History of the Latter Day Saint movement
Encyclopedia
The Latter Day Saint movement
is a religious movement within Christianity
that arose during the Second Great Awakening
in the early 19th century and that led to the set of doctrines, practices, and cultures called Mormonism
and to the existence of numerous Latter Day Saint churches. Its history is characterized by intense controversy and persecution in reaction to some of the movement's doctrines and practices and their relationship to mainstream Christianity (see Mormonism and Christianity
). The purpose of this article is to give an overview of the different groups, beliefs, and denominations that began with the influence of Joseph Smith.
The founder of the movement was Joseph Smith, Jr., who was raised in the Burned-over district
of Upstate New York
. He claimed that, in response to prayer, he saw God the Father
and Jesus Christ
, as well as angel
s and other visions. This eventually led him to a restoration of Christian doctrine that, he said, was lost after the early Christian apostles were killed. In addition, several early leaders made marked doctrinal and leadership contributions to the movement, including Oliver Cowdery
, Sidney Rigdon
, and Brigham Young
. Modern-day revelation from God continues to be a principal belief of the Mormon faith.
arose in the Palmyra/Manchester area of western New York
, where its founder, Joseph Smith, Jr., was raised during a period of religious revival in the early 19th century called the Second Great Awakening
. This "awakening" was a Christian
response to the secularism
of the Age of Enlightenment
and extended throughout the United States
, particularly the frontier areas of the west.
A significant early event in this Second Great Awakening was a large camp meeting
that took place in 1801 at Cane Ridge, Kentucky
, in which participants exhibited charismatic "gifts" such as glossolalia
, prophecy
, and heavenly visions. This was contrary to the traditional Christian
view that charismatic experiences had ended with the Apostles, the idea that modern Christians could experience charismatic "gifts" such as visions became a common theme in these revivals. Joseph Smith's father, Joseph Smith, Sr.
said he had several visions or dreams, as had Smith's paternal and maternal grandfathers.
The people of western New York
, like the rest of the United States
at the time, were also influenced by folk religion
. The fathers of both Joseph Smith, Jr. and Oliver Cowdery
were reported to have used divining rods, though not by those within the LDS church. Joseph Smith reportedly used seer stones, which he used after his First Vision
of Jesus Christ. People of the time used such rods and stones in various ways, including to locate underground water, to find lost items, to locate buried treasure or mineral mines, as part of religious or magic rituals, or to communicate with spirit
s or angel
s. Until about the 1830s, the use of such divining media, even as a profession, was thought by many, though not all, as "honorable and profitable employment". (Palmyra Herald, July 24, 1822)
Another related strand of religious thought that became important to the Latter Day Saint movement
was the Restoration Movement
, primarily influenced by Barton W. Stone
(who participated in the Cane Ridge revival), and Alexander Campbell
, who joined Stone in 1824 in Ohio
. Stone and Campbell believed that the division among Christian sects had been caused by a Great Apostasy
(or falling away) from the original teachings of Jesus
, and that the correct principles of Christianity
could be re-established by "restoring" practices described in the New Testament
. The Restorationists also intended to eliminate sectarianism, arguing that there should be only one Christian church, which should be called the "Church of Christ
."
While these restorationist ideas were circulating in the western frontier, the family of Joseph Smith, Jr. was living in western New York
, where they attended many of the local revivals. During this time, the area was seeing so many Christian revivals that western New York
's most well-known revivalist Charles Grandison Finney
later dubbed the area the "Burned-Over District
". Because of a lack of clergy from established churches, this area was unusually open to religious innovations, new movements, and social experiments such as religious communism
.
Latter Day Saints do not typically distinguish between this Restoration movement and the broader Protestant Reformation
, since both were an attempt by humans to return to the values and doctrines taught by Jesus and the Apostles, while most Latter Day Saint groups believe that there was a need for God to actively restore both authority and doctrine. However, in spite of their different use of the word restoration, this movement was an important part of the culture that led Joseph Smith to become interested in religion.
, and were founding members of a lodge in Nauvoo, Illinois
in March 1842. There are some similarities between Mormon temple worship and symbolism and the stories and symbols of Freemasonry. In modern times, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) holds no position for or against the compatibility of Masonry with LDS Church doctrine.
, shared some beliefs in common with other Restorationists, but certain factors made them unique. Although the movements shared a belief in the need to "restore" the "true church" of Jesus Christ, the early Latter Day Saints also believed that direct authority from God
was essential for such a restoration to be valid.
centers around a number of early charismatic experiences with the heavenly and the spiritual by Joseph Smith, Jr. and his associates. Many of these experiences, such as visions, visits from angel
s, prophecy
, and the hearing of God's voice, are still common parts of charismatic Christianity.
Most Latter Day Saints trace the beginnings of Mormonism
to Joseph Smith's First Vision
, which he said he had in about 1820 in the woods near his home. Early accounts of this vision describe it as a vision of Jesus
in which he was told his sins were forgiven. Later elaborations indicate Smith was told that all Christian denominations had become corrupt, and further indicate that Smith saw multiple heavenly beings, including both Jesus
and God the Father
.
Within the context of early 19th century America
, the First Vision
was certainly not the only charismatic experience to be recorded. There are records of others of the day who had similar visions in which they were told that all churches were corrupt; however, the sectarian clergy vigorously opposed such visions, as Smith reports they did of his own vision.
Smith also described many other visions involving angels. Some of his earliest visitations involved a Nephite
prophet-warrior, who called himself Moroni
. Smith said this angel appeared to him many times, and showed him where to find a set of buried Golden Plates
containing ancient writings that the prophet-warrior had sealed in a stone box before his death, together with other artifacts. The writings on the Golden Plates
, according to Smith, contained an account of the various nations that inhabited ancient America, and described how they were led to the New World
by Jesus
, but eventually lost their Christian faith
through a series of wars and corruption.
After he said he received the Golden Plates
, Smith began to dictate their translation to his wife Emma Hale Smith
and various of his associates, including Martin Harris and, for most of the later translation, Oliver Cowdery
. Smith said he translated the text through the gift and power of God and through the aid of the Urim and Thummim
or a seer stone. The resulting writings were published in March 1830 as the Book of Mormon
.
The Book of Mormon
was much more ambitious than being just a purported history of Native Americans. Mormons quickly adopted the book as a work of scripture of similar importance to the Bible
. The book's title page described it as an attempt to show Native Americans "what great things the Lord has done for their fathers", and to convince "Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God." (Book of Mormon
, title page.) The book contained doctrinal discussions on numerous themes, including how the pride of the wealthy leads to the downfall of civilization, the dangers of "secret combinations" of people who meet secretly and use secret signs and oaths "to carry out the evil purposes of the group", and God's mercy and protection over his followers. Latter Day Saints consider the crowning moment of the book to be Jesus' visit to the ancient Americans, during which time he teaches them in person about the meaning of his death and resurrection.
Some of the early movement's most important charismatic experiences were shared between Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery
, who joined the movement during the translation of the Book of Mormon
. During the translation of the Golden Plates
, Smith and Cowdery determined that they needed to obtain the Priesthood
, or the authority to act in God's name, which they believed had been lost from the earth during the Great Apostasy
. According to an account by Cowdery in 1834, they went into the woods near Harmony Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania
on May 15, 1829, were visited by an angel who gave them the "Holy Priesthood". (Messenger and Advocate, 1(1), Oct. 1, 1834.) In 1835, Smith and Cowdery stated that the angel was John the Baptist
, and that the "Holy Priesthood" was specifically the Priesthood of Aaron", which included the power to baptize. Today this area is preserved as the Aaronic Priesthood Restoration Site
.
Smith and Cowdery further elaborated for the 1835 publication of the Doctrine and Covenants
that they were also later visited by Peter
, James
, and John
, who restored the "keys of your ministry" and the "keys of the kingdom". Neither Smith nor Cowdery ever gave a date for this visitation.
After the restoration of the Priesthood, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery began baptizing dozens of people, as early as June 1829. (History of the Church 1:6, p. 59). These converts did not belong to a formal church organization. Nevertheless, this community of believers referred to themselves as "the Church of Christ", and included converts in three New York towns: Fayette
, Manchester
, and Colesville
.
There is no known record of an early Mormon
concept of the Lord's church prior to Smith's translation of the Book of Mormon
from April to June 1829. Some time in April 1829, Smith dictated a story of Alma the Elder
, the former priest of a wicked king, who baptized himself and his followers by immersion, "having authority from the Almighty God", and called his community of believers the "church of God, or the church of Christ".
Some time between June and December 1829, Joseph Smith, David Whitmer
and Oliver Cowdery
said they received a revelation about "how he should build up his church & the manner thereof". This revelation was called the "Articles of the Church of Christ
", and it indicated that the church should ordain priests
and teachers
"according to the gifts & callings of God unto men". The church was to meet regularly to partake of bread and wine
. Cowdery was described as "an Apostle of Jesus Christ".
