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THERE ARE AROUND 6,000 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Ireland.
You might know them as Mormons.
To answer your questions straight away: no they don’t all go door to door, they don’t have multiple wives, they do celebrate Christmas, but they don’t make Communion, and their mass lasts three hours.
Restoration
The LDS church is a restorative faith founded in 1830 in New York. Smith believed that he was called by God to restore the Church of Jesus Christ. He established settlements in Missouri, but was run out of the state to Illinois.
There, he and his chosen successor, his brother Hyrum, were killed. Their successor Brigham Young would lead the church to what is now Utah, which is now the home of the church worldwide, having grown to 15 million members.
The religion is a Christian faith and teaches the Old and New Testaments, but also uses other texts, most notably The Book of Mormon.
The Book of Mormon is a text that Smith claimed to have translated from golden plates. It chronicles God’s interactions with people on the American continent.
In Ireland
Ben O’Farrell is a computer repairman from Clonsilla in Dublin.
His father joined the church around 50 years ago and Ben is now Stake President of the Church in Ireland. A stake is similar to a diocese in Catholicism.
He says that growing up as a Mormon in Ireland was not especially different.
“I have nothing to compare to, I went to a Protestant school for primary and went to a non-denominational school in secondary. Those things made it easier, but it wasn’t much different.”
When Mormon children reach eight years old, they are baptised, which gives them an occasion similar to a communion.
“Our baptism is done by immersion so it’s quite a visual thing. A lot of the children will have their school teachers or aunts and uncles who aren’t of the faith there.”
In a country that is mostly Catholic, is being of a different faith something that people comment on?
Most people aren’t very interested. I do computer maintenance and maybe after a few years of going to someone’s house, it might come up, but even then it’s just a couple of minutes of a conversation.
Catholic knock-on
While Catholicism is Ireland’s most populous religion, it is experiencing a drop in attendances. So, are people flocking en masse to churches like LDS? Not quite.
“Our church leadership in Frankfurt would ask us if we’re experiencing more people coming because of the controversies surrounding the Catholic Church, but we’re not really.
“It seems like people have lost faith in faith. They don’t just leave the Catholic Church, they leave faith.”
That said, the Mormon church in Clonsilla baptised around 60 people this year, so recruitment is strong.
That is because the church has missionaries who go door to door and attempt to recruit new members.
There are 85,000 missionaries across the world. They are all young men aged 18-21 and young women from 20-22 and all are voluntary and pay for themselves.
“They move around and teach in different places across Ireland and Scotland.”
Once they are of age, young men and women apply to their own church leaders to go on missionary service and are assessed.
Their application is then sent to Salt Lake City, where the Quorom of Twelve, the church’s version of the Twelve Apostles, assign them a mission. If they need to learn a language, the church helps them.
The differences
If you went to a Mormon church on a Sunday, what can you expect?
It’s a very different service. Three hours long. We start with music and hymns and we do what is, I suppose, a form of communion. The previous week, people are asked to prepare a speech on a certain theme so it makes it quite interesting because the congregation says mass.
“Then we all divide out and do Sunday School classes for an hour. Then the men and women go into different rooms and we do different classes on your role as a father or mother or son or daughter.”
Individual churches are led by bishops who are volunteers and the church is run by donations from the congregation. Like many Christian sects, they apply the law of tithe, which means individual members are expected to contribute 10% of their income to the church. However, there is no onus to prove your earnings to the church.
The churches are then used as community buildings for classes and meetings.
O’Farrell says that because of the small nature of the faith, it is a “much tighter community”.
The misconceptions
And what about all those things you thought about Mormons? Are they all wrong? What mistakes do people make?
“The biggest thing is people think it’s not a Christian faith.
We teach the Bible, we believe in the Immaculate Conception, we believe in Christ, that he died for our sins, we celebrate Christmas and Easter.
“It’s a restored church – we believe that there is truth in lots of faiths and that Joseph Smith was called to restore the Church of Jesus Christ.”
The other issue is polygamy, a practice introduced in the early days of the church but swiftly outlawed.
“That can been controversial, but it was practice by 5% of Mormon people for 20 years 200 years ago.
“People say “oh you’re the polygamists”, and say well we were for a short time – 200 years ago.”
This is the first in a series on minority religions in Ireland. If you are a member of a minority faith and would like to tell your story, email paulhosford@thejournal.ie
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Mehole hasn’t been invited yet, fairly presumptive of him to keep banging on about his big Washington visit whe he hasn’t even been invited. Can’t see Trump letting him through the door.
@qffaffaf affrafrfraf: it’s a standing invitation. Dont get your hopes up, boyfriend!
