Joseph and his family had a difficult time committing to a particular form of Christianity. In a later history written in 1838, Smith stated that at age fourteen, his four members of his family had recently joined the Presbyterians, and that he attended meetings of various denominations, but eventually came to prefer Methodism. See Joseph Smith--History, Pearl of Great Price. In 1820, Smith claimed that in a grove of trees near his home, he had a heavenly vision. See First Vision. In his 1838 explanation of this vision, Smith claimed that he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ, who appeared in order to tell him not to join any religion, but that he would be the means of establishing Christ's true church on the earth again as in ancient times.
While translating the book, Smith claimed he had received a revelation that three other men, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris would be allowed to see the gold plates. After returning the plates to Moroni, Smith and these three went into the woods and prayed. Soon, they claimed, a bright light came down and the angel Moroni appeared. Moroni placed the plates and several other items before the men and commanded that they should "bear record of what you now see and hear." Their witness can be found at the front of the Book of Mormon. Soon after this event, Joseph Smith recorded that he was also permitted to show the plates to eight other witnesses near the Smith home in Manchester, New York. These eight witnesses handled the plates and also recorded their witness.
Some critics have argued the accounts of these witnessess were inconsistent, or that some accounts changed over time. The issue is complicated by some of the Witnesses of the Book of Mormon' early departure from the church.
The church was formally founded by Joseph Smith, Jr in New York on April 6, 1830., as "The Church of Christ." (later officially changed to "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." ) Smith's followers have often referred to themselves as "Saints" or "Latter-day Saints." Smith declared that he was directed by God to re-establish the true church of Jesus Christ which had "fallen away" in what was described as Apostasy that began in the early years of the Christian era.
In June 1830, soon after the founding of the Church, Joseph Smith began to produce a new translation of the Bible, now known as the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. Smith regarded this "translation" as "a branch of his calling" as a prophet. Most of Smith's revisions to the Bible were modernizations and clarifications of language in the King James Version; however, some of Smith's revisions to the Bible were extended passages that Smith claimed to have received by revelation. Smith's revisions to the Bible continued throughout his life.
Joseph Smith's religious claims met oppositon and sometimes violent conflict in New York. In response to destruction of Latter-day Saints' personal properties and threats of violence, Smith claimed to have received a revelation from God directing that followers in New York (who at the time numbered about 200) were to move to Kirtland, Ohio, where an established community under the leadership of Sidney Rigdon had been converted to the faith. By the following year, most had managed the move. Because of a shortage of land in Kirtland, a group of followers from Colesville, New York traveled with Smith in 1831 to Missouri and there settled. Smith returned to Kirtland.
Kirtland, Ohio was the headquarters of the Church from 1831 to 1838. In Kirtland, church members built a thriving community. Smith continued to claim revelations, many of which were first published in 1833 as the Book of Commandments, which later became the Doctrine and Covenants. Smith also continued to organize the leadership and missionary efforts of the church.
In late December 1832 and early January 1833, Smith received a purported revelation (now section 85 of the Doctrine and Covenants) directing Smith (1) to build a temple, and (2) to establish a School of the prophets.
The faith's first temple was completed in the spring of 1836. One of the revelations Smith claimed to receive while in Kirtland was the commandment to begin to establish Zion, which was to be centered on the Western Frontier, in Jackson County, Missouri.
The years 1837 and 1838 saw a general economic depression in the United States, which led to the failure of the Kirtland Safety Society, a banking institution established by church members in Ohio. This failure, along with sentiments similar to those produced by opposition to the religion in New York, caused organized persecution and violent mob action from the local community and from some disenchanted members of the church. In January of 1838, Smith fled to Missouri. Soon, most followers were forced to do likewise.
There was again conflict between Mormons and some of their neighbors. Some Missourians regarded the new religion as a direct threat to their way of life. There are a number of reasons for this conflict: Latter-day Saints were largely from the Northeast, largely opposed to slavery, while Missouri at that time was a slave state. Latter-day Saints tried to befriend and convert Native Americans, who were generally seen as a menace by many frontiersmen.
