I get this question a lot considering my religion is the definition of who I am. It's hard to sum up an entire religion in a few paragraphs. I'll give you some basics to get you started.

First, most people know us as Mormons which is why I used that word in the title but in reality it's a slang word. The real name of the church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You can see why "Mormon" is a lot more popular..haha. The only issues I have with the word "Mormon" is quit often people don't realize we are Christians which in reality is the whole center of our religion. The real name of the church denotes we are believers and followers of Christ. There is no stronger message than that of Jesus Christ, who he really is, what he taught and what he did for us. Among other things the church is a means of understanding these principles and helping people gain a stronger relationship with him.

We believe Christ was the son of God and savior and redeemer of all man kind only through him can we live with God again. We believe that God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are different and distinct individuals but one in purpose.

The first four principles and ordinances of our church are Faith, Repentance, Baptism, and The gift of the Holy Ghost. They are the stepping stones towards salvation. Without them it is impossible to live with God again.

We have very high morals and standards that we live by. We have a health code called the Word of Wisdom that includes not drinking, smoking, or doing drugs. We don't believe in sex before marriage or anything like unto it. Sex is a sacred thing saved only for the bonds of marriage. We have a strong emphasis on families as we believe that everything starts with the family. There is no more noble a job than that of parent in this life. A prophet once said "No success can make up for failure in the home." Many world issues could be resolved if families were stronger.

We also call ourselves a "living" church meaning we believe God still instructs us by revelation and we have a prophet and apostles that lead us today. We believe God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He used prophets and apostles to spread his gospel in the past and he likewise continues that today. The origins of this latter-day church are with a man named Joseph Smith. He was called by God as a prophet and was responsible for bringing back the truths and the authority (called the Priesthood) needed to organize and run Christ's church that were lost over time. He was also lead to golden plates in which he translated to what is now known as the Book of Mormon.

We use both the Bible and The Book of Mormon as scripture. The Bible is a history of the people and prophets in the Middle East area and their dealing with Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon a history of the people and prophets that lived in the Americas around the same time. The highlight of the Book of Mormon is when Jesus Christ visits the people of the Americas after his resurrection from the grave to teach the people his gospel. One of the last prophets to write in the Book of Mormon was Mormon himself. He compiled and abridged hundreds of years of ancient history into one book, thus the name of the book and the source of the slang.

We believe God loves us all (no matter who we are or what we have done) and that everyone on earth are children of God making us all brothers and sisters. We teach people to listen for the Holy Ghost (God's spirit and way of communicating to us) because God will give you answers to questions and truth if you sincerely want to know. The only way one can truly know for themselves is by going to the source, God himself. We are also known for our missionary program and the church thrives on converts. We believe this is God's true church on the earth today. Christ is our focus and His focus was love. The truth of the church rests on the truth of The Book of Mormon and the Prophet Joseph Smith. Once one gains a testimony (or belief) in those they can know the rest is true also. I have a testimony that these things are true that is why I am going to serve 2 years as a missionary and why I continue to be strong in my church. I will defend my belief to the grave.

Obviously there is a ton more to the church but that, like I said before, these are just some quick basics. If you want to know more about any particular subject just ask me. Or go to you can go to www.mormon.org or www.lds.org