The Great Awakening

The Second Great Awakening has had a major impact on the history of the United States. At the start of the 19th century religion and church attendance among Americans was rapidly declining, but with the population growth religious fervor quickly grew. In the Second Great Awakening, emphasis was put on personal spirituality more than schooling and theology. Revolutionary ideas were spread, such as ordinary people having as much authority as the elites.
During the Great Awakening new religious denominations sprung up and quickly gained members. The top two fastest growing religions were the evangelical Methodism and Baptists. A way that preachers got people to convert was through camp meetings. These camp meetings were marked by very enthusiastic preaching and involvement with the audience. These kind of meetings had never before been seen in America. The denominations that grew out of the Great Awakening are still alive and flourishing today. The church membership during the Great Awakening skyrocketed. Suddenly people were excited about religion again.
Another way the Great Awakening impacted the history of the United States was that it spawned social activism. As part of this social activism abolition groups, temperance, and suffrage groups came together to demand more rights. Prison reform and care for the handicapped was also improved with led to the betterment of life.
The Great Awakening did not only change the religious and moral landscape of America, it also changed the secular landscape too. The middle class that grew with the population developed a very strong work ethic, as well as the values of frugality and temperance. The 2nd Great Awakening also emphasized that individuals can fix their lives and alleviate their suffering by themselves, they didn’t need priests. This democratized the whole landscape.
The Great Awakening also had a huge impact on the slave population. Many congregations of the Baptist church especially were formed among slaves and free blacks. They soon numbered in the hundreds, and the concentration of black Baptists in the South is still very highly concentrated today.
From a gospel standpoint as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Great Awakening had monumental impacts. It was the religious fervor happening in New York that caused 14-year-old Joseph Smith to go pray in the words, and receive his answer about which of all the choices he should join. This single event brought about the restoration of God’s true church once again to the earth, and impacted generations of Americans who joined the church.
The 2nd Great Awakening is one of the most important, yet overlooked, events in American history. It’s affects caused the religious, moral, and secular worlds in America to completely change. New religious denominations sprang up, church membership skyrocketed, social reforms took place, and positive values were reinforced. It was also one of the catalysts that allowed the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to occur, which will forever change the United States, and the world. The Great Awakening took America in a new positive direction, which impacts the United States even today.

Types and Shadow:"Imitations of Divinity"

I really liked the exhibition Types and Shadows: “Imitations of Divinity.” All of the artwork was well chosen to portray the exhibition’s overall message. While I liked some of the interpretations of the artwork, I thought that some of them were a little overanalyzed. Sometimes artwork should just be admired for how it makes you feel, not about every little detail that may of may not mean something else.
My favorite piece was the 3-D art that was copper colored and seemed to come to life right before your eyes. The bodies of the two men looked like they were real and you could just reach out and feel them. I really like the symbolism of the larger man as our Father in Heaven, reaching out to help us from beyond the veil. This piece really made me feel the hardship in the young man’s life and the hope he gained from reaching out to his Father.
Another favorite of mine was the drawing of two simple chairs, one draped with a red robe and the other with white. The red chair was lying down at the feet of the white chair, which was very interesting. The interpretation I liked of this painting was that the red represented the atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ, while the white represented his resurrection three days later. Jesus Christ, as the chair, laid down his life for us that we many all receive the gift of resurrection, and the chance to be clothed in white and live with our Heavenly Father forever.
The last art piece I found interesting was the depiction of Lehi’s family crossing the sea to the Promised Land. I have seen this picture numerous times throughout my life but have never really given much thought to it’s meaning. The picture, upon closer inspection, is much more than just a depiction of Lehi’s family in a boat. Everything about the picture points towards Christ. The tilt of Lehi’s head, the waves, and the white birds in the sky all are allusions that point the viewer towards Christ. This made the picture much more meaningful to me as I contemplated on how much this family leaned on Christ as they made their voyage to a new land.
I am grateful for the chance to visit the Types and Shadows exhibit. I think every BYU student should take the opportunity to view this great artwork, while at the same time being edified and pointed towards Christ.

