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Mormonism has had an uneasy relationship with traditional Christianity from its earliest days in the 1820s, when its founder Joseph Smith, Jr., a fourteen year old boy, first claimed a vision from God. Smith later published a new work of scripture called the Book of Mormon and preached a divine restoration of the original church of Jesus Christ, with its gifts, priesthood, and doctrine.

Perhaps because of the combination of such bold doctrinal claims, exponential growth, a number of unusual practices, and differences in core beliefs, traditional Christians have always had a level of conflict with Mormonism. In the early days of Mormonism, Mormons suffered greater than usual opposition, compared to other anti-traditional sects of their time. At times this conflict turned violent, complicating the relationship that Christians have had with Mormons. In the ensuing years, the conflict has had a strong impact on Mormon history. In fact, because of persecution the LDS were forced to move west in the hopes of finding a place where they could worship in peace and without the conflicts they experienced living in Missouri and Illinois. This enforced insular nature and the doctrinal differences helped to create a substantial opposition from other Christian churches to Mormon teachings and practices.

According to Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition, "Mormonism differs from traditional Christianity in much the same fashion that traditional Christianity... came to differ from Judaism". While adherents of Mormonism have always considered themselves to be Christians because they believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah and the Son of God, they also understand that there is an essential and irreconcilable difference between Mormonism and other Christian sects.

Contents

[edit] Early Mormon antagonism toward mainstream Christianity

Early Latter Day Saints were expected to be tolerant of other religions and religious lifestyles. In Joseph Smith's The Wentworth Letter, he listed the following as the 11th Article of Faith:

"We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may" (11th Articles of Faith).

On occasion, early leaders and members of the Latter Day Saint movement voiced criticisms concerning other Christian churches (generally as a whole). Much of this, however, had to do with the sometimes violent and deadly conflicts that early Latter Day Saints had with mainstream Christians.

The Church's founder and first prophet, Joseph Smith, Jr., expressed what he saw as important flaws in Christianity. He once said,

"we may look at the Christian world and see the apostasy there has been from the apostolic platform; and who can look at this and not exclaim, in the language of Isaiah, 'The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, and broken the everlasting covenant?'" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg 15).

In another instance, Smith said,

"The teachers of the day say that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God, and they are all in one body and one God. Jesus prayed that those that the Father had given him out of the world might be made one in them, as they were one [one in spirit, in mind, in purpose]. If I were to testify that the Christian world were wrong on this point, my testimony would be true" (Ibid, pg 311).

Regarding Catholicism and Protestantism, Smith had these words:

"Here is a principle of logic...I will illustrate by an old apple tree. Here jumps off a branch and says, I am the true tree, and you are corrupt. If the whole tree is corrupt, are not its branches corrupt? If the Catholic religion is a false religion, how can any true religion come out of it?" (Ibid, pg 375).

Smith's criticism regarding other religions was primarily doctrinal in nature. Smith's personal, or secular, point of view, however, showed considerable tolerance and acceptance for the members of other faiths:

"I am bold to declare before Heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a good man of any denomination; for the same principle which would trample upon the rights of the Latter-day Saints would trample upon the rights of the Roman Catholics, or of any other denomination who may be unpopular and too weak to defend themselves" (Ibid, pg 313).


[edit] The New York Period 1820 thru 1830

Mormonism arose in the Burned-over district of New York in the early 19th Century, primarily under the impetus of Joseph Smith, Jr., with the influence and support of his father's family, David Whitmer and his father's family, trusted associate Oliver Cowdery, and later Sidney Rigdon (a former Disciples of Christ pastor).

Smith and the early Mormons were by most accounts typical early American Christians. Until the early 1830s, many (and some have argued most) American Christians, including prominent Protestant ministers and political leaders, practiced or at least accepted a brand of Christian faith that also allowed room for a kind of folk spirituality that included visions, heavenly visitations, faith healing, spells, talismans, and divinations with seer stones and dowsing rods. (see Quinn, 1994). Thus, the beginnings of Mormonism, which incorporated some of these supernatural elements (particularly visions, visitations, and seer stones), were not necessarily inconsistent with the folk Christianity of the time. However, some Christians of the time viewed all visions and other supernatural occurrences as satanic, including a local Methodist minister who warned Smith that his First Vision was of the devil. (See Joseph Smith-History.)

