The Mormons: The early history

Presentation Objectives: Find out who was Joseph Smith The early history of the Mormon movement  Kirtland Ohio  Crisis in Kirtland  Independence Missouri

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith was a poor farmer from New York State. He claimed in 1823 he dug up some gold plates and that four years later he began translating the text on the plates. He said that he was helped by an angel who also told him where to look for the plates. His translations were written in secret from his translations.

The Plates The plates told of battles in America between the early Jewish tribes from the bible. He who found the plates should create the Church of Jesus Christ and establish it ready for the second coming of the Jesus.

Kirtland Ohio Smith aimed to create Zion (the Heavenly city) at Kirtland. Smiths followers flocked to the area and in doing so bought land and houses. A Mormon temple was built there and the Followers were asked to dedicate their property to the church. 10% of the Mormons income would go to help poorer Mormons settle in Kirtland.

Crisis in Kirtland In 1837 a financial crisis hit Kirtland. The Mormon bank collapsed. Many Mormons and Non-Mormons who had invested in the bank lost money. Non Mormons were especially angry at the collapse and the Mormons were chased out of Kirtland Ohio. The Mormons moved to another Mormon settlement in Missouri (Independence).

Independence Missouri The Mormons followed a similar strategy to how they built up property in Kirtland. However they soon created great anger amongst the local populace. The locals distrusted to the Mormons for a number of reasons:  They believed that the Mormons wanted to abolish slavery.  They also believed that the Mormons were too friendly with the Indians.  Finally the fear of the Mormons themselves and the Danites (A Mormon Secret Police!)

Independence Missouri Violence soon began in Independence and, Joseph Smith and other Mormon leaders found themselves in prison. One leader (Brigham Young) took the Mormons from Independence to Nauvoo in Illinois.

Nauvoo Illinois The Mormons moved to a town called Commerce which was in decline. They renamed it Nauvoo which is Hebrew meaning ‘Beautiful Plantation’.  Population of Nauvoo (1842) – 1,500  Population of Nauvoo (1845) – 11,057 Like before the Mormons invested heavily in the town but unlike before, they wanted to control the political power as they believed that it would stop the violence.

Nauvoo Illinois The state of Illinois gave the Mormons their own Charter to set up Nauvoo as an independent state. The Charter allowed them to:  Have their own council.  Set up their own laws (so long as it fell in line with US law).  Have their own army of 2000 men. This made non Mormons feel very insecure.

The fear of the Mormons The fear from the Mormon army The fear of Mormon practices such as Polygamy The fear of the Mormons political power Fear of being heavily outnumbered by Mormons.

Fear of the Mormons The fear of the Mormons grew with knowledge of the practice of Polygamy (marrying more than one wife). Non Mormons were angered by the idea of polygamy whereas even Mormons argued against it. Their anger grew when Joseph Smith was found to have more than one wife.

Fear of the Mormons When Joseph Smith announced his desire to run for President, violence again erupted against the Mormons. In June 1844, Smith was being held in prison in Carthage when a mob attacked the prison and killed him. The Governor of Illinois withdrew the Nauvoo charter and told the Mormons to leave.

Conclusion The Mormon church had been created to build a new community but its actions made it a perceived threat to the surrounding community. The settlements at Kirtland, Independence and Nauvoo failed because the settlements were based in areas already populated. To stop this happening again they would need to move to an area remote from built up areas. To do this they would have to cross the Plains!