Mormons

Joseph Smith, Jr. · Jane Manning · Brigham Young Philo Farnsworth · Marie Osmond · Stephenie Meyer Mitt Romney · Harry Reid · Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Total population
over 14 million[1]
Regions with significant populations
United States	about 6.1 million
Mexico	about 1.2 million
Brazil	about 1.1 million
Philippines	about 630,000
Chile	about 560,000
Peru	about 500,000
Argentina	about 380,000
Religions
Mormonism

Mormons ( /ˈmɔrmənz/) are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement, which began with the visions of Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844 the Mormons followed Brigham Young to what would become the Utah Territory. Today a vast majority of Mormons are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) while a minority are members of other churches. Some Mormons are also either independent or non-practicing. The center of Mormon cultural influence is in Utah, and North America has more Mormons than any other continent, though the majority of Mormons live outside the United States.

Mormons have developed a strong sense of communality that stems from their doctrine and history. During the 19th century Mormon converts tended to gather to a central geographic location, and between 1852 and 1890 many Mormons openly practiced plural marriage, a form of religious polygamy. Mormons dedicate large amounts of time and resources to serving in their church, and many young Mormons choose to serve a full time proselytizing mission. Mormons have a health code that eschews alcoholic beverages, tobacco, coffee, tea, and other addictive substances. They tend to be very family-oriented, and have strong connections across generations and with extended family. Mormons also have a strict law of chastity, requiring abstention from sexual relations outside of marriage and strict fidelity within marriage.

Mormons self-identify as Christian, though some of their beliefs differ from mainstream Christianity. Mormons believe in the Bible, as well as other books of scripture, such as the Book of Mormon. They have a unique view of cosmology, and believe that all people are spirit-children of God. Mormons believe that returning to God requires following the example of Jesus Christ, and accepting his atonement through ordinances such as baptism. They believe that Christ's church was restored through Joseph Smith, and is guided by living prophets and apostles. Central to Mormon faith is the belief that God speaks to his children and answers their prayers.

Terminology[link]

The word "Mormons" most often refers to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because of their belief in the Book of Mormon, though members often refer to themselves as Latter-day Saints or sometimes just Saints.^[2] The term has been embraced by most adherents of Mormonism, most notably Mormon fundamentalists, while other Latter Day Saint denominations, such as the Community of Christ, have rejected it.^[3] Both LDS Church members (or Latter-day Saints) and members of fundamentalist groups commonly use the word Mormon in reference to themselves.^[4] The LDS Church, however, disagrees with this self-characterization, and encourages the use of the word Mormon only in reference to LDS Church members.^[5] Church leaders also encourage members to use the church's full name to emphasize its focus on Jesus Christ.^[6] The term Latter-day Saints was given to Smith during a 1838 revelation mentioned in Doctrine and Covenants;^[7] the term "saint" was used by Paul the Apostle to refer to early members of the Christian church – the "later-day" being added to differentiate the modern church from the early church.^[8]

The word Mormon is often associated with polygamy (or plural marriage),^[9] which was a distinguishing practice of many early Mormons; however it was renounced by the LDS Church in 1890,^[10] and discontinued over the next 15 years.^[11] Today, polygamy is practiced only by fundamentalist groups that have broken with the LDS Church.^[12]

History[link]

The history of the Mormons has shaped them into a people with a strong sense of unity and communality.^[13] From the start, Mormons have tried to establish what they call Zion, a utopian society of the righteous.^[14] Mormon history can be divided into three broad time periods: (1) the early history during the lifetime of Joseph Smith, (2) a "pioneer era" under the leadership of Brigham Young and his successors, and (3) a modern era beginning around the turn of the 20th century. In the first period, Smith had tried literally to build a city called Zion, in which converts could gather. During the pioneer era, Zion became a "landscape of villages" in Utah. In modern times, Zion is still an ideal, though Mormons gather together in their individual congregations rather than a central geographic location.^[15]

Beginnings[link]

A stained glass window showing Joseph Smith's First Vision.

Mormons trace their origins to the visions that Joseph Smith reported having in the early 1820s while living in upstate New York.^[16] In 1823 Smith said an angel directed him to a buried book written on golden plates containing the religious history of an ancient people.^[17] Smith published what he said was a translation of these plates in March 1830 as the Book of Mormon, named after Mormon, the ancient prophet-historian who compiled the book, and on April 6, 1830, Smith founded the Church of Christ.^[18] The early church grew westward as Smith sent missionaries to preach the new gospel.^[19] In 1831, the church moved to Kirtland, Ohio where missionaries had made a large number of converts^[20] and Smith began establishing an outpost in Jackson County, Missouri,^[21] where he planned to eventually build the city of Zion (or the New Jerusalem).^[22] In 1833, Missouri settlers, alarmed by the rapid influx of Mormons, expelled them from Jackson County into the nearby Clay County, where local residents took them in.^[23] After Smith led a mission, known as Zion's Camp, to recover the land,^[24] he began building Kirtland Temple in Lake County, Ohio, where the church flourished.^[25] When the Missouri Mormons were later asked to leave Clay County in 1836, they secured land in what would become Caldwell County.^[26]

The Kirtland era ended in 1838, after the failure of a church-sponsored bank caused widespread defections,^[27] and Smith regrouped with the remaining church in Far West, Missouri.^[28] During the fall of 1838, tensions escalated into the 1838 Mormon War with the old Missouri settlers.^[29] On October 27, the governor of Missouri ordered that that the Mormons "must be treated as enemies" and be exterminated or driven from the state.^[30] Between November and April some eight thousand displaced Mormons migrated east into Illinois.^[31]