Perhaps the greatest source of tension was Smith's claim that Jackson County, Missouri, was Zion: a place reserved by God as a settlement for Mormons. Many Jackson County residents feared dispalcement
On July 20th, 1833, a group of 400 men met at the courthouse in Independence. They demanded that Mormons leave Jackson County, that they cease the publication of their newspaper, and that no new Mormons be allowed in. When church leaders would not submit to these demands, the group attacked the newspaper office (which was also used to print the Book of Commandments), stole the printing press, and destroyed the building. They then seized Bishop Edward Partridge and another Latter-day Saint man, demanded that they denounce their beliefs and leave the town. When the men would not, they were stripped, tarred, and feathered. Three days later, the mob returned with more demands and more violence. The church sought to avoid direct conflict by appealing to Governor Dunklin and seeking legal counsel, to no avail. The destruction of property and beatings of Latter-day Saints eventually led to a skirmish on the Big Blue River, where two church men and one other man were killed.
The violence continued as the Latter-day Saints were forced to flee across the Missouri River to Clay County. Through an act of the state legislature, the Mormons were moved 60 miles north to two new counties. There they established the community of Far West, and it was hoped that this would end the conflict between Missourians and Latter-day Saints. But in 1838, a mob of 100 men forcibly prevented Latter-day Saints from voting at the election poll. A brawl ensued, with several injuries. Governor Lilburn Boggs ordered the state militia in to restore order. One of the militia's captains, Samuel W. Bogart, took three Latter-day Saints into custody. Mormons believed Boggs to be taking sides with the mob, and so organized a mission to rescue the arrested persons. The Battle of Crooked River ensued, with casualties on both sides including the fatality of a one of the church's leaders and of a state militiaman. This led directly to Governor Boggs decree of 27 October 1838, that "The Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary, for the public peace -- their outrages are beyond all description." This decree became known as the Extermination Order.
Three days later, a group of Mormons took refuge from a mob in Haun's Mill on Shoal Creek. The mob ordered those who wished to live to run to the blacksmith shop. Once the Latter-day Saints were inside the blacksmith shop, the mob opened fire, killing 17 Mormon men and boys. This event became known as the Haun's Mill Massacre.
Joseph Smith and other church leaders were soon captured by the state militia, and a court-martial was held. The men were sentanced to death by firing squad, but the orders were defied by General Alexander W. Doniphan of the state militia, who warned the commanding general that if he continued to try to kill innocent men, "I will hold you responsible before an earthly tribunal, so help me God."
While Smith and the others were being held in jail, awaiting trial, more than 8,000 Mormons crossed into Illinois to avoid being "exterminated." After six months of incarceration and several changes of venue, Smith and the prisoners were allowed to escape into Illinois to meet up with the body of church members now living there in Quincy. After his arrival, Joseph Smith led his followers 35 miles north to an uninhabited bank of the Mississippi River. There, they set about draining the swamp and building a new town, which became Nauvoo, Illinois.
In Nauvoo, Smith continued to organize the church hierarchy, establishing a "Stake of Zion" there, led by William Marks, and sent hundreds of missionaries, led by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles under the direction of Brigham Young, to various parts of the United States, Canada, and England. Smith also established the Relief Society, a Latter-day Saint women's organization still in existence. In 1844, Smith ran for President of the United States, and organized the Council of Fifty, a theocratic political organization that was involved in his campaign.
Nauvoo was also where some of the more controversial aspects of Mormonism first appeared. Smith published the Book of Abraham, as well as other significant new scriptures. Construction of a new temple was begun, and during its construction, Smith introduced a number of sacred ordinances that would later be practiced in Mormon temples. In addition, Joseph Smith secretly introduced the practice of polygamy, or plural marriage, to a few church members in Nauvoo; however, the doctrine of plural marriage was not widely known (or widely practiced) until 1852, five years after the Church reached Utah.
