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Mormonism Research Paper

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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

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