[edit] The Book of Mormon and early criticism of American Christianity

One of the first significant events in early Mormonism that created a marked departure from early American Christianity was the production of a new volume of scripture, which Smith claimed to have translated by divine power from buried Golden Plates. This Book of Mormon, published in 1830, purported to introduce a parallel history of Christianity on the American continent, including a description of civilizations and appearances by Jesus not mentioned in the Bible. The book was seen by some as a competitor to the Bible, although Latter Day Saints themselves saw it as a companion and complement to the Bible—which, according to Joseph Smith, had been altered and mistranslated from its original form as the word of God. (See Articles of Faith No. 7.) (Smith also soon began dictating an "inspired translation" of the Bible.)

The publishing of the Book of Mormon prompted some organized Protestant denominations to attempt to discount Smith's credibility, in some cases citing his supposed skills with divination. They also attacked the doctrines taught by Smith including continuous revelation.

The Book of Mormon largely mirrored the teachings of the Bible; however, it also contained bold stands on many Christian controversies, such as infant baptism, the religious status of Native Americans, and the relation between religion and atheism. The book also castigated modern churches for their "incorrect" teaching of doctrines. For example, the Book of Mormon held the view of many contemporary frontier Restorationists, such as groups in Ohio, that there had been an apostasy after the death of Jesus Christ. The book indicted modern churches, saying of them:

They wear stiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abominations, and whoredoms, they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men.... But behold, that great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth, must tumble to the earth, and great must be the fall thereof. (2 Nephi 28:14, 18.)

[edit] The Ohio period 1831 thru 1837?

With its criticism of modern Christianity, the Book of Mormon found an enthusiastic audience with certain Restorationists whom Smith and his family soon attempted to proselytize. After the conversion of Sidney Rigdon and his Disciples of Christ congregation in Ohio, Smith received a revelation instructing the members in the New York area to "...assemble together at the Ohio...".

Here are some facts, need to expand on them, and put them in the perspective of Mormonism and Christianity. During the Ohio period the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the First Quorum of the Seventy were organized. The first temple of this dispensation was built, Jesus Christ, Moses, Elias, and Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple and conveyed priesthood keys. The name of the Church was given by revelation.


[edit] The Missouri period 1831 thru 1839?

In addition to Joseph Smith's controversial doctrine, the rapid growth of the church, a result of vigorous proselytizing by Smith and his followers, upset many ministers of traditional Christian churches. Under the leadership of Smith, church members gathered in a central location or "Zion", first in Kirtland, Ohio and then in Independence, Missouri. The gathering of so many church members in one area virtually guaranteed friction with local residents. To make matters worse, church members tended to vote as a bloc, magnifying the electoral effect of their already large population. Church members, who by and large were "Yankees", clashed with long-time Missouri residents on matters large and small. For instance, Smith and most church members opposed slavery, a stand that did little to endear them to their Missouri neighbors.

In the end, after a series of guerrilla actions against Mormon communities by local residents and the issuance of an extermination order by Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs, church members were forced to flee the state.

[edit] The Nauvoo period 1840 thru 1844

Similar tensions with local residents continued as church members established yet another gathering point in Nauvoo, Illinois. Smith began building Nauvoo into a secular power, negotiating a city charter that gave the city a considerable amount of independence, building the Nauvoo Legion into a military force that rivaled others in the area, and leveraging the city's voting bloc to make it a powerful force in state politics.

The end result of all this was a series of showdowns, involving both the organized political forces of the state and self-organized mobs, that finally left Smith dead and the remaining church members powerless and under siege. Soon after, 12,000 Saints abandoned their homes in Nauvoo and tens of thousands more left their homes in neighboring areas with a feeling that they were being forced from their homes and out of the United States.

[edit] Vicarious ordinances for the dead

In Mormon theology, based on a saying of Jesus Christ (John 3:5), personal baptism is a required ordinance for a fullness of salvation in the afterlife. This belief supports the LDS doctrine of baptism for the dead, as mentioned by the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 15:29). The performance of baptisms for the dead, as well as other vicarious ordinances for the dead, is a good example of a doctrine and a practice that institutionalizes the tension between Mormonism and other Christian traditions. Baptism for the dead was mentioned in some of Joseph Smith's earliest writings and prophecies, was practiced before Smith's death, and continues to be practiced by the LDS church and the Strangites.