The Amistad

I really enjoyed watching La Amistad in class these past couple of days. Sometimes it’s much easier for me to understand and remember history if I see it visually. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the story and message of the Amistad now.
I think it’s so crazy how slaves were just treated like sub-humans. It bugged me so much after they worked so hard to win the first court case, and then the men repealed the decision so it would have to be tried again at the Supreme Court. All of the jury and the people knew that the slaves were not guilty, but they did nothing to try and stop this from happening.
Although there were many depressing parts in the movie, I loved all of the good people that it showcased. When I think of slavery and this time period, I don’t usually think about people who actively fought against slavery or disagreed with it. But in reality, there were a great number of people who didn’t agree with slavery. I really admired that lawyer Michael Baldwin who lost all of his clients and his livelihood just for standing up and defending the slaves because he knew it was right. I also loved the judge that the president handpicked. They picked him because they thought that he would immediately side against the slaves, but after hearing all the evidence, he knew that they were innocent and stood up for them even though he knew it would probably cost him his job. It was really great to hear the stories of these people who gave up a lot in order to do what was right and just.
I think The Amistad is a movie every American should see. It really portrays the unjust nature of slavery, but it also inspires me to see that there were people who stood up for what was right in the face of overwhelming pressure and influences.

The Wealth of a Nation

Adam Smith made a very important contribution to the discussion on the wealth of nations. Before Smith’s book, it was widely believed that the wealth of a nation was determined by how much treasure they had. This notion of mercantilism was widely practiced from the 1500s up until the 1800s.
However, in his book Smith argued that it is not the amount of treasure a nation has that determines wealth, but the living conditions and lifestyle of the people. Or, in other words, the per capita income of the people living in the country actually determines wealth. Wealth does not come from stockpiling treasure and hording gold, but from consuming and producing, which is called consumer sovereignty.
The economy that emerges from consuming and producing is called a Market economy, and its basic method is self-interest. In order for a Market economy to flourish it needs personal relations among highly ranked officials, it needs to operate on its own without government involvement, and players that themselves respond to economic forces. Another point made by Adam Smith was that if human beings, if free to do so, will act in their own best interests.
Adam Smith’s book, The Wealth of Nations, was truly revolutionary in its ideas. It completely changed the way the world judged a nation’s wealth and moved more nations towards establishing a market economy.

Crandall Printing Museum

I found the Crandall Printing Museum highly interesting. It was very fun to learn about printing because I knew absolutely nothing about it beforehand. The guides were incredibly knowledgeable, and it was even better that they actually worked as printers during their life. They knew so many fun facts and made the presentation very interesting and hands-on which made it easier to learn.
One thing I found fascinating was that Gutenberg’s Printing Press, which he invented in 1440, was not improved upon until the late 20th Century. This is incredible! The technology that he used to create his moveable type and printing press in the 1400s could not be improved for hundreds of years! He was a truly intelligent and inspired man that he could make that kind of invention during the era in which he lived.
Another thing that struck me was the amount of time that went into printing. It was a truly time consuming process! I can’t believe they had to pick out every single letter, and then put them into a long line of type. And do that with every single line of type throughout the whole paper! I thought it was funny that they would hire 14 years old boys to do this during the summer; it was probably the only people they could persuade to do the tedious job.
The point I found the most amazing was how they tied the Joseph Smith story into printing. They talked about how incredible it was that there was a Gutenberg press in Joseph Smith’s town, along with the presence of a bookbinder. These two things were very uncommon and I think it was truly the work of God that they were together in the same town where Joseph was ready to publish the Book of Mormon. He told us that the printer was reluctant to print the Book of Mormon at first, but he took the job because he needed the money. So Joseph Smith ordered 5,000 copies of the book of Mormon to be printed, and he wanted them done by April 6. The amazing part of the story is that starting in August like they did, the job should have taken at least 2 years. But incredibly, they were done by April 6 so that Joseph Smith could organize the church. Men could not have done this job on their own. Truly Heavenly Father had his hand in the work of the printing of the Book of Mormon. You could tell how amazing this was by the emotion of the guide who told us this story. He had printed his entire life and knew the hard work and time that printing required. He had tears in his eyes as he adamantly told us that God helped those men who printed the Book of Mormon. This to me was a very testimony building experience, and convinced me even more of the divinity of the Book of Mormon.
We are so lucky to have the Crandall Printing Museum so close to us in Provo. It is one of the best printing museums in the entire world, and is continually gathering new artifacts for display and improving their museum so that people can gain a new appreciation towards the work of printing.

