Mormon Reformation
Encyclopedia
The Mormon Reformation was a period of renewed emphasis on spirituality within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It took place in 1856 and 1857 and was under the direction of President of the Church Brigham Young
. During the Reformation, Young sent his counselor Jedediah M. Grant
and other church leaders to preach to the people throughout Utah Territory
and surrounding Mormon communities with the goal of inspiring them to reject sin and turn towards spiritual things. The most conservative, and even reactionary, elements of LDS Church doctrine dominated the public discussions during the Reformation. As a result of the Reformation, almost all "active" or involved LDS Church members were rebaptized
as a symbol of their commitment.
." The undeveloped area required labor for the cutting of timber, road development, the creation of farms and pastures for cattle and other livestock; and the construction of homes, meetinghouses, mills, businesses, and irrigation systems. Church members who were willing to physically strengthen the Mormon settlements were so valued that "problems they might have with smoking, drinking, profaning, Sabbath breaking, and even immoral living did not normally cost them their standing in the community and the Church." Consequently, by the early 1850s, communities within the Mormon settlement region were prospering and secure but contained a segment whose personal practices were not within the exacting standards of the LDS Church.
In 1852, Young felt the church in Utah was secure enough to announce the practice of polygamy
to the world. Shortly after the announcement, however, the Latter-day Saints in Utah experienced a period of trial. The population of the new territory was increasing at a rapid rate as Mormon converts from Europe joined the American Saints in their migration across the Great Plains
. In 1855, a drought struck the flourishing but still largely undeveloped territory. Very little rain fell, and even the normally dependable mountain streams ran very low. In addition to the damage caused by drought, an infestation of grasshoppers and crickets destroyed whatever crops the Mormons had managed to salvage. During the winter of 1855–56, flour and other basic necessities were suddenly very scarce and very costly. Heber C. Kimball
wrote his son, "Dollars and cents do not count now, in these times, for they are the tightest that I have ever seen in the territory of Utah."
In September 1856, as the drought continued, the trials and difficulties of the previous year led to an explosion of intense soul searching. Jedediah M. Grant
, a counselor in the First Presidency
and a well-known conservative voice in the extended community, preached three days of fiery sermons to the people in the area of modern Kaysville, Utah
. He called for repentance and a general recommitment to moral living and religious teachings. Five hundred people presented themselves for rebaptism as a symbol of their determination to reform their lives. The zealous message spread from Kaysville to surrounding Mormon communities. Church leaders traveled around the territory, expressing their concern about signs of spiritual decay and calling for repentance. Members were asked to seal their rededication with rebaptism.
This reformation was promoted intensely by all three members of the First Presidency, as well as several apostles, who gave fiery sermons in favor of greater orthodoxy, and rebaptism in preparation for the full practice of "celestial law" in Utah Territory prior to the Second Coming
, which they thought would be soon. According to Young:
Throughout the winter special meetings were held and Mormons urged to adhere to the commandments of God and the practices and precepts of the Church. Preaching placed emphasis on the practice of plural marriage
, adherence to the church practice of the Word of Wisdom
, attendance at church meetings, and personal prayer. Several sermons also focused on improving personal appearance, dress and hygiene. Although Grant died shortly after one of his winter tours, a victim of pneumonia
, the influence of the reformation spread throughout the Mormon colonies. On December 30, 1856, the entire all-Mormon Utah territorial legislature was rebaptized for the remission of their sins, and confirmed under the hands of the Twelve Apostles. As time went on, however, the sermons became excessive and intolerant, and invoked threats of hellfire and damnation to motivate members.
To encourage reformation, certain adjunct theocratic committees may have attempted to ensure order and conformity by censuring local troublemakers. Dissident Mormons of the time reported rumors that committees resorted to summary judgments with punishments meted out by enforcers colloquially termed "Danite
s" or "destroying angels". For example, the southern Utah pioneer and militia scout of the time John Chatterley later wrote that he had received threats from "secret Committee, called ... 'destroying angels'" in late 1856 and early 1857.. Commentators have pointed to pronouncements during this period by Young and Grant which would seem to give vigilante-style bloodshed a religious basis. Young denied that any such acts were condoned by him or the church leadership. In a speech in 1867 Young said:
Historian Dean L. May
noted that the more zealous reformation efforts were not universally accepted in Utah: in a possible tongue-in-cheek diary entry, Hannah Tapfield King responded to Grant's accusation that the Polysophical Society (a literary club organized by the more socially liberal Lorenzo Snow
and his sister Eliza R. Snow), had an "adulterous spirit." King wrote, "Well, there may be, for he says there is, and probably he understands it. To me it all seemed good and nice, of course a little vanity and folly, and that one sees in the tabernacle and everywhere."
