MORMONISM. The religious movement popularly known as Mormonism encompasses several denominations and sects, the largest of which is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and had a worldwide...
Mormonism is a term used to describe the religious, ideological, and cultural elements of certain branches of the Latter Day Saint movement, specifically, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The term derives from the word...
Even before Mitt Romney's presidential announcement last Tuesday, his Mormon faith was becoming the hottest "religious issue" since 1960, when John F. Kennedy, a Catholic, became the first -- and still only -- non-Protestant to be elected president in U.S. history. This week, for...
IN APRIL 1830 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was formally organised, with six members. (1) The scriptural foundation of the church was the Book of Mormon, which had just been published. Mormon Prophet-Founder Joseph Smith, who held the copyright as "author...
On the morning of September 11, 1857, a wagon train of 120 men, women and children en route from Arkansas to California were murdered near Cedar City, Utah. The killers, history suggests, were likely God-fearing Mormons. The Mountain Meadows Massacre, as the bloody event is...
On a Sunday afternoon in late December, Elna Baker stood in front of a class of around 20 young men in ties and women in skirts. Ms. Baker, who is 25 and has red hair and a bright red vintage coat, was wearing a plaid...
In the following essay, Whittaker provides an overview of the literature produced during the early years of Mormonism, focusing primarily on “lists of belief” generated by early writers.
In the following excerpt, Eliason examines the role of the “pioneer myth” in Mormon history, recounting the events leading to the emergence of the religion and detailing the vast exodus across the American West made by early members of the church.