Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and the Origins of Mormonism - Literature review Example

Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and the Origins of Mormonism Introduction Among all the impositions by God in the earthly world like flesh and physical environment, none is more dreaded than the ones that some in the hands of religion and sanctity (E. D. Howe, 1). According to Stephen Taysom, the origin of Mormonism has its roots back in 1820s in New York City with revelatory experiences and ideas of Joseph Smith. It was a saint movement for the restoration of Christianity. In 1830, Joseph Smith managed a church with a small number of members. Currently, the religious group of Mormons has expanded to a greater extent and known as the Church of the Jesus Christ of the Latter- day Saints with its thirteen million members. Out of these thirteen million members of this group, more than half are outside the US territory. Beside the group the Latter- day Saints, another smaller group which is known as Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints (RLDS) has membership of 250,000 members in more than fifty countries. The headquarter of the Church of the Jesus Christ of the Latter- day Saints is situated in the Salt Lake City and directing a worldwide movement- a strong missionary force composing of fifty thousand members both male and female. The Mormons use to wear their special conservative dresses and can be identified easily. Although Mormonism supports the original traditions of Christianity and works out for the restoration of ancient Christian’s faith, it also holds a wide range of distinctive practices and doctrines. Beside its faith on various practices and doctrines, Mormons have also strong beliefs on holy writ and holy books. As far as the origin of Mormonism is concerned, there are several links and set of various associations and stories related to the originator of Mormonism- Joseph Smith. The most widely distributed concept about Smith is that he maintained a claim that the angels directed him towards gold plates. He translated the scripture of these gold plates as the religious Book of the Mormons. Later on in 1840s, Smith instituted the concept of polygamy among his devotees and finally, in 1844- at a very young age, Smith was murdered by a non- Mormon enemy. Brigham Young was the successor of Smith and led Mormonism after the death of Joseph Smith. Currently, the efforts of Brigham Young have proved to develop a strong hierarchical system controlling the church from top to bottom. The followers of Joseph Smith’s faith are known as Mormons and their faith is called Mormonism. In the beginning, the term Mormons was considered negative and uncomplimentary. Later on, it was not like that; however, Mormons most often prefer to be known as Later- Day Saints (LDS) (Russell Ballard, 2). The Mormons as well as the Latter Day Saints, both, share a common set of ideas. These generally include the ultimate belief in Bible and religious scripture like the Doctrine and Covenants and Book of Mormons. The teachings of eternal progression and marriage and polygamy were ultimate parts of their religious teachings. However, in the late 19th century, Latter Day Saints have abandoned the practices of plural marriages in Mormonism. Some other variations of Mormons include the cultural Mormonism and fundamentalism in Mormons. Cultural Mormons are more concerned about their cultural and traditional traits than theology. On the other hand, fundamentalists in Mormons still practice the concept of polygamy that was initially the concept in Mormonism and later on discontinued by the Latter Day Saints. Beginnings Joseph Smith born in 1814, resided with his family members in Windsor. This is the only authentic trace about Smith’s family. Smith always cradled on Green mountains and roam freely to explore the narrow gullies and deep ravines. He always love to explore the snow covered mountains and broad lands. He spent the younger years of his life with curiosity- in search of the soul of the world (Belisle & Joseph Smith, 17- 18). This is known as historical faith of Smith where he explored the facts of Christ’s life and resurrection was acknowledged. The principles of Gospel intellects were accepted. Later on in the religion of Mormons and conversion to Mormonism, the person is bound to transform his being according to such rules (Bushman, 37). Turning point in the life of Smith came on 23rd September 1823 when he went to sleep. Before sleeping, he prayed God to forgive him for his sins. He was also curious to find out the information when he would stand before Lord. Within moments, the room was filled with bright light and an angel appeared who was named Maroni. Maroni told Smith that God has been chosen work for him and Maroni also talked about some ancient records. According to Maroni, this ancient scripture of God was written on gold plates which are being hidden under the sand near the hill that was near Smith’s home. According to Maroni, these gold plates