On April 6, 1830, Joseph Smith, Jr., Oliver Cowdery
, and a group of approximately 30 believers met to formally organize the Church of Christ into a legal institution. By later accounts, this meeting was a charismatic event, in which members of the congregation had visions, prophesied
, spoke in tongues, ecstatically shouted praises to the Lord, and fainted (Joseph Smith History, 1839 draft). Also, the church formally ordained a lay ministry. Smith and Cowdery, according to their 1831 account, were each ordained as "an apostle of Jesus Christ, an elder of the church". ("Articles and Covenants of the Church of Christ", Painesville Telegraph, April 19, 1831).
, a former Campbellite
minister. Rigdon led several congregations of Restorationists in Ohio's Western Reserve area, and hundreds of his adherents followed him into Mormonism. A fiery orator, Rigdon was called to be Smith's spokesman and immediately became one of the movement's leaders. By 1831, the church's headquarters were established in Kirtland, Ohio
and Smith urged the membership to gather there or to a second outpost of the church in Missouri (see below).
While based in Kirtland, the church changed its name to the "Church of the Latter Day Saints", and added a number of new doctrines and leadership offices. An attempt to establish a communitarian economy known as the "Law of Consecration" was established. The Latter Day Saint understanding of the priesthood was elaborated by the separation of the higher or Melchizedek Priesthood
offices from the lesser or Aaronic Priesthood offices and by the restoration of the Patriarchal Priesthood
. Also established were the First Presidency
, the High Council
— later elaborated as the High Council of Zion, the Travelling High Council (or Quorum of the Twelve
) and Stake
high councils — Seventies, patriarchs
, high priests
, and bishops
.
During the Kirtland era, many charismatic experiences were reported, many involving visitations of angels or communication from God through stones. However, some Church members claimed to receive revelations that contradicted those received by Joseph Smith. He and several followers prayed about the issue, and Joseph recorded a series of revelations, which included a description of several real spiritual gifts, a statement that only Joseph Smith, as the Prophet, could receive new doctrines and commandments for the Church, and a warning that not all supernatural experiences come from God. This effort to balance charismatic experience with order and stability became a lasting characteristic of the Latter Day Saint Movement.
Kirtland also was the site of the construction of the movement's first temple. Latter Day Saints reported a great outpouring of spiritual experiences in connection with the Kirtland Temple's
dedication. The temple was associated with the Kirtland-era "endowment
", and with the temple ceremonies of "foot washing" and "solemn assembly." The movement also established the "School of the Prophets
" which met in the temple. At Kirtland, Smith reported many revelations including the "Word of Wisdom
" — advocating temperance and dietary restrictions. He acquired Egyptian papyrus scrolls
which he said contained the writings of the Biblical patriarchs Abraham and Joseph. According to some reports, it was in Kirtland that Smith first began to practice the doctrine of plural marriage
.
In 1837, Smith and Rigdon founded an "anti-bank" called the Kirtland Safety Society
. When it failed, some 300 of the Kirtland membership became disillusioned, including a third of the church leadership. The result was the movement's first major schism. A new organization led by Smith's former secretary, Warren Parish, along with Martin Harris and others, vied for control of the church in Kirtland. Re-establishing the original "Church of Christ" name, these "reformed Latter Day Saints" took possession of the temple and excommunicated Smith and Rigdon. Smith and Rigdon relocated to Missouri and were followed there by hundreds of loyalists in a trek known as the "Kirtland Camp."
. Joseph Smith Jr. had revealed to Latter Day Saints that they were to prepare "the way of the Lord for his Second Coming
", "for the time is soon at hand that I shall come..." (D & C 34:6,7) He also revealed that the "center place" of the City of Zion would be near the town of Independence
in Jackson County. (D & C 57:3) Latter Day Saints began to settle the area to "build up" the City of Zion in 1831. Settlement was rapid and non-Mormon residents became alarmed that they might lose political control of the county to the Latter Day Saints. In October 1833, non-Mormon vigilantes succeeded in driving the Mormons from the county. Deprived of their homes and property, the Latter Day Saints temporarily settled in the area around Jackson County, especially in Clay County.
Years elapsed and the Mormon lawsuits and petitions failed to bring any justice: the non-Mormons in Jackson refused to allow the Mormons to return. Meanwhile, new converts to Mormonism continued to migrate to Missouri and settle in Clay County. In 1836, the Missouri legislature created Caldwell County
specifically for Mormon settlement and Missouri branches of the church gathered there, centering on the town of Far West
.
, Oliver Cowdery
, William Wines Phelps and others — excommunicated. Years later, many of this group of "dissenters" became part of the Whitmerite
schism in the Latter Day Saint movement.
While the church was headquartered in Far West, Smith announced revelations that changed the name of the church to the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" and initiated the "Law of Tithing." Conflicts with non-Mormon settlers arose as the church began to plant colonies in the counties surrounding Caldwell. These escalated into what has been called the 1838 Mormon War. The perceived militant attitude adopted by the church caused some leaders, including Thomas B. Marsh
, president of the Quorum of the Twelve
, to break with Smith and Rigdon. This precipitated another schism which led to the foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ, the Bride, the Lamb's Wife
by George M. Hinkle
, who had been the Mormon commander of the Caldwell County militia.
As a result of the war, 2,500 Missouri militia troops were called out to put down the Mormon "rebellion." Smith and other church leaders were imprisoned in Liberty, Missouri
and the majority of the Latter Day Saints were deprived of their property and expelled from the state.
With the help of sympathetic non-Mormons in Illinois, in the spring of 1839 the Latter Day Saint refugees regrouped and began to establish a new headquarters in Nauvoo
. Smith and other leaders were allowed after several months of harsh treatment to escape Missourian custody, and they rejoined the main body of the movement in April, 1839. In 1841, construction began on a new temple
, significantly more magnificent than the one left behind in Kirtland. The Nauvoo city charter authorized independent municipal courts, the foundation of a university
and the establishment of a militia unit known as the "Nauvoo Legion
." These and other institutions gave the Latter Day Saints a considerable degree of autonomy.
Nauvoo saw the final flowering of Joseph Smith's vision for the movement, including some of Mormonism's more controversial practices. It was here that Smith introduced Baptism for the dead
, Rebaptism
, the Nauvoo-era Endowment
, and the ordinance of the Second Anointing
. In addition, he created a new inner council of the church — containing both men and women — called the Anointed Quorum
. Although, according to some reports, Smith himself had been secretly practicing what he later called plural marriage
for some time, in Nauvoo he began to teach other leaders the doctrine.
In March 1844, Smith was said by William Law
to have organized a secret council of the church called the "Council of the Kingdom". Practices of this council included acclaiming Joseph Smith as "Prophet, Priest, and King" in addition to polygamy. These secrets were threatened to be released in a newspaper called the Nauvoo Expositor
. Smith, acting in his capacity as mayor and head of the municipal court, responded by having the newspaper declared a "public nuisance" and by ordering the destruction of the press.
. By the mid-1840s, many non-Mormons in Hancock County
felt threatened by growing Mormon political power, commercial rivalries, and a new religion with at least two elements that were hard to digest in the religious community of that time: first, Latter Day Saints had a somewhat different perspective on the nature of God from traditional Protestants; second, the claim of modern revelation, together with the claim of new scripture, opened the canon of the Bible.
Smith's destruction of the Expositor exacerbated all these fears and non-Mormons throughout Illinois began to clamor for his arrest. When Smith submitted to imprisonment in the county seat of Carthage
, the Governor of Illinois, Thomas Ford
, left the jail, taking the only impartial local militia unit with him. With the jail being guarded only by two guards and a unit of anti-Mormon
militiamen, the Carthage Greys, a mob of disbanded militia units, attacked without resistance. Joseph and his brother Hyrum were killed.
All men who were tried for the murders were acquitted after the prosecuting attorney dismissed the testimonies of the state's witnesses suddenly in his closing remarks.
, who was Assistant President of the Church
, had died with him, and another brother who may have been a presumed successor should both Hyrum and Joseph die, Samuel
, died shortly therefter. Another Smith brother, William, as well as Samuel's daughter claim that Samuel was poisoned by Hosea Stout
on orders from Apostle Willard Richards
so that he would not be proclaimed the successor to Joseph Smith, as was about to happen, before Brigham Young
could return to Nauvoo and stake his claim. Other men who (by some reports) were designated as successors, including Book of Mormon witnesses
David Whitmer
and Oliver Cowdery
, had been excommunicated from the church.
As a result, three of the principal claimants on the scene were:
Smith's widow, Emma
, wanted Marks to become church president, but Marks believed that Rigdon had the superior claim.
In a general meeting of the church at Nauvoo on August 8, 1844, Rigdon and Young presented their respective cases. As the only surviving member of the First Presidency (who had not officially apostacized), Rigdon argued that he should be made "guardian" of the church. Young argued that no one could succeed the fallen prophet. Instead, he proposed that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles be constituted as the new presiding authority. A vote of the congregation overwhelmingly supported Young's proposal, said to have been caused by Brigham briefly yet miraculously having the "voice and contenance of Joseph Smith" during his talk. Soon after, Rigdon left Nauvoo and established his own church organization
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
.
Rigdon, Young and Marks were later joined by a fourth claimant, James J. Strang of Voree, Wisconsin
, who claimed that Smith had sent him a letter designating him as his successor. However, Strang had only recently joined the church, and lacked name-recognition among the rank-and-file Mormons in Nauvoo. Though he would manage to attract a sizable following, his assassination in 1856 all but extinguished his sect
.
