Joseph Smith and Ralph Waldo Emerson - Research Paper Example

Table of Contents Table of Contents Introduction 2 Historical Time Period 3 Influence of Joseph 4 Introduction The impact of 19th century on the world is colossal as substantial cultural, political, religious, artistic, philosophical and literary content emerged in that era. Certain individuals such as Joseph Smith and Ralph Waldo Emerson had a huge impact in the 1800s as they brought revolutionary changes in the livings of people. Joseph Smith brought radical changes and amendments into Christianity which was applauded by the masses. The upbringing of true Christianity practices into America was the intention of Joseph Smith, for which he thrived and prospered. Ralph Waldo ideas had a different opinion about religious practices and considered it to be ones personal matter. He however pursued the individualism myth into the society which is claimed to be the religion of most American citizens (Marsden 34). The purpose of this paper is to explain the role of Joseph Smith and Ralph Waldo in the 19th century. What were the major contributions of both these men to the world and how they managed to escort their ideas and plans? The paper also shows the movements led by Joseph and Ralph. The evolution of thinking out of the box was Ralphs mission, so how he managed to educate the masses about it. Moreover the influence of both these men according to the historical and cultural context is discussed. The impact of their literary contributions to the present world is also epitomized. The critical evaluation of their services along with concise conclusion is exemplified for better understanding. Historical Time Period The 19th century started to transform the world spectrum and uprising of humans started to take place. The fields of business, athletics, music, literature, philosophy and politics were malformed. The religious beliefs of people were shattered and indistinct religious myths invaded into human minds. This was due to the changing world environment and impact of newly emerged religious figures. They started to explode religious beliefs of people by disagreeing with their spiritual practices. The literary content was published in which sacred viewpoints were targeted explicitly. Some of the devoted followers took serious actions against these changes however the remaining started to think about it (Smith 49). Another important change of the 19th century was that philosophical works were given immense importance. The writings of the philosophers had huge following and people started to follow them religiously. The philosophers of that era presented their viewpoint regardless of any religious affiliation. Certain philosophers believed that literary work must be separated from religion. This theme was set because they believed progress religious boundaries control human thinking’s, therefore the concept of looking out of the box is eradicated. The professors of renowned universities started to present their philosophy about the way of living which got a critical response from the people. These all radical changes disturbed human beings completely as they were confused that who is right and who is wrong (Allen and Paul 13). Influence of Joseph Joseph Smith is renowned for his religious services in the 19th century. The mission of Joseph remained to bring the actual practices of Jesus Christ into the world. His claim of meeting God and forgiveness about previous sins was critically reviewed by the people. The restoration of the early Christian Church with the true practices of Christianity was his primary agenda. The meeting with angel Moroni, who escorted him to the buried book of golden plates which have right Christianity beliefs, was another renowned assert of Joseph. He started to lay impact on the practicing Christians by making these deliberate statements. The corruption in Bible and practices of Christianity were the main arguments of Joseph and he declared the proper Christianity practices into the world. The foundation of the Latter Day Saint Movement was organized by Smith which attracted thousands of Christians (Barron 67). According to Mitchell, (2012, p.59), the translations of the golden plates was the biggest move by Joseph Smith. He was assisted by Harris who wrote the translations and helped in the compilation of The Book of Mormon. Joseph never showed golden plates to anyone therefore ambiguities prevailed among some peoples mind. The publication of book took place in 1830; Joseph after getting the support of many people organized the Church of Christ in the same year. The Book of Mormon turned out to be a gigantic success for Smith. The opposition of Smith also increased but he never conflicted with opponents. The establishment of cities and temples was the next important program of Joseph. In 1831, the building of American Zion was another vital expedition of Joseph Smith. Kirtland, Ohio was the place decided to build Zions centre which would work as the head office of the movement too. The dream of building Zion city failed due to the collapse of the funded bank. Joseph tried to gain power into the Christianity realm therefore he built a new city, Nauvoo, Illinois in 1840. The city remained under the direct control of Joseph Smith where his role was to guide the citizens religiously and politically. Smiths Latter Day Movement spread all over the country and fascinated millions of Christians. The services of Joseph are often regarded as per the planning of freemasons. The intervention of golden plates, meeting with God and angels, building new cities and temples and gaining power is criticized by both religious and philosophical entities (Mitchell 106). Significant Work The publishing of The Book of Mormons was one of