Death in 19th-century Mormonism
Winter Quarters, Nebraska
Hardship only increased with the Mormons' departure from Illinois. An estimated one in twelve Latter-day Saints "died in … camps during the first year" of their journey west.
Utah
As in eastern Mormon settlements earlier in the century, "over a third of children born in Utah [in the late 1800s] never reached adulthood".[13] Settling the western U.S. presented challenges such as obtaining sufficient nutrition and establishing healthcare, but it also protected the Latter-day Saints from the cholera and smallpox epidemics raging on the east coast.[2] Fortunately, life expectancy did increase in Utah Territory. Once they acclimated to the climate, males were expected to live to age 71 and females to age 67. The absence of tobacco in Mormon culture also contributed to low adult mortality rates. They did slightly rise, however, from the 1860s to the 1880s; the influx of immigrants to Utah – brought on by the 1869 completion of the transcontinental railroad – led to the spread of more contagious diseases, particularly through the water supply. Salt Lake City faced a deadly diphtheria outbreak in 1879. Consumption of dirty water also led to dysentery, gastroenteritis, and typhoid fever. When knowledge of how to prevent disease spread towards the end of the century, church leaders released a statement urging members to maintain cleanliness, especially in the water they drank.[3]: 42–61 The previously negative Latter-day Saint perception of the healthcare industry began to change as the field of medicine progressed. Reliance on herbal medicine, prevalent in the first half of the century, waned. More doctors moved to the intermountain West, and the church even sent some of its members to cities in the eastern U.S. to attend medical school and become traditional physicians.[3]: 93–95
Early Mormon response to death and dying
After decades of experience with disease and other adversities, an increasing number of Latter-day Saints concluded that death was a necessary part of the human experience.[3] The "context of tragedy" in which they lived "motivated deep and searching questions about death, salvation, and the eternal nature of families."[4] Coping with the loss of young people proved to be a major challenge for 19th-century Mormons. LDS tradition offered some explanation for such hardship: when a young man died, it was believed that he was needed by God to do missionary work in the afterlife; and when children died, the bereaved often concluded that they were simply too pure to exist in this fallen world.[3]: 26 Some parents comforted themselves by asserting that God had seen fit to take their child off the earth; Wilford Woodruff, the fourth president of the church, believed that such premature deaths were evidence of God's will being carried out.[3]: 76
Uncertainty surrounding a person's actual status as alive or dead was commonplace because of the limits of 19th-century medical science, which in turn produced myths of live burials and resurrections. Influenced by these and a Book of Mormon account of a king being mistakenly pronounced dead[who?][citation needed], some early Mormons occasionally attempted to bring corpses back to life. This applied particularly to those whose deaths were sudden, premature, or both. Joseph Smith Sr., the first patriarch in the LDS Church, purportedly blessed a handful of Latter Day Saints with the power to raise people from the dead. However, the early church leader Oliver Cowdery refuted this claim.[14]: 39–46 A question-and-answer article in the July 1838 edition of the Elders' Journal, of which Joseph Smith was editor, asked if Mormons could revive the deceased; the answer given was: "No … but God can raise the dead through man, as an instrument."[15] Common practice at the time was to observe the corpse overnight "to ensure that no sign of life was missed." This was dubbed as a "traditional wake."[2] Women most often undertook this responsibility. In the summer months, they were diligent in maintaining enough ice around the body "to slow its decay and protect it from insects and rodents."[16]
In general, Mormons preferred peaceful deaths and saw the event as one's transition to a place of both comfort and work, both rest and progress.