, was a factor that led the remaining members of the Smith family to break with the Twelve. Many (though not all) initially followed Strang, though all later left Strang's organization and joined themselves to the nascent Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which coalesced in the early 1860s around Joseph Smith's eldest son, Joseph Smith III
.
Meanwhile at Nauvoo, the conflict between Mormons and non-Mormons escalated into what is sometimes called the "Mormon War in Illinois." Latter Day Saints in outlying areas were driven from their homes and gathered to Nauvoo for protection. The Illinois state legislature voted to revoke Nauvoo's charter and the city began to operate extra-legally. At about this time, Nauvoo's population peaked; it may have had as many as 12,000 inhabitants (and several nearly as large suburbs), rivaling Chicago, Illinois, whose 1845 population was about 15,000, and its suburbs. However, by the end of 1845, it became clear that no peace was possible, and Young and the Twelve negotiated a truce so that the Latter Day Saints could prepare to abandon the city. The winter of 1845-46 saw the enormous preparations for the Mormon Exodus across the Great Plains
.
in 1846, and entering Salt Lake Valley
in 1847. Having planted this initial colony in the Great Basin
, Young returned to Winter Quarters and in December 1847 reorganized his faction of the church, establishing himself as the head of a new First Presidency
. This reorganization led to additional schisms, including the break with Alpheus Cutler
and what became the Church of Christ (Cutlerite) as well as Lyman Wight's
group in Zodiac, Texas. Young's organization today is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah
and is known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (See History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
.)
The bulk of Sidney Rigdon
's church had dissolved by 1847, but some loyalists reorganized as The Church of Jesus Christ
under the leadership of William Bickerton
in 1862. James J. Strang's church in Voree suffered a significant schism in 1849, led by former follower Aaron Smith. After Strang's 1856 assassination, much of the remaining membership fell away from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)
, but a small following remained loyal. Other leaders, including David Whitmer
, James Collin Brewster, James Emmett, Gladden Bishop
, William Smith
, and Charles B. Thompson also established church organizations that had limited followings.
Joseph Smith's family — including his widow Emma Hale Smith
, and her children — continued to live in Nauvoo after the departure of the majority of the Latter Day Saints. In 1860, the eldest of the Smith sons, Joseph Smith III
, said he received a revelation to take his place as Prophet/President of a "New Organization" of the Latter Day Saint church. This group had gathered together many of the remnants of the various Midwestern Latter Day Saint groups into the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, now called the Community of Christ
. This has continued to be the second largest Latter Day Saint group, with headquarters on a portion of the original Temple Lot
in Independence, Missouri
.
Others remained unaffiliated, however, and in 1863 a group of Latter Day Saints from Illinois and Indiana united under the leadership of Granville Hedrick
and reclaimed the name of the movement's original organization, the "Church of Christ." This group was the first group of Latter Day Saints to return to Independence, Missouri
, to "redeem Zion." They are now headquartered on portion of the original Temple Lot
there and are known as the Church of Christ (Temple Lot)
.
's successors. Brigham Young reorganized the First Presidency in 1847, and the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have continued the same succession pattern: when the Prophet dies, the senior Apostle becomes the head of the LDS church. Today, President Thomas S. Monson
is the Prophet and President, and the LDS church has become known for its proselyting and humanitarian work worldwide.
in the early twenty-first century. Today the church is led by Stephen Mark Veazey, who is no relation to Joseph Smith. While the Community of Christ is somewhat more in line doctrinally with mainline Protestantism, they also believe in the Book of Mormon and an open scriptural canon, and place great emphasis upon peacemaking and similar pursuits.
, which owns the Temple Lot
in Independence, Missouri; the Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite)
, founded by a member of Joseph Smith's Council of Fifty
; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)
, founded by James J. Strang in 1844; the Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)
, founded by a follower of Sidney Rigdon in the early 1860's (and now the third-largest Latter Day Saint denomination); the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message
, founded in the 1940's by a man who claimed to be receiving revelations from John the Baptist
; and the Restoration Branches
, which broke with the Community of Christ in 1984 when that church began ordaining women. In addition, several other Latter Day Saint factions continue to exist, some of which still practice polygamy
.
Latter Day Saints believe in the Bible and other ancient scripture. However, the modern prophet is usually considered to be a more important source of revelation, because God tells him exactly what we need to hear in our day.
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
is a religious movement within Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
that arose during the Second Great Awakening
Second Great Awakening
The Second Great Awakening was a Christian revival movement during the early 19th century in the United States. The movement began around 1800, had begun to gain momentum by 1820, and was in decline by 1870. The Second Great Awakening expressed Arminian theology, by which every person could be...
in the early 19th century and that led to the set of doctrines, practices, and cultures called Mormonism
Mormonism
Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...
and to the existence of numerous Latter Day Saint churches. Its history is characterized by intense controversy and persecution in reaction to some of the movement's doctrines and practices and their relationship to mainstream Christianity (see Mormonism and Christianity
Mormonism and Christianity
Mormonism and Christianity have a complex theological, historical, and sociological relationship. Mormons express the doctrines of Mormonism using standard biblical terminology, and have similar views about the nature of Jesus' atonement, bodily resurrection, and Second Coming as traditional...
). The purpose of this article is to give an overview of the different groups, beliefs, and denominations that began with the influence of Joseph Smith.
The founder of the movement was Joseph Smith, Jr., who was raised in the Burned-over district
Burned-over district
"Burned-over district" refers to the religious scene in western and central region of New York, in the early 19th century, where religious revivals and Pentecostal movements of the Second Great Awakening took place....
of Upstate New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He claimed that, in response to prayer, he saw God the Father
God the Father
God the Father is a gendered title given to God in many monotheistic religions, particularly patriarchal, Abrahamic ones. In Judaism, God is called Father because he is the creator, life-giver, law-giver, and protector...
and Jesus Christ
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, as well as angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s and other visions. This eventually led him to a restoration of Christian doctrine that, he said, was lost after the early Christian apostles were killed. In addition, several early leaders made marked doctrinal and leadership contributions to the movement, including Oliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...
, Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Baptist background:...
, and Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
. Modern-day revelation from God continues to be a principal belief of the Mormon faith.
Second Great Awakening and the Charismatic Movement
The Latter Day Saint movementLatter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
arose in the Palmyra/Manchester area of western New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where its founder, Joseph Smith, Jr., was raised during a period of religious revival in the early 19th century called the Second Great Awakening
Second Great Awakening
The Second Great Awakening was a Christian revival movement during the early 19th century in the United States. The movement began around 1800, had begun to gain momentum by 1820, and was in decline by 1870. The Second Great Awakening expressed Arminian theology, by which every person could be...
. This "awakening" was a Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
response to the secularism
Secularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
of the Age of Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
and extended throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, particularly the frontier areas of the west.
A significant early event in this Second Great Awakening was a large camp meeting
Camp meeting
The camp meeting is a form of Protestant Christian religious service originating in Britain and once common in some parts of the United States, wherein people would travel from a large area to a particular site to camp out, listen to itinerant preachers, and pray...
that took place in 1801 at Cane Ridge, Kentucky
Cane Ridge, Kentucky
Cane Ridge, Kentucky, USA was the site, in 1801, of a large camp meeting that drew thousands of people and had a lasting influence as one of the landmark events of the Second Great Awakening. Methodists, Baptists and Presbyterians all participated, and many of the "spiritual exercises", such as...
, in which participants exhibited charismatic "gifts" such as glossolalia
Glossolalia
Glossolalia or speaking in tongues is the fluid vocalizing of speech-like syllables, often as part of religious practice. The significance of glossolalia has varied with time and place, with some considering it a part of a sacred language...
, prophecy
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
, and heavenly visions. This was contrary to the traditional Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
view that charismatic experiences had ended with the Apostles, the idea that modern Christians could experience charismatic "gifts" such as visions became a common theme in these revivals. Joseph Smith's father, Joseph Smith, Sr.
Joseph Smith, Sr.
Joseph Smith, Sr. was the father of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Joseph Sr. was also one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, which Mormons believe was translated by Joseph Jr. from the Golden Plates. In 1833 Joseph Sr...
said he had several visions or dreams, as had Smith's paternal and maternal grandfathers.
The people of western New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, like the rest of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the time, were also influenced by folk religion
Folk religion
Folk religion consists of ethnic or regional religious customs under the umbrella of an organized religion, but outside of official doctrine and practices...
. The fathers of both Joseph Smith, Jr. and Oliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...
were reported to have used divining rods, though not by those within the LDS church. Joseph Smith reportedly used seer stones, which he used after his First Vision
First Vision
The First Vision refers to a vision that Joseph Smith, Jr. said he received as a youth in a wooded area in Manchester, New York, which his followers call the Sacred Grove. Smith described it as a personal theophany in which he received a forgiveness of sins...
of Jesus Christ. People of the time used such rods and stones in various ways, including to locate underground water, to find lost items, to locate buried treasure or mineral mines, as part of religious or magic rituals, or to communicate with spirit
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
s or angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s. Until about the 1830s, the use of such divining media, even as a profession, was thought by many, though not all, as "honorable and profitable employment". (Palmyra Herald, July 24, 1822)
Another related strand of religious thought that became important to the Latter Day Saint movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
was the Restoration Movement
Restoration Movement
The Restoration Movement is a Christian movement that began on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century...