In 1839, the Mormons converted a swampland on the banks of the Mississippi River into Nauvoo, Illinois^[32] and began construction of the Nauvoo Temple. The city became the church's new headquarters and gathering place, and it grew rapidly, fueled in part by converts immigrating from Europe.^[33] Meanwhile, Smith introduced temple ceremonies meant to seal families together for eternity, as well as the doctrines of eternal progression or exaltation,^[34] and plural marriage.^[35] Smith created a service organization for women called the Relief Society, as well as an organization called the Council of Fifty, representing a future theodemocratic "Kingdom of God" on the earth.^[36] Smith also published the story of his First Vision, in which the Father and the Son appeared to him while he was about 14 years old.^[37] Long after Smith's death, this vision would come to be regarded by some Mormons as the most important event in human history after the birth, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.^[38]

In 1844, local prejudices and political tensions, fueled by Mormon peculiarity and internal dissent, escalated into conflicts between Mormons and "anti-Mormons".^[39] On June 27, 1844, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois.^[40] Because Hyrum was Joseph's logical successor,^[41] their deaths caused a succession crisis,^[42] and Brigham Young assumed leadership over the majority of Saints.^[43] Young had been a close associate of Smith's and was senior apostle of the Quorum of the Twelve.^[44] Smaller groups of Latter Day Saints followed other leaders to form other denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement.^[45]

Pioneer era[link]

A statue commemorating the Mormon handcart pioneers

For two years after Smith's death, conflicts escalated between Mormons and other Illinois residents. To prevent war, Brigham Young led the Mormon pioneers (constituting most of the Latter Day Saints) to a temporary winter quarters in Nebraska and then eventually (beginning in 1847) to what became the Utah Territory.^[46] Having failed to build Zion within the confines of American society, the Mormons began to construct a society in isolation, based on their beliefs and values.^[47] The cooperative ethic that Mormons had developed over the last decade and a half became important as settlers branched out and colonized a large desert region now known as the Mormon Corridor.^[48] Colonizing efforts were seen as religious duties, and the new villages were governed by the Mormon bishops (local lay religious leaders).^[49] The Mormons viewed land as commonwealth, devising and maintaining a co-operative system of irrigation that allowed them to build a farming community in the desert.^[50]

From 1849–52, the Mormons greatly expanded their missionary efforts, establishing several missions in Europe, Latin America, and the South Pacific.^[51] Converts were expected to "gather" to Zion, and during Young's presidency (1847–77) over seventy thousand Mormon converts immigrated to America.^[51] Many of the converts came from England and Scandinavia, and were quickly assimilated into the Mormon community.^[52] Many of these immigrants crossed the Great Plains in wagons drawn by oxen, while some later groups pulled their possessions in small handcarts. During the 1860s newcomers began using the new railroad that was under construction.^[53]

In 1852 church leaders publicized the previously secret practice of plural marriage, a form of polygamy.^[54] Over the next 50 years many Mormons entered into plural marriages as a religious duty, with the number of plural marriages reaching a peak around 1860, and then declining through the rest of the century.^[55] Besides the doctrinal reasons for plural marriage, the practice made some economic sense, as many of the plural wives were single women who arrived in Utah without brothers or fathers to offer them societal support.^[56]

By 1857, tensions had again escalated between Mormons and other Americans, largely as a result of accusations involving polygamy and the theocratic rule of the Utah territory by Brigham Young.^[57] In 1857 President James Buchanan sent an army to Utah, which Mormons interpreted as open aggression against them. Fearing a repeat of Missouri and Illinois, they prepared to defend themselves, determined to torch their own homes in the case that they were invaded.^[58] The relatively peaceful Utah War ensued from 1857 to 1858, in which the most notable instance of violence was the Mountain Meadows massacre, when leaders of a local Mormon militia ordered the killing of a civilian emigrant party that was traveling through Utah during the escalating tensions.^[59] In 1858 Young agreed to step down from his position as governor and was replaced by a non-Mormon, Alfred Cumming.^[60] Nevertheless, the LDS Church still wielded significant political power in the Utah Territory.^[61]

At Young's death in 1877, he was followed by other LDS Presidents, who resisted efforts by the United States Congress to outlaw Mormon polygamous marriages.^[62] In 1878 the Supreme Court ruled in Reynolds v. United States that religious duty was not a suitable defense for practicing polygamy, and many Mormons went into hiding; later, Congress began seizing church assets.^[62] In September 1890, church president Wilford Woodruff issued a Manifesto that officially suspended the practice of polygamy.^[63] Although this Manifesto did not dissolve existing plural marriages, relations with the United States markedly improved after 1890, such that Utah was admitted as a U.S. state. After the Manifesto, some Mormons continued to enter into polygamous marriages, but these eventually stopped in 1904 when church president Joseph F. Smith disavowed polygamy before Congress and issued a "Second Manifesto" calling for all plural marriages in the church to cease. Eventually, the church adopted a policy of excommunicating members found practicing polygamy, and today seeks actively to distance itself from "fundamentalist" groups that continue the practice.^[64]

Modern times[link]

During the early 20th century, Mormons began to reintegrate into the American mainstream. In 1929 the Mormon Tabernacle Choir began broadcasting a weekly performance on national radio, becoming an asset for public relations.^[65] Mormons emphasized patriotism and industry, rising in socioeconomic status from the bottom among American religious denominations to middle-class.^[66] In the 1920s and 1930s Mormons began migrating out of Utah, a trend hurried by the Great Depression, as Mormons looked for work wherever they could find it.^[67] As Mormons spread out, church leaders created programs that would help preserve the tight-knit community feel of Mormon culture.^[68] In addition to weekly worship services, Mormons began participating in numerous programs such as Boy Scouting, a Young Women's organization, church-sponsored dances, ward basketball, camping trips, plays, and religious education programs for youth and college students.^[69] During the Great Depression the church started a welfare program to meet the needs of poor members, which has since grown to include a humanitarian branch that provides relief to disaster victims.^[70]

