The Mormons

723 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Brief history of mormonism

The Mormons

Mormonism is a way of life that is practiced by members of the Church of Jesus

Christ of Latter-day Saints. Over two-thirds of the church's membership is in

the United States. However, members are also located in many other countries

around the world. Mormons use the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and two other

books or revelations to Joseph Smith, founder of the church. These other two

revelations are the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. The

Mormon organization consists of a three member First Presidency and a twelve man

Council of Apostles who make up the major policy-making body of the church.

Mormonism's founding doctrine was based on the assumption that Christianity was

corrupt and that it was necessary to restore the "true" Christian gospel. The

Mormon church sees only itself as recognized by God. Joseph Smith founded the

church in New York in 1830. He said that he had visions of God and other

heavenly beings that told him to establish the restored Christian Church. He

was "directed" to some thin metal plates that he translated into what is now

called the book of Mormons. This book describes the history, wars, and

religious beliefs of a group of people who migrated from Jerusalem to America.

Smith attracted a small group of followers who settled in Kirtland, Ohio, and

Jackson County, Missouri. Because of persecution, the church moved to northern

Missouri, then to Nauvoo, Illinois. The people of Illinois welcomed the

persecuted Mormons, and Smith began to construct a temple and a hotel there. In

1843, Smith secretly instituted the practice of plural marriage among a group of

his followers. This could be because he himself had 50 wives. The Mormons

lived in relative peace until 1844 when a group became mad about Smith's

practices. They started a newspaper called the "Nauvoo Expositor" and attacked

him, accusing him of practicing polygamy. Smith denied this charge but was

killed anyway. Brigham Young took over as their new leader. In 1852 , polygamy

was officially announced at the Mormon conference.

Points of Debate

What was so wrong with their views?

* Belief in the Bible and Book of Mormon

==> How? The Mormons believe the Bible and The Book of Mormon to be the Word of

God. However, the Bible states that it is the only Word of God. ==> Mormonism

believes that God has a physical body. The Bible contradicts this belief

* Belief in Polygamy

==> Teach that Jesus Christ himself is a polygamist.

* Mormonism and Blacks

==> Mormonism teaches that African Americans have dark skin because they are

cursed by God, and are an inferior race.

Show More
Related

  • Apush Chapter 4 Summary

    1196 Words  | 3 Pages

    was a preacher - known for his sermons like: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (God’s really mad and you’ll burn in hell forever)

    Read More

  • Social And Political Reactions To Mormon Polygamy

    2000 Words  | 4 Pages

    Doctrine & Covenants. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1989. The Holy Bible. King James Version. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1989.

    Read More

  • Mormonism: A Paradigm of an American Faith

    1645 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...shall, eds. Mormonism: A Historical Encyclopedia. New York, New York: ABC-CLIO, August 10, 2010. Print.

    Read More

  • The Medieval Church, The Book of Margery Kempe and Everyman

    2024 Words  | 5 Pages

    preached against abuses in the church and attempted to shift the focus of religious faith

    Read More

  • Nat Turner

    1183 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1821, he had his first vision, after he had run away. He had hid in the woods and he was determined to return after a Spirit told him to go back and be a preacher.... ... middle of paper ... ...

    Read More

  • Seneca Falls Convention

    1256 Words  | 3 Pages

    meetings at churches and preach sometimes at the cost of their lives. Quakers had many

    Read More

  • The Cult You’re In

    1918 Words  | 4 Pages

    Everyone is in a consumer’s hypnosis, even if you think you are not. When you go to a store and pick one brand over the other, you are now under their spell. The spell/ hypnosis is how companies get you to buy there things over other companies and keep you hooked. Either through commercials or offering something that you think will make your life better by what they tell you. For example, you go to the store and you need to buy water, once you get to the lane and look, there is 10 different types of water you can buy. You go pick one either because the picture is better or you seen the commercial the other day and you want it. During the length of this paper we will talk about two important writers, Kalle Lasn the writer of “The Cult You’re in” and Benoit Denizet-Lewis writer of “ The Man Behind Abercrombie & Fitch”. They both talk about similar topics that go hand and hand with each other, they talk about the consumers “Dream”, how companies recruit the consumers, who cult members really are, how people are forced to wear something they don’t want, and about slackers.

