22. Mormons v. Adventists

In the outset of this discussion, I state up front that I am neither a Mormon nor an Adventist, but try to gather as much information on religion so I will know how to discuss the Bible with each religion with which I cross paths. By reading my blogs, you will quickly discover that I do enjoy the discussion on religion and the Bible. So, as you likely have noted, members of these two faiths hold strong to many of the same values. They both believe in prophecy, healthy living and the respect of the body as a temple, baptism by immersion, tithing, following the Commandments, community service, and many others. However these churches are different in several important ways, not only with each other but with other religions as well. What I am claiming to do here is discuss doctrine of each religion as I understand that each religion teaches it, then compare these teachings with what the Bible says. Again, if I am wrong in any of my beliefs, please let me know and I will make the necessary corrections.

Mormon Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe in the Book of Mormon as another testament of Jesus Christ. They also have great love for and say that they believe in the Holy Bible and they believe both books to be the word of God.

Mormons & Adventists each say that they believe the Holy Bible to be a closed book (one that should not be added to or taken from).

Mormons believe that the Book of Mormon is a more accurate extension of or addition to The Bible than any other written literature and has over written parts of the Bible they claim as being inaccurate.

Adventists believe in the Holy Bible as their sole book of scripture but also believe the writings of Ellen White as prophecy which in some places is also different from the Bible.

Mormons recognize that there are literally hundreds of translations of the Bible (some of which Mormons claim contradict each other) and therefore believe in the Holy Bible to be perfect in as much as it was translated correctly. Nonetheless Mormons and Adventists both claim that they try to follow closely the example of Christianity set forth in this wonderful Holy book but as more accurately stated in their own respective literature.

Mormons believe Joseph Smith was a prophet and Adventists believe Ellen G. White was a prophet. Mormons additionally believe in modern-day revelation through prophets who have been chosen by God since Joseph Smith was killed. The prophet claims to lead the Church at the direction of Jesus Christ and stands as special witness and representative of Christ to all on the Earth.

Both Mormons & Adventists recognize the Sabbath as a day that should be focused on the Savior as emphasized in the ten commandments and made clear in the Sermon on the Mount by Christ Himself.

Mormons & Adventists both believe that it should be a day of rest from your usual labors and a day with an extra emphasis on worship (since every day should so be).

Mormons recognize Sunday as the Sabbath secondary to a latter-day revelation that stated the Sabbath should be transferred to the "Day of the Lord" in observance of the atonement of the Savior.

Adventists recognize Saturday (sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday) as the Sabbath.

Members of both faiths recognize a strict health code.

Mormons believe in abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, coffee and tea, other harmful or addictive substances, in addition to promote eating healthy grains, vegetables, fruits, and limited amounts of meat.

Many Adventists are vegetarians and all abstain from cigarettes and alcohol.

Certainly each of these faiths is distinct, but they do share many similarities -- including their strong commitment to the Savior. If you are wondering which to join, many can share their opinions and beliefs. However, the decision is between you and God. I'd encourage you to spend time talking with him to see what He would have you do. Read about each church from reliable sources: www.adventist.org and www.mormon.org or www.lds.org instead of relying on heresay from gossip. Then after you have compared their teachings to the Bible, you will see whether or not either one of them is accurate, but you must use the Bible as the checking point of validity. If either one of their teachings or doctrines are not found in the Bible in full, then that doctrine must be challenged as inaccurate.

It is always best not to seek out information about Adventists from Mormons or about the Mormons from Adventists (you wouldn't ask an English professor about a mathematical problem, or a physician about how to build a gas pipeline). You need to go to each respective source, which is in their literature which explains their doctrines to learn what they each believes and to see whether or not their belief is supported by the Bible.

21. Mormon Freeman or Masonic symbols

Masonic Symbols
Joseph Smith, being a Freemason, adopted the Star and other Masonic Symbols to adorn LDS Temples.

