A collection of the Latter-day Saints' miscellaneous beliefs

The argument

LDS have a huge interest in genealogy because they believe that the eternal joining of families is possible through sacred sealing ceremonies that take place in temples. These temple rites may also be performed by proxy for those who have died. In Latter-Day Saint belief, the dead have the choice to accept or reject the services performed for them. LDS therefore have devoted huge resources to genealogical researching and has the largest collection of family records in the world. Mormons today follow a strict healthy lifestyle that doesn’t allow them to consume alcohol, tobacco, coffee or tea. They also pay tithes – donating usually 10% of their income to the church. Mormons do not worship Mary, or believe in her own immaculate conception or her assumption into heaven. Proselytizing to all people – or missionary work - is a fundamental part of many LDS church members’ lives. Missionaries work with a companion of the same gender during their mission, with the exception of couples, who work with their spouse. Single men serve missions for two years and single women serve missions for 18 months. Missionaries receive their assignment from Church headquarters and are sent only to countries where governments allow the Church to operate. Prior to going to their assigned area, missionaries spend a short period of time at a missionary training centres Jesus’ death gives immortality to all people. For the afterlife, Mormons believe that physical death occurs when the spirit separates from the mortal body. However, death is not the end of the spirit as the spirit existed in the premortal world with God before birth, and it will exist for all eternity. After dying, the spirit enters either spirit paradise or spirit prison. Where you go while awaiting the Resurrection depends on what kind of life you lived while on earth. People who died in sin are taught by righteous spirits about faith in God and have the opportunity to leave spirit prison and enter paradise. Jesus’s Second Coming will commence the resurrection of all mankind but this will happen in stages depending if a person accepted the gospel of Jesus while they were alive. Those judged to be wicked will be resurrected a thousand years after the Second Coming. Joseph Smith said there were three degrees of glory and again, life on earth determines which one you inhabit. Mormons practise clothing rituals that include wearing special undergarments that have religious significance. Known as the “temple garment,” the attire is worn by adult members who make sacred promises to God.

Premises

Counter-arguments

A framing objection notes that the entry catalogues LDS practices accurately — genealogy and temple sealing, the Word of Wisdom, tithing, missions, degrees of glory, temple garments — but, under a heading about what Christians believe, sidesteps the central contested question of whether the LDS church is Christian in the traditional creedal sense. Its distinctive doctrines — a non-Trinitarian Godhead, additional scripture in the Book of Mormon, and exaltation — place it outside mainstream creedal Christianity in the view of most other traditions, which the passage doesn't flag. It reads as a list of 'miscellaneous beliefs' rather than an organised account of core doctrine situated within the question.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The entry catalogues LDS practices accurately but omits the central, contested question of whether the LDS church is Christian in the traditional creedal sense. [Rejecting P2] Distinctive LDS doctrines — a non-Trinitarian Godhead, additional scripture, exaltation — place it outside mainstream creedal Christianity in most other traditions' view, which the passage doesn't flag. [Rejecting P3] It is a list of 'miscellaneous beliefs' (genealogy, garments, missions) rather than an organised account of core doctrine, so it describes LDS practice more than it situates LDS belief within the question.