What were the problems that the Mormons had?

Answer 1

Because non-Mormons were threatened by their religion and that it was beginning so successfully. Also, because non-Mormons were upset with some on the Mormons beliefs. Then once non-Mormons started fighting, Mormons fought back a little, and then moved because they realized this isn't what they were all about.

Answer 2

Many Mormons suffered from persecution, not only in the US but in other countries where missionaries where teaching the Mormon religion. Due to the constant threat of violence, the Mormons were always moving from location to location. Eventually Bringham Young called Mormons from all over the world to gather in what today is known as Utah. That involved problems too, because the only way of transportaion was handcart, and very few traved by boat all the way around South America. Many Mormons died on the trip to Utah by handcart. The worst cases were the Willie and Martin handcart companies. A good historical fiction book on the hardships of the Mormons is The Work and the Glory Series by Gerald N. Lund.

Answer 3

There are 3 different groups that the Mormon persecutors fall under.

The first and largest is those who have been fed negative information by their religious leaders and they are simply repeating the information they have been fed.

The second is obviously the preachers who are spreading the negative stereo types. Their reasoning is irrelevant to this answer.

The last is among the most influential in stirring up more persecution. It involves members or former members that got offended by one thing or another, and are now taking that grudge out on the whole church. Again the reasoning behind this grudge is irrelevant to the answer you are seeking.

Answer 4

Several factors provided opportunties for conflict between the early Mormons and their neighbors.

1) They were a different religion.

2) Many of the local ministers were worried about losing members of their congregations to the new church - with the resulting loss of income and influence.

3) The Mormons often chose to conduct business with each other rather than their non-Mormon neighbors - creating some resentment.

4) After multiple experiences of sometimes brutal persecution, many of the Mormons became suspicious of and expected the worst of their non-Mormon neighbors and treated them accordingly.

5) When large numbers of Mormons started gathering to a particular area, they would start buying up the existing lands - which through the expected Supply & Demand phenomena would cause the prices to go up and make the land less affordable to their neighbors.

6) When the Mormons gathered to a particular area, they were mostly "outsiders" with their own particular customs and culture - northeasterners gathering to midwest communities, or English moving to America - with the inevitable cultural clashes.

7) Mormons did not support slavery so they were in political conflict with many of their neighbors in Missouri.

8) People who decided to leave the Mormon church or were excommunicated often took to spreading slanderous and libelous disinformation about the rest of the Mormons and their leaders.

9) Some of the Mormons who were the first in an area would look upon the new members arriving in the area as an opportunity to get wealthy and engaged in unethical business practices and land speculation. (A fair number of these people soon wound up in the ex-member category previously mentioned.)

Answer 5

It really is unknown as to the reason why people hated, and at times still hate Mormons. In the mid-1800s one state made it legal to kill any Mormon of any age, this decree was ordered after the governor was given misleading information.

Today there are still groups or individuals that are hostile to Mormons. Not to long ago (2011) they had a man take a gun into a LDS (Mormon) church and kill a church leader there. There have also been cases of LDS Missionaries being beat-up.

As in cases of the 1800s, some people are fed misinformation about the LDS and what they believe or their worship practices. Many groups will make them sound satanic, a cult, or non-Christian, all of which are untrue. The official name of the LDS (Mormon) church is "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints".

Answer 6

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the 'Mormon' church) has faced various problems over the 180 years of its existence. At first, Mormons were severely persecuted and run out of towns they had tried to settle. They were forced to leave all their property and start a new life several times.

Once they found refuge in the west, they faced the problems the come from starting a new town in the desert - lack of water, lack of timber, and lack of food sources, combined with severe weather. The missionaries they sent abroad were severely persecuted and several were beaten or killed.

The Mormons have always suffered from a negative public image. For some reason they are often misrepresented in the media.

Historical publications often portrayed the Mormons as a people who kidnapped women and forced them to be slaves. There were rumors that they had horns, worshipped Satan, and killed anyone who tried to enter or exit Salt Lake City without permission. All of this was untrue, but much of the general public believed it.

Today the Church still faces misrepresentation in the media. Popular television shows, movies, books, news articles, and even broadway plays often portray them inaccurately. Polls have shown that most Americans know little or nothing of Mormonism, abroad, people know even less. They are often associated with polygamy, cultish behaviors, living in secretive insular groups, or being out to get your money - again, all inaccurate representations.

Check out the "Related Links" below to see some examples of inaccurate representations of Mormons in the media, and to learn what Mormons are really like.