About Mormonism

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
pdf (29 pages)
Dr. Paul Manuel—1990

I. History

A. Founder—Joseph Smith

1. His early years

a. Joseph Smith was born December 23, 1805 in Sharon, VT to Joseph and Lucy Smith, the third child of five brothers and three sisters (PGP Smith 2:3-4), and moved to Palmyra, NY in 1815 (PGP Smith 2:7).
b. He dabbled in the occult by employing divination (e.g., magical "peek" stones) in a persistent search for Captain Kidd's treasure (Martin 1977:50).
c. He was confused by denominationalism, struggling with apparent discrepancies, and was impressed by reading James 1:5 (PGP Smith 2:915).¹

Jms 1:5 But if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

2. His visions

a. In 1820 Smith saw God the Father and God the Son, who counseled against any denominational affiliation, condemning each group as wrong—"an abomination" (PGP Smith 2:16-19).
b. In 1823 he saw the angel Moroni, who informed Smith of the location [Hill Cumorah] of book of golden plates containing "the fulness of the everlasting Gospel" and commissioned Smith to translate the book with the aid of "two stones in silver bows...the Urim and Thummim," buried with the plates (PGP Smith 2:30-43, 51).
c. In 1827 Smith again saw Moroni, who permitted him to remove the plates from their hiding place (PGP Smith 2:59).

3. His translation

a. Smith began translating the plates in 1829 from "reformed Egyptian," aided by Oliver Cowdery (PGP Smith 2:66-69; BM Morm 9:32).
b. He completed the translation within two months (Richards 1978:71) and returned the plates to Moroni (PGP Smith 2:60).
c. He published the first English edition of the Book of Mormon in 1830 (BM publishing information page).

4. His priesthood

a. In 1829 Smith and Cowdery were visited by John the Baptist, who laid hands on them and conferred the "Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins." John also ordained Smith as the first elder of the Church and Cowdery as the second elder (PGP Smith 2:6972).
b. Later that same year, Smith and Cowdery were visited by Peter, James, and John, who conferred "the higher or Melchizedek Priesthood" and ordained both "to the apostleship, which comprises all the offices of the higher order of Priesthood and which carries authority to minister in all the established ordinances of the Gospel" (Talmage (1978:23).²
c. The church incorporated in 1830 in Fayette, New York with Smith as "seer...translator...prophet...apostle of Jesus Christ...[and] elder of the church" (DC 20:1; 21:1).

5. His movement

a. Soon after its founding, the church moved to Kirtland, Ohio where it grew to 1600 within six years (Martin 1977:153-154).
b. Smith later purchased 63 acres in Far West, Missouri, which he called Zion, where the millennial temple would be built and serve as headquarters for the earthly kingdom of Jesus (DC 115).
c. Smith and his followers also established a church in Nauvoo, Illinois (Martin 1977:154-155).

1. There, in response to a revelation in 1843, Smith instituted the practice of polygamy (DC 132).
2. Reacting to opposition from the Nauvoo Expositor, an anti-Mormon paper, Smith destroyed the press office and was subsequently imprisoned in Carthage, where an angry mob stormed the jail and killed him in 1844 (Talmage 1978:16).
3. The movement split after Smith's death, and the majority followed Brigham Young, who left Missouri (1846) for the West.

B. Smith's successors

1. Brigham Young

a. The main group settled in Salt Lake Valley (1847) of what would later become state of Utah (Martin 1977:155).
b. Young, in an attempt to control Utah territory, ordered the slaughter of 150 non-Mormon immigrants (the "Mountain Meadows massacre"; Martin 1977:156; Hinckley 1979:119122).
c. The federal government interpreted Young's action as rebellion, deploying 2500 troops to squelch the uprising, and only hurried negotiations staved the destruction of Mormon settlements.

2. Joseph Smith III

• Several splinter groups rallied in Independence, Missouri as The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (RLDS 1860; Fraser 1978:20).

3. Wilford Woodruff

• Woodruff succeeded Young and complied with a federal order and "officially" abolished polygamy in 1890 rather than risk the loss of all Mormon property to the government (DC, p.257; Martin 1977:149).

For the rest of the paper with its Bibliography and Endnotes see the pdf here (29 pages).