As Nauvoo's political and economic power increased in relation to competing towns, so did opposition to its success. Eventually, several of Smith's disaffected associates joined together to publish a newspaper called the Nauvoo Expositor. Its first and only issue was published June 7, 1844.
The bulk of the issue was devoted to criticism of Joseph Smith. The article stated three main points: The opinion that Smith had once been a true prophet, but had fallen by advocating polygamy and other controversial doctrines; The opinon that Smith, as Mayor of Nauvoo and President of the church had too much power and had overstepped his bounds; And the belief that Smith had corrupted young women by forcing or coercing them into polygamy. (Smith was privately advocating, practicing and inducting others into the practice of Plural Marriage, although leaders of the Church denied the practice as rumor. See Plural Marriage (Mormonism))
The Nauvoo City Council passed an ordinance declaring the press a nuisance designed to promote violence against Smith and the Latter-day Saints. They reached this decision after some discussion, including citation of William Blackstone's legal canon that included a libellous press as a nuisance. Under the council's new ordinance, Smith, as Mayor of Nauvoo and in conjunction with the city council, ordered the city marshall to destroy the paper and the press.
The destruction of printing press caused considerable distubance, and Smith called out the Nauvoo Legion and declared martial law. Smith fled Nauvoo into Iowa, intending to depart for the Rocky Mountains and reestablish the church there. However, he returned at the request of Mormons who feared that a militia gathering outside the city would make good on its threats to attack the city if Smith was not delivered into its custody.
On June 23, 1844, Smith surrendered to officials, together with his brother Hyrum Smith, and his associates John Taylor and Dr. Willard Richards. The four were temporarily placed in a jail at Carthage, Illinois, where Joseph and Hyrum were assassinated by an angry mob on June 26, 1844.
After the death of Joseph Smith, there was some confusion as to who was to be his successor. The issue was complicated by the fact that at the critical time, Smith's most obvious successors were unavailable to lead. According to contemporary statements of Church leaders, including Brigham Young, the most obvious successor would have been Joseph's older brother Hyrum Smith. Hyrum had been ordained Associate President and Presiding Patriarch of the church, and the successor of Oliver Cowdery, who had been excommunicated. (See Times and Seasons, 2 (1 June 1841): 128; cf. Doctrine and Covenants 124:94-95). Hyrum, however, had been killed in Carthage, Illinois with Joseph Smith. Regarding Hyrum, Brigham Young stated, "Did Joseph Smith ordain any man to take his place. He did. Who was it? It was Hyrum, but Hyrum fell a martyr before Joseph did. If Hyrum had lived he would have acted for Joseph." (Times and Season, 5 [Oct. 15, 1844]: 683.)
Second to Hyrum Smith, the most obvious choice for succession might have been Joseph's younger brother Samuel H. Smith. Sometime between June 23-27, 1844, Joseph Smith reportedly stated that "if he and Hyrum were taken away Samuel H. Smith would be his successor" (Smith, An Intimate Chronicle, p. 138; William Clayton Diary, typescript, 12 Jul. 1844, original in First Presidency's Archives). However, Samuel died from an illness on July 13, 1844, just days after his older brothers Joseph and Hyrum were killed.
Joseph Smith might have also given indications that one of his sons would succeed him. On April 22, 1839, and August 27, 1834, Joseph Smith had purportedly indicated his son Joseph Smith III would be his successor. See D. Michael Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy, Salt Lake City, 1994, at 630, 638. At the time of Smith's death, however, Joseph Smith III was eleven years old, and therefore too young to accept the mantle of his father. Similarly, in April 1844, Joseph Smith had purportedly prophesied that his unborn son David would eventually become "president and king of Israel". See D. Michael Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy, Salt Lake City, 1994, at 644.