Healing rituals
Before death became obviously unavoidable, early Mormons occasionally attempted to heal the dying of ailments and save them. For them, the healing of the sick was a very possible and potent occurrence. They differed from their contemporaries on this account; most American Protestants opposed healing rituals because they resembled Catholic ceremonies. Most Latter Day Saints rejected the common Protestant belief that God appointed each person a definite, unchangeable time to die. Instead, they maintained that one could be saved through healing rituals.[18]
A person's ability to be healed was primarily influenced by their faith; the greater their conviction that they could be saved from disease and death, the more likely God was to intervene. As Lester E. Bush, former associate editor of
Comfort in belief
Whenever a death occurred, Mormons looked to their doctrine of the
The "beautiful death"
The amount of firsthand exposure 19th-century Mormons had to death, namely the passing of immediate family members and close friends, fostered their participation in a cultural phenomenon known as the "beautiful death" There were three parties involved in the "beautiful death," each with a specific role to play: the dying had to appear convinced of their salvation, the living had to support the dying during their transition to the afterlife and mourn them once they departed, and the dead had to open the gates of heaven for the new soul once they arrived.[14]: 17 All family members and friends were welcome; one's "beautiful death" could not be a private occurrence.[21] The nearer the person grew to death, the more crowded the room became. This time was meant to be used to bequeath possessions[2] and to give parting advice to one's children.[21] Joseph Smith Sr. followed this convention; his wife Lucy Mack Smith recorded that, during his "beautiful death" scene, he blessed their children who were present and lamented the absence of a daughter who could not come. He expressed gratitude that his offspring were there to see him off.[14]: 19 As Susanna Morrill, a professor of religion at Lewis & Clark College describes, the "beautiful death" scene was "a kind of tension-filled theater."[22] Once the person died, the "beautiful death" tradition mandated that the body be buried in a cemetery near home. Proper burial was seen as an essential service to prepare the dead for the resurrection.[14]
Burial and funeral
Latter Day Saints believed that "preserving the integrity of the body between death and resurrection" was necessary for salvation.[21] Mormon pioneers, in the midst of their journey west, "respectfully and even reverently" buried their dead along the trail.[23] Graves were blessed as "resting place[s] of the dead until the resurrection."[9]: 137 Cemeteries were considered holy, and burial in such sites was extremely important to many Mormons. People wished for their loved ones to lie undisturbed.[7] The bodies of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, for instance, were buried secretly[24] in the basement of the Nauvoo House to protect them from mobs.[25]
Once the pioneers reached the Salt Lake Valley, they designated block 49 in the new municipality of Salt Lake City as the first cemetery for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah Territory. Then, in 1849, George B. Wallace, Daniel H. Wells, and Joseph L. Heywood designated 20 acres of land in the nearby foothills as the Salt Lake City Cemetery. By order of an 1856 city ordinance, residents were required to be buried in the cemetery; but some families, fearing grave robbers, continued to bury loved ones on their own private property.[23] Burial remained the main method of respecting the dead in Mormon culture throughout the 19th century, but some Latter-day Saints, beginning in 1877, were cremated. Joseph F. Smith taught that cremation would not interfere with the resurrection of the body in the afterlife, stating that "it is impossible to destroy a body … the time will come when every essential particle will be called back together again." Still, burial was encouraged by church leaders.[9]: 137 Many desired to be buried alongside family members; Joseph Smith, for example, made plans to build a family sepulcher but died before completing the project. This "tomb of Joseph"[24] was designed for the purpose of Smith and his family being together to witness "the morning of the first resurrection."[25] Some early Latter-day Saints, however, opted to be buried with other people of the faith instead of their family members who had not joined the church.[14]: 92–94
Burial traditions and rituals
Burials were community efforts, and support from one's neighbors was not only customary, but expected.[2] The Smith family, early in the century, played their part in the community of Palmyra, New York whenever a neighbor died by visiting the family of the deceased and consoling them.[19] These social duties stemmed from a belief not only in family relationships being perpetuated beyond the grave but in entire communities of believers being united eternally.[18] Because there were no professional morticians on the Utah frontier, Mormon women were in charge of washing and preparing bodies for burial. Knowledge and conventions pertaining to this task were passed down from mothers to daughters, from generation to generation;[2] there was no official instruction from the church on how to care for the deceased. Latter-day Saints went to great lengths, sacrificing time and effort, to properly prepare the bodies of their fellow church members for interment.