President Trump is welcome to Ireland any time, he doesn’t need an invite from that baldy waste of skin
Hilarious to see the left meltdown if this happens. However I can’t see Trump visiting a country that attacks Christianity and discriminates against Irish people. A big change in Government rhetoric needed before the Americans are friends with us again. We live in a heavy handed Marxist Police state where building a home on your own land is illegal and they are trying to make certain forms of speech illegal. Time to wake up Ireland.
@Adam H2022: “Marxist police state”? If you actually believe that then seek an urgent meeting with your GP
@Johnny Wilson: Lol, Enoch Burke has had 41 high court orders pitched against him for expressing his Christian using speech. If you cant see the parallels between this and Stalins Russia then you need to seek urgent help and probably learn to read some history on how Communism got started. Idiots like you lead to millions getting killed all throughout history.
@Adam H2022: That’s not why Burke was imprisoned. If you don’t understand the basics, it might be better that you don’t call people idiots…
@Adam H2022: Comparing Ireland in 2025 to Stalin’s USSR only demonstrates how woefully ignorant and misguided you are.
Enoch Burke is no Solzhenitsyn.
@honey badger: He and his family have been viciously attacked by the state and media for having a Christian belief system plain and simple. Tides are turning anyway, Trump and German elections sign of things to come. Left won’t exist in 5 years.
@Johnny Wilson: He probably thinks his GP is working for the communist superstate and will have him sent to a reeducation camp where he won’t be allowed on the Internet.
@Brendan O’Brien: If you read the book you’d know that one of the fundamental points made in the Gulag Archipelago is that laws passed to make free speech illegal led to the death of 10s of millions of people. Are you saying that you don’t agree with the finding in that book? A Nobel prize winning book?? You lefties really are insane.
@Seamus Enright: The only re-education camps in Ireland are in the SPHE class in school. We all seen what you lefties have got on the curriculum. Not fooling anybody. Disgusting.
@Adam H2022: You’re willing to compare the murder and imprisonment of millions of people to the jailing of a fanatical crank for refusing to obey a court order, after basically being suspended over his lack of good manners and respect for pupils and teachers?
Where are all the state murders? Where is the torture? Where are the labour camps? If you believe that they are coming down the tracks in this country, you have quite the imagination.
@Adam H2022: “Enoch Burke”. Grown celebate man lurking around school gates with a bag and a long coat.
@Brendan O’Brien: You clearly haven’t grasped the concepts in the book. It states that anti free speech laws set the stage for terrible things to happen, and they did. You seem to be in denial about that to some degree? Do you think you know better than a Nobel Peace prize winner? Geniune question.
@Adam H2022: What ‘anti free speech’ law are you talking about? Can you back up what you’re saying with specific reference to anything in Solzhenitsyn’s writings (he did write more than one book)?
@Brendan O’Brien: Helen McEntee has been trying to get hate speech made criminal for years now, not sure what rock you have been living under. He wrote several books. The words misinformation, disinformation are referenced throughout. He was imprisoned for ‘Anti Soviet Agitation and Malicious Slander against the state’. This is is exactly what happened to Enoch for speaking out against left wing extremism in our school system. Part of the far left doctrine in this case is the LGBT cult ideology that is being forced on children. You can lie to yourself all you want and say he was arrested for standing outside a gate but anybody with half a braincell can see the bigger picture.
@Adam H2022: Enoch Burke and his ilk are ever the victims in society.
They blame everyone but themselves for troubles they started, stirred, and then let stew.
People need to learn to leave well enough alone and keep their noses out of stuff that is not their business, namely other people’s livelihoods and decisions.
Excellent opportunity for us to show what we think of somebody who can only see the world in terms of capital.
Good to see MM acknowledge who his new boss is.
Irish media really need to stop giving airtime to far left politicians. They aren’t in government and nobody voted for them. Stop it now.
In fairness Langer is already in government with a convicted criminal in Lowry, his former boss bbbbbbbbbbbbertie is one of the biggest con jobs this country has ever seen and FF literally committed economic treason when they handed this country over to the IMF to protect their banker and developer mates…….So why are people so shocked that a lad who has repeatedly lied about going into government with FG before an election, who lied and whos party got caught lying and breaking rules during covid, and also who openly lied and told us all the bailout never happened. But amazingly the clueless folk who voted him and FFG back in would be shocked he wouldnt invite trump over for a visit, Did anyone miss the amount of times leaky Leo was playing host to the likes of Saudi Arabia and sorts who are bombing places like Yemen out of existence….yet there was no outrage from the media or the voters. I swear this country has a serious dementia and amnesia problem around whats right and whats wrong at times
Have any of these weasel Irish politicians even been invited? I hope the Don tears the weak little wimps a new one.
