Joseph Smith - ReligionFacts ReligionFacts Joseph Smith Biography of Joseph Smith Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormon religion, was born in 1806 to a poor family in Sharon, Vermont. He received little formal education. After a failed investment in exporting ginseng to China, Joseph Smith Sr. moved the family to a farm in Palmyra, in western New York, where they did not do much better financially. In Smith's teenage years, most of his family converted from Seekers to Presbyterians. But then his thinking about Christianity began to change. According to Mormon literature, it was around this time that the teenage Smith began wondering which of the many Christian denominations was the "true" Christian faith. Then, at the age of 14, he reports that God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him in a vision. They told him all Christian denominations had fallen away from the true faith, advised him not to join any of those denominations, and promised to restore the true faith. Due to this "restoration" theme, the beliefs of the LDS church can differ significantly from the beliefs of orthodox Christianity.

(To compare and contrast their beliefs, see the Mormonism and Christianity comparison chart.) The story of the LDS church Smith looks for buried treasure Also around this time, a traveling magician and diviner stopped in Palmyra. The diviner claimed he could locate water and buried treasure using magic stones for a fee of three dollars a day. Smith became interested in the visitor, and spent as much time with him as he could, trying to learn his skills. But when no treasure had been found and no one was any longer willing to pay for his services, he moved on. Smith carried on the practice of divination in Palmyra, with some magic stones of his own. He is reported to have found some lost tools using the stones. When Smith was 17, he reports that the angel Moroni appeared to him and told him the location of two golden plates, on which was written the history of two ancient Native American Christian tribes. Joseph went to the site and found golden plates written by Ether, Mormon, Lehi and Nephi (ancient Native American authors), and a brass plate consisting of Hebrew scripture quotations and genealogies written by Laban.

Also discovered at the site was a breastplate and the "Urim and Thummim," a pair of stones that Smith said assisted him in his translation of the ancient plates. Unfortunately, he was not allowed to remove the artifacts from the site immediately. He was directed to return to the site at each Autumn Equinox for four years, until 1827. Meanwhile, stories of Smith's divining abilities interested a visitor from eastern New York, who believed the Spaniards had left buried treasure on his property. So in 1825, Smith and his father traveled east in order to assist in locating the buried treasure, at a fee of three dollars a day. The two lived at a farm in Susquehanna Valley in Pennsylvania while a party of diggers, who all chipped in for Smith Jr.'s fee, searched for the Spanish treasure just over the border near Damascus, New York. Unfortunately, no treasure was ever found, and especially after Smith suggested that the treasure had sunk deeper due to "enchantment," his employers lost their faith in Smith's gifts and believed him to be a charlatan. His father then returned home to Palmyra, but Smith stayed behind.

He had fallen in love with Emma Hale, a schoolteacher. Smith gets married and writes the Book of Mormon Ms. Hale was initially aloof to his advances, but Smith was persistent. While wooing her, Smith worked as a farmhand and went to school part-time. When Emma finally warmed to him, Smith encountered another obstacle - her father. He was one of the diggers who felt fooled by Smith and he refused to allow his daughter to marry him. In 1826, formal charges were filed against Smith due to the divination scandal, accusing him of being an imposter. Isaac Hale was among the witnesses who testified against him. Despite such opposition, Emma remained interested in Smith, and the couple eloped in New York in 1827. The newlyweds went to live with Smith's parents in Palmyra until they returned to Pennsylvania to pick up Emma's belongings. Upon arrival, Smith tearfully pleaded her father for forgiveness and promised to be a better person and a good husband. Mr. Hale relented, and offered the Smith a small house on his property.

It was also in 1827 that Smith was finally able to remove the golden plates from their original site, at which point he undertook the translation of the plates. Sometimes seated behind a curtain, sometimes with his head buried in his hat, and always using the two special stones, Smith dictated the English translation to various scribes - among them his wife, Emma, Martin Harris, and Oliver Cowdery. Sometimes the tablets were not even present at the time they were being translated. The Book of Lehi became a 116-page English manuscript, but the manuscript met a major obstacle in Martin Harris' wife Lucy. When Martin brought Lehi home to show Lucy, she promptly "lost" it. It is generally speculated that Lucy was a skeptic and wished to expose Smith by demonstrating expected discrepancies between the original and a replacement translation. Instead of re-translating the book, however, Smith reported that God had taken away the special stones as punishment for the loss of the manuscript. For his later translations, he apparently used a single seer stone. He later translated Nephi, which described the same events as Lehi. The tablets Smith translated tell the story of an appearance of Christ in America after his death and resurrection in Jerusalem.

John the Baptist, and the founding and persecution of the LDS church John the Baptist reportedly appeared to Smith and Cowdery sometime later, ordaining the pair to the Aaronic Priesthood and teaching them water baptism. Shortly thereafter, the Apostles Peter, Paul and James appeared to the two, investing them in the Melchizedek Priesthood. This time, Smith and Cowdery were commissioned as the first two elders of a new church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) was founded in 1830, and gained 1,000 followers within its first 12 months. The budding church faced persecution almost from the start, and began a gradual move west as a result. LDS followers first moved to Kirtland, Ohio, where a prominent preacher, Sidney Rigdon, had embraced the new faith. At Kirtland and in Jackson county, Missouri (where some Mormons had migrated), Smith founded the communistic United Order of Enoch. But strife with non-Mormons led to killings and the burning of Mormon property in the communities. Yet the Mormons continued to make converts and their numbers increased.

In Missouri, tensions between the Mormons and local slave-owners, who viewed them as religious fanatics and possible abolitionists, escalated to armed violence. In 1839, 15,000 Mormons fled Missouri for Illinois. There Smith built a new city, Nauvoo, where the Mormons' commercial success and growing political power soon provoked hostility. Smith's death in 1844 Smith's suppression of a reform newspaper published by Nauvoo Mormon dissenters in 1844 intensified anti-Mormon hostility and gave the state government grounds for his arrest. Smith was murdered by a mob while he was held in jail in Carthage, near Nauvoo, on June 27, 1844. His unexpected death led to a succession crisis and schisms within the movement. Sources - "Mormon." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. Accessed October 2005. "Joseph Smith (American religious leader)." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. Accessed October 2005. "History of the Latter Day Saint movement." Wikipedia.

