The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormonism) by Morgan Deane

1. Quill and Musket Lecturer Series The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormonism)by Morgan Deane

2. History • 1820: Confused by the cacophony of churches in the “burnt over” district” Smith prayed for guidance. In response he says God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared and directed him to reestablish the True Church of Jesus Christ.

3. History Continued • 1830: The Book of Mormon is published and the Church of Jesus Christ founded in New York. Beliefs are found on a later slide. Joseph Smith leads the church as a “prophet”. • 1837: Church rent with division during the financial panic of 1837. Church leaders established a bank and many leading members lost their investments and confidence in the prophet. In combination with the expense of building their first temple, the financial strain tore apart loyalties to Smith. • 1838: Fought the “Mormon War” with their neighbors and the State government in Northern Missouri. Mormon belief in Zion led to friction with non Mormon neighbors and a period of contending vigilante violence. The state government choose sides in an effort to “exterminate” the Mormons. • 1844: Joseph Smith killed by vigilante violence. Led by Brigham Young, the church relocated to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 • 1854: Polygamy announced as an official doctrine. (It had been practiced in secret by selected members before this time.) • 1857-1858: Resisted Federal authority culminating in the Mormon rebellion and largest military action between the Mexican and Civil Wars. As part of the fevered pitch of this era, several hundred settlers were killed in The Mountain Meadows Massacre on September 11th 1857.

4. Mormon Beliefs • Deity: They believe in God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost as united in purpose but separate in being. • Salvation: Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of mankind and it is viable in your life through faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. • Scripture: The Bible and Book of Mormon are the Word of God. (Hence the nickname of the church: Mormon) The Church also has two books of scripture called “The Doctrine and Covenants” and “The Pearl of Great Price” that contain additional revelations and translations of Joseph Smith and later prophets. • Organization: The Church believes in the same organization that existed in the primitive Christian church, namely Apostles, Prophets, and so forth. • The Church claims to be a reestablished of Christ’s original Christian church that fell away, or “apostatized”, in the first and second century BC. • The Church believes in a literal gathering place for God’s covenant people called “Zion”. • The Church invests heavily in Temples. The ceremonies conducted there are considered sacred (often conflated with secret) and absolutely not discussed with the uninitiated. Chapels are open to all. • Families are essential to Mormonism and occupy the center of God’s plan. They church stresses early marriage which last for eternity when performed in the Temples. Monday’s are set aside for family nights which consist of songs, activities, and lesson. (And Monday Night Football in my house)

5. Debates and Conflict in Mormonism • Joseph Smith was from a lower class family who believed in many magical and folk religious practices (including using peep stones to look for buried treasure) This undercuts his claim to find Gold Plates by divine intervention and translating them by the power of God. • Brigham Young (the second Mormon leader) is often cast as a pugnacious dictator. His attempts to build and control Mormon society is one cause of the “Mormon rebellion” of 1857-58. • Mormonism’s temple rituals, and belief in a physical location for Zion created an “us against them” mentality that made it difficult for Mormons to coexist with their neighbors. Many Mormons were also from the Northeast and opposed slavery which really exacerbated tensions in slaveholding Missouri. • Mormonism’s strict hierarchy and sacred (secret) temple ceremonies fueled distrust between Mormons and non Mormons. Mormons worked in a communitarian fashion, which worked to aggravate individualistic neighbors. The control exerted by Mormon leadership (Smith then Young) and the lack of separation between religious and political power seemed unAmerican to many observers. • Polygamy seemed especially odious to the American public. The secret practice of this before 1854 created additional mistrust. The Republican party was founded upon the desire to erase the twin abominations of slavery and polygamy. This practice, combined with the many seemingly unAmerican notions mentioned above prevented Utah statehood until 1896. Polygamy was discontinued in 1890. • The Mountain Meadows Massacre is still hotly debated. Some argue that the theocratic terror inspired by Brigham Young spurred the slaughter of over 300 men, women, and children simply passing through on their way to California. Others say that with the tensions running high with the knowledge of Federal troops on their way, memory of their horrible treatment in Missouri, and the recent murder of one of their church leaders from the same area local church leaders perpetuated a horrible act of vigilante revenge. The current sources identify a letter from Brigham Young that clears him of any direct culpability for ordering the massacre. While critics argue that the “climate” Young created is responsible for it and that it is unlikely that a dictator like Young would have local leaders who would act without his knowledge. • Ironically, despite all of the above issues, Mormons are now seen as the epitome of what it means to be American. Mormons are now seen as hard working, family oriented, honest, and positive people who make good neighbors and better Americans. Reed Smoot was denied his Senate seat in 1903 because of the practice of plural marriage and his Mormonism. (He was seated after a 4 year investigation). In 2011, the Mormon Harry Reid is the Senate Majority leader and Mitt Romney is a serious contender for the Presidency.

6. Bibliography • Bennett, Richard. We'll Find the Place: The Mormon Exodus, 1846-1848. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1997. • Bushman, Richard. A Rough Stone Rolling: A Cultural History of Joseph Smith. New York: Random House Books, 2005. • —. Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction. London: Oxford University Press, 2010. • David Bigler, Will Bagley. The Mormon Rebellion: America's First Civil War 1857-1858. Norman Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 2011. • Givens, Teryl. By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion. London: Oxford University Press, 2002. • Hardy, Grant. Understanding The Book of Mormon: A Reader's Guide. London: Oxford University Press, 2010. • LeSueur, Stephen. The 1838 Mormon War in Missouri. St. Louis: University of Missouri Press, 1987. • Richard Bennett, Susan Easton Black, Donald Cannon. The Nauvoo Legion in Illinois. Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, 2010. • Ronald Walker, Richard Turley, Greg Leonard. Massacre at Mountain Meadows. London: Oxford University Press, 2009.