If you're seeing this, you clicked the READ HERE link the middle of my post. Before you continue, I just want to state that the information is a summarized version of what's available at the Mormon article on Wikipedia.
It all started with a man named Joseph Smith, who had visions when he lived in upstate New York. He said that 'an angel directed him to a buried book' that was 'written on golden plates.' After six years of translation, he published these translations as the Book of Mormon, "named after the...historian who compiled the book' in March 1830. A month later, on April 6, he founded the Church of Christ. From there, the church quickly grew as missionaries were sent westward and soon the church moved to Ohio.
From Ohio, they moved to Missouri, where they were kicked out of three different counties and in 1838, out of the state entirely. They moved to Illinois, where they built the town of Nauvoo on the Mississippi. By 1842, Joseph Smith and his brother were killed and Brigham Young assumed the leadership. He led the Mormons out of Illinois, through Nebraska, and soon into Utah, where they could build their society in isolation.
Things got rough between settlers and the Mormons in Utah Territory, enough so that James Buchanan sent in troops, and after getting kicked out of two states, the Mormons were determined to stay, even to burn their houses down. After a year of 'war', Young stepped down as governor of Utah, although the church still wielded considerable power. Young died in 1877, and his successors 'resisted efforts by... Congress to outlaw polygamy.' The Supreme Court ruled that polygamy was illegal and some Mormons went into hiding.
By late 1890, polygamy was termed a 'no-go' and by 1904, all plural marriages were banned and those who were found to be in such marriages would be excommunicated. (Although the main church no longer practices polygamy, a fundamentalist group in the south of Utah still do, and control sister cities on either side of the Utah/Arizona border.)
Since the nineteenth century, the Mormons have become mainstream in American society. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is probably the best known part of the Church. Members also participate in things such as Boy Scout's, and in other family-oriented programs intended to bring a tighter sense of community.
If you'd like to know more, you can always Google-search it or actually talk to someone who is a Mormon... like I did.
That's about all for the history lesson. You can click here to return to the post or close the window/tab.
It all started with a man named Joseph Smith, who had visions when he lived in upstate New York. He said that 'an angel directed him to a buried book' that was 'written on golden plates.' After six years of translation, he published these translations as the Book of Mormon, "named after the...historian who compiled the book' in March 1830. A month later, on April 6, he founded the Church of Christ. From there, the church quickly grew as missionaries were sent westward and soon the church moved to Ohio.
From Ohio, they moved to Missouri, where they were kicked out of three different counties and in 1838, out of the state entirely. They moved to Illinois, where they built the town of Nauvoo on the Mississippi. By 1842, Joseph Smith and his brother were killed and Brigham Young assumed the leadership. He led the Mormons out of Illinois, through Nebraska, and soon into Utah, where they could build their society in isolation.
Things got rough between settlers and the Mormons in Utah Territory, enough so that James Buchanan sent in troops, and after getting kicked out of two states, the Mormons were determined to stay, even to burn their houses down. After a year of 'war', Young stepped down as governor of Utah, although the church still wielded considerable power. Young died in 1877, and his successors 'resisted efforts by... Congress to outlaw polygamy.' The Supreme Court ruled that polygamy was illegal and some Mormons went into hiding.
By late 1890, polygamy was termed a 'no-go' and by 1904, all plural marriages were banned and those who were found to be in such marriages would be excommunicated. (Although the main church no longer practices polygamy, a fundamentalist group in the south of Utah still do, and control sister cities on either side of the Utah/Arizona border.)
Since the nineteenth century, the Mormons have become mainstream in American society. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is probably the best known part of the Church. Members also participate in things such as Boy Scout's, and in other family-oriented programs intended to bring a tighter sense of community.
If you'd like to know more, you can always Google-search it or actually talk to someone who is a Mormon... like I did.
That's about all for the history lesson. You can click here to return to the post or close the window/tab.
