Sarah Caviglia

Professor Arini

November 25, 2018

The Journey of Latter-Day Saints

Latter-Day Saints, or more commonly known as Mormons, are a different kind of breed of

Christians. Most people have heard crazy stories about the religion like the husband decides

whether his wife can go to heaven or not. Which isn’t true and most of them aren’t true either.

They were just rumors used back in the 1800’s to keep people from joining the new religion. With

the religion being found in the 1800’s, it is considered a fairly new religion. So, what was it like

to be a Mormon around the 1800’s? How were Mormons treated? Was the new religion accepted

and did it conflict with them? Why did they migrant all the way to Utah?

According to The Book of Mormon (Book), Joseph Smith (The founder of the religion)

believed, the spirit of Mormon, a descendant of the Nephites, made a giant book. Mormon

combined together the plates of brass, all the passages, commandments, stories, and prophets of

Lehi and created this book. (Book) Within this giant book was the teachings of Latter-Day Saints.

Mormon knew the Lamanites (the enemy) would find and kill him and destroy the book. So,

Mormon gave the book to his son Moroni and told him to run. Soon after Moroni ran, the

Lamanites found and killed Mormon. In honor of Moroni’s father, he entitled the book, “The Book

of Mormon”. As Moroni grew old and tired, he knew he had to hide the book and keep it safe. He
buried the book along with Urim and Thummim and a chest plate on Cumorah Hill in what is now,

New York. (Book)

About 1500 years later, Joseph Smith then claimed he had found the book in 1830. Joseph

came from a very religious family. From that, Joseph thought churches teachings conflicted with

each other. Joseph wasn’t sure what to believe. The boy prayed for guidance to God to find the

true church. Then one night, Moroni appeared as a ghost/ spirit and showed Joseph where he had

buried the book. (The Book) From this, the religion was found and taught by Joseph all around

New York the surrounding states.

At first, the new religion was seen a new trend and everyone wanted to be a part of it.

People left their churches and join Joseph. Which meant other churches lost members and made

them really angry. A hatred started to form towards the LDS’s. Other religions didn’t accept or

like the new religion. LDS were treated absolutely horribly. To use a metaphor, being a Mormon

around the 1800’s, was like being a Jew during the Holocaust.

After passing the “Missouri Executive Order 44, also known as the ‘Extermination Order’,

was issued on Oct. 27, 1838, by Gov. Lilburn Boggs.”(Mormon) In The Extermination order, it

states, “ the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the

state if necessary for the public peace- their outrages are beyond all description.”(Mormon) It was

clear the church was not welcomed nor liked. The church realized they had to leave. Thus,

explaining why they migrated to Utah. Once they reached Utah, the church started to form and

rebuild again.
 The Latter-Day Saint church believes that it is the original Christian Church or “The True

Church” stated by Jesus Christ and brought back or as they say “restored” by Joseph Smith. The

social structure/ hierarchy of the church is very complex. The Church has fifteen Apostles, who

lead the church. From that fifteen, the most senior one of all acts as the president. The president

chooses two apostles from the remaining fourteen as his counselors. These three make up the First

Presidency which is the highest governing body. The remaining twelve Apostles make up the

Quorum and have the second highest body. These two groups oversee the whole entire church. At

every local church, there is a Bishop and a stake president that oversees that church. (Ross.)

In order to join the church/ become a member, a baptism is required. But before you can

even get baptized, you must learn about the Mormon Church. The best way is by a missionary.

“Missionaries are people from the church who get assigned to areas to teach people about Jesus

and his gospel and also answer any questions about the Church.” (Ross.)

The Book of Mormon is a huge symbol of the church, as well as the temples. The temples

are seen as holy places. “In order for a Mormon to go inside a temple, they must talk to their bishop

and get a blessing.” (Ross.) The temples are a place to pray, get married, to grief and so on. Non-

mormons are not allowed to enter the temples. Which encourages Mormons to marry and socialize

with other Mormons.

 With all the love in the community of Latter-Day Saints, they can be known to not be the

warmest and kind to others outside of the church. With them believing they are the true church,

they also believe they are the true people. Basically referring to being better than everyone else.

In the church, there is an unspoken tradition. When a boy of the church becomes of age,

they go on a mission and serve the Lord for two years. When they come back they are seen as

“elders” or adults of the church. “It is not mandatory but it is one of those things that if you don’t

do it, you’ll have everyone asking you ‘why didn’t you go and serve the Lord?’” (Ross.)

The Mormon church has traditional views on things such as roles. The roles between the

men and women of the church. For the men, their role is to serve the lord (go on their mission) and

provide for their family. As for the women, it’s simple. Populate the earth, cook and clean. In the

normal role of a family. The husband works and the wife stays home and cooks, cleans, and takes

care of the kids. It is seen as odd for a married Mormon woman to work but there are many that

do. With traditional views in mind, Modesty is key for women. (Ross.)

To learn more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, visit these websites

below.

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng

https://www.mormon.org/beliefs/book-of-mormon
Citations
"Book Of Mormon | LDS.Org". Lds.Org, 2018, https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng.
Accessed 19 Nov 2018.

"Mormon Beliefs, Organizational Structure". The Denver Post, 2018,

https://www.denverpost.com/2007/07/15/mormon-beliefs-organizational-structure/.
Accessed 20 Nov 2018.

Mormonhistoricsites.Org,2018, http://mormonhistoricsites.org/wp-
content/uploads/2013/05/MHS2.1Hartley.pdf. Accessed 19 Nov 2018.

Ross, Elder John. Interview. November 16, 2018.

The Book Of Mormon: Another Testament Of Jesus Christ. 2018,

https://www.mormon.org/beliefs/book-of-mormon. Accessed 19 Nov 2018.