Mormon Traditions
Latter-Day Saints (also known as Mormons) practice several traditions based on church doctrine, such as paying tithing, adhering to health and chastity laws, and hosting family home evenings.
Joseph Smith, one of the founding prophets of Mormonism, taught that celestial bodies have familial bonds similar to human families.
Mormons hold firm to their beliefs of marriage for life and eternity as one of the foundations of their religion.
Patriarchal Blessings
A patriarchal blessing is an sacred and personal scripture offered to members of the LDS Church. A man known as a patriarch bestows this blessing, placing their hands upon their head while praying outlining which lineage of twelve tribes each person descends from. Close family members such as parents or spouses usually attend such blessings and those receiving one are strongly encouraged to study and memorize it.
Patriarchs are appointed to each congregation, known as a stake, led by a stake president. Once assigned, these priesthood holders are expected to provide one patriarchal blessing per member in their stake.
Temples
Mormons regard their temples as the holiest buildings on Earth. Conceived as gateways to heaven, Mormon temples serve as places where their patrons can come closest to experiencing God.
Mormons practice specific rituals both for themselves and the dead – known as ordinances – which they consider part of their religion.
Only members with a recommendation–a certificate of worthiness–may enter, wearing white clothing while leaving street clothes in lockers. When first going through endowment presentations for their deceased family members, members also perform similar ceremonies on behalf of themselves and later undertake them again under their own name.
Baptism
Baptism is an important tenet of Mormonism. Members believe baptism is necessary to entering God’s kingdom in the next life and are immersed for this ceremony, with living “proxies” also offering baptism for those who died without accepting their gospel and being baptized before they died.
The Book of Mormon teaches that repentance should be an inherent desire among those seeking baptism, since baptism marks an eternal covenant between oneself and God and promises forgiveness and grace from Him.
Confirmation
Mormonism encourages its adherents to trust their intuition for confirmation of truth, with members learning how to sense spiritual emotions as a source of guidance. Mormons believe Joseph Smith was sent by God to lead his church into becoming Christ’s one true church and therefore they rely heavily on personal revelation for confirmation of truth.
Mormons become official members of their church at age eight following baptism and are given the gift of the Holy Ghost through laying on of hands.
Like Christians, Mormons also revere Christ as their guide toward salvation and theosis (becoming like God). Additionally, they believe in a Trinity doctrine, in which Father, Son and Holy Ghost exist as separate beings who function together toward “one purpose”. This concept is known as trinitarianism.
Endowments
Mormons hold that their endowment should remain secret from outsiders. Church publications highlight how its initiation and instructional/testing stages involve symbolic gestures and names–known as tokens or signs pertaining to Mormon priesthood–which patrons are required to oath not to reveal outside the temple.
Oaths are taken during a ritual performance of the Council in Heaven, during which patrons can view images of galaxies on a screen and listen to recordings featuring God, Satan and Jesus discussing how mankind may return home when their mortal journey is completed. Patrons are welcome to attend multiple endowment presentations.
Priesthood
Mormons hold that Jesus Christ established priesthood as an authoritative figure on Earth and consider its role to be essential in saving humanity. Without proper divine authority, ordinances and sacraments would not be valid.
Whoever receives this sacred priesthood is chosen by God and then ordained through a church ceremony. Their calling to an office may then be discerned by church officials and approved through vote of congregational conferences.
Priesthood holders then place their hands upon the recipient and confer either Aaronic or Melchizedek priesthood upon them, along with endowments designed to assist in fulfilling their responsibilities as part of church leadership. A person may receive multiple ordainments over the course of their career within the church.