Accessed October 2005. "History of the Church." Mormon.org. Accessed October 2005. Article Info Joseph Smith: The Founder of Mormonism The Bottom-Line Guide to Mormonism, Part 1 | Mormons in Transition Key Dates in the Life of Joseph Smith 1820 Smith’s purported “first vision” 1827 Smith reports finding the Book of Mormon plates 1830 Smith publishes the Book of Mormon, establishes the LDS Church 1836 The first LDS temple is dedicated in Kirtland, Ohio 1839 The Mormons move to Nauvoo, Illinois 1843 Smith delivers a revelation authorizing plural marriage (polygamy) 1844 Smith and his brother Hyrum are killed while in jail Joseph Smith continued to issue revelations throughout the rest of his life. A collection of such revelations in a book called Doctrine and Covenants is viewed by Mormons as Scripture. Of the 138 chapters in this book, Joseph produced all but three, and slightly more than 100 were produced before 1834.

Joseph’s most controversial revelation concerned the “ First Vision ,” an experience he claimed to have had as a teenager in the spring of 1820. According to the official account, written in 1838 and first published in 1842, the teenager Joseph, confused by the different denominations during a revival, had gone into the woods to ask God which church to join and was answered with a vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ. The account—part of another scripture known as Pearl of Great Price —reports that Jesus told Joseph to join none of the churches. In the earliest known, handwritten version of the story, dated to 1832, Joseph reported that he had gone into the woods seeking forgiveness of sins because he had already concluded that all of the churches were wrong, and that he was answered with a vision of “the Lord” assuring him of his salvation. There are several good reasons to question whether Joseph ever had such an encounter: major contradictions between these two accounts (both originating from Smith himself), evidence showing that no revival took place in Joseph’s area during the period in question, and a lack of credible evidence that anyone heard any version of this First Vision story before 1832.

If he did see supernatural beings, though, from an orthodox Christian perspective they could not have been the Father and the Son. Mormons understand the appearance to prove that the Father and Son are two separate Gods, that God the Father has a body of flesh and bone, and that Jesus told Joseph that all of the churches were wrong and their creeds were all abominations. These claims contradict the Bible’s teaching that the Father and the Son are one God (e.g., John 1:1; 10:30), that God is Spirit (John 4:24), and that Christ’s church would continue until the end of the age (Matt. 28:18-20). Almost immediately after he founded the LDS Church, Joseph Smith began leading his followers westward, first to Kirtland, Ohio, where the first LDS temple was built, then to Far West, Missouri, and later to Commerce, Illinois, which they renamed Nauvoo. Joseph and the Saints were increasingly in trouble with the law, and he was even jailed for a period of time. In Nauvoo, he formed a militia with himself as its general.

Between 1841 and 1843 Joseph, who may have been practicing polygamy in secret as early as 1831, “married” at least thirty women—including many who remained legally married to other men. During this same period Joseph Smith produced new scriptures and began teaching that many Gods made the world. In a notorious sermon called the King Follett Discourse on April 6, 1844, Joseph taught that God the Father himself had not always been God, but was a man who became a God by the same process of exaltation by which humans were meant to become Gods. These developments, especially polygamy, led to increasing dissent within the Mormon movement as well as legal and social pressures from outside, and brought the movement to its most serious crisis. On June 10, 1844, Joseph Smith had a dissident newspaper, the Nauvoo Expositor, destroyed. The legality of this and other actions Joseph took remains a matter of debate. On June 25 he was arrested in Carthage, Illinois, and on June 27 a mob stormed the jail.

Joseph and his brother Hyrum were killed; although they died in a gun battle (with Joseph managing to wound one of the attackers), Mormons regard them as martyrs. Mormons believe in Joseph Smith as the Prophet of the Restoration and really as the greatest man who has ever lived second only to Jesus Christ. Their basis for this belief is essentially their subjective spiritual experience, the “testimony” they believe God has given them to confirm Smith’s claims. From an orthodox Christian point of view, Joseph Smith taught clearly unbiblical doctrines, issued false prophecies (for example, that a temple would be built on the temple lot in Jackson County, Missouri, before that generation died), and instituted unbiblical and unethical practices (notably polygamy). Based on these concerns, orthodox Christians view Joseph Smith as a false prophet. In 1830, Joseph Smith founded the LDS Church and published the Book of Mormon, which he claimed was ancient scripture that he translated from gold plates by the gift of God. In the 1840s, Joseph practiced polygamy and taught polytheism. He was killed in mob violence in 1844.

Mormons consider Joseph to have been a prophet and the greatest man who ever lived besides Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith and Mormonism August 2001: An e-publication of the New England Institute for Religious Research Religion "Made in America" The Paradox of Joseph Smith and Mormonism Mormonism, known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (with headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah), was officially founded in 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr. (1805-1844). While living in Palmyra New York, Smith claimed at the age of 15 to have had a personal visit from God, who introduced him to Christ. Jesus supposedly told him not to join any church because they were "all wrong ... all their creeds were an abomination in His sight, and that those professors (Christians) were all corrupt" (Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith, 2:18-19). Smith was allegedly told by God that he was chosen to restore the true church that the apostles had founded, and to bring to light "many plain and precious" truths of the scriptures that had been altered or expunged from the Scriptures.

Three years later, Smith claimed that he was visited by the angel "Moroni" who revealed to him the whereabouts of certain plates of gold which were alleged to be the scriptures and sacred writings of the inhabitants of the Americas. Smith unearthed the plates, and in 1827 began the process of translating them from a language he called "Reformed Egyptian" to English. Thus, from this, he produced the Book of Mormon, which was published in 1830. These simple beginnings are not without their controversies, however. Even Smith's own initial account with God and the subsequent announcement of the Golden Plates has been tainted by the fact that he had told wildly conflicting and contradictory aspects of the first vision to various individuals. Furthermore, when a handwritten copy of the "Reformed Egyptian" was put before a secular scholar, (Professor Anthon of Princeton), he declared it to be mere gibberish, and despite this, Smith attested that Professor Anthon had endorsed his work as a "translator". Nevertheless, the Book of Mormon was published in 1830. At once, loyal followers of Smith's began spreading the news and selling the Book of Mormon from town to town.

In most cases, the Latter-Day Saints were met with ridicule and persecution. They did have their successes too, however. Sidney Rigdon, a popular preacher in Ohio, was won over by the testimony of several of the early missionaries and became a powerful mouthpiece for the Book of Mormon. As Smith encountered growing opposition in his hometown area, he and the larger part of the church continued to move westward. In Kirtland, Ohio, the Mormon Church established it's first "Stake" and solidified it's governmental structure. Again, persecution followed them. In due time the church set up large Mormon settlements in Jackson County Missouri, and Nauvoo, Illinois. Smith's Work as a Translator From it's inception, the Book of Mormon has been challenged as to it's claim of being a translation of ancient plates. There have been myriads of books written on difficulties with the Book of Mormon , including an absolutely devastating piece of scholarship by one of their own general authorities, B.H. Roberts, who comes very close to concluding that the entire book was nothing more than a sloppy creation by Joseph Smith which plagarized from the King James Version and borrowed from Dr. Ethan Smith's Views of the Hebrews.

