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Millenarianism and Nineteenth-Century New Religions: the Mormon Example

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Millenarianism and Nineteenth-Century New Religions: the Mormon Example MILLENARIANISM AND NINETEENTH-CENTURY NEW RELIGIONS: THE MORMON EXAMPLE Grant Underwood In popular discourse, millennialism is often reduced to the simple belief that the Millennium (in the sense of a final, glorious conclu- sion to world history) is near. Such a notion, however, only grazes the surface. Actually, millennialisms (and there are many types) offer a rather complete worldview, including a comprehensive way of look- ing at human history and ultimate salvation. Not only are there non- Christian versions, but also Christian millennialism itself is far from a unified phenomenon with a single history. The focus in this study is on the particular manifestation of Christian millennialism found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Only a brief over- view can be provided, though a few suggestive comparisons with the Bahà"ì Faith will be offered along the way. First, a few general comments about millennial taxonomies are in order. Millennialism is most often associated with Christianity both because the Revelation of St. John uses the phrase “thousand years” which is the literal meaning of the Latin-based loan word “millen- nium” to describe its version of the future golden age and because attempting to explicate that brief passage has been more or less a constant feature of Christianity over the past two thousand years. Often overlooked by those who do not specialize in the study of mil- lennialisms is the fact that while ostensibly focusing on the future, millennialisms, in reality, offer profound commentaries on the pre- sent. Those millennialisms, like the original Christian millennialism, which are kindred spirits with Second Temple Jewish apocalypticism and messianism, exhibit a profound discontent with the status quo and see the dominant society and its power brokers as evil and antag- onistic. The current state of affairs is seen to represent such a significant deterioration from the ideal that only a dramatic and supernatural intervention can make things right. That “right” is epit- omized in the group’s millennial musings. How they describe their imminent millennium tells much about what they value in the world around them. 118 grant underwood Apocalyptic millenarians almost always envision an overturning (usually violent though generally effected by supernatural powers) of what they view as the corrupt, present order. This eschatological dream of “the great reversal” has offered comfort to many perse- cuted religious groups over the centuries as it invokes the old bibli- cal image that the first will be last and the last first. Such views can be found in various millennialist, messianist, and mahdist theologies (Hanson 1979; Collins 1984). They also capture the spirit of the early Bàbì-Bahà"ì faith as well, since Bahà"u"llàh envisioned a world turned upside down “in which many statuses were reversed” (Cole 1998: 168). Such a faith engenders hope and satisfies theodicy. It is consoling to know that no matter how bleak the contemporary scene may appear, God and goodness will ultimately prevail, and, gener- ally, in the near future. Many millennialists see themselves as living in the last days. Here Mormons resemble more the apocalyptic expec- tation of the Bàbì phase than the later “realized eschatology” devel- oped by Bahà"u"llàh and his interpreters. As William P. Collins expressed it, “the Mormon Church is working in anticipation of the second coming, resurrection, and millennium, whereas Bahà"ìs labor in the conviction that these events have occurred or are now tak- ing place in a world which in the throes of disintegration destined to force mankind to turn to the institutions of the Kingdom of God established by Bahà"u"llàh” (Collins 1980: 39). The very name The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints illustrates the centrality of Mormon millenarian assumptions. In the founding prophet Joseph Smith’s (1804–1844) earliest description of his first encounter with Deity, he recorded the words of the Lord thus: “behold the world lieth in sin at this time and none doeth good no not one they have turned aside from the gospel and keep not my commandments they draw near to me with their lips while their hearts are far from me and mine anger is kindling against the inhab- itants of the earth to visit them according to th[e]ir ungodliness and to bring to pass that which hath been spoken by the mouth of the prophets and Apostles behold and lo I come quickly as it [is] written of me in the cloud clothed in the glory of my Father” ( Jessee 1984: 6). In certain ways, such an indictment parallels the Shaykhì and Bàbì critique of the Islamic social world in mid-nineteenth century Iran. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was formally orga- nized on 6 April 1830. That act culminated ten years of visions and revelations to Joseph Smith, chief among which was the Book of.
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