Authors: Val D. Rust
ISBN-13: 9780252029103, ISBN-10: 0252029100
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Date Published: May 2004
Edition: (Non-applicable)
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 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 lore 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 of Mormon history.
Preface | ix | |
Acknowledgments | xiii | |
1. | Early Mormons: A Peculiar People | 1 |
2. | Ancestors of Early LDS Converts | 20 |
3. | The Pilgrims of Polymouth Colony | 36 |
4. | Puritan Ancestors in Massachusetts and Maine | 50 |
5. | Puritan Ancestors in Connecticut | 60 |
6. | Schismatic New England | 72 |
7. | The Antinomian Crisis | 85 |
8. | Anabaptists, Quakers, and Gortonists | 95 |
9. | LDS Ancestors Engaged in Alchemy and Astrology | 115 |
10. | Witchcraft among LDS Ancestors | 127 |
11. | Generational Connections | 140 |
12. | Ancestors of the American Religions | 153 |
Appendix | 167 | |
Notes | 209 | |
Index | 243 |