The Mormon Church: an American Original
The Mormon Church: An American Original
James Andrews
March 24, 2013 World History From 1500 H
Mitt Romney was a competitive candidate in the 2012 presidential campaign, and he is a Mormon. David Archuleta is popular American song writer and singer who nearly won American Idol back in 2008, and he is a Mormon. Andy Reid, the well recognized NFL coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, is also a Mormon. Mormonism is one of the fastest growing religions of recorded human history, and it is only getting bigger. So where did Mormonism come from? How did it alter history? And what are the lasting implications of it? The key to these questions all lay in one thing – history. The Mormon Church has forever left its footprint on the history that every American shares. Note: I am researching scholarly source, whether they are Mormon or not, on the history of the church. I am not researching on the religious views of the Mormon Church leaders.
The Mormon Church was created into existence when the founder Joseph Smith, Jr. and five of his followers gathered on April, 1830 in upstate New York. They originally intended calling the new religion the Church of Christ, but the unofficial name Mormon (originating from the Book of Mormon) would gain acceptance and popularity among the members. The official name of the church would be changed two more times.1 1. Codell Carter, Godhood (in Ludlow, Daniel H., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, New York: Macmillan, 1992) 553
First, in 1834, it was changed to the Church of the Latter-day-Saints and then again in 1838 to its now present name Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day-Saints, or LDS for short.
The Mormon Church was not accepted among most New Yorkers during the time of the Second Great Awakening because of its new, differentiating theology and practices.1 Many people who knew of Joseph Smith, Jr. did not view him as a creditable source, for he was often in trouble with the law and had as what many neighbors described as a shady
James Andrews
March 24, 2013 World History From 1500 H
Mitt Romney was a competitive candidate in the 2012 presidential campaign, and he is a Mormon. David Archuleta is popular American song writer and singer who nearly won American Idol back in 2008, and he is a Mormon. Andy Reid, the well recognized NFL coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, is also a Mormon. Mormonism is one of the fastest growing religions of recorded human history, and it is only getting bigger. So where did Mormonism come from? How did it alter history? And what are the lasting implications of it? The key to these questions all lay in one thing – history. The Mormon Church has forever left its footprint on the history that every American shares. Note: I am researching scholarly source, whether they are Mormon or not, on the history of the church. I am not researching on the religious views of the Mormon Church leaders.
The Mormon Church was created into existence when the founder Joseph Smith, Jr. and five of his followers gathered on April, 1830 in upstate New York. They originally intended calling the new religion the Church of Christ, but the unofficial name Mormon (originating from the Book of Mormon) would gain acceptance and popularity among the members. The official name of the church would be changed two more times.1 1. Codell Carter, Godhood (in Ludlow, Daniel H., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, New York: Macmillan, 1992) 553
First, in 1834, it was changed to the Church of the Latter-day-Saints and then again in 1838 to its now present name Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day-Saints, or LDS for short.
The Mormon Church was not accepted among most New Yorkers during the time of the Second Great Awakening because of its new, differentiating theology and practices.1 Many people who knew of Joseph Smith, Jr. did not view him as a creditable source, for he was often in trouble with the law and had as what many neighbors described as a shady
Bibliography: Carter, Codell. Godhood. in Ludlow, Daniel H., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, New York: Macmillan, pp. 553–55, 1992. Godfrey, Kenneth. Comprehensive History of the Church, A. In Arnold K. Garr; Donald Q. Cannon; Richard O. Cowan. Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History. Salt Lake City, 2000. Hill, Marvin. Carthage Conspiracy Reconsidered. Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. http://dig.lib.niu.edu/ISHS/ishs-2004summer/ishs-2004summer107.pdf, 2004. Jessee, Dean. The Reliability of Joseph Smith 's History, Journal of Mormon History 3: 23–46, 1976. Linder, Douglas. The Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857 and the Trials of John D. Lee. Famous Trials, 2006. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/mountainmeadows/leeaccount.html (accessed Novemeber 9, 2012). Roberts, B. H. History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 3, Deseret News, pp. 23, 24, 1905.