The 360-member, all-volunteer Mormon Tabernacle Choir

During the latter half of the century, there was a retrenchment movement in Mormonism in which Mormons became more conservative, attempting to regain their status as a "peculiar people".^[71] Though the 1960s and 1970s brought positive changes such as Women's Liberation and the Civil Rights Movement, Mormon leaders were alarmed by the erosion of traditional values, the sexual revolution, the widespread use of recreational drugs, moral relativism, and other forces they saw as damaging to the family.^[72] Partly to counter this, Mormons put an even greater emphasis on family life, religious education, and missionary work, becoming more conservative in the process. As a result, Mormons today are probably less integrated with mainstream society than they were in the early 1960s.^[73]

Although black people have been members of Mormon congregations since Joseph Smith's time, before 1978, black membership was small. From 1852 to 1978, the LDS Church had a policy against ordaining men of African descent to the priesthood.^[74] The church had previously been criticized for its policy during the civil rights movement, but the change came in 1978 and was prompted primarily by problems facing mixed race converts in Brazil.^[75] Mormons greeted the change with joy and relief. Since 1978 black membership has grown, and in 1997 there were approximately 500,000 black members of the church (about 5% of the total membership), mostly in Africa, Brazil and the Caribbean.^[76] Black membership has continued to grow substantially, especially in West Africa, where two temples have been built.^[77] Many black Mormons are members of the Genesis Group, an organization of black members that predates the priesthood ban, and is endorsed by the church.^[78]

Global distribution of LDS Church members in 2009

The LDS Church grew rapidly after World War II and became a world-wide organization as missionaries were sent across the globe. The church doubled in size every 15–20 years,^[79] and by 1996, there were more Mormons outside the United States than inside.^[80] In 2010 there were an estimated 14.1 million Mormons,^[81] with roughly 57% living outside the United States.^[82] A majority of U.S. Mormons are white and non-Hispanic (84%).^[83] Most Mormons are distributed in North and South America, the South Pacific, and Western Europe. The global distribution of Mormons resembles a contact diffusion model, radiating out from the organization's headquarters in Utah.^[84] The church enforces general doctrinal uniformity, and congregations on all continents teach the same doctrines, and international Mormons tend to absorb a good deal of Mormon culture, possibly because of the church's top-down hierarchy and a missionary presence. However, international Mormons often bring pieces of their own heritage into the church, adapting church practices to local cultures.^[85]

Culture and practices[link]

Isolation in Utah had allowed Mormons to create a culture of their own.^[86] As the faith spread around the world, many of its more distinctive practices followed. Mormon converts are urged to undergo lifestyle changes, "repent of their sins," and adopt sometimes foreign standards of conduct.^[86] Practices common to Mormons include studying the scriptures, praying daily, fasting on a regular basis, attending Sunday worship services, participating in church programs and activities on weekdays, and refraining from work on Sundays when possible. Mormons also emphasize standards they believe were taught by Jesus Christ, including personal honesty, integrity, obedience to law, chastity outside of marriage and fidelity within marriage.^[87]

The Salt Lake Temple is one of the most iconic images of the LDS Church

In 2010 Around 13–14% of Mormons lived in Utah: the center of cultural influence for Mormonism.^[88] Utah Mormons (as well as Mormons living in the Intermountain West) are on average more culturally and/or politically conservative than those living in some cosmopolitan centers elsewhere in the U.S.^[89] Utahns self-identifying as Mormon also attend church somewhat more on average than Mormons living in other states. (Nonetheless, whether they live in Utah or elsewhere in the U.S., Mormons tend to be more culturally and/or politically conservative than members of other U.S. religious groups.)^[90] Utah Mormons often place a greater emphasis on pioneer heritage than international Mormons who generally are not descendants of the Mormon pioneers.^[85]

Mormons have a strong sense of communality that stems from their doctrine and history.^[91] LDS Church members have a responsibility to dedicate their time and talents to helping the poor and building the church. The church is divided by locality into congregations called wards with several wards making up a stake.^[92] The vast majority of church leadership positions are lay positions, and church members may work 10–15 hours a week in unpaid church service.^[93] Engaged Mormons also contribute 10 percent of their income to the church as tithing, and are often involved in humanitarian efforts. Many LDS young men choose to serve a two year proselytizing mission, during which they dedicate all of their time to the church, without pay.^[94]

Mormons adhere to the Word of Wisdom, a health law or code that prohibits the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, coffee, and tea, and encourages the use of wholesome herbs, grains, fruits, and a moderate consumption of meat.^[95] The Word of Wisdom is interpreted to also prohibit other harmful and addictive substances and practices, such as the use of illegal drugs and abuse of prescription drugs.^[96] Mormons also oppose addictive behavior such as viewing pornography and gambling.^[87]

The concept of a united family that lives and progresses forever is at the core of Latter-day Saint doctrine, and Mormons place a high importance on family life.^[97] Many Mormons hold weekly family home evenings, in which an evening is set aside for family bonding, study, prayer and other wholesome activities. Latter-day Saint fathers who hold the priesthood typically name and bless their children shortly after birth to formally give the child a name. Mormon parents hope and pray that their children will gain testimonies of the "gospel" so they can grow up and marry in temples.^[98]

