In addition, by the end of the 1800s, several of Young's followers had published reminiscences recalling that during Young's August 8 speech, he looked or sounded similar to Joseph Smith, to which they attributed the power of God. ==Pioneer era (c.
Smith gained a small following in the late 1820s as he was dictating the Book of Mormon, which he said was a translation of words found on a set of golden plates that had been buried near his home in upstate New York by an indigenous American prophet.
Smith gained a small following in the late 1820s as he was dictating the Book of Mormon, which he said was a translation of words found on the Golden Plates that had been buried near his home in western New York by an indigenous American prophet.
On April 6, 1830, at the home of Peter Whitmer in Fayette, New York, Smith organized the religion's first legal church entity, the Church of Christ.
The main body of the church moved first to Kirtland, Ohio in the early 1830s, then to Missouri in 1838, where the 1838 Mormon War with other Missouri settlers ensued, culminating in adherents being expelled from the state under Missouri Executive Order 44 signed by the governor of Missouri.
Smith said he had been in contact with an angel Moroni, who showed him the plates' location and had been grooming him for a role as a religious leader. On April 6, 1830, in western New York, Smith organized the religion's first legal church entity, the Church of Christ.
In late 1830, Smith envisioned a "city of Zion", a Utopian city in Native American lands near Independence, Missouri.
In October 1830, he sent his Assistant President, Oliver Cowdery, and others on a mission to the area.
Passing through Kirtland, Ohio, the missionaries converted a congregation of Disciples of Christ led by Sidney Rigdon, and in 1831, Smith decided to temporarily move his followers to Kirtland until lands in the Missouri area could be purchased.
In the meantime, the church's headquarters remained in Kirtland from 1831 to 1838; and there the church built its first temple and continued to grow in membership from 680 to 17,881. While the main church body was in Kirtland, many of Smith's followers had attempted to establish settlements in Missouri, but had met with resistance from other Missourians who believed Mormons were abolitionists, or who distrusted their political ambitions.
The main body of the church moved first to Kirtland, Ohio in the early 1830s, then to Missouri in 1838, where the 1838 Mormon War with other Missouri settlers ensued, culminating in adherents being expelled from the state under Missouri Executive Order 44 signed by the governor of Missouri.
In the meantime, the church's headquarters remained in Kirtland from 1831 to 1838; and there the church built its first temple and continued to grow in membership from 680 to 17,881. While the main church body was in Kirtland, many of Smith's followers had attempted to establish settlements in Missouri, but had met with resistance from other Missourians who believed Mormons were abolitionists, or who distrusted their political ambitions.
After Smith and other Mormons in Kirtland emigrated to Missouri in 1838, hostilities escalated into the 1838 Mormon War, culminating in adherents being expelled from the state under an Extermination Order signed by the governor of Missouri. After Missouri, Smith built the city of Nauvoo, Illinois as the new church headquarters, and served as the city's mayor and leader of the militia.
Partly in response to these trends, on June 7, 1844, a newspaper called the Nauvoo Expositor, edited by dissident Mormon William Law, issued a scathing criticism of polygamy and Nauvoo theocratic government, including a call for church reform based on earlier Mormon principles.
Smith surrendered to police in the nearby Carthage, Illinois, and while in state custody, he and his brother Hyrum Smith, who was second in line to the church presidency, were killed in a firefight with an angry mob attacking the jail on June 27, 1844. After Smith's death, a succession crisis ensued.
Most adherents voted on August 8, 1844 to accept the argument of Brigham Young, the senior apostle, that there could be no true successor to Joseph Smith, but that the Twelve had all the required authority to lead the church, and were best suited to take on that role.
Later, adherents bolstered their succession claims by referring to a March 1844 meeting in which Joseph committed the "keys of the kingdom" to a group of members within the Council of Fifty that included the apostles.
After Smith's death, a succession crisis ensued, and the majority voted to accept the Quorum of the Twelve, led by Young, as the church's leading body. After continued difficulties and persecution in Illinois, Young left Nauvoo in 1846 and led his followers, the Mormon pioneers, to the Great Salt Lake Valley.
