Mormonism

==Historical overview==
{{POV section|date=March 2024}}
{{See also|Mormon (word)|History of the Latter Day Saint movement|History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Early life of Joseph Smith|Life of Joseph Smith from 1827 to 1830}}

[[File:First-vision-joseph-smith-mormon.jpg |upright|thumb|150 px|left|Artist's depiction of the [[First Vision]]]]

The doctrines of Mormonism began with the farmboy Joseph Smith in the 1820s in [[Western New York]] during a period of religious excitement known as the [[Second Great Awakening]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=1}}; {{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|p=36}}; {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=1}}.</ref> Smith, at 14 years old, was determined to find out which [[Christian denomination|church]] taught the "true" [[doctrine]] of [[God]]. He believed that God existed, but was confused by what he believed to be contradictions in the beliefs of churches available to him. In ''Joseph Smith-History'', he wrote: "While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the [[Epistle of James]], first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: 'If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.'" After praying about which [[Christian denomination|denomination]] he should join, Smith said he received a vision in the spring of 1820.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=16}}</ref> Called the "[[First Vision]]", Smith said that [[God the Father]] and his son, [[Jesus Christ]], appeared to him and instructed him to join none of the existing churches because they were all wrong.<ref>Smith's 1838 written account of this vision was later canonized in a book called ''[[Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism)|The Pearl of Great Price]]''. (See: ''[[Joseph Smith–History]]'' 1:19)</ref> During the 1820s, Smith chronicled several angelic visitations, and was eventually told (by the angels) that God would use him to re-establish the "true Christian church."<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 5, 2020|title=The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/the-restoration-of-the-fulness-of-the-gospel-of-jesus-christ/a-bicentennial-proclamation-to-the-world?lang=eng|access-date=October 20, 2021|website=ChurchOfJesusChrist.org}}</ref>

Joseph Smith said the [[Book of Mormon]] was translated into English from writings he found on [[golden plates]] in a [[reformed Egyptian]] language; they were translated with the assistance of the [[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)|Urim and Thummim]] and [[Seer stone (Latter Day Saints)|seer stones]]. He said [[Angel Moroni|an angel]] first showed him the location of the plates in 1823; they were buried in [[Cumorah|a nearby hill]]. With the assistance of [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]], an early follower, Smith began dictating the text of the Book of Mormon on April 12, 1828. Despite interruption of translation work by [[Anti-Mormonism|persecution]], Smith's continued employment in order to support his family, and Harris's loss of [[Lost 116 pages|116 pages]], the Book of Mormon manuscript was finished in June 1829.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=22}}</ref> Smith said the plates were returned to the angel after he finished the translation. During the time Smith said he possessed the plates, [[Book of Mormon witnesses|15 people were allowed to witness their existence]].

The Book of Mormon claims to be [[Book of Mormon chronology|a chronicle]] of early [[Israelites]] who left the [[Near East]] and traveled to the [[Americas]]. The book begins {{circa|600|lk=no}} BC with the departure from [[Jerusalem]] of the family of the prophet [[Lehi (Book of Mormon prophet)|Lehi]] at the urging of [[God in Mormonism|God]], and their sailing {{circa|589|lk=no}} BC to the Americas. It tells of people in the Americas (i.e., [[Native Americans in the United States|First Nations Americans]]) with a belief in [[Jesus|Christ]] hundreds of years before [[Nativity of Jesus|his birth]]; their witnessing his personal visitation to them after [[Resurrection of Jesus|his resurrection]]; and of their eventually losing Christianity after generations of wars and [[Apostasy in Christianity|apostasy]]. The Book of Mormon and [[Revelation in Mormonism|continuing revelations]] would be the means of establishing correct doctrine for the [[Restorationism|restored church]]. Smith, [[Oliver Cowdery]], and other early followers began [[Baptism in Mormonism|baptizing]] new converts in 1829, and formally organized in 1830 as the [[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Christ]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|pp=63, 79}}</ref> Smith was seen by his followers as a modern-day [[prophet]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=8}}</ref>

[[Historicity of the Book of Mormon|Historical accuracy]] and veracity of the Book of Mormon was, at the time of its publication and continuing to the present day, [[Criticism of the Book of Mormon|hotly contested]]. Along with disputes over the Book of Mormon, the early Church of Christ faced persecution from residents of several towns when they tried to gather and "establish God's kingdom on the earth".<ref name=":0" /> To avoid confrontation in [[Palmyra (town), New York|Palmyra, New York]] the members moved to [[Kirtland, Ohio]], and hoped to establish a permanent [[New Jerusalem]] or [[Zion (Latter Day Saints)|City of Zion]] in [[Jackson County, Missouri]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=10}}</ref> However, they were expelled from Jackson County in 1833 and fled to other parts of Missouri in 1838. [[Mormon War (1838)|Violence]] between the Missourians and church members resulted in the governor of Missouri issuing [[Mormon Extermination Order|an "extermination order"]] against the Mormons, as they were called, which again forced the church to relocate.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=135}}</ref> The displaced church fled to Illinois, to a small town called Commerce. Under Smith's direction, the church bought the town, renamed it [[Nauvoo, Illinois|Nauvoo]], and lived with a degree of peace and prosperity for a few years.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=11}}</ref> However, tensions between Mormons and their neighbors again escalated and in 1844 [[death of Joseph Smith|Smith was killed]] by a mob, precipitating [[Succession crisis (Latter Day Saints)|a succession crisis]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|pp=12–14}}</ref>

The largest group of Mormons followed [[Brigham Young]] as the new prophet and, under his direction, emigrated to what became the [[Utah Territory]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=13}}</ref> There, the church began the open practice of [[plural marriage]], a form of [[polygyny]] which Smith had instituted in Nauvoo. Plural marriage became the faith's most sensational characteristic during the 19th century, but vigorous opposition by the [[United States Congress]] threatened the church's existence as a legal institution. Further, polygamy was also a major cause for the opposition to Mormonism in the states of Idaho and Arizona.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Groberg|first=Joseph|date=Spring 1976|title=The Mormon Disfranchisements of 1882 to 1892|journal=Brigham Young University Studies|volume= 16| issue = 3|page=400}}</ref> In the [[1890 Manifesto]], church president [[Wilford Woodruff]] announced the official end of plural marriage.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=2}}; {{cite web |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/od/1?lang=eng |title=Official Declaration 1 |publisher=churchofjesuschrist.org}}</ref>

Due to this formal abolition of plural marriage, several smaller groups broke with the LDS Church and formed denominations following what they called [[Mormon fundamentalism]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=14}}</ref> However, the LDS Church has experienced the most growth out of any of the churches following Mormonism, with a current membership of over 16&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics|title=LDS Statistics and Church Facts &#124; Total Church Membership|website=mormonnewsroom.org|access-date=May 14, 2019}}</ref>