Mormon (word)
Mormon is a colloquial term used to refer to members of most of the sects of the Latter Day Saint movement, members of a religion which was founded in the 1830s. The term is derived from the title of the Book of Mormon, one of their books of scripture. The Book of Mormon takes its name from its proclaimed compiler, a prophet named Mormon, who lived around 300-400 AD. It is also an adjective referring to various aspects of Mormonism. Most often, the term refers to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the largest and most well-known denomination within the Latter Day Saint movement, who are also sometimes called Latter-day Saints or LDS.
Origin of the term "Mormon"
The term Mormon and its related terms were first used in modern times in the 1830s for those who believed that Joseph Smith, Jr. had been called as a prophet of God, and who accepted The Book of Mormon as scripture translated by Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon is self-described as a compilation of smaller books, compiled, edited, and abridged by a prophet-historian named Mormon (hence the title of the book). Joseph Smith, Jr. defines the term Mormon as meaning "more good," as it is first referenced to the name of a lake of good water called "the waters of Mormon" in The Book of Mormon.
After the initial publishing of the book, Mormon originated as a derogatory term (referring to those who believed in the Book of Mormon), but the name soon lost most of its negative connotation, and is generally not considered overtly offensive today. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the related terms Mormonite, Mormonist, Mormonish, Mormonic and Mormoness were used, but such terms are now very rare and may be considered somewhat offensive.
Scope of the term "Mormon" within the Latter Day Saint movement
Some scholars feel the terms "Mormon" and "Mormonism" are useful to collectively describe all denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement, who claim to originate from the religion founded by Joseph Smith, Jr.. However, some feel the terms "Mormon" and "Mormonism" should be used exclusively to refer to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS Church), which is by far the largest Latter Day Saint denomination. Members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (later renamed the Community of Christ) which separated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois rarely use the term "Mormon" to describe themselves, and instead apply it to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Associated Press Stylebook likewise notes: "The term Mormon is not properly applied to the other ... churches that resulted from the split after [Joseph] Smith's death."
However, this usage is problematic because "Mormon" is employed by members of other schisms of the early Latter Day Saint movement that were prior to the succession crisis. "Mormon" is also used by some schisms that split from the LDS Church in the 20th Century. However, these groups often refer to themselves as "Mormon fundamentalists" and call members of the LDS church "mainstream Mormons". The more general guidelines of the AP Stylebook recommend that people should be called by those labels with which they self identify.
In addition to those members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who seek for that denomination to be the only denomination referred to as Mormon, other members of that church disapprove of the term "Mormon", and prefer instead to be called Latter-day Saints or "LDS". Many members of that denomination also use the term "LDS" when speaking to fellow church members and "Mormon" when speaking to others. The phrase Mormon Church also generally refers colloquially to this denomination, which maintains an official website presenting its basic beliefs and tenets at www.mormon.org and another website directed more at church members at www.lds.org.
Therefore, the only universally-accepted terminology in referring to Latter Day Saint denominations is to use the full name of the church, and to refer to individual Latter Day Saints as members or adherents of their particular denomination.
Use of the term Mormon by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with whom the term Mormon is most commonly identified, has changed its position on the term "Mormon" over time. For many years it was common for members to use quotes around the word "Mormon" — to indicate that this is something non-Mormons called Latter-day Saints. By the 1970s, the term had become so common, the LDS church began to use the term "Mormon" in advertising, including well-known television commercials which ended: "A message from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: The Mormons." More recently the organization has asked the media to use the church's complete name and follow any second reference with the name "The Church of Jesus Christ", to recognize Jesus Christ's importance to the faith. This style suggestion is rarely followed because of the ambiguity of the abbreviation and most still use the previous abbreviation, "LDS Church".
Although the LDS Church objects to the use of the referent "Mormon Church", it stops short of rejecting the terms "Mormonism" and "Mormon" and occasionally claims these terms as exclusive references only to itself and its members. In a press release from 2001, the LDS Church stated that the word "Mormon" as an adjective in such expressions as "Mormon pioneers", "Mormons" as a noun in reference to church members, and "Mormonism" as a doctrine, culture, and lifestyle were all acceptable.
Claims for exclusivity of usage are primarily to avoid confusion between the LDS Church and "Mormon Fundamentalist" groups. The LDS Church argues "Mormon", "Mormon fundamentalist" and "Mormon dissident" in reference to organizations or groups outside of the LDS Church (especially those that practice plural marriage) is a misunderstanding of Mormon theology, in particular the principle of continuous revelation and Priesthood authority.
Despite this perspective, the term "Mormon Fundamentalist" is widely used by Latter-day Saints in some areas (including members of the LDS church and the fundamentalists themselves) and by people outside the movement.
