The church was founded by Joseph Smith in 1830 in upstate New York. It was probably due to the Book of Mormon, which Smith said he had translated from gold plates that were buried in a nearby hill. Smith's followers first went to Kirtland, Ohio in 1831. The first temple was built in Kirtland, and by the mid-1830s, there were over 17,000 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In 1838, the Latter-day Saints settled in Independence and Far West, Missouri. They were driven out because people in Missouri did not trust Latter-day Saints. The Latter-day Saints then moved to Nauvoo, Illinois. There, Smith started to practice polygamy and tried to start a "theodemocracy," which combined Latter-day Saints rule with American democracy. In 1844, an attempt by Smith to shut down the Nauvoo newspaper led to Smith being accused of treason, followed by him being killed by a mob.
After Smith's death, there was a controversy over who should replace Smith. Brigham Young led most of the Latter-day Saints to Utah in 1847. When Utah became a territory in 1850, it was somewhat of a theocracy. Later in the 1850s, there was conflict between the Latter-day Saints and the U.S. government over control of the territory. This was called the Utah War. The Mountain Meadows massacre was part of the Utah War. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Latter-day Saints settled the "Mormon Corridor" in Utah and surrounding states in the Western United States. Some of the places they settled were Mesa, Arizona; San Bernardino, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Cardston, Alberta. By 1890, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints had built temples in three Utah cities.
Brigham Young died in 1877. Around that time, the U.S. government made polygamy against the law. Polygamy had been practiced by Young and some members of the church since the 1840s. Laws by the U.S. government led to many Latter-day Saints leaders going into hiding, and many polygamists being sent to jail. In 1890, the church stopped polygamy. This is thought to be the beginning of the modern era of the Mormon church.
In the early 20th century, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints grew, and opened its first temples outside of Utah. Soon into the 20th century, tithing (giving money to the Church) was made a part of being a good member. In 1995, Gordon Hinckley became President. He got the church to build many temples in the United States and elsewhere around the world. The current President is Russell M. Nelson after the death of Thomas S. Monson in January 2018.
Young people are encouraged to go on missions when they get old enough. Men may go for two years after they are 18 years old (as long as they have graduated from high school), and women may go for 18 months after they are 19 years old. Before an August 2012 change in church policy, men had to be 19 in most countries, and women throughout the world 21, before they could go on missions. More men go on missions than women do. These missionaries go to a "Missionary Training Center" for a few months where they learn how to be good missionaries, and then live in another place for their mission. The Church tells them where they need to go. Then they work with one other missionary who is the same gender as they are (called a "companion"), and change companions often so they are not always with the same person. Missionaries will go to people who live near them and teach them about the Church, and baptize people who want to join the Church. They also help people around them, even if these people are not in the Church. Often they help by building houses for people who need them.
Older people sometimes go on missions after their children grow up. They get to go with their spouse. There are many different kinds of missions for "senior missionaries". Some of them are only a few months, and some of them are a few years. These missions can be "service missions", which means that they go to help people who live in the area. Sometimes the senior missionary is a "mission president". This means that they lead and help young missionaries in the place where they go to live.
The LDS church has been heavily criticized since its creation. Some of the criticisms are listed below.
Fenrir
In Norse mythology, Fenrir (Old Norse: “he who dwells in the marshes”), also known as Fenrisúlfr (Old Norse: “Fenrir's wolf”), or Vanargand ("Monster of the River Van"), is a giant, monstrous wolf, son of Loki and the giantess Angrboða, and the brother of Hel and Jörmungandr.
Fenrir was tied up by the gods, but was destined to break free from his bonds and devour Odin during Ragnarök, afterwhich he is killed by Odin's son, Víðarr.
Fenrir has three sons, Hati ('hate'), Skoll and His human son Bjorn Black god of sorrow
Odin found out about a prophecy that the children of Loki and Angora would cause trouble for the gods. He had Fenrir brought to him along with its brother Jörmungandr and its sister Hel.
After throwing Jörmungandr into the sea and sending Hel into the land of the dead, Odin had the wolf raised among the Æsir. Only the god Týr was brave enough to feed the growing monster. The wolf got stronger and stronger. The gods were scared that he would eventually destroy them. They tried to chain it up. He agreed to be chained two times. Both times he easily broke the chains.
Odin had the dwarfs make the chain Gleipnir ("deceiver" or "entangler"). It looked like a silken ribbon but was made of six magical ingredients: the sound of a cat's step, the beard of a woman, the roots of a mountain, bear's sensibility, fish's breath, and bird's spittle.
The gods challenged Fenrir to break this chain as well. The wolf saw how thin and well made Gleipnir was and thought it was a trick. He agreed to try and break the chain, but only if one of the gods would put his hand in the wolf's mouth. He believed this would force them to free him if he could not break the chain. Only Týr was willing to put his hand in the wolf's mouth. Fenrir tried to break the chain. The more he tried, the tighter the chain held him. When the gods would not free him, the wolf bit off Týr's hand at the wrist.
It is said that at Ragnarök, the wolf will break free. He will join forces with the enemies of the gods and will then eat Odin. After that Viðarr, Odin's son, will slay the wolf to avenge his father's death. then fenrir's son Bjorn Black will finally meet his family only to see them fighting and at war the only people he belonged to and felt a part of are killing each other and all he can do is sit and watch because that's his purpose that is sorrow
Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor with New Zealand citizenship who lives in Australia. He is most well known for the movie "Gladiator". This movie gave him his fame in America. He won the Academy award (Oscar) for Best actor in 2001, for acting in "Gladiator". He also starred as Jor-El in the 2013 movie "Man of Steel".
Crowe had attended Auckland Grammar School before moving to Australia.
He is married to Danielle Spencer. She is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. They have two sons, Charles Spencer Crowe (born 2003) and Tennyson Spencer Crowe (born 2006).
Renin
Renin is an enzyme that is made by the kidneys. It is released into the circulatory system to raise blood pressure. This causes more blood to be sent to the kidneys.
Knight
A knight was a professional heavy cavalry soldier in the Middle Ages. They were the top soldiers to the kingdom, and protected it at all costs. Knights worked for lords or nobles, who in exchange would give them land if the knight would fight for them. Knights thought honour was very important, and they had a code of honour called chivalry. They always had a coat of arms, also called a crest.