ALTERNATE VIEW: While it is true Joseph Smith was a Freemason (of the York rite), it is unclear how much such an association would have influenced the design of the Nauvoo Temple in the early 1840s. Minutes from the Masonic Lodge "Under Dispensation" in Nauvoo during the time period show that Smith was not a regular attender of the lodge's meetings. One historian wrote: "It seams from the meager records that are extant, that Joseph Smith attended as many meetings on those two days [when he was admitted as a Mason] as he did during the rest of his lifetime" (McGavin, Mormonism and Masonry, 90). It must also be pointed out that construction of the Nauvoo Temple began prior to Smith's becoming a Freemason in 1842. Furthermore, Smith's followers constructed a temple in Kirtland, Ohio in the early 1830s. Other such edifices were planned in Independence, Far West, and Adam-ondi-ahman, all in Missouri, prior to the 1838 Missouri Mormon War. (The Kirtland Temple bears no clear symbolism of the star, moon, or sun.) This does not mean he could not have incorporated the star for reasons associated with Freemasonry, but it is unlikely. A more plausible explanation has already been noted below; that is, the star was most likely associated with the Mormon theology of the afterlife, specifically that of the telestial kingdom.

The five-pointed star was used in the Nauvoo Temple and other early temples, but it's meaning was wholesome. Inverted stars did not generally become associated with the occult until after the time of Joseph Smith. Stars, including inverted stars, were used by early Christians as valid Christian symbols. The symbol of the star - whether it has five or six points - and the pentagram can be used for good or evil purposes. The fact that Satan worshipers have given evil meanings to the star, the moon, or whatever does not make the symbols inherently evil. Though the symbols in Masonry, and as seen upon some temples of the Mormons are the same and similar in some cases, it does not mean that the interpretation of such symbols are the same. The symbols go back to time immemorial, and have been corrupted, and contain many errors or alterations. The Masons may have the symbols but their understanding of them is misunderstood, their signs are not used as part of holy ordinances, but as signs of recognition or some other use not related to gospel principles. Every symbol on a Mormon Temple has the same meaning as it did when they were used in biblical times.


Alternate Answer
Stars symbolize heavenly things, reminding us to lift our sights from worldly things and to consider things of eternal significance. In Mormonism, they are likely to refer to the Telestial Glory, whose glory is compared to that of the stars, in contrast to Terrestrial Glory, which is compared to that of the Moon, and to the glory of the Celestial Glory, which is compared to that of the Sun. More on this can be found in Doctrine & Covenants 76 and 1 Cor 15.

Christian Symbols Found in Stars
The star seen as a pentagram can also be found not only as a Masonic symbol but as a Christian symbol. A particular meaning of the pentagram can be found within the story Sir Gawain and The Green Knight. The star in it's symbolism in this story represents the five wounds of Christ as well as the five chivalric virtues.


MORMONS and STARS
Mormons believe that after the final judgment all children of God will receive their just reward and will reside in a "kingdom of glory." This is commonly referred to by non-Mormon Christians as the "Three Heavens Theory." Those who have proven themselves worthy will live in either the Celestial Kingdom, Terrestrial Kingdom, or Telestial Kingdom. This is necessary to understand where the star fits into Mormon theology. To members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) a star can represent the lowest or Telestial Kingdom. More information discussing this can be found in Joseph Smith's revelations (see Doctrine and Covenants 76) and in the Bible (1 Corinthians 15:41). Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon recorded, "we saw the glory of the telestial, which glory is that of the lesser, even as the glory of the stars differs from that of the glory of the moon in the firmament." (D&C 76:81) 1 Corinthians reads: "There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory." (1 Cor. 15:41) See also https://lds.org/study/topics/telestial-kingdom?lang=eng More can be read in #13. The Three Heavens Theory" below.

20. Mormons v. Jehovah's Witnesses

While both groups are profess to be Christian faiths and are identified to a greater or lesser degree with a public preaching work, there are many notable doctrinal differences between Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints).

The Mormons have a book called "The Book of Mormon" which they also view as God's Word.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe ONLY in the bible to be God's inspired word (1 Tim 3: 16), although they do have reference literature that they use as teaching guides that they claim is Bible based. Any points of reference are listed and cited validating that their teaching is from the Bible.

Mormons believe that God still calls prophets and apostles to guide his people.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe Jesus Christ was the last of the prophets.