, primarily influenced by Barton W. Stone
Barton W. Stone
Barton Warren Stone was an important preacher during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century. He was first ordained a Presbyterian minister, then was expelled from the church after the Cane Ridge, Kentucky revival for his stated beliefs in faith as the sole prerequisite for salvation...
(who participated in the Cane Ridge revival), and Alexander Campbell
Alexander Campbell (Restoration movement)
Alexander Campbell was an early leader in the Second Great Awakening of the religious movement that has been referred to as the Restoration Movement, or Stone-Campbell Movement...
, who joined Stone in 1824 in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. Stone and Campbell believed that the division among Christian sects had been caused by a Great Apostasy
Great Apostasy
The Great Apostasy is a term used by some religious groups to describe a general fallen state of traditional Christianity, especially the Papacy, because it allowed the traditional Roman mysteries and deities of solar monism such as Mithras and Sol Invictus and idol worship back into the church,...
(or falling away) from the original teachings of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, and that the correct principles of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
could be re-established by "restoring" practices described in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. The Restorationists also intended to eliminate sectarianism, arguing that there should be only one Christian church, which should be called the "Church of Christ
Church of Christ
Churches of Christ are autonomous Christian congregations associated with one another through common beliefs and practices. They seek to base doctrine and practice on the Bible alone, and seek to be New Testament congregations as originally established by the authority of Christ. Historically,...
."
While these restorationist ideas were circulating in the western frontier, the family of Joseph Smith, Jr. was living in western New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where they attended many of the local revivals. During this time, the area was seeing so many Christian revivals that western New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's most well-known revivalist Charles Grandison Finney
Charles Grandison Finney
Charles Grandison Finney was a leader in the Second Great Awakening. He has been called The Father of Modern Revivalism. Finney was best known as an innovative revivalist, an opponent of Old School Presbyterian theology, an advocate of Christian perfectionism, a pioneer in social reforms in favor...
later dubbed the area the "Burned-Over District
Burned-over district
"Burned-over district" refers to the religious scene in western and central region of New York, in the early 19th century, where religious revivals and Pentecostal movements of the Second Great Awakening took place....
". Because of a lack of clergy from established churches, this area was unusually open to religious innovations, new movements, and social experiments such as religious communism
Religious communism
Religious communism is a form of communism centered on religious principles. The term usually refers to a number of egalitarian and utopian religious societies practicing the voluntary dissolution of private property, so that society's benefits are distributed according to a person's needs, and...
.
Latter Day Saints do not typically distinguish between this Restoration movement and the broader Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, since both were an attempt by humans to return to the values and doctrines taught by Jesus and the Apostles, while most Latter Day Saint groups believe that there was a need for God to actively restore both authority and doctrine. However, in spite of their different use of the word restoration, this movement was an important part of the culture that led Joseph Smith to become interested in religion.
Masonic influences
Joseph Smith, Jr. and several of the church founders were FreemasonsFreemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, and were founding members of a lodge in Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
in March 1842. There are some similarities between Mormon temple worship and symbolism and the stories and symbols of Freemasonry. In modern times, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) holds no position for or against the compatibility of Masonry with LDS Church doctrine.
Origins of the movement
The early men and women who came together to form what became known as the Latter Day Saint movementLatter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
, shared some beliefs in common with other Restorationists, but certain factors made them unique. Although the movements shared a belief in the need to "restore" the "true church" of Jesus Christ, the early Latter Day Saints also believed that direct authority from God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
was essential for such a restoration to be valid.
Movement's early charismatic experiences
The beginning of MormonismMormonism
Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...
centers around a number of early charismatic experiences with the heavenly and the spiritual by Joseph Smith, Jr. and his associates. Many of these experiences, such as visions, visits from angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s, prophecy
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
, and the hearing of God's voice, are still common parts of charismatic Christianity.
Smith's First Vision
Most Latter Day Saints trace the beginnings of Mormonism
Mormonism
Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...
to Joseph Smith's First Vision
First Vision
The First Vision refers to a vision that Joseph Smith, Jr. said he received as a youth in a wooded area in Manchester, New York, which his followers call the Sacred Grove. Smith described it as a personal theophany in which he received a forgiveness of sins...
, which he said he had in about 1820 in the woods near his home. Early accounts of this vision describe it as a vision of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
in which he was told his sins were forgiven. Later elaborations indicate Smith was told that all Christian denominations had become corrupt, and further indicate that Smith saw multiple heavenly beings, including both Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
and God the Father
God the Father
God the Father is a gendered title given to God in many monotheistic religions, particularly patriarchal, Abrahamic ones. In Judaism, God is called Father because he is the creator, life-giver, law-giver, and protector...
.
Within the context of early 19th century America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the First Vision
First Vision
The First Vision refers to a vision that Joseph Smith, Jr. said he received as a youth in a wooded area in Manchester, New York, which his followers call the Sacred Grove. Smith described it as a personal theophany in which he received a forgiveness of sins...
was certainly not the only charismatic experience to be recorded. There are records of others of the day who had similar visions in which they were told that all churches were corrupt; however, the sectarian clergy vigorously opposed such visions, as Smith reports they did of his own vision.
Early visits by angels, Urim and Thummim, and the Book of Mormon
Smith also described many other visions involving angels. Some of his earliest visitations involved a Nephite
Nephite
According to the Book of Mormon, a Nephite is a member of one of the four main groups of settlers of the ancient Americas. The other three groups are the Lamanites, Jaredites and Mulekites. In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites were a group of people descended from or associated with Nephi, the...
prophet-warrior, who called himself Moroni
Moroni (prophet)
The Angel Moroni is an angel that Joseph Smith, Jr. said visited him on numerous occasions, beginning on September 21, 1823. According to Smith, the angel was the guardian of the golden plates, which Latter Day Saints believe were the source material for the Book of Mormon, buried in a hill near...
. Smith said this angel appeared to him many times, and showed him where to find a set of buried Golden Plates
Golden Plates
According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates are the source from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith...
containing ancient writings that the prophet-warrior had sealed in a stone box before his death, together with other artifacts. The writings on the Golden Plates
Golden Plates
According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates are the source from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith...
, according to Smith, contained an account of the various nations that inhabited ancient America, and described how they were led to the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
by Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, but eventually lost their Christian faith
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
through a series of wars and corruption.
After he said he received the Golden Plates
Golden Plates
According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates are the source from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith...
, Smith began to dictate their translation to his wife Emma Hale Smith
Emma Hale Smith
Emma Hale Smith Bidamon was married to Joseph Smith, Jr., until his death in 1844, and was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, during Joseph Smith's lifetime and afterward as a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints...
and various of his associates, including Martin Harris and, for most of the later translation, Oliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...
. Smith said he translated the text through the gift and power of God and through the aid of the Urim and Thummim
Urim and Thummim
In ancient Israelite religion and culture, Urim and Thummim is a phrase from the Hebrew Scriptures or Torah associated with the Hoshen , divination in general, and cleromancy in particular...
or a seer stone. The resulting writings were published in March 1830 as the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
.
The Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
was much more ambitious than being just a purported history of Native Americans. Mormons quickly adopted the book as a work of scripture of similar importance to the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. The book's title page described it as an attempt to show Native Americans "what great things the Lord has done for their fathers", and to convince "Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God." (Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
, title page.) The book contained doctrinal discussions on numerous themes, including how the pride of the wealthy leads to the downfall of civilization, the dangers of "secret combinations" of people who meet secretly and use secret signs and oaths "to carry out the evil purposes of the group", and God's mercy and protection over his followers. Latter Day Saints consider the crowning moment of the book to be Jesus' visit to the ancient Americans, during which time he teaches them in person about the meaning of his death and resurrection.
Shared experiences by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and restoration of the priesthood
Some of the early movement's most important charismatic experiences were shared between Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...
, who joined the movement during the translation of the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
. During the translation of the Golden Plates
Golden Plates
According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates are the source from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith...
, Smith and Cowdery determined that they needed to obtain the Priesthood
Priesthood (Mormonism)
In the Latter Day Saint movement, priesthood is considered to be the power and authority of God, including the authority to act as a leader in the church and to perform ordinances, and the power to perform miracles. A body of priesthood holders is referred to as a quorum.Priesthood denotes elements...
, or the authority to act in God's name, which they believed had been lost from the earth during the Great Apostasy
Great Apostasy
The Great Apostasy is a term used by some religious groups to describe a general fallen state of traditional Christianity, especially the Papacy, because it allowed the traditional Roman mysteries and deities of solar monism such as Mithras and Sol Invictus and idol worship back into the church,...
. According to an account by Cowdery in 1834, they went into the woods near Harmony Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania
Harmony Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania
Harmony Township is a township in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 558 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water.-History:Harmony, Pennsylvania, is...
on May 15, 1829, were visited by an angel who gave them the "Holy Priesthood". (Messenger and Advocate, 1(1), Oct. 1, 1834.) In 1835, Smith and Cowdery stated that the angel was John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
, and that the "Holy Priesthood" was specifically the Priesthood of Aaron", which included the power to baptize. Today this area is preserved as the Aaronic Priesthood Restoration Site
Aaronic Priesthood Restoration Site
The Aaronic Priesthood Restoration Site is a historic site located in Oakland Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The site comprises property once owned, and lived on, by Joseph Smith, Jr and is the spot Smith says the resurrected John the Baptist conferred the Aaronic priesthood upon him in 1829...