Mormons have a strict law of chastity, requiring abstention from sexual relations outside of marriage and strict fidelity within marriage. All sexual activity (heterosexual and homosexual) outside of marriage is considered a serious sin.^[99] Same-sex marriages are not performed or supported by the LDS Church. Church members are encouraged to marry and have children, and Latter-day Saint families tend to be larger than average. Mormons are opposed to abortions, except in some exceptional circumstances, such as when pregnancy is the result of incest or rape, or when the life or health of the mother is in serious jeopardy.^[100] Practicing adult Mormons wear religious undergarments that remind them of sacred covenants and encourage them to dress modestly. Latter-day Saints are counseled not to partake of any form of media that is obscene or pornographic in any way, including media that depicts graphic representations of sex or violence. Tattoos and body piercings are also discouraged, with the exception of a single pair of earrings for LDS women.^[101]

LGBT Mormons, or Mormons who self-identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, remain in good standing in the church if they abstain from homosexual relations and obey the law of chastity.^[102] While there are no official numbers, LDS Family Services estimates that there are on average four or five members per LDS ward who experience same-sex attraction.^[103] Gary Watts, former president of Family Fellowship, estimates that only 10% of homosexuals stay in the church.^[104] Many of these individuals have come forward through different support groups or websites stating their homosexual attractions and concurrent church membership.^[105]

Groups within Mormonism[link]

A Latter Day Saint confirmation circa 1852

Latter-day Saints

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, formally known as Latter-day Saints, constitute over 99% of Mormons.^[106] The beliefs and practices of LDS Mormons are generally guided by the teachings of LDS Church leaders. There are, however, several smaller groups that differ from "mainstream" Mormonism in various ways.

LDS Church members who do not actively participate in worship services or church callings are often called "less-active" (akin to the qualifying expressions non-observant or non-practicing used in relation to members of other religious groups).^[107] The LDS Church does not release statistics on church activity, but it is likely that about 40% of Mormons in the United States and 30% worldwide regularly attend worship services.^[108] Reasons for inactivity can include lifestyle issues and problems with social integration.^[109] Activity rates tend to vary with age, and disengagement occurs most frequently between age 16 and 25. A majority of less active members return to church activity later in life.^[110]

Fundamentalist Mormons

Members of sects that broke with the LDS Church over the issue of polygamy have become known as Fundamentalist Mormons, and differ from mainstream Mormonism primarily in their belief in and practice of plural marriage. There are thought to be between 20,000 and 60,000 members of fundamentalist sects, (0.1–0.4% of Mormons), with roughly half of them practicing polygamy.^[111] There are a number of fundamentalist sects, the largest two being the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church) and the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB). In addition to plural marriage, some of these groups also practice a form of Christian communalism known as the Law of consecration or the United Order. The LDS Church seeks to distance itself from all such polygamous groups, excommunicating their members if discovered,^[112] and a majority of Mormon fundamentalists have never been members of the LDS Church.^[113]

Liberal Mormons

Liberal Mormons take an interpretive approach to LDS teachings and scripture. They look to the scriptures for spiritual guidance, but do not necessarily believe the teachings to be literally or uniquely true. For liberal Mormons, revelation is a process through which God gradually brings fallible human beings to greater understanding.^[114] Liberal Mormons place doing good and loving fellow human beings above the importance of believing correctly.^[115] In a separate context, members of minuscule "progressive" breakaway groups have also adopted the label Liberal Mormon.

Cultural Mormons

Cultural Mormons are individuals who do not believe some (or many) of the doctrines of LDS Church, but who self-identify as Mormon. Usually this is a result of having been raised in the LDS faith, or as having converted and spent a large portion of one's life as an active member of the LDS Church.^[116] Cultural Mormons may or may not be actively involved with the church, and in some cases may not even be officially members of the church.

Ex-Mormons

Ex-Mormons are people who have left the LDS Church. A poll of ex-Mormons found that a majority do not self-identify as a member of another faith, choosing to describe themselves as agnostic, atheist, or simply ex-Mormon. Others either retained belief in God but not in organized religion or became adherents of other faiths.^[117] Ex-Mormon attitudes toward Mormons and Mormonism vary widely. Some ex-Mormons actively proselytize against Mormonism, while some provide only support to others leaving the religion. Other ex-Mormons prefer to avoid the subject entirely.

Beliefs[link]

Mormons have a scriptural canon consisting of the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and a collection of revelations and writings by Joseph Smith known as the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. Mormons however have a fairly open definition of scripture. As a general rule, anything spoken or written by a prophet, while under inspiration, is considered to be the word of God.^[118] Thus, the Bible, written by prophets, is the word of God, so far as it is translated correctly. The Book of Mormon is also believed to have been written by ancient prophets, and is viewed as a companion to the Bible. By this definition, the teachings of Smith's successors are also accepted as scripture, though they are always measured against, and draw heavily from the scriptural canon.^[119]

Mormons see Jesus Christ as the premier figure of their religion.^[120]

Mormons believe in "a friendly universe," governed by a God whose work and glory it is to bring his children to immortality and eternal life.^[121] Mormons have a fairly unique perspective on the nature of God, the origin of man, and the purpose of life. For instance, Mormons believe in a pre-mortal existence where people were literal spirit children of God,^[122] and that God presented a plan that would allow his children to progress and become more like him. The plan involved the spirits receiving bodies on earth and going through trials in order to learn, progress, and receive a "fulness of joy".^[122] The most important part of the plan involved Jesus, the eldest of God's children, coming to earth as the literal Son of God, to conquer sin and death so that God's other children could return. According to Mormons, every person who lives on earth will be resurrected, and most of them will be received into various kingdoms of glory.^[123] To be accepted into the highest kingdom, a person must fully accept Christ through faith, repentance, and through ordinances such as baptism and the laying on of hands.^[124]