Mormons believe that Jesus is Jehovah of the Old Testament
Jehovah's Witnesses believe Jehovah is the name of Almighty God, the father of Jesus Christ

Mormons refer to God as Elohim
Jehovah's Witnesses call their God JEHOVAH (Psalms 83:18.) The New Catholic Encyclopedia explains what took place some time after the Jews returned from their Babylonian exile in the sixth century B.C.E. It says: “The name Yahweh [the Tetragrammaton with vowels added] began to be considered with special reverence, and the practice arose of substituting for it the word ADONAI [Lord] or ELOHIM [God]. . . . The practice led in time to forgetfulness of the proper pronunciation of the name Yahweh.” Thus, people stopped using God’s name. Eventually, the exact ancient pronunciation was lost and the divine name became ineffable to them. This is the precise reason that Jehovah's Witnesses put God's name Jehovah on high and use it rather than calling on Elohim or Adonai.

Mormons believe "that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent"
Jehovah's Witnesses believe the New Jerusalem is a HEAVENLY rulership established not in America but in heaven.

Mormons or LDS missionaries (as I understand it) preach for a set period of time.
All Jehovah's witnesses (male or female, young or old) preach their Bible message about Jehovah's Kingdom as often as they can from the time they come to learn these Bible Truths for the remainder of their lives.

Mormons believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes".
Jehovah's Witnesses believe because of the Jew's rejection of Christ that the nation of Israel had permanently lost its privileged position as God's special people. Thus the Jews no longer (after that point) figure as "a people" or as God's people in later Bible prophecy.

Mormons (LDS) believe "that Christ will reign personally upon the earth"
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Christ will RULE FROM HEAVEN as a spirit and will never again return to earth as a person. See JW.Org Will Christ return in a manner visible to human eyes? Ref: John 14:19 “A little longer and the world will behold me no more, but you [Jesus’ faithful apostles] will behold me, because I live and you will live.” (Jesus had promised his apostles that he would come again and take them to heaven to be with him. They could see him because they would be spirit creatures as he is. But the world would not see him again. Acts 13:34: “He [God] resurrected him [Jesus] from the dead destined no more to return to corruption.” (Human bodies are by nature corruptible. That is why 1 Corinthians 15:42, 44 uses the word “corruption” in parallel construction with “physical body.” Jesus will never again have such a body.)
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101989263?q=Jesus+return+to+earth&p=par#h=6

Mormons don't believe in Adamic sin.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe according to Romans 5:12 that human death is the result of Adamic (from Adam) sin;

Mormons believe that there are multiple 'levels' in the afterlife
Jehovah's Witnesses don't believe in an "afterlife" but in a resurrection of the dead.

Mormons believe that our spirits were created long before our bodies.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe our existence begins at conception.

Mormons believe that all Christians receive the gifts of the holy spirit through "the laying on of hands" (gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues)
Jehovah's Witnesses believe this was a first century arrangement limited to the period of the apostles and as such, these miraculous "gifts" have ceased (See 1 Corinthians 13: 8, 9)

To a degree, both Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons claim their organizations reflect the "Primitive Church" (follow the first century Christian model).

I believe that both Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons believe in a future earthly paradise, but I wonder how the Mormons say they believe in a paradise on earth when according to my understanding after death they are transferred to multiple levels of life, which is why they call it "the afterlife".

19. Are Mormons in the business of making $$$

None of my personal research has anything to do with owning land or making money. What my research will discuss is just how much commercial business income does this business own while making a fortune in profits without (as some claim) paying their fair share to the government.

In light of the theme of this research, I came across this research which also shows ownership of businesses run as owned by the Church thereby generating tax-free income. I thought you might find interesting this transcript of the US Senate Committee case regarding Mormon Senator Reed Smoot. Where did Mormon Church President Smith find time for meditation, let alone revelation?

Senate Committee Testimony Transcript:Tuesday, Jul 26, 2005, at 08:26 AM
Original Author(s): Anonymous
Topic: MORMON MONEY -Link To MC Article-

