Why do people become Mormons?

Answer 1

In relation to the world population, there really aren't that many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the "Mormon" church). There are about 14.5 million Mormons worldwide (as of January 2013) and about 7 billion people in the world. So only 0.2% of the world population is Mormon. Compare that to 17% of the world being Catholic, or 20% of the world's population being Muslim, and Mormons are hardly worth mentioning. However, 14.5 million members is quite a large number considering the relatively recent and humble beginnings of the Mormon church, not to mention the high standards that are expected of it's membership. Of course there are many reasons why there are 'so many' Mormons: -For one, they have an actively proselyting missionary force of approximately 60,000 young people, going door to door around the world seeking anyone interested in hearing their message. These missionaries bring in an average of 250,000 new converts per year. -Most converts join because they are touched by the message of the Gospel of Christ and desire to join with others who have a similar faith. The Mormon church has some unique doctrines which many prospective converts realize they cannot find in other religions. Of course there are always some who join because the Church will assist them with food, housing, and other necessities if they are not able to provide it for themselves. -In addition to converts joining due to the missionary efforts, Mormons also have strong family values and place a high emphasis on marriage and children. The average Mormon family has more children than the average non-Mormon family, and in a typical year over 100,000 new children are born into the Mormon church.

Answer 2

Mormons and Republicans tend to agree on the same social issues (pro-life, anti-gay marriage, etc.) and economic issues (indivdualism, less welfare, lower taxes, etc.). However, many if not most of these correlations are purely incidental to cultural variables and are not substantiated by official Church positions. Though the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints intervenes in political issues it considers to be of great moral significance, it maintains a strict stance of political neutrality and encourages its members to participate in politics and vote for whatever candidates and issues best support their personal beliefs of good government. The Church membership consists of individuals with a wide variety of political affiliations.

Answer 3

As far as I know there are Mormons (almost) everywhere. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has more than 13 million members worldwide, and preaches the gospel worldwide.

Also, there may be many LDS members in Latin America simply because early Church Members settled in these countries like they did in the Western US in the 1800s.

Answer 4

There is no 'rule' that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should have large families. In fact, many never have children or have only one or two.

Those who do have large families my cite many reasons. These reasons could include:

Psalm 127:3-5 "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord... Happy is the man who has a quiver full of them..."

Genesis 1:28 God commands Adam to "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth."

The Proclamation on the Family, issued by the Church Presidency in 1995, says "The family is central to the Creator's plan... The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God's commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force."

There is no 'requirement' that Mormon families should have lots of kids. The decision of when and how many kids to have is between the married couple and God. They are instructed to pray for direction from God to know what to do.
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called the "Mormon" church) believe in The Bible, which says that we are to "be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth" (Genesis 1:28) and that "children are an heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is His reward" (Psalm 127:3).

Mormons consider the family to be the fundamental unit of society, both on earth and in heaven. They are encouraged to bring children into loving homes and families who have the ability to care for and nurture them in love.

Answer 5

The most basic answer to this is that they settled in and founded Utah. Mormons faced incredible persecution in the Eastern United States in the early years of the church. Wherever the saints (Mormons) settled they were eventually driven out. When the saints' own city of Nauvoo was burned down Brigham Young, God's Prophet at the time, directed the Saints West. This was all in attempt to escape the persecution they had endured for so many years. Life wasn't easy for the saints even after they made the trek to Utah but they were relatively free of religious oppression and stayed there to raise their families. Since the original population of Utah settlers were Mormon and raised large families naturally given 100+ years they would have a substantial majority. Hope that helps.

Answer 6

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the "Mormon" church) believe that their church exists because God commanded Joseph Smith Jr. to form the church and restored to him the doctrines and authority to operate the Church.

In 1820, when Joseph Smith was 14, he prayed to God to ask which church he should join. God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and explained that all churches had strayed from the truth. Over the next 10 years they restored to him the original doctrines and authority that existed in the original, first century, New Testament Christian church. The Church was officially organized in April 1830. Mormons have continued to exist and expand because so many who hear this message are touched by it and choose to join.

Answer 7

People convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called the "Mormon" church) because they believe in the doctrines taught by the church and feel that their personal relationship with God is improved through Mormon religious practices.

If you'd like to hear real personal stories from Mormons, visit Mormon.org/people. Here, many Mormons from around the world have shared why they are Mormons, either why they converted to the church or why they remained after having been raised in the faith.

Answer 8

Because we believe it is the only true church on this earth and because when we learn about it, God tells us through the Spirit that it is true.