the major significant works of Joseph Smith. The book was a compilation of the revelations received by Joseph Smith and was published in 1830. The establishment of the Latter Day Saint Movement in 1820 was yet another reason of Josephs popularity. The movements spectrum expanded in the United States, gauging millions of followers in different localities. The manifestation of this movement remained to restore the actual practices of Christianity into the world. The theology of Mormonism was prevailed among the Christian community. Thousands of Joseph followers devoted themselves to the services of spreading Mormonism. Zion city creation was the dream of Joseph Smith but it was not fulfilled due to certain external barriers (Barron 84). The vision about God, religious practices, political and family structures remained the theme of Josephs teachings. His compilation of revelations in the book of Mormons was the guide for his followers. He pursued the theme of religious collectivism and betterment for the society. The followers of Joseph regarded him as a prophet and blindly trailed on every instruction from him. The biggest contribution of Joseph remains the Community of Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mitchell 119). Relevance with Historical Context The main years of Joseph Smiths impact started from 1820 and remained till his death in 1844. These twenty four years of Josephs life stretched his legacy into different parts of the United States. The transformation of societies was taking place and the element of individualism started to prevail among the masses. The teachings of Joseph guided people to follow the religious collectivism path. The rebellion movement about religious values and perspective also started in the country, Joseph tried to convince prominent Christian religious figures about revelations and was managed to make allies (Allen and Paul 17). The philosophical wing of that era also affected individuals way of thinking about religion. The reason of human dominance and individualism was aided into the society by literary works. Joseph Smith disagreed with such philosophy and continued to educate people through his religious teachings. However the establishment of two prominent wings emerged in those years; individualists and cult religious followers. The individualistic viewpoint was against the religious rules and affirmed to be as individuals matter. The practicing of religion was stated to the personal matter and nobody should be involved in this subject. Joseph Smith presented classical examples of Jesus Christ about collectivism. According to him the societies are built so that people would share their joys and sorrows with others. Individualism is a curse and people should prefer living in a communal way. The Mormons followed the teachings of Smith faithfully and adopted systems of sharing joys and sorrows. The Churches of Mormons lead the movement in educating people about true Christianity practices which neglected individualism (Mitchell 145). Influence of Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson is known for his exceptional literary services for the world. The views of Ralph regarding religion and social system were totally different from the philosophers at that time. He believed in Individualism and wrote thousands of essays about the individualistic society. According to him, religion does not allow a person to progress and advance in the world. Religion restricts the human thinking ability therefore every person should put religion aside and believe in himself. The openness in thinking, working and functioning comes with free mind. The religious blockade is not beneficial for humans and it should be considered as very personal matter. Everybody must keep his religious thoughts to himself and never propagates them in public as it creates chaos and anarchy in the society (Holmes 23). Ralph is considered as the founder of modern American religion and individualistic culture. Transcendentalism movement was the major achievement of Ralph Waldo Emerson. He started off this movement with his colleagues at Harvard University in 1836. The standpoints of this movement were that political and religious parties have contaminated the purity of human being. Every individual must get out from religious and societal confines and should start to live splendid life by believing in himself. The essay of Ralph Waldo ‘Nature propagated the main idea of individualism. The seed of individualism got a massive response from the masses. The 1837 speech of Emerson, ‘The American Scholar is remembered as the "Americas Intellectual Declaration of Independence". The speech got positive response from most of the intellectual wings of America (Addison 111). Significant Works Ralph Waldo Emerson is admired as the initiator of American enlightening and spiritual revolution. The ideas and thoughts of Ralph mostly published as essays and people were highly inspired by his beliefs. The religious wing opposed Ralphs thinking and challenged his literary works. Transcendentalism movement can be declared as the biggest victory by Ralph Waldo Emerson as he shattered minds of millions of Americans. The message of Individualism was spread wide over. People started off to change their religious affiliations and most of them kept aside religion in their everyday endeavours. The intellectual wing of America was highly influenced by Transcendentalism movement and sooner this movement had millions of followers. The literary services of Ralph started to bloom all over the country (Holmes 68). According to Addison (111), the Transcendentalism movement’s fruits were seen in most parts of the America as educated populace started to follow individualistic path. The individualists believe