Mr. Tayler (Senate Attorney):What is your business?
Mr. Smith (Mormon Prophet and President): My principle business is that of president of the church.
Mr. Tayler: In what other business are you engaged?
Mr. Smith: I am engaged in NUMEROUS other businesses.
Mr. Tayler: What?
Mr. Smith: I am PRESIDENT of Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution.
Mr. Tayler: Of what other corporations are you an officer?
Mr. Smith: I am PRESIDENT of the State Bank of Utah, another institution.
Mr. Tayler: What else?
Mr. Smith: PRESIDENT of Zion's Savings Bank and Trust Company.
Mr. Tayler: What else?
Mr. Smith: I am PRESIDENT of the Utah Sugar Company.
Mr. Tayler: What else?
Mr. Smith: I am PRESIDENT of the Consolidated Wagon and Machine Company.
Mr. Tayler: What else?
Mr. Smith: There are several other SMALL INSTITUTIONS with which I am associated.
Mr. Tayler: Are you associated with the Utah Light and Power Company?
Mr. Smith: I am.
Mr. Tayler: In what capacity?
Mr. Smith: I am a director and PRESIDENT of the company.
Mr. Tayler: A director and the president?
Mr. Smith: Yes, sir.
Mr. Tayler: Had you that in mind when you classified the others as 'small concerns'?
Mr. Smith: No sir, I had not that in mind.
Mr. Tayler: That is a 'large concern'?
Mr. Smith: That is a large concern?
Mr. Tayler: Are you an officer of the Salt Lake and Los Angeles Railroad Company?
Mr. Smith: I am.
Mr. Tayler: What?
Mr. Smith: PRESIDENT and director.
Mr. Tayler: Of what else are you President?
Mr. Smith: I am PRESIDENT of the Salt Air Beach Company.
Mr. Tayler: What else, if you can recall.
Mr. Smith: I DO NOT RECALL JUST NOW!
Mr. Tayler: What relation do you sustain to the Idaho Sugar Company?
Mr. Smith: I am a director of that company and also the PRESIDENT of it.
Mr. Tayler: Of the Inland Crystal Salt Company?
Mr. Smith: Also the SAME POSITION THERE.
Mr. Tayler: The Salt Lake Dramatic Association?
Mr. Smith: I am PRESIDENT of that and also a DIRECTOR.
Mr. Tayler: Are you president of any other corporation there?
Mr. Smith: I DO NOT KNOW. PERHAPS YOU CAN TELL ME!! I DO NOT REMEMBER ANY MORE JUST NOW!
Mr. Tayler: It would seem that the number has grown so large that it would be an undue tax upon your memory to charge you with naming them all.
Mr. Smith: What relation do you sustain to the Salt Lake Knitting Company? Did I already ask you about it?
Mr. Smith: No sir, you did not.
Mr. Tayler: The Salt Lake Knitting Company?
Mr. Smith: I am PRESIDENT of it, and also a director.
Mr. Tayler: The Union Pacific Railway Company?
Mr. Smith: I am a DIRECTOR.
Mr. Tayler: Are you an official of any mining companies?
Mr. Smith: Yes, sir.
Mr. Tayler: What?
Mr. Smith: I am the vice-president of the Bullion, Beck and Champion Mining Company.
Mr. Tayler: The Deseret News?
Mr. Smith: No, sir.
Mr. Tayler: You have no business relations with that?
Mr. Smith: NO SIR.
Mr. Tayler: Is the Deseret News the 'organ of the Church'?
Mr. Smith: Well, I suppose it is in some sense the 'organ of the church'. It is not opposed to the church, at least.
Mr. Tayler: It has for years published, has it not, at the head of its columns, that it is "the organ of the church", or the "official organ of the church"?
Mr. Smith: Not that I know of.
Mr. Tayler: Do you know who owns it?
Mr. Smith: How is that?
Mr. Tayler: Do you know who owns it?
Mr. Smith: I know who owns the building that it is in.
Mr. Tayler: Who owns the building in which it is published?
Mr. Smith: The church.
Mr. Tayler: The church?
Mr. Smith: Yes, sir.
Mr. Tayler: Tell us what you know about the owners of that newspaper.
Mr. Smith: It has been for a number of years past owned by a company --- AN INCORPORATED COMPANY.
Mr. Tayler: What is the name of the company?
Mr. Smith: The Deseret News Publishing Company.
Mr. Tayler: Do you know who its officers are?
Mr. Smith: No, it is not owned by that company.
Mr. Tayler: Oh, it is not?
Mr. Smith: No; it is not.
Mr. Tayler: What do you know ----
Mr. Smith: But I say for years it was owned by a company of that kind.
Mr. Tayler: What do you know about its present ownership?
Mr. Smith: I presume that the present ownership is IN THE CHURCH.
Mr. Tayler: You suppose the present owner is 'the church'?
Mr. Smith: Yes, sir; the church.
Mr. Tayler: I do not want to have any misconstruction put upon your use of the word 'presume' because you do not know that it is so owned?
Mr. Smith: I really do not know so that I could tell you positively.
Mr. Tayler: Who would know?
Mr. Smith: I PRESUME I could find out.
Mr. Tayler: Could you find out before you leave Washington?
Mr. Smith: Perhaps so.

