Comparing the Mormon Religion to Catholic and Protestant Faiths

Two of these denominations were the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the African Methodist Episcopal. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - commonly known as Mormons was founded by Joseph Smith; he was inspired to create a new church faction by the revivals he experienced in the western area of New York called the "Burned Over District-" implying it had been "scorched" by so many revivals. Although not regarded as a splinter off from an existing Protestant denomination but a restoration of primitive Christianity having distinctive post-biblical doctrines, the Mormon Church is now a flourishing, worldwide denomination. On the other hand, during the revivals, Baptists and Methodists converted large numbers of blacks. However, because of the mistreatment they received from their fellow believers, under the leadership of Richard Allen, the black population broke away from the Methodist church while creating their own denomination; the African Methodist Episcopal.10 Both churches mentioned above, having developed and sprouted out other denominations over the years, still stand even today.

A homegrown religion originating in the late 1820s, Mormonism arose as a rejection of the existing Christian sects and a return to what the Mormons considered to be pure Christianity. Similarly, the members believed their desire for a new kind of government stemmed from their disillusionment with what they believed was a corrupt government and a desire for the reestablishment of true American values and the original intent of the founding fathers. This sentiment is epitomized by Joseph Smith’s presidential platform, which states “No honest man can doubt for a moment, the glory of American liberty is on the wane; and that calamity and confusion will sooner or later destroy the

Mormonism was founded in the 1820s’ by Joseph Smith. Smith, wanting to expand his religious following migrated to Illinois where he established a settlement that included a temple of worship and a village (Green 57). In Illinois the Mormon peoples’ were met with threats, violence, and occasionally they were even killed. This was the case for their leader Joseph Smith; Smith was met with disgust from non-mormons when he attempted to run for presidency and his church riddled with scandal when the word of polygamy got out. With his tarnished reputation, Smith was ultimately murdered by an outraged mob, who then threatened other Mormons that if they did not leave they would be met with the same fate (Mormons into the West). With that warning, the Mormons picked a new leader, Brigham Young, who wanted to flee the American Border. Young set for travel with his new followers to the Great Salt Lake, which at the time was located in Mexico.

Men and women from other religions, did many things to harm as many of the mormons they could. There were mass murders, rages, attacks on homes, and massacres that were set against the mormons. One common thing done to them,was tarring and feathering them. This is where boiling tar was poured over their head, to run down their body then they were covered in feathers. Thousands were killed, or at least hurt, year after year. Many of the righteous and steadfast followers were put in jail for no reason, then starved to death, or shot. Others were killed on the spot. The Prophet, Joseph Smith, was taken from his home, and put in jail with four other mormon leaders, then him and two others were shot by a mob just days later.

As the story goes, in the early 19th Century, a young Joseph Smith received a series of visions including a visit from the angel Moroni. The angel Moroni directed Smith to a set of golden plates inscribed with a history of an ancient Judeo-Christian civilization in North America. This history is known now as the Book of Mormon and set Smith's religion apart from other Christians. Violence broke out between the Mormons and the non-Mormons when Smith led his people to the prophesied City of Zion, in Independence, Missouri, sometimes called "New Jerusalem". When they arrived in Jackson County, the Mormons already had preconceived notions that the non-Mormons were their enemies, because it was revealed in Doctrine and Covenants, another Mormon

An unfair systemic rule allowed for no freedoms and caused masses of people to pack up their belonging and settle a new land. This new land was vast and mostly uninhabited but oppression still continued from a ruler across an ocean. The settlers shouted, “no taxation without representation” and eventually fought for their independence. This led to the creation of a nation founded on liberty and freedom. Not more than 55 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was formed and for many reasons such as their rapid growth as well as their practice of polygamy faced persecution as well as political and religious oppressions. This caused masses of Mormons to pack up and leave in 1846 to a new and vast land that was mostly uninhabited. In this land the Latter Day Saints grew and prospered and were free to practice--within the confines of the law--their religion as well as receive representation from

Have you ever been curious of other religions besides your own? Maybe even discriminated against a religion without taking the time to know more about it? I am going to discuss the religion of Latter Day Saints. I will tell you what they are about, how they differ from other religions, how they have contributed to American culture, etc. Have you ever thought that a certain racial group belonged to a certain religion or certain group based on their race? I am also going to discuss African Americans and how they differ from other ethnic groups. How they have been discriminated against and how they have contributed to American culture.

This book attempt to show the common ground between Christianity and Mormonism by examining the individual areas of Scripture, God, Christ, the Trinity and Salvation. The summation of the author’s findings is that although there are great differences there is also much common ground that can be used to strengthen our relationship together and bring unity to the ecumenical community.

In the two-part series, The Mormons, this four hour documentary by Frontline and the American Experience examines the development and growth of the Mormon faith. The documentary explores both the history and the present reality of the Mormon faith, allowing the viewer inside the compelling and often misunderstood religion. The first part of this documentary explores the birth of Mormonism and the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under the charismatic leadership of Joseph Smith, while the second segment studies the contemporary Mormon Church (including the discussion of Mormon missionaries, homosexuality, and the role of women). Although I was aware of some of the history of Mormonism (my mom was raised in the LDS

Martin Luther was arguably one of the most important figures in the entire history of Christianity. If the creation of the Lutheran Church was not enough of an accomplishment, he can also be credited with orchestrating the division of the Catholic and Protestant churches. Even as a young Augustinian Monk Martin Luther was convinced the Catholic Church had lost its way. He obsessed over his purity and relationship with God, and strongly believed the Catholic Church had lost its way over the selling of “Indulgences”. Essentially, how the Church misinterpreted and taught the concepts of sin relative to temporal and eternal punishment. He was destined to confront the Catholic Church which he did and ultimately led to the separation events that are still highly relevant to this day. This was the primary driver for the first phase of his rebellion. The second was his German translation of the New Testament, which he used to both teach anyone to read and learn the holy book.

I believe that the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons theologies; that Jesus was either created (Jehovah’s Witnesses) or that Jesus was born by a father and a mother (Mormons) are good examples why it is so important to read text in the context of the surrounding scriptures. Colossians 1:15, reads: “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature”. (KJV) The Greek word for “image” is Eikon which means a “prototype” (the original form from which it is drawn). (Spiros Zodhiates 1991, p.1475) When you look in a mirror you see an image (Eikon) of yourself in the mirror. In the same way if the invisible Father God looked into the mirror, and you could see his Image, you would see Jesus a direct image of the original form.

First of all, we must explore the origin of Mormonism. In 1820, a 14 year old boy named, Joseph Smith, Jr., had a vision of what he thought was the

Islam and Mormonism Islam and Mormonism are two monotheistic religions whose origins go back to Abraham, but were founded within the last 1500 years. There are many similarities between the religions, and of course, many differences. The Qur’an is the sacred text of Islam. Muslims believe that Muhammad, at twenty-three years of age, received revelation from God over the next twenty-three years through the angel Gabriel.

The Mormon belief system has many different principles that are unique and set themselves apart from other world religions, one of which being their views on cosmology. The Mormon cosmology belief is the description of the physical and metaphysical universe. Their beliefs on the subject are deeply engrained in the religion’s basic faith; cosmology is related to the church’s views on divinity, extraterrestrial life, pre-mortal existence, and the afterlife.