This gets people into lots of trouble.
This was rampant with Industrialization and Capitalism. That created a series of wars - The American Civil War, WWI, the Depression, WWII. and the Cold War, which is still going on.
The Depression is not usually considered a war, but its effects were the same - tremendous destruction.
In all of these, people were fighting for a righteous cause, that now seems ridiculous.
Examples of foolish wars are numerous, but I want to concentrate on one that involved my family's history - the Mormon Wars.
These occurred mainly in the 19th Century, but Mormons of various kinds are still around and seem determined to ignore their history.
They should be coming to grips with their past, which is necessary before they can move forward.
They have not, and the result is a total mess, that no one can understand.
Showing posts with label Mormonism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mormonism. Show all posts
Sunday, March 31, 2019
Friday, June 22, 2018
A Brief History of Mormonism
I am still trying to understand what happened to America. And, as I write this, the word understand stands out. Because most Americans were not interested in understanding anything, but fitting in to their world - and conforming as much as they could.
Why? Because they were scared of being human - in a world where superhumans reigned.
Which brings up the question "How did this happen?' When it happened is clear, sometime in the 19th Century. And the religious correlations are also clear - for my family: Mormonism appeared, as an unexpected byproduct of this situation.
I realize most of you are not Mormons - but Mormonism can serve as symptom for all the other strange things that were going on, after the Second Great Awakening changed America.
A short historical review, of the development of Mormonism is in order. It was lead by Joseph Smith, who attained his power, by a series of strange developments.
He began as a fortune finder, part of the craze that swept the people of his time - who believed that buried treasure could be found in the fields of Western New York State. That had recently been taken from the Indians. Long trenches were being dug, in frantic effort to find the treasure. but no treasure had been found!
They needed someone who would tell them where the treasure was buried. And Joseph Smith had this ability. He had a stone he would place in his hat, put the hat over his eyes, and he would be able to see where the treasure was. But this practice was illegal, and a hearing was held, to determine if he should be prosecuted under the law. But he avoided prosecution, by leaving the state.
His next business venture was to write a book - that he claimed, was a translation of the writings on some golden plates, that he had in his possession. It was called the Book of Mormon, and was printed, and made available for sale. No one should have been deceived by this, but many people were - especially when it was taken to England, by enthusiastic missionaries - and shown to workers in the factories there.
These were not the intellectuals in London, who had no interest in it - but a new audience, who were not capable of critical thought, but had strong beliefs. And they thought Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God! And they longed to follow him - and promptly immigrated to America where they could do just that.
This was a new idea to Joseph himself, but he found it suited him well.And he founded a new church - the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints - LDS, for short. With him as its leader, and prophet. Whatever he wrote, became divine scripture, and was printed in their Doctrine and Covenants.
This church moved frequently, first to Kirtland, Ohio - where they built a temple, and started a bank, that soon failed. Then they moved to Missouri, that was the scene of intense violence between slavery forces and abolition forces. They were caught in the middle, and the church leaders, including Joseph Smith - ended up in jail! Most of the church members fled eastward, into Illinois, were they were treated kindly by the people of Quincy, Illinois.
Joseph Smith was allowed to escape from jail, and joined his church members in Quincy. He next purchased land further up the Mississippi River, and set about building a new town he called Nauvoo. New members were arriving frequently, and Nauvoo soon became a large town. where another temple was built.
But Missouri tried to extradite him, and try him as a criminal there. Joseph went into hiding, but surrendered to the Governor of Illinois, who promised to treat him fairly. He was taken to the County Seat, of Carthage, Illinois - where he was killed by an angry mob.
The Mormons believed they were superhuman - but so did many other Americans - for different reasons, that will have to be examined later, in this blog.
Why? Because they were scared of being human - in a world where superhumans reigned.
Which brings up the question "How did this happen?' When it happened is clear, sometime in the 19th Century. And the religious correlations are also clear - for my family: Mormonism appeared, as an unexpected byproduct of this situation.
I realize most of you are not Mormons - but Mormonism can serve as symptom for all the other strange things that were going on, after the Second Great Awakening changed America.
A short historical review, of the development of Mormonism is in order. It was lead by Joseph Smith, who attained his power, by a series of strange developments.
He began as a fortune finder, part of the craze that swept the people of his time - who believed that buried treasure could be found in the fields of Western New York State. That had recently been taken from the Indians. Long trenches were being dug, in frantic effort to find the treasure. but no treasure had been found!
They needed someone who would tell them where the treasure was buried. And Joseph Smith had this ability. He had a stone he would place in his hat, put the hat over his eyes, and he would be able to see where the treasure was. But this practice was illegal, and a hearing was held, to determine if he should be prosecuted under the law. But he avoided prosecution, by leaving the state.
His next business venture was to write a book - that he claimed, was a translation of the writings on some golden plates, that he had in his possession. It was called the Book of Mormon, and was printed, and made available for sale. No one should have been deceived by this, but many people were - especially when it was taken to England, by enthusiastic missionaries - and shown to workers in the factories there.
