1. Every member is assigned visitors who come to your home at least once a month to visit, and check on your spiritual and temporal welfare. The family, whether headed by a man or a single woman, is visited by 2 men called home teachers. The woman, whether the head of her home or married, is additionally visited by 2 women known as visiting teachers. If any problems exist within the family that the home or visiting teachers can't handle, the situation is turned over to the church leaders for additional assistance.

2. The Church maintains storehouses to service it's members and others in need of food and basic household supplies. If the home or visiting teachers feel a food order would help relieve a family's problems, they submit the need to church leaders who assess and fill their needs. Most food items are produced, canned and packed by the Church, using volunteer church labor. Some non-food items are also produced by church members, and distributed world-wide. The food produced bears the "Deseret" label. Members living within a storehouse district take turns volunteering time to can and pack and food, stock the commodities, package the food orders, deliver the packaged orders to the ward, and keep the storehouse facilities clean and in top shape. It is truly a blessing to work in the storehouse, knowing that your efforts go so far in blessing others.

3. On the first Sunday of every month, church members fast. In turn, they donate the money they would have spent on food to a welfare fund. The money is sent to Salt Lake, where it is distributed as needed. The money is used for medical bills, electric bills, mortgage and rent payme nts, and other financial needs that arise, at the discretion of the bishop of the ward.

4. Everyone takes part in the operation of the church, and nobody gets paid. Even the bishop, who serves as the leader of a local ward of the church, is unpaid. If he is young and not retired, he serves as the leader in addition to his regular job. The bishop is chosen from the ward members and serves an average of five years. The bishop has two counselors and an executive secretary, who help him orchestrate the other ward auxiliaries. Other members serve as teachers, auxiliary presidents, counselors, leaders or directors. In my family, I serve as director of the Family History Center. I have 13 volunteer librarians and 4 consultants. My husband is the bishop's executive secretary, and our 14 year old son serves as a counselor in his quorum. It is rare for any worthy member of a ward to not be called to a position in the church. My husband frequently teaches his quorum group and we enjoy working in the storehouse on distribution days. Sunday meetings last 3 hours and include the Sacrament service, auxiliary meeting and Sunday School. The young men and women meet for activities Wednesday nights.

5. The Church is known for creating the very first woman's organization, known as the Relief Society. The Relief Society exists for the women, and in addition to providing assistance to families whenever there is a death or illness in the family, the Society teaches and helps its members in the fields of compassionate service, spiritual perseverance, education and homemaking. In addition to their Sunday meetings, they meet once a month for social and educational meetings. The Relief Society is for all women 18 years and up.

On Sunday, the older babies can attend nursery, the children age 3-8 attend Primary. At age 12 a worthy boy can become a Deacon, at 14 a Teacher, at 16 a Priest and at 18 an Elder. Each quorum advancement comes with specific and additional responsibilities. At age 12 girls leave Primary and enter a program called Young Woman, and leave there at age 18 for Relief Society. Elders can receive additional advancement by being called as a bishop, high priest, stake president, general authority, apostle (there are 12 of these), or prophet (just 1 of these). There are 9 million members, worldwide.

6. In Feb 1833 the Lord revealed to the prophet a Word of Wisdom. This revelation admonished people to abstain from wine and strong drink, tobacco, coffee and tea, and to use meat sparingly. So, few members come to church smelling smoky, it's a safe bet you can go into their home and not come out smelling smoky. There are few problems related to alcohol abuse, and it's nice to know that you can always call on a friend and not compete with the effects of alcohol. I came from a family that smoked and drank, so living in a community of friends who do neither is a wonderful blessing.

7. Like many other Christian churches, The LDS Church believes the no one can enter the kingdom of God without baptism. Unlike other churches, the LDS church has undertaken the responsibility of redeeming the dead who died without the knowledge of Jesus or a valid baptism, by performing a baptism for them by proxy, thus availing them of all spiritual promises. Consider these scriptures before you scoff at this practice:

When Jesus told the thief next to him on the cross that he would be with him in paradise that day, was he referring to heaven? We know he was not, because when he emerged from the tomb he told Mary not to touch him because he had not yet ascended to his Father. Peter tells us where he was in 1 Peter 3:18-19: For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit, by which he also went and preached unto the spirits in prison... Later, in 1 Peter 4 5-6 he tells us that "for this cause was the gospel preached to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the Spirit. And then there is 1 Cor: 15:29 which says "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?"

Worthy members of the Church go to Temples where they perform the ordinance of baptism, and additional ordinances for and in behalf of their deceased ancestors. Going back to 1 Peter 4: 5-6, we see that these ancestors are being taught, so that they might be desirous of these ordinances performed in their behalf, and accept them.

8. I know where the Indians came from and how they got to America. I know why I'm here, where I came from, and where I'll go when I die. I know the plan of salvation. I know what a liahnoa is.

The green window will help you find LDS web pages that contain the subject matter you are looking for. Just type in a word like "Jesus" or "Primary" or "Conference" and find web pages that discuss that subject. To see an alphabetical list of LDS web sites (by family surname) go to my home page and click Tonia Izu's link to her alphabetical list of LDS web sites at the bottom of her page.

Search Deseret's Best LDS Web Sites Use one key word

This LDS WebRing site is owned by LDSCN. Want to join the LDS Webring?
[Home] [Skip Prev] [Prev] [Next] [Skip Next] [Random] [Next 5] [List Sites]

---

updated 29 Jan 1999
My home Page

Contact me