The Success of the Mormon Church: A Sociological Analysis
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Transcript of The Success of the Mormon Church: A Sociological Analysis
The Success of the Mormon Church: A Sociological Analysis
Llowell Williams (Dec 2009)
The history of the Church of Latter Day Saints movement is one filled with controversy
and severe persecution for many years following its foundation. Today it is one of the fastest
growing religious movements in not only the United States but many areas of the world, and has
gained legitimacy and voice within the worldwide religious community. The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints has undergone several key transformations and changes; both to find
legitimacy within society, and to appeal to a greater number of potential converts within the
religious marketplace. For the purpose of this paper, a very brief overview of Mormon history
and belief will be given, in addition to the way these factors have cumulated into modern
Mormon life in the US.
The Mormon movement began with a man named Joseph Smith, Jr. While living in
Palmyra, a small village in western New York, Smith claimed to be visited by an angel named
Moroni who told him the location of a secret book of golden plates and other items buried in a
hill near his home. (Arrington:18-20) After retrieving the buried items in 1827, Smith was visited
again by an angel and told to not allow anyone else to view the plates. It was his duty to
translate, publish, and share the messages inscribed on the plates. He did this with the assistance
of his friend, Martin Harris. Smith used artifacts he found with the plates called “seer stones” to
help him translate the golden plates from a language he called Reformed Egyptian. With help,
Smith dictated and published the translations as the Book of Mormon three years later.
Facing increasing persecution in the eastern United States, Smith and his followers
moved west, first setting up church headquarters in Kirtland, Ohio along with a secondary church
center in Independence, Missouri. After being violently driven out of Independence by non-
Mormons, settlers founded a Mormon town nearby of the name Far West. It was here that Joseph
Smith and followers fled after several power struggles and severe drops in membership numbers.
Here Smith established the new Mormon headquarters, officially giving it the name, “Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.” With this sudden growth of Mormon settlers collecting in
Missouri, non-Mormon residents began to feel even more threatened. Mormons began settling
outside of the county of Caldwell and Far West, leading to ever increasing feelings of enmity
between them and the intolerant locals. To many Missourians, this was simply unacceptable and
tensions came to a breaking point in what is referred to as the 1838 Mormon War or Missouri-
Mormon War (Arrington:50-66). After being forced out of Missouri at gunpoint, Smith lead his
followers to Illinois to establish a new Mormon settlement by the name of Nauvoo. Much to
Smith's disappointment, anti-Mormon sentiments had not been left behind in Missouri. Suspicion
and distrust for the Mormons continued to grow in neighboring Illinois communities until an
order urged by the public for Smith's arrest was finally issued, officially charging him with
“treason.” He and his brother turned themselves into the police of nearby Carthage where they
were placed in jail. Several days later, an angry mob began rioting outside the jail and managed
to break in, making their way to the cell holding the Smiths whereupon they shot and killed them
both (Arrington:78).
Following the loss of its two highest ranking leaders, the Latter Day Saints faced a crisis:
Who was to take Joseph Smith's place and lead the way? Several people stepped forward, and in
doing so created a great deal of argument and schism within the Church. Brigham Young
suggested that the Quorum of Twelve, a council of twelve men formed originally by Joseph
Smith to mirror Jesus's apostles and participate in church governance, should take the leadership
role. However, Brigham Young eventually stepped forward as Smith's successor, managing to
lead the persecuted Mormons out of Illinois, further west to the Great Salt Lake Basin. Many
miles away from their persecutors, after months of traveling on what is now referred to as the
“Mormon Trail,” Young and his fellow Mormons began settling Salt Lake City as their new
religious headquarters. In 1848, the United States was given the surrounding territory by Mexico,
and the federal government appointed Brigham Young as territorial governor of Utah three years
later (Arrington: 90-102).