.
Smith and Cowdery further elaborated for the 1835 publication of the Doctrine and Covenants
Doctrine and Covenants
The Doctrine and Covenants is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement...
that they were also later visited by Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
, James
Saint James the Great
James, son of Zebedee was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was a son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of John the Apostle...
, and John
John the Apostle
John the Apostle, John the Apostle, John the Apostle, (Aramaic Yoħanna, (c. 6 - c. 100) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles...
, who restored the "keys of your ministry" and the "keys of the kingdom". Neither Smith nor Cowdery ever gave a date for this visitation.
Organization of the Church of Christ
Fayette, New York
Fayette is a town in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 3,643 at the 2000 census.The Town of Fayette is on the western border of the county and is southeast of Geneva, New York.- History :...
, Manchester
Manchester, New York
Manchester, New York is both a town and a village located in Ontario County, New York.*Manchester , New York*Manchester , New York...
, and Colesville
Colesville, New York
Colesville is a town in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 5,441 at the 2000 census.The Town of Colesville is in the northeast part of the county and is northeast of Binghamton.- History :...
.
There is no known record of an early Mormon
Mormonism
Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...
concept of the Lord's church prior to Smith's translation of the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
from April to June 1829. Some time in April 1829, Smith dictated a story of Alma the Elder
Alma the Elder
According to the Book of Mormon, Alma was a Nephite prophet who established the Church of Jesus Christ in the Americas during the reign of the wicked King Noah...
, the former priest of a wicked king, who baptized himself and his followers by immersion, "having authority from the Almighty God", and called his community of believers the "church of God, or the church of Christ".
Some time between June and December 1829, Joseph Smith, David Whitmer
David Whitmer
David Whitmer was an early adherent of the Latter Day Saint movement who eventually became the most interviewed of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's Golden Plates.-Early life:...
and Oliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...
said they received a revelation about "how he should build up his church & the manner thereof". This revelation was called the "Articles of the Church of Christ
Articles of the Church of Christ
The "Articles of the Church of Christ" was an 1829 revelation purportedly given by God to Oliver Cowdery in the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement. The original Articles were never included in the Mormon canon; however, the language of much of the Articles found its way into various...
", and it indicated that the church should ordain priests
Priest (Mormonism)
Priest is a priesthood office in the Aaronic Priesthood of denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.-Priests in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:...
and teachers
Teacher (Mormonism)
Teacher is a priesthood office in the Aaronic priesthood of denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.-Teachers in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:...
"according to the gifts & callings of God unto men". The church was to meet regularly to partake of bread and wine
Sacrament (Mormonism)
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, most often simply referred to as the sacrament, is the sacrament in which participants partake of bread and drink water in remembrance of the body and blood of Jesus Christ...
. Cowdery was described as "an Apostle of Jesus Christ".
On April 6, 1830, Joseph Smith, Jr., Oliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...
, and a group of approximately 30 believers met to formally organize the Church of Christ into a legal institution. By later accounts, this meeting was a charismatic event, in which members of the congregation had visions, prophesied
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
, spoke in tongues, ecstatically shouted praises to the Lord, and fainted (Joseph Smith History, 1839 draft). Also, the church formally ordained a lay ministry. Smith and Cowdery, according to their 1831 account, were each ordained as "an apostle of Jesus Christ, an elder of the church". ("Articles and Covenants of the Church of Christ", Painesville Telegraph, April 19, 1831).
Movement in Ohio
The movement more than doubled in size with the conversion of Sidney RigdonSidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Baptist background:...
, a former Campbellite
Campbellite
Campbellite refers to any of the religious groups historically descended from the Restoration Movement, a religious reform movement in the early 19th century in the United States...
minister. Rigdon led several congregations of Restorationists in Ohio's Western Reserve area, and hundreds of his adherents followed him into Mormonism. A fiery orator, Rigdon was called to be Smith's spokesman and immediately became one of the movement's leaders. By 1831, the church's headquarters were established in Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. Kirtland is famous for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Origins of Kirtland:...
and Smith urged the membership to gather there or to a second outpost of the church in Missouri (see below).
While based in Kirtland, the church changed its name to the "Church of the Latter Day Saints", and added a number of new doctrines and leadership offices. An attempt to establish a communitarian economy known as the "Law of Consecration" was established. The Latter Day Saint understanding of the priesthood was elaborated by the separation of the higher or Melchizedek Priesthood
Melchizedek priesthood
The Melchizedek priesthood is the greater of the two orders of priesthood recognized in Mormonism. The others are the Aaronic priesthood and the rarely recognized Patriarchal priesthood...
offices from the lesser or Aaronic Priesthood offices and by the restoration of the Patriarchal Priesthood
Patriarchal Priesthood
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the patriarchal priesthood is sometimes understood as one of types or "orders" of priesthood. The two commonly known orders are the Aaronic priesthood and the Melchizedek priesthood. The patriarchal priesthood should not be confused with the...
. Also established were the First Presidency
First Presidency
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency was the highest governing body in the Latter Day Saint church established by Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1832, and is the highest governing body of several modern Latter Day Saint denominations...
, the High Council
High council (Mormonism)
In Mormonism, a high council is one of several different governing bodies that have existed in the church hierarchy on many Latter-day Saint denominations...
— later elaborated as the High Council of Zion, the Travelling High Council (or Quorum of the Twelve
Quorum of the Twelve
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Quorum of the Twelve was one of the governing bodies of the church hierarchy organized by the movement's founder Joseph Smith, Jr., and patterned after the twelve apostles of Christ In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Quorum of the Twelve (also known as the...
) and Stake
Stake (Mormonism)
A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. A stake is approximately comparable to a diocese in the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations...
high councils — Seventies, patriarchs
Patriarch (Mormonism)
In the Latter Day Saint movement, Patriarch is an office of the Priesthood whose main duty is to give Patriarchal blessings to church members. It is considered to be either an office of the Patriarchal Priesthood or the Melchizedek priesthood...
, high priests
High priest (Mormonism)
In most denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement, a high priest is a member of the priesthood within the Melchizedek priesthood order. High priests are typically older and more seasoned leaders within the priesthood. The term derives in part from the Epistle to the Hebrews which describes...
, and bishops
Bishop (Mormonism)
Bishop is the highest priesthood office of the Aaronic priesthood in the Latter Day Saint movement. A bishop is usually the leader of a local congregation of church members. The Latter Day Saint concept of the office differs significantly from the role of bishops in other Christian denominations,...
.
During the Kirtland era, many charismatic experiences were reported, many involving visitations of angels or communication from God through stones. However, some Church members claimed to receive revelations that contradicted those received by Joseph Smith. He and several followers prayed about the issue, and Joseph recorded a series of revelations, which included a description of several real spiritual gifts, a statement that only Joseph Smith, as the Prophet, could receive new doctrines and commandments for the Church, and a warning that not all supernatural experiences come from God. This effort to balance charismatic experience with order and stability became a lasting characteristic of the Latter Day Saint Movement.
Kirtland also was the site of the construction of the movement's first temple. Latter Day Saints reported a great outpouring of spiritual experiences in connection with the Kirtland Temple's
Kirtland Temple
The Kirtland Temple is a National Historic Landmark in Kirtland, Ohio, USA, on the eastern edge of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Owned and operated by the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , the house of worship was the first temple to be...
dedication. The temple was associated with the Kirtland-era "endowment
Endowment (Mormonism)
In Mormonism, the endowment is an ordinance designed to prepare participants to become kings, queens, priests, and priestesses in the afterlife. As part of the ceremony, participants take part in a scripted reenactment of the Biblical creation and fall of Adam and Eve...
", and with the temple ceremonies of "foot washing" and "solemn assembly." The movement also established the "School of the Prophets
School of the Prophets
In Mormonism, the School of the Prophets was a select group of early Latter Day Saint leaders who began meeting on January 23, 1833 in Kirtland, Ohio under the direction of Mormon prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. for both theological and secular learning...
" which met in the temple. At Kirtland, Smith reported many revelations including the "Word of Wisdom
Word of Wisdom
The "Word of Wisdom" is the common name of a section of the Doctrine and Covenants, a book considered by many churches within the Latter Day Saint movement to consist of revelations from God...
" — advocating temperance and dietary restrictions. He acquired Egyptian papyrus scrolls
Book of Abraham
The Book of Abraham is a 1835 work by Joseph Smith, Jr. that he said was based on Egyptian papyri purchased from a traveling mummy exhibition. According to Smith, the book was "a translation of some ancient records....purporting to be the writings of Abraham, while he was in Egypt, called the Book...
which he said contained the writings of the Biblical patriarchs Abraham and Joseph. According to some reports, it was in Kirtland that Smith first began to practice the doctrine of plural marriage
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
.