@Carl Valderrama: SF/IRA weren’t due to their close links with Hamas terrorists
@Johnny Wilson: Well DUP troll, SF have an open invitation to attend the white house on St Patrick’s Day every year since the Good Friday Agreement, this year they are not going and all you neanderthals are freaking out, you couldn’t make it up. MM better be careful passing that bowl to BabyHands….
Stay at home Trump.
@Patricia Mc namara: Yep, Also stay at him Michael Martin
He’s doing everything to backstab Europe he shouldn’t be made welcome here.
@john salmon: No he hasn’t, he wants Europe to cop on and pay their way in NATO and stop using the US as it’s guard dog. All this while handing over the money instead to grifter NGOs who are tearing up the social fabric of the European states.
@john salmon: he got some support the Europe’s elite before the election didn’t he.
This is real politik. As much as I detest the ogre, our country is heavily reliant on the US and has a long history of cordial diplomatic relations. Trump won’t be president again. As Winters said in Band of Brothers: we don’t salute the man, we salute the rank.
Hysterical theatrics from the usual suspects won’t achieve anything. Certainly not from the woman who wanted to nationalise Dell.
@honey badger: unfortunately the looney left don’t understand the real world
@Johnny Wilson: I take small consolation from this old quote: ” necessity relieves us from the embarrassment of choice.”
@honey badger: Very well said. There were 2 similar quotes from the West Wing.
@honey badger: great opportunity to cultivate more home-grown industry, no? Surely would only be a positive to not be so reliant on US big tech and be more proactive in promoting development in regions outside Dublin
Why is our government not expelling the sex offender
Try ask the people as he is a convicted sex offender
Good, I look forward to the inevitable protest against the orange m0nkey
But Ruth..Who will pay out all that you want to handout to people who never did an honest days work if we stick two fingers up to Donnie and he makes life difficult for us.There’s a lot of big US employers in this country.
I’m surprised they’re leaving the comments open for this. It’s going to be an absolute cesspit for all the dribbling fanboys of the tangerine sex offending rap ist.
@J B: Cheers for confirming my thoughts. Do you Incells all work together and have a schedule?
@J B: Trump is limp handed, have you seen his baby hands, he has a deformity just like Hitler had.
@Daniel Skelton: TDS is rampant in Ireland.
Please don’t bring that butt crack of a life form to my country. Thanks
Ireland could do with a Trump visit. He could gives his words of wisdom to our crazy liberals
@common sense:
Trump’s words of wisdom Ha ha ha .
criminal bully lier draft dodger coward
@Vladimir Poutine: Ver goot tzu zee den Spellink Gestapo arr doink der job
I wouldn’t mind Trump visiting Ireland. It would really ruffle the feathers of all the Islamists and Hamas sympathisers here which is always a good thing. The Irish government could do with dropping their obsessive anti-Israel attitude also. Trump is planning to put tariffs on pharmaceuticals in the next few months. Do we want to have an opportunity to persuade him to ease off on them or not? I’d rather send some sort of experienced businessman like Dermot Desmond to discuss things with Trump as a trade representative rather than Martin or Harris, who have no foreign policy or negotiation nous whatsoever. The first port of call is for the meeting to take place in the White House if Trump even invites anyone over from the Irish government, which isn’t guaranteed yet.
@William Jennings: People protesting about Israel murdering children does not make them Hamas supporters or Islamists. Don’t let your hate blind you to the reality of what Israel is doing. This is collective punishment of a civilian population for the crimes of Hamas. Caring about a people being exterminated doesn’t make someone a terrorist lover.
@Mike Mahon: Yes. It’s not a matter of being pro-Hamas or anti-Israel. It’s a matter of being pro-human, anti-oppression, anti-genocide, as everyone should be.
@Brendan O’Brien: Exactly
@Mike Mahon: Well it does because they are taking the side of Hamas. They happily wave Hamas flags in the streets while shouting their fake claims about Israel. I’m not interested in hate or love, I’m interested in facts and reality. Israel has let in 38,200 aid trucks since the start of the conflict. There is no “collective punishment” going on. That’s exactly what I’m talking about. You are literally just regurgitating Hamas propaganda, whether you are aware of it or not.
@Brendan O’Brien: As you know Brendan, I am all of those, which is why I strongly support Israel wiping out Hamas, an organisation that explicitly calls for a second Holocaust. You, on the other hand, are not anti-genocide because you support and cheerlead for Hamas and then have the gall to say that it is Israel who are the ones that are committing a genocide. As I have told you before, that claim is utter bollocks. The civilian to combatant ratio in Gaza is 2:1. The average for conflicts around the world is 4:1. More people were born in Gaza than died last year (63,400 vs 40,000-42,500). Hamas lies repeatedly. Back in May, they had to alter the number of women and children killed from 24,000 to 12,800. They even added 6,200 people that died from stage 4 terminal cancer to the death toll!
