Name: The Church at a Glance
Uploaded: 2025-03-20T14:05:30.069841994Z
Duration: 1970-01-01T00:02:03.000Z
Description: A brief overview of the history, doctrine, organization and practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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The Church at a Glance

Christ appearing to the Nephites in America. Mormon.org video, 
What is the Book of Mormon?

Christ Appearing to the Nephites

A brief overview of the history, doctrine, organization and practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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<![CDATA[[SINGING] ]]> <![CDATA[There's an increasing number of Mormons,]]> <![CDATA[or members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day]]> <![CDATA[Saints, in the world today. ]]> <![CDATA[And I think a lot of people are curious and wonder]]> <![CDATA[what our Church is all about. ]]> <![CDATA[Being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day]]> <![CDATA[Saints compels me to help other people.]]> <![CDATA[And because the Church gives me those opportunities]]> <![CDATA[to help other people, I realize that I truly]]> <![CDATA[am a disciple of Jesus Christ as the Savior defined]]> <![CDATA[Christianity. ]]> <![CDATA["By this shall all men know ... ]]> <![CDATA[ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."]]> <![CDATA[We believe in the prophets and the teachings]]> <![CDATA[of the Old Testament. ]]> <![CDATA[We believe in the New Testament and all]]> <![CDATA[that was taught about Jesus Christ.]]> <![CDATA[When Jesus lived on earth, He organized His Church.]]> <![CDATA[When Jesus was crucified, His Apostles were killed.]]> <![CDATA[As time went on, controversy and contentions]]> <![CDATA[grew over how to practice Christ's teachings.]]> <![CDATA[In the early 1800s, there was a young man]]> <![CDATA[named Joseph Smith in the United States.]]> <![CDATA[Joseph Smith was a 14-year-old boy.]]> <![CDATA[He wanted to know which of the religions was true.]]> <![CDATA[One day he was reading the scriptures,]]> <![CDATA[and he came across this verse in James]]> <![CDATA[chapter 1, verse 5, which says, "If [anyone lacks] wisdom, let]]> <![CDATA[him ask of God." ]]> <![CDATA[Joseph Smith prayed to God for answers to his questions.]]> <![CDATA[And the heavens were opened before him.]]> <![CDATA[Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ,]]> <![CDATA[appeared to the boy Joseph Smith.]]> <![CDATA[Throughout the history of the world,]]> <![CDATA[the Lord has communicated through prophets to His people.]]> <![CDATA[Given what we're up against, how much]]> <![CDATA[more important and relevant is a mouthpiece of the Lord today?]]> <![CDATA[Eventually Joseph Smith was led to translate an ancient record]]> <![CDATA[called the Book of Mormon, which teaches of Jesus Christ]]> <![CDATA[and complements the Bible. ]]> <![CDATA[Jesus Christ called twelve Apostles]]> <![CDATA[and additional disciples called Seventy]]> <![CDATA[to help Him teach the gospel and serve people.]]> <![CDATA[Today, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]> <![CDATA[has the same organization. ]]> <![CDATA[We believe that Jesus Christ is the head of the Church,]]> <![CDATA[that He has called a prophet, and that we also]]> <![CDATA[have twelve Apostles. ]]> <![CDATA[The Church is organized in a unique way.]]> <![CDATA[First of all, family is the most important organization]]> <![CDATA[in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.]]> <![CDATA[All of the organization is set to help and support]]> <![CDATA[the families. ]]> <![CDATA[Your father and mother and their kids,]]> <![CDATA[the singles--each individual, we consider as a family.]]> <![CDATA[When you really think about and practice what that means,]]> <![CDATA[it means that God cares about our marriage.]]