Religious Freedom

One of the things I have found most fascinating in our discussions so far this semester is the concept of Religious Freedom. Religion, I believe, is something that shapes history more than almost anything else.
When I have learned history in the past, I always learned how the pilgrims came here to America so that they could find religious freedom that they were denied in England. I always felt so proud that some of my ancestors had the courage to stand up for their religious beliefs and come to a strange new land. However, in one of the greatest ironies in history, once they had their religious freedom here, they promptly set about to denying those freedoms to all people who did not believe as they did. I don’t know how I missed that connection through all my years of studying history! I heard about the religious laws and Salem witch trials and things, but I did not make the connection that the very people who came here to find religious freedom were the ones persecuting others.
Once the Puritans came here, they quickly set up their own little society that was very exclusive and persecuted others. The priests also became almost like dictators who determined how the society was run. Everyone had to worship exactly the same, or they were ostracized and persecuted. It made it worse that the church and the state were one in the same, which made every individual of the community conform. Where is the religious freedom that the Puritans came to find?
There are countless examples of the Puritans flagrant disregard for religious freedom. When Anne Hutchison tried to hold private bible studies in her house, she was found guilty of “faulty preaching,” merely for expressing her own ideas about religion. Most of this persecution was probably aggravated more because of the fact that she was a woman, and she was eventually banished from Massachusetts and had to flee to Rhode Island. Another example is Roger Williams, who was also banished from the colony for expressing views contrary to those of the ministers. It’s so funny how different their definitions and views of religious freedom were. Of course they hated it when they were the ones being persecuted in England for their beliefs that were contrary to the churches, but as soon as they are in power they do the same thing. They had no idea that to be a truly free county, people must be able to worship, as they will, with church and state completely separate. In their society freedoms were forced on people with no thought for their individual rights and liberties.
The Salem Witch trials are an example of the extreme measures that were taken to ensure religious conformity. People posed suspicions about members and non-members alike, especially Quakers, and because they were even thought to have gone against the church they received no fair trial. Especially since the trial was run by the ministers of the church! It is always amazing to me how out of hand their society got at this period of time. It went far beyond denying people their religious freedom; it actively went about accusing people on every unfounded accusation! All they had to go on were the testimonies of some clearly deranged young girls, and they ended up hanging a number of innocent people! It is amazing what a slippery slope it is once you start denying people their freedoms. Soon the government, or church in this case, didn’t see anything wrong with killing people without any concrete evidence. Even after this, states would declare a “state religion,” and would persecute those who did not comply. I am so deeply grateful for the Founding Fathers and their great wisdom and foresight for including in the first amendment a declaration of people’s freedom of religion. They saw the tyranny that ensued when the church and state were fused and promised that America would never have a specific religion that it would be a melting pot where people from all religions could live in peace with each other. Without this statement, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints could never have been restored to the earth. I’m so grateful that here in America we are truly free to worship exactly as we please. It is a promise that is denied to so many peoples around the earth, and we need to remember and be mindful of it.

