What do members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believe?

The argument

Mormons are a religious group that embrace concepts of Christianity as well as revelations made by their founder, Joseph Smith. The Mormon religion was officially founded in 1830 when The Book of Mormon was published. Mormons primarily belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or LDS, which is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. However, not all Mormons belong to the LDS, most notably the polygamist sect or fundamentalist LDS. The LDS banned polygamy in 1890. LDS reject the doctrine of the Trinity and instead teach that God the Father, his son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct "personages". Family life, good deeds, respect for authority and missionary work are important values in Mormonism.

Premises

Counter-arguments

As a summary of the tradition this is thin and in places inaccurate. The Church was organised in April 1830, a few weeks after the Book of Mormon was published; the entry treats publication as the founding, conflating a text's appearance with the constitution of a church. The 1890 Manifesto is likewise described as a ban, when it was a declaration ending the Church's sanction of new plural marriages, followed by a second manifesto in 1904 to enforce it — a sequence that matters precisely because it explains the fundamentalist groups the entry mentions in passing. The naming is also at odds with the practice of the body being described. The Church has asked publicly that 'Mormon' and 'LDS' not be used as its designation, and the entry uses both throughout as its primary terms, including in a position title otherwise carefully written. Most importantly, what is here is not what members would identify as their beliefs. Absent are continuing revelation through a living prophet, the Restoration and the Great Apostasy that frames it, an open canon including the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price, the priesthood, temple ordinances, baptism for the dead, eternal marriage and families, and the plan of salvation with its three degrees of glory. What the entry offers instead is a founding date, a headquarters, a distinguishing negative — the rejection of Trinitarian doctrine — and a list of social values. Describing a tradition by what it is not, plus a handful of cultural traits, is the shape of an outsider's summary. Since the position asks what members believe, the entry falls short of what it sets out to do rather than of any contested claim.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The founding is misdated in substance: the Book of Mormon was published in March 1830 and the Church organised in April, so treating the book's publication as the founding conflates a text's appearance with the constitution of a church; and 'Mormon' and 'LDS' are used as primary designations though the Church has publicly asked that they not be. [Rejecting P2] The 1890 Manifesto ended the Church's sanction of new plural marriages rather than functioning as a ban, requiring a second manifesto in 1904 for enforcement — which is what explains the fundamentalist groups the entry mentions; and the beliefs listed omit continuing revelation through a living prophet, the Restoration, an open canon including the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price, the priesthood, temple ordinances, eternal marriage and the plan of salvation. [Rejecting C] Because the content is a founding date, a headquarters, a distinguishing negative and a list of social values, the entry does not deliver what the position asks — an account of what members believe — describing the tradition largely by what it is not.