjesuschrist.org.

Beliefs

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/welcome/what-do-latter-day-saints-believe?lang=eng

Practices

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/welcome/who-are-the-latter-day-saints?lang=eng

History

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/welcome/restored-church-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng

Articles of Faith

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/a-of-f/1?lang=eng

MEMBERSHIP STATISTICS

Total 2024 Church Membership: c. 17,500,000

Congregations Worldwide: c. 30,000

Proselytizing Missionaries: c. 65,000