Mormons Stereotypes Essay

A homegrown religion originating in the late 1820s, Mormonism arose as a rejection of the existing Christian sects and a return to what the Mormons considered to be pure Christianity. Similarly, the members believed their desire for a new kind of government stemmed from their disillusionment with what they believed was a corrupt government and a desire for the reestablishment of true American values and the original intent of the founding fathers. This sentiment is epitomized by Joseph Smith’s presidential platform, which states “No honest man can doubt for a moment, the glory of American liberty is on the wane; and that calamity and confusion will sooner or later destroy the

The problem lies in that being a Mormon woman is the complete and total opposite of being an independent woman. When a Mormon man looks for a wife he wants a woman who needs him to provide for their family and care for her. An independent woman needs none of the providing a Mormon man gives and so they are not compatible. The same goes for an independent Mormon woman seeking love outside her religion. Men outside of her religion will want her to open up to them and allow them to have sex, but the Mormon religion forbids it so they become dissatisfied and are thus

Despite the stereotype of Mormon women not having any rights living in a patriarchal lifestyle because of their polygamist beliefs, they ironically had more rights than most American women at the time. In the 1800’s, Mormon women and men were both given rights and they both dealt with child rearing (Kane 580). However, in typical American households, it was common for only women to handle child care in family life. Mormon women were involved in many different aspects of life including actions in politics, the economy and social gatherings (580). In an interview with Brigham Young, he said he loved, cherished and supported his wives. He even looked at some of them as mother figures (Greely). Women mattered in their husbands’ lives and were able to make a difference in the community.

In “Mormon Masculinity Changing Gender Expectations in the Era of Transition from Polygamy to Monogamy, 1890–1920,” Amy Hoyt and Sara M. Patterson argue that during the era of transition from polygamy to monogamy, there was a perceived crisis in the lives of Mormon boys. These events together resulted in a change in the notion of masculinity in the LDS church. Their thesis was “..during the period from 1890 to 1920, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) perceived a crisis in the lives of their boys. That sense of crisis lay at the surface of an even deeper cultural upheaval taking place within Mormondom....With the transition from polygamy to monogamy, church members had to construct a new model for understanding marriage, family and sexuality...they were also forced to reconstruct their notions of masculinity (Hoyt and Patterson 72-73).”

Basically, they are very opinionated individuals that want to go to church because they feel it’s right but don’t seem to agree all of the time and are biased. Secondly, there are the genuine Mormons who are frequent church goers. They are well known for their low key approach to the gospel, pay there tithing regularly, and basically do everything right (says society).

Mormonism is known as one of the most successful (in present time) and government involved religions from the 1800’s. Joseph Smith, who had much curiosity in religion, and what was real and what was made up, founded the religion. He claimed that Jesus Christ and God himself visited him and that they told him, .all denominations have strayed from the truth and that he should not join any of them. After that event, he didn’t think much of it and moved on through his life. Once he told his father of his vision, he was scorned, and went to seek forgiveness. When praying for his sins to be relinquished he received a vision by the angel named Moroni, who spoke of a book written on gold plates and buried in a nearby hillside. As Smith went to the gold plates, he continued translating what became the Book of

During the 1870s and 1880s, the plural marriage created a crisis for Mormonism. Bigamy was recognized as an offense by the early English ecclesiastical courts, which considered it an affront to the marriage Sacrament. Parliament enacted a statute in 1604 that made bigamy a felony cognizable in the English common law courts.

They strive to keep themselves clean spiritually, physically, and mentally, foregoing drinking, smoking, swearing, premarital sex, and much more. “Today, with their abstemiousness, strong families, and clean-cut children, Mormons can view America as licentious and immoral,”

Their wish for a peaceful life was not going to happen in Missouri. Eventually the governor of Missourideclared the Mormons public enemies and Joseph Smith was imprisoned. Rumours soon spread of how the Mormons were befriending Indians and trying to convert them to Mormonism. Also people started talking about how the Mormons apparently were freeing slaves. This caused public outburst and the Governor stated that the Mormons must be, "Exterminated or driven form the state if necessary for the public good".

In his book “On Liberty,” John Stuart Mill tackles the idea of Mormon polygamy through the lens of the harm principle and experiments in living. The harm principle relies on the idea that a man can do whatever he pleases as long as it does not cause another harm. After the harm principle, he elaborates on his view of experiments in living, which are experiments each man should take in their lives to stop the spread of dead dogma, or long held beliefs that are no longer true. Mill attempts to explain how he would deal with the problems of Mormon polygamy, or marriage between one man and more than one women. He argues that the law or another human should not impede a Mormon’s choice to practice polygamy as long as their practices are not

I moved away from the Church as a teenager and haven't been back since. G&C: What are the best and worst parts of being a Mormon? SM: Mormons are very community based and help out their own kind. If you are down on your luck, the community will help you out with food, clothes, and emotional support. They have a strong work ethic and urge everyone, even kids, to do volunteer work.

Mormonism is a form of Christian faith and many of those that practice Mormonism are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the 4th largest Christian church in America ("Mormonism 101: What is Mormonism."). About 1% of those that are Mormon belong to the Community of Christ Church. Mormonism is a worldwide religion and is practiced by approximately 4.5 million people ("Mormonism 101: What is Mormonism."). Mormons have some strong beliefs, sacred rituals and rites that are practiced by people of both genders and those of different races. The religion Mormonism or Mormon was originated by Joseph Smith.

Mormonism is a name meaning the spiritual principles of followers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well known as Mormons. Mormonism defines the guidelines of the Church that were reestablished to the world by the Prophet Joseph Smith. If you would ask the question “what is Mormonism” to a member, there’s a high change they would respond by acknowledging their love of Jesus Christ, he is the dominant part of the religion. Where can you find a continuing participant of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, well they're instituted at every level of civilization. For instance, in a charity, business, education, science, political parties, government, news media, and lastly the entertainment productions. The originator of The Church, Joseph Smith, wrote, “the essential philosophies of our religion are regarding Jesus christ, he died and was buried, rose again and on the third day ascended into the heavens; all supplementary things which relate to our religion is only accessories to it.”The main beliefs and practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are that Jesus Christ is the redeemer of the earth and the Son of our

As of 2011 there are two highly investigated polygamist cults living in the states of Utah and Texas. In Utah, Warren Jeffs is prophet and facing charges of bigamy, accomplice to rape, enforcing marriages of young women, and incest. After separating from the LDS church the polygamist’s sects have turned from religious filled gatherings to arrange underage marriages, power hungry men, politically influenced prophets, and form cults. The beliefs of these followers have changed drastically throughout the years. Once women were free to receive an education and they are only allowed to finish high school if they are not married off beforehand. A survivor of Utah cult, Carolyn Jessop was married at the age of 18 and had to witness the cult’s abusive progress. “The choice was freedom or fear. I was thirty-five and desperate to flee from polygamy, the only world I had ever known. I came from six generations of polygamists and was part of a sect known as Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints” (14) (Jessop, 2007). Carolyn was able to escape but many women are too afraid to, and believe they will be separated from their path of God if they choose too.

One problem with the class literature on “Mormons” is that it conflates “sealing” with “marriage,” Additionally, enumerating the number of women