Okla-homey
6/27/2007, 07:08 AM
June 27, 1844: Mormon leader killed by mob
http://aycu30.webshots.com/image/18949/2002761005628985318_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002761005628985318)
Joseph Smith
163 years ago today, Joseph Smith, the founder and leader of the Mormon religion, is murdered along with his brother Hyrum when an anti-Mormon mob breaks into a jail where they are being held in Carthage, Illinois.
Born in Vermont in 1805, Smith was unsatisfied with extant Christian denominations and had ferevently prayed for guidance from God on which one to join. Instead, Smith claimed in 1823 that he had been visited by an angel named Moroni who spoke to him of an ancient text that had been lost for 1,500 years which contained vital information that allowed Smith the begin an entirely new sect.
http://aycu03.webshots.com/image/20602/2002715532359110417_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002715532359110417)
Moroni first appearing to Smith while Smith's wife Emma slumbers
http://aycu17.webshots.com/image/21696/2002783078008922250_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002783078008922250)
Smith later dug up the text at the spot the angel directed him to dig.
The holy text was supposedly engraved on gold plates by an ancient historian. According to the Smith, the historian was descended from Hebrew forebears of the fabled "Lost Tribe of Israel" who sailed to North America in the fourth century via Egypt. Also according to the plates, most American Indians are the descendents of these people.
http://aycu28.webshots.com/image/20267/2002756357247840362_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002756357247840362)
A golden statue of Moroni graces the spire of LDS temples
Smith recounted he was only able to decipher the text through the use of special spectacles which allowed him to understand its "reformed Egyptian" hieroglyphs. Unfortunately, after the plates were transcribed, both they and the special glasses were taken up to heaven, thus they no longer exist on Earth.
The gold plates related the story of Israelite peoples who had lived in America in ancient times. During the next six years, Smith dictated an English translation of this text to his wife and other scribes, and in 1830 The Book of Mormon was published. In the same year, Smith founded the Church of Christ--later known as the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" --in Fayette Township.
The religion rapidly gained converts Smith called "Saints", and Smith set up Mormon communities in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. However, the sect was also heavily criticized for its unorthodox practices, especially polygamy. In 1844, Smith announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States. Although he did not have great enough appeal to win, the idea of Smith as president increased anti-Mormon sentiment.
http://aycu29.webshots.com/image/18308/2002720229629192453_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002720229629192453)
Smith's travels
A group of dissenting Mormons began publishing a newspaper that was highly critical of the practice of polygamy and of Smith's leadership; Smith had the press destroyed. The ensuing threat of violence among the Saints prompted Smith to call out a militia in the Mormon town of Nauvoo, Illinois.
Smith was charged with treason and conspiracy by Illinois authorities and imprisoned with his brother Hyrum in the Carthage city jail. Despite Church canon that Smith willingly gave up his life like a "lamb to slaughter," historical accounts relate that Smith and his brother Hyrum were planning a jailbreak using a pistol one of Smith's followers had smuggled into the jail.
On this day in 1844, an anti-Mormon mob had gathered at the jail, probably bent on lynching the brothers. Smith shot three in an attempt to escape and the crowd returned fire shooting the brothers as the leapt from the jail window.
http://aycu10.webshots.com/image/19489/2002771230089059092_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002771230089059092)
Period image of the death of the Smith brothers
http://aycu05.webshots.com/image/19284/2002725724303376978_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002725724303376978)
The LDS Church has erected a monument to the slain Smith brothers at the jail where they died.
Two years later, Smith's successor, Brigham Young, led an exodus of persecuted Mormons from Nauvoo along the western wagon trails in search of religious and political freedom.
In July 1847, the 148 initial Mormon pioneers reached Utah's Valley of the Great Salt Lake. Upon viewing the valley, Young declared, "This is the place," and the pioneers began preparations for the tens of thousands of Mormon migrants who would follow them to settle there.
http://aycu01.webshots.com/image/17720/2002798844831251868_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002798844831251868)
Brigham Young photographed late in his life and featuring some of his approximately fifty wives.