> <![CDATA[God cares about our family. ]]> <![CDATA[He cares about the way I raise my children and the effort]]> <![CDATA[that I put to that. ]]> <![CDATA[He cares about my relationship with my wife]]> <![CDATA[and how I treat my wife. ]]> <![CDATA[The gospel teaches us that our families]]> <![CDATA[can continue to be as a family, even after we die.]]> <![CDATA[Today we came to a temple to get married.]]> <![CDATA[It is not a marriage just for the life,]]> <![CDATA[but also for the eternity. ]]> <![CDATA[I wanted to see the temple, and it took my breath away.]]> <![CDATA[I don't know how else to explain it.]]> <![CDATA[There's a certain feeling of peace]]> <![CDATA[and a sacred feeling and a spirit.]]> <![CDATA[We have meetinghouses where we go every Sunday.]]> <![CDATA[But the temple is different. ]]> <![CDATA[In the biblical period, the idea of a temple]]> <![CDATA[is that it's a special place where God's presence is always]]> <![CDATA[to be found. ]]> <![CDATA[This place, the temple, is a very special place]]> <![CDATA[where we perform sacred ordinances for us.]]> <![CDATA[Members of our Church pray in the temple.]]> <![CDATA[We promise to live commandments with a greater]]> <![CDATA[sense of commitment. ]]> <![CDATA[It's also a place where we perform ordinances]]> <![CDATA[such as baptisms for our ancestors]]> <![CDATA[that didn't receive those ordinances while they]]> <![CDATA[were on the earth. ]]> <![CDATA[We are from India. ]]> <![CDATA[This is my family, and I am so excited to be here]]> <![CDATA[in this temple, Hong Kong temple.]]> <![CDATA[It is a very big blessing for us.]]> <![CDATA[[SPEAKING HINDI] ]]> <![CDATA[We are blessed to come to this Hong Kong temple,]]> <![CDATA[and we feel that God Himself has invited us.]]> <![CDATA[My family, many blessings. ]]> <![CDATA[ ]]> <![CDATA[Very happy. ]]> <![CDATA[We love families. ]]> <![CDATA[And we know that the peoples of the world]]> <![CDATA[love their families too, and that connecting]]> <![CDATA[is a rich and significant experience.]]> <![CDATA[Because of our belief in the importance of families,]]> <![CDATA[the Church makes family history records available.]]> <![CDATA[We've been going out to parishes and filming these records]]> <![CDATA[for anyone that wants to look at them.]]> <![CDATA[We have over 4,500 family history centers]]> <![CDATA[that are around the world. ]]> <![CDATA[The same name? ]]> <![CDATA[Yeah, the same name. ]]> <![CDATA[Wow. ]]> <![CDATA[The same age? ]]> <![CDATA[Wow, yes. ]]> <![CDATA[I'm not a member of the Church, but I]]> <![CDATA[appreciate the ability to use this library.]]> <![CDATA[It's open to everyone. ]]> <![CDATA[I'm not a member of the Mormon Church,]]> <![CDATA[but I'm very impressed with what's]]> <![CDATA[been provided free and the quality of the whole setup.]]> <![CDATA[There's something remarkable about being linked to family.]]> <![CDATA[It's tender to me to feel I belong to other people.]]> <![CDATA[The beliefs of our Church have brought]]> <![CDATA[me love within the family and within the community]]> <![CDATA[that I live. ]]> <![CDATA[Everyone I see, I see that he is my brother or sister.]]> <![CDATA[Our partnership with the LDS Church]]> <![CDATA[is absolutely essential for the Red Cross]]> <![CDATA[to be able to fulfill its mission every single day.]]> <![CDATA[With us, the Church has been there]]> <![CDATA[in so many different parts of the world in large numbers.]]> <![CDATA[It's a privilege to be able to work]]> <![CDATA[with such a caring group of people.]]> <![CDATA[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]> <![CDATA[has many organized efforts in place to help those in need,]]> <![CDATA[and each member helps to fund this work.]]> <![CDATA[Once a month, millions of members]]> <![CDATA[all around the world fast. ]]> <![CDATA[The money that we did not spend for those two meals we fast,]]> <![CDATA[that money is given to the welfare system of the Church]]> <![CDATA[in the form of fast offerings. ]]> <![CDATA[[SPEAKING SPANISH] ]]> <![CDATA[I don't have much money, but for the love of the Lord,]]> <![CDATA[I give my offerings. ]]> <![CDATA[When I give my offerings, I feel great joy.]]