[18] Duties were divided among the women who lived in the community of the deceased.[16] They kept records of how many corpses they washed, dressed, and buried. Men assisted by washing and dressing the bodies of other men.[18] Before embalming became available in the latter half of the 19th century, this assignment was time-sensitive; if the community waited too long to prepare the body for burial, it began to decay. Women remained involved in the process even after the arrival of mortuary science in Utah Territory,[3]: 27 often by sewing burial clothes for the corpse.[2] They continued to effectuate the more religious services as well; by that time, such rites had become an important part of Mormon culture.[16]
Specific burial traditions were very important to Latter-day Saints in the 1800s; these included dressing the deceased in all white and, for mothers and babies that died during childbirth, placing the infant in the mother's arms. Corpses were laid in their graves facing east, so as to "meet Christ at his second coming."[2] Having the person appear peaceful and organized while lying in his or her coffin was extremely important. Volunteers worked to make the body look beautiful so that the bereaved would be comforted when they saw their departed loved one at the viewing.[16] Likewise, the most prominent Mormon death ritual delineated that endowed Latter Day Saints be dressed in their sacred temple clothing for burial. This practice began in Nauvoo,[3]: 27–28 and evidence show that it was performed in Winter Quarters as well.[18] Those who had not received the temple endowment were dressed in neat, white clothing. Whether or not the person was dressed appropriately was thought to have an effect on his or her ultimate fate.[16] This practice was not, however, mandated by doctrine.[3]: 28 Brigham Young instructed the Latter-day Saints that properly dressing endowed members for burial was important; but added that if for some reason, doing so proved to be impossible, the person would be dressed appropriately in the afterlife regardless.[18] The Latter-day Saints wanted to show due respect to the dead so as to prevent the person accusing them of neglect in the afterlife. Usually, these key rituals were not publicly discussed in church settings. They were seen as holy and private.[16] Women were mainly responsible for performing these death rituals. In this way, they were in charge of the transition of the spirit from its mortal body to the next life.[16]
Funeral conventions
Predominant funeral traditions included processions and dedicatory prayers asking God to ensure the safety of the person's resting place.[2] In these grave dedications, the deceased were addressed as though they were present.[3]: 25 This practice was first documented in the 1870s. Like other LDS burial rituals, there were no official instructions from the church outlining how to perform grave dedications. Men possessing the priesthood usually said the dedicatory prayer, but other church members could effectuate this ritual as well. Stapley concludes that this tradition "began as [a] folk [ritual] with no explicit revelatory beginning."[18] People gathered together to perform rites before, during, and after funerals, allowing the mourners to feel part of a larger whole of "faithful sufferers."[13]
Local chapters of the Relief Society – the women's organization of the church – spearheaded the planning of funerals.[2] They also provided services, including meals, for the person's family. At funerals, the community would join "at the church, home, or graveside to sing hymns, pray, and listen to sermons," mirroring common Protestant practices at the time.[2] At Brigham Young's funeral, a new song composed for the occasion was sung by the mourners. They then accompanied the body to its grave, which was set "on a hill overlooking the [Salt Lake] valley."[26] A wide array of church leaders were in attendance. Gerner's Weekly reported that Young had requested that his funeral attendees not be dressed in traditional mourning clothes.[26] He also provided specific instructions for how his coffin was to be constructed, and explicitly stated that any of his friends or family who wanted to "say a few words" at his funeral be allowed to do so. Young's detailed outline set forth a standard of sorts for Latter-day Saint funerals after 1877. Wilford Woodruff gave similar instructions for his funeral, requesting that the attendees and decorators avoid the color black. This tradition continued for some time; beginning in 1888, the Salt Lake Tabernacle was decorated with white banners for funerals. Services were traditionally held on Sundays once preserving bodies became possible. On the whole, extravagant funerals were discouraged by church leadership.[3]: 27–30 Most adhered to this counsel and held simple affairs to honor their dead, but thousands came to the funerals of well-known, revered general authorities.[18] The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles were typically in attendance at such events.[13]
Funeral sermons
Joseph Smith's teachings on the subject of death and the afterlife often took the form of funeral sermons, such as the
