Tuesday 1 December 2015

Warsaw (Poland): The LDS (Mormons) on Nowy Swiat


As a non-Mormon, my favourite LDS (Mormon) place in Warsaw is the old centre on Nowy Swiat.

This centre was acquired by the Mormons well before the fall of communism when it wasn't possible for religions or new religious movements to openly proselytise in Poland.  However, during the later part of the 1970s and throughout the 1980s, some older American LDS missionary couples (and even the first two young missionaries in the late 1980s) stayed in this centre paving the way for the Polish LDS mission to be formed with the greater religious freedom that would quickly come after the fall of communism in 1989.

Below, you can see a Polish combined version of three LDS books of scripture: 'The Book of Mormon'; 'Doctrine & Covenants'; and 'The Pearl of Great Price':


Out of these three books, I would say that 'Doctrine & Covenants' is the best read for a non-Mormon, as it deals with how Mormonism started adopting temple rituals in the later chapters of the book.

And below, there is a pictorial focus on Jesus Christ being 'The Saviour':


However, the LDS are non-Trinitarian Christians so they view Jesus as being lesser in status than God the Father (who they directly address as 'Heavenly Father' in their prayers).

And below there is a pictorial focus on LDS temples where Mormonism starts to more radically move away from mainstream Christianity:


In the temple, 'worthy LDS' (who are viewed as being sufficiently morally clean and give 10% of their earnings to the LDS Church) do proxy baptisms for dead people (often ancestors); and receive eternal marriage and the endowment ceremony (where it is said that they believe they start turning into gods themselves) for both themselves and dead people.




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