Three Fold Mission of the Church:
“My brothers and sisters, as the Brethren of the First Presidency and the Twelve… we are impressed that the mission of the Church is threefold:
-To proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people;
-To perfect the Saints by preparing them to receive the ordinances of the gospel and by instruction and discipline to gain exaltation;
-To redeem the dead by performing vicarious ordinances of the gospel for those who have lived on the earth.
All three are part of one work—to assist our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, in Their grand and glorious mission “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39.)
President Spencer W. Kimball. April 1981 General Conference Address, “A Report of My Stewardship”.
Four Fold Mission of the Church:
Elder Dallin H. Oaks introduced President Thomas S. Monson’s additional 4th purpose of the Church that would be added to the new Church handbook…
“…since 1981, some have given excessive attention to definitions and boundaries among these three applications of the Lord’s work, at times overlooking their common doctrinal foundation and excluding other essential elements, such as caring for the poor.
This new handbook restores the original emphasis on one foundation of spiritual doctrine to describe the Church’s overall “purpose,” “…to assist in His work to bring to pass the salvation and exaltation of His children.”
“…in fulfilling its purpose to help individuals and families qualify for exaltation, the Church focuses on divinely appointed responsibilities.”
Those responsibilities are then described to include the following:
– “Helping members live the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
– “Gathering Israel through missionary work.”
– “Caring for the poor and needy.”
– “Enabling the salvation of the dead by building temples and performing vica
See also: 2010 Church Handbook, Book 2, section 2.2