2015 Ford Interfaith Article on LDS Church


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The below fascinating Interfaith article on the LDS Church was recently emailed by Ford Motor Company to thousands of its employees!

 

 

Interfaith Insights & Inspirations

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

Quick Facts & Interesting Tidbits

On this day 175 years ago, September 14, 1840, Joseph Smith Sr. died; his son was the LDS Church's founding prophet.

The church has since grown nearly a thousand fold -- enjoy the following about this now thriving church!

 

OVERVIEW

·   Named “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”, nicknames are “LDS” or “Mormon”

·   Not claiming standing from age-old descent, from councils, or from just reading the Bible, the LDS Church is rather unique in declaring that the Lord restored the full original Christian church, guided once again through prophetic revelation

·   Core focus is that Jesus Christ & His teachings bring happiness in this life & exaltation in the next with your family

 

HISTORY

·   In 1820 14-yr-old Joseph Smith proclaimed a vision of God & Christ foretelling the long-prophesied full Christian restoration

·   Organized in upstate New York in 1830, the church moved to near Cleveland, then near Kansas City, & then to rural Illinois

·   Fleeing violent Illinois mobs, Mormons began their subzero February escape across a frozen Mississippi River in 1846

·   Though 4-6,000 died en route, 70,000 pre-railroad Mormon pioneers settled Salt Lake City & 600 other Western communities

 

SALT LAKE CITY

·   Temple Square, laid out just four days after 1847 pioneer arrival, has 5 million annual visitors, more than the Grand Canyon

·   The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the world’s most famous, broadcast on 1500 stations, started 29 days after pioneer arrival

·   The iconic granite Salt Lake Temple took 40 years to build; there are now 148 temples worldwide with another 25 underway

·   Salt Lake City is home of the world's largest genealogy database, it can be visited online or at 4,800 libraries

 

FAMILY

·   LDS believe that marriage & family can be eternal & are central to God's plan for our happiness

·   On Monday nights, LDS worldwide hold "Family Home Evening", a program started 100 years ago in 1915

·   A Pew survey showed LDS as the most married & least divorced Christian U.S. sect after Anabaptists (Amish, etc.)

·   Utah is the single most marriedlargest familylargest househighest birth ratemost kids with both parentslowest illegitimacylowest births into povertylowest child poverty, & youngest (average age 29.2 vs. 38.9 for Michigan) of all 50 states

 

HEALTH CODE

·   Believing an 1833 health code was inspired, LDS avoid alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs, coffee, & tea (herbal tea is ok)

·   This health code also teaches grains (especially wheat), fresh fruits & vegetables, & sparing use of meat

·   A 2008 UCLA study of 26,000 people showed that active LDS live longer than white Americans, men by 9.8 years & women by 5.6 years; the differences were even much greater for LDS who better lived various LDS tenets

·   Utah is 50th in smokingtobaccomarijuanaalcoholdrunk drivingheart attackshypertensionhigh cholesterolcancer deathsCesareanssick dayschild obesityyouth inactivity, & 49th in adult inactivitydiabetesheart diseasestrokes, & ER visits

 

EDUCATION

·   Some 397,000 high school students attend a daily gospel study class, usually starting 6-6:30AM

·   Some 347,000 college students attend a weekly Institute of Religion class at 2,500 locations worldwide

·   Utah is 50th in spending per pupil (31st in teacher salary), but rates above average in most educational metrics

·   New in 2001, LDS in 63 developing countries can get low-rate college loans; over 60,000 loans have been made

 

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY, PROVO UTAH

·   BYU Provo, with 30,000 students, is America's largest single-campus private college

·   From 110+ countries, 70% of students are bilingual, 32% study one of 55 languages, & 2,000 study abroad in 55 countries

·   BYU’s unparalleled Independent Study program offers over 550 courses to 130,000 students in over 90 countries

·   BYU national championships in the last 20 years include: five in rugby (including the last four), three in men’s volleyball, four in women’s cross country, four in combined racquetball, nine in women’s racquetball, & 20 in ballroom dance

·   College rankings vary by source & year; “cherry-picking” some of the best recent year BYU rankings:

+ Sometimes rated #1 in accounting, rate of student acceptees that enrollstudents who pray, & in being “stone cold sober

+ For total students going on to graduate school: #11 for medical#6 for law#5 for doctorates, & #1 for dental school

 

WOMEN

·   Organized in 1842, the "Relief Society", the world’s largest women's organization, meets every Sunday & has many activities

·   Women preach from the pulpit & serve in various positions, from teachers to organization presidents

·   Wyoming was first to allow women to vote; Utah was second, two months later, in 1870

·   America's first female state senatorfirst female mayor with all-female city councilfirst female U.S. senator without any family connection (from Florida), & first black Republican congresswoman, were all LDS

 

ACTIVE CONGREGATIONS

·   Sunday services entail a three-hour block of three meetings; nearly 30,000 congregations exist worldwide

·   Everyone has a calling in highly vibrant LDS organizations; surveys shows exceptionally high LDS congregational involvement

·   Most churches have an indoor basketball gymnasium with a theater stage to host a wide variety of meals & activities

·   Teens have the most fun: weekly activities, sports, dances, service projectsyouth conferencesweeklong camps, etc.