Several years following the foundation of Salt Lake City, there was a two year period
which is commonly referred to as the Mormon Reformation. Despite becoming a successful
settlement, devastating drought hit the areas in and around the Great Salt Lake Basin and much
of the Utah Territory, wreaking havoc on crops and leading to much starvation. What few crops
remained were virtually destroyed by a fierce insect infestation. Following the destruction of the
crops, many Mormons began to express concern about their faith: Were they being punished by
God? Had they failed to worship and honor Him appropriately? It was easy to draw parallels
between this crisis and stories of Biblical plagues in the Old Testament. Many religious leaders
stepped forward, including Young, suggesting that they and their peers had lost commitment to
their faith and needed to seek repentance for going astray. This lead to a number of ceremonies
across Utah in which thousands of Mormons were publicly “re-baptized,” symbolic of their
renewed religious commitment (Arrington:119-135) to the Mormon faith and God.
This renewed religious zeal in the Utah territory alarmed the federal government, who
were beginning to question their power over Young and the territory. In response, President
Buchanan dispatched 2,500 troops to Utah with the goal of restoring federal authority. No direct
conflict ever occurred between the federal troops and the local Mormon militias, and eventually
Brigham Young ceded his governorship, to be replaced by a federally appointed non-Mormon,
Alfred Cumming. However, before this, despite no federal/militia conflict, there was a
confrontation, referred to as the Mountain Meadows massacre, between a Mormon militia and an
emigrant wagon train from Arkansas, in which nearly all of the 120 unarmed emigrants in the
train were executed. This conflict and the skirmishes with the federal troops are now usually
referred to as the Utah War.
Following Young's loss of governorship, he continued to actively preach Mormon
theology in Utah, one part of which was the controversial practice of polygyny (the precedent
having been set by Joseph Smith Jr., who practiced the act in secret), which he declared was
God's law. Polygynous marriage became very common among church leaders and many Mormon
citizens. These acts further alienated the Latter Day Saints from the rest of Protestant American
society; so much so that the federal government saw it necessary to take action again, but this
time in a different form. In 1862 President Lincoln signed into law the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act,
which explicitly outlawed the act of multiple marriage in the territories, to be punishable by
several hundred dollars in fines or up to five years in prison. However, because many
polygynous marriages occurred in secret and were kept hidden, this was a difficult law for
Congress to enforce. Besides that the federal government was busy conducting the Civil War at
the time, which put the eradication of bigamy toward the bottom of priorities for the time being.
However, following the end of the war, Congress passed the Poland Act, expanding the authority
to enforce the Morrill Act to non-Mormon federal prosecutors and courts. The Morrill Act was
challenged but upheld in the US Supreme Court several years later, in the case known as
Reynolds v. United States (Arrington:115-24).
In 1882, Congress sought to further deal with what was seen as the bigamist issue, by
passing the Edmunds Act. The Act went beyond the Morrill Act's criminalization of formal
bigamy, to include bigamous cohabitation, which could be charged without any proof of a formal
marriage ceremony. Following this was the Edmunds-Tucker Act which authorized the federal
disincorporation and dismantling of the Latter Day Saints Church, and created laws which forced
wives to testify against their husbands in court. As a result, many of the church's leaders were
forced underground and Mormon followers were forced to confine their religious practice to
secretive and private meetings (Arrington:144-186).
In a response to increasing state oppression, a Manifesto was drafted in 1890 and signed
by then church president, Wilford Woodruff. The Manifesto stated that polygynous marriage was
to cease, in accordance with the “laws of the land.” This helped Mormon leaders gain statehood
for Utah, and subsequent representation in the federal government. Despite this, however, many
questioned whether the Latter Day Saints had actually given up practicing polygynous marriage;
many members and church leaders where still reportedly engaging in the act despite the 1890
Manifesto's decree. In response to this, the Church president Joseph F. Smith published the
Second Manifesto which stated that the Church did not sanction any post-Manifesto polygynous
marriages, and that to enter into such marriages in the future would mean excommunication.
Although it is suggested that bigamy continued for a while after this, it eventually faded from
mainstream Mormonism and is now typically confined to fundamentalist sects.