According to Mormons, a deviation from the original principles of Christianity, known as the Great Apostasy began not long after the ascension of Jesus Christ.^[125] It was marked with the corruption of Christian doctrine by Greek and other philosophies,^[126] with followers dividing into different ideological groups.^[127] Mormons claim the martyrdom of the Apostles^[128] led to a loss of Priesthood authority to administer the church and its ordinances.^[129] Mormons believe that God restored the early Christian church through Joseph Smith. In particular, Mormons believe that angels such as Peter, James, John, and John the Baptist appeared to Joseph Smith and others and bestowed various Priesthood authorities on them. Mormons believe that their church is the "only true and living church" because of the divine authority restored through Smith. Mormons self-identify as being Christian,^[130] though other Christians (particularly white evangelical Protestants) disagree with this view.^[131] Mormons view other Christian churches as having a portion of the truth, doing good works, and being led by the Light of Christ.^[132]

Though the LDS Church has a top-down hierarchical structure with a president/prophet dictating revelations for the whole church, there is a bottom-up aspect as well. Ordinary Mormons have access to the same inspiration that is thought to guide their prophets, and are encouraged to seek their own personal revelations.^[133] Mormons see Joseph Smith's first vision as proof that the heavens are open, and that God answers prayers. They place considerable emphasis on "asking God" to find out if something is true. Most Mormons do not claim to have had heavenly visions like Smith's in response to prayers, but feel that God talks to them in their hearts and minds through the Holy Spirit. Though Mormons have some beliefs that are considered strange in a modernized world, they continue to hold onto their beliefs because they feel God has spoken to them.^[134]

See also[link]

Latter-day Saints portal

• List of Latter Day Saints
• List of sects in the Latter Day Saint movement: Followers of Brigham Young

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Mormons—PBS American Experience/Frontline: Watch the Full Program Online—Part One: History, Part Two: Church & State
• Patheos + Mormonism – Patheos.com – Mormonism Origins, Mormonism History, Mormonism Beliefs
• lds.org, official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• mormonfundamentalism.com, information on Mormon fundamentalism compiled by Brian C. Hales
• MormonWiki.com free encyclopedia about Mormons from the perspective of members
• "23 Famous People You Didn't Know Were Mormon" – Jack Shepherd, BuzzFeed
• Texts on Wikisource:
  • "Mormons". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921. 
  • "Mormons". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920. 
  •  W. R. Harris (1913). "Mormons". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 
  • "Mormons". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. 
  • I. Woodbridge Riley (1905). "Mormons". New International Encyclopedia. 
  • John Fraser (1883). "Mormons". Encyclopaedia Britannica. 16 (9th ed.). 
  • Robert Carter (1879). "Mormons". The American Cyclopædia. 
  • Mormonism portal

Joseph Smith
Born	(1805-12-23)December 23, 1805
Birth place	Sharon, Vermont, United States
Died	June 27, 1844(1844-06-27) (aged 38)
Death place	Carthage, Illinois, United States
Founder: Latter Day Saint movement
Church Est.	April 6, 1830
Successor	disputed

Joseph Smith, Jr. (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, which gave rise to Mormonism. At age twenty-four Smith published the Book of Mormon, and in the next fourteen years he gathered thousands of followers, built cities and temples, and created a religious culture that survived his death.

Smith was born in Sharon, Vermont; but by 1817, Smith's family had moved to western New York, an area repeatedly swept by religious revivals during the Second Great Awakening. Smith family members held divergent views about organized religion, but they believed in visions and prophecies and engaged in folk religious practices typical of the era. According to Smith, beginning in the early 1820s he had visions, in one of which an angel directed him to a buried book of golden plates inscribed with a Christian history of ancient American civilizations. In 1830, he published what he said was an English translation of these plates as the Book of Mormon, and organized the Church of Christ as a restoration of the early Christian church. Church members were later called Latter Day Saints, Saints, or Mormons.

In 1831, Smith and his followers moved west to Kirtland, Ohio and also established an outpost in Independence, Missouri, where Smith planned to build a city called Zion. In 1837 a bank established by Smith and other church leaders collapsed causing widespread defections. The following year Smith joined his followers in northern Missouri, who had been expelled from Independence by Missourians alarmed at the rapid growth of Mormon communities. The following year conflicts again erupted between Mormons and earlier settlers of Missouri. The Mormons were expelled from the state, and Smith was imprisoned for several months. In 1839, Smith rejoined his followers to settle at Nauvoo, Illinois, where he served as both a spiritual and political leader. In 1844, disaffected Mormons published an exposé criticizing Smith's theocratic aspirations and his practice of polygamy. Three days later the Nauvoo City Council ordered the paper's destruction, precipitating a call to arms of non-Mormons who feared Smith's growing power. During the ensuing turmoil, Smith was imprisoned and killed in Carthage, Illinois.

During his lifetime Smith produced numerous revelations that are regarded as scripture by his followers. His teachings include unique views about the nature of God, cosmology, family structures, political organization, and religious collectivism. His followers regard him as a prophet of at least the stature of Moses and Elijah. Smith's legacy includes a number of religious denominations, including the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which claims a growing membership of more than 14 million worldwide.

