Tuesday, December 24, 2019

The Mormon Belief System - 1469 Words

The Mormon belief system has many different principles that are unique and set themselves apart from other world religions, one of which being their views on cosmology. The Mormon cosmology belief is the description of the physical and metaphysical universe. Their beliefs on the subject are deeply engrained in the religion’s basic faith; cosmology is related to the church’s views on divinity, extraterrestrial life, pre-mortal existence, and the afterlife. Mormon divinity revolves around the core beliefs in exaltation and eternal progression: the idea that mortals will be given an opportunity to have leading roles in other heavenly kingdoms, themselves. One of the key goals in Mormonism is to achieve exaltation through Jesus’s atonement; as a result they inherit godly attributes. Mormonism holds the belief that people who follow God’s example will become like gods in the afterlife, having â€Å"all power, glory, dominion, and knowledge† (LDS Church 2 27). This belief that people may one day become god-like figures in the afterlife leads to the assumption that Mormons believe in the existence of other worlds like the one that we live in, that exalted people would be able to rule over. The teachings of Mormonism also include that the exalted will live with their earthly families in the next life and â€Å"have spirit children† (LDS Church 11), continuing the growth of their families. According to the Mormonism belief, exaltation is obtained only by reaching the most high of the degreesShow MoreRelatedThe Islam And The Muslim Community1651 Words   |  7 Pagesthe lifetime of the Prophet Mohammed. Soon after his death, differences regarding leadership of the Muslim community instigated conflict. By the year 650 AD, the Islamic community had divided into two main branches, the Shia and the Sunnis. Similar beliefs and practices among both sects have allowed for their members to co-exist for centuries. However, differences in theology, law, and religious organizations have caused drastic conflict and competition among the two, dividing and tearing communitiesRead More Growth of Mormon Church Essay1710 Words   |  7 Pagesthis young boy declared that he had seen a vision, that he had been visited by both God, and His Son, Jesus Christ. This vision is a cornerstone of the Church that is known today as, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, nicknamed the â€Å"Mormons†, a religion that was built on the ideals of communal living and strict obedience to religious guidelines, a people that would be hunted by mobs, and that would eventually erect a â€Å"sanctuary† of 15,000 â€Å"saints† only 13 years after its foundation,Read MoreThe Common Ground Between Christianity And Mormonism1276 Words   |  6 Pagescounterpoint style where Craig L. Blomberg is bringing the point with an accusational tone from an Evangelical point of view, and Stephen E. Robinson the counterpoint with a defensive tone from a Mormon point of view. Blomberg pretty much stays with major areas of disagreement between Evangelicals and Mormons, but also gives a strong basis for Christian orthodoxy while Robinson tries to correct he disagreements, identify our similarities and blur the edges of difference between them. In the area ofRead MoreThe Church Of Jesus Christ1747 Words   |  7 PagesSaints: Mormon Lifestyle Amanda Laney Concepts Sept. 8th, 2016 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints: Mormon Lifestyle The Mormon faith has been around since the 1800s starting in New York. The Mormon lifestyle is similar to ours but can differ in many ways from history, beliefs, marriage, diets, and branches of the religion and even care plans. Most people believe that the Mormons follow their founder Joseph Smith, but that is untrue. The Mormon faith wasRead MoreThe Mormon Church1710 Words   |  7 Pages My family, along with most of the other families in my neighborhood were young, White, middle class, highly educated, conservative, heterosexual, and Mormon with European ancestry. My father, along with most of the other fathers in the neighborhood, was a professor at Brigham Young University. Our culture was based on the teachings of the Mormon Church with a rich pioneer heritage which we celebrated every 24th of July. As children, we would don pioneer garb, decorate wagons and bikes to look likeRead MoreAbout the Mormons Essay814 Words   |  4 PagesAbout the Mormons The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also called the Mormon church) was founded at Fayette, New York, on April 6, 1830, by Joseph Smith, Jr. Smith, the recipient of dreams and heavenly manifestations in the 1820s, dictated to scribes the translated text of a holy book he said had been engraved on gold plates by an American Indian historian about a.d. 400. The six-hundred-page Book of Mormon was published in the spring of 1830. TheRead MoreDiscuss the Differences Between Churches, Sects and Cults1207 Words   |  5 Pagesobvious North American example of a sect that evolved into a denomination is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), the Mormons. Their founder, Joseph Smith, had a revelation from God that the ministry of Jesus Christ continued after his crucifixion, as described in what is now called the Book of Mormon. The Mormon sect has since evolved into the Mormon denomination of Christianity with the passage of time and the gathering of increasing numbers of followers. Within a few decades, itRead MoreCult Is A Cult Or Cult?904 Words   |  4 Pagesother social group with socially deviant and novel beliefs and practices. The Merriam-Webster’s definition is also similar: a small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous. A different definition that I had found for a cult and I think is a better explanation is: By its primary dictionary definition, the term cult just means a system of religious beliefs or rituals. It is based on a farming term in LatinRead MoreThe Prohibition Of Polygamy : An Essential Part Of