In our gathering of facts we first learned about why people
came to America, the First Great Awakening, and the Burned out District. I now
address the Second Great Awakening. The Great Awakening began to gain momentum
around 1790 and rapidly gained momentum by 1800 and especially after 1820. The
Great Awakening reached its peak around the late 1850’s. The increase in
religiosity, a Protestant revival movement reflected what was happening in
Europe, Romanticism that is characterized by enthusiasm, emotion, and an appeal
to the super-natural. Those involved in the Second Great Awakening rejected the
skeptical rationalism and deism that characterized the Enlightenment.
During the
Second Great Awakening revivals were part of the landscape for Protestantism
and many new members and new denominations were formed, and the church grew in
number. This movement heralded a new millennial age. Millennialism, Latin for
“thousand years”, or in Greek, chiliasm, is a belief that some Christian
denominations held that there would be a Golden Age, or Paradise on Earth, a
time when Jesus Christ would reign for 1000 years prior to the final judgment a
belief founded upon Revelation 20:1-6. There are similarities of this belief to
Zoroastrianism one of the world’s oldest religions combining a cosmogonic
dualism and eschatological monotheism that is unique among the major religions
of the world. Some would say that Zoroastrianism had influence in Christianity.
What is known is that this religion taught destruction of evil and of an evil
spirit that would be conquered by a king of peace and the end of the final
millennial age. The similarities are not to be supposed to be that which
happened to influence over Christianity, as there are many differences that
reveal that they are two different religions. With that we must understand
that, some people were influenced, by such teaching even though Zoroastrianism
has all be disappeared.
The Second
Great Awakening brought a message to the people with great fanfare, excitement,
and in the form of traveling revivals and camp meeting a religious service that
began in England and Scotland. These meetings were held for worship, preaching,
and communion and various denominations held the camp meetings. Camp meetings
were originally held in frontier areas due to the fact that those migrating
West into new territory did not have regular preachers, so they listened to
itinerant preachers, for prayer, and for the singing of hymns. The beginning of
the Second Great Awakening focused on the Appalachian frontier but soon moved
into the area of original colonies. The Camp Meetings were also considered to
be a social event where faith was renewed. In this religious climate the
founder of the Mormons was born and lived: Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805-June
27, 1844). In 1817 the Smith family had moved to the “burned-over district” of
western New York and area that was swept over by religious revivals. The Smith
family held divergent views about organized religion, and believed in visions
and prophecies and engaged in folk religious practices that were found in this
area. Folk religion is characterized by various forms, and expression of
religion, and deemed to be distinct, from the official doctrines and practices
of organized religion. The Smith ancestors were of an eclectic view of religion
and held a variety of views and affiliations[1]
and the paternal grandfather of Joseph Smith Jr., Asael, was a Universalist who
opposed evangelical religion. Joseph Smith Jr. was forced to read Tom Paine’s Age
of Reason until he believed it.[2]
In 1811 Joseph Smith’s maternal grandfather, Solomon Mack, self-published a
book that described a series of heavenly visions and voices he said had led to
his conversion to Christianity at the age of seventy-six.[3]
The
life of Joseph Smith Jr. can now be examined in light of the culture or his
times, the religious fervor, his family and their theology, all that formed in
him his theological inclination. Motives are driving forces in every man, woman
and child, therefore, we must attempt to unravel the motives that were driving
forces in his life leading to his becoming the founder of Mormonism. Facts,
facts, and more facts and not supposition or theories must be brought to light
if we are to understand Joseph Smith Jr, and find the truth.
[1] Bushman (2005,
p. 26).
[2] Quoted in Bushman (2005,
p. 25).
[3] Bushman (2005,
pp. 25–26);Mack (1811,
p. 25).
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