Mormon

. Prior to Elway, Denver had had over two dozen different starting quarterbacks in its twenty-three seasons to that point. Elway would remain the quarterback through five Super Bowls, three under head coach Dan Reeves and two under Mike Shanahan, and would end his career as the MVP of Super Bowl XXXIII, his last NFL game. Mormon theolgy is often a subject of popular culture, usually in a satirical context, as in the case of South Park and its representation of the religion and its adherants. Originally drafted by the Baltimore Colts as the number one pick of the draft, Elway proclaimed that he would shun football in favor of baseball unless he was traded to a selected list of other teams, which included Denver. Often their door-to-door missionary work is compared with the Jehovah's Witnesses. Quarterback John Elway arrived in 1983. They are viewed as superstitious and knowledgable about geneology. Prior to 1977 season, Denver had received very little national attention and was rarely featured on nationally-televised games.

Mormons, when they appear in movies and television shows are often presented as blond, having large families, and very religious. Rookie coach Red Miller along with the Orange Crush Defense and aging quarterback Craig Morton, promptly took Denver to its first playoff appearance -- and ultimately first Super Bowl -- in 1977. "Amish" was translated incorrectly to "Mormon". In 1973, John Ralston coached the now-mature Broncos to a 7-5-2 record, including a dramatic tie with Oakland in Denver's first-ever Monday Night Football appearance that is still remembered as a pivotal game in Bronco history. Ralston coached the team until 1976, when well-publicized clashes between Ralston and his players led to Ralston's removal. One source of confusion comes from the mistranslation of the movie Witness (starring Harrison Ford) into Spanish, French, and Italian. In 1967, under head coach Lou Saban, Denver took the field with almost two dozen rookies on its roster; though Saban's tenure was unsuccessful, it set the stage for later successes. For example, both Quakers and Mennonites (which include the Amish) are traditionally strict pacifists (and are both peace churches) whereas Mormons are not. Denver, in fact, came close to losing its franchise in 1965, but a local ownership group took control that year and began to build the team.

The groups also have numerous doctrinal differences. It is odd to remember a time, then, when Denver was the lowliest of teams, managing its first winning season in 1973 after thirteen years of futility. Mormons originated separately from these groups: Mormons originated in the United States; Quakers and Mennonites originally came from Western Europe. Denver has reached the Super Bowl six times, winning it in the 1997 and 1998 seasons. Despite some misconceptions over similar nicknames and stereotypes, Mormons are not the same religious group as Quakers (or members of the Religious Society of Friends), Mennonites, or Amish. Despite their relative lack of early success, the Broncos produced some memorable games, like the 38-38 tie against the Buffalo Bills in 1960. The term "Utah Mormon" is also popularly used today by American members of the LDS Church, to describe perceived cultural differences and/or geographical positioning between members who live in or originated in Utah, as opposed to members elsewhere. They were the first pro football team to wear vertically-striped socks (and the first to burn their socks in a public ceremony!).

These new terms have begun to gain a following among historians today. They were the first AFL team ever to defeat an NFL team, on August 5, 1967 when they beat the Lions 13-7. Addressing some of the limitations of the Utah/Missouri designations, historian Jan Shipps has now coined the terms Rocky Mountain Saints and Prairie Saints to rename the "Utah" and "Missouri" branches of the movement. They had the first black place-kicker in professional football, Gene Mingo. Both the terms "Utah Mormons" and "Missouri Mormons" are also problematic because the majority of members of each of these branches no longer live in either of these states. The majority of the membership of the LDS church today resides outside of the United States. The Broncos won the first-ever American Football League game, over the Boston Patriots (13-10) on September 9, 1960. The Utah Mormon group includes all the organizations descending from those Mormons who followed Brigham Young to what is now Utah, both The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other smaller breakoff organizations, including groups that still practice plural marriage — the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Kingston clan, the True & Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days and others scattered in usually isolated communities mostly in Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Colorado, British Columbia, Alberta, and Mexico. Although the Denver Broncos' 39-97-4 record was the worst of any of the original eight American Football League teams', the franchise had many proud moments and several AFL superstars, including Lionel Taylor and Floyd Little.

Strang Smith's legitimate successor. Since 2001, they have played at INVESCO Field at Mile High, built next to the former site of Mile High Stadium. Notable exceptions include the Pennsylvania-based Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) which considers Sidney Rigdon Joseph Smith's rightful successor and the Wisconsin-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) which considers James J. Mile High Stadium was one of the NFL's loudest stadiums, with steel flooring instead of concrete, which may have given the Broncos an advantage over opponents. (Not all "Missouri Mormon" groups are based in Missouri, however. For most of their history they played in Mile High Stadium, which became one of the shrines of professional football for its unbroken string of sell-outs and its famous home-field advantage percentage for the Broncos, especially during the post-season. In this scheme, Missouri Mormons are those Mormons who did not travel to Utah, and the organizations formed from them — the Community of Christ, Church of Christ (Temple Lot), Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, etc. In their first four appearances, they suffered successively lopsided defeats, achieving near-legendary status as frustrated losers before winning back-to-back Super Bowl championships in 1998 and 1999 under quarterback John Elway and coach Mike Shanahan.

