Although members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that Christ’s birth actually occurred on April 6, they celebrate Christmas on December 25, with the rest of the Christian world.

Many LDS families celebrate the traditional Christmas with a tree, lights, gifts, and Santa Claus. While Church leaders to not condemn any of these traditions, they urge Church members to remember that Christmas is one of the most spiritually significant days in history, along with Easter it is a celebration of God’s greatest gift to mankind; His son Jesus Christ and the Atonement and Resurrection that he performed.

The two major LDS Bookstores are Deseret Books and Seagull Books and Tape. Most of the stores are found throughout the western United States, including Utah, Idaho, Arizona, California, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington. This is because these areas tend to have a higher population of LDS people.

There are a few independently owned LDS bookstores in other areas of the U.S., but many of them are struggling because of the discount prices that are offered through larger bookstores, and because of online shopping. Many of the independently owned LDS bookstores have closed.

Most LDS bookstores carry LDS scriptures, books written about the Church mostly by Church members, fiction books with stories geared toward the LDS faith, pictures, paintings, LDS themed games, idea books for LDS oriented activities such as Family Home Evening and Mutual, cookbooks, jewelry like CTR rings, music, and stickers. Continue reading →

The Latter-day Saint faith has a vocabulary all its own. Here a few of the most common LDS terms will be explained.

CTR-This stands for Choose The Right, and is often seen on rings that members wear as reminders.

BYD-This term stands for Bishop Youth Discussion. This is usually a Sunday evening meeting that youth 12 to 18 are asked to attend. At the meeting the Bishop gives a lesson on a specific topic, then the youth are able to ask him questions at the end. Continue reading →

On August 1, 2002 LDS Radio became BYU Radio. It is a radio station that provides music, talks and devotionals for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and is an ever-growing station. It is now carried on Dish Network, the Internet, and cable systems throughout the U.S.

BYU Radio content includes BYU devotionals and forums, BYU sporting events, Church Educational System (CES) and Church firesides, General Conference broadcasts, Education Week and women conference addresses, BYU musical performances, Music and the Spoken Word, BYU and CES symposiums and discussions, LDS themed music and other related performances. There is also a separate signal called BYU Radio Instrumental that features LDS hymns and other songs. All of this programming is generally the same as what was broadcast on LDS Radio. Continue reading →

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides an online version of the Book of Mormon. This version is considered official, and is the accepted text used by the Church. The online Book of Mormon provides all the same information found in the Book of Mormon printed by the Church. This includes, the Title Page, Introduction, Testimony of the Three Witnesses, Testimony of the Eight Witnesses, Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, A Brief Explanation about the Book of Mormon, and the books of the Book of Mormon from First Nephi through Moroni.

The online Book of Mormon is a part of lds.org, which was created by the Church and launched in 2001. The Ensign reported that bringing the scriptures to the Internet was an important milestone of the Church because it could now reach more people. More than 30,000 people visit the online scriptures each day, and are enjoying the benefits that come from an online text. “The Church placed the scriptures in English with their full range of study aids, including some 250,000 internal links, on the Internet.” The online version is a good resource for people who are doing research or preparing talks, because the text can be searched by keyword, footnotes can be accessed quickly, and topic definitions can be found easily.

In the Mormon Church, conversion means “changing one’s beliefs, heart, and life to accept and conform to the will of God.” It is a “conscious decision to give up one’s former ways and change to become a disciple of Christ.” Conversion to Christ’s Church involves, “repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, the reception of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and continued faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. A natural man will be changed into a new person who is sanctified and pure, born again in Christ Jesus” (LDS Guide to the Scriptures).

Many people mistakenly think that being converted is when a sincere individual decides to be baptized. However, when properly used, conversion means far more than that, for the new convert as well as the long-term member.

In order to be converted, a person must build their lives upon a love of God and always maintain a fixed determination to keep His commandments. True, whole-hearted conversion will transform a person’s life.

Each July, the Mormon Church performs one of the largest outdoor pageants in the United States. The pageant takes place on a large hill in New York where Mormons believe in about A.D. 420 the gold plates were buried and where in 1827 Joseph Smith received the plates. From those gold plates, Joseph Smith was able to translate the Book of Mormon.

The pageant relates the story of the people of the Book of Mormon. It begins with how they were guided to the Americas in about 600 B.C. and culminates with Christ’s visit to the America’s.

The pageant began in 1917 when a group of Mormon missionaries gathered for a conference to celebrate Pioneer Day (the day the Mormon pioneers first entered the Salt Lake Valley). In 1934 the conference was moved to the Hill Cumorah and in 1937 volunteers put on the first pageant. Since its beginning, the pageant has been run entirely by volunteers. Continue reading →

The Polynesian Cultural Center (also known as the PCC) is located in Laie, Hawaii. It is one of the most visited attractions in Hawaii, welcoming over one million visitors per year.

The Polynesian Cultural Center is unique among the Mormon Church’s sites to visit because it is one of the few that is not a historic site and is one of the few sites that charges an admission fee. There is some information about the history of the Church among the Polynesian people, but most of the Center is dedicated to shows, music, food and entertainment that celebrate the different cultures of Polynesia including Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, Tahiti, Tonga, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Marquesas, and Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Continue reading →

The Mormon Miracle Pageant is run by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is held near the Manti Temple in Utah. It begins by depicting the events in the Book of Mormon when Christ came to visit the people of the New World. It then skips forward to the 1800’s and tells the story of Joseph Smith’s First Vision, how he became aware of the Book of Mormon, the translation of the Book of Mormon and continues to follow his life until his death. The story then follows the Saints as they move to the West and ends with the story of a fictional couple who find the Church and the blessings of the gospel. The cast consists of over eight hundred volunteers.

The Mormon Miracle Pageant had its beginnings in 1967, when a small crowd gathered to watch the first pageant. It was a small production with 25 local musicians providing the music and just a few actors. Although the first production was nothing like today’s pageant, those who saw it were impressed and more people wanted to get involved. A committee was organized to help raise funds for the pageant. The next year the pageant was moved onto the temple grounds with permission from the temple president and has remained in this area since. The pageant is now one of the largest and most attended pageants in the United States.

The pageant is usually performed in June and runs for eight nights. The pageant provides 14,000 seats and the area is open for seating beginning at 6:00. The pageant starts at about 9:30 and lasts about ninety minutes. Admission is free.