(SOURCE: Reed Smoot Case transcript, Vol. 1, pp. 81, 82, 83, 86, 87, and 88)

A day later, because the ownership of the Deseret News and its articles were keys to the case, Joseph F. Smith testified:

Mr. Tayler: In what form does your church have title to the Deseret News property?
Mr. Smith: It owns the deed.
Mr. Tayler: I am speaking of the newspaper, not the building.
Mr. Smith: The press; yes. I would like to state that when I was asked that question before, Mr. Tayler, I was not aware of the fact that I have since learned from my counsel here that during the trusteeship of Lorenzo Snow the Deseret News plant was transferred from the Deseret News Company to Lorenzo Snow, trustee, in trust. I was not aware of the fact, Mr. Chairman, when that question was asked me yesterday, I believe it was. I have since learned that that is the fact and that my counsel who is here made out the papers for the transfer. .....
Mr. Tayler: So that it is now in YOU as trustee in trust?
Mr. Smith: NOW I OWN IT AS TRUSTEE IN TRUST. Furthermore, I will say that I have discovered since yesterday that there is published on the second or third page of the Deseret News the statement that it is the "organ of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints"
(Reed Smoot case, Vol. 1, page 158).

As you can see, the Mormon Church has been about business for a very long time.
LDS Inc. - a partial listing of corporations owned by the Mormon Church

The Mormon Church Owns More Than 1% Of All Rembrandt Art
The Church recently purchased 17 of Rembrandt van Rijn's 70 biblical etchings. There are some 1500 authenticated Rembrandt pieces. 17 divided by 1500 is slightly more than 1%. The article in the "Ensign" hints that the Church owns more Rembrandts.

HONOLULU (AP) _ An affiliate of the Mormon Church is planning to build some 550 affordable homes on more than 660 acres on Oahu's North Shore.
http://www.mormoncurtain.com/topic_mormon_money.html
Thursday, Oct 20, 2005, at 10:46 AM
Original Author(s): Anonymous
Topic: MORMON MONEY -Link To MC Article-

Hawaii Reserves Incorporated has been planning the single- and multifamily development since it bought the land between Kahuku and Laie two years ago from Campbell Estate.

The company says the majority of the homes in the Malaekahana Master Planned Community will be priced for local residents who work in the Laie area.

"Hawaii Reserves" is the land management arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

It owns or manages about seven thousand acres around Laie, and is planning to replace the 48-room Laie Inn with a 144-room hotel according to Eric Beaver President of Hawaii Reserves Inc. (HRI)For more information, visit: www.envisionlaie.com
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/ground-broken-for-new-courtyard-by-marriott-laie-hotel