Perhaps the most telling event, however, which answers the question as to Smith's ability to translate Egyptian, involves the publication of The Book of Abraham in 1842. In this case, Smith acquired some ancient Egyptian papyri and claimed to have translated the hieroglyphics, the translation of which was purported to be about Abraham in Egypt, and was later canonized into The Pearl of Great Price. Since Champollion had just unlocked the secrets of the Rosetta Stone, Egyptian hieroglyphics were still a closed language to almost the entire world, and there was no Egyptologists who could tell Smith at that time that he was fabricating the whole translation. Today, however, we can see the actual papyrus that Smith "translated" and can clearly see it is merely a funerary text from the Book of the Dead. No less devastating to the reputation of Smith as a translator is the Kinderhook fiasco . In this case, some detractors of Smith in 1843 created and then buried some brass plates with random figures scrawled on them. After staging a "discovery" akin to Smith's "discovery" of the Golden Plates, they then summoned Joseph Smith to translate them.

Although Smith never published the alleged text (he was killed the next year), his own journal does testify that he had translated a part of them , and amazingly enough, they supported the Book of Mormon!. The Evolution of Mormonism and the Death of Smith Despite the fact that Joseph Smith was only at the helm of the Mormon church from 1830 to 1844, those years were rocked by drastic and fundamental changes in the church. In those years, almost all the individuals cited as "witnesses" who had held high positions in the church apostatized, and became enemies to the church. Theologically, Joseph Smith must have shocked everyone when he revealed publicly his ideas of Eternal Progression at the funeral of King Follet . Politically, the church had gone from a persecuted minority to having Joseph Smith as the Mayor of Nauvoo (1842-1844) who was able to wield political power for the good of the church. Meanwhile, it was no secret to those who knew Smith that polygamy was now an essential part, albeit, concealed aspect of Mormonism. Taken together, these factors all but assured that Smith would meet violent end in what was then a frontier town.

As rumors of Smith's sexual peccadilloes started circulating, the anger of not only the non-Mormon townspeople, but even formerly loyal followers began to rise. A number of individuals who had previously been trusted confidants of Smith's began publishing "tell-all" exposes of Smith. Much of the accusations against Smith were published in the Nauvoo Expositor, a local paper. In order to stop the dessimination of accusations against him, Smith, acting as Mayor, declared the Expositor a "public nuisance" and ordered the printing presses to be destroyed. After the order was carried out, Smith was arrested by state officials for the act. While in custody, an angry mob stormed the jailhouse. Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed. Mormonism Today After Smith's murder in 1844, Brigham Young took the group to Utah, where there is now a major University named after him, and the number of Mormons exceed one million. The Mormon Church currently claims about 9.7 million baptized members worldwide, up from about 2.5 million in 1970, and about equally divided between the U.S. (4.8 million) and all other countries.

It is growing fastest in Latin America and Asia. The Mormon Church collects at least $4.5 billion a year from its members, and generates at least another $4 billion in sales from its various business enterprises. (At least 100 companies are controlled by the Mormon Church, and some estimate its total annual revenues in excess of $20 billion!) Part of the Church's income goes to operate an elaborate internal welfare system so its members avoid any governmental assistance. The Mormon Church also has a 50,000-plus missionary force working in 150 nations. (All boys, once they turn 19, are expected to dedicate two years of their lives to missionary service.) This $500 million per year effort reaps more than 500,000 new converts each year. Nevertheless, only about 46% of Mormons attend a church meeting at least once a month. Ongoing Theological Dialogue Mormonism in the last few years has presented itself, at least in the public eye, as more like a Christian denomination than a separatist, exclusive sect that they originally represented.

A number of their theologians have published books designed to make the case that the beliefs of Latter-Day Saints are no less orthodox and biblical than any other denomination. Stephen Robinson, for example, in "Are Mormons Christian" attempts to prove that the Mormon idea of " deification" is theologically sound according to the earliest extra-biblical Christian writers. Likewise "How Wide the Divide" seems to promote the same idea that Mormons and Christians are essentially separated only by semantics. However, there are some fundamentals of Christianity that can't be so easily sacrificed in the quest for unity. Mormonism categorically rejects the classical axioms of monotheism, namely One God, who is Eternal, Omnipotent, Self-Subsisting, etc, and replaces this view of God with a finite, limited, evolving individual, whose only difference from us is a function of time. (Click Here for the At A Glance comparison of beliefs about the Godhead) . Maintaining an optimistic viewpoint, it might be said that one of the Mormon Church's most unusual theological novelties may be the key for bringing the Mormon church back into realm of orthodoxy.

That novelty is their belief that their current "prophets" teachings are inspired revelations that can supercede and even overthrow previous revelations. (For example, Mormon's don't seem to lose sleep over the fact that in the late 19th century, God revealed to their prophet that no one could partake of plural marraiges and still be a member of the church, however, fifty years earlier, God revealed to Joseph Smith that plural marraiges was an "everlasting" command, and no one could hope for exaltation unless they partook of it.). Therefore, it is entirely possible that a prophet could get a revelation that certain doctrines are to be revoked or erroneous, and the whole church would be obligated to go with the new revelation, and reject the old. Just such a scenario actually did play out with the World Wide Church of God, when the leaders nearly overnight abandoned their unorthodox teachings, rejecting their own ecclesiastical traditions, in favor of historic Christianity. It could happen again. Until that day comes, we are left with the story of Joseph Smith, which is truly an "American" phenomenon.

It's the story of a young, ambitious and clever man who used innovation and creativity to build what is now one of the wealthiest churches in the world. Although from an objective standpoint, we can't accept his claims as true, nor give creedance to Mormon belief as anything other than one man's fantasies, still one need to give credit where due. He did build a legacy which is still growing today. For those who are concerned about what is "true" however, his name is one more associated with infamy than anything else. (EWF) For more detailed studies of the Mormon religion, we recommend the following site: Smith, Joseph Encyclopedia > People > Philosophy and Religion > Protestant Christianity: Biographies Joseph Smith Smith, Joseph, 1805–44, American Mormon leader, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints, b. Sharon, Vt. When he was a boy his family moved to Palmyra, N.Y., where he experienced the poverty and hardships of life on a rough frontier.