In 1837, Smith and Rigdon founded an "anti-bank" called the Kirtland Safety Society
Kirtland Safety Society
The Kirtland Safety Society was a quasi-bank organized in 1836 by leaders and followers of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. According to KSS's 1837 "Articles of Agreement", it was intended to serve the banking needs of the growing Mormon community in Kirtland, Ohio...
. When it failed, some 300 of the Kirtland membership became disillusioned, including a third of the church leadership. The result was the movement's first major schism. A new organization led by Smith's former secretary, Warren Parish, along with Martin Harris and others, vied for control of the church in Kirtland. Re-establishing the original "Church of Christ" name, these "reformed Latter Day Saints" took possession of the temple and excommunicated Smith and Rigdon. Smith and Rigdon relocated to Missouri and were followed there by hundreds of loyalists in a trek known as the "Kirtland Camp."
Movement in Missouri
As the church was gathering to Kirtland, a second gathering place was established 900 miles distant, on the frontier in Jackson County, MissouriJackson County, Missouri
Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. With a population of 674,158 in the 2010 census, Jackson County is the second most populous of Missouri's counties, after St. Louis County. Kansas City, the state's most populous city and focus city of the Kansas City Metropolitan...
. Joseph Smith Jr. had revealed to Latter Day Saints that they were to prepare "the way of the Lord for his Second Coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
", "for the time is soon at hand that I shall come..." (D & C 34:6,7) He also revealed that the "center place" of the City of Zion would be near the town of Independence
Independence, Missouri
Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
in Jackson County. (D & C 57:3) Latter Day Saints began to settle the area to "build up" the City of Zion in 1831. Settlement was rapid and non-Mormon residents became alarmed that they might lose political control of the county to the Latter Day Saints. In October 1833, non-Mormon vigilantes succeeded in driving the Mormons from the county. Deprived of their homes and property, the Latter Day Saints temporarily settled in the area around Jackson County, especially in Clay County.
Years elapsed and the Mormon lawsuits and petitions failed to bring any justice: the non-Mormons in Jackson refused to allow the Mormons to return. Meanwhile, new converts to Mormonism continued to migrate to Missouri and settle in Clay County. In 1836, the Missouri legislature created Caldwell County
Caldwell County, Missouri
Caldwell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. , the population was 8,969. Its county seat is Kingston. The county was organized in 1836 as a haven for the Mormons, who had been previously driven from Jackson County, Missouri in November of 1833 and had been refugees in...
specifically for Mormon settlement and Missouri branches of the church gathered there, centering on the town of Far West
Far West, Missouri
Far West, Missouri, was a Latter Day Saint settlement in Caldwell County, Missouri.-Foundation and early history:The town was founded by Missouri Mormon leaders, W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer in August 1836 shortly before the county's creation. The town was platted originally as a square area,...
.
Church headquarters established in Far West
In 1838, Joseph Smith Jr., Sidney Rigdon and their loyalists left the former church headquarters of Kirtland and relocated to Far West. A brief leadership struggle left the former heads of the Missouri portion of the church — David WhitmerDavid Whitmer
David Whitmer was an early adherent of the Latter Day Saint movement who eventually became the most interviewed of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's Golden Plates.-Early life:...
, Oliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...
, William Wines Phelps and others — excommunicated. Years later, many of this group of "dissenters" became part of the Whitmerite
Church of Christ (Whitmerite)
The Church of Christ was a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement based on the claims of David Whitmer, one of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's Golden Plates....
schism in the Latter Day Saint movement.
While the church was headquartered in Far West, Smith announced revelations that changed the name of the church to the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" and initiated the "Law of Tithing." Conflicts with non-Mormon settlers arose as the church began to plant colonies in the counties surrounding Caldwell. These escalated into what has been called the 1838 Mormon War. The perceived militant attitude adopted by the church caused some leaders, including Thomas B. Marsh
Thomas B. Marsh
Thomas Baldwin Marsh was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He served as the first President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from 1835 to 1839...
, president of the Quorum of the Twelve
Quorum of the Twelve
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Quorum of the Twelve was one of the governing bodies of the church hierarchy organized by the movement's founder Joseph Smith, Jr., and patterned after the twelve apostles of Christ In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Quorum of the Twelve (also known as the...
, to break with Smith and Rigdon. This precipitated another schism which led to the foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ, the Bride, the Lamb's Wife
Church of Jesus Christ, the Bride, the Lamb's Wife
The Church of Jesus Christ, the Bride, the Lamb's Wife was a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement, which drew its membership primarily from members who had dissented from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints when it was headquartered in Far West, Missouri in 1838.The church was...
by George M. Hinkle
George M. Hinkle
George M. Hinkle was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement.Born in Jefferson County, Kentucky on November 13, 1801, Hinkle joined the early Latter Day Saint church in 1832. He sat on the church's High Council in Far West, Missouri and led the settlement of De Witt, Missouri...
, who had been the Mormon commander of the Caldwell County militia.
As a result of the war, 2,500 Missouri militia troops were called out to put down the Mormon "rebellion." Smith and other church leaders were imprisoned in Liberty, Missouri
Liberty Jail
Liberty Jail is a former jail in Liberty, Missouri, USA where Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of Latter Day Saint movement, and other associates were imprisoned from December 1, 1838 to April 6, 1839 during the 1838 Mormon War...
and the majority of the Latter Day Saints were deprived of their property and expelled from the state.
Movement in Illinois
Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
. Smith and other leaders were allowed after several months of harsh treatment to escape Missourian custody, and they rejoined the main body of the movement in April, 1839. In 1841, construction began on a new temple
Nauvoo Temple
The Nauvoo Temple was the second temple constructed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, commonly known as the Mormons. The church's first temple was completed in Kirtland, Ohio, United States in 1836. When the main body of the church was forced out of Nauvoo, Illinois in the...
, significantly more magnificent than the one left behind in Kirtland. The Nauvoo city charter authorized independent municipal courts, the foundation of a university
Nauvoo University
Nauvoo University was a private academic institution organized by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois...
and the establishment of a militia unit known as the "Nauvoo Legion
Nauvoo Legion
The Nauvoo Legion was a militia originally organized by the Latter Day Saints to defend the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, . To curry political favor with the ambiguously-political Saints, the Illinois state legislature granted Nauvoo a liberal city charter that gave the Nauvoo Legion extraordinary...
." These and other institutions gave the Latter Day Saints a considerable degree of autonomy.
Nauvoo saw the final flowering of Joseph Smith's vision for the movement, including some of Mormonism's more controversial practices. It was here that Smith introduced Baptism for the dead
Baptism for the dead
Baptism for the dead, vicarious baptism or proxy baptism is the religious practice of baptizing a living person on behalf of one who is dead, with the living person acting as the deceased person's proxy...
, Rebaptism
Rebaptism (Mormonism)
Rebaptism is a practice in some denominations of the Latter Day Saint or Mormonism movement.The Latter Day Saints were headquartered in Nauvoo, Illinois. Many who were already baptized members of the church, were rebaptised either to show a renewal of their commitment to the movement or as part of...
, the Nauvoo-era Endowment
Endowment (Mormonism)
In Mormonism, the endowment is an ordinance designed to prepare participants to become kings, queens, priests, and priestesses in the afterlife. As part of the ceremony, participants take part in a scripted reenactment of the Biblical creation and fall of Adam and Eve...
, and the ordinance of the Second Anointing
Second Anointing
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the second anointing, also known historically and in Latter Day Saint scripture as the fulness of the priesthood, is an obscure and relatively rare ordinance usually conducted in temples as extension of the Nauvoo Endowment ceremony. Founder Joseph Smith, Jr...
. In addition, he created a new inner council of the church — containing both men and women — called the Anointed Quorum
Anointed Quorum
The Anointed Quorum, also known as the Quorum of the Anointed, or the Holy Order, was a select body of men and women who Joseph Smith, Jr. initiated into Mormon temple ordinances at Nauvoo, Illinois, which gave them special standing in the early Latter Day Saint movement...
. Although, according to some reports, Smith himself had been secretly practicing what he later called plural marriage
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
for some time, in Nauvoo he began to teach other leaders the doctrine.
In March 1844, Smith was said by William Law
William Law (Mormonism)
William Law was an important figure in the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement, holding a position in the early church's First Presidency under Joseph Smith, Jr...
to have organized a secret council of the church called the "Council of the Kingdom". Practices of this council included acclaiming Joseph Smith as "Prophet, Priest, and King" in addition to polygamy. These secrets were threatened to be released in a newspaper called the Nauvoo Expositor
Nauvoo Expositor
The Nauvoo Expositor was a newspaper in Nauvoo, Illinois that published only one issue, which was dated June 7, 1844. Its publication set off a chain of events that led to the death of Latter Day Saint movement founder, Joseph Smith, Jr....
. Smith, acting in his capacity as mayor and head of the municipal court, responded by having the newspaper declared a "public nuisance" and by ordering the destruction of the press.
Death of Joseph Smith
Whenever Latter Day Saints gathered in large numbers, they met with opposition from neighbors who suspected that Mormon bloc-voting would lead to theocracyTheocracy
Theocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
. By the mid-1840s, many non-Mormons in Hancock County
Hancock County, Illinois
Hancock County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 19,104, which is a decrease of 5.1% from 20,121 in 2000. Its county seat is Carthage. Hamilton is the largest city in Hancock County, with Carthage being the second largest...
felt threatened by growing Mormon political power, commercial rivalries, and a new religion with at least two elements that were hard to digest in the religious community of that time: first, Latter Day Saints had a somewhat different perspective on the nature of God from traditional Protestants; second, the claim of modern revelation, together with the claim of new scripture, opened the canon of the Bible.
