Mormon, a member of any of several denominations and sects, the largest of which is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that trace their origins to a religion founded by Joseph Smith in the United States in about 1830. The religion these churches practice is often referred to as Mormonism. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the principal formal body embracing Mormonism, had more than 9,700,000 members by the late 20th century and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. About 50 percent of the church's members live in the United States, with the rest in Latin America, Canada, Europe, and parts of Oceania. The next-largest Mormon denomination, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is headquartered in Independence, Mo., and had a membership exceeding 200,000 in the late 20th century. Mormonism was founded in upstate New York by Joseph Smith after he had allegedly translated by revelation the Book of Mormon, which recounts the history of certain tribes of Israel that migrated to America centuries before Christ and underwent experiences similar to those recounted in the Old Testament. The religion Smith founded had its origins in the millennial enthusiasm of the early 19th century. Mormonism proclaimed a new dispensation and the restoration of the "true church," i.e., the primitive Christian church, since it viewed the various Christian denominations as having strayed from the true faith. The Mormons believe that spiritual perfection and thus godhood can be attained through a process of spiritual evolution. They are millennialists, that is, they believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, which will usher in a 1,000-year period of peace under his rule. The Mormons gave millennialism the goal of building up Zion in the American West under prophets to whom were revealed not only theological truth but also day-to-day practical guidance. They devised new secular institutions, including collective ownership (later changed to a system of tithing) and polygamy, which was practiced by Smith himself and by most leading Mormons until, under pressure from the federal government, the practice was given up. The Mormon way of life is still distinguished by order and respect for authority, church activism, strong conformity within the group, and vigorous proselytizing and missionary activities. History. In western New York state in 1827, during a time of intense religious revivalism, Joseph Smith, Jr., a farmer's son, claimed an angel called Moroni gave him golden plates whose engraved records Smith translated into English as the Book of Mormon--so called after Mormon, an ancient American prophet who had made an abridgment of many previous plates. Smith published the Book of Mormon and organized his new church in 1830. His followers soon moved to Kirtland, Ohio, where a prominent preacher, Sidney Rigdon, and his following had embraced Mormonism. Smith established at Kirtland and in Jackson county, Missouri (where some Mormons had migrated), the communistic United Order of Enoch. But strife with non-Mormons in these communities led to killings and to the burning of Mormon property. Despite this persecution, the Mormons continued to make converts and their numbers increased. Tensions between the Mormons and local slave-owning Missourians, who viewed them as religious fanatics and possible Abolitionists, escalated to armed skirmishes which forced 15,000 Mormons to leave Missouri in 1839 for Illinois. There Smith built a new city, Nauvoo, but the Mormons' commercial success and growing political power provoked renewed hostility from the "Gentiles," and Smith's high-handed suppression of an apostasy among the Nauvoo Mormons in 1844 intensified non-Mormon resentment and furnished the state government with grounds for his arrest. Smith was murdered by a mob while he was held in jail in Carthage, near Nauvoo, on June 27, 1844. Smith's death dissolved his presidency and placed the government of the church in the hands of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, whose senior member was Brigham Young. Despite the opposing claims of Rigdon, the majority of Mormons voted to follow Young, who became president of the church. Escalating mob violence had made the Mormons' continued presence in Illinois untenable, and under Young's direction, they undertook a mass 1,100-mile (1,800-kilometre) migration in 1846-47 to Utah. There the Mormons hoped to establish a commonwealth where they could practice their religion without persecution. A vanguard party of about 170 settlers reached the valley of the Great Salt Lake in July 1847. It is estimated that about 80,000 Mormon pioneers traveling by wagon, handcart, or on foot had reached Salt Lake City by 1869, when the railroads arrived and made the journey immensely easier. (see also Index: United States) Upon their arrival in the Far West, the Mormons began to colonize other valleys besides that of Salt Lake. In spite of the obstacles common to the desert area of the Great Basin, they made steady progress in farming the desert, partly through the use of scientific methods of irrigation, of which they were pioneers. The Utah Mormons' petition for statehood in 1849 was denied by the U.S. government, and the area was instead organized as a territory in 1850, with Young as its governor. The principle obstacle to statehood was the