ABSTRACT
This chapter describes selected aspects of early Mormon life that demonstrate the impact of Old Testament ideas on the organization of this new religious movement and of the place of Jesus within it. Joseph’s call to gather and prepare for Christ’s cloud-borne advent prompted significant European migration to America alongside convert migration within America. In the School of the Prophets Joseph and others engaged in language study. Mormon self-identity as new Israel was elaborated by developing priesthoods, temples and polygamy, with ‘Elders in Israel’ becoming ‘Saviours on Mount Zion’. Food rules increasingly marked community identity in the twentieth century as Mormons lived more among Gentile populations. The Hebraicizing trend was exemplified in Parley Pratt’s 1841 ‘Appeal to the Inhabitants of New York’ in respect of the maltreatment of Mormons when driven from the State of Missouri. A brief comparison of biblical resurrection appearances may help illuminate the Book of Mormon’s accounts of Christ’s resurrection.
