Alexis Van Wyngaarden

Report on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and Their Values

COMM 2150

Overview

In this report I will be reporting my research on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day

Saints. Growing up in Utah, I have always been surrounded by this religion. I have

always been quite close minded towards it, assuming I knew everything I needed to

know. This report will also explain a church function I have attended, as well as my

experience there. I will explain the values I believe the members of this religion holds

and use The Value Orientation Theory developed by Kluckhorn and Strodbeck to

analyze their values. I will also reflect on my experience in researching this project.

Religion

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or better known as the Mormon church

is a religion focusing on the teachings of Jesus Christ. Founded by Joseph Smith, the

Mormons follow a lot of Christian beliefs. They believe that God created the earth, as

well as their saviour, Jesus Christ. God sent his son, Jesus to earth to atone for

humanitys sins. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ, you can repent for all of your

wrongdoings and only then can you make it to heaven. Their values include close family

ties, love of God, faith, service, goodness and humility.

Religious Function
I attended Sacrament meeting, the longest meeting of the Sunday Services of the

church. This meeting entails religious songs sung by the congregation, an opening and

closing prayer, along with various speakers. The sacrament services are also observed

during this meeting. A prayer is said over the sacrament and it is passed to the

congregation. The LDS church explains the reasoning behind this on their official

website:

On the night before His Crucifixion, Jesus Christ met with His Apostles and instituted

the sacrament.Today the sacrament is an ordinance in which Church members partake

of bread and water in remembrance of Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice. This ordinance

is an essential part of worship and spiritual development. Jesus Christ said, This is my

body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. This cup is the new

testament in my blood, which is shed for you. The broken bread is a reminder of His

body and His physical sufferingespecially His suffering on the cross. It is also a

reminder that through His mercy and grace, all people will be resurrected and given the

opportunity for eternal life with God.

Value Theory

The Value Orientations Theory by Kluckhorn and Strodbeck began with the two

studying Navaho, Spanish descendants, and European Americans in the 1950s. They

proposed that cultural values were central to understanding a cultural group. Values

are the most deeply held beliefs shared by a cultural group. (Martin & Nakayama,

2012) Klukorn and Strodbeck thought it was pertinent for members of each cultural

group to answer certain questions. These questions included:

 What is human nature?

What is the relationship between humans and nature?

What is the relationship between humans?

What is the preferred personality?

What is the orientation toward time?

The orientation theories I would use for this are The nature of human nature and What

is the relationship between humans?

Analysis

Further explanation of value theory is; A conception, explicit or implicit, distinctive of an

individual or characteristic of a group, of the desirable which influences the selection

from available modes, means and ends of action. (Kluckhorn, 1951)

Pertaining to the value orientation of The nature of human nature; as I said before, I

think the Mormons have a lot of influence from Christianity, if not influence, LDS

members are essentially Christian. Mormon doctrine includes the belief that Jesus died

on the cross for our sins and only through him, can we reach the Celestial kingdom, or

heaven. Perhaps the key to understanding these cultural practices is an understanding

of the Christian view of humans as essentially evil and born in sin. (Martin &

Nakayama, 2012) The value orientation that human nature is essentially bad, is held by

Mormons as well. Since Eve ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Good and Evil in the

garden of Eden; She, Adam and all of humanity were cast out and were now capable of
sin. Mormons believe that all humans sin. Every man will have to observe Christs

atonement and repent for their sins.

The value orientation theory Relationship between humans was an interesting one for

me to consider in this project. Although The United States is mostly an individualistic

society, I believe the LDS religion is a group oriented culture. They call each other

Brother and Sister. Talking with my Mormon friend, who is devoutly religious and

even served a mission, she explained to me how people in the church come together to

help when a member falls on tough times. If someone has a newborn baby, or is hurt or

sick, church members are known to bring dinner over, or help do work around the

house. This value in service is one I respect in this religion.

Reflection

Before I began this project, I thought I would choose a culture to examine and report on.

After considering a few different cultures, I kept revisiting the thought of me potentially

needing to be more open minded about religion. I have a higher power of sorts, very

non-traditional. I have always been uninterested in organized religion. I decided that I

might as well use this project to explore a religion that Ive grown up around. A religion

that many of my friends, neighbors, and teachers are a part of.

I learned that this religion wasnt as foreign as I had expected. You hear crazy things

about groups and organizations that are not well understood. My attitude did change

throughout this project. I dont know why I felt like I had a right to judge another group of

people, but I have. I respect some of the values I believe the Mormon religion holds.
Applying value orientation theory to this religion was interesting to me. I compared LDS

values to that of U.S. society, as the religion is much more popular in the United States

than in any other country. It was interesting to see where the two aligned and differed. I

definitely will work on being more open minded. This project was an eye opener on how

close minded I have been on the values of different religions and cultures in general.

Things arent always what they seem from the outside in.

Works Cited

Sacrament (2016). Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/topics/sacrament?lang=eng

Sprunger, M. J. (2013). #25 Belief Comparison of the World's Major Religions. Utah:

Salt Lake Community College.

Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2012). Intercultural Communication in Contexts, Sixth

Edition, New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.