American Revolution and the Book of Mormon

I think that people try entirely to hard to discredit Joseph Smith, and consequently the Book of Mormon. People who look to criticize and discredit will always find something to rag on, even if their arguments don’t really make sense. Such as the one that says since there are political sentiments in the Book of Mormon that are comparable to the time period Joseph Smith lived in, he must have copied from them. This is absolutely absurd. The Nephites experienced the best reforms in their society when they were under the instruction of a prophet. The United States of America was in fact created as a nation with the help of God, in order to create a political climate in which freedom of religion and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon would be possible. These kind of political ideals exist in all societies that are living righteously with the help of God.
Another point that makes it clear that Joseph Smith did not invent the Book of Mormon is the issue of Kings. The attitudes of the Nephite people towards Kings are very different than the attitudes that would have been prominent during Joseph Smith’s times. In Joseph Smith’s time period, the people had just gotten rid of a tyrannical King and had no wish to ever be under a King’s rule again. Whereas in the Book of Mormon times, the people literally created King’s for themselves and did not know what to do without a King to rule over them. Even when they first arrived in the New World they straight away asked Nephi to be their King. This is very different than the mindset of the people during Joseph Smith’s time.
A third point to consider is that most all of the principles associated with the American Constitution are disregarded altogether. All of the checks and balances instituted by the founding fathers to check the government are completely missing. Separation of Powers was simply not heard of in Book of Mormon times. They had a chief judge who was a judge, and an executive legislator all rolled into one. He also made laws. In conclusion, I think that it is really futile to try and discredit the book of Mormon in comparing it to the political mindset of Joseph Smith’s era. Clearly the politics at that time and during the Book of Mormon’s time are very different. The Book of Mormon peoples were just like other ancient civilizations, very dependent on Kings and not sure what other types of governments there could be. It was only after God opened the minds of the Founding Fathers and inspired them about another type of government that this type of freedom occurred. The Book of Mormon stands as a witness itself that Joseph Smith could never have invented the things that are found in it. It was truly a work inspired of God, and anyone that tries to discredit or defame it is really just wasting all of their time.

A Revolution of Sober Expectations

I love the Revolution of Sober Expectations article. I love the point made in the article that it wasn’t just the Revolution, or the Constitution alone that set up America as a free and democratic government, it was both combined. When the founders wrote and signed the Declaration of Independence, it was unlike any other revolution in the world. With any other revolution, a new government is immediately put into effect. With the Declaration of Independence, the ideals and rights that the founders deemed important were stated, but a form of government to protect those rights was not formed. It was like a great pause while the world waited with bated breath to see what would happen after the war was over. Finally, with the Constitution, the world could breathe again. Finally a new government unlike any other was created. The Constitution was the second part that made the American Revolution complete. It built upon the rights and principles listed in the Declaration of Independence and set up institutions that would protect and defend these rights. I also find it fascinating that the Declaration doesn’t specifically state what kind of government should be instituted. It simply lays out what rights the people ought to have, and says that the people also have a right to have whatever form of government they choose. It could be any type of government and it would be fine as long as it had the consent of the governed. And that, I think, is the beauty of America. It’s not that our government is absolutely perfect, because it’s not. It’s that it’s all focused on the people. The people’s unalienable rights, and their right to choose a government that they feel will best protect those rights.

