Mormons In America

Most of us probably know very little about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- the Mormon church -- other than the world famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Well, today, you may have a Mormon family living right down the block.

The Democratic leader in the Senate, Harry Reid of Nevada, is Mormon as is Mitt Romney, the governor of Massachusetts and a possible presidential candidate. The Marriott family, who owns the hotel chain is also Mormon.

There are now almost six million members in the United States and an additional six million overseas. Temples can be found from Los Angeles to Boston to Washington, DC, reports Sunday Morning host Charles Osgood.

There is even a Mormon temple right here in midtown Manhattan across the street from Broadway and Lincoln Center. The Church is growing so fast in membership in this country, it now ranks behind Roman Catholics, Southern Baptists and United Methodists.

Susan and Matt Royall live in northern Virginia with her two daughters from a previous marriage. She is expecting a third child. Matt was raised Catholic, but the Royalls were looking for a new spiritual home.

"I grew up Episcopalian," Susan says. "I didn't know anything about Mormons. I really didn't.

"And when the missionaries walked through that door, it was like, 'Ah.' It was just like a breath of -- it was like the breath of life just came into me," Susan intimates.

The experience left an indelible imprint on Susan's life. She recalls of her first encounter with the Mormon missionaries, "I was like, 'O my gosh, it's like my skin is on fire.' That was the feeling I wanted from the other churches but never had."

Her husband, Matt, adds, "It was a feeling we had. It was so powerful."

Matt and Susan were baptized into the Church in April 2004.

"My religion now is the center of my life," Susan says.

The Royalls say what attracted them were the stories in the Book of Mormon, which the Church considers a companion to the Bible. Each summer the book comes to life in a pageant in upstate New York near where the Church was founded.

Roger Sorenson directed the pageant for seven years. Osgood observes Sorenson as he retells a Mormon story of a prophet in Jerusalem.

"The Lord appeared to me and told me to take my family into the wilderness," Sorenson says. He talks of the prophet building a boat and traveling to America and then enduring a civil war. Finally, Sorenson says, a "savior" from Jerusalem comes to America

"We see him come to this country after his resurrection. And teach his people. He organized his church here just like in the old country," Sorenson says.

In time, the story goes, a general named Mormon buried a record of these events written on golden plates. They remained hidden until an angel appeared to 14-year old Joseph Smith and directed him to the plates.

The young Smith lived on a farm near Palmyra, N.Y. Spiritually curious, it is said he rejected the teachings of other churches -- even at the tender age of 14. In 1820, Smith said God and his son, Jesus, appeared to him in the woods near his home. They told him all existing churches were an abomination. He had been chosen to reestablish the one true Christian church.

Richard Lyman Bushman, a Mormon, has written extensively on Smith as a professor of history at Columbia University in New York. If you think the Mormon story is far-fetched, he says, think about the roots of other religions.

"Certain kinds of religion have a broad appeal everywhere. And Mormonism brings this promise that God is speaking to his people," Bushman explains.

The professor adds, "All the great religions, or many of them, are founded on a revealed miracle. The resurrection, the parting of the Red Sea, the vision -- Mohammed's visit, vision of Gabriel. So, Joseph Smith from that point of view fits into a pattern that reaches a long way back."

Smith attracted a following -- and enemies. Local churches bristled at being labeled "an abomination" so Smith led his followers west. In 1843, Smith further enraged non-Mormons when he said God revealed to him that men should be allowed to marry more than one woman, as did "Abraham" and "other" prophets.

"It went against conventional Victorian morality, so it confirmed this view of Joseph Smith as a dangerous person," Bushman says.

As the Church's numbers grew, it took political control of towns and whole counties and also raised an army. Non-Mormons felt threatened and there was violence. The Mormons were forced out of New York, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois. Smith was killed by a mob in Carthage, Ill. when he was only 38. Then most of his followers fled to desolate Utah.

Of course, the story doesn't end there.

"There are two landmarks, I would say, in Mormon history that makes it central to the mainstream," says Richard Ostling, chief religion writer for the Associated Press.

"The first," Ostling says, "is the 1890 decision , under pressure from the federal government and the United States Supreme Court, to get rid of polygamy."

The second was in 1978 when the Church ended its refusal to allow blacks into full membership.

"Getting rid of those, I think, has really liberated the Church and has helped in its expansion," Ostling says.

Ostling, author of the book "Mormon American," says the Church's emphasis on strong families has also propelled it's success.

"I think there's a quest for stability and family roots," Ostling says.

This explains the success of Orthodox Judaism and Evangelical Protestants and many other groups. But, Mormons are certainly at the top of the list.

Mormons call their congregations "wards" not churches. That is where the Royalls and others worship and study scripture. On any given Sunday, the Royalls' ward is overflowing with families.

But, because Mormons also believe their religion extends back to ancient Israel, they also have temples.

Jan Shipps, considered the foremost non-Mormon scholar on the Church, explains that the temple is not like a church.

"People don't -- there's not an organized community worshipping together," Shipps says.

Only Mormons with permission from their leaders are allowed into temple. That is where sealing ceremonies are held -- marrying couples for eternity. Baptisms are also held in temples. Not just for the living, but also for ancestors who died without baptism.

"This is a very important part of Mormon understanding of connecting people now with people in the past," Scripps says.

From the earliest age, Mormons are taught in verse and song that they have a duty to spread the faith.

Bushman says at all times, there are 50,000 missionaries scattered around the globe.

"It's expected of young men. And young women are invited," Bushman says.

To Shipps, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is not just another Christian denomination.

"Mormonism is a fully-realized tradition," Scripps says. "It has, it has it's scriptures. It has its rituals. It has its doctrine. It has its social patterns."

Ostling says while the Church has its roots in America, it's more than that.

"I think you could make the case that Mormonism, right now, is a new world religion," Ostling claims.

But to Matt and Susan Royall and millions of others, it is simply their spiritual home.

"It has made my relationship with my children better. It has made my relationship with my husband better," Susan says. "It has brought nothing but goodness into my life."