The Influence Of Mormonism On Society

There’s been many rumors, stories and myths about the religion Mormonism, who they are, what they stand for, in what they believe, and their impact on society. Mormonism is a term defining the religious beliefs and practices of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Mormons. Mormonism describes the doctrines of the Church that were restored to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith as a result of a revelation by the angel Moroni. When asked what Mormonism is, members of the Church often than not speak of their love of the Savior Jesus Christ. To them, the Savior is central to Mormonism. Since the establishment of Mormonism, constitutions, society and other bodies have fought and stood against their believes
from the time of the Prophet Smith to Young’s time and even till today many people do not embrace their beliefs and values. This is partly due to the confusion people have about their beliefs, for example, whether the practice of polygamy is a case of religious independence or a violation of religious freedom, the Legal/Constitutional disputes about polygamy and the true origin of Mormonism and polygamy.
First, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the "Mormon" church, is a religion born from Christianity that traces its origins to Joseph Smith.
Founded by Smith in 1830 C.E. in New York, Mormonism developed as a sectional movement in a raging period of American religious history. Smith claimed to have been called by God to restore the church that Christ had established on the earth, but which had been lost after the deaths of the original apostles. Smith initiated the practice of plural marriage as part of his desire to reintroduce all biblical practices into the modern world. The Mormons moved several times during the 1830s and 1840s, often due to violent persecution and disputes with their non-Mormon neighbors. After Smith's murder in 1844, leadership of the church went to Brigham Young, an organizer and frontiersman who led the church to their safe haven. Mormons also have distinct theologies including a distinct doctrine of God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit in which the three are separate entities, and continuing revelation through modern
prophets.
Next, according to Mormonism, at various times, the Lord commanded His people to practice plural marriage. For example, “He gave this command to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and Solomon (Doctrine and Covenants 132:1).” Additionally, from other researches, before Smith started the practice of Mormonism it was known that Emma his wife had had a couple of miscarriages, and initially had agreed to Smith’s word of receiving a word from the angel Moroni in the practice of polygamy. Later, it was revealed and even now by researchers from the Bingham Young University that his wife was disheartened with the practice especially after noticing that smith was cohabitating with women young as between 14-20yrs, and she had started to speak against the practice. It has come to light that Smith had 33 close to 40 wives some of which have not yet been revealed or acknowledged all of which he practically had intimate relations with. The federal authorities and the Mormon Church had been at odds over the practice of polygamy since its founding in 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr. In 1844, Joseph Smith, Jr. himself was arrested and jailed for inciting a riot in Illinois after attempting to destroy a newspaper that exposed the Mormon. The church established its headquarters in Salt Lake City, where Mormon leader Brigham Young was shortly thereafter established as the territorial governor. Polygamy had once been a capital offense in England, where common law had grown from Christian roots where marriage was an institution between one man and one woman. In as much as the constitution and certain laws also prevent polygamy, certain Mormons especially the women condone to such practices and lifestyle and vice-versa. It is very clear that today, the practice of polygamy is strictly against Mormons beliefs. In 1890, President Wilford Woodruff received a revelation that the leaders of the Church should cease teaching the practice of plural marriage (Official Declaration 1). “The Lord’s law of marriage is monogamy unless he commands otherwise to help establish the House of Israel (see Encyclopedia of Mormonism Vol. 3, pp. 1091-1095).” In a recent article, a US district judge Clark Waddoups ruled in December that a section of Utah law that prohibits “cohabitation” violates the Constitution’s religious freedom and privacy protections. He reaffirmed this decision in his ruling, in which he also provided attorney’s fees to the plaintiff, Kody Brown, a star of TLC reality show Sister Wives. Despite the church's prohibition on polygamy, the practice has not disappeared from Utah, the epicenter of the Mormon Church. Mormon fundamentalists continue the practice.
Polygamy is often seen next to slavery by many. However, according to an article written by Todd Gillett title “the constitutionality of Religious polygamy” Mormon women were second to their husbands in their theology's celestial structure. He goes onto explain that the plural wives actually achieved a greater measure of equality than many of their non-Mormon counterparts. The Mormons encouraged wives to be self-sufficient, allowing them to work as telegraph operators, teachers, and even business managers. Also in 1870, Mormon wives even had the right to vote, which was unusual at a time "when feminine suffrage smacked of lunacy. Congress passed a measure granting voting rights to female citizens in the territories, believing that the oppressed women of Salt Lake City would seize the opportunity to regain their liberty. Instead, satisfied with their plight and loyal to their people, Mormon women used their new power to elect Mormon candidates. Already seen by many as a threat due to their exclusive nature, the Mormon practice of polygamy provoked the ire of powerful organizations, including the Republican Party, which linked the issue of polygamy with that of slavery.

In conclusion, Mormons practiced polygamy because the Lord commanded some of them to do so, for purposes known to the Lord.
At the time, there were no national laws prohibiting polygamy. When the Supreme Court ruled that later anti-polygamy laws were constitutional, the Lord directed Pres. Woodruff to issue the Manifesto, and the practice ended in the Church. According to the Supreme Court, a religious belief does not excuse a citizen from compliance with an otherwise valid law prohibiting conduct that the State is free to regulate. The laws against polygamy are neutral in that they ban the privilege for religious and secular polygamists alike. As such, these laws are valid if they do not interfere with another constitutional right. As practiced, religious polygamists have only one legal wife. Custom dictates that polygamists marry only once in a civil ceremony; all additional marriages exist only in the eyes of God. According to the United States government, the marriages do not exist. While the ultimate aims of religious and secular life do not always align, Mormons “follow the admonition of Paul” by seeking after anything that is “virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy,” whatever the source may
be.