There are also periodic changes in the structure and organization of the church, mainly to accommodate the organization's growth and increasing international presence. ==Early history (1820s to 1846)== The early history of the LDS Church is shared with other denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement, who all regard Joseph Smith as the founder of their religious tradition.
1890)== ===Migration to Utah and colonization of the West=== Under the leadership of Brigham Young, Church leaders planned to leave Nauvoo, Illinois in April 1846, but amid threats from the state militia, they were forced to cross the Mississippi River in the cold of February.
The arrival of the original Mormon Pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847 is commemorated by the Utah State holiday Pioneer Day. Groups of converts from the United States, Canada, Europe, and elsewhere were encouraged to gather to Utah in the decades following.
Later, after the migration to Utah had begun, Brigham Young was sustained as a member of the First Presidency on December 25, 1847, (Wilford Woodruff Diary, Church Archives), and then as President of the Church on October 8, 1848.
Later, after the migration to Utah had begun, Brigham Young was sustained as a member of the First Presidency on December 25, 1847, (Wilford Woodruff Diary, Church Archives), and then as President of the Church on October 8, 1848.
However, in the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico ceded the area to the United States.
Instead, Congress created the much smaller Utah Territory in 1850, and Young was appointed governor in 1851.
Instead, Congress created the much smaller Utah Territory in 1850, and Young was appointed governor in 1851.
In 1855, a drought struck the flourishing territory.
During the winter of 1855–56, flour and other basic necessities were very scarce and very costly.
===Mormon Reformation=== In 1856–1858, the Church underwent what is commonly called the Mormon Reformation.
Kimball wrote his son, "Dollars and cents do not count now, in these times, for they are the tightest that I have ever seen in the territory of Utah." In September 1856, as the drought continued, the trials and difficulties of the previous year led to an explosion of intense soul searching.
On 21 September 1856, while calling for sincere repentance, Brigham Young took the idea further, and stated: I know that there are transgressors, who, if they knew themselves and the only condition upon which they can obtain forgiveness, would beg of their brethren to shed their blood, that the smoke might ascend to God as an offering to appease the wrath that is kindled against them, and that the law might have its course.
On December 30, 1856, the entire all-Mormon territorial legislature was rebaptized for the remission of their sins, and confirmed under the hands of the Twelve Apostles.
By 1857, tensions had again escalated between Latter-day Saints and other Americans, largely as a result of the teachings on polygamy and theocracy.
The Utah Mormon War ensued from 1857 to 1858, which resulted in the relatively peaceful invasion of Utah by the United States Army, after which Young agreed to step down from power and be replaced by a non-Mormon territorial governor, Alfred Cumming.
As time went on, however, the sermons became excessive and intolerant, and some verged on the hysterical. ===Utah War and Mountain Meadows massacre=== In 1857–1858, the church was involved in an armed conflict with the U.S.
The Utah Mormon War ensued from 1857 to 1858, which resulted in the relatively peaceful invasion of Utah by the United States Army, after which Young agreed to step down from power and be replaced by a non-Mormon territorial governor, Alfred Cumming.
At Young's death in 1877, he was followed by other powerful members, who continued the practice of polygamy despite opposition by the United States Congress.
government came to a head in 1890, the church officially abandoned the public practice of polygamy in the United States, and eventually stopped performing official polygamous marriages altogether after a Second Manifesto in 1904.
government came to a head in 1890, the church officially abandoned the public practice of polygamy in the United States, and eventually stopped performing official polygamous marriages altogether after a Second Manifesto in 1904.
Among the official changes to the organization during the modern area include the ordination of black men to the priesthood in 1978, reversing a policy originally instituted by Brigham Young.
The concept was frequently criticized by many Mormons and eventually repudiated as official church doctrine by the LDS Church in 1978.
All text is taken from Wikipedia. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License .
Page generated on 2021-08-05