The History of Mormonism

Unsung History

In 1830, amid the Second Great Awakening in the burned-over district of New York State, Joseph Smith, Jr., and Oliver Cowdery ordained each other as the first two elders in what they then called the Church of Christ. Within eight years, the Governor of Missouri issued an executive order that members of the church, by then known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state,” driving 10,000 of the faithful to flee to Illinois. This week we discuss the turbulent–and often violent–history of Mormonism and look at the religion’s complicated relationship with the country in which it originated.

Joining me in this episode is Dr. Benjamin E. Park, Associate Professor of History at Sam Houston State University and author of American Zion: A New History of Mormonism.

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode music is “O My Father,” Composed by Evan Stephens with lyrics by Eliza R. Snow; performed by Trinity Mixed Quartet on September 18, 1923; the audio is in the public domain and is available via the Library of Congress National Jukebox. The episode image is "The Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA,” Photo by David Iliff; License: CC BY-SA 3.0.

Additional Sources:

• “Timeline: The Early History of the Mormons,”PBS American Experience.
• “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Fast Facts,” CNN, December 1, 2022.
• “Mormonism: Guide to Materials and Resources,” The Special Collections & Archives department of the Merrill-Cazier Library, Utah State University.
• The Joseph Smith Papers
• “Doctrine and Covenants 132,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
• “The Brink of War: One hundred fifty years ago, the U.S. Army marched into Utah prepared to battle Brigham Young and his Mormon militia,” by David Roberts, Smithsonian Magazine, June 2008.
• “How Mormonism Went Mainstream,” by Benjamin E. Park, Time Magazine, September 21, 2023.
• “Latter-day Saint membership passed 17 million in 2023, according to a new church statistical report,” by Tad Walch, Deseret News, April 1, 2023.
• “The Mormon Poetess Dead,” The New York Times, December 6, 1887.

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