You’ve probably seen them. Young men in white shirts and black name tags biking through your neighborhood, or maybe you’ve caught a glimpse of that massive, castle-like temple shimmering off the highway in Salt Lake City or Maryland. But underneath the clean-cut image and the "Hello!" on the doorstep is a history that is honestly wilder, bloodier, and more complex than most people realize. To understand the modern Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), you have to go back to the burned-over district of New York in the 1820s. You have to understand who was Joseph Smith and the Mormons at a time when America was basically a boiling pot of religious fervor and frontier grit.
Joseph Smith wasn't just a religious leader; he was a polarizing force of nature. Some saw him as a literal prophet who spoke with God, while others—including many of his neighbors—viewed him as a charlatan or a dangerous radical. He grew up poor. His family moved around a lot, eventually landing in Palmyra, New York. This area was a hotbed for what historians call the Second Great Awakening. Think of it as a 19th-century version of a viral trend, but for your soul. Everyone was arguing about which church was right. Smith, only 14 years old at the time, claimed he went into the woods to pray for an answer and was visited by God the Father and Jesus Christ. They told him not to join any of the existing churches.
That was just the start.
Gold Plates and the Birth of a Movement
The story really kicks off in 1823. Smith said an angel named Moroni visited him and told him about an ancient record engraved on gold plates buried in a nearby hill. After a few years of waiting, he supposedly unearthed them.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting for the skeptics and the believers alike. Smith didn't "read" the plates in a traditional sense. He "translated" them by looking at "seer stones" placed inside a hat to block out the light. He would dictate the words to a scribe, often with the plates wrapped in a cloth nearby. The result was the Book of Mormon, published in 1830. It’s a massive volume that tells the saga of ancient Israelites who migrated to the Americas. Whether you view it as ancient scripture or 19th-century frontier fiction, the book's impact is undeniable. It created a uniquely American religion. It wasn't just another flavor of Protestantism; it was something entirely new.
The early followers—the first Mormons—were mostly ordinary people looking for certainty in an uncertain world. They gathered in Kirtland, Ohio, and later in Missouri. They weren't just a Sunday-only group. They built cities. They pooled their money. They voted as a bloc. And that, frankly, is where the trouble started.
Why Everyone Was So Angry at the Early Mormons
It’s easy to think the persecution of Mormons was just about theology. It wasn't. While neighbors certainly thought their "Gold Bible" was blasphemous, the real friction was social and political. In Missouri, the Mormons were mostly Northerners who were anti-slavery, or at least not pro-slavery, in a state that very much was. They were also growing so fast that they began to dominate local politics.
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Imagine you're a local farmer and suddenly 5,000 people move in, vote exactly how their prophet tells them to, and start their own militia. You’d be nervous. Tension turned into violence. The "Mormon War" of 1838 in Missouri saw Governor Lilburn Boggs issue an "Extermination Order," which literally stated that Mormons must be treated as enemies and "exterminated or driven from the state."
It was brutal.
Hawn's Mill Massacre is a prime example. A mob attacked a small Mormon settlement, killing 17 people, including children. This isn't just religious fluff; it's a dark, gritty part of American history that explains why the group became so insular and protective.
Nauvoo and the Secret of Plural Marriage
Driven out of Missouri, Smith and his followers ended up in Illinois, where they built a city called Nauvoo. For a brief moment, it was one of the largest cities in the state, rivaling Chicago. Smith was the mayor, the Lieutenant General of the Nauvoo Legion, and the prophet. He was arguably the most powerful man in the region.
But Nauvoo is also where things got complicated internally. Rumors started swirling about "spiritual wifery." We now know, and the LDS Church acknowledges today in its "Gospel Topics Essays," that Joseph Smith began practicing polygamy—plural marriage—in secret. He had dozens of wives, some of whom were already married to other men, and some who were as young as 14.
This was the breaking point.
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When a group of disillusioned former members started a newspaper called the Nauvoo Expositor to expose Smith’s practice of polygamy and his growing political power, Smith ordered the printing press destroyed. That was the legal catalyst his enemies needed. He was arrested and taken to a jail in Carthage, Illinois. On June 27, 1844, a mob with blackened faces stormed the jail. Smith was shot and fell from a second-story window. He was 38.
