On June 27, 1844, Joseph Smith, the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ ofLatter-day Saints, was assassinated. In the wake of his death, a number of would-besuccessors emerged. Each of these leaders - part of what I call the second propheticgeneration - established a unique vision of Mormonism.
In 1844, Mormonism was in the middle of a major shift in its character. JosephSmith’s death left numerous theological and practical questions unresolved. This thesis argues that, rather than merely a succession struggle of competition and power, a principal function of the second prophetic generation in Mormonism was to respond to Joseph Smith’s innovations and to forge alternate coherent (re-)interpretations of the Mormon faith that could continue into the future without access to the original prophet.
Two major issues that required reframing in a post-Smith world were issues ofdomesticity and marriage and hierarchical structure. One or both of these issues areconsidered in the thought of four second-generation prophets: Alpheus Cutler, William Smith, Charles Thompson, and Lyman Wight. Their response to these questions,ultimately, resulted in distinct traditions within the Mormon movement.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UTAHS/oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:etd-1912 |
| Date | 01 May 2011 |
| Creators | Blythe, Christopher James |
| Publisher | DigitalCommons@USU |
| Source Sets | Utah State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | All Graduate Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | Copyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact Andrew Wesolek (andrew.wesolek@usu.edu). |
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