Had they not been later excommunicated, Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer might also have had credible claims to be Smith's successor. Oliver Cowdery had been the "Second Elder" of the church after Joseph Smith, and had been with Smith at all the important events of early Mormonism. Like Hyrum later, Joseph Smith had ordained Cowdery as the Associate President, and had given him authority "to assist in presiding over the whole Church and to officiate in the absence of the President" (Manuscript History of the Church, Book A-1, p. 11, Church Archives). However, Cowdery had been excommunicated on April 12, 1838. (Cannon and Cook, Far West Record, pp. 162-171).
David Whitmer had been ordained President of the High Council in Zion (Jackson County, Missouri), and Joseph had blessed him on July 7, 1834, "to be a leader or a prophet to this Church, which (ordination) was on condition that he (J. Smith, Jr) did not live to God himself" (Cannon and Cook, Far West Record, p. 151). Upon forming the High Council in Jackson County, Smith had stated that "if he should be taken away that he had accomplished the great work which the Lord had laid before him, and that which he had desired of the Lord, and that he now had done his duty in organizing the High Council, through which Council the will of the Lord might be known." (Cannon and Cook, Far West Record, pp. 71-72). Whitmer, however, had been excommunicated on April 13, 1838. (Id., pp. 176-178).
Although Joseph's most obvious successors were either dead, excommunicated, or too young and thus unavailable to assume leadership of the church after Smith's assassination, several other people within the church had significant claims to be Joseph's successor, including the following:
While the majority of Mormons followed Brigham Young, a significant fraction of Mormons, including very prominent Mormons and the majority of Joseph Smith's family, followed the leadership of others, leading to such groups as the Strangites and the Hendrickites, who did not follow Brigham Young to Utah. Eventually, many of these groups coalesced behind Joseph Smith's son Joseph Smith III and became what is now known as the Community of Christ, the second-largest Mormon denomination.
Originally, Brigham Young denied that he was the successor of Joseph Smith, or that anyone could be his successor. Eventually, however, after the majority of Mormons moved to Utah, Brigham Young would be sustained as a member of the First Presidency on December 25, 1847, (Wilford Woodruff Diary, Church Archives), and then as President of the Church on October 8, 1948. (Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church, 3:318). Young was succeeded by President John Taylor.
See Presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Church leaders planned to leave Nauvoo in April of 1846, but amid threats from the state militia, they were forced to cross the Mississippi River in the cold of February. They eventually left the boundaries of the United States to what is now Utah where they founded Salt Lake City.
(the Mormon migration is a seminal event for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. More should be said here.)
Groups of converts from the United States, Canada, Europe, and elsewhere were encouraged to gather to Utah in the decades following. Both the original Mormon migration and subsequent convert migrations resulted in much sacrifice and quite a number of deaths. Brigham Young organized a great colonization of the American West, with Mormon settlements extending from Canada to Mexico. Notable cities that sprang from early Mormon settlements include San Diego, California and Las Vegas, Nevada.
In 1857-1858, the Church was involved in a bloodless conflict with the U.S. government, entitled the Utah War.
In September 1857, paranoia over the Utah War led local officials in southern Utah to join with Indians to massacre a company of settlers traveling from Arkansas. See Mountain Meadows Massacre.
For several decades, polygamy was encouraged as both in keeping with God's law and good for the protection and care of the many widows and orphans. Brigham Young, the Prophet of the church at that time, had quite a few wives, as did many other church leaders.
This early practice of polygamy caused conflict between church members and the wider American society. The United States Congress enacted legislation permitting the confiscation of church assets and the assets of church leaders. The Army was sent to Utah and, for a time, occupied Salt Lake City.
To end the conflict, and as a condition of Utah statehood, Church leadership prohibited the practice in 1890, claiming that the practice ended in the same manner as it began, with a revelation from on high. Church members today who attempt to marry more than one wife are excommunicated. However, some small groups refused to accept the prohibition of polygamy, were cut off from the Church, formed their own churches and continue to practice it to this day.
