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Early Mormon Millenarianism: Another Look

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Early Mormon Millenarianism: Another Look Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 1985 Early Mormon Millenarianism: Another Look Grant Underwood Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Mormon Studies Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Underwood, Grant, "Early Mormon Millenarianism: Another Look" (1985). Theses and Dissertations. 5182. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/5182 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. EARLYEARELY MORMONMOPJYION millenniallillennialisl1I1 ISM ANOTHER LOOK A thesis presented to the department of history brigham young university in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree master of arts by grant underwood december 98119811 this nesisthesisf I by grant underwood is accepted in its present form by the dpeartment of history of brigham young university as satisfying the thesis requirement for the degree of0 E master of arts thomas G arefalexanderAreCandr committee chairman y Z IV V 7 10 14 4 &mrasaemr l&ylayL&yayy forjborteraborterrrororterteryk commijeteecomm VforterborterJBrortertee member 4z2lzai7 datedate7dated iajamesme s B alienallenalren dboartmentdepartment chairman typed by leigh price ajl1jl tablerTABLETABLEJ OF CONTENTS preface 0 0 IR 0 0 41 0 1 introduction 4 chapter I1 THE SUBSTANCE OF MORMON premillennialism 1313.13 chapter II11 EARLY MORMONISM AND THE millenarian MOVEMENT 4646.46 chapter liiIII111 MORMONISM AND PREVIOUS millennial STUDY 6363.63 conclusion 8787.87 bibliography 90go90.90 iii PREFACE A half a century ago herbert butterfield composed a cclassic1 a s s ic essay entitled 11 theM whig interpretation of history therein he described the distortions that can occur when historians impose a rigid point of view on their study of the past such an approach he warned constrains the historian to be vigilant for likenesses between past 1 and present instead of being vigilant for likenessesunlikenessesun furthermore he argued it is the elucidation of these 11 likenessesunlikenessesun that ought to0 o be the chief aim of the historian given the nature of mormon theological4cache01094 caical claims it is understandable why many doctrinal dissertati-dissertationsons tend to be vigilant for likenesses yet as butterfield has pointed out this is not good history nor is it good theology for if one believes that revelation comes line upon line he must realize the unlikelihood of interintersectings ec 1 ing church history at any two points in time and findingfindling a particular wa doatidoctidoctrinerlneine being taught in precispreciopreciselyjelyselymelyL the same wayY nonethenonette I1 less histhisI1 is stockinstock in trade for lormonhormonmormonL writers they frequently extract doctrinal pearls from their shells and strinastrinostring them together in a dazzling necklacebecjnecjklace with little L parenapparentapparenap L regard for context or for the role of doctrinal evoevolution1 u I1 ionlon they feel justified in citing early leaders elaborations1 aboratabbrationslonsto explain the modern position and perhaps 2 moremorezmorenmorun seriously they assume that present day ideas are representative of those at any point in the past few topics seem to engage the interest of the latterlatterdayday saints more vigorously than that of the second coming of christ over the years numerous books treating this topic have issued from the mormon press for this reason mormon millennialism provides a ready test case for applying butterfields approach what follows is the result of that effort to be vigilant for likenessesunlikenessesun the elucidation of which constitutes the stuff of history 3 NOTES 1irlerbertherbert butterfield the whig interpretation of histhistory new york W W norton & co 1965 reprint appp 111211 12 introduction only recently have mormon historians begun to study in detail the historical development of ideas within the church but such a study if complete could provide valuable insight into why some concepts have changed from generation to generation while others have remained constant as pillars of the faith these opening lines to james B aliensaliensrecent article on the expanding role of joseph smiths first vision in mormon religious thought signal the opening of yet another vital chapchaptertear in mormon studiesstud ieslesdoctrinaldoctdoatrinalinaihistory the field is ripe and as allenailennoted valuable insights await the ultimate completion of this academic harveharveststCsacswe the present thesisthe s4sala10l0 falls within this new arareaaceaa of historical inquiry by focusing on mormon illennialmillennialrn illenlilennial doctrines in the earliest and most recent decades the first chapter was originally presented at BYUs sesquicentennial symposium A mosaic of monormonmormonrmoamo n cultureCu 1 ture and published in part in 1 dialdialogue 0 it specifically examines beliefsbe I i fs about the millennium comparing and contrasting perceptions of the 1000 years during both time periods in the process several important strands of early mormon thought are radenademade clear for the first time throughout the first decade the saints had a dual I1 isticcistic perception of soclesociesocietyety and of salvation lennenmenL ien were eitherelthereit11gr saints or they derewere classed anonaamonaamonoanongamong theche wicked ttheyhev 441 5 were eithereltherisraelisraelites or they were gentiles if they werent saints they werlweref to be destroyed at christs coming for the millennium was for israel only without examining the sources such thinking seems narrow and foreign in a word flunun mormon before doing this research the writer along with perhaps otheothersv s had always assumed that joseph was responding rather tongueincheektongue in cheek to the question will everybody be damned but the Morcormonsmormonsmons when he replied yes and a great portion of them unless they 9 repent and work righteousness hah2 the evidence presented in the first chapter argues that on the contrary he was quite serious perhaps because the revelation on the three degrees of glory was given in 1832 mormons have assumed that it was understood during the first decadedecadle after its announcement just as we understand it today it was not the earliest saints still trailed with them the protestant polarization which saw man as either bound for salvation or damnation heaven or hell this is anvidevidentent not only in pamphlet and periodicalp-l riodical literature private memoirs and journals but even in the earlier revelations now contained in the doctrine and covenants all of which will be demonstrated in chapter 1 since the theological naivete of this sectarian notion has been lampooned over the years as much as the concept of a god without body parts or passions to now discover that mormons retained such an idea well into the 1840s is as significant a find as the fact that leading 6 mormons scribeddescribedd god the father as a spirit personage until about the same time with this dualistic conceptualization laid bare we are frfreee to notice subtle nuances of early mormon thought that have heretoheretoforeL ore been missed such corollary concepts as the following will be explored in the subsequent chapters of this thesis 1 there would be no nonnonmormonsmormons on earth during the millennium converted gentiles along with the indians jews and other blood israelites who would be converted in mass would 4 constitute the millennmillannmillenniallallaipopulationL thus there would be no need to do missionary work during the thousand years such a picture of homogeneity is not the one painted today modern mormons pride themselves on their pluralized Pportraitortraitportrait which envisions goodj men of all faiths peacefully co existingc xi sting during the illenniummillenniummillenniumm they also envision missionary work to be one of the grand millennial occup- ations 2 ID there would onlaonlvonly be two resurrections the saints would be resurrected at the second coming all the rest of itmankindtianwian kind would rise after theche millennium there was neither discussion of divisionalsubdivisionalsub resurrections based upon the degrees of glory or no glory nor the idea that terrestialterrestriallerrealerre stia 1 bound souls would also come forth in the first resurrectionresur roctioncoctionhecroc tion both of which are taught today 7 3 when firetfirst decade mormonsvlorriionslonsspoke of futuref rewards they almost always focussed on the millennial period As the ultimate reward for their obedience they taledtalked of living in the new eden with the same relish modern mormons contemplate living in the celestial kingdom 4 since there would only be saints on the earth during the millennium there had to be some interpretation as to who would rule and who would be ruled resurrected saints would reign with christ those saints living when he comes would be the happy subjects the perception today is that both immortal and mortal saints as well as qualified gentiles will be involved in the millennial government 5 during the millennium the indian would once again get his land back from the avaricious gentile america would be his peacefulacefullaceful and perpetual dwelling place after he convertedconvertedto to mormonism well over a
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