Do you know who was the first US presidential candidate to be assassinated whilst running for office? Surprisingly, it was Joseph Smith, prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a religious movement which believes after fleeing the impending Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem, a group of ancient Jews sailed to America.
The story of these people and their descendants are recorded in a text which was allegedly written in an ancient hieroglyphic language onto golden plates, and buried in modern-day Upstate New York by the final of their prophets, Moroni. The text had been compiled and abridged by Moroni’s father, Mormon, from whom Latter Day Saints inherited their more familiar nickname.
In 1823, Moroni (now an angel) visited a seventeen-year-old Joseph Smith to inform him about the existence of these golden plates, which Smith later dug up, translated (by putting a special stone into a hat and covering his face with it), and published in English as The Book of Mormon, before returning the plates to Moroni.
“Mormons” attract intrigue and ridicule for their history and idiosyncrasies: a prophet who ran for the US Presidency; a prohibition on drinking coffee (but not caffeine); a history of polygamy and racism; talk of getting our own planets after we die; a belief that the Garden of Eden was in Jackson County, Missouri.
I have recently developed a fascination with this religious tradition, and invited Jacob Hansen, from the Mormon YouTube channel “Thoughtful Faith”, onto my podcast to answer some of my questions about it. As a paid subscriber, you can watch it here on Substack now.
Despite speaking for over two hours, we barely scratched the surface of the faith, and so let me know if you enjoy the episode and want to see more.
- Alex