During the post-World War II period, the Church also began to focus on expansion into a number of Native American cultures. In 1947, the Church began the Indian Placement Program, where Native American students (upon request by their parents) were voluntarily placed in white Latter-day Saint foster homes during the school year, where they would attend public schools and become assimilated into Mormon culture.
Thus, the Church underwent a number of important changes in organization, practices, and meeting schedule. In addition, the Church became more media-savy, and more self-conscious and protective of its public image. The Church also became more involved in public discourse, using its new-found political and cultural influence and the media to affect its image, public morality, and Mormon scholarship, and to promote its missionary efforts. At the same time, the Church struggled with how to deal with increasingly pluralistic voices within the Church and within Mormonism. In general, this period has seen both an increase in cultural and racial diversity and extra-faith ecumenism, and a decrease in intra-faith pluralism.
In 1973, the Church recast is missionary discussions, making them more family-friendly and Christian-friendly. The new discussions, named "A Uniform System for Teaching Families", de-emphasized the Great Apostasy, which previously held a prominent position just after the story of the First Vision. The new discussions dealt with the Apostasy less conspicuously, and in later discussions. The discussions also became more family-friendly, including a flip chart with pictures, in part to encourage the participation of children.
See generally: Armand L. Mauss, The Angel and the Beehive: The Mormon Strugle with Assimilation (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994); Gordon Sheperd & Gary Sheperd, "Mormonism in Secular Society: Changing Patterns in Official Ecclesiastical Rhetoric," ''Review of Religious Research 26 (Sept. 1984): 28-42.
In 1995, the Church announced a new logo design that emphasized the words "JESUS CHRIST" in large capital letters, and de-emphasized the words "The Church of" and "of Latter-day Saints". According to Bruce L. Olsen, director of public affairs for the Church, "The logo re-emphasizes the official name of the Church and the central position of the Savior in its theology. It stresses our allegiance to the Lord, Jesus Christ."
On January 1, 2000, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles released a proclamation entitled "The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". This document commemorated the birth of Jesus and set forth the Church's official view regarding Christ.
In 2001, the Church sent out a press release encouraging reporters to use the full name of the church at the beginning of news articles, with following references to the "Church of Jesus Christ". The release discouraged the use of the term "Mormon Church".
During and after the American Civil Rights Movement, the Church faced a critical point in its history, where its previous attitudes toward other cultures and people of color, which had once been shared by much of the white American mainstream, began to appear racist and neocolonial. The Church came under intense fire for its treatment of blacks and native Americans.
By the late 1960s, the Church had expanded into Brazil, the Carribean, and the nations of Africa, and the Church was suffering criticism for its policy of racial discrimination. In 1969 the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and First Presidency voted to end the discriminatory policy; however, the move was later vetoed by First Counselor and later President Harold B. Lee on the grounds that a revelation was required for such a policy change. In 1978, under the administration of Spencer W. Kimball, the Church leadership claimed it had finally received this divine sanction to change the long-standing policy. See Doctrine and Covenants, OD-2. Officially, the move into Brazil and other countries predominately of African decent was the primary reason for the change in policy, rather than external civil rights pressures.
Today, there are many black members of the Church, and many predominantly black congregations. In North America, black members have organized branches of an official Church auxilliary called the Genesis Groups. In 1990, the Church ordained Helvecio Martens, its first black General Authority.
In 1981, the Church published a new LDS edition of the Standard Works that changed a passage in The Book of Mormon that Lamanites (considered by many Latter-day Saints to be Native Americans]] will "become white and delightsome" after accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ. Instead of continuing the original reference to skin color, the new edition replaced the word "white" with the word "pure", emphasizing inward spirituality. See Lamanite.