The practice of delivering funeral sermons derived from Protestantism. Such speeches were simple, not ceremonial. Latter-day Saints commonly added a twist to this Protestant tradition by including language centered around the specifics of LDS doctrine and the traits of ideal believers.[29] Mormon eulogies always included a reference to the continuity of a person's spirit after death, and often included proof of their "steadfastness and moral virtue."[9]: 94 Speakers highlighted the most admirable qualities of the deceased to inspire obedience in the living.[7] Strength in the face of hardship and loyalty to the church were two such characteristics commonly cited.[29] In addition to motivating the living to be righteous, sermons and eulogies simultaneously comforted the audience by assuring them of the subject's salvation.[7] References to scripture, whether formally quoted or paraphrased, were almost always included as well.[13] This included verses from the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants. Popular funeral passages were easily recognized by Mormons at the time. Speakers placed various verses "in the context of the restored truths of an all-encompassing plan of salvation," emphasizing the eternal nature of family units. Quoting just the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants during funeral sermons became more common after 1850.[29]
Mourning
After a person died, the living entered into a period of intense mourning. Some even wished death upon themselves in the wake of the death of another.[21] 19th-century Latter-day Saints were encouraged to bereave the dead, and often did so through eloquent obituaries in newspapers.[14]: 30 Such passages usually told of the person's righteousness, the calm state they maintained while dying, and their last words.[7] The potency of mourning, however, was not to exceed one's belief in God's wisdom and salvation for the believers. Brown wrote that, for these early church members, "mourning too much risked offending God and proving to outsiders that Mormonism had not solved the problem of death."[14]: 30–34 Joseph Smith taught his followers that, during a time of mourning, their respect for God's will should overpower their love for departed family members and friends.[14]: 32 By the turn of the century, the church officially discouraged the use of mourning clothes and cards.[3]: 29
Relics
Death masks, locks of hair,[21] and canes made from the wood of coffins were kept as mementos of the deceased.[14]: 38 These relics were believed to possess the power to protect the living from the devil and physical ailments. It was also a common practice to have an artist paint a portrait of the dead; if the family could not afford to hire a painter, they would remember their face through death masks made of plaster.[14]: 66–67 These were extremely common before photography became widely available. George Q. Cannon made death masks of Joseph and Hyrum Smith using "layers of plaster and fabric strips" before the public viewing in Nauvoo, Illinois.[30] Also in accordance with tradition at the time, multiple canes were made from Joseph's oak coffin and distributed among his friends. The possessors viewed these canes as sacred; Heber C. Kimball once remarked: "the devil cannot overcome those who have them, in consequence of their faith and confidence in the virtues connected with them." He also claimed that one had been used to heal a person. The one existing cane today contains a lock of Smith's hair in the handle.[31]
Death poetry
While Mormon men expressed their grief by giving funeral sermons, their women counterparts turned to writing death poems both to feel community support and experience a sort of private catharsis. The death poetry found in 19th-century editions of the Woman's Exponent, a periodical published by and for LDS women, reflected the fascination with death frequently found in Victorian culture. It also reaffirms the commonality of death at the time. Of the 400 poems published in the Woman's Exponent during its first decade of existence, 67 directly discussed death. Instead of focusing on the perpetuity of life, LDS death poems often depicted departed souls as being at rest or simply asleep. Others cited LDS doctrine as a source of hope. Some authors expressed terrible pain or even the desire to join their loved ones in death.[13]
Afterlife
Eschatology
Mormon theology painted a desirable picture of the afterlife for the faithful.
The afterlife was viewed by Mormons as both a place of rest and a place to hurriedly continue the work of salvation.[1]: 109 Departed souls were believed to be tasked with sharing Latter Day Saint teachings with those who had not heard or accepted them on earth.[9]: 98 Wilford Woodruff once described a vision of Joseph Smith laboring to teach in the spirit world, the post-mortal realm which Mormons believed to house the souls of all the deceased who had ever walked the earth.[1]: 109 Brigham Young taught that, at their time of death, a person's soul departed from the mortal body, and their pain would be vanquished.[33]: 11–15 Both Young and Smith taught that the "spirit" was made of a different, otherworldly substance - one more "refined" than that of the physical body.[33]: 53 This teaching was inspired by verses in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Abraham also provided key information about the nature of the afterlife and the eventual destiny of the human race.[22] After Joseph Smith's time, LDS leaders taught that death was a painless, pleasing process through which people traveled to a world much more joyful and beautiful than earth. This "spirit realm" would be filled with plants, animals, and one's own family members. As time went on, the Mormon eschatological doctrine progressed. Through church conferences and publications, Latter-day Saints learned more specific details about the afterlife. It was taught that, when a person died, their mortal afflictions and restrictions would be lost; the capacity to see and hear, for example, would be expanded. As spirits, they would still be able to communicate with others and observe their surroundings through the five senses.[28]