As in similar Protestant reformation movements, the enormous enthusiasm and dramatic signs of repentance could not be sustained. By the spring of 1857, with the return of more familiar spring rains, the religious life of Mormon communities returned to a more normal pattern. The Reformation appears to have burned out completely by early 1858.
and George A. Smith
had given earlier in the history of the LDS Church had touched on the concept of blood atonement
, suggesting that apostates could become so enveloped in sin that the voluntary shedding of their own blood might increase their chances of eternal salvation. On September 21, 1856, while calling for sincere repentance by church members, Brigham Young took the idea further, and stated:
Young reiterated the concept in several other sermons during the Reformation period. Although this belief was never widely accepted by church members, it became part of the public image of the church at the time and was pilloried in eastern newspapers along with the practice of polygamy. During the subsequent history of the church, this concept was frequently criticized by church members and was formally repudiated as church doctrine in 1889 and again in 1978.
According to historian Paul H. Peterson, the pledges of conformity with church practices led to a measurable increase in plural marriages throughout the Mormon region. Many men who had previously resisted plural marriages were sealed to one or more plural wives. Stanley S. Ivins' statistical research reveals that the number of plural marriages in relation to population was 65 percent higher in 1856-57 than in any other two-year period in Utah history.
A second impact of the Reformation was an increase in practical and emotional unity among the Church membership. Historians James Allen and Glen Leonard point out that the Reformation "may have accounted for the fact that the following year the Saints were emotionally prepared to confront the army of the United States en route to Utah." During this conflict, known as the Utah War
, Mormon militia were asked to engage in diversionary action on the plains and in Wyoming
. And Church members were prepared, under Young's direction, to abandon and destroy their homes, farms, and businesses and move again to the White Mountains
of Arizona
, which Young had selected as a possible place of refuge should full-scale war begin. Historians have also asserted that the emotional rhetoric contributed to the defensive dialogue and actions in Southern Utah which ultimately burst forth in the Mountain Meadows massacre
.
Also during this time, leaders at church headquarters established a policy of assigning two "home" or ward missionaries in each congregational unit. They were asked to visit each family in the ward, assess their material needs and provide help where possible. They were also asked to inquire into family members' spiritual commitment, including asking searching questions about religious practices. After some months of these missionary visits, Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City
and surrounding communities who had not yet been rebaptized were asked to do so as an expression of their ongoing commitment to the church. Paul H. Peterson asserts that those who refused to be rebaptized might "lose their membership in the Church. In Britain, zealous application of Reformation principles resulted in trimming from Church rolls a large number of the less-committed." A modest number of less zealous church members left the Utah area, returning to the east or traveling on to California
.
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...
. During the Reformation, Young sent his counselor Jedediah M. Grant
Jedediah M. Grant
Jedediah Morgan Grant was a leader and an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was member of the First Council of the Seventy from 1845 to 1854. He also served in the First Presidency under Church President Brigham Young from 1854 to 1856...
and other church leaders to preach to the people throughout Utah Territory
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
and surrounding Mormon communities with the goal of inspiring them to reject sin and turn towards spiritual things. The most conservative, and even reactionary, elements of LDS Church doctrine dominated the public discussions during the Reformation. As a result of the Reformation, almost all "active" or involved LDS Church members were rebaptized
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...
as a symbol of their commitment.
History
All pioneers who gathered to Utah Territory under the direction of Young, whether members of the LDS Church or sympathetic non-members, were welcome as long as they helped in efforts to build up "ZionZion (Latter Day Saints)
Within the Latter Day Saint movement, Zion is often used to connote a utopian association of the righteous. This association would practice a form of communitarian economics called the United Order meant to ensure that all members maintained an acceptable quality of life, class distinctions were...
." The undeveloped area required labor for the cutting of timber, road development, the creation of farms and pastures for cattle and other livestock; and the construction of homes, meetinghouses, mills, businesses, and irrigation systems. Church members who were willing to physically strengthen the Mormon settlements were so valued that "problems they might have with smoking, drinking, profaning, Sabbath breaking, and even immoral living did not normally cost them their standing in the community and the Church." Consequently, by the early 1850s, communities within the Mormon settlement region were prospering and secure but contained a segment whose personal practices were not within the exacting standards of the LDS Church.
In 1852, Young felt the church in Utah was secure enough to announce the practice of polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
to the world. Shortly after the announcement, however, the Latter-day Saints in Utah experienced a period of trial. The population of the new territory was increasing at a rapid rate as Mormon converts from Europe joined the American Saints in their migration 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...