If you are interested in checking out the Book of Mormon, contact a Mormon neighbor who will happily provide you a free copy.
http://aycu08.webshots.com/image/20167/2002778507181956256_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002778507181956256)
http://aycu30.webshots.com/image/18949/2002761005628985318_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002761005628985318)
Joseph Smith
163 years ago today, Joseph Smith, the founder and leader of the Mormon religion, is murdered along with his brother Hyrum when an anti-Mormon mob breaks into a jail where they are being held in Carthage, Illinois.
Born in Vermont in 1805, Smith was unsatisfied with extant Christian denominations and had ferevently prayed for guidance from God on which one to join. Instead, Smith claimed in 1823 that he had been visited by an angel named Moroni who spoke to him of an ancient text that had been lost for 1,500 years which contained vital information that allowed Smith the begin an entirely new sect.
http://aycu03.webshots.com/image/20602/2002715532359110417_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002715532359110417)
Moroni first appearing to Smith while Smith's wife Emma slumbers
http://aycu17.webshots.com/image/21696/2002783078008922250_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002783078008922250)
Smith later dug up the text at the spot the angel directed him to dig.
The holy text was supposedly engraved on gold plates by an ancient historian. According to the Smith, the historian was descended from Hebrew forebears of the fabled "Lost Tribe of Israel" who sailed to North America in the fourth century via Egypt. Also according to the plates, most American Indians are the descendents of these people.
http://aycu28.webshots.com/image/20267/2002756357247840362_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002756357247840362)
A golden statue of Moroni graces the spire of LDS temples
Smith recounted he was only able to decipher the text through the use of special spectacles which allowed him to understand its "reformed Egyptian" hieroglyphs. Unfortunately, after the plates were transcribed, both they and the special glasses were taken up to heaven, thus they no longer exist on Earth.
The gold plates related the story of Israelite peoples who had lived in America in ancient times. During the next six years, Smith dictated an English translation of this text to his wife and other scribes, and in 1830 The Book of Mormon was published. In the same year, Smith founded the Church of Christ--later known as the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" --in Fayette Township.
The religion rapidly gained converts Smith called "Saints", and Smith set up Mormon communities in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. However, the sect was also heavily criticized for its unorthodox practices, especially polygamy. In 1844, Smith announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States. Although he did not have great enough appeal to win, the idea of Smith as president increased anti-Mormon sentiment.
http://aycu29.webshots.com/image/18308/2002720229629192453_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002720229629192453)
Smith's travels
A group of dissenting Mormons began publishing a newspaper that was highly critical of the practice of polygamy and of Smith's leadership; Smith had the press destroyed. The ensuing threat of violence among the Saints prompted Smith to call out a militia in the Mormon town of Nauvoo, Illinois.
Smith was charged with treason and conspiracy by Illinois authorities and imprisoned with his brother Hyrum in the Carthage city jail. Despite Church canon that Smith willingly gave up his life like a "lamb to slaughter," historical accounts relate that Smith and his brother Hyrum were planning a jailbreak using a pistol one of Smith's followers had smuggled into the jail.
On this day in 1844, an anti-Mormon mob had gathered at the jail, probably bent on lynching the brothers. Smith shot three in an attempt to escape and the crowd returned fire shooting the brothers as the leapt from the jail window.
http://aycu10.webshots.com/image/19489/2002771230089059092_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002771230089059092)
Period image of the death of the Smith brothers
http://aycu05.webshots.com/image/19284/2002725724303376978_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002725724303376978)
The LDS Church has erected a monument to the slain Smith brothers at the jail where they died.
Two years later, Smith's successor, Brigham Young, led an exodus of persecuted Mormons from Nauvoo along the western wagon trails in search of religious and political freedom.
In July 1847, the 148 initial Mormon pioneers reached Utah's Valley of the Great Salt Lake. Upon viewing the valley, Young declared, "This is the place," and the pioneers began preparations for the tens of thousands of Mormon migrants who would follow them to settle there.
http://aycu01.webshots.com/image/17720/2002798844831251868_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002798844831251868)
Brigham Young photographed late in his life and featuring some of his approximately fifty wives.
If you are interested in checking out the Book of Mormon, contact a Mormon neighbor who will happily provide you a free copy.
http://aycu08.webshots.com/image/20167/2002778507181956256_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002778507181956256)