Mormonism
Mormonism
I am a Mormon. The official name of the Mormon Church is
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was founded in 1830 by Joseph Smith the Prophet
(left), who was 25 years old at the time. Joseph Smith had a vision at the age
of 14, in which he saw God the Father and His Son. He brought forth another
scripture, the Book of Mormon,
through his prophetic agency. My great-great-great-grandfather,Parley Parker
Pratt, believed that he received a divine witness of the truth of the Book
of Mormon and the calling of Joseph Smith and became one of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles. Parley P. Pratt was one of the greatest missionaries the Church
ever had, converting thousands of people to Mormonism before he was lynched
in Arkansas in 1857. He was a polygamist, and had 10 wives. He wrote his autobiography,
which is still in print today. From the founding of the Church, the Mormons
were severely persecuted. They were driven out of homes in New York, Ohio, and
Missouri. They built the city of Nauvoo
(below), on the banks of the Mississippi river in Illinois in 1840. Joseph Smith
was lynched by a mob while imprisoned at Carthage,
Illinois, 
near Nauvoo in 1844. He was 39 years old at the
time. The Quorum of the Twelve asserted authority over the Church at that time,
and most of the Mormons followed them, led by their president, Brigham Young (below), as
they fled the United States into the Rocky Mountains. Unfortunately, within
two years, the U.S. conquered the area the Mormons had settled in the Mexican
War. While the persecutions were not over, and would not be over as long as
the Mormons refused to conform to the values of US protestants (viz, monogamy),
the Mormons grew to be a sizable people in the heart of the mountains. All of
my ancestors crossed the plains, most of them in wagons and oxcarts, but many
walked. Many of them also crossed the Atlantic Ocean first on their way from
England, Scotland, and Ireland. They were for the most part poor people. Some
of them fell ill on the way. My great-great-grandfather, Junius Crossland, is
buried somewhere in Wyoming, where he died while trying to walk to Utah.
Mormons are often stereotyped. Such stereotypes are no more
valid than stereotypes of Roman Catholics or Jews. There are Mormons of all
types, liberals and conservatives, rich and poor, Americans and people from
many other countries, bound together by faith and history. There are also other
"restoration" churches that trace their roots to Joseph Smith, whose peoples
either did not follow Brigham Young west, or else split off later over issues
of doctrine.
In my view, Mormonism emphasizes seeking divine guidance and obtaining religious knowledge through personal revelation, as opposed to, for example, conservative Christians who believe in an inerrant Bible. Mormons believe that the canon of scripture is not closed and God can reveal further scriptures through modern prophets (e.g. Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price) and that individuals can also receive revelation for their own use. Joseph Smith taught that humans and God are essentially of the same species, and the intelligent essence of our spirits was not created, but eternal. God said, "this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." Joseph also taught that humankind is perfectible and one can progress to eventually become god-like by obedience to eternal principles of good. Mormonism rejects original sin and Calvin's views of predestination and depravity. "Man is that he might have joy." Jesus Christ is accepted as God and Savior, as well as the moral exemplar to guide the religious life. Salvation is universal, and all but a tiny minority of humans will be saved. One's progress in the hereafter will depend on developing a god-like loving character. Commandments are schoolmasters of that process, but it is a developmental process rather than a reward for a certain number of good works. Mormonism emphasizes homely values of family, work, and service. Unfortunately, we often fall short of our ideals.
You don't know me. You never knew my heart. No man knows my history. I cannot tell it. I shall never undertake it. I don't blame anyone for not believing my history. If I had not experienced what I have, I could not have believed it myself. I never did harm any man since I was born in the world. My voice is always for peace. I cannot lie down until all my work is finished. I never think any evil, nor do anything to the harm of my fellow man. When I am called by the trump of the archangel and weighed in the balance, you will all know me then. -Joseph Smith, April 7, 1844. Two months before martyrdom.
Mormon-related Websites
Organizations
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- The official home page of the Mormon Church headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
- The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
- Many of those Mormons who did not follow Brigham Young west later organized a Church under the leadership of Joseph Smith III. They are the second largest restoration church and are headquartered in Independence, Missouri.
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite).
- James J. Strang claimed that Joseph Smith had ordained him his successor. He took his followers to Wisconsin. There are a few Strangites left, and they have a web site.
- The True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days (Manti)
- A group of fundamentalists led by Jim Harmston. They emphasize the True Order of Prayer, plural marriage, and believe in a form of reincarnation. A very interesting group.
- Brigham Young University
- Large University run by the Church in Utah.
- Miller Eccles Study Group
- A Southern California Mormon study group (liberal).