Mormonism1502 Words   |  7 Pagesreligious norm. Other belief systems, such as Islam, accepted polygamy and was beginning to spread through the Middle East, North Africa, and Spain with the collapse of the Roman Empire. The acceptance of polygamy in other belief systems caused SIUM to become more specifically associated with Christianity. In 1830, Joseph Smith founded the religious movement Mormonism by, how his followers believe, translating another holy testament of the Christian God, the Book of Mormon, from golden plates revealedRead More Age Of Reform In America Essay1142 Words   |  5 PagesAmerica was growing larger, and with the expanding population, many new ideas sprang up. Conflicting opinions between the people of the United States caused the emergence of an Age of Reform, where people tried to change things such as the educational system and womenamp;#8217;s rights. These movements were the result of our nationamp;#8217;s self-determination and interest in improving the society we live in. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Between the 1820amp;#8217;s and 1860amp;#8217;s, Americans

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Changes in Immigration at Canada on 20th Century Free Essays

Immigration has had a strong effect on Canada’s historical development, from countryside in the early part of the 20th century to the building of Canada’s largest cities. Immigration itself has changed greatly during the 19th and 20th centuries and continues to do so. During the first sixty years of the 20th century, the majority of immigrants to Canada came either from Europe or the United States. We will write a custom essay sample on Changes in Immigration at Canada on 20th Century or any similar topic only for you Order Now This has since changed much with entry based on a points system and the introduction of human’s benefit. At present Canada is known as a country with a wide immigration policy which is reflected in Canada’s variety of races of mankind. According to the 2001 survey by  Statistics Canada, Canada has 34 national groups with at least one hundred thousand members each, of which 10 have over 1,000,000 people and numerous others represented in smaller amounts. 13. % of the population belonged to  visible minorities: most numerous among these are  Chinese  (3. 5% of the population),  South Asian  (3. 1%),  Black  (2. 2%), and  Filipino  (1. 0%). In 2004, Canada received 235,824 immigrants. The top ten sending countries, by state of origin, were Peoples Republic of China  (37,280),  India  (28,183),  Philippines  (13,900), Pakistan  (13,011),  Iran (6,491),  United States  (6,470),  Romania  (5,816),  United Kingdom (5,353), South Korea  (5,351), and  Colombia  (4,600).By 2006, the most numbered of immigrants coming to Canada originated in Asia, most especially in China and India. Immigration has been, and continues to be, a very important source of population growth in Canada. Given the ageing of the Canadian population and the gradual lessening birth rate, research shows that immigration could be the largest provider to population growth in the future.Therefore, it would not be amazing if Canada one day is the best country in the world economically, socially and culturally if immigration keeps on happening regularly. Combining different cultures in the world is a very big achievement because n ot many countries are successful in maintaining their cultural mixture and keeping peace at the same time is a tough challenge for any country. http://www. worldlingo. com/ma/enwiki/en/Immigration_to_Canada http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Immigration_to_Canada How to cite Changes in Immigration at Canada on 20th Century, Papers

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Charities free essay sample

The legal definition of charity has historically been somewhat elusive and stands distinct from any understanding of charity in a general or popular sense. As Lord Wright observed, in its legal sense the word â€Å"charitable is a word of art, of precise and technical meaning†[1]. Viscount Simmonds further remarked that, â€Å"no comprehensive definition of legal charity has been given either by legislature or in judicial utterance, there is no limit to the number and diversity of ways in which man will seek to benefit his fellow men†. The Preamble to the Charitable Uses Act 1601, also referred to as the Statute of Elizabeth I, contained a list of purposes which were then regarded as charitable. It assumed a central role for the courts as a reference point or catalogue of accepted instances of charity until almost 300 years later when Lord MacNaughten in the Pemsel case, famously classified charitable objects into four principal divisions: (i) trusts for the relief of poverty, (ii) trusts for the advancement of education, (iii) trusts for the advancement of religion, (iv) trusts beneficial to the community not falling under any of the preceding heads. We will write a custom essay sample on Charities or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page These four heads of charity were used as reference whenever the inherent charitable nature of a purpose or institution was questioned until the Charities Act 2006 received royal assent. Section 2(2) of the 2006 Act now provides a modern statutory definition of charity by listing 13 descriptions of purposes deemed charitable at law. In order to be charitable, an organisation has to be established for one or more purposes within the descriptions recognised by the law as capable of being charitable, and for the public benefit. Charity law in England and Wales has developed within the context of the traditional monotheistic religions but it has embraced for many years religions other than Christianity and Judaism. In Bowman[3], Lord Parker effectively held that it was not just the promotion of Christianity that would be recognised but that the Courts of this country were not precluded â€Å"from giving effect to trusts for the purposes of religions