. In 1855, a drought struck the flourishing but still largely undeveloped territory. Very little rain fell, and even the normally dependable mountain streams ran very low. In addition to the damage caused by drought, an infestation of grasshoppers and crickets destroyed whatever crops the Mormons had managed to salvage. During the winter of 1855–56, flour and other basic necessities were suddenly very scarce and very costly. Heber C. Kimball
Heber C. Kimball
Heber Chase Kimball was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement. He served as one of the original twelve apostles in the early Latter Day Saint church, and as first counselor to Brigham Young in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his...
wrote his son, "Dollars and cents do not count now, in these times, for they are the tightest that I have ever seen in the territory of Utah."
In September 1856, as the drought continued, the trials and difficulties of the previous year led to an explosion of intense soul searching. Jedediah M. Grant
Jedediah M. Grant
Jedediah Morgan Grant was a leader and an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was member of the First Council of the Seventy from 1845 to 1854. He also served in the First Presidency under Church President Brigham Young from 1854 to 1856...
, a counselor in the First Presidency
First Presidency (LDS Church)
The First Presidency is the presiding or governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It is composed of the President of the Church and his counselors. The First Presidency currently consists of President Thomas S. Monson and his two counselors, Henry B...
and a well-known conservative voice in the extended community, preached three days of fiery sermons to the people in the area of modern Kaysville, Utah
Kaysville, Utah
Kaysville is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Ogden–Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 20,351 at the 2000 census, and 25,820 as of the 2008 estimates.-History:...
. He called for repentance and a general recommitment to moral living and religious teachings. Five hundred people presented themselves for rebaptism as a symbol of their determination to reform their lives. The zealous message spread from Kaysville to surrounding Mormon communities. Church leaders traveled around the territory, expressing their concern about signs of spiritual decay and calling for repentance. Members were asked to seal their rededication with rebaptism.
This reformation was promoted intensely by all three members of the First Presidency, as well as several apostles, who gave fiery sermons in favor of greater orthodoxy, and rebaptism in preparation for the full practice of "celestial law" in Utah Territory prior to the 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...
, which they thought would be soon. According to Young:
"The time is coming when justice will be laid to the line and righteousness to the plummet; when we shall take the old broadsword and ask, Are you for God? And if you are not heartily on the Lord's side, you will be hewn down."
Throughout the winter special meetings were held and Mormons urged to adhere to the commandments of God and the practices and precepts of the Church. Preaching placed emphasis on the practice 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...
, adherence to the church practice of 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...
, attendance at church meetings, and personal prayer. Several sermons also focused on improving personal appearance, dress and hygiene. Although Grant died shortly after one of his winter tours, a victim of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
, the influence of the reformation spread throughout the Mormon colonies. On December 30, 1856, the entire all-Mormon Utah territorial legislature was rebaptized for the remission of their sins, and confirmed under the hands of the Twelve Apostles. As time went on, however, the sermons became excessive and intolerant, and invoked threats of hellfire and damnation to motivate members.
To encourage reformation, certain adjunct theocratic committees may have attempted to ensure order and conformity by censuring local troublemakers. Dissident Mormons of the time reported rumors that committees resorted to summary judgments with punishments meted out by enforcers colloquially termed "Danite
Danite
The Danites were a fraternal organization founded by Latter Day Saint members in June 1838, in the town of Far West in Caldwell County, Missouri. During their period of organization in Missouri, the Danites operated as a vigilante group and took a central role in the events of the 1838 Mormon War...
s" or "destroying angels". For example, the southern Utah pioneer and militia scout of the time John Chatterley later wrote that he had received threats from "secret Committee, called ... 'destroying angels'" in late 1856 and early 1857.. Commentators have pointed to pronouncements during this period by Young and Grant which would seem to give vigilante-style bloodshed a religious basis. Young denied that any such acts were condoned by him or the church leadership. In a speech in 1867 Young said:
Is there war in our religion? No; neither war nor bloodshed. Yet our enemies cry out "bloodshed," and "oh, what dreadful men these Mormons are, and those Danites! how they slay and kill!" Such is all nonsense and folly in the extreme. The wicked slay the wicked, and they will lay it on the Saints.
Historian Dean L. May
Dean L. May
Dean Lowe May was an American academic, author and documentary filmmaker and professor of History at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. May specialized in nineteenth- and twentieth-century social and cultural history of the American West through the study of community and family...
noted that the more zealous reformation efforts were not universally accepted in Utah: in a possible tongue-in-cheek diary entry, Hannah Tapfield King responded to Grant's accusation that the Polysophical Society (a literary club organized by the more socially liberal Lorenzo Snow
Lorenzo Snow
Lorenzo Snow was the fifth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1898 to his death. Snow was the last president of the LDS Church in the nineteenth century.-Family:...
and his sister Eliza R. Snow), had an "adulterous spirit." King wrote, "Well, there may be, for he says there is, and probably he understands it. To me it all seemed good and nice, of course a little vanity and folly, and that one sees in the tabernacle and everywhere."
