The Mormon Church
I. History of the Mormon Church
A. Founder is Joseph Smith Jr. (1805-1844)
1. Born Dec. 23, 1805, The fourth child of Lucy and Joseph Smith Sr.
2. His father was a self-proclaimed mystic, who spent most of his life digging for buried treasure.
a. He was particularly interested in digging for Captain Kids treasure.
3. Joseph Smiths mother was given to extreme religious views and most trivial superstitions.
4. Joseph Smith Sr. was attempting to make his own treasure.
a. He was arrested for counterfeiting money.
5. Joseph Smith Jr’s questionable character
a. In 1820 he alleges that God the Father and God the Son materialized and spoke to him as he prayed in a neighboring wood. In his book the "Pearl Of Great Price" the two personages took a rather dim view of the Christian Church, and for that matter the world at large, and announced that the restoration of true Christianity was needed, that he had been chosen to launch the new dispensation.
b. He could not of been to deeply moved by his vision because history shows us that he shortly took up the occupation of digging for treasure by the means of peep stones (rocks that would allow them to look through the earth), divining rods, divination, or just plane digging. He never found treasure but he left numerous craters in Vermont and N.Y. State which some claim are still there today.
c. Joseph Smith used peep stones a lot which eventually will influence his church
d. On Sept. 21, 1823, at age 18, Joseph Smith Jr. had his second vision in which, the messenger Moroni an Angel appeared unto him and told him where Golden Plates and a breastplate, which contains the Urim and the Thummin, were buried in a stone box.
(1.) In 1851 when "The Pearl of Great Price" was written not Moroni but Nephi was used as the Angel that came to him
(2.) Smith found the items the next day but wasn’t allowed to remove them until Sept. 22, 1827, 4 years later.
e. On May 15, 1829, Peter, James, and John speedily dispatched John "the Baptist" to the state of Pennsylvania with orders to confer the Aaronic Priesthood on Joseph Smith Jr. and Oliver Cowdery.
6. Smith’s translation of the "Book of Mormon" and the founding of the religion.
a. The writing on the tablet was to be reformed Egyptian writing, and had to be translated using the Urim and the Thummin (like peep stones)
b. He completed the translations and put them on sale on March 26, 1830
c. In a little less than a week he founds a church based upon his new Gospel. Founded the Church of Christ, him and six others in Fayette NY. In 1830
(1.) In 1836 Smith and 16,000 Followers moved to Kirtland Ohio.
(1a.) He began to practice polygamy
7. Smith from Kirtland to Navuoo
a. Smith and a guy named Sidney Rigdam went into Jackson county Montana
(1.) He bought 63 acres of land which he deemed Holy Ground
(2.) There he marked the Second coming of the Lord
(3.) A small group of Mormons called "The Church of Christ Temple Lot" owns the land today
(4.) Today over 100 different sects claim to be the true Mormon church and many of those reject anything written after 1830
b. In early 1840 Smith and his followers moved to a small town in IL. And named it Navuoo, IL.
(1.) This small town in IL. Had 16,000 people move in, all Mormons and they took over the town.
c. While in Navuoo Smith liked everyone to call him General.
d. A local newspaper in Navuoo began to publish anti-Mormon views and Smith had the printing press destroyed and papers burnt.
(1.) For destruction of the press Joseph and his brother Hyrum were arrested and jailed in Cathridge IL.
(2.) On June 27, 1844 a mob of about 200 people attacked the jail and shot them to death.
(1a.) The Mormons sat that they killed several members of the mob were killed before they killed them.
(3.) The Mormons today consider Joseph and Hyrum to be martyrs.
e. Joseph Smith was 38 years old at the time of his death.
B. The church after Joseph Smith
1. Brigam Young became leader after his death
2. He claimed to "inherit the divinely appointed prophetic mantle of the first prophet"
a. Each succeeding president of the Mormon Church claims the same thing.
3. In 1846 Young announced that the saints would leave Nabuoo.
4. In 1847 after they made a bruttle trek through the wilderness of the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains to the Great Salt Lakes and proclaimed, "this is the place" and from that point on they’ve all been mostly in the state of Utah.
a. They said that they had a divine appointment to claim the Great Salt Lakes area in 1848
b. In 1848 Locusts came and ate up their crops a large company of Sea Gulls came and ate up the locusts and saved their crops according to their teachings God gave visible evidence of his blessing on the "Later Day Saints" church
5. Brigham Young was known as a ruthless man
a. "The Mountain Meadow Massacre"
(1.) In Sept. 1857 a group of Mormons led by Bishop John D. Lee went to Mt. Meadows and slaughtered a wagon train of about 200 helpless immigrants.
(2.) 20 years later he was tried and executed. They set him in his coffin and shot him into it.