This eventful and tumultuous history has today created a unique legacy for modern-day
Mormons. While there are quite a few sects and divisions within the whole of the Mormon
movement today, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints remains the largest and most
well known Mormon denomination. Following the Church's struggle for public legitimacy and
eventual decision to abandon polygynous practices, Mormons gradually were able to lessen this
alienation with the rest of American society. Consequently, the Mormon stigma became less
serious in American society and perhaps helped contributed to the massive growth in Church
membership. In the fifty years to follow the Second Manifesto, membership grew to almost a
million members, nearly quadruple the number of members at the turn of the century
(Cornwall:78-80).
Many of today's Mormon's place a heavy emphasis on following a particular set of ethics
and moral rules in one's life, the core of which were laid out by Joseph Smith Jr. in his Articles of
Faith and Word of Wisdom. The Articles and Word speak of living a life free of sinful behavior,
such as sexual misconduct (like adultery), gambling, getting tattoos/piercings (except for the
traditional pair in the ears for women), consuming intoxicants like alcohol, and pre-marital sex,
among others. There is much emphasis on one to live lawfully and to respect authority, both
within the family and within one's nation. High value is also placed on behaving honestly and
seeking peaceful resolution to conflict (Stark:69-74).
Worship is also an important aspect of a Mormon's life; as with other Christian based
denominations, Mormons are encouraged to attend group worship on Sunday mornings. The
main portion of this service is what is called the Sacrament Meeting, which all members of a
family attend and during which participate in communion by consuming bread and water. Much
like Catholic faiths, this ritual is intended to emulate Christ's Last Supper. Service is lead by the
bishop of the church, who, along with other speakers, gives talks and leads the attendees in hymn
and prayer. This Meeting is then often followed by Sunday school and meeting groups for adults,
for the discussion of Mormon ethics and doctrine.
Beyond services on Sunday, Mormons place a great deal of importance on time spent
together as a family. Parents are encouraged to read and discuss the Bible and Book of Mormon
with their children. The Church has even gone so far as to institutionalize this, by encouraging all
Mormon families to participate in a “Family Home Evening” at least once a week, preferably on
Monday. Usually this will include family bond building activities like board/card games in
conjunction with a religious lesson (Cornwall:103). Family and childrearing are today considered
institutions most central to Mormon life.
Despite being a relatively young religious movement, the Latter Day Saints have
undergone a great deal of strife, most often the result of religious intolerance within American
society. Despite this, however, Mormons were able to not only retain their faith, but have
managed to make it one of the most important religious movements in the world today. As
touched on already, this was not done without the recreation and disbanding of certain Church
traditions and practices. It is important to understand the historical context of Mormons is, filled
with controversy and religious oppression, to make sense of why the modern Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints is the institution it has become today.
The success and persistence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a
phenomenon that should be analyzed and explained in several different ways. As one of the
fastest growing religious movements not only in the United States but in many parts of the
world, the Church has overcome the persecution following it for many years following its
foundation and has managed to become an accepted member of the worldwide religious
community, drawing new converts every day. How did the Latter Day Saints survive religious
oppression in the United States? What has the Church done to assimilate into and suit cultures
around the world? What do the Latter Day Saints offer that differs from other faiths? Answering
such questions as these will shed some light on the Mormon phenomenon and give some insight
into their continued success.
Following Joseph Smith Jr.'s revelation and discovery of the Book of Mormon in New
York, he was able to attract followers everywhere he went. Despite this, however, Smith and his
followers faced many obstacles—between division and dispute from within and intolerance and
persecution from outside--which could have easily ended the movement at several points.
According to Stark, it was the strong sense of community and membership which served the
movement best. He explains that the severe persecution Mormons faced in the eastern United
States in the 1800s forced adherents to isolate themselves within their particular religious
community. As the Latter Day Saints were continually driven from the east, first from New York,
then Ohio, and then Missouri, they had little but each other to look towards for support. This lead
to a seamless ethos of religious and community commitment which served to protect Mormons
from having to internalize the deviant identity non-Mormons associated with them. (Stark:55-6)
The strength of the Mormon ethos only grew as they moved west along the Mormon Trail, into
the Utah and Great Salt Lake Basin regions. There the Mormon community was able, at least for
a time, to establish a removed society and culture of their own, this time without having to face
local hostilities.