@William Jennings: Why are you lying? Please show any support of hamas from our government,are hamas in charge of the west bank and look what Israel are doing there,the majority of Ireland are against genocide and believe in the two state solution for Israel and Palestine.
@Daniel Roche: Hamas are in charge of Area A in Judea and Samaria (West Bank). The PA have lost control and Hamas control most of the cities and towns. If you followed the news you would know that. As I have pointed out above, if you believe that there is a “genocide” going on, you are either gullible to Hamas propaganda or you support them. Which is it for you? The two-state solution is a joke because it involves confiscating Israeli territory and handing over to the people who engaged in repeated terrorist attacks against them. This government is pro-Hamas. They continually repeat blatant lies about Israel like they are committing “genocide” and they are “starving” the people of Gaza, which are blood libels. Plus they gave €60 million of taxpayer money to UNRWA, which is an arm of Hamas.
@Mike Mahon: There’s no civilians in Gaza. They’re all Hamas.
@William Jennings: I think it may be you that has fallen for propaganda William. I don’t see any Irish person waving Hamas flags, just Palestinian flags. I suppose the ICC, Amnesty International etc must have fallen for Hamas propaganda about genocide also?
@Ulick: Wow is all I can say to that.
@Mike Mahon: You need to wake up Mike. Every month, large groups on people are out of the streets waving Hamas and Hezbollah flags in Dublin, Limerick and Cork. All you have to do is search up videos of the marches on any news website and you will see them waving the flags of those prescribed terrorist organisations while shouting antisemitic chants towards Israel and Jewish people. The ICC has provided no concrete evidence for their claims and is run by Karim Khan, a noted Islamist who has written in defence of the Muslim Brotherhood in the past, of which Hamas is an offshoot of. Numerous former Amnesty International employees have stated that the organisation has a systemic anti-Israel bias. They have also provided no proper evidence and don’t even think that Israel has a right to exist.
Micheal Martin would invite the wanted crim net and yeahoo to Ireland if he thought it would make him look good in von der Leyens eyes.. and stuff his deep pockets.
I thought convicted felons weren’t allowed into Ireland?
Also, how desperate is Mehole to be seen on the international stage as someone important.
Is there anything to be said for another protest… honestly Ruth.. is that all you do
The people who get on their high horses about Trump see nothing wrong with the main opposition party and its leader glorifying a man who was convicted for being part of a gang that attacked innocent people having a drink in a pub, killing five and injuring sixty.
Coppinger is a red.
@AnthonyK: More ginger really.
And what answer did you expect?
That’s absolutely great to hear that!
It would be a disaster. The country would riot.
I am going to the next big celebrity party whether I am invited or not.
I’m having dinner right now after a long hardous drive, I’m bewildered at best,
That meeting is on Friday.
Such an Invitation, Business Decision
That invitation, would be so welcoming, if he was greeted at Shannon Airport, personally, by a Representative, and maybe have a friendly stroll together, and afterwards maybe have breakfast or lunch at nearby Hotel. ETA 12 midday.
Let’s see what the public thinks of such an idea.
Such Invite, would a BUSINESS DECISION
Recent communications regarding technology and a Digital solution, ( satoshi) have evidenced there is little value in throwing such stones, unless procurement and delivery, form part of any such solution.
Given, also, what can be lost in translation, any parties, reliance on one’s national language is particularly paramount, never more so, than at this time.
Further, one’s undeniable, and unrebutted, fury, speaks for itself, given the tensions between all parties, given the right for people to be angry, when such gross incompetence is displayed, by Governmental organisations, who are yet to be held accountable.
Yes invitation absolutely acted on, moreover, there will be more to follow by me. Tonight, that’s a promise!
Childish behaviour, displayed publicly, along with lack of corrective action, in the form of effective communication, lends to an ongoing sense of bewilderment, given the benefits of peaceful solution, and respectful resolution for all.
In any Democracy, any charges being made , without such lawful standing, would be removed and constitutionally protected rights, particularly in regards succession and any Grants, would be acknowledged, thereby removing all cause of action, without recourse for proceeding(s) being made defunct, with those affected being remunerated commensurate, lending, surely, to such aforesaid peaceful resolution.
Said solution would be an honorable bond, with the word as the bond, the written bond.
The time is now, as the saying goes this Week is good as any. Retirement from public life, is as imminent, as is Taoiseach’s invite. Let’s all Beannachtí na Féile Pádraig oraibh. Réidh nuair a bhíonn tù.
Then we can finally say ‘goodbye, olf friend’!.
But but but. The irish are unwanted this year and still want to go, if I was not wanted I would not beg
have your say