Death and temple rites
On August 15, 1840, Smith introduced the doctrine of baptism for the dead, which taught that baptisms could be performed vicariously for those who had died previously.[4] The dead, in turn, could either "accept or decline [the] baptism" performed for them by living believers.[34] According to Smith, all people needed baptism in order to be cleansed of sin and to be saved.[3]: 15 In conjunction with this revealed doctrine, he stressed that one's own salvation was directly connected to that of their ancestors.[4] This was a stepping stone towards the "new and everlasting covenant" of marriage,[4] which Smith revealed on July 12, 1843. This assured families that their relationships were preserved in the afterlife "if sealed by the proper priesthood authorities." It also eased the widespread heartache among the Latter Day Saints brought on by high infant mortality rates.[1] : 101, 104–105 This eternal sealing of husbands and wives, along with other temple ordinances such as the endowment, encouraged faithful Latter Day Saints that they could conquer death[9]: 92 and alleviated stress concerning the post-mortal fate of loved ones.[7] Smith eventually taught that these rituals were necessary for exaltation.[4] Temple ordinances further advanced Mormon eschatology as the religion grew to maturity.[7] It thus became "a comprehensive religious and social movement that addressed itself to the fundamental problems confronting mankind," providing believers with answers to questions about their destiny after death.[1]: 105
Near-death experiences
In the LDS Church in the 19th century, near-death experiences were popular,[35]: 5:00 often recorded, and commonly shared.[36] Joseph Smith deemed some of these encounters "precious morsels from heaven."[35]: 7:30 Multiple near-death experiences recorded by early Mormons harmonized with Smith's teachings of the afterlife. A few claimed to have seen Smith, his brother Hyrum, or Brigham Young in the "spirit world."[33]: 7, 38 Some near-death experiences were published in magazines such as the Juvenile Instructor.[33]: 55 Additionally, the Elders' Journal, Relief Society Magazine, and Improvement Era printed the near-death experiences of church leaders such as George Albert Smith, Jacob Hamblin, and George Brimhall.[36]
Modern near-death experiences share many similarities with those recorded in the 1800s by Mormons. Five pre-1864 accounts convey similar details, including: "happiness, no pain, entering the light, meeting others, encounters with deceased loved ones, [a] sense of well-being, world of light, making the decision [to return to life], and coming back."[28]: 68, 72–73 In addition, some corroborate things taught by 19th-century leaders of the LDS Church, such as the quick movement of post-mortal beings and increased intellectual ability after death.[37] Some also reflect Parley P. Pratt and Orson Pratt's teaching of there being a new, otherworldly method of communication in the afterlife.[37][35]: 17:03
See also
- Christian eschatology
- Spiritual death in Christianity
- Mormon folklore
- Culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
References
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- ^ Religious Educator. 20 (1). Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center: 34–59.
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- ^ ISBN 978-0-8425-2799-6.
- ^ a b Black, Susan E. (2000). "The Tomb of Joseph". In Ricks, Stephen D.; Parry, Donald W.; Hedges, Andrew H. (eds.). The Disciple as Witness: Essays on Latter-day Saint History and Doctrine in Honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson. Provo, UT: Maxwell Institute.
- ^ Mormon Historical Studies: 176–178.
- ^ a b "Brigham Young's Burial". Gerner's Weekly. 1877-10-01. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
- ^ "Journal, December 1842 – June 1844; Book 3, 15 July 1843–29 February 1844," p. [121], The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 29, 2020
- ^ S2CID 143997847– via SAGE Journals.
- ^ a b c Bitton, Davis (1998). "Mormon Funeral Sermons in the Nineteenth Century". Mormons, Scripture, and the Ancient World: Studies in Honor of John L. Sorenson. Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies. pp. 27–50.
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ignored (help) - ^ "Joseph and Hyrum Death Masks". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – Church History. 2019-07-25. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
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- Religious Educator. 14 (2). Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center.
- ^ ISBN 9781462111275.
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- ^ a b c Dalton, Blake (2017-01-11). "Exploring Near Death Experiences – Brent Top". LDS Perspectives Podcast (Podcast). Retrieved 2020-10-22.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-9443-9478-3.
- ^ ISSN 0891-4494.