So was it persecution alone that lead to the Church's survival and growth? According to
Leone, it was primarily the message of Mormonism which was able to so successfully draw
individuals in during the 19th Century. Joseph Smith Jr. offered people something not offered by
other religions at the time: an American utopia founded in practicality. In its beginnings,
Mormonism advocated simplicity, dedication, and social classlessness. While some of these
beliefs were likely what drew criticism from non-Mormons, contrary as they were to American
ideals, it was also this that attracted adherents. Leone refers to the Church as being a “religion for
unstable conditions:” it offered a sacred canopy which regulated daily life in most respects and
gave people a sense of connection between the material and the divine no other Christian-based
faith could offer at the time. This complete belief system allowed the Mormons settling the West,
outside of the US government's authority, to establish a theocratic state, with a political system
justified by the divine and economics founded in equality and aiding those who befell hardship.
Life in the West was tough and often unforgiving, so it was the emphasis on community
networks and cooperation that allowed Mormons and the Mormon state to cope and maintain
their faith.
This was, however, to change drastically at the end of the 19th century. As the federal
government forced the Utah Territory to rejoin the Union, the Church underwent drastic
reshaping and restructuring. No longer in control of their own lives, politically, socially, or
economically, Mormons were obligated to rethink their basic values and lifestyles. The Church
transformed from a theocratic/political institution, to primarily a religious one. It was this change
from a small independent theocratic state to one reabsorbed into a powerful modernized nation of
religious and cultural diversity that lead to the most fundamental alterations in Mormonism.
Economic integration with the United States meant the Church had to give up its practice of
aiding its members via the material redistribution. This shift has been referred to as the
transformation of Mormonism into a “colonial religion” from a theocracy, in which
submissiveness and deference to authority surpassed old notions of political self-sufficiency and
isolation. (Leone:7) While some in Utah resisted the dismantling of their theocracy, most turned
to their faith to explain and make sense of these uncontrollable changes in their lives. As Smith
spoke of before his death, individuals within the Mormon church should be encouraged to
develop personal understandings of their world and of his teachings; with change and uncertainty
being a fundamental part of life for Mormons, their faith had to be able to be reinterpreted and
reexamined to accommodate unpredictability. With this, Smith also emphasized the need to see
events in one's life as always being part of God's plan, and not the result of random coincidence
—there was always a purpose. (Leone:15) These directives enabled Mormons to cope with these
difficult changes within the context of their faith while maintaining a sense of purpose and
identity.
This new direction for the Mormon church meant other changes too. The most significant
of these was the official rejection of polygyny by the Church in 1890, with the first Manifesto.
Having originally been preached by both Smith and Young as an injunction from God, banning
polygyny was a difficult decision. However, it was a necessary move. It was the issue of multiple
marriage which most offended non-Mormon Americans, to the point that it had been outlawed by
the federal government. With the passing of the Edmunds-Tucker Act, which not only
criminalized bigamy but also disincorporated the Mormon church, the official barring of
polygynous marriage by the Church president was the only logical strategy for reemerging as a
legitimate religious organization. (Arrington:98; Cornwall:70)
Banning bigamy hasn't been the only major change within the Church. Following a long
process of assimilation back into American society over the last 100 years, leaders of the
Mormon church have been able to skillfully discern which areas of practice and belief require
modification to be able to accommodate this. One of these actions was the reversal of doctrine
almost 40 years ago which explained that darkened skin was a punishment from God, indicating
sinfulness of one's ancestors; redemption and good favor from God would be indicated by the
lightening of one's skin. (Leone:87) As African-Americans and other groups gained their civil
rights in the 1960s and 1970s in the United States, the Latter Day Saints were compelled to
update their theology to keep up with modern social views.
Another major shift in Church stance has taken place very recently: Sexuality is no longer
permitted to be a basis for discrimination. As an organization which poured numerous resources
into combating gay rights laws like Prop 8, this would seem to be almost an act of schizophrenia.