As in similar Protestant reformation movements, the enormous enthusiasm and dramatic signs of repentance could not be sustained. By the spring of 1857, with the return of more familiar spring rains, the religious life of Mormon communities returned to a more normal pattern. The Reformation appears to have burned out completely by early 1858.
Blood atonement
Several sermons Willard RichardsWillard 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...
and George A. Smith
George A. Smith
George Albert Smith was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and served in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and as a member of the church's First Presidency.-Childhood:Smith was born in Potsdam, St...
had given earlier in the history of the LDS Church had touched on the concept of blood atonement
Blood atonement
In mormonism, blood atonement is a controversial doctrine that teaches that murder is so heinous that the atonement of Jesus does not apply. Thus, in order to atone for these sins, the perpetrators must have their blood shed upon the ground as a sacrificial offering...
, suggesting that apostates could become so enveloped in sin that the voluntary shedding of their own blood might increase their chances of eternal salvation. On September 21, 1856, while calling for sincere repentance by church members, Brigham Young took the idea further, and stated:
"I know that there are transgressors, who, if they knew themselves and the only condition upon which they can obtain forgiveness, would beg of their brethren to shed their blood, that the smoke might ascend to God as an offering to appease the wrath that is kindled against them, and that the law might have its course.
Young reiterated the concept in several other sermons during the Reformation period. Although this belief was never widely accepted by church members, it became part of the public image of the church at the time and was pilloried in eastern newspapers along with the practice of polygamy. During the subsequent history of the church, this concept was frequently criticized by church members and was formally repudiated as church doctrine in 1889 and again in 1978.
Impact of the Reformation
In addition to the Reformation's appeal to the spiritual and emotional lives of Latter-day Saints, actions taken during the movement had lasting impacts on church members, their families and the church organization.According to historian Paul H. Peterson, the pledges of conformity with church practices led to a measurable increase in plural marriages throughout the Mormon region. Many men who had previously resisted plural marriages were sealed to one or more plural wives. Stanley S. Ivins' statistical research reveals that the number of plural marriages in relation to population was 65 percent higher in 1856-57 than in any other two-year period in Utah history.
A second impact of the Reformation was an increase in practical and emotional unity among the Church membership. Historians James Allen and Glen Leonard point out that the Reformation "may have accounted for the fact that the following year the Saints were emotionally prepared to confront the army of the United States en route to Utah." During this conflict, known as the Utah War
Utah War
The Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between LDS settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the United States government. The confrontation lasted from May 1857 until July 1858...
, Mormon militia were asked to engage in diversionary action on the plains and in Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. And Church members were prepared, under Young's direction, to abandon and destroy their homes, farms, and businesses and move again to the White Mountains
White Mountains (Arizona)
The White Mountains of Arizona are a mountain range and mountainous region in the eastern part of the state, near the border with New Mexico; it is a continuation from the west of the Arizona transition zone–Mogollon Rim, with the Rim ending in western New Mexico...
of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, which Young had selected as a possible place of refuge should full-scale war begin. Historians have also asserted that the emotional rhetoric contributed to the defensive dialogue and actions in Southern Utah which ultimately burst forth in the Mountain Meadows massacre
Mountain Meadows massacre
The Mountain Meadows massacre was a series of attacks on the Baker–Fancher emigrant wagon train, at Mountain Meadows in southern Utah. The attacks culminated on September 11, 1857 in the mass slaughter of the emigrant party by the Iron County district of the Utah Territorial Militia and some local...
.
Also during this time, leaders at church headquarters established a policy of assigning two "home" or ward missionaries in each congregational unit. They were asked to visit each family in the ward, assess their material needs and provide help where possible. They were also asked to inquire into family members' spiritual commitment, including asking searching questions about religious practices. After some months of these missionary visits, Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City
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 surrounding communities who had not yet been rebaptized were asked to do so as an expression of their ongoing commitment to the church. Paul H. Peterson asserts that those who refused to be rebaptized might "lose their membership in the Church. In Britain, zealous application of Reformation principles resulted in trimming from Church rolls a large number of the less-committed." A modest number of less zealous church members left the Utah area, returning to the east or traveling on to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
See also
- 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...
- Utah WarUtah WarThe Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between LDS settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the United States government. The confrontation lasted from May 1857 until July 1858...
- Morrisite WarMorrisite WarThe Morrisite War was a skirmish between a Latter Day Saint sect known as the "Morrisites" and the Utah territorial government.-Morrisites:In 1857 Joseph Morris, an English convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah, reported receiving revelations naming him the Seventh...