The Kingdom Of Matthias Analysis

The Kingdom of Matthias, is a book that explains the journey of a man, Matthias and some of his followers in the mid-1800s. Matthias himself, claimed to be a leader of a “new Christian faith,” but his true faith was never revealed. However, it never held up and eventually had its downfall. In the end Matthias was thrown in jail and later released in 1835. From there he headed to Kirtland in search of a Mormon Prophet named Joseph Smith (pg 3). When confronting Smith, Matthias gave a fake name and quickly became “friends.” The shared an enemy in the Finneyite reform, one that Matthias sought to look into. His cult eventually became his end and demolished him from the inside out.
One of the first and closest followers of Matthias and his teachings was a man by the name of Elijah Pierson. Pierson was born a Calvinist, but later became Matthias’s number one follower (pg 5). Growing up he was taught and raised on the values of the Calvin Christian faith, but as he was a simple man it only took him so far in life. So being smart and simple, Pierson saved up his money and opened a small shop in the Manhattan area. Though there isn’t much on his transition from boy to man
Ones that require the utmost dedication and faith. It is set to give a Utopia to its followers, though it may come at a hefty price. I thought that the movie also showed a great reflection of what a modern Matthias may look like, and was intrigued with Sonny’s journey, but never fully accepted him as the protagonist. I felt that he was a ruthless person, and yes, that is what it takes to be a cult leader. Look at Hitler, for example, no boundaries, only a vision and a goal. I wonder if this is similar to what Matthias dealt with, a vision and a goal, though neither of them were fully potentialized for him, he set out and accomplished