Life[link]

Early years (1805–27)[link]

Joseph Smith, Jr. was born on December 23, 1805, in Sharon, Vermont to Lucy Mack Smith and her husband Joseph, a merchant and farmer.^[1] After suffering a crippling bone infection when he was seven, the younger Smith hobbled around on crutches for three years.^[2] In 1816–17, after an ill-fated business venture^[3] and three years of crop failures,^[4] the Smith family moved to the western New York village of Palmyra^[5] and eventually took a mortgage on a 100-acre (40 ha) farm in nearby Manchester town.^[6]

During the Second Great Awakening, the region was a hotbed of religious enthusiasm.^[7] Between 1817 and 1825 there were several camp meetings and revivals in the Palmyra area.^[8] Although the Smith family was caught up in this excitement,^[9] they disagreed about religion.^[10] Joseph Smith became interested in religion at about the age of twelve,^[11] and he participated in church classes,^[12] read the Bible, and reportedly showed an interest in Methodism.^[13] With his family, he also took part in religious folk magic,^[14] a common practice at the time.^[15] Like many people of that era,^[16] both his parents and his maternal grandfather had visions or dreams that they believed communicated messages from God.^[17]

In 1832, Smith wrote that as a youth in about 1820,^[18] while in the "attitude of calling upon the Lord,"^[19] he had a vision in which God told him that his sins were forgiven and that the world had "turned aside from the gospel."^[20] Although this experience was unknown to most early believers,^[21] a later account of the event became known as Smith's First Vision, and its importance to the Mormon faith began to be emphasized during the last two decades of the 19th century.^[22]

A depiction of Joseph Smith's description of receiving the golden plates from the angel Moroni at the Hill Cumorah.

The Smith family supplemented its meager farm income by treasure-digging. Joseph claimed an ability to use seer stones for locating lost items and buried treasure.^[23] To do so, Smith would put a stone in a white stovepipe hat and would then see the required information in reflections given off by the stone.^[24]

In 1823, while praying for forgiveness from his sins,^[25] Smith said he was visited at night by an angel named Moroni, who revealed the location of a buried book of golden plates as well as other artifacts, including a breastplate and a set of silver spectacles with lenses composed of seer stones, which had been hidden in a hill near his home.^[26] Smith said he attempted to remove the plates the next morning but was unsuccessful because the angel prevented him.^[27]

During the next four years, Smith made annual visits to the hill, but each time returned without the plates.^[28] Meanwhile, Smith continued traveling to western New York and Pennsylvania as a treasure seeker and a farmhand.^[29] In 1826, he was brought before a court in Chenango County, New York, for "glass-looking," or pretending to find lost treasure.^[30][31]

While boarding at the Hale house in Harmony, Pennsylvania, Smith met Emma Hale and began courting her.^[32] When Smith asked for Emma's hand, her father, Isaac Hale, objected because Smith was "a stranger" and had no means of supporting his daughter other than money digging.^[33] On January 18, 1827, Smith and Emma "eloped to marry" and the couple began boarding with Smith's parents in Manchester.^[34]

On September 22, 1827, Smith made his last annual visit to the hill, taking Emma with him.^[35] This time, he said, he retrieved the plates and placed them in a locked chest.^[36] He said the angel commanded him not to show the plates to anyone else but to publish their translation, reputed to be the religious record of indigenous Americans.^[37] Joseph later told Emma's parents that his treasure-seeking days were behind him.^[38] Although Smith had left his treasure hunting company, his former associates believed he had double-crossed them by taking for himself what they considered joint property.^[39] They ransacked places where a competing treasure-seer said the plates were hidden,^[40] the occurrence of which caused Smith to claim he could not accomplish the translation in Palmyra.^[41]

Founding a church (1827–30)[link]

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In October 1827, Smith and his pregnant^[42] wife moved from Palmyra to Harmony (now Oakland), Pennsylvania,^[43] aided by money from a comparatively prosperous neighbor Martin Harris.^[44] Living near his in-laws,^[45] Smith transcribed some of the characters (what he called "reformed Egyptian") engraved on the plates and then dictated a translation to his wife.^[46]

In February 1828, Martin Harris arrived to assist with the translation.^[47] Harris took a sample of the characters to a few prominent scholars,^[48] including Charles Anthon, who Harris said initially authenticated the characters and their translation, then recanted upon hearing that Smith had received the plates from an angel.^[49] Anthon later denied this claim^[50] but Harris returned to Harmony in April 1828 motivated to act as Smith's scribe.^[51]

Translation continued until mid-June 1828, until Harris began having doubts about the existence of the golden plates.^[52] Harris importuned Smith to let him take the existing 116 pages of manuscript to Palmyra to show a few family members.^[53] Harris then lost the manuscript—of which there was no copy—at about the same time as Smith's wife Emma gave birth to a stillborn son.^[54] Smith said the angel had taken away the plates and he had lost his ability to translate^[55] until September 22, 1828, when Smith claimed that the plates were restored.^[56]

Smith did not earnestly resume the translation again until April 1829, when he met Oliver Cowdery, who became Smith's scribe.^[57] They worked full time on the translation between April and early June 1829,^[58] and then moved to Fayette, New York where they continued to work at the home of Cowdery's friend Peter Whitmer. When the translation spoke of an institutional church and a requirement for baptism, Smith and Cowdery baptized each other,^[59] with written documents five years later stating that John the Baptist had appeared and ordained them to a priesthood.^[60] Translation was completed around July 1, 1829.^[61] Knowing that potential converts to the planned church might find Smith's story of the plates incredible,^[62] Smith asked a group of 11 witnesses, including Martin Harris and male members of the Whitmer and Smith families, to sign a statement testifying that they had seen the golden plates, and in the case of the latter eight witnesses, had actually hefted the plates.^[63] According to Smith, the angel Moroni took back the plates after Smith was finished using them.^[64]

