((The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have a long and complicated history in their Book of Mormon that is so completely different from any religion I have been exposed to, I fear I will not do it justice, so I definitely encourage you to do your own research, read the Book of Mormon, visit with the sweet Mormon missionaries who knock on your door, ask questions, and read other literature related to the Mormon church and Mormon history.))
Mormonism began with Joseph Smith. He was, much as Muhammed (peace and blessings be upon him), a prophet to a specific group of people: Americans. In this way, the Mormon religion is very much an American religion, although it competes with Islam for the fastest growing religion worldwide.
What struck me first and foremost about Mormonism is how uniquely American it is. It was founded here by Joseph Smith, a man who said that he saw with his own eyes, God the Father and his son, Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith, as I mentioned earlier, was severely disadvantaged as a prophet compared to previous religions, because he was born in 1805, well after the written word and records were kept, newspapers and media were in existence. For this reason, it is easy to pull up historic records of Joseph Smith's life.
He was raised in the midst of spiritual awakening and unrest in the United States. The country had barely figured out how to separate church and state, and were in unchartered territory with religious freedom: it was all so theoretical - we had never seen it in action. Religious freedom and separation between religious leadership and government leadership was an experiment that resulted in many things including formations of the Baptists, the Methodists, and many protestant groups we are familiar with today.
During this period that Smith was born into, there was great concern about what church to belong to, what was the right path, and what was the right path for you and your family. There were revivals with thousands of people, circuit preachers who proclaimed that being born again was the only way, which was in direct contrast to the religious heritage Americans descended from, which said that works and living a good life was an essential element of being saved and having eternal life with Christ.
Joseph Smith was born during this era of questioning, and began his religion based on a revelation. It is important to note that mainstream Christianity and protestant Christianity was also based on a "revelation" - a revelation that you didn't have to be a priest to speak to God, or read the Bible. It was the revelation of a PERSONAL God experience. Joseph Smith took the personal God-experience to a whole new level.
-- I have struggled with whether to delve into Joseph Smith's character and acts while he was on earth. On one hand, I believe that anyone who chooses any religion should know as much as possible about its founder(s). On the other hand, I believe that this project is majorly focused on the practice and reality of a religion TODAY rather than its leader. That said, again, I encourage you readers who are interested, to find out more about this American religious leader and how he was raised, and what he did on earth, but I will not go into that here. --
Mormonism believes many of the same foundational beliefs as Christians. The difference is not contradiction of the Christian Bible as much as addition to it - that's why the Book of Mormon is "another testament of Jesus Christ" [in addition to the Bible].
Life [before] and [after] life
The Book of Mormon expounds and expands upon previously well-known Bible thoughts and stories. For example, the Bible doesn't really clearly state where our eternal souls reside before we are born into human bodies. Do they just come into existence at the moment of conception? Do they stay in a holding cell in heaven until our human body is concieved?
Smith cleared this up for us. Before the world began, God had "spirit children" (and I think, maybe continues to have spirit children... mental note, check with the missionaries) in Heaven. ((So there is pre-mortal life in addition to post-mortal life.)) Additionally, there is a spirit mother (or mothers) up there, but not alot is said about this role, at least in literature accessible to me.
Jesus was the first one of these "spirit children" and is therefore the eldest of all of mankind. Incidentally, Satan was also God's spirit child. So, the story goes that one day, God called all of his spirit children together and presented a plan of Salvation to where all the spirit children could one day be like God himself. The goal is to go to earth as a human being, be tested and proven worthy, then in the afterlife be exhalted to God-like status, if you earn it and live a good life. (that is the gyst, but not all the specifics).
Anyway, apparently Satan (who you remember, was brother to mankind, just like Jesus - one of God's spirit children) wasn't a big fan of God's plan and rebelled and decided he wanted to be like God right then and there and forget going to earth in a human body. He managed to stir up quite a following and God got angry (rightfully so) and cast him out of heaven in his spirit form. So I guess that means that he doesn't really have a chance of redemption because he'll never have the chance to be human and make the right choice to follow God.