He had visions when he was still young and later recorded that he was first told in a vision in 1823 of the existence of secret records, but it was not until 1827 that the hiding place of the records was revealed to him. According to his account, in 1827 he unearthed golden tablets inscribed with sacred writings that he translated. Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, and others transcribed these records from his dictation, and the Book of Mormon was published in 1830. Further revelations led him to found a new religion after priesthood had been conferred upon him and Cowdery by an "angel." As prophet and seer he founded (1830) his church in Fayette, N.Y. (see Latter-day Saints, Church of Jesus Christ of ). The hostility of his neighbors forced him to move his headquarters to Kirtland, Ohio, where with the help of Sidney Rigdon and others he embarked on extensive business affairs. The Panic of 1837 was one of the reasons for removal farther west to Missouri. There the industrious and self-contained members of his faith again ran into difficulties with their neighbors.

Smith and others were arrested but escaped, and his faithful followers were driven from Missouri. Having obtained a favorable charter from Illinois, Smith founded the settlement of Nauvoo , which, thanks to the concerted efforts of the members of his church, was soon flourishing. Disaffection grew, however, and some of the dissident members founded a newspaper, the Expositor, in which they bitterly criticized him. He put down the opposition, thereby giving the hostile non-Mormons a pretext for attacking him. When in 1844 he announced himself as candidate for the presidency of the United States, his enemies set upon him. He and his brother Hyrum were arrested on charges of treason and conspiracy. They were lodged in the jail at Carthage, Ill., and there on June 27, 1844, they were murdered by a mob. The revelations experienced by Smith—including one enjoining plural marriage, which later caused the Mormons much trouble—were the foundation stones of a faith that after his death grew to be one of the great religions of the United States. Because he was a highly controversial figure, the literature on him is also controversial. See biographies by L. Smith (1908, repr.

1969), F. M. Brodie (1954, repr. 1995), R. V. Remini (2002), and R. L. Bushman (2005); studies by R. L. Anderson (1971), and R. L. Bushman (1984). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. Mormonism's History | CARM Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry by Matt Slick Mormonism began with Joseph Smith Jr., who was born on Dec. 23, 1805 in Vermont. He was the fourth child of Lucy and Joseph Smith. Joseph senior was known as a money digger and sought after buried treasure particularly that of Captain Kidd. His mother was highly superstitious. Joseph Smith Jr. stated that he was disturbed by all the different denominations of Christianity and wondered which was true.

In 1820, when he was 14, he went into the woods to pray concerning this; and allegedly God the Father and Jesus appeared to him and told him not to join any of the denominational churches. Three years later, on Sept. 21, 1823, when he was 17 years old, an angel called Moroni, who was supposed to be the son of Mormon, the leader of the people called the Nephites who had lived in the Americas, appeared to him and told him that he had been chosen to translate the book of Mormon which was compiled by Moroni's father around the 4th century. The book was written on golden plates hidden near where Joseph was then living in Palmyra, New York. Joseph Smith said that on Sept. 22, 1827, he received the plates; and the angel Moroni instructed him to begin the translation process. The translation was finally published in 1830 as the Book of Mormon. Joseph claimed that during this translation process, John the Baptist appeared to him and ordained him to accomplish the divine work of restoring the true church by preaching the true gospel which, allegedly, had been lost from the earth.

The Book of Mormon is supposed to be the account of people who came from the Middle-East to the Americas. It covers the period of about 600 B.C. to A.D. 400. It tells of the Jaredites, people from the Tower of Babel who came to central America but perished because of their own immorality. It also describes some Jews who fled persecution in Jerusalem and came to America led by a man called Nephi. The Jews divided into two groups known as the Nephites and Lamanites who fought each other. The Nephites were defeated in A.D. 428. The Lamanites continued and are known as the American Indians. The Book of Mormon is the account of the Nephite leader, Mormon, concerning their culture, civilization, and appearance of Jesus to the Americas. After the publication of the Book of Mormon, Mormonism began to grow. Because their religion was so deviant from Christianity, i.e., plurality of gods, polygamy (Joseph is said to have had 27 wives), etc., persecution soon forced them to move from New York to Ohio, then to Missouri, and finally to Nauvoo, Illinois.

After being accused of breaking some laws in Nauvoo (for destroying a printing press that was publishing harmful information on Mormonism), Joseph and his brother Hyrum ended up in jail. A mob later broke into the jail and killed Joseph and his brother. After the shooting, the church divided into two groups: One led by his widow which went back to Independence Missouri. They are known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They claim to be the true Church and lay claim to the legal succession of the church presidency which was bestowed upon Joseph's son by Joseph Smith himself. The other group was led by Brigham Young; and they went to Utah where in 1847, they ended up in Salt Lake and founded Salt Lake City. Brigham had 25 wives and accumulated much wealth. This article is also available in: Español , Português History & Culture - Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail (U.S. National Park Service) History & Culture History & Culture History & Culture The history of the Mormon Trail cannot be understood without an awareness of the Mormon religion itself. The great Mormon migration of 1846-1847 was but one step in the Mormons' quest for religious freedom and growth.

The Mormon religion, later known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was founded by Joseph Smith on April 6, 1830 in Fayette, New York. Smith experienced visions as a teenager and would later be regarded as a prophet by the Mormons. In 1827, he claimed that an angel showed him buried gold plates which he then transcribed into The Book of Mormon. All who subscribed to the beliefs of this text became known as Mormons. Membership grew rapidly, but not all were enthused about Smith's new religion. Persecution of the Mormons led to subsequent moves westward for the church, first to Ohio, then to Missouri and then to Nauvoo, Illinois. Smith envisioned a permanent settlement in Nauvoo. But both the Mormons' time in Nauvoo and Smith's life were to be short-lived. From 1839 until 1846, the Mormon church was headquartered in Nauvoo where church members were able to prosper and practice their religion peacefully. But before long, tensions arose when many citizens began to view the Mormons with contempt.

Mormon practices such as polygamy, in combination with the quick growth of the church, contributed to a growing intolerance among some Illinois citizens. Hostilities broke out and on June 27, 1844, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed by an angry mob while jailed in Carthage, Illinois. Brigham Young stepped in as Smith's successor and immediately began furthering Smith's plans for a move to the Far West. By now, the Mormon population of Nauvoo neared 11,000, making it one of the largest cities in Illinois. Yet the persecution of Mormons continued. In one month alone in 1845, more than 200 Mormon homes and farm buildings were burned around Nauvoo in an attempt by foes to force out the Mormons. Possible locations for a new home for the Mormons included Oregon, California and Texas. But with Smith's acquisition of John Fremont's map and report of the West in 1844, the Salt Lake region of Utah was chosen as the Mormons' destination. Young and his devotees made plans for an exodus to this new land. By 1846 the Mormon migration had begun.

