Early Mormon Pioneers sacrificed much along the challenging journey. Many of the Mormon pioneers arrived only because of the helpful sharing with each other along the way that branded those early pioneers. After arriving in Utah, they wanted to further their Utopian movement. Mormons consecrated their talents and meager funds all together, to begin construction of the Salt Lake City temple (Scott).
The Utopian society of Mormon’s believed that the legacy, authority, and influence of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for their perfect world, stems from the highest “reality” that the Church 's beginning was celestial: in other words, the Mormon history is not that of man 's reorganization but of God 's re-establishment of the truth within their perfect Utopian society. Thus, a restoration of the original church of Jesus Christ and the apostles was vital; improvement alone, was not enough. The Mormon members and followers believe that many truths had been lost over history and over time when the power to act in God’s name was taken from the earth. They believed it went with the executions of the apostles. The followers of this movement and community believe that restoration was and is still crucial as a prelude to the second coming of Christ. Today the church has a worldwide community of approximately 15 million members and faithful followers (Utopia and Dystopia).
Today, with over seven million members in the United States alone, Mormonism is among the fastest
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.
Mormonism was founded in the 1820s’ by Joseph Smith. Smith, wanting to expand his religious following migrated to Illinois where he established a settlement that included a temple of worship and a village (Green 57). In Illinois the Mormon peoples’ were met with threats, violence, and occasionally they were even killed. This was the case for their leader Joseph Smith; Smith was met with disgust from non-mormons when he attempted to run for presidency and his church riddled with scandal when the word of polygamy got out. With his tarnished reputation, Smith was ultimately murdered by an outraged mob, who then threatened other Mormons that if they did not leave they would be met with the same fate (Mormons into the West). With that warning, the Mormons picked a new leader, Brigham Young, who wanted to flee the American Border. Young set for travel with his new followers to the Great Salt Lake, which at the time was located in Mexico.
He provided a good example due to the Market Revolution in the early 1800s. Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, or Mormonism, created another model of a religious utopia (Keene, 301). Smith grew up in western New York, where the fires of the Great Awakening burned hot. In Smith’s Christian Religion environment, had a revelation on which Mormonism was based (Keene, 301). The Book of Mormon was published in Palmyra, New York, in 1830 and this town became the site of one of the earliest Mormon communities (Keene 301). Smith was influenced by the widespread belief that the millennium was at hand, bringing with it an end to debt and the return of Christ and a new era of peace, happiness, and prosperity. Smith’s revelations detail struck a resonant chord with small farmers and etc whose experience with the expanding market economy had been largely negative (Keene 301). The revelation attracted thousands of followers. Joseph Smith members were popularly known as Mormons. With the exception of the first generation of Mormon converts, American society does not seem to have been receptive to him; they were pushed from one location to another, and eventually after Smith’s assassination, they moved to Utah. Prior to their exodus the Mormons endured a long period of internal dissension and harassment by their non-Mormon
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
uniqueness of the Mormon religion is that it was the first church to have begun in the United
The Mormons understood that they needed to take a proactive approach in discovering new members, especially in the beginning of their movement. Mormons also had traveling missionaries to spread their message and recruit new members and followers. A final reason that the Mormon religion was able to flourish for years after its inception was its willingness to change their views on polygamy after being pressured by the American public (Scott). The Mormon Church eventually decided they would no longer endorse polygamy. Today, Mormonism is a growing world religion, while there are no Oneida Perfectionists left today and only a handful of practicing Shaker women remain in parts of New England. There are over twelve million practicing Mormons worldwide,
In the two-part series, The Mormons, this four hour documentary by Frontline and the American Experience examines the development and growth of the Mormon faith. The documentary explores both the history and the present reality of the Mormon faith, allowing the viewer inside the compelling and often misunderstood religion. The first part of this documentary explores the birth of Mormonism and the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under the charismatic leadership of Joseph Smith, while the second segment studies the contemporary Mormon Church (including the discussion of Mormon missionaries, homosexuality, and the role of women). Although I was aware of some of the history of Mormonism (my mom was raised in the LDS
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has been the center of much attention throughout modern history, whether it be about the polygamists, the Book of Mormon, or Joseph Smith seeing God, or the restored priesthood. Though the church is known to have these forms of controversies, we see through history that no organization or group is free from mistakes and criticism. Throughout history in general, there has always been some sort of religious contention around the globe. A large point of contention then and even now is the factor of race in religion and the certain rules and restrictions implemented into the religion regarding race.
Mormonism is a religious group part of the main branch of the Latter Day Saints movement, led by Joseph Smith in New York during the 1820s. Mormons believed in the Bible, as well as other scriptures, such as the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon was about Jesus’s travels around the Americas. They also believed that it was Christian to have more than one wife, but to non-Mormons this was abhorrent. Many violent outbreaks have occurred with Mormons and their neighboring states. Technically, Mormons didn’t have a choice to move or not. Because of their different religion, they were forced West, all the way from New York to Utah. Utah had a very open government allowing the Mormons to vote and have a say in government decisions. It also provided
The Mormon Church was organized in 1830, as a collectivist society where the good of the church was more important than the individual. In those days, when the church gave a member an assignment, including leaving the family to go on a mission, moving to a new location, or allowing a husband to marry another wife, and performed these tasks no matter the personal sacrifice required. The collectivist practice of the United Order was instituted in the late 1800’s in a small town in Southern Utah called Orderville. My Great-grandparents were part of this system where
Salt Lake City may be known to most outsiders for a singular thing. But, there is far more to “The Crossroads of the West” than the cultural attractions directly related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church. The attractions associated with the church are quite spectacular and will get their due in this article as well. We aim to
Would you like to worship self? Would you like to believe in a God that is almost exactly like humanity? Would you like to be your own savior one day? Then Mormonism is the religion for you! Through the study of Mormonism, I was able to see some stark contrasts with other major world religions. After observing the Mormon beliefs about God, humankind, and creation, I was able to see a related pattern of heretical statements that clearly contradict the doctrinal teachings of the Christian church.
The story of its creation and Joseph Smith is an example myth. The history of the religion is mythic, Mormons believe that the hebrew societies of the Lamanites and Nephites lived in North America(Lamanites). The Lamanites rejected the teachings of the gospel until the birth of Jesus Christ, however, two hundred years after Christ visited North America the two factions became wicked and the Nephites wiped out the Lamanites in war(Lamanites). The angel Moroni is believed to be the last Nephite, he wrote the plates of Mormon in the hopes someone would find them and preach Nephite values(Moroni, Son of Mormon). The faith is heavily influenced by
“The chief feature of the Mormon Church, more formally known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, that distinguishes it from the many variations of mainstream Christianity is that Mormons believe not only in the Bible but also in another scripture, The Book of Mormon” (Fisher, 2005, pp. 453-454).
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