These were not the intellectuals in London, who had no interest in it - but a new audience, who were not capable of critical thought, but had strong beliefs. And they thought Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God! And they longed to follow him - and promptly immigrated to America where they could do just that.
This was a new idea to Joseph himself, but he found it suited him well.And he founded a new church - the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints - LDS, for short. With him as its leader, and prophet. Whatever he wrote, became divine scripture, and was printed in their Doctrine and Covenants.
This church moved frequently, first to Kirtland, Ohio - where they built a temple, and started a bank, that soon failed. Then they moved to Missouri, that was the scene of intense violence between slavery forces and abolition forces. They were caught in the middle, and the church leaders, including Joseph Smith - ended up in jail! Most of the church members fled eastward, into Illinois, were they were treated kindly by the people of Quincy, Illinois.
Joseph Smith was allowed to escape from jail, and joined his church members in Quincy. He next purchased land further up the Mississippi River, and set about building a new town he called Nauvoo. New members were arriving frequently, and Nauvoo soon became a large town. where another temple was built.
But Missouri tried to extradite him, and try him as a criminal there. Joseph went into hiding, but surrendered to the Governor of Illinois, who promised to treat him fairly. He was taken to the County Seat, of Carthage, Illinois - where he was killed by an angry mob.
The Mormons believed they were superhuman - but so did many other Americans - for different reasons, that will have to be examined later, in this blog.
Friday, June 1, 2018
Mormonism
My religious family has been writing emails back and forth, with unusual intensity. They think their little church may recover after all - because it has a prophet at its head!
There is nothing I can say to them about this - they have their own ideas, and I would be foolish try to change them. But I can write in this little blog, and explain what is going on to you.
It all goes back to the founder of their religion, Joseph Smith. who thought he had special talents - that he never had at all, but he did have the talent of making other people believe in him.
He began as a person who could see buried treasure. Many people at the time, thought treasure had been buried somewhere in the fields of New York State - and they were digging trenches in their fields, in an effort to find it. But they needed someone to show them where the treasure was, and Joseph was just such a person. He had a special stone, he would put in his hat, then put the hat on his head, covering his eyes with it. He could then see where the treasure was.
But he had a problem - this practice was illegal! And a preliminary hearing was held, to see if he should be tried for this crime. But he left the state, and the trial was never held.
What to do next? He was the kind of person who concentrates on deceiving other people - a fairly common type, actually. And he next came up with the idea of writing a book, using his special powers to translate, from the plates of ancient book that had been reveled to him. The living room of their home was divided by a blanket that hung from the ceiling. Joseph on one side of the room, would dictate the contents of his new book - and a person on the other side of the room, would write down what he said.
Eventually this was printed, and was called the Book of Mormon. How this could impress anyone, is a complete mystery to me, and to many other people of the time. But some people took to it instantly, and took it England (at their own expense) to show people there. And it was obvious to them, that it was divine scripture.
No one has done an analysis of who these English people were - but they knew Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God - and they wanted to come to America, and become his followers. And this they proceeded to do - in considerable numbers. Joseph Smith found himself the head of a new church - The Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter-Day Saints - usually abbreviated to LDS.
His church moved many times - to Ohio, to Missouri, and then to Illinois. Where he was killed by an angry mob, in 1844.
There is nothing I can say to them about this - they have their own ideas, and I would be foolish try to change them. But I can write in this little blog, and explain what is going on to you.
It all goes back to the founder of their religion, Joseph Smith. who thought he had special talents - that he never had at all, but he did have the talent of making other people believe in him.
He began as a person who could see buried treasure. Many people at the time, thought treasure had been buried somewhere in the fields of New York State - and they were digging trenches in their fields, in an effort to find it. But they needed someone to show them where the treasure was, and Joseph was just such a person. He had a special stone, he would put in his hat, then put the hat on his head, covering his eyes with it. He could then see where the treasure was.
But he had a problem - this practice was illegal! And a preliminary hearing was held, to see if he should be tried for this crime. But he left the state, and the trial was never held.
What to do next? He was the kind of person who concentrates on deceiving other people - a fairly common type, actually. And he next came up with the idea of writing a book, using his special powers to translate, from the plates of ancient book that had been reveled to him. The living room of their home was divided by a blanket that hung from the ceiling. Joseph on one side of the room, would dictate the contents of his new book - and a person on the other side of the room, would write down what he said.
Eventually this was printed, and was called the Book of Mormon. How this could impress anyone, is a complete mystery to me, and to many other people of the time. But some people took to it instantly, and took it England (at their own expense) to show people there. And it was obvious to them, that it was divine scripture.
No one has done an analysis of who these English people were - but they knew Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God - and they wanted to come to America, and become his followers. And this they proceeded to do - in considerable numbers. Joseph Smith found himself the head of a new church - The Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter-Day Saints - usually abbreviated to LDS.
His church moved many times - to Ohio, to Missouri, and then to Illinois. Where he was killed by an angry mob, in 1844.
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