Cover page of the Book of Mormon, original 1830 edition

The translation, known as the Book of Mormon, was published in Palmyra on March 26, 1830, by printer E. B. Grandin.^[65] Martin Harris financed the publication by mortgaging his farm.^[66] Soon thereafter on April 6, 1830, Smith and his followers formally organized the Church of Christ,^[67] and small branches were established in Palmyra, Fayette, and Colesville, New York.^[68] The Book of Mormon brought Smith regional notoriety,^[69] but also strong opposition by those who remembered Smith's money-digging and his 1826 trial near Colesville.^[70] After Cowdery baptized several new members (including Emma Smith), the Mormons began receiving threats of mob violence.^[71] Before Smith could confirm the new members, he was arrested and brought to trial as a disorderly person.^[72] Though Smith was acquitted, he and Cowdery had to flee Colesville to escape a gathering mob. Probably referring to this period of flight, Smith told years later of hearing the voices of Peter, James, and John who he said gave Smith and Cowdery an apostolic authority.^[73]

When Oliver Cowdery and other church members attempted to exercise independent authority^[74]—as when Book of Mormon witness Hiram Page used his seer stone to locate the American New Jerusalem prophesied by the Book of Mormon^[75]—Smith responded by establishing himself as the sole prophet.^[76] Smith disputed Page's location for the New Jerusalem,^[77] but dispatched Cowdery to lead a mission to Missouri to find its true location^[78] and to proselytize the Native Americans.^[79] Smith also dictated a lost "Book of Enoch," telling how the biblical Enoch had established a city of Zion of such civic goodness that God had taken it to heaven.^[80]

On their way to Missouri, Cowdery's party passed through the Kirtland, Ohio area and converted Sidney Rigdon and over a hundred members of his Disciples of Christ congregation,^[81] more than doubling the size of the church.^[82] Rigdon visited New York and quickly became second in command of the church,^[83] to the discomfort of Smith's earlier followers.^[84] In the face of acute and growing opposition in New York, Smith announced that Kirtland was the "eastern boundary" of the New Jerusalem,^[85] and that the Saints must gather there.^[86]

Life in Ohio (1831–38)[link]

After moving to Kirtland, Ohio in January 1831, Smith mitigated the new converts' exuberant exhibition of spiritual gifts, bringing the Ohio congregation within his own religious authority.^[87] Prior to conversion, the congregation had been practicing a form of Christian communism, and Smith adopted a communal system within his own church, calling it the United Order of Enoch.^[88] At Rigdon's suggestion,^[89] Smith promised the church's elders that in Kirtland they would receive an endowment of heavenly power,^[90] and in the church's June 1831 general conference,^[91] he introduced the greater authority of a High ("Melchizedek") Priesthood to the church hierarchy.^[92]

A mob tarred and feathered Joseph Smith in 1832.

The church grew as new converts poured into Kirtland.^[93] By the summer of 1835, there were fifteen hundred to two thousand Mormons in the vicinity of Kirtland,^[94] many expecting Smith to lead them shortly to the Millennial kingdom.^[95] Though Oliver Cowdery's mission to the Indians was a failure (halted by a Federal agent to the Indian tribes),^{[96] [97]} he sent word he had found the site for the New Jerusalem in Jackson County, Missouri.^[98] After he visited there in July 1831, Smith agreed and pronounced the county's rugged outpost^[99] Independence to be the "center place" of Zion.^[100] Rigdon, however, disapproved of the location, and for most of the 1830s, the church was divided between Ohio and Missouri.^[101] Smith continued to live in Ohio but visited Missouri again in early 1832 in order to prevent a rebellion of prominent Saints, including Cowdery, who believed Zion was being neglected.^[102] Smith's trip was hastened^[103] by a mob of residents led by former Saints who were incensed over the United Order and Smith's political power.^[104] The mob beat Smith and Rigdon unconscious and tarred and feathered them.^[105]

The old Jackson Countians resented the Mormon newcomers for various political and religious reasons.^[106] Mob attacks began in July 1833,^[107] but Smith advised the Mormons to patiently bear them^[108] until a fourth attack, which would permit vengeance to be taken.^[109] Nevertheless, once they began to defend themselves,^[110] the Mormons were brutally expelled from the county.^[111] Under authority of revelations directing Smith to lead the church like a modern Moses to redeem Zion by power^[112] and avenge God's enemies,^[113] he led to Missouri a paramilitary expedition, later called Zion's Camp.^[114] When the camp found itself without support from the governor of Missouri, suffering from cholera, and outnumbered,^[115] Smith provided a revelation explaining that the church was unworthy to redeem Zion, in part because of the failure of the United Order,^[116] and disbanded the expedition.^[117] Redemption of Zion would have to wait until after the elders of the church could receive another endowment of heavenly power,^[118] this time in the Kirtland Temple^[119] then under construction.^[120]

Smith dedicated the Kirtland (Ohio) Temple in 1836.

