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Mormonism

The religion known as Mormonism is a fairly new religion in comparison to other Christian religions. It is believed that in 1827 the man Joseph Smith Jr. received golden plates from the angel Moroni. By 1830 he had translated these plates and had written the Book of Mormon. It was at this time that the Mormon Church, then known as The Church of Christ, was formed. This new religious group was met with great animosity, due to the fact that its practices were so different from more traditional Christian religions. Because of this, followers of The Book of Mormon were constantly being persecuted and forced from their homes. In fact, only one year after the church was formed, its followers were driven out of New York and migrated to Ohio. During this time the name of the church was changed to The Church of Latter Day Saints. In the years that followed the church and its people moved from Ohio to Missouri, then from Missouri to Illinois. Sometime during these forced migrations the church was finally named The Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints. After Settling in Nauvoo, Illinois, the church began laying the foundation for the Temple at Nauvoo.
In 1844, after being arrested and jailed for the destruction of the printing press belonging to the Nauvoo Expositor, Joseph Smith was assassinated. After this the people of the church divided, some returning east, to Missouri, with Smith’s widow, some continuing west with Brigham Young. This group ended up in the desert, and founded Salt Lake City, Utah.
Today there is approximately 12 million members world wide. The LDS Church has also become a more accepted form of Christianity though it is still frowned upon by some, especially evangelical Christians. Mormonism has evolved and adapted to become what it is today. As is common knowledge, Mormon’s originally practiced polygamy, having multiple spouses. Since this was abolished in the United States, Mormon’s have not practiced polygamy. It is this ability to adapt that...