More Mormon Trail History The Mormons | People & Events | PBS People & Events Joseph Smith (1805-1844) Joseph Smith. Founder of a uniquely American religion, Joseph Smith was a poor farm boy who became a charismatic prophet, much criticized polygamist, town and temple builder, and finally a martyr for the faith he had established. Emma Hale Smith. Making Strong Impressions Joseph Smith was born in Vermont in 1805. His parents possessed considerable learning but limited means to secure a livelihood. As a boy, Joseph made strong impressions on those around him, especially after the family moved to western New York. His mother would recall the courage he showed as a seven-year-old during a painful operation to save his leg following the ravages of typhus fever. In 1825, when Smith was barely 20, a 21-year-old teacher named Emma Hale was quite taken by him when he boarded at her father's house while treasure-hunting nearby; so taken, in fact, that she married him in January 1827. But Smith produced strong negative feelings as well.

Hale's father, who disapproved of their marriage, called him "careless" and "insolent." Nor did the treasure-hunting, often performed with the help of divination devices called seer stones, sit well with everyone; in March 1826 Smith's activities led to a criminal complaint, forcing him to swear off the practice. First Vision. A Series of Visions As Smith would tell the story, of all those who took notice of young Joseph, none proved more pivotal than the Almighty. Beginning in 1820 at age 14, Smith received a series of visions that would shape his future. In the first of these he saw a pillar of light and images of God and Jesus Christ. During this vision, he was warned that all Christian denominations had strayed from the truth. Then, beginning in 1823, he had a series of visions in which an angel named Moroni told him about a book written on gold plates. The book imparted the history of a group of Israelites who settled in the Americas around 600 B.C. After an extended period of testing, Smith was allowed to retrieve these plates along with a device that permitted him to read the writing on them.

Between 1827 and 1830, Joseph translated these writings by dictating what he said he read, first to his wife Emma and then to others. He called the resulting work The Book of Mormon. The young prophet and a small group of followers who gathered around him believed that the book that came into existence in this miraculous way was a new work of scripture. When they founded a church , they called it "the Church of Jesus Christ," but outsiders named it after the mysterious new scripture, calling it the "Mormon Church." Although its members called themselves Christians, outsiders referred to them as "Mormonites." Latter-day Saints To escape ridicule and treatment that they regarded as persecution , the small Mormon flock left western New York and, in 1831, began a series of westward migrations . As new converts joined the group, they were called to "gather" with the prophet and his co-religionists who by this time called themselves Latter-day Saints. Building the Kirtland Temple. On the Move Together the group headed to Kirtland, Ohio, where they would settle for the next six years. Not long after arriving, however, the prophet sent a substantial number of his followers to Independence, Missouri.

The Kirtland period brought out the essential aspects of Smith's personality. A physically attractive man, he was charismatic and dynamic -- he managed to organize the building of a temple 110 feet high using only the resources of an impoverished group of settlers. During this period Joseph announced and his followers rapturously received some 65 revelations; during the temple's 1836 dedication, some witnesses even said they saw God standing next to him. But the prophet, as he became known, also had a down-to-earth side. Upon first arriving in town, he walked up to the local storekeeper, shook hands, introduced himself, and said, "You've prayed me here, now what do you want of me?" Joseph's Church Grows It turned out there was much for him to do. Smith's reach continued to expand as the Mormon Church grew. As ever-increasing numbers of the prophet's followers settled in the region and as their influence spread, the earlier settlers to the area became alarmed that they would be overwhelmed by these people who called themselves Latter-day Saints. They became so threatened that they drove them out of the area.

The Saints became refugees, going first to Clay County, Missouri, and then to a new county on the state's western boundary. Leaving Missouri in wagon carts from Mormon Panorama. Run out of Missouri Non-Mormons found much to discuss and dislike about the Mormons. Smith, himself, was rumored to have taken another wife in the mid-1830s, but this rumor was far less important than the fact that he and some of his followers founded a bank in 1836 that failed during the Panic of 1837. He left Kirtland, Ohio just a few steps ahead of angry creditors in January 1838, and fled to Missouri to join the Saints who had started to build a thriving settlement in a town they called Far West. But the reception in Missouri was even more troublesome than it had been in Kirtland. Violent mobs and a hostile government led to the prophet's arrest and drove the Mormons from that state within a year. Joseph Smith with "Nauvoo Legion Benevolent Association" banner. Nauvoo, the Largest City in Illinois A man with less determination might have given up, but Smith only broadened his vision.

Buying 15,000 swampy acres on the Mississippi in Illinois, he built a city that soon rivaled the young hub of Chicago . Thousands of Mormons flocked to this new settlement, called Nauvoo. Smith quickly consolidated his power there. He ran the city, the courts and the Nauvoo militia, which grew to become the state's biggest military entity. Depicted in grand uniform in his only portrait from life, Smith began to strike many as a kind of religious despot, a threat to American freedom rather than an expression of it. Martyrdom Criticism increased when rumors of polygamy spread both within and outside the community. Actually, the prophet (who was busy marrying many plural wives) dictated a revelation about "celestial marriage" that included an endorsement of polygamy in 1843. But this revelation did not become public until 1852, five years after the Latter-day Saints reached the Great Salt Lake Valley. In the meantime, this practice caused enormous confusion and considerable negative reaction within the Mormon community.

When some of Smith's followers published a newspaper the next year that made public complaints about the way the city was being run and about plural marriage, Smith ordered the destruction of this newspaper. Threatened with arrest and potential death at the hands of his enemies, Smith began to flee Nauvoo, then turned back and accepted his fate. He was shot to death by a mob on June 27, 1844. The Church After Joseph Smith In the wake of the prophet's death, members of the Smith family vied for power with members of the church's leadership bodies, especially the members of the "First Presidency" and members of the Council of the Twelve. As a result, the church fragmented. Joseph Smith III Some Mormons realized that by living together in a single place -- by being a "gathered" community -- their movement was generating opposition. Others, many of whom had not lived in Nauvoo between 1839 and 1844, were convinced that while The Book of Mormon was truly a new scripture, "a new testament of Jesus Christ," that in Nauvoo Joseph Smith's prophetic powers had been turned to fraudulent uses -- especially with regard to sexual practices.