However, this is not the case of course, and is another example of the Church's ability to adapt
with social change. Homosexuals, although still struggling for legal and social equality in the
United States, have been gradually gaining them; this decision to shift towards a stance of
neutrality on the issue is, like the reversal of racist doctrine, a continuation of a strategy of
avoiding alienation. (Stark:88)
In addition to these revisions, the Mormon theology offers messages of repentance and
redemption which has successfully appealed to people around the world in a wide variety of
social, political, and economic situations. Unlike other Christian faiths, Mormonism does not
believe in any sort of eternal hell or damnation; instead, if one fails to achieve a proper Mormon
lifestyle, he or she spends a finite amount of time in a hell-like “spirit prison,” after which the
individual accepts the “true faith” and is accepted into a more pleasant after-life. There are also
many opportunities to redeem oneself before death. As such, Leone (101) speculates that it is this
aspect of forgiveness and second chances which so appeals to many new converts.
The Church's emphasis on family and community is likely also a major factor in
attracting new adherents (Stark:115; Leone:102). The stress on building and maintaining these
spheres of one's life is the way in which Mormonism deals with the unpredictability of the world;
this message is especially potent in areas of the world where inequality and the struggle for
subsistence are an everyday reality.
Sharing the word of the prophet Smith is seen as the duty of all Mormons, with
missionary work becoming a keystone of Mormon life. Over the last century it has evolved into a
sort of rite of passage, with young adult Mormons encouraged to spend at least a year or two
either overseas or within the US educating people on the teachings of Joseph Smith Jr.
(Stark:118) In these missionary projects we can see remnants of some of the original values
espoused by Smith in the days of the early Church, like that of social egalitarianism and
economic assistance for those in need. Missionary work proved to be extremely effective in
spreading the Mormon faith, especially in regions dealing with post-colonial poverty and
destitution—areas with profoundly frustrating circumstances beyond individuals' control.
Subscribing to the Mormon ideology enabled these people, much like early Mormons in the US,
to find shelter under a sacred canopy which makes sense of their world and provides a “proper”
life path to follow, which will eventually lead to divine rewards and liberation from hardship in
this world.
Mormonism's ability to provide answers to the uncertainties of life doesn't only appeal to
struggling Third World people; it's found a very strong following among white collar, middle to
upper class individuals in modernized nations like the United States and the United Kingdom.
With the emergence of globalization, life has only become more complex and dynamic; now
more than ever, people's lives are affected and influenced by what happens on the other side of
the country, and even the other side of the globe. At the same time, modern society has allowed
individuals more choices than ever before in virtually all aspects of their lives. In this context,
Mormonism provides the tools to be able to comprehend this increasingly confusing world while
providing an outline for how to live and behave. (Leone:15; Stark:129)
As this analysis reveals, the Latter Day Saints have been able to successfully survive their
persecution and death of their founder, Joseph Smith Jr., skillfully reading the writing on the wall
and accordingly altering their faith to suit. Having founded itself on the understanding that life is
unpredictable, yet part of a divine plan, the ability to be flexible to suit a dynamic modern world
was practically innate. This characteristic is what has allowed Mormonism to spread all over the
world, to many diverse cultures and peoples. Being a faith that encourages personal investigation
and individualized understandings of doctrine and beliefs, Mormonism's been able to adapt and
co-exist with modernism throughout the world. Originally a following of only dozens, the Latter
Day Saints now claims millions of followers around the world; as issues within the US have
shown, like the defeat of Prop 8, Mormons have become a powerful religious minority, and for
these reasons it's important for their history and culture to be examined and understood.
Sources cited:
Arrington, Leonard J. 1979. The Mormon Experience: A History of the Latter-day Saints. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.
Cornwall, Marie, Tim Heaton, and Lawrence Young. 1994. Contemporary Mormonism: Social Science Perspectives. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.
Dobner, Jennifer. 2009. Salt Lake Oks gay rights laws with Mormon backing. Associated Press, November 11.
Leone, Mark P. 1979. Roots of Modern Mormonism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Stark, Rodney. 2005. The Rise of Mormonism. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.