The following passage describes the Mormons:
Best known as Mormons, Latter Day Saints are neither Protestant nor Catholic. Their beliefs rest on the authority provided by the discovery in the 1820s of the Book of Mormon, which details the history of God's ancient people in the western hemisphere between 600 B. C. and AD 400. That book, with its distinctive message, stands alongside the Bible (``as far as it is translated correctly'') as the basis of Mormon teachings. They believe that the authentic church, having gone underground for many centuries, was restored with that new revelation.
By 1850, Mormons finally enjoyed a place of their own, Utah, where they built a civilization. Commited to expansion, they continue to grow rapidly in the U. S. and many foriegn countries, most dramatically in Latin America and Asia. Few modern churches live with such clear identity and manage such a high degree of loyalty and dedication. Conservative politically and morally, it gives a predominant place to family life.
With headquarters in Salt Lake City, it has an American membership of 4.5 million, and a world membership of 7 million (projected 1989). The membership has increased by 60 percent in the last decade.13
``...the church pulls in an estimated $1.3 billion annually.''14 That was in 1982. I suspect that today, with the growth reported above and with inflation, that the figure is well over double that, or significantly more than two and a half billion dollars per year!
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, have roots similar to Masons: ``Good Mormons enter their secret temples and don white garments to indulge in esoteric, Masonic-like rituals that seal their marriages for eternity.''15