> <![CDATA[A sacred stewardship of all the bishops throughout the world]]> <![CDATA[is to use those fast offerings as they're]]> <![CDATA[directed by the Savior to help the needy and the poor.]]> <![CDATA[The Church equips the bishops with many resources.]]> <![CDATA[For example, in some parts of the world,]]> <![CDATA[the Church owns commercial-sized farms and factories]]> <![CDATA[that are run almost exclusively by volunteers, where]]> <![CDATA[a variety of food is grown and canned to help those in need.]]> <![CDATA[In parts of the world where there]]> <![CDATA[is no Church-organized food production,]]> <![CDATA[the bishops use the fast-offering funds]]> <![CDATA[to purchase food and other commodities to help.]]> <![CDATA[We provide assistance for food, but then we also go beyond that]]> <![CDATA[and we provide monetary assistance, employment]]> <![CDATA[services, adoption services, addiction recovery,]]> <![CDATA[and marriage and family counseling.]]> <![CDATA[We also seek to help those in need]]> <![CDATA[through a number of initiatives, such as our emergency response]]> <![CDATA[program. ]]> <![CDATA[The most critical thing about disaster response]]> <![CDATA[is moving large groups of people to the site of a disaster.]]> <![CDATA[And there is no one that can mobilize groups of people]]> <![CDATA[better than the LDS Church. ]]> <![CDATA[[SPANISH SPEAKING] ]]> <![CDATA[Even though we are not members of their Church,]]> <![CDATA[we always receive their support. ]]> <![CDATA[We have a clean water program that]]> <![CDATA[has assisted over a million people worldwide]]> <![CDATA[by creating safe water sources. ]]> <![CDATA[A big thank you to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day]]> <![CDATA[Saints for saving lives, for saving]]> <![CDATA[children who would have died. ]]> <![CDATA[We appreciate it so much. ]]> <![CDATA[Our immunization program works to stop preventable diseases]]> <![CDATA[from taking the lives of many children around the world.]]> <![CDATA[We also have a mobility program that]]> <![CDATA[provides prosthetics and wheelchairs.]]> <![CDATA[We train hospitals all around the world]]> <![CDATA[in vision care and neonatal resuscitation.]]> <![CDATA[[SPEAKING SPANISH] ]]> <![CDATA[I thought he wasn't going to live.]]> <![CDATA[ ]]> <![CDATA[I thank God for everything He has given me.]]> <![CDATA[For the baby, who is making good progress, I thank God.]]> <![CDATA[Prayers are answered most of the time,]]> <![CDATA[I think, by God using other people.]]> <![CDATA[Well, I pray that He'll use us. ]]> <![CDATA[I pray that we'll be the answer to people's prayers.]]> <![CDATA[I'm amazed at every aspect of every life]]> <![CDATA[that the LDS Church touches throughout the world.]]> <![CDATA[Our faith and the religion that we practice]]> <![CDATA[is not a Sunday religion. ]]> <![CDATA[It's a lifetime. ]]> <![CDATA[It's what we do. ]]> <![CDATA[It's who we are. ]]> <![CDATA[It's how we live. ]]> <![CDATA[The precepts of the gospel have always been good to me.]]> <![CDATA[They have always brought me joy and happiness and purpose]]> <![CDATA[in my life, so I know that the source must also]]> <![CDATA[be good and true. ]]> <![CDATA[I have experienced how the gospel has changed my life]]> <![CDATA[and brought much happiness to my life and that of my family.]]> <![CDATA[So I couldn't just wait to come and help people]]> <![CDATA[to know that there is a restored gospel that can actually]]> <![CDATA[change their lives and bring joy and lasting]]> <![CDATA[peace to their hearts, families, and in their homes.]]> <![CDATA[Serving in missions is a voluntary service.]]> <![CDATA[We are here because we love Christ]]> <![CDATA[and we love these people. ]]> <![CDATA[This is the work of love. ]]> <![CDATA[And we want to serve them. ]]> <![CDATA[We want to let them know that Jesus loves them.]]> <![CDATA[ ]]>

The Church at a Glance

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