The Mormons
- Created by: sydn3y_14
- Created on: 18-04-17 01:17
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- The Mormons
- Who were they?
- A religious group started by Joseph Smith in 1830
- He had seen a vision of the angle Moroni who told him to go and find some gold plates.
- He found and translated the plates to form the Book of Mormon. It said how Israel tribes migrated to America and that Jesus went to America after he rose from the dead
- Elevan people were allowed to see the plates to prove that Smith wasn't lying
- They were hated in the East because of their beliefs
- You are allowed Polygamy
- The number of Mormons grew very quickly
- They had their own army - The Danites
- Smith ran for President - people were worried that if they became too powerful they would enforce their beliefs on the people of America
- They believed that they were God's chosen people
- They were very hard - working and became very successful - this made many jealous
- What happened in the East?
- They were attacked in their first 'holy city' Kirtland after the collapse of their bank in 1837
- They moved to Missouri but stayed only one year as they were attacked and their leaders were put in prison
- Brigham Young took the Mormons to Nauvoo but again they were persecuted. In 1844 Smith and his brother were arrested. Non - Mormons attacked the prison and killed the brothers
- Young realised he had to take the Mormons away from the East and started leading them towards the Great Salt Lake in the West
- Why Salt Lake City?
- The area was uninhabited, and so no one would attack them any more
- The land was almost entirely useless and so was not wanted by anyone else - this made it safe for the Mormons
- The Salt Lake Valley was still owned by Mexico, so the US government should now leave them alone
- Was Brigham Young a good leader?
- Yes
- Successfully led the Mormons 2250km across the Plains to Salt Lake City
- Wagons driven in parallel lines and then put into cirlces at night for safety
- Strict discipline meant everybody worked for the benefit of the community
- Divided out the land fairly
- Arranged building of irrigation channels to bring water to the dry earth
- Encouraged the emigration of Mormons with skills to SLC from other parts of America and Europe
- No
- Ruled as a dictator
- Became very rich as the church got 10% of everyone's earnings
- Sent the Danited to intimidate Non-Mormons
- Mountain Meadows massacre in 1857
- Had 23 wives and 49 children
- Yes
- The problems
- In 1848 the Salt Lake Valley was handed over to America by Mexico
- The US government wanted to make the Mormons submit their laws
- The Mormons and the government clashed violently in 1857 - fearing a full scale war, the US government allowed the Mormons to practice their own religion and live their own way but their territory was not allowed to become a state whilst they still practiced polygamy
- In 1890 the Mormons finally abandoned polygamy. Utah was admitted as a state by 1896
- Who were they?
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