[edit] The New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage

Main article: Plural marriage (Latter-day Saint)

During the Nauvoo period, Smith and a hand-picked but ever-growing group of Mormons covertly practiced polygamy and conducted secret ceremonies. These ceremonies eventually became part of the LDS church's temple ceremonies.

Plural marriage, as it is known among the LDS, is no longer a Mormon practice, except among some minority sects such as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The LDS Church officially prohibited polygamy in the 1890 Manifest given by Wilford Woodruff who was President of the LDS Church at the time. In 1910 the LDS Church followed the first manifesto with a declaration to excommunicate any LDS who continued to enter into polygamous lifestyles. Mormon polygamy was a prominent cause of early Christian hostility toward Mormonism.

[edit] Creation and the Universe

Smith taught that humans existed as spirit children of God before the creation, and that the purpose of Creation was to provide a probationary estate for humans, who were in reality children of God, or divine children. Additionally, Smith taught, "Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be" (Doctrine and Covenants 93:29). This may also explain Mormonism's teaching that man and God are co-eternal (carefully distinguishing "co-eternal" from "equal"). Traditional Christianity is silent on anything prior to birth or beyond the resurrection of the dead, and has always taught that man is made or created.

[edit] Nature of God, and man's relationship to God

Shortly before his martyrdom, Smith also taught that God was once a man, that God is the literal Father of the human spirit, and that mankind has the intended destiny of becoming like their Father, subordinate to his authority, but equal to him in divinity. The oft-quoted saying (by Lorenzo Snow) that captures this idea is, "As man is, God once was; as God is, man may be."

The deification or exaltation of humanity is a central tenet of Mormonism. Latter-day Saints consider this tenet to correspond with Biblical teachings, including Jesus Christ's citation in John of Psalms 82:6, "Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?" and Paul's promise in Romans 8:17 that believers would be "joint-heirs with Christ," and thus receive the fulness of the Father.

Of all the Mormon doctrines including polygamy, critics generally deem this doctrine the most offensive or even blasphemous. Some Mormons also suggest that discussions of theosis by early Church fathers show an early belief in the Mormon concept of deification, although they disagree with much of the other theology of the same Church fathers, most notably the doctrine of the Trinity.

[edit] The end of the Nauvoo period

In the end, it is very difficult to determine the exact importance of the religious aspect of this conflict between the Mormons and their neighbors in comparison with the social, economic, political and practical factors. For instance, the conflict that ended Joseph Smith's life began when Smith and other Nauvoo city leaders (most of whom were, not coincidentally, also Church leaders) ordered the destruction of a press operated by former church members who were opposed to the secret practice of plural marriage within the Mormon community. This led to a complicated series of legal, political, and military maneuvers on both sides culminating in the arrest of Smith, his incarceration (guarded, insufficiently as it turned out, by the militia of a neighboring town), and his death at the hands of an unruly mob of citizens who broke into the jail.

The confluence of so many religious, political, and social factors is, in fact, no coincidence, because at this period the LDS Church considered itself literally to be the Kingdom of God on Earth. The Church reached quite deliberately beyond the traditional domain of religion to encompass the social, political, economic, and family lives of its adherents. Here, as much or even more than in disputes about purely doctrinal matters, lay the divide between the LDS movement and the rest of American culture.



[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • D. Michael Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power; Signature Books; ISBN 1-56085-056-6 (1994)
  • Stephen E. Robinson; Are Mormons Christians?; Bookcraft, Inc.; ISBN 0-88494-784-X (Hardcover 1991)
  • Jan Shipps, Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition; University of Illinois Press; ISBN 0-25201-159-7 (Hardcover 1985)
  • Joseph Fielding Smith; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith; Deseret Book Company; ISBN 0-87747-655-9 (Softcover 1976)
  • John A. Widstoe; Discourses of Brigham Young; Deseret Book Company; ISBN 0-87747-664-0 (Softcover 1954)

[edit] External links

Category:Mormonism