Talk:Mormonism

NPOV section tag

I've placed an {npov section} tag in the "Historical overview" section. This section spends way too much time and focus on Joseph Smith's claims. The NPOV issue can be summed up with this incredibly false sentence:

Historical accuracy and veracity of the Book of Mormon was, at the time of its publication and continuing to the present day, hotly contested.

The historical accuracy and veracity of the Book of Mormon is not "hotly contested." It's "debunked." As in, no mainstream science or academics believes the Book of Mormon is true, or that it's really a translation of golden Egyptian plates that Smith found buried near his house in New York. The mainstream view is that this is fiction, that Smith wrote the book himself, and this article should say that clearly, and it should say it first. Before I go about rewriting it, does anybody disagree with this? Levivich (talk) 17:47, 12 March 2024 (UTC)

No objections here. You may already have a starting point. If not, there's some useful work at Historicity of the Book of Mormon and Archaeology and the Book of Mormon. There's a cautionary tale at Origin of the Book of Mormon. Firefangledfeathers (talk / contribs) 18:00, 12 March 2024 (UTC)

Discussion at Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard § Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS)

 You are invited to join the discussion at Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard § Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS). Levivich (talk) 17:44, 13 March 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 15 April 2024

This is the original text. Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement.

The statement should be revised Joseph Smith founded of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints not Mormonism. It should say something like

Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which some refer to as Mormonism, or the Latter Day Saint movement. Jason Wasden (talk) 22:38, 15 April 2024 (UTC)

Mormonism is the common name of the religion, and there's a lot more to the religion than the LDS Church. Also, it looks like the sentence you're asking to change is from a different article. ~Awilley (talk) 01:31, 16 April 2024 (UTC)

he didn't find Latter day saints. Joseph smith was a Mormon himself and had many wife's! Latter day saints is a branch away from Mormonism after they didn't agree with polygamists. The literature is correct. Your knowledge needs to be checked! MrGreen4671 (talk) 04:59, 12 May 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 12 May 2024

The Mormonism Wikipedia doesn't mention how the Mormons came to settle in Utah. Even if the Mormons are ashamed by it, it is still history and very important history that is being left out. And I might add this is deliberately done! Wikipedia is meant for information not for what you want people to believe! So I would prefer if it is as accurate as possible. As of now it is not! MrGreen4671 (talk) 04:56, 12 May 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Hyphenation Expert (talk) 06:16, 12 May 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 13 May 2024

This needs to be added into the very beginning of this article

After Persecution caused Smith and his followers to leave New York and move to Kirkland, Ohio, on Lake Erie. Kirkland served as their headquarters from 1831 to 1837. In 1836 they finished the construction of a large temple.

They now have 168 temples (not to be confused with church buildings or meetinghouses). It has been reported that 98% of the ceremonies performed in Mormon temples are for the dead, and only 2% for the living. The temple in Kirkland is now owned by the Reorganized branch.

Independence, Missouri Independence, Missouri, is approximately 1,000 miles away from Kirkland. After arriving in Independence, Missouri, Smith dedicated a plot of ground upon which the Mormons believed a great temple would one day be built (Doctrine and Covenants 84:3-5). The Mormons were soon driven out of the county by gunpoint. The Reorganized branch of the LDS church dedicated its temple in Independence in 1994.

Nauvoo, Illinois Mormons moved here, 45 miles north of Quincy, Illinois, to build a "Mormon City" that became the state's largest city. Nauvoo had a population of around 20,000 people, about one-quarter of which were Mormons. Joseph Smith reached the zenith of his influence here—he was mayor of the town! Church membership rose to 100,000 members nationwide. As the mayor, Smith raised his own militia. His political power was equaled to that of the state government.

In Nauvoo, the Mormon doctrine of "Plural Marriage" (polygamy) caused a great deal of trouble. In June 1844, a newspaper, the Nauvoo Expositor, published affidavits of 16 respectable women stating that Joseph Smith and other Mormon leaders tried to seduce them into polygamy. Smith's answer was to send a mob, the Legion of Nauvoo, to destroy the printing press and compel the publishers to flee for their lives. Illinois Governor Ford learned of the act and ordered Smith to surrender himself to the constable at Carthage for trial. Joseph Smith fled but later returned and was arrested and placed in jail at Carthage, Illinois.

The governor ordered Smith's militia to surrender their weapons. A riot developed outside the jail, and a mob broke into the jail, killing Joseph Smith's brother, Hyrum. On that afternoon of June 27, 1844 Joseph Smith was shot and killed as he tried to escape from the jail window. He was murdered—not by a group of "anti-Mormons," but by men whose wives and daughters he had tried to ruin! When the jail was stormed, Joseph Smith used a handgun to kill two men and wound another. He might have killed more if his gun had not jammed!

Mormons claim that Smith was a "martyr." The dictionary defines "martyr" as "one who suffers death as a penalty of witnessing to and refusing to renounce his religion." Smith was in jail for breaking the law, and even in jail, he tried to defend himself with a pepperbox pistol, and wounded three men.

Mormons often compare Joseph Smith with Jesus Christ. I've had Mormon elders tell me, "Christ sealed His testimony with His blood at Calvary Joseph Smith sealed his testimony with his blood at Carthage, Illinois." Smith's birthplace in Vermont has been called the "Bethlehem of Mormonism." During the riot, the million dollar temple was destroyed by fire.

Salt Lake City, Utah Two years after the death of Smith, Mormon forces rallied and began a pioneer trek into the far West. "As the senior of the Twelve Apostles, Brigham Young succeeded Joseph Smith as the leader of the Church. In February of 1846, he led the Latter-day Saints across the frozen Mississippi River into unsettled Iowa territory. They struggled across Iowa, eventually establishing a settlement called Winter Quarters near modern-day Omaha, Nebraska... Brigham Young prepared his people-perhaps 17,000 of them by that time-for a historic trek across the vast wilderness to the Rocky Mountains, 1,300 miles to the west. The first pioneer party departed from Winter Quarters early the next spring and arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake on 24 July 1847. During the next few years, thousands of other Latter-day Saints struggled MrGreen4671 (talk) 17:11, 13 May 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: The lead of the article is intended to be a short summary of the rest of the article. This information isn't in the rest of the article (and also isn't short), so it shouldn't be included in the lead. Additionally, please note that all content on Wikipedia needs to be supported by citations to reliable sources. If reliable sources are found for this information, I'm sure that at least some of it could be incorporated into the article body. Tollens (talk) 20:02, 13 May 2024 (UTC)