While promoting convenience and making church practice compatible with non-Utahns, this new schedule has been criticized for eroding fellowshipping opportunities among North American Latter-day Saint youth. This erosion, in turn, has been blamed for decreasing LDS participation of young women to below that of young men, and for a downward trend in the percentage of LDS males who accept the call to serve a full time mission. See Quinn, Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power.
In the early 1980s, the Church was rocked again by the apparent discovery of an early Mormon manuscript called the "Salamander Letter". This letter, reportedly discovered by a scholar named Mark Hoffman, alleged that the Book of Mormon was given to Joseph Smith, Jr by a being that changed itself into a salamander, not by an angel as the official Church history recounted. Secretly, the Church purchased this document, believing on the advice of experts that it was genuine. When existence of the document was publicized, some Mormon apologists including LDS Apostle Dallen H. Oaks suggested that the letter used the idea of a salamander as a metaphor for an angel. The document, however, was revealed as a forgery by Hoffman in 1985, and Hoffman was arrested for two murders related to his forgeries. See Salamander Letter.
Early Mormon History
First Vision
Mormonism arose in the Burned-over district of upstate New York, the home of Joseph Smith, Sr and Lucy Mack Smith and their poor agricultural family, including Joseph Smith, Jr, who eventually founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Smith was raised during the religiously turbulent Second Great Awakening, in a family of religious "seekers". Smith's paternal grandfather Asael Smith had refused to join any church "because he could not reconcile their teachings with the scriptures and his reason." Richard L. Anderson, Joseph Smith's New England Heritage (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1971), 124-40. Likewise, Smith's maternal grandfather Solomon Mack had experienced a conversion soon before his death, in which he said he saw a bright light and heard someone (presumably Jesus) call his name. See Solomon Mack, A Narraitive [sic] of the Life of Solomon Mack (Windsor), 19-21 (reprinted in Anderson, Joseph Smith's New England Heritage). Translation of The Book of Mormon
During the next few years, Smith claimed that he continued to receive heavenly visitors, most notably repeated visits from an angel named Moroni who had reportedly been an ancient American prophet. Smith's account claims that these visits were instructive in nature, and that in 1827 Moroni entrusted him with the work of translating a book of scripture from ancient gold plates that had been buried near Smith's home. Smith said that Moroni, as the last of the ancient American prophets to have produced the plates, warned him not to show them to anyone, and that if he were to lose them by any neglect, he would be cut off from God. Using several scribes and by what he claimed was the gift of God, Smith eventually translated a portion of the plates. The translation is now known as The Book of Mormon and was first published in 1830.Founding of the Church and Early Hostility
The Church in Ohio
The Church in Missouri
Early Mormon settlers in Missouri began to build in mostly unoccupied land, and for a few years lived in relative peace. In 1833, three years after the church had been established, more than 1000 members lived there. The Church in Illinois
The Assassination of Joseph and Hyrum Smith
Succession of Leadership Crisis in 1844
At Smith's death, many of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles were serving missions away from Nauvoo at the time of Smith's martyrdom. When they returned, the Quorum organized a public meeting on August 8, 1844, at which the majority of Mormons rejected Sidney Rigdon's claim to succession and voted that the Quorum would assume leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A few who attended this meeting later stated that while Brigham Young presented his claim to succession, Young miraculously sounded like Joseph Smith, and appeared to act like him.Migration to Utah and Colonization of the West (1846 to c. 1878)
Polygamy and Utah Statehood (c. 1878 to c. 1898)
Modernization and Americanization (c. 1898 to c. 1945)
When the Church renounced polygamy in 1890, and Utah received statehood in 1896, Latter-day Saints for the first time saw an opportunity to begin entering the modern American mainstream. . . .The Codification of Mormon Doctrine
Beginning soon after the turn of the Twentieth Century, four influential Latter-day Saint scholars began to systematize and codify Mormon doctrine: B.H. Roberts, James E. Talmage, John A. Widtsoe, and Joseph Fielding Smith.The Church and Evolution