Mormons' practice of polygamy, in which a man may possess more than one wife. Conflicts between Young and federal officials over this practice and over Mormon theocratic government in general sputtered throughout the 1850s, and, following the Mountain Meadows massacre (q.v.) in 1857, the U.S. president James Buchanan dispatched a military expedition to Utah to suppress a spurious Mormon "rebellion" against federal authority there. This abortive military episode aroused widespread public sympathy for the Mormons and came to be known as "Buchanan's blunder," but it did prove to be the end of direct Mormon political control in Utah. (see also Index: Mountain Meadows massacre) Under Young's leadership, the Mormons spread their colonizing activities all over the West, building temples and tabernacles, founding schools, and engaging in various mercantile and industrial ventures. After his death in 1877 Young was succeeded by John Taylor, the senior apostle in the Council of the Twelve. In 1890 the Mormon church relinquished the practice of polygamy in order to conform with U.S. civil law, which forbade polygamous practices, and in 1896 the territory of Utah was admitted into the union as the 45th state. An important minority of Mormons rejected Young as leader and remained in Iowa and Illinois, where, with the adherence of Smith's son, also named Joseph Smith, they formed the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1852-60. Much smaller splinter groups also arose after Smith's death. Rigdon led one; another went to Texas with Lyman Wight, who had been an apostle. David Whitmer and Martin Harris, two witnesses of the golden plates, eventually set up a church in Kirtland. James Jesse Strang, a recent convert, was joined by John C. Bennett and established a polygamous community of about 3,000 on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan. This breakaway group of Mormons became known as Strangites. Scriptures. Mormons accept the Bible "as far as it is translated correctly." Smith did not finish his translation of the Bible, which incorporates prophecies of his own coming and of the Book of Mormon, which is central to Mormon belief. The Book of Mormon is largely similar in style and themes to the Old Testament. It recounts the history of a group of Hebrews who migrated from Jerusalem to America about 600 BC, led by the prophet Lehi. There they multiplied and split into two groups: the virtuous, industrious Nephites, who prospered for a time but were eventually exterminated by the other group, the sinful Lamanites. A familiar moral cycle is discernible: the virtue of God's people leads to prosperity; then to pride, iniquity, decadence, and sin; and so to God's chastisement and the people's repentance. Smith's other revealed scriptures were later incorporated into the Pearl of Great Price, together with his translation of papyri that he declared to be the Book of Abraham and the Book of Moses. Doctrines and Covenants is a selection of revelations to Smith and one given to Young and includes the manifesto of President Wilford Woodruff abolishing polygamy. The version of the Reorganized Church includes fewer revelations from the last decade of Smith's life. Doctrines. Mormon doctrine diverges from the orthodoxy of established Christianity, particularly in its polytheism, in affirming that God has evolved from man and that men might evolve into gods, that the Persons of the Trinity are distinct beings, and that human souls have preexisted. Mormons accept that Christ came to earth so that all might be saved and raised from the dead but maintain that a person's future is determined by his or her own actions. Justification is by faith and obedience to the ordinances of the church, repentance, Baptism by immersion, and laying on of hands for the Spirit gifts (including prophecy, revelation, and speaking in tongues). The Mormons believe that faithful members of the church will inherit eternal life as gods, and even those who had rejected God's law would live in glory. Mormons believe that the return of Christ to earth will lead to the first resurrection and the millennium, the main activity of which will be "temple work," especially Baptism on behalf of the dead. After the millennium and second resurrection, the earth will become a celestial sphere and all people will be assigned to the eternal kingdoms. Mormons regard the Christian churches as apostate; lacking revelations, miracles, and Spirit gifts; and maintaining corrupt rituals, priesthoods, and teachings. Smith came to restore the institutions of the church and God's law in society. Although calling people to repent, Smith's creed reflected contemporary optimism in emphasizing man's inherent goodness and limitless potential for progress. Smith tempered millennialism by calling the faithful to gather and labour to build Zion as a new social order. The successive presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have continued to claim divine inspiration. Institutions and practices of the Mormons. The Mormons eliminate most distinctions between the priesthood and laity. At the age of 12, all worthy males become deacons in the Aaronic priesthood; they become teachers when 14 years old and priests at the age of 16. About two years later they may enter the Melchizedek priesthood as elders and may be called upon for 18 months of missionary work. A Mormon man may