Death in 19th-century Mormonism involved several unique religious rituals, cultural customs, and eschatological beliefs. Death played a prominent role in the lives of members due to various diseases, forced removal from settlements, the harsh nature of life on the American frontier, and the lack of medical knowledge at the time. The dying were either blessed to be healed or to be received into heaven, depending on the person’s wishes.
About Death in 19th-century Mormonism in brief
Death in 19th-century Mormonism involved several unique religious rituals, cultural customs, and eschatological beliefs. Death played a prominent role in the lives of members due to various diseases, forced removal from settlements, the harsh nature of life on the American frontier, and the lack of medical knowledge at the time. Mormon mortality rates climbed through most of the century until a permanent settlement in Utah Territory was established and advances in medical science were made. The dying were either blessed to be healed or to be received into heaven, depending on the person’s wishes. A phenomenon is known as the \”beautiful death\” set forth traditions such as family and friends gathering around a person’s deathbed to witness their transition into the next life. Postmortem treatment of fellow church members was an organized community effort most often led by women. Sermons and poetry were composed to memorialize the deceased; death masks, coffin canes, and locks of hair also served as tokens of the person’s life and were believed to possess spiritual power. Mormons believed that glorious rewards awaited the righteous in the afterlife. The Latter Day Saints turned to traditional doctors when surgery was needed, but used their own remedies to treat illness. They developed several natural treatments that proved to be especially useful during their years spent as pioneers on theAmerican frontier. Each move westward presented new health challenges. The 1846 Nauvoo War had forced them out of the city before they could prepare sufficient food and supplies for the journey.
Some also died due to exposure to the elements in the Winter Quarters, which then resulted in three cases of noma noma. The Mormons’ departure from Illinois increased with the first year of their journey. An estimated one in twelve-day Saints’ departure from the field of Illinois in 1846 estimated that one in 12,000 Mormon graves are found in Winter Quarter, Nebraska. The Mormon graves during the first. year of the journey were found in Winter Quarters in Nebraska, Nebraska, and are called “Several Mormon graves’”. The Salt Lake City, Utah, Mormon graves were also found in January 1846 and are known as “The Salt Lake Cemetery.” The Mormons’ burial and funeral traditions are evidenced by burial and. funeral traditions. The early Mormons’ respect for the dead is evidenced by. Corpses were washed, dressed, and laid in graves, most often in cemeteries. As a result, the population was highly acquainted with death. Most women lost at least one child soon after giving birth, and one third of babies born did not survive to adulthood. Expulsion from settlements in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois resulted in small skirmishes such as the Battle of Crooked River and Haun’s Mill massacre, contributing to the Mormon death toll. Joseph Smith opposed heroic medicine after the use of calomel contributed to the premature death of his brother Alvin. Botanical medicine was seen as God’s prescribed way of treating ailments, so botanical physicians were held in high esteem. The young commonly contracted whooping cough, meningitis, scarlet fever, and convulsions.
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This page is based on the article Death in 19th-century Mormonism published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 09, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
