Anti-mormonism
Anti-Mormonism refers to discrimination , persecution, or prejudice directed against members of Mormonism, or particularly Latter-day Saints , the Church of Jesus Christ . The term is often used by Mormons to refer to individuals or literature who report critically, or condemn, the believers, institutions, or teachings of the denomination. The denomination was heavily criticized and condemned in the 19th century, particularly during the Utah War and thereafter, when the practice of polygamy in Utah was identified by the Republican Party as one of the "two remnants of barbarism," along with slavery.
origin
The term anti-Mormon first appeared in a newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky (the term Mormon was also used for the first time). Mormonism has been criticized by many publications from its inception. For example, from Eber D. Howe's 1834 book Mormonism Unvailed . The Mormons first condemned these publications as "anti-Christian".
Nowadays the term is used for anyone who speaks out against or criticizes the religious community.
The Encyclopedia of Mormonism describes anti-Mormonism as follows:
“Anti-Mormonism includes any hostile or polemical resistance to Mormonism or Latter-day Saints such as the Founding Prophets, their followers, or defamation of the teachings or practices of the Church. Although sometimes with good intentions, anti-Mormon publications have often taken the form of verbal abuse, falsehood, degrading caricatures, prejudice and legal harassment, resulting in both verbal and physical assault. "
history
Mormonism originated in western New York . Its prophet Joseph Smith claimed to have been visited several times by God and his prophets. These claims created tension with the established churches. Commented on this by Joseph Smith:
“I soon discovered, however, that by telling my story I aroused a great deal of prejudice against myself among the believers and caused much persecution, which steadily increased; and although I was only an unknown boy of fourteen or fifteen years of age and my circumstances were such that they gave such a boy no meaning in the world, men of high standing took so much notice of me that they incited public opinion against me and one to instigate bitter persecution; and that is what all denominations had in common - they all united to persecute me. "
Culmination of the persecution was the Missouri Executive Order 44 of the US state of Missouri , threatened every Mormon with death. They also had to flee from Nauvoo (Illinois) and the US Army was deployed against their settlement in Utah during the Utah War .
Sherlock Holmes
In Arthur Conan Doyle 's A Study in Scarlet (1889), the Mormons are depicted particularly negatively. Sherlock Holmes discovers that the Mormons are violent, intolerant and polygamous. The author later apologized to the LDS Church.
to form
The most vehement opposition to the church comes from the so-called Christian anti-cult movement. This consists mainly of evangelical Christians. The best known are Jerald and Sandra Tanner .
But there are also protests against the Church at general conference . Violent opposition, as in the past, is rare today. But there is legal opposition.
For example, a church member named Tom Phillips tried unsuccessfully to get Thomas S. Monson on trial for fraud in the form of allegedly false doctrines by the Church regarding the historicity of the Book of Mormon .
Reactions
Marvin J. Ashton, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in October 1982 , called for the following to respond to anti-Mormonism.
"The poet Robert Frost once defined education as" the ability to listen to everything without losing control or self-confidence ". Perhaps we will never be free from those who are openly anti-Mormons. Therefore we encourage all members to refuse to become anti-anti-Mormons. In the wise, old words, can we "live and let live?"
Further literature
- J. Spencer Fluhman: A peculiar people: anti-Mormonism and the making of religion in nineteenth-century America . University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill 2012, ISBN 978-0-8078-3571-5 .
- Anti-Mormon Publications from the Encyclopedia of Mormonism
Web links
- Antimormons on FAIRMORMON
Individual evidence
- ^ 1856 Republican Platform . Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved September 15, 2007: “ Resolve: That the Constitution confers upon Congress sovereign powers over the Territories of the United States for their government; and that in the exercise of this power, it is both the right and the imperative duty of Congress to prohibit in the Territories those twin relics of barbarism — Polygamy, and Slavery. "
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary , sv "Mormon".
- ↑ Times and Seasons , vol. 2 no.20, August 16, 1841, p. 513.
- ↑ cf. Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate , vol. 3, no. 1, October 1836, p. 319
- ^ Correspondence between James White and Dr. Louis Midgley , SHIELDS-Research.org , accessed June 2006; How I define an Anti-Mormon , FAIR Message Boards , accessed June 2006.
- ^ William O. Nelson: Anti-Mormon Publications . In: Encyclopedia of Mormonism , 5th Edition, Macmillan USA, 1992, ISBN 0-02-904040-X (accessed June 2006).
- ↑ Hal Schindler: The Case Of The Repentant Writer: Sherlock Holmes' Creator Raises The Wrath Of Mormons , The Salt Lake Tribune . 04/10/1994. Page D1. Reprinted at historytogo.utah.gov by the Utah State Historical Society.
- ↑ Jennifer Garza: Mission Accomplished: Today, Mormon temple opens its doors to the public . In: dwb.sacbee.com , The Sacramento Bee , June 29, 2006, p. K1. Archived from the original on May 28, 2007. Retrieved September 25, 2006.
- ↑ Mormon leader "Thomas Monson fraud case thrown out" , BBC News , 20 March 2014
- ↑ "Thomas S. Monson, LDS Church President, Escapes Fraud Trial, British Court Drops Case" , Huffington Post , March 20, 2014
- ↑ Marvin J. Ashton : Pure Religion . In: Ensign . November 1982, p. 63.