The Church and Prohibition
The Church Welfare System
Global Growth and Internationalism (c. 1945 to 1960s)
During World War II, missionary work in the Church had been on hold. At the end of the war, however, the Church was positioned to enter a period of rapid, international growth that continues to this day. . . .The Pacific Islands
In 1955, the Church began ordaining black Melanesians to the Priesthood.Development of the Missionary Discussions
In 1953, the Church instituted the first routinized system for teaching Church principles to potential prosolytes. This system, called "A Systematic Program for Teaching the Gospel" contained a standardized case for Mormon belief, including its basic doctrines. It also contained suggested responses to potential questions. In 1961, this system was enhanced and expanded and renamed "A Uniform System for Teaching Investigators." This new system, in the form of a hypothetical dialogue with a fictional character named "Mr. Brown", included intricate details for what to say in every situation. These routinized missionary discussions would be further refined in 1973 and 1986, and then de-emphasized in 2003.Reacting and Adapting to the Postmodern World (1960s and later)
By the 1960s and 1970s, as a consequence of its massive, international growth in the post-World War II era, the Church was no longer primarily a Utah-based church, but a world-wide organization. The church, mirroring the world around it, felt the disunifying strains of alien cultures and diverse points of view that had brought an end to the idealistic modern age. At the same time, the postmodern world was increasingly skeptical of traditional religion and authority, and driven by mass-media and public image. These influences awoke within the church a new self-consciousness. The Church could no longer rest quietly upon its fundamentals and history. It felt a need to sell its image to an increasingly jaded public, to jettison some of its Utah-based parochialism, to control and manage Mormon scholarship that might present an unfavorable image of the Church, and to alter its organization to cope with its size and cultural diversity, while preserving centralized control of Latter-day Saint doctrine, practice, and culture.Latter-day Saint Ecumenism
Until the Church's phenomenal growth after World War II, the Church had been seen in the eyes of the general public as a backward, non- or vaguely-Christian polygamist cult in Utah. That image, however, was interfering with the Church's prosolitizing. As the Church's size began to merit new visibility in the world, the Church siezed upon the opportunity to re-define its public image in the eyes of mainstream Christianity, and make itself appear more Christian than it had in the past. To this end, the Church began putting on a more friendly face toward other Christian religions.Moderation and Assimilation of Mormon Rhetoric
As part of the Church's efforts to re-position its image as that of a mainstream religion, the Church began to moderate its earlier anti-Catholic rhetoric. In General Authority Bruce R. McConkie's 1958 edition of Mormon Doctrine, he had denounced the Catholic Church as "the church of the devil" and "the great and abominable church". In his 1966 edition of the same book, this language was removed.Changes in the Endowment Ceremony
In 1990, the Church revised the text of the Endowment ceremony. Whereas the ceremony had historically depicted a Christian minister as being in league with Lucifer, the revised ceremony deleted all reference to the Christian minister. The new ceremony also deleted certain Masonic references and blood oaths, which had been shocking to many traditional Christians.Emphasis on Jesus Christ
In 1982, the Church renamed its edition of The Book of Mormon to The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, in order to emphasize that the book is about Jesus.Cooperation with Other Churches
Emerging Multiculturalism
As the Church began to collide and meld with cultures outside of Utah and the United States, the Church began to jettison some of the parochialisms and prejudices that had become part of Latter-day Saint culture, but were not essential to Mormonism. In 1971, LDS Apostle and scholar Bruce R. McConkie drew parallels between the LDS Church and the New Testament church, who had difficulty embracing the gentiles within Christianity, and encouraged Saints not to be so indoctrinated with social customs that we fail to engage other cultures in Mormonism. Other peoples, he stated, "have a different background than we have, which is of no moment to the Lord . . . . It is no different to have different social customs than it is to have different languages. . . . And the Lord knows all languages". In 1987, Boyd K. Packer, another Latter-day Saint Apostle, stated, "We can't move [into various countries] with a 1947 Utah Church! Could it be that we are not prepared to take the gospel because we are not prepared to take (and they are not prepared to receive) all of the things we have wrapped up with it as extra baggage?". See 21 Dialogue 97 (Fall 1988).The Church and Blacks