had history of ancient Americans and the record of their meeting with Jesus Christ. The angel also showed Smith the place where these gold plates were buried and advised him not to show them to anyone. Soon after that, the angel vanished away leaving behind its message. The angel re-appeared twice more and always told Smith to get these gold plates in order to understand its record. The angel also added a caution that Smith must avoid the greed to use the gold plates in order to acquire riches and wealth. Just after this incident, Smith approached the hill that is currently known as Hill Cumorah and there he found the buried gold plates. The angel also showed him Thumim and Urim. These plates were hidden in a box made of stone. However, Smiths was unable to recover the gold plates. In the meantime, Maroni appeared suddenly and told him to punish if he would use the gold plates for personal gain. Maroni also asked him to visit the same hill every year and this process would go on for 4 years where the angel would also come to meet Smith to instruct him for the future course of action. Later on, in next four years, Joseph Smith worked hard on his father’s farm house and built his reputation in the village as a fortune-teller or psychic. He showed his strange powers to the villagers to help and cure them. He had a strange seerstone as well to assist people in odd times. He most often worked to search buried treasures and lost articles for people in need. However, in 1827 when he finally collected the gold plates, he abandoned his minor activities. During the years of his search for gold plates, Smith also made connections with many new friends. His friends of this time also proved as valuable assets for the Church in the days later on (Reeve, Parshall, 2). However, the ultimate goal of Maroni was to convey the message of God that restores the true spirit of Christianity on the Earth. Smith also claimed the authoritative state of priesthood as the first step to reinstate Christianity and to apply the true message of God. In May 1829, Smith and his followers openly claimed that Peter, John and James appeared to them and confirmed the Melchizedekian priesthood to Joseph Smith. Basically, Melchizedekian priesthood offers the authority to a person to manage the church and direct the people. Attempts to Authenticate the Book of Mormons After getting access to gold plates and translating the scripture of the plates, Smith had to compile the text into a book known as ‘the Book of Mormons.’ Smith, first, translated the Books of Mormons and it was finally published in March 1830. He was the first person who formalized the theology of Mormons. Though, he was the tenth priest of Mormon Church from 1970- 1972. Although he completed most of the writings while he was missionary and the follower of Mormonism, however, during the time of his presidency he reaffirmed the content in an authoritative way as ‘what I talked about in the past, I would like to write and teach again.’ In the compilation and publishing process, Smith’s acquaintances that he had developed while his search for gold plates and the text assisted him a lot. One of his neighbors, Martin Harris, was to sell out his farm in order to subsidize the printing cost of the Book (Kurt Van Gorden, 9- 13). In this regard, Smith copied the text present on the gold plates and gave this to Martin Harris who took the text to Dr. Charles Anthon- a famous professor and linguist at the College of Columbia in New York City. However, Dr. Anthon put forward the text and characters as totally nonsensical and regarded them as just the Egyptian hieroglyphics. At that time, several other people beside Martin Harris also claimed that they were witness to the gold plates as told by Joseph Smith. These people claimed that the angel, Maroni also appeared to them while it was holding the gold plates with scripture shortly after it approached Smith. Restitution of Mormonism The theology of Mormonism claimed itself to fall with Christianity. Mormons considered their religion as the true form of Christianity. According to Mormon leaders/ prophets, this religion has been corrupted and impure because of the intermingling of Mormonism with other philosophies especially with Greek culture and philosophy. Mormons also believe that the God had restored early Christianity through Joseph Smith. Several angels like John, James, John- the Baptist and Peter came to Smith and bestowed him with a variety of priesthood authorities. This is the basic reason why Mormons think that there church is the only living, true church on earth as God has restored the divine authority to their prophet- Joseph Smith. In addition, it is also claimed by Mormons that Smith and his successors are the legitimate modern prophets who could get revelation from God. With the help of this revelation, they could be guided and maintained the church (Joseph Fielding Smith, 316). Mormons also believe that other religions present on earth have reasonable portion of truth but they all are guided by the light