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. The migration to the Great Salt Lake was an excruciating journey, spanning thousands of miles. When the Mormons reached the Great Salt Lake they understood why no one had settled on the land before. Vast amounts of acres and a large body of water mean nothing when the land is dry and water undrinkable. To remedy their problems, the Mormons set up a water irrigation system to filter the lake water into a usable source. They acclimated to the land and understood that time would be needed to cultivate the soil, which they successfully restored,
Walker, Turley, and Leonard explain the reasons for high tension in Utah a different way. Instead of focusing about problems with the church like Denton, they explain about things happening around the church. They focus on how news of a coming U.S. army puts fear in the people. They quote Heber C. Kimball as saying “that the army wanted to take Mormon women back to the States” (Walker, Turley, Leonard 44). Also, the authors describe how Brigham Young also makes it seem like the second coming, where Christ comes to destroy the wicked, is near and that the people need to prepare for it. They also mention Brigham Young’s strict war policy. Within this war policy, they were to be frugal with all their supplies, and not sell or trade any of it to those of
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.
Member of the church prefer to be recognized as Latter Day Saints though there are many different ways to call them both politely and discriminatory. The above way is however the most common and acceptable. The church of Jesus Christ for latter day saints was made official in 1830 by Joseph Smith he and another man by the name of James J Strang would go on to change the name in different ways over the years until there deaths. The church was formed in New York April,6 1830 It is said that James S strang claimed he was ordained by angels and asked to take over the matriarch for the church and he felt Joseph Smiths presence this claim just so happened to take place the same hour Joseph Smith was murdered even though he and James were over 200 miles away from each other . Members of the church have
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
The Mormon faith dates back to the year 1830 when Joseph Smith, the founder along with 5 other men gathered together to form what they initially called The Church of Christ. This was later changed to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
During the Second Great Awakening many Americans were stirred by passionate religious movements and Mormonism was one of them. Although it initially began as a revelation given to Joseph Smith, his strong beliefs led to powerful revivals in the New York area that drew people from across the northeast. Despite strong interest and numerous converters to the faith, the Mormon community would not remain in the New York area for long. Though they had an objective of spreading Mormonism throughout America and other parts of the world, this was only part of the reason for their move west. Religious persecution, government issues, spiritual revelation, financial problems, and land disputes ultimately led to their decision to settle in Utah.
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.
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
After its founder’s assassination ■ (Joseph Smith Jr. in June 1844) and facing harassment by their neighbors, the Church of Latter-Day Saints knew it needed to move its headquarters from Nauvoo [Illinois]. With several factions competing for the Church’s control, the faithful debated possible destinations, including Oregon, Vancouver Island, Texas, and México’s Alta California province. In February 1846, with Apostle Orson Pratt’s backing, Samuel Brannan (1819–1889) led 238 stalwarts and set sail for Alta California aboard the 404-ton Brooklyn. Brannan hoped to pave the path for the Church’s eventual overland exodus.
Mormons Moving to Salt Lake City During the nineteenth century there were many different types of people moving west over America. One of these groups was the religious group, the Mormons. The religion was originally founded by Joseph Smith in the early nineteenth century. He first started of with very few followers but quickly many people started to come round to Smiths way of thinking. After developing the religion in Palmyra, Joseph Smith and his followers moved to Kirtland.
The Mormons were a group of people that believed in God in a different way than the way most God believing people did at that time. That is what caused them to want to move west. They started moving west in 1846 because, in Missouri Ohio, they would get persecuted for their beliefs.
First it is important to know why the Mormons decided to move west after they were forced to leave Nauvoo.
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
Mormonism and the history behind it often leads to the name Joseph Smith. Smith was a man known to be living in western NewYork which is where he encountered God and his son Jesus Christ. Smith, only fourteen years old was conflicted with choosing the right religion and was advised to avoid Christian churches. Not more than three years later, Smith was again approached by someone named Moroni – a visitor from heaven. Moroni explained that he, the last Prophet descended from Lehi’s civilization. Smith was directed to find gold plates engraved with the history of the last prophet of his civilization.