Smith's destruction of the Expositor exacerbated all these fears and non-Mormons throughout Illinois began to clamor for his arrest. When Smith submitted to imprisonment in the county seat of Carthage
Carthage, Illinois
Carthage is a city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,725 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Hancock County. Carthage is most famous for being the site of the murder of Joseph Smith in 1844.- History :...
, the Governor of Illinois, Thomas Ford
Thomas Ford (politician)
Thomas Ford was the eighth Governor of Illinois, and served in this capacity from 1842 to 1846. A Democrat, he is remembered largely for his involvement in the death of Joseph Smith, Jr., and the subsequent Illinois Mormon War...
, left the jail, taking the only impartial local militia unit with him. With the jail being guarded only by two guards and a unit of anti-Mormon
Anti-Mormon
Anti-Mormonism is discrimination, persecution, hostility or prejudice directed at members of the Latter Day Saint movement, particularly The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
militiamen, the Carthage Greys, a mob of disbanded militia units, attacked without resistance. Joseph and his brother Hyrum were killed.
All men who were tried for the murders were acquitted after the prosecuting attorney dismissed the testimonies of the state's witnesses suddenly in his closing remarks.
Succession Crisis of 1844
In the months following Smith's murder, it was not immediately clear who would lead the church. His brother, HyrumHyrum Smith
Hyrum Smith was an American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the older brother of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr....
, who was Assistant President of the Church
Assistant President of the Church
Assistant President of the Church was a position in the leadership hierarchy in the early days of the Latter Day Saint church founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. The Assistant President was the second-highest authority in the church and was a member of the church's governing First Presidency...
, had died with him, and another brother who may have been a presumed successor should both Hyrum and Joseph die, Samuel
Samuel Harrison Smith
Samuel Harrison Smith was one of the younger brothers of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Samuel was a leader in his own right and a successful missionary. Smith is commonly regarded as the first Latter Day Saint missionary following the organization of the Church of...
, died shortly therefter. Another Smith brother, William, as well as Samuel's daughter claim that Samuel was poisoned by Hosea Stout
Hosea Stout
Hosea Stout was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement, a Mormon pioneer, and a lawyer and politician in Utah Territory....
on orders from Apostle Willard Richards
Willard Richards
Willard Richards was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and served as Second Counselor in the First Presidency to church president Brigham Young in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death.Willard Richards was born in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, to...
so that he would not be proclaimed the successor to Joseph Smith, as was about to happen, before Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
could return to Nauvoo and stake his claim. Other men who (by some reports) were designated as successors, including Book of Mormon witnesses
Three Witnesses
The Three Witnesses were a group of three early leaders of the Latter Day Saint movement who signed a statement in 1830 saying that an angel had shown them the golden plates from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon and that they had heard God's voice testifying that the book had...
David Whitmer
David Whitmer
David Whitmer was an early adherent of the Latter Day Saint movement who eventually became the most interviewed of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's Golden Plates.-Early life:...
and Oliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...
, had been excommunicated from the church.
As a result, three of the principal claimants on the scene were:
- Sidney RigdonSidney RigdonSidney Rigdon was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Baptist background:...
, the only remaining member of the First PresidencyFirst PresidencyIn the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency was the highest governing body in the Latter Day Saint church established by Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1832, and is the highest governing body of several modern Latter Day Saint denominations...
— the church's highest executive council before his excomunication. - The (Presiding) High CouncilHigh council (Mormonism)In Mormonism, a high council is one of several different governing bodies that have existed in the church hierarchy on many Latter-day Saint denominations...
of Nauvoo — the church's highest legislative and judicial council — led by William MarksWilliam Marks (Mormonism)William Marks was a leader in the early days of the Latter Day Saint movement and was a member of the First Presidency in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints...
. - The Quorum of the TwelveQuorum of the TwelveIn the Latter Day Saint movement, the Quorum of the Twelve was one of the governing bodies of the church hierarchy organized by the movement's founder Joseph Smith, Jr., and patterned after the twelve apostles of Christ In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Quorum of the Twelve (also known as the...
Apostles — the council in charge of the church's missionary program — led by Brigham YoungBrigham YoungBrigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
.
Smith's widow, Emma
Emma Hale Smith
Emma Hale Smith Bidamon was married to Joseph Smith, Jr., until his death in 1844, and was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, during Joseph Smith's lifetime and afterward as a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints...
, wanted Marks to become church president, but Marks believed that Rigdon had the superior claim.
In a general meeting of the church at Nauvoo on August 8, 1844, Rigdon and Young presented their respective cases. As the only surviving member of the First Presidency (who had not officially apostacized), Rigdon argued that he should be made "guardian" of the church. Young argued that no one could succeed the fallen prophet. Instead, he proposed that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles be constituted as the new presiding authority. A vote of the congregation overwhelmingly supported Young's proposal, said to have been caused by Brigham briefly yet miraculously having the "voice and contenance of Joseph Smith" during his talk. Soon after, Rigdon left Nauvoo and established his own church organization
Rigdonite
Rigdonite is a name given to members of the Latter Day Saint movement who accept Sidney Rigdon as the successor in the church presidency to movement founder, Joseph Smith, Jr. The early history of the Rigdonite movement is shared with the history of the Latter Day Saint movement, but as of the...
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
.
Rigdon, Young and Marks were later joined by a fourth claimant, James J. Strang of Voree, Wisconsin
Voree, Wisconsin
Voree is an unincorporated community on the outskirts of present-day Burlington, in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States, in the town limits of Spring Prairie. It is best known as the historic and current headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , a denomination of the...
, who claimed that Smith had sent him a letter designating him as his successor. However, Strang had only recently joined the church, and lacked name-recognition among the rank-and-file Mormons in Nauvoo. Though he would manage to attract a sizable following, his assassination in 1856 all but extinguished his sect
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement with around three hundred members as of 1998...
.
Further schisms and the "Mormon War in Illinois"
With Rigdon's flight, Young and most of the Twelve Apostles assumed control of church headquarters in Nauvoo. A conflict with Joseph Smith's last surviving brother, WilliamWilliam Smith (Mormonism)
William Smith was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and one of the original members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Smith was the eighth child of Joseph Smith, Sr...
, was a factor that led the remaining members of the Smith family to break with the Twelve. Many (though not all) initially followed Strang, though all later left Strang's organization and joined themselves to the nascent Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which coalesced in the early 1860s around Joseph Smith's eldest son, Joseph Smith III
Joseph Smith III
Joseph Smith III was the eldest surviving son of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and Emma Hale Smith...
.
Meanwhile at Nauvoo, the conflict between Mormons and non-Mormons escalated into what is sometimes called the "Mormon War in Illinois." Latter Day Saints in outlying areas were driven from their homes and gathered to Nauvoo for protection. The Illinois state legislature voted to revoke Nauvoo's charter and the city began to operate extra-legally. At about this time, Nauvoo's population peaked; it may have had as many as 12,000 inhabitants (and several nearly as large suburbs), rivaling Chicago, Illinois, whose 1845 population was about 15,000, and its suburbs. However, by the end of 1845, it became clear that no peace was possible, and Young and the Twelve negotiated a truce so that the Latter Day Saints could prepare to abandon the city. The winter of 1845-46 saw the enormous preparations for the Mormon Exodus across the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
.
Major divisions
The largest group of Latter Day Saints followed nine of the Twelve Apostles west, establishing a way station at Winter Quarters, NebraskaWinter Quarters, Nebraska
Winter Quarters was an encampment formed by approximately 2,500 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as they waited during the winter of 1846–47 for better conditions for their trek westward. It followed a preliminary tent settlement some 3½ miles west at Cutler's Park. The...
in 1846, and entering Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably West Valley City, Murray, Sandy, and West Jordan; its total population is 1,029,655 as of 2010...
in 1847. Having planted this initial colony in the Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
, Young returned to Winter Quarters and in December 1847 reorganized his faction of the church, establishing himself as the head of a new First Presidency
First Presidency
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency was the highest governing body in the Latter Day Saint church established by Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1832, and is the highest governing body of several modern Latter Day Saint denominations...
. This reorganization led to additional schisms, including the break with Alpheus Cutler
Alpheus Cutler
Alpheus Cutler was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement who served in several church positions under Mormon founder Joseph Smith, Jr...
and what became the Church of Christ (Cutlerite) as well as Lyman Wight's
Lyman Wight
Lyman Wight was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the leader of the Latter Day Saints in Daviess County, Missouri in 1838. In 1841, he was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. After the death of Joseph Smith, Jr...
group in Zodiac, Texas. Young's organization today is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
and is known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (See History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is typically divided into three broad time periods: the early history during the lifetime of Joseph Smith, Jr...
.)
The bulk of Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Baptist background:...
