Radical origins : early Mormon converts and their colonial ancestors / Val D. Rust.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rust, Val Dean

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--Genealogy.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Latter Day Saint converts--Biography.

Latter Day Saint converts.

Latter Day Saints--Genealogy.

Latter Day Saints.

Latter Day Saint churches--Genealogy.

Latter Day Saint churches.

United States--Biography.

United States.

United States--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775.

History.

Genre:

Biographies.

Genealogy.

Family histories.

Physical Description:

xi, 253 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Urbana : University of Illinois Press, [2004]

Summary:

Val D. Rust's Radical Origins investigates whether the unconventional religious beliefs of their colonial ancestors predisposed early Mormon converts to embrace the "radical" message of Joseph Smith Jr. and his new church.

Utilizing a unique set of meticulously compiled genealogical data, Rust uncovers the ancestors of early church members throughout what we understand as the radical segment of the Protestant Reformation. Coming from backgrounds in the Antinomians, Seekers, Anabaptists, Quakers, and the Family of Love, many colonial ancestors of the Mormon church's early members had been ostracized from their communities. Expelled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, some were whipped, mutilated, or even hanged for their beliefs.

Rust shows how family traditions can be passed down through the generations, and can ultimately shape the outlook of future generations. This, he argues, extends the historical role of Mormons by giving their early story significant implications for understanding the larger context of American colonial history. Featuring a provocative thesis and stunning original research, Radical Origins is a remarkable contribution to our understanding of religion in the development of American culture and the field of Mormon history.

Contents:

Early Mormons: a peculiar people

Ancestors of early LDS converts

The pilgrims of Plymouth Colony

Puritan ancestors in Massachusetts and Maine

Puritan ancestors in Connecticut

Schismatic New England

The Antinomian crisis

Anabaptists, Quakers, and Gortonists

LDS ancestors engaged in alchemy and astrology

Witchcraft among LDS ancestors

Generational connections

Ancestors of the American religions.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [209]-241) and index.

ISBN:

0252029100

OCLC:

53020335