UTAH, USA.- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the official name of the sect started in 1827 by the American preacher Joseph Smith Jr. After a supposed appearance of an angel named Moroni, he would have received supernaturally a book written on gold plates with hitherto unknown characters.
He translated them into English, giving rise to the Book of Mormon, which he claims to be “Another Testament of Jesus Christ.” To such a revelation it would be a complement to the Bible and brings conflicting teachings as what the Christian churches always taught, denying, for example, that Jesus is God incarnate. In 1838 he opened the first Mormon church in the world.
Known worldwide as Mormons, because of the book they distribute, his followers are being instructed not to use this “nickname” anymore. Based in Utah, the movement has used the abbreviations LDS (Latter Day Saints) for centuries.
This Thursday (16), the senior leader of the church, the prophet Russell M. Nelson, announced that there will be a profound change. Followers are no longer required to use “Mormon” and “LDS.”
«The Lord showed me the importance of the name that he revealed for his Church, our name is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”Nelson said in a statement. “We have much work ahead of us to bring ourselves into harmony with his will.”
The emphasis will be in relation to the name of Jesus. In addition to the official nomenclature, the only accepted names from now on will be “Church of Jesus Christ” and “Restored Church of Jesus Christ.”
“In the coming months, the sites and all materials produced by the Church will be updated to reflect that direction from President Nelson,” the statement said. The name Mormon will not be abolished, since it was revealed in the Book of Mormon, but the focus will become an attempt to show the schismatic group as an integral part of world Christianity.
Growth in Brazil
In recent years, the world leadership of the Mormon sect is betting on diversity in its leadership, made up of 12 “modern apostles.” At the beginning of the year, they chose the first Latin American apostle and the first of Asian descent to join it.
Thus, Ulises Soares, a Brazilian, and Gerrit W. Gong, a Chinese-American, were announced as members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which ranks below the church’s president, Russell M. Nelson, and his two advisers. This group helps set church policy and oversees the religion’s business interests.
More than half of the 16 million members of that religious group live outside the United States. Mormons are close to having at least one congregation in every country on the planet. Frank Usarski, professor of science of religion at PUC-SP, explains that this is the result of “a very powerful missionary scheme, in which supply defines demand, and not the other way around.”
In Brazil, studies show that they are becoming popular. For example, there are twice as many missionary Mormons as there are evangelicals in the same role. According to IBGE data, the sect had close to 200,000 followers throughout the country. This is almost twice as many Candomblé practitioners and 3 times the number of Jews.
Nevertheless, data from the Mormon Church in Brazil show that the number already exceeds 1.4 million and it is expected to grow in the coming years, as large investments are being made to build more temples and mission centers.
The constant work of young people in their white shirts and little plates of old people who walk around the cities makes Brazil the country with the third largest number of faithful of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the whole world.
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