Category: A-Z Glossary
Click here for the full A-Z glossary.
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Enduring to the End (Defined)
Enduring to the End. Remaining faithful until death to obtain exaltation. As Apostle L. Tom Perry explained on the lds.org website, Enduring to the end requires faithfulness to the end, as in the case of Paul, who told Timothy, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith”…
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Ensign (Defined)
Ensign. The official monthly magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Its predecessor before 1971 was the Improvement Era. Members are directed to use the material as a basis for curriculum in Sunday morning talks. Twice a year (May and November) the publication contains reports of General Conference, a semiannual meeting where Mormon…
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Endowment (Defined)
Endowment. Ceremony in a Mormon temple in which the temple patron learns about creation, the garden of Eden, and the telestial and terrestrial worlds. According to Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, “Certain special, spiritual blessings given worthy and faithful saints in the temples are called endowments, because in and through them the recipients are endowed with power from…
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Elohim (Defined)
Elohim. God the Father. The literal father of Jesus Christ. According to Apostle James Talmage, “Elohim is literally the Father of the spirit of Jesus Christ and also of the body in which Jesus Christ performed His mission in the flesh …” (The Articles of Faith, pp. 466-467). Elohim was once a mortal man who progressed…
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Elder Brother (Defined)
Elder brother. Jesus Christ. Mormonism teaches that Jesus was the firstborn to Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother. Since all humans are God’s literal offspring, He is by birth our Elder Brother.
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Elder (Defined)
Elder. The lowest ordained office of the Mormon Melchizedek Priesthood (Priesthood and Church Government, p. 111). Only male members are allowed to hold this position. By this office Mormons feel they have the authority to teach, expound, exhort, baptize, and watch over the church, etc. This is also the official title used by male missionaries.
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Documentary History of the Church (Defined)
DocumenHistory of the Church
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Doctrines of Salvation (Defined)
Doctrines of Salvation. A three-volume set of doctrinal writings authored by tenth LDS President Joseph Fielding Smith. Compiled in 1954, the jacket of this set reads, “His [Smith] teachings are the Doctrines of Salvation as they have been made known by revelation. He is universally esteemed as the chief doctrinal authority of the Church.”
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Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) (Defined)
Doctrine and Covenants. One of Mormonism’s standard works. Also known as the D&C. Printed in 1835, the D&C is primarily a collection of supposed revelations given to Joseph Smith by God. Parts of the D&C were printed in 1833 under the title Book of Commandments.
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Deseret (Defined)
Deseret. According to Ether 2:3 in the Book of Mormon, Deseret means honey bee. It was also the name given to the territory settled by the Mormon pioneers in the late 1840s. The name was changed to “Utah” when the Deseret Territory became a state in 1896.
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Deacon (Defined)
Deacon. Office in the Aaronic priesthood, usually given to boys 12-13. His job is to “watch over the Church and to be a standing minister to the Church” (Priesthood and Church Government, pp. 164-165). In the Bible, deacons are men chosen as subordinate officers in the church. Their qualifications include not being greedy, being sound in the faith, and…
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Danites (Defined)
Danites. A title attributed to Sampson Avard, a Mormon, who described the Danites as a band of armed men formed into companies of tens and fifties who were bound by secret oaths never to discuss their activities which they carried out against those unfriendly to the Mormon cause. Mormon historians and leaders have since tried…
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Christian (Defined)
Christian. A Chrsitian is, in a complete sense, is a Mormon in good standing with his or her church. A Chrsitian, according to an October 2012 general conference message (“Being a More Christian Christian”) delivered by Apostle Robert D. Hales, can be defined by these distinctives:
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Cross (Defined)
Cross. According to 15th President Gordon B. Hinckley, “the cross is the symbol of the dying Christ, while our message is a declaration of a Living Christ” (“The Symbol of Our Faith,” Ensign, April 2005, p. 3). Tenth President Joseph Fielding Smith explained the reason why Latter-day Saints don’t wear jewelry depicting the cross: To many,…
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Cumorah (Defined)
Cumorah. Traditionally the hill in upstate New York located south of the town of Palmyra. Moroni buried the golden plates in this hill and appeared to Joseph Smith fourteen centuries later to reveal their whereabouts. Mormon scholars today are divided on the actual location of the Hill Cumorah. Many believe the hill was located in Central…
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Creeds (Defined)
Creeds. Generally associated with historical Christian creeds, which are rejected as part of the Great Apostasy by Mormon leaders. Fifteenth LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley told a general conference audience, “We do not accept the Athanasian Creed. We do not accept the Nicene Creed, nor any other creed based on tradition and the conclusions of men”…
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Creation (Defined)
Creation. Joseph Smith taught that matter is eternal and God had no power to create out of nothing. God reorganized already present elements, which have no beginning or end and cannot be destroyed (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 350-352). “Since Mormons believe that the elements are eternal, it follows hat they deny the ex nihilo creation” (Encyclopedia…
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Council in Heaven (Defined)
Council in Heaven. A council of the gods held in the pre-existence to arrange for the creation and peopling of the earth. This council was called by Elohim, the “head of the Gods” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 349). Also present were Jehovah, Michael, and Lucifer. This council also determined how mankind would be saved.
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Covenants (Defined)
Covenants. Two-way promises made by members with God. When the member keeps the promises, God keeps His promise of blessing. When the member does not keep the promises, the agreement is broken and God is under no obligation for eternal life (exaltation). Quoting sixteenth LDS President Thomas S. Monson, the July 2012 Ensign (“Understanding Our…
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Correlation Program (Defined)
Correlation Program. Under the auspices of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve, this department maintains doctrinal purity and consistency in LDS teaching materials. According to one church manual, “The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve oversee correlation in the Church. Correlation includes: a. Maintaining purity of doctrine” (Doctrine and Covenants and Church…