of Christ offered to the world (Palmer, Keller, Choi, 1-3). Evolution and Structure of Mormons Mormons cosmology offers an exceptional view of the universe and God. Their views about universe and God place an importance for humanity. In the faith of Mormons, the life and human existence on earth are just the parts of eternal life. According to them, human beings existed just as spirits and just a matter of intelligence. In this shape, the God has proposed a thorough plan for them where they could progress and go further. All those who accepted the plan, received bodies and finally came on earth to experience sufferings and sins (Bushman, 64- 73). In Mormonism, the concept that Joseph Smith puts forward involves the central idea of developing an urge to learn good or evil from earthly life. In the course of life, many people make mistakes, however can be saved by the teachings of the Christ who also apologized for his sins and saved the whole humanity later on. So, Mormons accept the faith and ordinances put forward by Christ like baptism by engagement most often at the age of 8, reception of the gift by the Holy Ghost, Melchizedek priesthood for males only, endowment that is received in temples and beliefs on holy buildings and marriages. Other ordinances as followed by the Mormons include the patriarchal and priesthood blessings and participating in the prayer circles. In Mormonism, obeying ordinances are considered very important for human salvation. Mormons are also allowed to perform any ordinances on the behalf of their deceased ones. This can be termed as proxy on the behalf of dead. According to Mormons, the deceased could also accept or refuse any of the ordinances offered for him on earth. He has ability to understand these ordinances in the spiritual world even after death. The ordinance ritual is also carried out in temple if the information of the deceased one has been conveyed correctly to the church. This is known as baptisms for dead or ordinance for dead (Reeve, Parshall, 106- 107). Conduct of Mormons Many people are of the view that Mormons have contradictory character and personality. However, most often their conduct seems very simple. These are fresh faced people engaged in missionary work, knocking at the doors of people in order to convey pure and religious message of God. On regular basis, Mormons broadcast their religious faith and lessons from the Temple Square situated in the Salt Lake City. They also work for social welfare and cooperate with poor and needy people to help them (Shipps, 1). This movement was initially founded by Joseph Smith in late 1820s. It was the movement that had distinguished itself from the traditional aspects of Protestantism. So, the present day Mormonism taught the non- protestant faith put forward by Joseph Smith. However, after the death of Smith, this saint move was carried on by Brigham Young. Nowadays, the students of Brigham Young University of the United States are consistently voted as the strictest students in their behavior, opinion and conduct. These students belong to the families that teach their children to live simple and clean life. Their conduct and way of living simply suggest that the originators of this faith have deeply inculcated kind, uncomplicated and innocent behavioral traits in their followers. As already mentioned, the origination of Mormonism goes back to 1820s when it was the time of religious excitement in the western parts of New York. This religious excitement period was also known as the Second Great Awakening (Bushman, 1; Shipps, 36). Among several other moves at that time, the religious movement of Mormons was founded by Joseph Smith. The source of the theology put forward by Smith involved the text written on gold plates which is termed as Book of Mormons in later days. This book had such a description as it was a record and narration of early people living in America. It portrayed them as the believers of Israelites who had firm beliefs in Christ hundred years before the birth of the Christ. Smith dictated this book to his followers over a period of three months. He claimed that he translated this book of 584 pages from an ancient language just because of the power gifted by God to him (Bushman, 21- 22). In the mid of 1820s, Smith had produced lots of work related to Mormonism. He along with his associates started baptizing new ones into Christianity and in this regard, a church was formally constructed and organized in 1830. This was known as the Church of Christ. His followers started looking at him as the prophet of the modern day world (Bushman, 8). The theological aspects of Mormonism started at the time when Smith declared that he had seen God and the Jesus Christ in 1820. He wrote this concept in his religious books as First Vision. However, his claim to see God and Jesus Christ was totally different when compared to the concepts of orthodox Mormons. Smith further declared that God instructed him through prayer as not to join any of the churches as they were all mistaken. Later on, he