With 14 million followers, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a very interesting religion for many different reasons. Mormons, as they are commonly known, have an interesting origin, different traditions, and a fascinating founder. Mormonism is the term used for describing the practice and beliefs of followers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The core belief is that a prophet named Joseph Smith restored doctrines of the church to earth. Smith became the founder of what is now considered The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and widely followed. One of the ideas most central to the Mormons is their love for Jesus Christ, the savior. That idea is stated very well when Joseph Smith said, “The fundamental …show more content…
Joseph Smith, the future founder of the Mormon Church, claimed that he had visions. Whilst living in upstate New York in the 1820s, Joseph Smith said that an angel spoke to him to find something. That angel, Moroni, told him that there were inhabitants in America long ago and that there was a book about it. He claims that he was directed towards a buried book written on sacred golden plates that contained the religious history of the very ancient people. After finding the plates, he published a translation of the plates in 1830 named The Book of Mormon. Smith used seer stones, “Urim and Thummim” that were buried with the golden plates, to translate the plates into English. Smith was able to build a following because many people were amazed that somebody was able to talk to an …show more content…
Smith claims that he had begun recieveing messages at age 14. Smith received messages from Jesus Christ, God, and other messengers such as angels. A few years later, at age 17, the angel, Moroni, visited Smith. Moroni was the one who told him about the mysterious Golden plates that told the story of the Israelites who left Jerusalem in 600 BC and came to North America once they received a calling from god. The plates also said that the Israelites set up civilizations here in America and viewed an appearance by Jesus after his crucifixion and later resurrection. This angel Moroni had the name that gave inspiration for the title, “The Book of Mormon.” Martin Harris helped Smith in the writing of “The Book of Mormon”. Smith told Harris to write down words that Smith was translating from the plates through the use of seer stones that Moroni told him about. Martin Harris finished the writing and brought it home to his wife who did not believe the story. The partially written book was lost and Smith claimed that he was punished for the loss of it. The angel came and took the plates and Smiths ability to translate. Months later, the angel returned the plates to him and he resumed the translation and dictation in April 1829 with Oliver Cowdery as his new scribe. At one point, the story required baptism and Smith and Cowdery baptized each other in order to complete the book, which they did in July of 1829. On the 6th day of April in 1830, The
A homegrown religion originating in the late 1820s, Mormonism arose as a rejection of the existing Christian sects and a return to what the Mormons considered to be pure Christianity. Similarly, the members believed their desire for a new kind of government stemmed from their disillusionment with what they believed was a corrupt government and a desire for the reestablishment of true American values and the original intent of the founding fathers. This sentiment is epitomized by Joseph Smith’s presidential platform, which states “No honest man can doubt for a moment, the glory of American liberty is on the wane; and that calamity and confusion will sooner or later destroy the
Mormon culture has developed over the years in many different ways. I never knew its significance until I observed many different people’s lives on the Brigham Young University-Idaho’s campus. They all have the similar beliefs, ideas, knowledge, behavior, material creations that are learned and shared, which was transmitted through a language. The specific culture shares many beliefs, but yet there are differences in these subcultures that we find in Mormonism. The differences have to do with their personalities, personal influences, and the opinions that come out of those things.
Mormonism is known as one of the most successful (in present time) and government involved religions from the 1800’s. Joseph Smith, who had much curiosity in religion, and what was real and what was made up, founded the religion. He claimed that Jesus Christ and God himself visited him and that they told him, .all denominations have strayed from the truth and that he should not join any of them. After that event, he didn’t think much of it and moved on through his life. Once he told his father of his vision, he was scorned, and went to seek forgiveness. When praying for his sins to be relinquished he received a vision by the angel named Moroni, who spoke of a book written on gold plates and buried in a nearby hillside. As Smith went to the gold plates, he continued translating what became the Book of
Smith’s and Bradford’s Journey Captain John Smith and Governor William Bradford were both influential men during the seventeenth century. They were both American writers that came to America to write about the New World. Their writings of the two writers describe the advantages and disadvantages of coming to the New World. Although these two men have similarities, they also have differences between them.