The cause of some of the Church's most damaging publicity had to do with the Church's policy of discrimination toward blacks, a policy that had begun during the administration of Brigham Young. Blacks were always officially welcome in the Church, and Joseph Smith, Jr established an early precedent of ordained black males to the Priesthood. Smith was also anti-slavery. At times, however, Smith had shown sympathy toward a belief common in his day that blacks were the cursed descendants of Cain. By the year 1849, Brigham Young and other Apostles introduced a policy that though blacks could be baptized, they and others could not be ordained to the Priesthood or enter LDS temples. See Blacks and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Journal histories and public teachings of the time reflect that Young and others stated that God would some day reverse this policy of discrimination. It is also important to note that while blacks as a whole were specifically witheld from priesthood blessings (although there were some execptions to this policy in both the 1800s and 1900s), other races and genealogical lineages were also prohibited from holding the priesthood. Only those who were assigned to the tribes of Joseph, Judah and Levi had a right to hold the priesthood during various parts of the period.The Church and Native Americans
The Church's policy toward Native Americans also came under fire during the 1970s. In particular, the Church was criticized for its Indian Placement Program, where Native American students were voluntarily placed in white Latter-day Saint foster homes during the school year. This program was criticized as neocolonial. In 1977, the U.S. government commissioned a study to investigate accusations that the Church was using its influence to push children into joining the program. However, the commission rejected these accusations and found that the program was beneficial in many cases, and provided well-balanced American education for thousands, allowing the children to return to their cultures and customs. One issue was that the time away from family caused the assimilation of Native American students into American culture, rather than allowing the children to learn within, and preserve, their own culture. By the late 1980s, the program had been in decline, and in 1996, it was discontinued. See Indian Placement Program.Centralization of Church Structure
Making Church Participation More Convenient
Consolidated Meeting Schedule
In earlier times, Latter-day Saint meetings took place on Sunday morning and evening, with several meetings during the weekday. This arrangement was acceptable for Utah Saints, who generally lived within walking distance of a church building. Elsewhere other than Utah, however, this meeting schedule was seen as a logistical challenge. In 1980, the Church introduced the "Consolidated Meeting Schedule", in which the majority of church meetings were held on Sunday during a three-hour block.Experiment in Shortening Full-Time Missionary Terms
Fighting the Tide of Pluralism
The Role of Women
Gays and Lesbians in the Church
Challenges to Fundamental Church Doctrine
In 1967, a set of papyrus manuscripts were discovered in the Metropolitan Museum of Art that appear to be the manuscripts from which Joseph Smith, Jr claimed to have translated the Book of Abraham in 1835. These manuscripts were presumed lost in the Chicago fire of 1871. Analyzed by Egyptologists, these manuscripts were identified as The Book of the Dead, an ancient Egyptian funery text. Moreover, the scholars' translations of certain portions of the scrolls disagreed with Smith's translation. This discovery rocked the community of Mormon scholars, and forced many Mormon apologists to moderate the earlier prevailing view that Smith's translations were literal one-to-one translations. As a result of this discovery, many Mormon apologists consider The Book of the Dead to be a starting-point that Smith used to reconstruct the original writings of Abraham through inspiration. See Book of Abraham.Handling Mormon Dissidents and Scholars
Dealing with Mormon Polygamist Sects
The Church and the Information Age
Using the Media for Political Influence
Church Infomercials
The Church and Pornography
The Church and public relations
Novel uses of communications technology
A number of other Controversies regarding Mormonism can be considered a part of the Church's history.