Rejecting polygamy, some of these Saints remained in the Midwest while others went in other directions -- to Michigan's Upper Peninsula (the "Strangites"), to Pennsylvania (followers of Sidney Rigdon), to Texas (the "Wightites"), and elsewhere. The largest group of Smith's followers went west with Brigham Young , but a substantial minority stayed in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. They "reorganized" the church in 1860 under the leadership of the Mormon prophet's eldest son, Joseph Smith III. This group eventually established its headquarters in Independence, Missouri, near the place that Joseph Smith had identified as the site where the Second Coming would commence. Long known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, this group is still in existence and is now known as the Community of Christ. 1 of 6 Next » Founders Founders Written by: Stephen Taysom The founder of Mormonism is Joseph Smith, Jr . (1805-1844), a singular American religious figure who called himself a prophet and in 1830, amid the excitement of the Second Great Awakening, formally organized the Church of Christ (later changed to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).

He was murdered in 1844 by a mob while imprisoned at Carthage, Illinois. Smith was born in Vermont in 1805 and in 1816 moved with his family to the town of Palmyra in western New York. Few details are known about his childhood. He showed little interest in reading while young, according to his mother, but seems to have been introspective. Like many of his time, he sought buried treasure using occult practices. Living in a place and time of evangelical revivals, the "burned-over district" of western New York in the early 1800s, Joseph became concerned about the state of his soul and the possibility of finding truth given the conflicting claims of rival denominations. According to his autobiography, penned many years later, he decided to heed the words of James 1:5 and pray to God for answers. The result was a vision, around 1820, of God the Father and Jesus Christ, who, Smith wrote, instructed him to join none of the existing churches. Three years later Smith said he was visited by an angel named Moroni, who showed him a vision of buried gold plates that recorded an account of ancient America peoples.

In 1827 Joseph obtained the plates, along with several ancient objects buried alongside them, and set about translating them into English under divine inspiration. The record was published in 1830 as The Book of Mormon. Two sets of witnesses declared that they had seen the plates. Weeks after the new scripture was offered for sale, Joseph and his early followers convened to formally organize a church. A year after the Church was formed, Joseph and his family moved to Kirtland, Ohio, along with about 200 converts. Kirtland would remain Church headquarters until 1838. The doctrine of gathering as Saints (i.e., followers of Christ) played a central role in Mormon theology, combining notions of sacred time (belief in the imminent return of Christ and the establishment of his thousand-year reign) with notions of sacred space (the building of a ritual worship center called a temple). New converts journeyed to Kirtland to join the Latter-day Saints. A distinct Mormon culture began to emerge as converts accepted The Book of Mormon and other doctrines and lived in a communal setting. The effort, however, failed dramatically when a financial crisis led to widespread dissent among Smith's followers.

The high concentration of Mormons (and their political power) had inspired mistrust among non-Mormons, and soon Kirtland was no longer a safe haven. Simultaneously with the gathering in Kirtland, another gathering place was designated in Independence, Missouri, where the Saints were directed to construct a city. Here, too, friction with settlers quickly escalated and in 1833 the Saints fled their homes, eventually settling in Caldwell, another Missouri county especially created for them by the state legislature. As converts continued to gather and swell the ranks of the Mormons, that solution proved insufficient too. War broke out between the parties, and the governor ordered the Mormons expelled or exterminated. Joseph Smith’s Witchcraft, Scrying and Arrest 1820 – 1827 - Life After Ministries Life After Ministries Categories: Joseph Smith 29 August Today we’re taking a look at Joseph Smith’s behavior between 1820 – 1827 to determine whether his activities reflected that of someone who had been called of God.

This was a critical time in Smith’s life and his track record stands as a solid witness of what he was doing from the time of his first vision in the woods to the day he was able to retrieve the golden plates of Mormonism. Common sense tells us his story needs to line up with four important sources; Joe Smith, the LDS Church, empirical outsider testimonies and most importantly, God. We’re dividing our investigation in two parts; 1820-1823 and 1824-1827 and throughout the article you’ll find a list of questions to use when witnessing to your Mormon friends and relatives. We pray they’ll be of benefit, but mainly that they’ll spark questions in the mind of any Mormon reading this. Let’s get started! 1820 – 1823 The spirit of rebellion against the crown bled into the fabric of America’s spiritual life in the post Revolutionary War era so at the dawn of the Second Great Awakening America was looking for its next big spiritual fix. American Folk Religion was a hodgepodge gospel made of visions, spiritualism, angels, no organized religion and favored passages from the Bible.

Each family held fast to their own version of who they believed God should be and passed that ideal on down to their kids. Included in the menagerie was the ever popular hobby of looking for buried treasure via means of scrying (glass-looking, use of seer-stones), with the upper Atlantic seaboard being the hub for all things witchcraft. Joseph’s family had been involved in witchcraft for generations and well known for consulting the dead, using divining rods and scrying throughout the area so it only stood to reason they‘d pass their trade on down to their son. Joseph Sr., known for having visions, never hesitated to share his experiences with others whenever given the chance. His wife Lucy recorded no less than seven dreams he had from the time their first son was born. One of his dreams was remarkably similar to a dream a main character ( Lehi ) had from the Book of Mormon. The problem with the Smith’s family vocation? Some of it was illegal and more importantly, God condemned witchcraft.

Leviticus 19:31; “Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.” In addition to the dreams of her husband, Lucy also wrote of the many times they relied on ‘Abrac’ while looking for direction in life. (Abrac is short for abracadabra.) While calling upon spirits for guidance in many of the rituals they would have performed, circles were drawn in the ground using detailed instructions from two well known books, ‘ Discoverie of Witchcraft’ and ‘The Magus’. Even though the Discoverie of Witchcraft was more than two hundred years old by the 1820’s it was a staple in the lives of those practicing witchcraft. The circles included upside down pentagrams and markings of the Jupiter Talisman. The book also gave specific times when a person should pray for a personal manifestation and it should be noted that the perfect time to do this is at midnight on September 21st. This just so happens to be when Smith was praying in 1823 for his own personal manifestation – more on that later.

To make matters worse, the Jupiter Talisman that Joe Smith had in his pocket when he died contained the drawings mentioned in Francis Barrett’s work ‘ The Magus ’. This book is nothing more than a resource and how-to-guide for ceremonial magic, alchemy, astrology and the Kabbalah. You can read more about this in Quinn’s work ‘ Early Mormonism and the Magic World View ’. Sometime between Joseph’s first vision in 1820 and his vision in 1823 Joseph admits that he participated in questionable activities. This he said, is what led him to repent on September 21, 1823 and when he met Moroni.

