LDS in the USA: Mormonism and the Making of American Culture

Introduction: For Another Thousand Years

1 1 introduction For Another Thousand Years The role of Mormonism in America has been simultaneously both exaggerated and undervalued. On the one hand, Mormons are seen with suspicion as part of a secret organization that seeks domination over the United States; on the other hand, they are marginalized and often excluded from national conversations about religion, culture, and politics in America. The fact is that neither account is accurate: Mormons have played a substantial role in the shaping of the social, cultural, political, and religious makeup of the United States, a role that is neither conspiratorial nor marginal and that has not been properly acknowledged in the academy or by the general public. This book is intended to remedy this deficiency. In it, we will explore the contributions Mormonism has made to American civilization and to the values that civilization claims to espouse. When we speak of American civilization, we are attesting to those qualities that make the United States unique as a social, cultural , religious, and political entity. For example, the sociologist 2 — LDS in the USA Claude Fischer argues that community (family, church, job, and nation),abundance(materialwealth,improvedhealth,socialopportunities , political freedoms, and self-mastery), and volunteerism (civic engagement) are at the core of the American character. The historian Arthur Schlesinger Sr. contends that the right to revolution , federalism, the consent of the governed, equality of women, the melting pot, freedom of worship, public education, voluntary giving, technology, and evolutionary progress are the characteristics of American civilization; while Harvard President Charles Eliot points to peacekeeping, religious tolerance, universal suffrage , the practice of political freedom, the welcoming of newcomers , and the diffusion of material abundance as the cornerstones of the American experience.1 The role of Mormonism in American civilization has been shaped by, as well as exposed the limits of, some of the values that Americans continue to espouse: religious tolerance, social pluralism , federalism, separation of church and state, the definition and importance of marriage, and Christianity. Mormons have been instrumental in representing and challenging these values in the realms of popular culture, the family, politics, and religion in the United States. As we will see, Mormons have not been completely accepted in mainstream American society. To a certain extent, the pattern of suspicion, accommodation, and eventual acceptance they have experienced is familiar to immigrant groups arriving in the United States, but what makes the Mormon experience unique is that they began within the United States and became outsiders within their own country. That is, the Mormons were forced to flee the United States—to become emigrants—before they became accommodated and accepted. Before proceeding further, we should begin by defining Mormons and Mormonism. A Mormon is a practitioner of Mormonism , the largest branch of which is The Church of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The term itself is derived from the Book of Mormon, a sacred text to the Mormons that they consider to be introduction — 3 a supplemental testament to the Bible. Compiled by the prophet Mormon and his son, Moroni, the last of his Nephite people, and published in 1830 by Joseph Smith, it recounts the tale of a fallen and lost indigenous American nation.2 Although initially a derogatory nickname for members of LDS Church, “Mormon” became embraced by its followers. The term itself now not only refers to the religious aspect of these believers but also includes the social and cultural components that are associated with Mormonism. The Mormons were forced to flee upstate New York to the Midwest and eventually to the West, where they established a theocratic state under the leadership of Brigham Young. As the U.S. federal government expanded its control westward, the Mormons became organized into the territory of and later state of Utah, where polygamy, separation of church and state, and federalism became contentious issues between the two parties. The tension between the Mormons and the federal government was such that an actual war, the Mormon War, broke out between the two groups. When the Mormons decided to renounce the practice of polygamy , Utah was adopted as a state. However, they still were not fully accepted into the mainstream culture of the United States. Even today Mormons are often negatively portrayed in popular culture and are exposed to religious prejudice in the realms of politics and religion. This accommodation—but not acceptance—of Mormons raises questions about the faithfulness of the values to which...