Mormons & The Church of the Latter Day Saints Joseph Smith and the Second Great Awakening

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith was from the Burned Over District experienced a succession of supernatural visions. Smith`s narrative of these events reports that God and Jesus Christ appeared to him in 1820 outside of Palmyra, New York. They told him to be ready for a significant project. Smith further reported that, three years later, he encountered an angel named Moroni who revealed to him the existence of buried golden plates that bore engravings, in an archaic tongue, of the history of early peoples of North America. Smith discovered them in 1827 on Cumorah`s Hill, near Palmyra. His English rendering of the history, titled The Book of Mormon, was issued in 1830.

Joseph Smith On April 6, 1830, Smith and some like-minded colleagues established the Church of Christ, soon to be known by today`s title, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church expanded quickly, and by the first year boasted some 1,000 adherents. First the group is forced out of Ohio, and then Smith begins telling followers that Jackson, Missouri is the new Zion. The primary reason they had trouble was Smith’s practice of polygamy.

Problems in Missouri Smith's followers, commonly known as Mormons, began to settle in Jackson County in 1831 to "build up" the city of Zion. Tensions built up between the rapidly growing Mormon community and the earlier settlers for a number of reasons: They believed—after a revelation recorded on June 6, 1831—that if they were righteous they would inherit the land held by others ("which is now the land of your enemies") in Missouri. Their economic cohesion allowed the Mormons to dominate local economies. They believed that the Native Americans were descendants of Israelites, and proselytized among them extensively. Most Mormon immigrants to Missouri came from areas which were sympathetic to abolitionism. They tended to vote in blocs. Where there was a critical mass of Mormons in the community, they were frequently viewed as having sold the election to the highest bidder, although there is no recorded proof of this ever taking place.

Crisis The governor of Missouri issued an executive order (#44) that called for the extermination of all Mormons. They moved to Navoo, Illinois. There Joseph Smith was arrested and lynched. Brigham Young moved the faithful to Utah.

History: Mormon History Timeline Church Organized Fayette, New York 1830 First Temple Built Kirtland, Ohio Saints Settle in Jackson County, Missouri Saints Settle in Nauvoo, Illinois Saints Settle in Utah 1847 Colonization (Settled over 600 Communities) 70,000 saints traveled the 1300 mile Mormon Trail before the railroad arrived in Nauvoo was the largest city in Illinois in 1845 with a population of 20,000. There were 26,000 members when Joseph Smith was Martyred in Brigham Young, second prophet.