Joseph Smith Research Paper

Chay BeesonMrs. HesterAmerican History I Honors - First PeriodNovember 20, 2017Joseph Smith: The Creator of the Mormon ChurchWhich 1800s religion boasts one of the largest women’s organizations in the world containing a population of 300,000 members? Mormonism! Mormonism, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, was created by Joseph Smith in the early 1800s. The members, or Mormons, believe the same doctrines as Christianity, but they do not call themselves Catholic or Protestant (http://www.mormonnewsroom.org). Through his creation of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith started a religion that clarified the axioms of the Christian faith by basing the Church solely on those principles.In the spring of 1820, 14-year-old Joseph Smith

Smith, through this visitation, learned about a book that was written on golden plates, and that he was to find these plates and to translate what was written on them into English. Smith’s translation of the plates was published in The Book of Mormons and described the history of the American continent during Christ’s time on Earth. Later that year, on April 6, 1830, Smith established the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, marking the start of Mormonism (www.challies.com). During his leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith accomplished innumerable feats including the establishment of one of the largest women’s organizations in the world today, the Relief Society. The Relief Society supported women who had physical and spiritual needs that attended the Church. The Relief Society has expanded over time, boasting nearly 300,000 members (http://www.mormonnewsroom.org). Besides the Relief Society, Smith also established three burgeoning cities in the states of Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. While settling in those states, Smith assembled a mass of followers, but he was forced to leave each of those states due to persecution (http://www.pbs.org). His repertoire did not end there; his other minor accomplishments included things such as the establishment of the first missionary program, the supervision of the construction of the Church’s first two temples, and the composition of texts for the use of his Church