Adam and Eve were the first spirit children to obtain their human bodies and their "agency" on earth to choose God (or not). The Book of Mormon spins their tale from a little different perspective, noting that if Adam and Eve had not sinned, they would have always been the only two people on earth and no one else would have gotten a chance of redemption or joy, so therefore it was a good thing that they ate the fruit.
More to come, but my bedtime is here!
The persecution of early Mormons (LDSs?) is well documented in this nation. Horrific massacres and multiple exiles from several states point to a distinct lack of the religious freedom we allege we have in this country. If it seems less bad than it used to be, it is only because we regret some of our actions. Even now Muslims have taken over as the more threatening institution with some cities even banning the teaching of Arabic languages, never realizing how much easier their proseltyzing would be if only they spoke the same language. For shame. I am interested to learn how this very recent history of persecution (as compared to other religions) affects present day practioners of Mormonism.
ReplyDeleteThe book _Under the Banner of Heaven_ is an interesting read about Mormon history. It is shameful that they were denied religious rights and freedom to practice their religion as they felt called to by a country supposedly founded on religious freedom (as long as its MY religion)!!
ReplyDeleteDang girl, you are a good researcher! You sure do your homework! Just to answer Miranda's question about how the persecution affects present day Mormons, I don't think it does. I don't think anyone really thinks about it, unless they're studying history. It's not something we talk about at church or anything -- at least in detail. The leaders of the church don't dwell on it, and everyone I know tries to have a forgiving heart for present things and those in the past.
ReplyDeleteA lot of persecution happened in Missouri and Illinois, but Mormons still live there, and Mormons still visit there. We're going to Illinois this summer and can't wait! A lot of bad stuff happened there, but I think we kind of forget that and look at all the neat things that the Saints did there instead.
Actually, persecution does still occur today. I'll give just one example: There are lots of
ReplyDeleteChristian-based homeschool groups in this area of Texas, and most of them do not allow Latter-day Saint families to participate. They allege that they are not Christian because of "adding to the Bible" with The Book of Mormon. LDS families are forced into forming their own groups. Just a small example, but a frustrating place to be for many LDS families.
Thats a really good point, Donna! If you read Emily's article (and I think you did - you commented on it), she lives in the "Utah bubble" so she is probably not as exposed to the discrimination that goes on today. I agree that it is really unfortunate that quote "Christian" groups are so exclusive in their membership, when, clearly Mormons have a thing or two to teach people about family values. But that is just my opinion. :)
ReplyDeleteOh sorry, I thought Miranda was referring to how the 1800s persecution affects present day Mormons, being more recent than say persecutions toward Christians at the time of Christ.
ReplyDeleteI was trying to say that the past persecution doesn't really seem to affect modern-day Mormons. I do agree that current issues seem to affect modern-day Mormons, although I see a lot of people really trying to turn the other cheek when this happens. That's surely interesting about the homeschooling in Texas! I can think of other times the ACLU's gotten involved with issues and such.
I think she WAS referring to how it affects present-day mormons... at least, thats how the question was worded. So maybe the 1800's persecution doesn't really directly affect mormons, but the present-day morph of exclusionism within Christianity DOES? :)
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in ACLU involvement in things that (I) deam none of their business... I mean, why can the government say who or what is acceptable in private religious choice? Not that I think homeschool groups, etc, should be exclusive in the least, but on the other hand, I am all about individual rights to do what you please in your religious context (as long as it doesn't involve restricting the rights of others)... while I think the homeschooling exclusivity is wrong, I support the idea that, as a religious group, you can choose to be discriminating in who you allow to be part of your community - just as Mormons would not seal a non-mormon in the temple... Oh, and there I went getting all biased and opinionated - so much for objectivity. :)