- Infobase
- Set of links compiled by Brandon Plewe.
- Affirmation
- Affirmation supports gay and lesbian Mormons.
Personal Websites
- David Bowie's Page
- No, not that David Bowie. Anyway, he has a very nice set of links.
- Sam Brown's LDS Page
- One of the more interesting collections.
- Ron Capelli'sLDS Page
- A well-done page that has a lot of doctrinal discussion (conservative).
- Dave Combe's LDS Page
- Dave Crockett's LDS Church Page
- One of the best I've seen. Good indices into other resources. Especially good is his Mormon History Resource Page.
- Arden Eby's Cyberscroll
- Arden is interested in a lot besides Mormonism that is worth checking out, but he has some great Mormon stuff here, too.
LDS Mailing lists
To subscribe to these, you send a message to the listserver or majordomo at the site saying
subscribe listname yourname
- LDS-net@Mainstream.net
- The oldest (1988). Somewhat conservative nowadays.
- Mormon-l@sims.net
- Very diverse. People from TLC-Manti, Reorganites, Strangites. Quite a mix. Lots of freewheeling and liberal discussions. Best overall list.
- eyring-l@netcom.com
- Science and Mormonism
- ZION
- Very conservative. I got kicked off this one for being too liberal, so watch out!
Other Web Resources
- David Anderson's FTP archives
- The Church News
- The Deseret News supplement is available on the WWWeb
- Hymns played in MIDI
- Mormon-J
- Resources for Mormon writers and journalists.
- The New Jerusalem
- Very professionally done, if the material is a bit mundane.
- The Pioneer Story
- Material on the Mormon Pioneers to the West
- Zion's Fiction
- Electronic Mormon Science-Fiction Publisher
Genealogy
Mormons believe that the human race is the spiritual family of a Father and Mother in heaven. One of the goals of the church is to provide ordinances in the temples which seal all members of the human race to each other. We take an interest in our ancestors. Mormons have always been interested in genealogy and keeping histories of ancestors. I have prepared some web pages about our ancestors for members of my extended family and any others who wish to read them. The index page is named Ancestors.
On My Bookshelf
If the title is a link, clicking on the title will connect you with the alt.bookstore database, where you can get availability information and even place an order if you wish.
- Bennion, Lowell L.
- The Best of Lowell L. Bennion. Selected writings 1928-1988. Lowell Bennion was Pres. David O. McKay's favorite teacher and has been called "Mormonism's Saint." These writings show why. (1988) Deseret Book Co.
- Buerger, David John
- The Mysteries of Godliness.A history of Mormon temple worship.(1994) Smith Research Assoc. Everything in here is from previously published diaries, etc. Did you know there used to be dancing in the Nauvoo temple? Here's a quote taken from the journal of William Clayton:
The labors of the day having been brought to a close at so early an hour viz; half past 8, it was thought proper to have a little season of recreation, accordingly, Brother Hans Hanson was invited to produce his violin. He did so, and played several lively airs, among the rest some very good lively dancing tunes. This was too much for the gravity of Brother Joseph Young, who indulged in a hornpipe, and was soon joined by several others, and before the dance was over several French fours were indulged in. The first was opened by President B. Young with Sister Whitney and Elder H.C.Kimball with Sister Lewis. The spirit of dancing increased until the whole floor was covered with dancers. After this had continued about an hour, several excellent songs were sung, in which several of the brethren and sisters joined... After dancing a few figures, President Young called the attention of the whole company, and then gave them a message, of this import, viz; that this temple was a Holy place, and that when we dance, we danced unto the Lord, and that no person would be allowed to come on to this floor, and afterwards mingle with the wicked. He said the wicked had no right to dance, that dancing and music belonged to the Saints.- England, Eugene
- Dialogues with MyselfPersonal essays on Mormon experience. Bishop England is a very insightful and spiritual writer. (1984) Orion Books
- McMurrin, Sterling M.
- The Theological Foundations of the Mormon Religion. Mormon theology is very strong intellectually, but radically different than other Christian theologies. McMurrin was a philosopher. (1965). Univ. of Utah.
- Nibley, Hugh W.
- Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless. An eccentric genius who never fails to inspire and entertain at the same time. (1978) BYU.
- Roberts, B.H.
- The Truth, The Way, The Life. An elementary treatise on theology. B.H. Roberts was one of the best Mormon theologians and intellectuals. (1994) Smith Research Assoc.
- Thayer, Douglas H.
- Under the Cottonwoods. My favorite writer of Mormon short stories. Each one has a morally challenging theme. (1977) Orion Books.
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