which, however sacred they may be to millions of His Majestys subjects, either deny the truth of Christianity or, at any rate, do not accept some of its fundamental doctrines†. Furthermore in the Commission’s Scientology[4] decision it was firmly established that â€Å"The law does not prefer one religion to another and as between religions the law stands neutral†[5]. The English courts have, for a long time, resisted closely defining what makes some belief systems religious and others not. However in the Scientology case, the Commissioners accepted that there are various characteristics of religion which can be discerned from the legal authorities: †¢ Belief in a god or a deity or supreme being – R v Registrar General[6] †¢ Two of the essential attributes of religion are faith and worship: faith in a god and worship of that god South Place Ethical Society[7] †¢ To advance religion means â€Å"to promote it, to spread the message ever wider among mankind; to take some positive steps to sustain and increase religious belief and these things are done in a variety of ways which may be comprehensively described as pastoral and missionary†. United Grand Lodge v Holborn BC[8]. Having considered these characteristics, the Commissioners concluded that the definition of a religion in English charity law was characterised by a belief in a supreme being and an expression of that belief through worship. This definition is further refined in the 2006 Act where s2 (3) a gives a partial definition of the word religion. However, the law does not automatically recognise as a religion everything that may designate itself as a religion and there are some principles to which a purpose must conform if it is to be regarded as within the Charities Act’s description of ‘the advancement of religion’. These general principles are gathered from the common law of England and Wales but also take into account the body of law which has developed concerning the European Convention right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. As a general proposition, for its advancement to be capable of being charitable in this context, a religion should have a certain level of cogency, seriousness, coherence and importance[9]. Also, in order to be charitable for the advancement of religion, the content of any system of faith and worship has to be of a positive nature, impacting beneficially on the community. Sir John Wickens, V-C. in Cocks v Manners[10] observed: â€Å"It is said, in some of the cases, that religious purposes are charitable, but that can only be true as to religious services tending directly or indirectly towards the instruction or the edification of the public†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Hence, to be charitable a religious purpose has to be serious, tend directly or indirectly to the moral and spiritual improvement of the public as well as being for the public benefit. In Holmes v Attorney General[11] Walton J commented: â€Å"†¦ It is not for the benefit of the adherents of the religion themselves that the law confers charitable status, it is in the interests of the public. † Hence, as a general proposition, in the case of charities for the advancement of religion the purpose must not simply be for the benefit of the followers of the particular religion. Formerly, the proposition stated that â€Å"as between different religions the law stands neutral, but it assumes that any religion is at least likely to be better than none†[12]. Plowman J in Re Watson[13] considered a case for the publication and distribution of the fundamentalist Christian writings of an individual where he quoted authority that the court does not prefer one religion or sect to another and said that where the purposes in question are of a religious nature then the court assumes a public benefit unless the contrary is shown†. He then went on to say that the only way of disproving a public benefit is to show that the doctrines inculcated are adverse to the very foundations of all religion, and that they are subversive of all morality. However, that part of the judgment being inconsistent with the judgment of the court of appeal and opinions given by the House of Lords in Gilmour v Coats, where it was held: â€Å"†¦the question whether a trust is beneficial to the public is an entirely different one from the question whether a trust is for the advancement of religion†, it is not regarded a binding. Since the Charities Act 2006, there is no longer any presumption that, because a purpose falls within the description â€Å"the advancement of religion†, it is for the public benefit. Section 3(2) of the Act provides: â€Å"In determining whether [the public benefit] requirement is satisfied in relation to any †¦purpose, it is not to be presumed that a purpose of a particular description is for the public benefit†. Hence, with the removal of the presumption and in the modern context the proposition may now be interpreted as meaning that advancing religion can be seen as a public good if such advancement can be demonstrated to be in relation to a system having a benign and positive content which is being advanced for the benefit of the public. Over the years, there are some purposes which, despite being beneficial and religious and indeed seriously religious, did not fall within the legal framework. For example, fostering private piety, although being a religious activity, is not a charitable purpose due to the absence of benefit to the public. In Cocks v Manners[14] (supra) it was said that â€Å"a voluntary association of women for the purpose of working out their own salvation by religious exercises and self-denial seems to have none of the requisites of a charitable institution. † In the Re Joy[15] case it was held that the real object contemplated by the testator was the non-charitable purpose of improvement of the membership of a society by prayer. Further, in Re White[16], it was held that â€Å"a society for the promotion of private prayer and devotions by its own members and which has