Responding to the Restoration

2018 ◽  
pp. 102-122
Author(s):  
Scott C. Esplin
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Church Leadership ◽  
Historical Narrative ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Loss Of Control ◽  
Historical Accuracy ◽  
Community Of Christ ◽  
Building Program ◽  
The City ◽  
The Church

The restoration of Nauvoo, Illinois, by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) generated competing visions for the city. While the Latter-day Saints used the site to attract religious interest, their sibling faith, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Community of Christ), responded with a competing building program of their own. This chapter traces the way the Reorganized Church moved from a defensive posture to rebrand its message in Nauvoo around historical accuracy and the internal debate within Church leadership that this shift created. It also examines the cooperation between the faiths that emerged as they took divergent paths. Finally, it explores the response by the local Nauvoo community to the loss of control over their town’s historical narrative.

The Mormon City in Decline

2018 ◽  
pp. 12-30
Author(s):  
Scott C. Esplin
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Joseph Smith ◽  
The City ◽  
The Church

This chapter examines the preparation for and eventual abandonment of Nauvoo, Illinois, by the Mormons following the 1844 death of Joseph Smith, the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism). It marks the failed attempts to sell properties by the faith’s new leader, Brigham Young, and the eventual resettlement of the city by a French communal society known as the Icarians. The chapter also traces the Icarian’s demise and the German farmers and vintners who next occupied Nauvoo, transforming it into a rural river village by occupying, repurposing, or removing remaining Mormon structures while remaking the city’s religious character.

Introduction: Vernacular Religion and Mormon Apocalypticism

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Christopher James Blythe
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Church Leadership ◽  
The United States ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Vernacular Religion ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

This introduction explains the book’s basic arguments and methodology. The book examines the place of apocalypticism in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a means of responding to what they perceived as persecution from the United States. It is particularly interested in how last days prophecies and visions have been told by those outside of church leadership. It defines the idea of apocalypticism and argues that Mormon Studies scholars have not sufficiently integrated their work with the field of lived or vernacular religion. This book seeks to remedy this neglect. A summary of each of the six chapters is provided.

Nauvoo as a Reorganized Church Foothold

2018 ◽  
pp. 31-49
Author(s):  
Scott C. Esplin
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Historic Sites ◽  
Joseph Smith ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
Religious Tourism ◽  
Community Of Christ ◽  
The City

Though Nauvoo was abandoned by most Latter-day Saints in the nineteenth century, Emma Smith, the widow of Church founder Joseph Smith, and her children remained in the city, maintaining a Mormon presence in western Illinois. This chapter examines the rise of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Community of Christ), founded by Smith’s children, and their use of family and historic sites in Nauvoo in the early twentieth century. It discusses the transformation of these sites from family residences to religious tourism centers used to proselytize people to the faith. It also introduces the competing views of Mormonism that developed between the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Reorganized Church.

Epilogue

2018 ◽  
pp. 142-150
Author(s):  
Scott C. Esplin
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
The Future ◽  
Community Of Christ ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
The Church

This chapter explores the future for faith and community relations in Nauvoo as a result of the city’s twentieth-century restoration boom. It examines the directions taken by the various constituents, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism), the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Community of Christ), and local residents unaffiliated with either faith. Additionally, it explores how Nauvoo acts as a case study for the bargains made by a community when it selects, or has selected for it, a tourism-based economy. Finally, it opines regarding ways the parties involved can work together for the good of Nauvoo.

The Reconstructed Nauvoo Temple

2018 ◽  
pp. 123-141
Author(s):  
Scott C. Esplin
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
History Of ◽  
The City ◽  
The Temple ◽  
The Church

At the end of the twentieth century, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) embarked on the most ambitious project in the history of Nauvoo’s restoration, the reconstruction of the famed Nauvoo temple. While the branches of Mormonism had settled their differences and established their separate paths in the years leading up to the temple reconstruction, the project opened new wounds within the greater Nauvoo community. This chapter examines the construction of the Nauvoo temple and the resulting reaction by the residents of Nauvoo. It explores the changes the project brought to the city and the contest that developed for the legacy of Nauvoo.

“Come After Us”

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Scott C. Esplin
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
National Narrative ◽  
Westward Expansion ◽  
Restoration Project ◽  
Colonial Williamsburg ◽  
The City ◽  
The Church

This chapter introduces the religious tensions created in Nauvoo, Illinois, by the return of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) to the region in the twentieth century and their historical restoration of the city that was once their headquarters. It places the restoration project, patterned after the historical recreation of Colonial Williamsburg, within the larger trend of memorials that swept across America in the twentieth century. Overviewing other studies, it positions historic Nauvoo as a case study in historical tourism and pilgrimage. Finally, it examines how Mormonism used restored Nauvoo as a staging ground for celebrating American westward expansion to position the faith within a larger national narrative.

Utilizing Brief Spiritual Assessments with Clients who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 30-44
Author(s):  
Gordon Limb ◽  
David Hodge ◽  
Richard Alboroto
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
The United States ◽  
Assessment Instrument ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Church Culture ◽  
Spiritual Assessment ◽  
Mental Health Settings ◽  
Consistency Strengths ◽  
Growing Churches ◽  
The Church

 In recent years social work has increasingly focused on spirituality and religion as key elements of cultural competency.  The Joint Commission—the nation's largest health care accrediting organization—as well as many other accrediting bodies require spiritual assessments in hospitals and many other mental health settings. Consequently, specific intervention strategies have been fostered in order to provide the most appropriate interventions for religious clients. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the fourth largest and one of the faster growing churches in the United States.  In an effort to facilitate cultural competence with clients who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ, a brief spiritual assessment instrument was developed.  This mixed-method study asked experts in Church culture (N = 100) to identify the degree of cultural consistency, strengths, and limitations of the brief spiritual assessment instrument. Results indicate that the framework is consistent with Church culture and a number of practice-oriented implications are offered.

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