 

FINANCES

·   Members tithe 10%; a Penn study of 2600 LDS said 88% of active LDS tithe fully compared to 4% of American Christians

·   Local clergy (no career positions) & all other congregational positions are unpaid (janitorial is unpaid, maintenance is hired)

·   The paid positions in Salt Lake are known as low-salaried; funds are frugally used & tightly audited, the church has no debt

 

MEMBER ASSISTANCE

·   Members receive monthly visits from a “home teacher”, a friend who is available for any help you may ask for

·   Customarily, hands show up when moving, dinners show up when sick, & visitors show up when hospitalized

·   The church runs 115 employment centers, 101 home food storage centers, 82 counselling centers, & 42 thrift stores

·   LDS in need obtain church welfare in the form of groceries and/or bills paid; LDS donate monthly to this welfare program

·   The church has a few hundred farms either for investments or for its welfare program; many LDS donate time on welfare farms

 

GIVING BACK

·   A Penn study said active LDS give nine times as many volunteer hours as other Americans, 57% of it for religious purposes

·   Started in 1998, “Mormon Helping Hands” is a program where local members work on various public service projects

   + Some large one-day efforts: 65,000 Californians in 2014, 100,000 Africans in 2007, & 120,000 Brazilians in 2011

·   Worldwide there are 10,000 unpaid welfare/humanitarian service missionaries, these are often retired couples

·   An analysis of 2012 tax returns shows Utahns gave away 6.6% of their income, a median of $6,182; no other state was close

 

HUMANITARIAN AID

·   Humanitarian aid is given to people of all faiths; the church pays all overhead so that donations go 100% to recipients

·   The church provides rapid emergency relief to disasters worldwide, usually responding to 100-150 disasters annually

·   The church drilled wells & created water systems for many millions of people in many thousands of villages worldwide

·   Large-scale worldwide medical aid includes giving immunizationswheelchairsvision care, & neonatal healthcare training

 

SHARING CHRIST’S GOSPEL

·   Over 85,000 missionaries serve in 160+ countries; over a quarter are female; most are college-age but some are retired couples

·   Unpaid & paying their own way, most work 65 hours a week for 18-24 months, often learning one of over 50 different languages

·   Polynesians are the most LDS (~15%), Africa has the highest growth rate, & Latin America has the most growth (49% of total)

·   The church reached one million in 1947, membership now exceeds 15.5 million; over 5,000 join weekly worldwide

 

MEMBERSHIP DISTRIBUTION

·   Some 2014 year end LDS memberships:

   + U.S. 6,466k – by Region: East 287k (0.45%), Midwest 442k (0.65%), South 1,049k (0.93%), West 4,688k (6.2%)

   + Other English Countries: New Zealand 110k, Australia 144k, U.K. 186k, Canada 192k

   + Latin America: Ecuador 229k, Guatemala 255k, Argentina 432k, Peru 557k, Chile 579k, Brazil 1,289k, Mexico 1,368k

   + Other: South Africa 61k, Ghana 62k, Tonga 63k, Samoa 76k, Korea 87k, Japan 128k, Nigeria 130k, Philippines 711k

   + By World Region: Africa 460k, Europe 504k, Oceania 520k, Asia 1,087k, Latin America 6,108k, U.S./Canada 6,658k

·   Each continent’s country with the highest rate of LDS: United States, Chile, PortugalCape Verde, Philippines, & Tonga

·   Worldwide about 60% are not Caucasian; about 70% are converts, which is a bit unusual for a faith

 

PRESIDENTIAL LDS TIDBITS

·   Appreciating Millard Fillmore’s treatment of the LDS, Utah named its first capital city “Fillmore” & its county “Millard”

·   Abraham Lincoln helped the LDS obtain the Nauvoo Charter; he checked out the Book of Mormon from the Library of Congress

·   Warren G. Harding once asked for & received a nighttime LDS priesthood blessing for his sick wife

·   Lyndon B. Johnson was extraordinarily close to LDS President David O. McKay, often calling him; of the three American flags from his inauguration, he kept one, gave the second to his vice president, & the third to President McKay

 

GRAB BAG

·   The U.K. had 44,000 converts by 1851 (12,000 Utahns in 1851, many from the U.K.); by 1869 32,000 had emigrated

·   Recent news articles have said the church is planning a city of 500,000 near Orlando on some of its 770,000 Florida acres

·   Utah is first in computersfinancial literacychurch attendance, & birthplace of leading scientists (including TV’s inventor)

·   LDS Scouting started in 1913, 23% of Boy Scouts are LDS; Utah leads all states in total (not just rate of) Eagle Scouts

·   Hawaii's #1 tourist site, the Polynesian Cultural Center, hires BYU Hawaii college students from many Polynesian islands

 

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Guest LiterateParakeet

That is awesome. I love the Humanitarian part, and links too. Thanks Ford.

Does Ford do this for other religions too? I would be interested in reading those also.

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