    Read More

  • The Amish

    1346 Words  | 3 Pages

    Both the Amish and the Mennonites were part of the early Anabaptist movement in Europe, which took place at the time of the Reformation. The Anabaptists believed that only adults who had confessed their faith should be baptized, and that they should remain separate from the larger society. Many of the early Anabaptists were put to death by both Catholics and Protestants, and many others fled to the mountains of Switzerland and southern Germany. Then began the Amish tradition of farming and holding their worship services in homes instead of in churches. In 1536, a young Catholic priest from Holland, Menno Simons, joined the Anabaptist groups, who were nicknamed Mennonites. In 1693, a Swiss bishop named Jacob Amman broke off from the Mennonite church. His followers were called the Amish. Although the two groups have split several times, the Amish and Mennonite churches still share the same beliefs concerning baptism, non-resistance, and the Bible. They differ in matters of dress, technology, language, form of worship, and interpretation of the Bible. The Amish and Mennonites both settled in Pennsylvania as part of William Penn's holy experiment of religious tolerance. The first sizeable group of Amish arrived in Lancaster County in the 1720s or 1730s. Since the early colonial days the Amish have lived in the United States preserving their distinctive culture, dress, language and religion in peace and prosperity.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On The Trail Of Tears

    1337 Words  | 3 Pages

    Boudinot, Elias. "An address to the whites delivered in the First Presbyterian Church on the 26th of May, 1826." 26 May 1826. Galileo. Web. Apr 3, 2016.

    Read More

  • The Mormon Family

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    The church is a hierarchy that is lead by the priesthood. In order to receive the priesthood, one must be male. In The Proclamation, it says about men “By divine design fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families” (lds.org). The word preside means to have authority over something, in this case the family. Since the church is a similitude of the family, almost all the leaders are men. The only general leadership positions held by women are in the individual youth and children organization, and Relief Society, the leading women’s organization in the church. When The Proclamation talks about mothers its say “Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children” (lds.org).To many, this is a negative claim and sits as a point of opposition from feminist groups. Till this day, the gender roles of men and women continue to be debated in the Mormons church, and society.

    Read More

  • Book of Mormon by Joseph Smith

    2526 Words  | 6 Pages

    A large portion of the Book of Mormon describes the history of several pre-Christian civilizations that existed throughout America. A group of Israelites lead by a righteous man named Nephi established a society o...

    Read More

  • Mormonism Research Paper

    1681 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...For Mormonism only being over 200 years old, it already has over 10,000,000 followers. But with every religion come the non-believers, and the non-believers and ex-Mormons believe that Smith was a fraud. There was also a sense of fear of Mormon take over and power. There was fear that Mormons were trying to undermine the American institution of marriage. Americans persecuted the Mormons because they believed that if the Mormons gained too much power that polygamy would be allowed and monogamy would no longer exist. Bushman is a believer who wrote the book for other believers to read, but there is little effort on Bushman’s part to fling Smith in a flawless light. Instead, Bushman sees the controversial issues of Mormonism with polygamy, and Bushman tries to provide information and explain Joseph Smith’s notions in a way that is acceptable by the Mormons’ terms.

    Read More

  • Polygamy in America

    1486 Words  | 3 Pages

    “History of Fundamentalist Mormons.” Wheat & Tares. Wheat and Tares, 2011. Web. 19 Dec. 2011. .

    Read More

  • The Puritans

    950 Words  | 2 Pages

    B. Unconditional Election – God has chosen some for salvation and some to be condemned. Whether or not one is predestinated for salvation can not be affectet by oneself. Its not because of what one has done or not done, there is no reason for the predestination and no possibility to change the own status.

    Read More

  • The Quakers

    509 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Quakers The Quakers (Society of Friends) was formed in the 17th Century. It was thought that a man called George Fox helped form the group and gave its name Quakers. The name Quakers started as an insult to Fox when the judge said to him, “You quake at the presence of God.” He was standing in court after being one of the leaders who started Quakers, which was against the law to worship in any other way than the Roman Catholic way. The Friends Meeting House we visited in Liverpool is not classed as a church but purely as a place of worship.

    Read More

More about The Mormons

Open Document