Zion's Camp failed to improve the situation in Jackson County, and was viewed as a failure,^[121] but it also led to a transformation in Mormon leadership and culture,^[122] and many future church leaders would come from the group.^[123] Just before Zion's Camp left Kirtland, Smith disbanded the United Order^[124] and changed the name of the church to "Church of Latter Day Saints."^[125] After the Camp returned, Smith drew heavily from its participants to establish five governing bodies in the church, all of equal authority to check one another.^[126] The Saints built the Kirtland Temple at great cost,^[127] and at the temple's dedication in March 1836, they participated in the prophesied endowment, a scene of visions, angelic visitations, prophesying, speaking and singing in tongues, and other spiritual experiences.^[128] The period from 1834–1837 was one of relative peace for Joseph Smith.^[129]

After the dedication of the Kirtland temple in late 1837, "Smith's life descended into a tangle of intrigue and conflict,"^[130] and a series of internal disputes led to the collapse of the Kirtland Mormon community.^[131] Smith was accused of false steps in promoting a church-sponsored bank^[132] and of having a relationship with his serving girl, Fanny Alger.^[133] Building the temple left the church deeply in debt, and Smith was hounded by creditors.^[134] After Smith heard about treasure supposedly hidden in Salem, Massachusetts, he traveled there and received a revelation that God had "much treasure in this city."^[135] After a month, he returned empty-handed.^[136] Smith and others church leaders then set up a joint stock company to act as a quasi-bank, establishing the Kirtland Safety Society in January 1837, which issued bank notes capitalized in part by real estate.^[137] Smith invested heavily in the notes^[138] and encouraged the Saints to buy them as a religious duty.^[139] The bank failed within a month.^[140] As a result, the Kirtland Saints suffered intense pressure from debt collectors and severe price volatility.^[141] Smith was held responsible for the failure, and there were widespread defections from the church,^[142] including many of Smith's closest advisers.^[143] After a warrant was issued for Smith's arrest on a charge of banking fraud, Smith and Rigdon fled Kirtland for Missouri on the night of January 12, 1838.^[144]

Life in Missouri (1838–39)[link]

After leaving Jackson County, the Saints in Missouri established the town of Far West. Smith's plans to redeem Zion in Jackson County had lapsed by 1838,^[145] and after Smith and Rigdon arrived in Missouri, Far West became the new Mormon "Zion."^[146] In Missouri, the church also received a new name: the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,"^[147] and construction began on a new temple.^[148] Soon after Smith and Rigdon arrived at Far West, hundreds of disaffected Saints in Kirtland, suddenly realizing "the enormity of their loss," followed them to Missouri.^[149] Smith encouraged the settlement of land outside Caldwell County, instituting a stake in Adam-ondi-Ahman.^[150] Also during this time, a church council expelled many of the oldest and most prominent leaders of the church.^[151] Prominent Mormons such as John Whitmer, David Whitmer, and W. W. Phelps were excommunicated for various reasons related to land purchases,^[152] and in April 1838, Smith attended the trial of his close friend, Oliver Cowdery, who was charged with denying the faith, leaving his calling to make money, insinuating that Smith was guilty of adultery, and urging vexatious lawsuits against Mormons.^[153]

Though Smith hated violence, his experiences led him to believe that his faith's survival required greater militancy against anti-Mormons and Mormon traitors.^[154] Around June 1838, recent convert Sampson Avard formed a covert organization called the Danites^[155] to intimidate Mormon dissenters and oppose anti-Mormon militia units.^[156] Sidney Rigdon was working to restore the United Order, but lawsuits by Oliver Cowdery and other dissenters threatened that plan.^[157] After Rigdon issued a thinly veiled threat in a sermon,^[158] the Danites expelled the dissenters from the county.^[159] While it is unclear how much Smith knew of the Danites,^[160] he at least partially approved of their activities.^[161] In a keynote speech at the town's Fourth of July celebration, Rigdon issued threats against non-Mormon aggressors, promising a "war of extermination" against mobs, should Mormons be attacked.^[162] After Rigdon's oration, Smith allowed the speech to be published as a pamphlet.^[163] Rigdon's July 4 oration produced a flood of anti-Mormon rhetoric in Missouri newspapers and stump speeches during the political campaign leading up to the 1838 Missouri elections.^[164]

Violence erupted on August 6, 1838 in Daviess County, where Mormon influence was increasing because of their new settlement of Adam-ondi-Ahman,^[165] when non-Mormons in Gallatin sought to prevent Mormons from voting. Although there were no immediate deaths,^[166] the election-day scuffles initiated the 1838 Mormon War,^[167] which quickly escalated as non-Mormon vigilantes raided and burned Mormon farms.^[168] Meanwhile, under Smith's general oversight and command,^[169] the Danites and other Mormon forces pillaged non-Mormon towns.^[170] During this time, Smith and other Mormon leaders helped inflame Mormon sentiment with militant rhetoric including a promise to "establish our religion with the sword" if molested.^[171] His rhetoric perhaps produced greater militancy among Mormons than he had intended.^[172] When Mormons attacked the Missouri state militia at the Battle of Crooked River in an attempt to rescue some captured Mormons,^[173] Governor Boggs ordered that the Mormons be "exterminated or driven from the state."^[174] Before word of this order got out, non-Mormon vigilantes surprised and killed about 18 Mormons in the Haun's Mill massacre, effectively ending the war.^[175]

Smith was held for four months in Liberty jail.

On November 1, 1838, the Saints surrendered to 2,500 state troops, and agreed to forfeit their property and leave the state.^[176] Smith was immediately court-martialed for treason, and nearly executed, but militiaman Alexander Doniphan, who was also the Saints' attorney, probably saved Smith's life, arguing that Smith was a civilian.^[177] Smith was then sent to a state court for a preliminary hearing,^[178] where several of his former allies, including Danite commander Sampson Avard, testified against him.^[179] Smith and five others, including Rigdon, were charged with "overt acts of treason,"^[180] and transferred to the jail at Liberty, Missouri to await trial.^[181]