In 1861 Elder Parley P. Pratt wrote a pamphlet, entitled “Mormonism Unveiled,” which differentiated Mormonism from other Christian faiths at that time. Pratt stated that even though there was much that united Mormons with those of other faiths, yet there are many points of doctrine that set us apart and to the world make us peculiar. Peter stated, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people. (1 Peter 2:9) Generally, peculiar means that a person or group deviates from the customary and are seen as unusual, odd, and distinct from all others. Synonyms include: strange, bazaar, freakish, unnatural and weird.
Being ‘peculiar’ (as defined above) has a relatively negative con-notation. Some youth, while going through a rebellious stage, may do their best to appear different or peculiar, if only to be noticed by their peer group. The other day, as my wife and I were leaving the grocery store, I noticed two teenage boys. Their spiked hair was standing straight up 5–6 inches above their heads and dyed three different and bright colors. They had shiny metal hanging from their lips, ears and noses. They were obviously making a statement, but even they probably did not know exactly what their statement was. They were indeed ‘peculiar’ but they appeared to be very happy with themselves.
Most people do not want to appear different or peculiar when compared to other people in their society; it draws unwanted attention to them. Members of The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) are often referred to as being a ‘peculiar’ people, not, however, the kind of ‘peculiar’ that would make us stand out in a crowd. We are ‘peculiar’ based on our religious doctrine and practices. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint beliefs are different and not often understood by those of other Christian faiths. I have been trying to think through the many ways that Latter-day Saints are peculiar by the ‘Christian’ world’s standards. I have come up with these:
I believe the primary reason we are ‘peculiar,’ to the world, is found at the end of the scripture quoted above in 1 Peter: “…that ye should shew forth…praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” (1 Peter 2:9) We believe in revelation and that by revelation He has called us out of darkness, the darkness that has veiled the earth for hundreds of years, the darkness that was brought about by a falling away or apostasy of a stiff-necked people. It required a prophet and revelation to open up the heavens once more. John, the revelator, referring to the last days saw “…another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,” (Revelation14:6). Christian churches, in general, no longer believe that God speaks to His people. They no longer believe that revelation is necessary. To them, the words of the Bible are sufficient and it is all that they need. In their understanding, it is believed that anyone who adds to the Bible will be accursed. Yet, our living God has described to Amos His plan to communicate with His prophets: “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7)
We are peculiar because we believe the basic principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are still: Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Repentance of sins, Baptism by immersion, Receiving the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands by one having Priesthood authority.
We are ‘peculiar’ because we send out thousands of missionaries to spread the Gospel. The Lord commanded, “Feed my sheep.” and “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. (Matt 28:19) Very few Christian churches send forth missionaries to preach the gospel to all nations, kindred, tongues and people.
Based on the number of converts, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the fastest growing Christian Church. There are literally hundreds of small, independent Christian congregations with members composed only of those living in their surrounding communities; each one teaching its own brand of Christianity. The missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the other hand, are a large, self-supported army of mostly young men and women (fifty to sixty thousand at any one time) going forth to provide all of God’s children, worldwide, the opportunity to hear ‘His Word.’
We are ‘peculiar’ because, even though we believe the number in the Godhead is three, as other Christians do, that is the end of the similarities. Most other Christian Doctrine states that the three are one and conclude that they are incomprehensible. We believe, based on common sense, scripture and modern day revelation, that the three members of the Godhead are distinctly separate and individual beings who are comprehensible and one only in purpose. Because we describe Christ differently than they, to them, we are not Christians and therefore peculiar.
We are ‘peculiar’ because we have no paid clergy but serve in our callings freely and/or provide donated time to provide for the poor and other charitable causes.
We are ‘peculiar’ because we give 10% (a tithe) of our income to the Church, plus other donations; such as fast offerings to assist the poor, financially. “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse… and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” (Malachi 3)
We are ‘peculiar’ because we claim to have the same priesthood authority that was conferred upon Aaron, as well as the higher or Melchizedek Priesthood that was conferred upon the elders of the pristine church by Christ Himself.
We are peculiar because we believe in miracles. We believe that God still intercedes in man’s behalf when faith is present. God is a God of miracles and where there are no miracles it is because ‘of the lack of faith. God changes not and if He was once a God of miracles He remains a God of miracles. Where there are no miracles: “And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust.” (Mormon 9:20)
We are ‘peculiar’ because we call ourselves saints just as the mem- bers of the church did in the church that was organized by Christ Himself. All of the epistles written by Paul the Apostle addressed the members in the various locations as saints. As an example:
“Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Phillippi.” (Philippians 1:1)
We are ‘peculiar’ because we are a temple building and attending people and know what the temple’s purpose is. We understand that the promises made to the fathers require that Abraham’s seed provide the Gospel to all the families of the earth through the Priesthood. (Genesis 28:14 and Abraham 2) We believe that those promises must be planted in our hearts and that our hearts must be turned to our fathers lest the whole earth be wasted at His coming. (Malachi 4) Our hearts must be turned to those of our fathers who have passed beyond the veil without having an opportunity to hear the Gospel of Salvation and to enter through the gate, the gate of baptism, and receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost; “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?” (1 Corinthians 1:29).
We are ‘peculiar’ to the rest of the world. This may seem a ‘negative’ to them but it is a positive to our God: “For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, (Deuteronomy 14:2) We are truly ‘peculiar’ to much of the world but we are unashamed of our ‘peculiarities.’ Our peculiarities are in line with bible teachings and modern day revelation.