Properties & businesses that are owned by the Mormon Church - Are they tax free?
Deseret Management Corporation - http://www.deseretmanagement.com/
Beneficial Financial Group - http://www.beneficialfinancialgroup.com/
Bonneville International - http://www.bonnint.com/
Bonneville Communications - http://www.bonneville.com/
Bonneville Interactive Services
Bonneville Satellite - http://www.bonnevillesatellite.com/
35 Radio Stations
1 Television Station (KSL)
Deseret Book - http://deseretbook.com/
Excel Entertainment - http://www.xelent.com/
Deseret Morning News - http://deseretnews.com/dn
Hawaii Reserves - http://www.hawaiireserves.com/
Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) - http://www.polynesia.com/ and http://www.polynesia.co.jp/
La'ie Shopping Center
La'ie Park
La'ie Cemetary
Hukilau Beach Park
La'ie Water Company
La'ie Treatment Works (sewer)
Mstar.net - http://www.mstar.net/preportal/index.asp
Temple Square Hospitality - http://www.htsc.net/ and http://www.hoteltsc.com/
Weddings (JSMB and Lion House)
The Inn at Temple Square - http://www.diningattemplesquare.com/
Lion House Pantry - http://www.diningattemplesquare.com/
The Roof Restaurant - http://www.diningattemplesquare.com/
The Garden Restaurant - http://www.diningattemplesquare.com/
Passages Restaurant - http://www.diningattemplesquare.com/
Zions Securities Corporation - http://www.zsc.com/
Farm Management Corporation (commericial farms and agricultural properties)
Deseret Land and Livestock
200,000 acres of land in Rich, Morgan and Weber counties (Utah)
Sun Ranch (Martin's Cove)
Deseret Ranches of Florida (Orlando) (largest ranch in Florida)
Deseret Farms of California
Rolling Hills (Idaho)
West Hills Orchards (Elberta, Utah)
Cactus Lane Ranch (Arizona)
(more)
Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (CPB)
Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints Deseret Trust Company
LDS Family Services
Property Reserves Inc. (PRI)
Ensign Peak Advisors - http://www.imno.org/articles.asp?qid=123
Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators (DMBA) - http://www.dmba.com/
Brigham Young University (BYU) - http://home.byu.edu/webapp/home/index.jsp
BYU - Idaho - http://www.byui.edu/
BYU - Hawaii - http://www.byuh.edu/index.jsp
LDS Business College - http://www.ldsbc.edu/
Nebraska-Farmland Reserve Inc-Rex Ranch
Australia-Agreserves Australia Limited-Kooba Station
This list is insane! They own the Lai'e Shopping Center? The Beach Park? Restaurants? Good grief! This whole operation is a business masquerading as a church for the tax free status. The church bought the ranch last year, I believe. Based on the fair market value/acre, it would've cost about US$26 million.

Some other properties research has discovered.

Agreserves Australia LTD Kooba Station,Australia.
Deseret Ranches of Alberta Raymond,AB Canada
Agreserves LTD Cambridge,England
AgroReservas, S.C. Los Mochis, Mexico
Deseret Farms of CA Woodland, CA
Deseret Farms of CA Modesto,CA
Deseret Farms of CA Chico,CA
South valley Farms Bakersfield, CA
Deseret Security Farms Blythe, CA
Naples Farms Naples,FL
Deseret Cattle & Citrus ST. Cloud, FL
Deseret Farms of Ruskin Ruskin, FL
Kewela Plantation O'ahu,HI

Rex Ranch Ashby, NE
Riverbend Farms ST.Paul, OR
Deseret Land & Livestock Woodruff, UT
Wasatch-Dixie Farms Elberta, UT
Agreserves Cottle CO.,TX
Agrinorthwest kennewick,WA
Handcart Ranch Alcova, WY
Deseret Ranches of Wyoming Cody,WY
The Church owns the Triad Center,

As offered by another source, this writer imparts part of the list above.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called the "Mormon" Church) operates the "Deseret Holding Corporation". This holding corporation oversees the following companies:
KSL/Deseret News: A television, radio, internet, and print news source based in Salt Lake City
Deseret Book: A Latter-day Saint themed religious book and media store.
Temple Square Hospitality: A group of restaurants, reception centers, and hotels around Church Headquarters in Salt Lake City.
Beneficial Financial Group: a retirement fund and life insurance company

The Church also owns and operates several historic sites, visitors centers, and tourist attractions around the world.

While the Church itself owns these companies, Church members own or operate many prominante companies. These people include:
Nolan Archibald, CEO of Black & Decker
Jerry and Ralph Atkin, Founder and CEO of SkyWest Airlines
Francis Cash, CEO of LaQuinta Hotels
Johnathan Coon, President of 1-800 Contacts
Stephen R. Covey, Chairman of Franklin Covey
Gary Crittenden, CEO of American Express
Jon Huntsman, CEO of Huntsman Chemical and Huntsman Cancer Institute
Jim Jannard, CEO of Oakley
Brett Keller, CMO of Priceline.com
J. and Richard Marriott, Founder and Chairman of Marriott Hotels
Dimon McPherson, CEO of Nationwide Insurance
David Neeleman, CEO of JetBlue Airlines
Stewart Nelson and Ray Noorda, CEO and COO of Novell

Non of this information herein listed is designed or intended to slander LDS, the Church or any member of the Church et al. Hopefully no reader of this informational blog views it as such. It is simply a collection of information or data that I might like to view in the future for my own personal research.

