The Real COJCOLDS

Articles of Faith

So I was absent for a long time. Been dealing with some difficulties in my reality. Anyone who actually reads this has my apologies.

I wanted to write about why members of the Church of Jesus Christ went on a trek from Illinois into what would one day become Salt Lake City, Utah. However I feel like I should discuss a document that my faith's first Prophet, Joseph Smith, published in a local news paper. Keep in mind that this document I am writing about was published in the 19^th century; the ideals and words used in there are not expressed in a 21^st

Just quickly for those who might not have an idea what a news paper is, before the digital age—which began circa 1980 something—before there were forums, news websites, etc., people used to have to wait for a publisher to print information. This format was usually large sheets of paper that folded down the center and again into quarters. It often had multiple unbound pages which contained the latest news, announcements, obituaries, gossip and things written by citizens of the surrounding towns and communities. That was called a newspaper.

One day, in the 1830s, Joseph Smith published something he called the Articles of Faith. For a few years after The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was founded, people outside the faith were both curious and afraid. Reporters often asked the Prophet Joseph Smith direct questions about what his new religion believed.

In response, Joseph wrote the Articles of Faith. There are thirteen articles that outline what his new religion should, ideally practice and believe. Mostly they talk about how they claim the right to worship and afford others the same privilege. Then they discuss how the church intended to obey all laws of the country in which they resided.

It's when the articles begin discussing what our faith believes about Zion and organization that most Christians and Americans at the time had problems. We to this very day believe that New Jerusalem will be built on the American Continent. We believe that the revelations never ceased from God. It's just that people distorted things and didn't listen. The list goes on. If you want to read it verbatim please find a copy of The Pearl of Great Price and turn to the Articles and read for yourself.

So Joseph Smith got all thirteen Articles of Faith published in a local newspaper. There for anyone who could read and had an inclination to learn about this new religion's beliefs could do so.

Unfortunately, even before the digital age and internet, people are people. There was a large group of locals who didn't like what Joseph said his church believed or anything else pertaining to it. So since troll armies didn't exist yet, a mob—not the Al Capone kind, the organized group of angry men kind—drove the people who believed in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints out of Kirkland, Ohio.

The next entry I will have to do some research for. I will be covering the time from when the church left Ohio moved to Independence, Missouri and later Nauvoo, Illinois. Also I will discuss the tension and drama that led to the mass exodus of these people to that area of land they settled in. It's bound to demystify some misconceptions portrayed in both media and literature. Look out Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I'm coming for Sherlock's books next!