Brigham Young and the Great Trek West
When asking who was Joseph Smith and the Mormons, you can't stop at Smith's death. His martyrdom—as followers see it—didn't kill the movement. It galvanized it. But it also fractured it. Several people claimed they should be the next leader, but Brigham Young, the blunt and pragmatic president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, won over the majority.
Young knew they couldn't stay in the United States. They needed to go somewhere so desolate that no one else would want it.
The trek to the Salt Lake Valley is the stuff of American legend. Thousands of people, many pulling handcarts, walked over 1,000 miles across the plains. They died of cholera, exhaustion, and freezing temperatures. When they finally looked down into the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, Young reportedly said, "This is the right place."
They turned a desert into an empire. They built sophisticated irrigation systems and a grid-style city that still defines Salt Lake today. But the ghost of polygamy followed them. For decades, the "Mormon Question" was a massive national issue. The U.S. government refused to grant Utah statehood until the church officially abandoned the practice of plural marriage, which finally happened in 1890 under President Wilford Woodruff.
Modern Mormonism: It's Not What You Think
Today, the church is a global powerhouse with over 17 million members. But it’s going through a bit of an identity crisis. Under the current leadership of Russell M. Nelson, there has been a massive push to move away from the word "Mormon" entirely, insisting on the full name: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They want to be seen as mainstream Christians.
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However, the "Mormon" label is sticky. Pop culture loves it. From The Book of Mormon musical to true-crime documentaries about extremist offshoots (like the FLDS, who still practice polygamy and are not part of the mainstream church), the public perception is often a mix of curiosity and confusion.
Inside the church, things are changing too. The internet has made the "hidden" parts of Smith’s history—like the seer stones or the details of his plural marriages—readily available. This has led to what some call a "faith crisis" for many members, while others find the complexity makes the history more human and relatable.
Real Evidence and Scholarship
If you want to dig deeper, don't just take a random blogger's word for it. Look at the Joseph Smith Papers Project. It’s a massive undertaking by historians to publish every single document Smith ever wrote or dictated. It’s transparent, it’s academic, and it’s honestly pretty fascinating.
Scholars like Richard Bushman, who wrote the definitive biography Rough Stone Rolling, provide a nuanced look at Smith. Bushman is a practicing member of the church but doesn't shy away from the messy parts. He describes Smith as a "rough stone" that was being polished by God, acknowledging his flaws while recognizing his immense influence.
What Most People Get Wrong
One of the biggest misconceptions is that Mormons aren't Christian. From their perspective, they are the only fully restored version of Christianity. They believe the "Great Apostasy" happened after the original apostles died, and God used Joseph Smith to bring back the original authority (the Priesthood) to the earth.
Another one? The polygamy thing. Mainstream Mormons haven't practiced polygamy for over 130 years. If a member tries to take a second wife today, they are excommunicated. Period. The people you see on reality TV shows with multiple wives belong to fundamentalist break-away groups that the main church views as apostates.
Actionable Insights for the Curious
If you’re trying to understand this group better, whether for a history project or because your new neighbor just invited you over for "Family Home Evening," here is how to navigate the information:
- Check the source: There is a lot of "anti-Mormon" literature that exaggerates facts, and there is a lot of official church material that glosses over the difficult parts. Aim for middle-ground historians like Bushman or Jan Shipps.
- Visit a site: If you're ever in Utah, go to Temple Square. It’s free. You don't have to join the church to walk around and see the architecture. Just be prepared for a very polite sales pitch.
- Read the Gospel Topics Essays: If you want to know what the church officially says about its controversial history (like the priesthood ban on Black men that lasted until 1978), read these essays on their official website. They are surprisingly candid.
- Understand the culture: Mormonism is as much a culture as it is a religion. It’s built on "preparedness" (food storage), genealogy (family history), and a massive emphasis on the traditional nuclear family.
Joseph Smith was a man who started with nothing and ended up creating a movement that changed the map of the United States. He was a visionary to some and a menace to others. But you can't tell the story of America without telling the story of the Mormons. They are the quintessential American success story—born of revivalism, forged in persecution, and settled in the frontier. Whether you believe the gold plates were real or just a clever story, the legacy they left behind is set in stone—literally, in the mountains of the West.