Joseph Smith History 1:28; “…I was left to all kinds of temptations; and, mingling with all kinds of society, I frequently fell into many foolish errors, and displayed the weakness of youth, and the foibles of human nature; which, I am sorry to say, led me into divers temptations… 29 …on the evening of the above-mentioned twenty-first of September, after I had retired to my bed for the night, I betook myself to prayer and supplication to Almighty God for forgiveness of all my sins and follies, and also for a manifestation to me…” 1.What foolish errors is he speaking of and why isn’t the Church more forthcoming about his activities? Unbeknownst to the majority of Mormons today, Smith’s world revolved around the spiritual lifestyle that many in America embraced at the time. His practice of praying for manifestations to appear is a sure-tell sign he had opened himself up to the world of demonic spiritualism. 2.Why did he pray for forgiveness and then ask God to send a spirit to visit him? The meaning of the word manifestation is ‘the materialization of a disembodied spirit’.

Now why would Smith pray for something like this when it’s not biblically sound? If he had been called of God wouldn’t the Lord keep him from doing this? 3.Why did he choose to do this on the Autumnal Equinox at midnight? According to Cowdery this is exactly when Smith ‘just so happened’ to be in fervent prayer. Another problem comes in what outside resources said about his activities earlier in the evening. According to Clay Chandler’s report Martin Harris stated that Smith had been looking for treasures before he began praying in his room around midnight. Also see Eyewitness Accounts of the Restoration, p 211; “According to Martin Harris, it was after one of these night excursions, that Jo, while he lay upon his bed, had a remarkable dream.” Not a One Time Thing From 1820 – 1823 we find numerous statements and affidavits about Smith’s involvement in searching for buried treasure through the means of seer stones. This was apparently a fulltime vocation for Smith, not just simple indiscretion on his part.

According to Dan Vogel’s report , ‘The Locations of Joseph Smith’s Early Treasure Quests’, there were no less than fifty-one local citizens who ‘affirmed that large excavations may be seen in the earth not far from their [the Smiths’] residence’. In other references we find dozens more who testified to Smith digging for buried treasure and using his peep stones to tell the future. Their testimonies are found in Mormonism Unvailed , Joseph Smith’s New York Reputation Reexamined , Lucy’s Book by Lavina Fielding Anderson and Inventing Mormonism . We also have the amazing work of D. Michael Quinn’s book , Early Mormonism and the Magic World View. We could write a book on all the books written about his nefarious deeds. Questions: With that boatload of info we’re getting closer to making a sound assessment of what was really going on in the young man’s life. 4.What exactly was he doing between 1820 and 1823? What was he looking for when he and others in his family dug up the family farm? 5.Does Smith’s behavior during this time do anything to solidify his calling or harm it?

6.Why did he choose to pray for a manifestation on the Autumnal Equinox? 7.When and how did Joseph receive the golden plates? 8.If Smith had received a vision in the woods in 1820 (JS Hist. 1:18-19), then why was he digging in the earth for buried treasures after this time? It seems that his own words give us part of the reason why this was. Joseph Smith History 1:23; “It caused me serious reflection then, and often has since, how very strange it was that an obscure boy, of a little over fourteen years of age, and one, too, who was doomed to the necessity of obtaining a scanty maintenance by his daily labor, should be thought a character of sufficient importance to attract the attention of the great ones of the most popular sects of the day…” It looks as if Smith felt marginalized not only by the society at large, but God as well. He obviously believed God had doomed him to a life of poverty and he obviously liked the limelight; good or bad. 9.God had expressly told him to stay away from all Christians because they weren’t in obedience, so why would the behavior of non-Christians be acceptable?

Why was he hanging out with other ner’er-do-wells? Mormons have undoubtedly accepted Joseph’s explanation of ‘youthful indiscretions’ as if he had done this once or twice, but truth has emerged from the dark shadows of history revealing just the opposite. 1824 – 1827 From 1824 to 1827 Smith seems to have been a busy guy. Moroni’s message of 1823 told Smith that he couldn’t have the treasure quite yet, but if he returned to the very spot each year at the exact same time for four years then he could retrieve the plates.

Joseph Smith History 1:53; “I made an attempt to take them out, but was forbidden by the messenger, and was again informed that the time for bringing them forth had not yet arrived, neither would it, until four years from that time; but he told me that I should come to that place precisely in one year from that time, and that he would there meet with me, and that I should continue to do so until the time should come for obtaining the plates.” 10.Why would God take Smith on a four year scavenger hunt so people would know the truth and gain salvation? Jesus told us that nothing is hidden in Luke 8:16; “No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.” In 1825 Smith found himself explaining why he was digging for treasure again – Joseph Smith History 1:57; “…In the month of October, 1825, I hired with an old gentleman by the name of Josiah Stoal, who lived in Chenango county, State of New York.

He had heard something of a silver mine having been opened by the Spaniards in Harmony…Hence arose the very prevalent story of my having been a money-digger.” 11.The silver mine episode isn’t the sole reason Smith was known as a money-digger. Stowell contacted Smith because of his reputation of finding buried treasure. Why did he lie about this? Furthermore, he’s already established that he had been known for this behavior as he revealed it in 1823. After that time we have his own accounts listed above of the other times he went to the hill at Cumorah to dig for treasure yet again. 1826 Joseph Smith, the Stowell’s ‘Incubus’ Despite many years of the very public denials that Smith was arrested and went to trial for his treasure seeking ways, the truth came forth. In 1971 the Rev. Wesley Walters discovered court records in the basement of a NY sheriff’s office for services rendered by a judge in 1826. Becoming tired of watching their father wasting money and being swindled, the sons of Josiah Stowell pressed charges against Joseph Smith for vagrancy, referring to him as an incubus (nightmare).

In early 1826 the case went before Judge Neely. Extensive notes taken by Dr. William Purple were found amongst the documents giving us a descriptive portrayal of when and why he was arrested and everything else pertaining to the trial. You can find detailed info at the Chenango Union , The Making of a Prophet, p 82 , Inventing Mormonism , pp 68-75 and Richkelsey.org to name just a few. The internet is awash with endless resources showing Smith’s behavior during this time. If you’re LDS we strongly encourage you to do your research and find out. Smith Family Reputation In the exhaustive book ‘Inventing Mormonism ’ authors Marquardt and Walters tells us that Smith’s activities were well known amongst not just the locals, but the entire region as well. At the end of the quote below they referenced Mormonism Unvailed which gave the testimonies of several people who knew the Smith family very well. A few of those references are noted here. Inventing Mormonism, p 63; “In his official history, Joseph Smith downplayed his experience as a money-digger and sought to cast this activity in the context of manual labor.

