Cody+T.+-+RF+-+FA10

Cody Turnow Joseph Smith Jr. Wiki I was born on December 23, 1805, to a working class couple in Vermont. I didn’t attend church often while growing up, but I read the Bible and I practiced religious folk magic. Around 1820 I began having visions and dreams; one of them told me that my sins were forgiven and that all Christian churches are false. In 1823, I was visited by the angel Moroni, who showed me a set of golden tablets. Written on these tablets were the texts of an ancient Native American civilization, who descended from the Jewish tribe of Benjamin. I translated these tablets in a period of 65 days, nearly 5,000 words per day. These texts became the Book of Mormon. After the Book of Mormon was published, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was formed. I proclaimed myself a prophet ordained by God and quickly gained followers as well as enemies. My followers and I moved to Kirtland Ohio, before moving to Jackson Country Missouri. There I founded the town Far West, the new Zion. Our people fought against much persecution, and we formed a militia that we used to protect ourselves and drive out anti-Mormons. We eventually were forced to move to Nauvoo, Illinois where I became governor. I supported a form of communal living, as well as a theorcratic form of government and the abolition of slavery. I ran for U.S. president in the Election of 1844, where I proposed the idea of the reinstatement of a national bank. My race for president ended after I was killed by a mob in 1844. My first reference is Brigham Young. He was also a part of the early Mormon movement, and I sent him to Canada for missions work. He was also part of the original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. My second reference is Sidney Rigdor. After being converted to Mormonism, Rigdor converted many in his Baptist congregation, and began an effective ministry. He became the “spokesperson” of the Mormon faith and also helped me with the re-translation of the Bible. "The Mormons." //American Eras//. Vol. 6: Westward Expansion, 1800-1860. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 281-288. //Gale Virtual Reference Library//. Web. 6 Oct. 2010. "Smith, Joseph (1805-1844)." //American Eras//. Vol. 6: Westward Expansion, 1800-1860. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 311-312. //Gale Virtual Reference Library//. Web. 6 Oct. 2010. "Young, Brigham (1801-1877)." //American Eras//. Vol. 7: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1850-1877. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 349-350. //Gale Virtual Reference Library//. Web. 6 Oct. 2010.