afterward become a "seventy" (a member of a larger priesthood quorum composed of 70 members) and ultimately a high priest in the church's First Quorum of Seventy. Each rank of Mormon boys and men is organized into a quorum and has its own activities. Young men between the ages of 18 and 20 come under strong pressure from the Mormon community to temporarily serve abroad as missionaries. Adult Baptism, signifying repentance and obedience, has acquired additional importance as a ritual that may be undertaken by a proxy for the salvation of those who died without knowledge of the truth. The Mormons' interest in genealogy proceeds from their concern to save dead ancestors. Baptism for the dead, endowment, and sealing (which may also be undertaken by proxy for the dead) are secret but essential ceremonies that take place in the temple. At endowment, the person is ritually washed, anointed with oil, and dressed in temple garments. Initiates witness a dramatic performance of the story of creation, learn secret passwords and grips, and receive a secret name. The sealing ceremony, which was of special importance in the period when Mormons practiced polygamy, seals Mormon men and women in marriage for eternity. Although committed to millennialism and Spirit gifts, Mormons engage in worldly pursuits, business, and politics. Despite prohibitions (on alcohol, tobacco, tea, and coffee) and a vigorous work ethic, Mormonism is not ascetic; recreation, sport, and education are positive values. The positive attitude toward recreation, together with the emphasis on order and moral integrity, has been of great importance to the Mormons. Structure of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The First Presidency (church president and two councillors), the Council of the Twelve, the First Quorum of Seventy (and its presidency, concerned especially with missions), and the presiding bishop and two councillors (who control the Aaronic priesthood) constitute the "General Authorities" of the church. They are "sustained in office" by the regular and now ritualized vote of confidence of the semiannual General Conference, which is open to all Mormons. At the local level, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are divided into "stakes" of, on the average, 4,000 to 5,000 members under stake presidents; and wards, each of a few hundred members, under a bishop. The life of the individual member is closely regulated by these local units, through which the religious, economic, and social activities, tithing, and the operation of the church's elaborate welfare plan are organized. The missionary work undertaken by many young men and women has helped make Mormonism one of the fastest growing religions in the Western Hemisphere. Reorganized Church and other Mormon groups. The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints holds firmly to the Book of Mormon but rejects the evolutionary conceptions of deity and the polytheism implicit in it, the new covenant of celestial marriage, Baptism on behalf of the dead, polygamy, and tithing. Secret ceremonies are not performed in the Kirtland (Ohio) Temple, to which the Reorganized Church gained legal title in 1890, and the Book of Abraham is not accepted as of divine origin. The church's presidents continue to be lineal descendants of Smith, beginning with Joseph Smith (1832-1914). Some Mormon splinter groups adopted communistic practices. The followers of Granville Hedrick took as their mission the building of Smith's projected temple in Missouri and acquired part of the "Temple Lot" in Independence, Mo. After the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints renounced plural marriage in 1890, some Mormon groups in Utah and in northern Arizona continued the practice, but they remained secret. (B.R.W./Ed.) BIBLIOGRAPHY. An excellent sociological treatment of Mormonism is Thomas F. O'Dea, The Mormons (1957, reissued 1964). Jan Shipps, Mormonism (1985), argues that Mormonism is separate from the Judeo-Christian tradition. The church's 19th-century history is treated in Richard L. Bushman, Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism (1984); Marvin S. Hill, Quest for Refuge: The Mormon Flight from American Pluralism (1989), setting the early history of Mormonism in the larger context of contemporary American religious experience; Klaus J. Hansen, Mormonism and the American Experience (1981), analyzing the cross-influence of the early church and American culture in the formative period 1820-1890; and Leonard J. Arrington and Davis Bitton, The Mormon Experience, 2nd ed. (1992), a topically arranged interpretive history to the turn of the century. Thomas G. Alexander, Mormonism in Transition (1986), examines the church's changing positions on various issues during the critical period 1890-1930. Daniel H. Ludlow (ed.), Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 5 vol. (1992), is a well-organized reference work with numerous entries on contemporary topics; it is written primarily by Mormons. Related Spectrum Topics Mormonism New religious movements reflecting the impact of dominant cultures and religions Related Internet Links Restoration Churches Mormon History Resource Page The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints LDS World LDS Resources Page Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) Copyright © 1994-1999 Encyclopędia Britannica, Inc.