Mormons, many things will pop up in your head when this word is mentioned
because we all have preconceived ideas about different people and different groups
whether we like it or not. One way to live with these fears we have about anyone who is
different than us is to try and learn more about these people. In doing so we understand
our differences and are able to work and live together. If nothing else this report will
inform you and provide a base of knowledge about the Mormons and their difficult path
through intolerance and discrimination which has taken them all the way to their current
headquarters, Utah.
Joseph Smith, a farmers son from upstate New York, founded the new religion in
Fayette, NY, in 1830. In 1823 he supposedly had had and was currently having visions of
God and other heavenly beings such as the angel Moroni which told him of
golden plates, bearing a history of ancient America, hidden on Hill Cumorah, near his
father's farm in upstate Manchester, New York.
The next day Joseph visited Hill Cumorah
and saw the golden plates, but he was not allowed to possess them. He returned to the hill
on September 22 in 1824, 1825 and 1826, and each time he viewed the plates, talked with
an angel and cameback empty-handed.
He was finally allowed to possess these plate and he translated the "Reformed
Egyptian" hieroglyphics. Smith's translation of the plates, the Book of Mormon, describes
the history, wars, and religious beliefs of a group of people living from 600 BC - AD 421
who migrated from Jerusalem to America. The Book told the story of the Nephites and
other Old Testament people who sailed to North America in ancient times. The Nephites
lived in a covenant with...