Religion in America - Term Explanations

- Doctrine and Covenants
 -In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands alongside the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and The Pearl of Great Price as holy scripture. Together they are referred to as the "Standard Works." The LDS Church's version of the Doctrine and Covenants is officially described by the church as "containing revelations given to Joseph Smith, the Prophet, with some additions by his successors in the Presidency of the Church.
 -Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God, editions of the book continue to be printed mainly by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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- LDS religious views about America
 -The content of Mormon revelation is more «American» than the religions of most Americans. Mormon interest in the history and destiny of American Indians and belief in America as the promised land for the New Jerusalem are examples of this. The millenium will not bring an end to the world but will perfect the Ameican Zion to come—in time and not beyond it.
 -In their teachings about the nature of God and of human beings, Mormons have given major values of American culture a theological basis. They preached, and still do, a doctrine in which the material world is sacred and ultimate. Their God is a finite being who does not have the world totally under control, does not interfere with human freedom, and cannot prevent evil.
 -The founder of LDS, Joseph Smith, declared that the biblical Eden lay in western Missouri.
 -Finally, the Mormons have expressed their Americanness in their governance. Like New England Puritans, they tried to build a theocracy in which otherwordly and everyday concerns were regulated by one set of authorities.
 -Founded their own Zion in the mountains of the Great Salt Lake, which is now Utah. They called it the state of Deseret....