Some scholars, such as Melton, in his Encyclopedia of American Religion, subdivide the Mormons into "Utah Mormons" and "Missouri Mormons". A charter member of the American Football League, they were a backwater small-market team that met with little success in their early years but have since become one of the elite franchises of the league after having advanced to the Super Bowl six times. Mormonism had a number of similarities to Campbellite teachings, and many of Mormonism's first adherents (including Sidney Rigdon) were previously Campbellites. The Denver Broncos are a National Football League team based in Denver, Colorado. Sometimes "Restorationist" or "Restoration Movement" are used as umbrella terms, for those derived from the Campbellites or Stone-Campbell churches, for example, the Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ. Gary Zimmerman. Despite this perspective, the term "Mormon Fundamentalist" is widely used by Latter Day Saints (including members of the LDS church and the fundamentalists themselves) and by people outside the movement. Rick Upchurch.

Claims for exclusivity of usage are primarily to avoid confusion between the LDS Church and "Mormon Fundamentalist" groups. The LDS Church argues "Mormon", "Mormon fundamentalist" and "Mormon dissident" in reference to organizations or groups outside of the LDS Church (especially those that practice plural marriage) is a misunderstanding of Mormon theology, in particular the principle of continuous revelation and Priesthood authority. Jim Turner. In a press release (http://www.lds.org/newsroom/page/0,15606,3899-1---15-168,00.html) from 2001, the LDS Church stated that the word "Mormon" as an adjective in such expressions as "Mormon pioneers", "Mormons" as a noun in reference to church members, and "Mormonism" as a doctrine, culture, and lifestyle were all acceptable. Lionel Taylor (born 1935, first receiver with 100 catches in a season (1961)). Although the LDS Church objects to the use of the referrent "Mormon Church", it stops short of rejecting the terms "Mormonism" and "Mormon" and occasionally claims these terms as exclusive references only to itself and its members. Dennis Smith. This style suggestion is rarely followed because of the ambiguity of the abbreviation and most still use the previous abbreviation, "LDS Church". Shannon Sharpe.

By the 1970s, because the term had become so common, the LDS church began to use the term "Mormon" in advertising, including well-known television commercials which ended: "A message from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: The Mormons." More recently the organization has asked the media to use the church's complete name and follow any second reference with the name "The Church of Jesus Christ", to recognize Jesus Christ's importance to the faith. Clinton Portis. For many years it was common for members to use quotes around the word "Mormon" — to indicate that this is something non-Mormons called Latter-day Saints. Craig Morton. The LDS church has changed its position on the term "Mormon" over time. John Mobley. These groups often refer to themselves as "Mormon fundamentalists" and call members of the LDS church "mainstream Mormons". Gene Mingo (first black field goal kicker in professional football, 1960).

This usage is also problematic regarding churches that split from the LDS Church in the 20th Century — some of which continue to refer to themselves as "Mormons". Karl Mecklenburg. However, this usage is problematic because if it is employed, members of the early Latter Day Saint movement prior to schisms of the Latter Day Saint succession crisis should likewise not be referred to as "Mormons". Wahoo McDaniel. churches that resulted from the split after [Joseph] Smith's death.". Ed McCaffrey. The Associated Press Stylebook likewise notes: "The term Mormon is not properly applied to the other .. Floyd Little (born 1942).

Members of the Community of Christ, for example, rarely use the term "Mormon" to describe themselves, and instead apply it to members of the LDS Church. Tom Jackson. However, some feel the terms "Mormon" and "Mormonism" should be used exclusively to refer to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS Church). Abner Haynes. Some scholars feel the terms "Mormon" and "Mormonism" are useful to collectively describe all denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement, who claim to originate from the religion founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. Gaston Green. In fact, because many individuals are most familiar with the title "Mormon", the LDS Church maintains an official website presenting its basic beliefs and tenets at www.mormon.org. Randy Gradishar.

The official name of the church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Goose Gonsoulin (born 1938). When speaking of the church itself rather than the members, the term "Mormon Church" is colloquial. Cookie Gilchrist (born 1935). Some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prefer to be called "Latter-day Saints" or "LDS" rather than "Mormons", while others generally use the term "LDS" when speaking to fellow church members and "Mormon" when speaking to others. Olandis Gary. It originated as a derogatory term, but the name soon lost most of its negative connotation, and is generally not considered offensive today. Miller Farr.

had been called as a prophet of God, and who accepted "The Book of Mormon" as scripture translated by Smith. Tony Dorsett. The name "Mormon" (also "Mormonite") was first used in the 1830s for those who believed that Joseph Smith, Jr. Terrell Davis (third player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season). The term Mormon is a colloquial name most often used to refer to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Mike Croel. Dale Carter.

Steve Atwater. Floyd Little - #44. Frank Tripucka - #18. John Elway - #7.

Al Wilson. Trevor Pryce. Rod Smith. Jerry Rice.

Jake Plummer. John Lynch. Ashley Lelie. Jason Elam.

Champ Bailey. John Elway (2004).