Beginning of a New Faith

Editors Note:  The following few posts deal with a religion...it is not meant to be a statement of belief, but a history lesson.

In 1816, a 10 year old boy named Joseph Smith left Vermont with his family to settle in Palmyra, New York, southeast of Rochester.  The Smiths had lost their land after a series of crop failures.  Upstate New York at that time was a frontier, a center of religious revival.  Young Joseph grew up amid conflicting claims of rival religious sects, and at age 14, claimed to have his first visit from heavenly beings.  When he was 17, an angel told him he was to become a prophet.

Joseph developed a warm, winning personality and had a flair for public speaking.  He practiced being a diviner, seeking buried treasure with the aid of a "miraculous" stone that he said allowed him to see beneath the earth.

At 21, according to Mormon dogma, an angel revealed to him the location of a set of golden plates inscribed with ancient characters.  Joseph translated the characters with the aid of "magical" glasses.  The task took two years and became the Book of Mormons and the new faith was born.

The church adopted the Puritan emphasis of hard work, and became known for support of movements such as temperance, abolitionism, and communalism.  Mormonism grew rapidly despite hostility as history will show...

Next time...the new Zion suffers


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Today in Pioneer History:  "On May 18, 1896, major victory for supporters of racial segregation, the U.S. Supreme Court rules seven to one that a Louisiana law providing for “equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races” on its railroad cars is constitutional in Plessey vs. Ferguson.