THE IDEOLOGY OF THE EARLY LATTER-DAY SAINTS AND ITS REFLECTION IN THE SYMBOLISM OF THE MORMON TEMPLES IN THE 1830S AND 1840S.

Abstract

The article examines the features of the ideology of Latter-day Saints - Mormons in the XIX-th century and the embodiment of its principles in mystical images in their first temples. Early Mormon religious buildings, built in 1833-1846 in Ohio (Kirtland) and Illinois (Nauvoo), were «houses of learning», «houses of prayer», and «houses of God». It is shown that the temples were evidence of the faith and the sacrifices made in the name of it by the Latter-day Saints. These were places where it was possible to abandon earthly affairs and get as close to the divine as possible. The temples represented an «apocalyptic space», the concept of which became an integral part of the Mormon socio-religious utopia, which the Saints tried to realize in the 1830s – 1890s. Their construction was an important preparatory stage in the construction of the city of Zion or New Jerusalem before the «end of time». In the XIX century a specific religious culture of the Saints arose, influencing the vast western region of the United States, known as the «Mormon corridor». It is shown that the ideology of Mormons is rightly regarded as a kind of marginal Americanized Christianity. The analysis of the temple images of the Mormons, which were largely astronomical in nature (Sun, Moon, stars, etc.), and were associated with ancient mystical (pre-Christian) symbols, later borrowed by Freemasonry, is carried out. The Mormon temple symbolism was generally original and embodied the main religious ideas of the Saints.

Keywords

• religious history of the usa
• the latter day saint movement
• religious beliefs of the mormons
• mormon sacral architecture
• symbols of temples in kirtland and nauvoo