's church had dissolved by 1847, but some loyalists reorganized as The Church of Jesus Christ
Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)
The Church of Jesus Christ is a Christian religious denomination headquartered in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, United States. The Church of Jesus Christ is a Restorationist church and is historically part of the Latter Day Saint movement...
under the leadership of William Bickerton
William Bickerton
William Bickerton was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement after the 1844 succession crisis. In 1862, Bickerton became the founding president of the church now known as The Church of Jesus Christ , which is one of many churches that claim to be a continuation of the Church of Christ founded...
in 1862. James J. Strang's church in Voree suffered a significant schism in 1849, led by former follower Aaron Smith. After Strang's 1856 assassination, much of the remaining membership fell away from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement with around three hundred members as of 1998...
, but a small following remained loyal. Other leaders, including David Whitmer
David Whitmer
David Whitmer was an early adherent of the Latter Day Saint movement who eventually became the most interviewed of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's Golden Plates.-Early life:...
, James Collin Brewster, James Emmett, Gladden Bishop
Gladden Bishop
Francis Gladden Bishop was a minor leader in the Latter Day Saint movement after the 1844 succession crisis. Bishop claimed to be the rightful successor to Joseph Smith, Jr.; from the 1850s until his death, Bishop led a succession of small groups of Latter Day Saints and converts...
, William Smith
William Smith (Mormonism)
William Smith was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and one of the original members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Smith was the eighth child of Joseph Smith, Sr...
, and Charles B. Thompson also established church organizations that had limited followings.
Joseph Smith's family — including his widow Emma Hale Smith
Emma Hale Smith
Emma Hale Smith Bidamon was married to Joseph Smith, Jr., until his death in 1844, and was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, during Joseph Smith's lifetime and afterward as a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints...
, and her children — continued to live in Nauvoo after the departure of the majority of the Latter Day Saints. In 1860, the eldest of the Smith sons, Joseph Smith III
Joseph Smith III
Joseph Smith III was the eldest surviving son of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and Emma Hale Smith...
, said he received a revelation to take his place as Prophet/President of a "New Organization" of the Latter Day Saint church. This group had gathered together many of the remnants of the various Midwestern Latter Day Saint groups into the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, now called the Community of Christ
Community of Christ
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , is an American-based international Christian church established in April 1830 that claims as its mission "to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace"...
. This has continued to be the second largest Latter Day Saint group, with headquarters on a portion of the original Temple Lot
Temple Lot
The Temple Lot, located in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, is the first site to be dedicated for the construction of a temple in the Latter Day Saint movement...
in Independence, Missouri
Independence, Missouri
Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
.
Others remained unaffiliated, however, and in 1863 a group of Latter Day Saints from Illinois and Indiana united under the leadership of Granville Hedrick
Granville Hedrick
Granville Hedrick was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement after the 1844 succession crisis. In 1863, Hedrick became the founding leader of the Church of Christ , which is one of many churches that claim to be a continuation of the Church of Christ founded by Joseph Smith, Jr...
and reclaimed the name of the movement's original organization, the "Church of Christ." This group was the first group of Latter Day Saints to return to Independence, Missouri
Independence, Missouri
Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
, to "redeem Zion." They are now headquartered on portion of the original Temple Lot
Temple Lot
The Temple Lot, located in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, is the first site to be dedicated for the construction of a temple in the Latter Day Saint movement...
there and are known as the Church of Christ (Temple Lot)
Church of Christ (Temple Lot)
The Church of Christ is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement headquartered in Independence, Missouri on what is known as the Temple Lot. Members of the church have been known colloquially as "Hedrickites", after Granville Hedrick, who was ordained as the church's first leader in July 1863...
.
Denominations
While it would be impractical to include an in-depth discussion of every church in the Latter Day Saint movement, the two largest and most prominent sects are included here, together with a brief listing of some of the more prominent smaller sects.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
By far the largest of the sects with membership in the millions, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continues to be led by Brigham YoungBrigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
's successors. Brigham Young reorganized the First Presidency in 1847, and the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have continued the same succession pattern: when the Prophet dies, the senior Apostle becomes the head of the LDS church. Today, President Thomas S. Monson
Thomas S. Monson
Thomas Spencer Monson is an American religious leader and author, and the 16th and current President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . As president, Monson is considered by adherents of the religion to be a "prophet, seer, and revelator" of God's will on earth...
is the Prophet and President, and the LDS church has become known for its proselyting and humanitarian work worldwide.
Community of Christ
The Community of Christ is the second largest group, with over 200,000 members. Joseph Smith's descendants continued to serve as Prophet and President until the retirement of Wallace B. SmithWallace B. Smith
Wallace Bunnell Anthony Smith was Prophet-President of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , from April 5, 1978 through April 15, 1996. Son of President W. Wallace Smith, he was designated as his father's successor in 1976, and ordained church president in 1978 when his...
in the early twenty-first century. Today the church is led by Stephen Mark Veazey, who is no relation to Joseph Smith. While the Community of Christ is somewhat more in line doctrinally with mainline Protestantism, they also believe in the Book of Mormon and an open scriptural canon, and place great emphasis upon peacemaking and similar pursuits.
Minor factions
Other notable minor factions of the Latter Day Saint movement include: the Church of Christ (Temple Lot)Church of Christ (Temple Lot)
The Church of Christ is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement headquartered in Independence, Missouri on what is known as the Temple Lot. Members of the church have been known colloquially as "Hedrickites", after Granville Hedrick, who was ordained as the church's first leader in July 1863...
, which owns the Temple Lot
Temple Lot
The Temple Lot, located in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, is the first site to be dedicated for the construction of a temple in the Latter Day Saint movement...
in Independence, Missouri; the Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite)
Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite)
The Church of Jesus Christ is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement headquartered in Independence, Missouri. This church derives its epithet from its founder, Alpheus Cutler, a member of the Nauvoo High Council and of Joseph Smith's secretive Council of Fifty...
, founded by a member of Joseph Smith's Council of Fifty
Council of Fifty
The Council of Fifty was a Latter Day Saint organization established by Joseph Smith, Jr...
; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement with around three hundred members as of 1998...
, founded by James J. Strang in 1844; the Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)
Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)
The Church of Jesus Christ is a Christian religious denomination headquartered in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, United States. The Church of Jesus Christ is a Restorationist church and is historically part of the Latter Day Saint movement...
, founded by a follower of Sidney Rigdon in the early 1860's (and now the third-largest Latter Day Saint denomination); the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message
Church of Christ with the Elijah Message
The Church of Christ "With the Elijah Message," Established Anew 1929 is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement, headquartered in Jackson County, Missouri, which split from the Church of Christ in 1943 in a dispute over claimed revelations given to its founder William A. Draves...
, founded in the 1940's by a man who claimed to be receiving revelations from John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
; and the Restoration Branches
Restoration Branches
The Restoration Branches movement is a Christian/Latter Day Saint religious sect which was formed in the 1980s by members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in a reaction against the events of the RLDS 1984 world conference...
, which broke with the Community of Christ in 1984 when that church began ordaining women. In addition, several other Latter Day Saint factions continue to exist, some of which still practice polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
.
Jesus Christ
Latter Day Saints share a central belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Savior and Redeemer of the world. They accept his sacrifice as the only way to be saved. According to this movement's theology, that is the central message of the scriptures.Revelation and scripture
Latter Day Saints generally share an open canon. While different sects believe in different revelations, a central theme of the Latter Day Saint movement is that God always has more to say to the church, because the church's situation is always changing.Latter Day Saints believe in the Bible and other ancient scripture. However, the modern prophet is usually considered to be a more important source of revelation, because God tells him exactly what we need to hear in our day.
Priesthood authority
Most Latter Day Saint sects believe that authority from Jesus Christ is necessary in order to baptize, give the gift of the Holy Ghost, or administer the Lord's Supper (or the sacrament). This Priesthood authority can be traced to the day that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the Melchizedek Priesthood from Peter, James, and John, who received the Priesthood from Jesus himself.Zion
Many of Joseph Smith's early revelations prophesied that the Latter Day Saints would build Zion, a new Jerusalem, a religious utopia centered in Jackson County, MO. The Prophet urged his followers to give everything they had to this cause. However, when they failed to live the Law of Consecration, which was a promise to voluntarily give all their property to the community for equal distribution, Joseph Smith received a revelation that God would build Zion later, when the people were ready. Both the Community of Christ and the LDS Church have come to understand Zion as primarily a community way of life that is centered around Jesus Christ, but many people still believe that, when they are ready, they will be able to build the literal city of Zion as well.See also
- Haun's Mill MassacreHaun's Mill massacreThe Haun's Mill massacre was an event in the history of the Latter Day Saint movement. It occurred on October 30, 1838 when a mob/militia unit from Livingston County attacked a Mormon settlement in eastern Caldwell County, Missouri, United States, after the Battle of Crooked River...
- History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsHistory of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsThe history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is typically divided into three broad time periods: the early history during the lifetime of Joseph Smith, Jr...
- Latter Day Saint HistoriansLatter Day Saint HistoriansHistorians of the Latter Day Saint movement are a diverse group of historians writing about Mormonism. Historians devoted to the History of the Latter Day Saint movement may be members of an LDS faith or non-members with an academic interest...
- List of articles about Mormonism
- Mormonism and history
- Restorationism (Christian primitivism)
- Open Access Journal of Mormon History