The Influence Of Joseph Smith's Second Great Awakening

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Joseph Smith played a pivotal role in the Mormon faith as its founder. His upbringing greatly influenced his achievements during the 1830s and 1840s. The Second Great Awakening, a religious revival movement during the early 19th century in the United States, also influenced Smith, in turn, compelling him to believe he was needed for significant religious duties. Joseph Smith’s Church of Christ had many beliefs outside the norm and practiced many ideas that were not considered acceptable by conventional society. This is why Mormons were highly disliked by non-Mormons and was the very reason this situation affected the development of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Despite these unorthodox beliefs and practices, Joseph Smith was very successful in converting …show more content…
As a 14-year-old, he had a spiritual epiphany in which Smith claimed to have seen two figures in an otherworldly light telling him to prepare for an important assignment and warning him not to join any religious cults. At the time the Second Great Awakening was occurring and the nation was swept with religious fervor. This further led Smith to believe that what he saw was the absolute truth. This is how the Second Great Awakening influenced Smith. His upbringing over the next eleven years included several visions that consisted of heavenly beings telling him that he was chosen to restore the withdrawn Church of Christ. Smith believed he was needed for important religious duties because of these visions. He truly believed himself to be the “chosen one” as a prophet of god. He had even claimed that the angel Moroni had visited him on various occasions and helped him find engraved hieroglyphics on gold plates that he later translated onto English, initiating the birth of the Mormon religion. He published this translation in his book titled, the Book of Mormon in 1830. April 6th of the same year, he officially formed the Church of

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