that individuals work better for the upbringing of society and not in groups. The collective path has disturbed various segments of the society. The major nuisance of collectivism is the corruption in religious and cultural aspects of society. The societal values have lost its true spirit and only people with clear and pure intentions can build the society again. Individual effort is necessary than the collective efforts because collectivism will eventually result in contamination. These ideas were the mainstream viewpoints of Ralph Waldo Emerson which were cherished by the people. Numerous philosophers, poets and think tanks followed Ralphs legacy and continued to bring individualism change in the world. Relevance with Historical Context The individualistic theory got a mixed response from the people initially. The American nation was confused in choosing a religious or liberal path. The religious path guided the significance of collectivism and individualistic path denied this virtue. The deprived section of the societies started to believe that their progression and development is not taking place due to their extreme devotion with the religion. The segmentation of societies started and tow prominent divisions were formulated. The religious entities tried to influence individualists but failed. The individualist philosophy started to invade openly in literature, culture and philosophy. Transcendentalism movement followers also were found in different localities of the world. The literary constituent started to bring changes in societies all around the world (Holmes 80). Cultural Impact- Now and Than The culture of America was reformed by the creation of two prominent sections, the religious group and individualistic division. The culture of societies started to change and the collectivism culture was limited till the religious group only. The society openly accepted the individualistic culture. The main reason of adopting individualistic culture was that Americans wanted everyone to mind their own business. Peoples interference in work was not tolerant for many of the individuals, therefore the culture of individualism flourished. The development of the society was gradually slowed down. Some philosophers however believe that societal development reached zenith after individualism (Marsden 63). The current American culture is individualistic culture and people are directly or indirectly a part of Transcendentalism movement. The insight of Ralph Waldo was to bring individualistic revolution in the world society. The first years of this movement did not report to bring ground-breaking alteration of the society but in the long run it is clear that Ralph movement is basically the religion of modern America. The wisdom of Ralph is dominant over Joseph Smith because Smith was able to attract little segment of the society but Ralph intellectual revolution completely changed the livings of the society. Cultural and research analysts believe that foundations of contemporary America were led by Ralph Waldo in the 19th century (Marsden 97). Critical Evaluation The impact of Joseph Smith and Ralph Waldo was pioneering and they gave vision to the humans. The followers of Joseph Smith still follow his golden rules and are striving in the underpinning true teachings of Jesus. The efforts made by Joseph Smith in this regard are highly acknowledged by Mormons. The contradiction in religious belt of Christianity was assembled by the teachings of Joseph Smith. The revelations chronicle was not grasped by most of the religious scholars and opposed Joseph openly (Barron 172). The impact of Joseph Smith had on one section of the society, Christians, while Ralph Waldo renovated the American society. The wisdom of Ralph Waldo Emerson is dominant all over the world. People want to get out from the religious confines and want to express themselves openly. The surfacing of Atheists is nevertheless due to Transcendentalism movement. Ralph separated himself from religion and society (Holmes 39). In his literary works he openly demonstrated the astuteness of this measure and most individualists make essays of Ralph as base to defend. Conclusion The 19th century experienced landmark changes which decided the fortune of the upcoming centuries. The impact of Ralph Waldo Emerson can be rated higher than Joseph Smith because whole America came under his influence. It seems that as if Americans were waiting for the individualistic theory and openly accepted after its initiation. The religious bodies of America are also under the indirect influence of Transcendentalism movement. The individualistic behaviour brought revolution in the world but individuals became materialistic. The element of respect and admiration is gone away from the American society and everybody is in a quest to satisfy himself. References Addison, Elizabeth. "Ralph Waldo Emerson." Early American Nature Writers: A Biographical Encyclopedia (2008): 111‎. Print. ‎ Allen, G. E., and P. Paul Heppner, "Religiosity, coping, and psychological well-being among Latter-Day Saint Polynesians in the US" Asian American Journal of Psychology 2.1 (2011): 13‎. Print. ‎ Barron, Eileen Ringnalda. Processes of Cultural Reproduction in Material Culture: A Study of Latter-day Saint Home Décor. Pro Quest, 2009‎. Print. ‎ Holmes, Oliver Wendell. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Reprint Services Corporation, 2007‎. Print. ‎ Marsden, George M. Fundamentalism and American culture, Oxford University Press, USA, 2006‎. Print. ‎ Mitchell, Ian R. Encounters in the American Mountain West: A Sinner Amongst the Latter-Day Saints. Neil Wilson Publishing Ltd, 2012‎. Print. ‎ Smith Jr, Joseph. Teachings of the prophet Joseph Smith, Messenger Publications, 2009. Print. Read More