John Adams

John Adams is one of the most influential men in American History. Although he was born to humble circumstances, he quickly gained a reputation as a very intelligent and articulate man.
In the Continental Congress Adams played a crucial role. Although at first Adams was not convinced that America should break away from England, he soon saw that revolution was the only true and lasting option. John Adams was not a fence sitter and he could not bear to wait for England to answer for the many injustices they had committed. He was thoroughly a man of action, and once he committed himself to the cause of freedom, he never hesitated or looked back.
Adams led the debate for those who wanted to break from England. He felt a very keen sense of his duty to fight for the cause he believed in, and he expressed his ideas over and over again in Congress. I think he felt frustrated that even though a lot of the men felt the same way he did, none of them would express what they believed. He was one of the only ones who did not care about being popular with everyone else; he just stood and told everyone exactly how he felt. That takes a lot of courage and integrity, which John Adams had a lot of.
Besides being a passionate speaker, Adams was also a great persuader. He persuaded people to feel the same way he did, and even convinced Thomas Jefferson that a Declaration of Independence was necessary and that he should be the one to write it. Adams did not seek for glory, he simply worked for what he believed and asked for help from people that had more influence and popularity than he had.
John Adams was not a proud man; he looked to many others for advice and help. His most important advisor was his wife, Abigail Adams. Even though women were largely treated as subordinates during this time, he often corresponded with his wife and asked her thoughts about important political matters. He always treated her as an equal and respected her opinion.
Although Adams didn’t have much formal education and was raised as a farmer, he proved himself to be very intelligent and diplomatic. During his years in politics he made many brilliant political moves. One in the continental congress was appointing Washington as commander of the continental army, since Washington was a very popular and respected delegate.
All in all, John Adams greatly shaped the way American history played out. From his talent as a speaker, to his devotion to freedom and liberty, and to his intelligence and diplomacy, he made a truly great leader. I respect and admire him for his integrity and the devotion he had to preserve the rights of men. Without Adams and many men like him, I might not be enjoying all of the rights I have today.

Perspective from a Slave

I have never been so terrified in my whole life. Strange foreigners invaded our village during the night and captured our family, all except for my mother who is pregnant. I do not know what happened to her, but I fear greatly for her safety. My father, brother, sister and I were led out roughly to a long plank that stretched from the shore to a massive wooden structure I had never seen the likes of before. People were screaming all around me and many tried to rustle free from the pale men and jump off the plank into the ocean. I craned my head around to catch one last glimpse of my home before my head was slammed by one of the men and I was forced down into the miserable dark.

We were led down to the bottom of the ‘boat’ as they called it; it felt like a prison down there. Many rows of bunks stretched out before me with barely enough room for one person to lie flat without hitting their head. We were forced into the bunks and in all of the throngs of people and commotion I lost sight of my father and brothers. I quickly grabbed on to my sister’s hand so we would not be separated. They then chained us to the wooden boards with iron chains that cut and chaffed us terribly. It was black as night down there, but I could barely make out that there was a girl about my age in the bunk right next to my sister and me. She was crying awfully loud, but when I tried to comfort her she spoke words I could not understand. That night, no one slept. The crying and moans of pain kept me up as well as the questions of, who are these men? Where are they taking us? Why do they hate us?

I had finally fallen into a troubled sleep when the men were back. It must be morning even though it is always the same impenetrable darkness here. They brought with them plates with some lumpy mush on them, but we were so starving we ate it all. They unchained us and we were herded up to the top of the boat. There was ocean for miles and miles and miles. No sign of home. Nothing but water everywhere. Tears filled my eyes as I realized I may never see my home or loved ones again. What had happened to my father and brothers? I looked around and saw a group of men on the other side of the boat. The pale men were whipping them and beating them, trying to get them to work harder. Us woman and girls were allowed to walk around and stretch our legs for a time, but many of the pale-faced men were cruel to us girls and we soon came to dread our time spent on deck, even compared to the suffocating blackness.

The bunks have quickly gotten dirty. Every time we come down from the deck we must plug our noses at first because the air is so putrid and stale. There is grime and dirt covering the bunks as well as us. Disease is also spreading. Red sores are starting to appear on some people, and I can hear the sick retching and moaning at night. I fear that my sister and I may get sick soon, there is no way to prevent it in these horrific conditions we are living in.
I hear whispers among some of the men and women that a rebellion is being planned. I don’t know what to think about it. Every day our situation grows worse, but a failed rebellion would cause the pale men to hate us even more. However, I fear for our future. What will happen when we reach land? Maybe to try to escape here and fail would be a better alternative to whatever awaits us.