no wider scope, no public element, and no purpose of general utility would not be charitable†. Lord Simonds in the Gilmour[17] case later confirmed the decision in Cocks v Manners and said that activities â€Å"good in themselves but solely designed to benefit individuals associated for the purpose of securing that benefit, which may not have some repercussions or consequential effects beneficial to some section of the general community† do not meet the prerequisites of a charitable institution. In Re Warre’s Will Trusts, on the matter of a retreat house, Harman J said: â€Å"Activities which do not in any way affect the public or any section of it are not charitable. Pious contemplation and prayer are, no doubt, good for the soul, and may be of benefit by some intercessory process, of which the law takes no notice, but they are not charitable activities. † Thus, in Re Hetherington[18] it was held that the celebration of a religious rite in private does not contain the necessary element of public benefit since any benefit of prayer or example is incapable of proof in the legal sense and any element of spiritual or moral improvement (edification) is limited to a private not public class of those present at the celebration. However, in the same case it was also held that the holding of a religious service which is open to the public is capable of conferring a â€Å"sufficient public benefit because of the edifying and improving effect of such celebration on the members of the public who attend. † There are also other purposes related to religion whose pursuits have not been considered as charitable because the purpose itself is not exclusively charitable. For example a trust ‘for Roman Catholic purposes’ may not be for exclusively charitable purposes furthering the Roman Catholic faith[19]. Also a gift to an Anglican vicar of a parish â€Å"for parochial institutions or purpose†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢[20] was not considered charitable. A bequest to an archbishop to be applied â€Å"in any manner he might think best for helping to carry on the work of the Church in Wales†[21] is not charitable either and neither is a generally stated purpose â€Å"for religious, educational and other parochial requirements†[22]. On the other hand, In Re Schoales[23], it was clarified that there is no distinction, from the point of view of validity as a gift for charitable purposes, between a gift to the Church of England and a gift to another Church. A gift for the general purposes of a particular church or denomination or faith community falls are considered in law as a gift which has to be applied only for such of its purposes as are for the advancement of religion for the public benefit, and hence charitable. As mentioned above, charitable purposes require some promotion or advancement that is to â€Å"spread its message ever wider among mankind; to take some positive steps to sustain and increase religious belief†[24]. Proselytising is one way of advancing religious purposes[25] but it may raise public benefit issues if it breaks the law or results in harm or detriment. Therefore, it would not be compatible with public benefit principles for an organisation to seek to inhibit anyone from their rights of freedom of thought, conscience or religion (Article 9 ECHR) and to manifest or change such beliefs. This matter was considered in Kokkinakis v Greece[26] and the court in considering attempts to forbid activities of a Jehovah’s Witness confirmed that a democratic society has a plurality of beliefs and held that freedom to manifest one’s religion includes the right to convince one’s neighbor. But, the court drew a clear distinction between bearing Christian witness and improper proselytism by stating that the former was true evangelism and the latter representing a corruption or deformation of it. Furthermore, proselytising being unlawful in some countries, the Commission dealt with the issue of whether it was possible to recognise a religious purpose as charitable in England and Wales which is not charitable and may be illegal abroad in its annual report in 1993 which mentioned: â€Å"One should first consider whether they would be regarded as charities if their operations are confined to the United Kingdom. If they would, then they should be presumed also to be charitable even though operating abroad unless it would be contrary to public policy to recognise them. Hence, an organisation whose purpose is to proselytize, even if its activity is carried out internationally, may be charitable in England and Wales unless it causes harm or detriment which outweighs the public benefit. The High Court considered the statement in the Sonsino case[27] in 2002 and upheld it. However, it still remains unclear as to what the courts would rule contrary to public policy. Another way of advancing a religion would be by means of undertaking pastoral work. However, where a charity is operating solely for the purpose of advancement of religion, then any secular pastoral work which it undertakes should be as a means of advancing the particular religion. A convent in Cocks v Manners[28] was held charitable and there the nuns were engaged in exterior works (teaching the ignorant and nursing the sick) as part of their religious work. In the United Grand Lodge[29] case, Donovan J said that taking positive steps to sustain and increase religious beliefs was something done â€Å"in a variety of ways which can be comprehensively described as pastoral and missionary†. More recently, the Pilsdon Community House, a religious community living according to Christian principles and giving practical help in cases of drug addiction, drink, having been in prison or loneliness was considered in Re Banfield[30]. The court held that the fact that a religious community makes its services available to those of all creeds and of none does not prevent it being a charity for the advancement of religion also that furthering the purposes of the community amounted to the advancement of religion.