reported so many angelic visits and portrayed him as a man of God who was asked to re-establish a separate true church for Mormons as well as the Book of Mormons as the guideline to establish truthful doctrine for the restoration of Mormons. After such ideas, Mormons moved towards other states of USA in order to avoid any confrontations with the local residents of New York. They thought to establish their permanent residence in Zion City, Jackson City or Missouri but they were expelled from these countries and in 1838, the members of Mormons were asked to flee away. Same thing happened in Missouri. Violent conflicts had started as a result of which the governor was forced to expel Latter Day Saints from the country (Remini, 135). Later on, the Latter Day Saints moved towards Illinois and settled over there for few years with peace and affluence. However, in 1844, the tensions between the locals and Mormons again rose to a greater extent and escalated day by day. As a result of these tensions, Smith was terribly killed by a non- Mormon mob precipitated a succession crisis. Soon, Brigham Young was selected as their new leader and Mormons migrated towards Utah Region. There the new leader Brigham Young and the Church of Jesus Christ once again allowed people to practice plural marriages. This concept was instituted by Joseph Smith in Nauvoo. Polygamy was the part of Mormon’s faith as taught by their prophet- Joseph Smith. However, this characteristic of Mormons had faced forceful opposition by Congress leaders in the United States. Congress openly threatened the existence of Mormons church as a legitimate institution. As a result of this threat, the concept of plural marriages was banned in 1890 by Wilford Woodruff (Bushman, 2). After the announcement of abolition of polygamy, several small groups among Mormons were separated from Latter Day Saints’ Church and formed a group of Mormon fundamentalism (Bushman, 14). In the meanwhile the Church became an advocate of patriotism and monogamy and extended its support and access internationally by its vigorous efforts for missionary work. Slow and steady, it grew its size to 14 million members of America and all over the world. Conclusion As above mentioned facts declare, Mormonism was dependent on continued revelation process of Smith’s experiences. It puts on deep emphasis on the key ideas of apology in suffering and sin. The restoration of true spirit of Christianity and religious messages were the core of Smith’s experiences as in early 19th century, the religious life in America was in bad turmoil. Less than ten percent people belong to church so Mormonism as a set of religious ideas offered a new life to Christianity which was vanishing day by day. Mormonism was the beginning of missionary activities with a new spirit from New York- the homeland of Smith. The sacred narrations and scriptures play a great role in the spread of this religion all over the world. However, Mormons have some approaches contradictory to traditional aspects of Christianity. According to them, Jesus Christ created everything on earth on the will and direction of God. Smith puts forward the concept that the livelihood on earth is just the middle part of whole drama of existence. This began long time ago before the creation of the material world- the earth and this will go on even after death. Human were once living as the spirits of God. Before their bodies and material existence, they were even survived as being of ‘intelligence.’ However, the substance of their creation was undefined at that time. Furthermore, from above mentioned search, it can be found that Mormonism always tends to highlight the positive aspects of human existence and survival. The ultimate goal of human living is to survive as the spirits of God and the physical body is ultimate for existence and for moral testing of human beings. Another unique element that Mormonism explains is the notion of the fate of soul and spirit after death. The view of life after death is the most complex aspect explained by the founder- Joseph Smith. References 1. Bushman, History of the Church, (USA 2008) 2. E. D. Howe, Mormonism Unveiled (District Court of Ohio, 1834) 3. Joseph Fielding Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. 4. Kurt Van Gorden, Mormonism (USA, 1995) 5. Orvilla S. Belisle, Joseph Smith, the Prophets; or Mormonism Unveiled (New Jersey, 1855) 6. Palmer, Keller, Choi, Religions of the World: A Latter- day Saint View. Brigham Young University (Toronto, 1997) 7. Reeve, Parshall, Mormonism: A Historical Encyclopedia (United States of America, 2010) 8. Remini, Joseph Smith ( Penguin Lives Biographies) (USA, 2002) 9. Richard L. Bushman, Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism (USA, 1984) 10. Russell Ballard, The Importance of the Name (USA, 2011) 11. Shipps, Mormonism: The Story of New Religious Traditions, (USA, 1987) 12. Stephen Taysom, “Mormonism,” Religious Library (2008- 2012) http://www.patheos.com/Library/Mormonism/Beliefs/Afterlife-and-Salvation?offset=1&max=1 Read More