However, Smith was involved in such endeavors for years in two widely separated areas and enjoyed an established reputation as a gifted seer. He was thought to be able to locate lost goods with a special seer stone and magical religious ceremonies.” – H Michael Marquardt & Wesley P Walters Willard Chase Suffice it to say, Smith was indeed charged with disorderly conduct and went to trial for his actions of trying to take advantage of people. Not surprisingly, the Church’s silence about the truth on Smith’s track record is deafening. Their continual denials and outright lies about this subject is a sad thing to witness. In addition to all the testimonies above we also have the testimony of Mr. Isaac Hale, Emma Smith’s father, and this man didn’t pull any punches with his opinion about his son-in-law’s lifestyle. His statement appeared in the NY Baptist Register June 13, 1834 and The Susquehanna Register on May 1, 1834.

Here in part is his opinion; “…The manner in which he pretended to read and interpret, was the same as when he looked for the money-diggers, with the stone in his hat, and his hat over his face, while the Book of Plates were at the same time hid in the woods!” – Isaac Hale Another must read in this saga is Dan Vogel ’s work ‘The Location of Joseph Smith’s Early Treasure Quests, p 219 where he gives yet another testimony from a Stowell family member telling of Smith’s shiftless ways. The people who come out on the short end of the stick are Mormons like my mother. The average member has virtually no idea… 1827 LDS Version of September 21-22, 1827 The cleaned up version of Moroni allowing Joe to take the plates home is much different than that of the other versions. Joseph Smith History 1:59; “At length the time arrived for obtaining the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate.

On the twenty-second day of September, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven, having gone as usual at the end of another year to the place where they were deposited, the same heavenly messenger delivered them up to me with this charge: that I should be responsible for them; that if I should let them go carelessly, or through any neglect of mine, I should be cut off; but that if I would use all my endeavors to preserve them, until he, the messenger, should call for them, they should be protected.” Martin Harris’ Version of September 21-22, 1827 The following is an excerpt from our article on Smith’s First Vision . It’s inclusion here is based on what took place on September 22, 1827. Joel Tiffany published an interview he had with Martin Harris in Tiffany’s Monthly , pp 163 – 170 in 1859 with details of Smith’s first vision, how he came into possession of the plates and why he founded Mormonism. This interview was significant because of how contradictory this story was from all the others. It’s also significant because of Harris’ involvement with Smith at the very beginning of when Mormonism got off the ground.

In this rendition the Smith family corroborated the story and Harris approved all of it before it went to print. p 169…‘An angel had appeared to him, and told him it was God’s work.’” Here Mr. Harris seemed to wander from the subject, when we requested him to continue and tell what Joseph then said. He replied, “Joseph had before this described the manner of his finding the plates. He found them by looking in the stone found in the well of Mason chase. The family had likewise told me the same thing.’ 12.Why are these two ‘testimonies’ so vastly different and what purpose does it serve you? What purpose does it serve the church? These last two statements of what happened on September 21-22, 1827 are just a drop in the bucket of the stories you’ll find out there. From a horse with a black twitching tail, a spirit waiting at the entrance of a cave to a toad found in the box and the ever popular story of a Spanish ghost with blood pouring forth from his slit throat are some of the things Smith said he found while retrieving the golden plates.

No matter what story Smith gave to whom, they all go to prove one thing. His story was a hoax. It’s impossible to know which story of his to believe when there are so many of them and we need to treat them like the testimonies of those in court when they’ve perjured themselves. Toss it out. We’re praying that Mormons will examine the whole truth and then make a decision based on all the information, not just the faith promoting kind. With Love in Christ; Jesus Christ's Church | Mormon.org Jesus Christ's Church What was Jesus Christ’s original Church? Seeking divine guidance or help is among the most fundamental of human instincts. It is how we know we’re not alone. It is how Jesus Christ’s Church was returned to His people. God loves us and has consistently revealed light to His children. The embodiment of that light came to earth in the form of His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ—whose birth had long been foretold by prophets. During His mortal life, Jesus declared His gospel, appointed Apostles, gave righteous men God’s priesthood, and directed followers in the performing of specific ordinances, such as baptism by immersion.

The Savior’s atoning sacrifice fulfilled ancient promises made by God, promises that included the establishment of Christ’s Church on earth. But during the time after Christ’s Resurrection, there was considerable chaos and dissent; Apostles were martyred, and the foundational principles of Christ’s Church became diluted. As a result, the members of His Church were scattered. Left with only remnants of the original truth, each generation of earnest followers strayed further from the true teachings and doctrine of Christ’s Church until the priesthood authority was eventually lost to the world. Expand Text In the 16th century, faithful religious reformers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin brought considerable enlightenment to a world darkened by apostasy. Luther proclaimed his “95 Theses,” where he outlined how Christianity had strayed. The movement spread all over Europe and created a crucial momentum of fervor for religious freedom. It became the rallying cry for pilgrims colonizing the New World, a place unique on earth for many reasons. Some 1,500 years earlier, Jesus Christ had visited people in the Americas before leaving this earth, teaching them as He did the people in the Old World.

A record of His visit and the history of these faithful followers were recorded on golden plates and buried in the earth by an ancient prophet who lived on the American continent. It was here, in a land blessed with religious freedom, that Jesus Christ chose to restore His original Church. In 1830, He did just that through Joseph Smith, a young man who was called of God to bring forth the ancient record and, through the divine gift of translation, transcribe it. This work is called the Book of Mormon. This book of scripture bears witness to the divinity and teachings of Jesus Christ. It calls us to repentance and helps us lead better and happier lives. We have a loving Heavenly Father who answers prayers. Our Heavenly Father answers the kinds of prayers where we earnestly petition Him for insight, wrestle with doubt, or implore Him for mercy. Sometimes when we pray, we do all of these things at once. It is through prayer that a boy named Joseph Smith came to a grove of trees in upstate New York in 1820, asking God to know which church to join.

Earlier he had come across a scripture in the Bible, James 1:5: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” As many of us do, Joseph was seeking light, and he found it, literally. He later related, “I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” (Joseph Smith—History 1:16–17). Joseph was told that through him Jesus Christ would eventually restore His original Church, which had been lost through the apostasy of the previous millennia. Joseph was also told that in the coming years he would be called as a prophet. God chose Joseph Smith as a prophet much as He chose the ancient prophets—often from among the most humble and unlikely of candidates.

With the clear-eyed dedication of youth, the farm boy from upstate New York eventually became God’s instrument for the considerable temporal work required to reestablish the truths, structure, and authority of Christ’s Church on earth. The Restoration of Jesus Christ’s Church started from Joseph’s desire to know God and to serve Him, the sincere request from a young man kneeling in prayer. The answer to that prayer has blessed all of us who have done likewise, and we are promised that if we pray about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and of the Restoration of Christ’s Church, we too will receive our own personal witness that they are true.

Question: Which religion was founded by Joseph Smith in 1827?
Answer: Mormons