Sometimes "Restorationist" or "Restoration Movement" are used as umbrella terms, for those derived from the Campbellites or Stone-Campbell churches, for example, the Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ. Mormons, however, while sharing some general beliefs of the Campbellites are not a break off group of the Campbellites, but instead a group which believes that a restoration of the original church of Jesus Christ (known as the "primitive church" by historians) has taken place as God called Joseph Smith to be a prophet independent of any other church or movement. There are some general similarities to Campbellite teachings, and many of Mormonism's first adherents (including Sidney Rigdon) were previously Campbellites, but The Book of Mormon and the book of Doctrine and Covenants define the Mormons' doctrine in a unique way from any other restoration movement body.
Utah Mormons and Missouri Mormons
Some scholars, such as Melton, in his Encyclopedia of American Religion, subdivide the Mormons into "Utah Mormons" and "Missouri Mormons," however, these terms are not of common usage, and even unheard of, among the majority of those who call themselves Mormons.
In this scheme, the Utah Mormon group includes all the organizations descending from those Mormons who followed Brigham Young to what is now Utah. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is by far the largest of these groups, and the only group to initially reside in Utah. When the United States outlawed plural marriage, the church established a few "Mormon Colonies" like Colonia Juárez in Mexico, as plural marriage was still legal there. When the leaders of the LDS church proclaimed that God had revealed to them that the practice of plural marriage was to be discontinued, however, there were a number of families who left The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and continued to practice plural marriage in scattered and usually isolated communities. While these smaller groups have a membership in the thousands, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints now claims a world-wide membership of over 12 Million, but due to heavy media focus on these fractional bodies, misidentification of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with these polygamous groups is not uncommon. These groups include the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Kingston clan, the True & Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days and a few others. The majority of these groups are found in Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Colorado, British Columbia, Alberta, and Mexico. Both the terms "Utah Mormons" and "Missouri Mormons" are problematic because the majority of members of each of these branches no longer live in either of these states. While the majority of the population of the state of Utah are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, it has a large membership in many other states, most notably Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, and California. The majority of the membership of the church today resides outside of the United States.
The Missouri Mormons are those Mormons who did not travel to Utah, and the organizations formed from them — the Community of Christ, Church of Christ (Temple Lot), Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, etc. (Not all "Missouri Mormon" groups are based in Missouri, however. Notable exceptions include the Pennsylvania-based Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) which considers Sidney Rigdon Joseph Smith's rightful successor and the Wisconsin-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Strangite) which considers James J. Strang Smith's legitimate successor.
Addressing some of the limitations of the Utah/Missouri designations, historian Jan Shipps has now coined the terms Rocky Mountain Saints and Prairie Saints to rename the "Utah" and "Missouri" branches of the movement. These new terms have begun to gain a following among some historians today, but similar to the above mentioned titles, they are not of common usage among the majority of those who call themselves Mormons.
Distinctions from other religious groups
Despite some misconceptions over similar nicknames and stereotypes, Mormons are not the same religious group as Quakers (members of the Religious Society of Friends), Mennonites, or Amish. Mormons originated separately from these groups and are highly distinct in culture, practice, and theology. Mormonism originated in the United States; the Quaker and Mennonite faiths originally came from Europe. The groups also have numerous doctrinal differences. For example, both Quakers and Mennonites (which include the Amish) are traditionally strict pacifists (and are both peace churches) whereas Mormons believe in self defense and will participate in the military. In the United States, many Mormons are members of the armed forces, and there are LDS chaplains.
One source of confusion in regions where Spanish, French, Russian, Polish, or Italian are the predominant languages comes from a mistranslation in the film Witness (starring Harrison Ford) into Spanish, French, Russian, Polish and Italian. "Amish" was translated incorrectly to "Mormon". How this happened with different translators into different languages is not clear, but demonstrates a general misunderstanding about the identity of either the Amish or the Mormons, or both.
Mormons in popular culture
Mormons depicted in movies and television are often presented as a stereo-type; blond-haired Caucasians, having large families, are very religious, with a focus on genealogy and fundamentalism. More recent productions with the intent of presenting a more accurate picture of their culture have demonstrated that their religion is inclusive, representing a vast spectrum of ethnic backgrounds. The emphasis on genealogy is not surprising given the immense importance genealogical research (www.familysearch.org) has in Mormon culture, including, in particular, as a point of outreach/contact with non-Mormons. They have been both objects of ridicule in comedic media (Tonight Show, South Park, and other TV shows and Orgazmo and other films) usually making fun of the LDS church's history and doctrines, including polygamy, or portrayed in a neutral manner (Larry King Live, Newsweek) or as role models for ethics (Frasier). Often their door-to-door missionary work is compared with that of the Jehovah's Witnesses, but the two religions have few other similarities.
Mormons have been active in producing general and Mormon-targeted plays, books and cinema. Many films aimed at Mormon audiences have been produced in the last decade. (See "LDS fiction" and "LDS cinema".)
Mormon producers, actors, directors, etc. are present in the television and movie industries, more today than in the past. Producer Glen A. Larson placed elements of his faith in the television series Battlestar Galactica (1978), which mostly didn't survive into the 2003 reimagined series.
In addition, many Mormons are well-known authors, particularly in the field of Speculative fiction. These include Orson Scott Card and Tracy Hickman, among others.