Introduction, an answer to your specific question follows this introduction:
On the journey to discover what religeons have to offer, I discovered that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. He is the way, the truth and the life. After realizing this I searched for Jesus, His church, and so I have researched the various Christian faiths. One of these is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints.
In my quest for truth I have investigated the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints.
That is the true name of the church. They were nicknamed the Mormons because of "the golden bible", a second witness to the bible. It was called the golden bible because when it was discovered in the earth the words were engraved on plates of gold. That is what preserved the writing throught the centuries.
Like the bible, it is a book with many books within it. The bible has the "books of the old testement" such as the book of Joshua, the book of Ruth, the book of Isaiah,the book of Jeremiah, the book of Daniel, the book of Jonah and the book of Malachi. Similarly the "golden bible" has the book of Jacob, the book of Enos, the book of Omni, the book of Mosiah, the book of Alma and the book of Mormon. Mormon compiled the records together and because of this the book was nicknamed the book of Mormon. Those who believe it is a second witness of the bible and a true historical account of the tribe of Joseph {one of the twelve tribes of Israel}, have been nicknamed the Mormoms.
It is a second witness to the bible because the beginning of the book is really an historical record of the tribe of Joseph and this historical account begins where the bible's history finishes at the time of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah. Prophet's had prophesied that Jerusalem would be destroyed. Lehi {of the tribe of Joseph} and his family believed the prophet's warning and left Jerusalem. Soon after Lehi and his family left, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon besieged Jerusalem and captured those of the house of Israel there and brought them into captivity into Babylon which today is modern Iraq. That is when the book {compiled by Mormon} begins. It is an account of his family and their descendants in a foreign land. It includes accounts made by the ancestors of the Native Americans residing in South America. Another reason it is a second witness is because it has the same truths and principles as the bible,{in other words they agree with each other} and some accounts have verses that are in the bible and when compared are identical. Isaiah for example, there are several chapters of the book of Isaiah in 2 Nephi Chapters 12 -- Chapter 24.
Now to answer your question:
1. The first thought that came to mind when I saw your post was their "Word of Wisdom", a healthy way to live
I see the wisdom in this because eating right brings health and strength
The premise is that the body is a kind of a temple for the Holy Spirit to dwell. If you eat better you may think better so it shouldn't be defiled with substances that are harmfull to it. Such as:
A. Drugs
B. Tobacco
C. Alcohole
D. Caffeine
There are substances that God created with nutritious vitamens and minerals in them that we should partake. Such as:
A. Whole Wheat, the staff of life
B. Vegetables
C. Fruits
D. Wholesome Herbs
These are good for the body and the body knows how to digest them unlike man made processed products such as white flour,margarine and sugar and preservatives. It is not in the Word Of Wisdom to not eat those {margarine, sugar, presevatives} that is my addition.
I think butter is better than margarine and honey is a good substitute for sugar.
The word of Wisdom also mentions herbs, that wholesome herbs are good for health.
They are good for seasoning and {I believe} have some healing properties.
In the book of Alma chapter 46:40 it mentions the properties of many plants and roots which God prepared to remove the cause of some diseases.
2. Tithing is another principle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints
Other churches have offerings, you give the amount of money you want to give. The members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints pay ten percent of their annual income. The only other religeons that pay 10% of their money is
the Sikh religeon and Judaism, the Jews. In former times they would give a tenth of their harvest.
The money that the Sikh's pay, is given to the poor. The offerings that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints give, is also given to the poor and imparted to the needy.
This generosity helps the poor and needy.
The church uses some money to send materials, needed items, to places in the world, where there is a need such as those affected by hurricanes and earthquakes and the tsunami. They send some of the things that are stored in storehouses to help the needy members of the church, to those in need who are not members.
I have seen the other faiths help those in need during the time of Katrina.
The church also recommands that debts are paid and better yet they recommend never getting into debt. This is good financial advice.
3. Family Home Evening
You mentioned their unity as families.
The church recommends Monday evening as a time to be with your family and have a spiritual lesson with sciptures and a fun activity afterwards and sometimes accompanied with refreshemnts. It is a time to be together as a family and to ask each person what they want to say to the family or to complement, honor, a family member or to address a problem, to discuss plans for a future event or to establish goals, what they want to accomplish as a family or as individuals.
4. Geneology
This is researching your family history or tree. This family unity can extend to their ancesters.
