When did the Mormon religion start?

Answer 1

Mormonism generally means membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, sometimes called the Mormon church, or the LDS church. Members are sometimes called Mormons because that is a name of a prophet in the Book of Mormon, which they believe in to be "Another Testament of Jesus Christ." Members of this church prefer to be called Latter-day Saints. Latter-day is a term in the old and New Testament in the Bible referring to "last days" and Saints referring to the members. The church's early history began in 1820 when Joseph Smith, then a 14 year old boy, wanted to know which church was true and which church he must join. He stated that in answer to his prayers, he saw God and Jesus Christ, who told him not to join any church because while many drew near to God, His church had been lost when his Apostles died. Instead, Joseph was instructed that he would later restore the true church of God. Through a series of events, Joseph Smith organized the LDS church. The church was officially organized according to the laws of New York in 1830, with the first official meeting and worship service of the Church being held on April 6, 1830. However, no single date can be completely attributed to the organization of the LDS church--members of the LDS church often refer to the several organizing events of their church as "the restoration" which spanned from 1820 through the 1840's. These events included restoring the priesthood, or authority from God to do His work; calling apostles, prophets, bishops, teachers, and other authorities; building of temples as in ancient times; revelation of saving ordinances including baptism; and other events important in the history of the Mormon Church. More information and details can be found on one of the church's several websites, primarily Mormon.org

Answer 2

The first official meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the "Mormon" church) was held on April 6, 1830. This was an organizational meeting held on a weekday. The first official worship service was held the following Sunday.

Answer 3

In the early spring of 1820, when the Prophet Joseph Smith was given a vision of God and Jesus in a patch of woods near his home after he had prayed and asked which Doctrine was true. He was told where to find the plates of Nephi and the book of Mormon, and these were translated on the 1830s. This was when the book was TRANSLATED, not written. The plates were written on gold plates hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, and many of the Mormon ordinances, beliefs, and structures are simply reincarnations of traditions during the time of Jesus Christ. So technically Mormonism started during the time before the crucifixion and was restored in the 1820s.

Answer 4

In the spring of 1820, a teenage boy named Joseph Smith approached God in prayer in the woods near his New York home. Many in his family had joined with different churches in their town, and he didn't know which one to join. After reading James 1:5 in the Bible, he decided to ask God for wisdom and direction in choosing a church.

As Joseph began to pray, a pillar of light appeared and in this light appeared two men, God the Father and Jesus Christ. They explained to him that no church upon the earth was completely true, and that he should join none of the churches. Throughout the next 10 years, Joseph continued to recieve visions and visitations from various heavenly beings. They restored to him the doctrines, practices, and authority of the original first-century Christian church. New scripture was also revealed to him as evidence of his divine calling.

On April 6, 1830, the first official meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly nicknamed the "Mormon" church) was held.

You can read Joseph Smith's personal account of this story or watch films depicting it at the "Related Links" below.

Answer 5

Mormonism began with Joseph Smith Jr. who was born on Dec. 23, 1805, in Vermont. He was the fourth child of Lucy and Joseph Smith. Joseph senior was known as a money digger and sought after buried treasure, particularly that of Captain Kidd. His mother was highly superstitious.

Joseph Smith Jr. stated that he was disturbed by all the different denominations of Christianity and wondered which was true. In 1820, when he was 14, he went Into the Woods to pray concerning this and allegedly God the Father and Jesus appeared to him and told him not to join any of the denominational churches.

Three years later, on Sept. 21, 1823, when he was 17 years old, an angel called Moroni, who was supposed to be the son of Mormon, the leader of the people called the Nephites who had lived in the Americas, appeared to him and told him that he had been chosen to translate the book of Mormon which was compiled by Moroni's father around the 4th century. The book was written on golden plates hidden near where Joseph was then living in Palmyra, New York. Joseph Smith said that on Sept. 22, 1827 he received the plates and the angel Moroni instructed him to begin the translation process. The translation was finally published in 1830 as the Book of Mormon. Joseph claimed that during this translation process, John the Baptist appeared to him and ordained him to accomplish the divine work of restoring the true church by preaching the true gospel which, allegedly, had been lost from the earth.

The Book of Mormon is supposed to be the account of people who came from the Middle-East to the Americas. It covers the period of about 600 B.C. to 400 A.D. It tells of the Jaredites, people from the Tower of Babel who came to Central America but perished because of their own immorality. It also describes some Jews who fled persecution in Jerusalem and came to America led by a man called Nephi. The Jews divided into two groups known as the Nephites and Lamanites who fought each other. The Nephites were defeated in 428 A.D. The Lamanites continued and are known as the American Indians. The Book of Mormon is the account of the Nephite leader, Mormon, concerning their culture, civilization, and appearance of Jesus to the Americas.

After the publication of the Book of Mormon, Mormonism began to grow. Because their religion was so deviant from Christianity, i.e., plurality of gods, polygamy (Joseph is said to have had 27 wives), etc., persecution soon forced them to move from New York to Ohio, then to Missouri, and finally to Nauvoo, Illinois. After being accused of breaking some laws in Nauvoo (for destroying a printing press that was publishing harmful information on Mormonism), Joseph and his brother Hyrum ended up in jail. A mob later broke into the jail and killed Joseph and his brother.

After the shooting, the church divided into two groups: One led by his widow which went back to Independence Missouri. They are known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They claim to be the true Church and lay claim to the legal succession of the church presidency which was bestowed upon Joseph's son by Joseph Smith himself. The other group was led by Brigham Young and they went to Utah where, in 1847, they ended up in Salt Lake and founded Salt Lake City. Brigham had 25 wives and accumulated much wealth.

Answer 6

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called the "Mormon" church) believe that their church was founded by Jesus Christ in the first century A.D. This true Christianity was lost from the earth and was restored to the earth by Jesus Christ to the prophet Joseph Smith between the years of 1820 and 1830. The first official meeting of the Church was held on April 6, 1830.

You can learn more about the beginnings of the Church at the "Related Links" below.

Answer 7

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (commonly called the "Mormon" church) was organized on April 6, 1830 in Palmyra, New York.

Answer 8

6th April 1830 I believe which is the birthday of a very well known VIP.

Answer 9

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called the "Mormon" Church) was officially organized on April 6, 1830 in Palmyra, New York by Joseph Smith, Jr.