By March, 1830, Smith translated and compiled them into the first edition of the Book of Mormon. According to Smith, “…when he found and translated the plates, they told of a lost tribe of Israel that migrated to the Americas many hundreds of years ago” (Online Nevada Encyclopedia). This “lost tribe” was led by Lehi, the first American forefather, and several of his sons – Nephi, Laman, and Lemuel. Initially, civilization remained in balance between “fair” and “righteous” Nephites and their more aggressive Lamanite brethren (Hickman 429). Eventually, the warlike Lamanites united against their neighbors and all but decimated the Nephite population. Due to this contemptuous, God cursed Laman and Lemuel with a “…skin of blackness”, in an effort to separate their progeny from the “record-keeping” Nephites (2 Nephi 5:21; Alma 3:8) (429). Most contemporary LDS view “Nephites” as authors of the Book of Mormon (Angel Moroni was a Nephite), and “Lamanites” as ancestors of American Natives
On April 6, 1980, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka the Mormon Church) was founded. [It is interesting to note that according to Mormon doctrine (Doctrine and Covenants 20:1), April 6 is the birthday of Jesus Christ.] 10 years prior to this event, in 1820, fourteen-year-old Joseph Smith
The Book of Genesis is known to be shown from a book. It is in the Hebrew Bible and part of the Christian Old Testament. However, The Navajo Origin stories are often told by generation of families. They are an example of oral transmission of stories. As explained, “It is probably the oldest form of history making...They may not always provide an accurate record of what happened, but stories do offer insights into the lives of the people who told and heard them, and into how they recalled the pass and understood change” (Calloway 40). Many of the Native Americans believed that their history should be told like storytelling rather than formal compared to the christians. They used their imagination, telling their stories as part of an
Two of these denominations were the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the African Methodist Episcopal. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - commonly known as Mormons was founded by Joseph Smith; he was inspired to create a new church faction by the revivals he experienced in the western area of New York called the "Burned Over District-" implying it had been "scorched" by so many revivals. Although not regarded as a splinter off from an existing Protestant denomination but a restoration of primitive Christianity having distinctive post-biblical doctrines, the Mormon Church is now a flourishing, worldwide denomination. On the other hand, during the revivals, Baptists and Methodists converted large numbers of blacks. However, because of the mistreatment they received from their fellow believers, under the leadership of Richard Allen, the black population broke away from the Methodist church while creating their own denomination; the African Methodist Episcopal.10 Both churches mentioned above, having developed and sprouted out other denominations over the years, still stand even today.
His ability to bring people together is what made the transition to Mormonism so easy. One of the most powerful factors operating within Mormonism that explains much of its success is the sense of collective responsibility for the welfare of all its members, almost from the beginning Mormons took care of their own (Remini 88). The Mormon Church also operated differently than all the others, which new believers liked. Besides the proselytizing skills of its members, there are no clergymen in the Mormon Church, a fact that appealed to many Americans who abominated privilege and deference in this democratic age (Remini 86). Joseph Smith’s revelations made him a God among the mortals, the last enlightened person since the passing of the last biblical apostles, which gave him immense power over the aspect of religion.
Based upon the information gathered from Robert Millet about the Mormon perspectives on their religion. The Mormons renounced a distant, unknowable god of the Neoplatonists God of philosophers and worshiping a God, who possesses every divine attribute.(251 Metzger) Some of the Mormons views of God is similar in nature to the Christianity God. Joseph Smith, who is the founder of the Mormons, do realize God is an omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent God. He also knows God is a Holy God, who desire to reveal himself to his people. Muck points out; Mormons believe in the Jesus Christ of the New Testament. They believe "salvation is in Christ and that it comes by and through his holy name. The Mormons
Who are the Mormons? The Mormons are a religious group, who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint. The Mormons were founded on April 6, 1830 by Joseph Smith, in Fayette, New York.
Mormonism is a religion created by Joseph Smith on April 6, 1830(The Mormon Trail), its believers are referred to as Mormons and practice the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS Church) (The Mormon Trail). Smith believed himself to be a prophet destined to “restore the original pure church the Christians in the Book of Mormon had created (Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion).” However, he was killed by a mob in Illinois but was replaced by his successor, Brigham Young. Their beliefs include a particular set of deity, afterlife, and they practice polygamy, which is one of the reasons the Mormons sought religious freedom.
The Book of Mormon effectively satirizes the relatively new religion of Mormonism. Created by Joseph Smith, the religion claims that Jesus actually lived in the modern-day United States. Smith was divinely inspired after finding the “Golden Plates” and wrote what became the Book of Mormon. Mormonism has grown exponentially in recent times, some figures suggesting by the millions within the past couple of decades. In 2011, The Book of Mormon first aired in an attempt to “poke fun” at Mormonism by criticizing its beliefs and ritualistic practices.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the Mormon church. The website, Mormon.org, has a home page that focusses on education and creating an environment for Mormon followers to meet people of the same faith. Easily accessible from the home page is a link to learn more about the Mormon religion. Clicking on the link pulls up a new page with more links. Through these links, the site aims to inform the visitor about what Mormons believe, what books and texts they follow, and the founding of the religion and church. Each link has title followed by a brief description. For instance, the link “Jesus Christ, Our Savior” is followed by the text, “Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the (ours and yours) Savior of the world. His life and
Mormonism is a name meaning the spiritual principles of followers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well known as Mormons. Mormonism defines the guidelines of the Church that were reestablished to the world by the Prophet Joseph Smith. If you would ask the question “what is Mormonism” to a member, there’s a high change they would respond by acknowledging their love of Jesus Christ, he is the dominant part of the religion. Where can you find a continuing participant of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, well they're instituted at every level of civilization. For instance, in a charity, business, education, science, political parties, government, news media, and lastly the entertainment productions. The originator of The Church, Joseph Smith, wrote, “the essential philosophies of our religion are regarding Jesus christ, he died and was buried, rose again and on the third day ascended into the heavens; all supplementary things which relate to our religion is only accessories to it.”The main beliefs and practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are that Jesus Christ is the redeemer of the earth and the Son of our