18. Mormon History from Utah History encyclopedia

Copied From "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" by James B. Allen
Utah History Encyclopedia from the Utah Government services.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ("Mormons") was founded by Joseph Smith, who was born in Sharon, Vermont, on 23 December 1805. In 1816 he moved with his family to western New York state, sometimes known as the "Burned-over District" because of the waves of religious revivalism that periodically swept over the area. Young Joseph attended revivals in the vicinity of Palmyra and became a devout believer in Christ, but he was also confused at the conflicting doctrines he heard. In the spring of 1820 he prayed for guidance as to which church was right and received a vision in which two persons (whom the Latter-day Saints accept as God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ) appeared to him, told him that he was to join none of the existing churches, and assured him that "the fullness of the gospel" would be made known to him at some future time.

Three years later in 1823, Joseph Smith claimed to receive a series of visits from another heavenly messenger, Moroni, who informed him of an ancient record, buried in a hillside near Palmyra. Joseph found the record, written on metal plates that had the appearance of gold, and later translated it "by the gift and power of God," and through the medium of two stones, the Urim and Thummim. It told the story of three groups of people who had migrated to America in ancient times, focusing primarily on one that arrived about 600 B.C., flourished for a thousand years, and received a visit from Jesus Christ shortly after His resurrection.

The translated record was called the Book of Mormon, after the prophet-warrior who had compiled it anciently, and it was published early in 1830. Its primary purpose, as stated in the preface, was to be another witness to the divinity of Christ. It soon became the major missionary tool for the Church.

Joseph Smith, meanwhile, became the object of scorn and criticism; but despite the harassment he gained a number of followers. On 6 April 1830 he and five other men organized themselves under the name of the Church of Christ. The church officially took its present name eight years later.

Mormonism came forth at a time when numerous "restorationists" were seeking to reestablish the original gospel of Christ, when "seekers" were moving from church to church in their quest, and in a religious atmosphere charged with millennialism and Christian perfectionism. Its restorationist message, along with the Book of Mormon appealed to many and the new church grew rapidly. One early convert was Sidney Rigdon, a restorationist minister. The conversion of Rigdon and most of his congregation paved the way for Joseph Smith to move to Kirtland, Ohio: Rigdon himself soon became a counselor to the Mormon leader.

Less than a year after the organization of the church, Joseph Smith led most of the Mormons from New York to Ohio, where there were already more than a thousand converts.

In Kirtland, a beautiful temple was dedicated in 1836. It was used mainly as a meetinghouse and schoolhouse, but it also became the scene of a various heavenly visions and intense spiritual experiences for the Mormons. Church leaders were also deeply involved in the economic development of the area, including the founding of the Kirtland Anti-Banking Society bank. Serious economic problems beset them, however, which contributed to a growing hostility against the Mormons as well as extensive dissatisfaction and apostasy among church members themselves. The bank failed amid the national panic of 1837, and this along with other problems eventually compelled Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, one of the most prominent of the Twelve, to flee for their lives to Missouri.

The Mormons were no more popular as a group in Missouri than they were in Ohio. Their seeming exclusiveness, their apparent liberal attitude toward free blacks, and old settlers' fears that the Mormons would soon dominate the area both economically and politically all led to their forcible expulsion from Jackson County in 1833. They found refuge in adjoining counties, but similar problems plagued them everywhere. By 1838 the conflict had reached a state of virtual civil war as mobs beat, pillaged, and murdered the Mormons. The state militia entered the fray to keep the peace but was clearly in sympathy with the older settlers, and Governor Lilburn W. Boggs issued his infamous "Extermination Order" requiring that the Saints either leave Missouri or be exterminated. Finally, in the winter of 1838-39, they were driven from the state.

The next place of refuge was western Illinois where, on the banks of the Mississippi, the Mormons purchased land and began to build the city of Nauvoo. Eventually some 12,000 people lived in this well-planned, industrious community of Saints, and hundreds of Mormons lived in other surrounding communities. Joseph Smith envisioned Nauvoo as a grand cooperative enterprise where all citizens would work for the well-being of the community and toward building the Kingdom of God. The spiritual and the temporal were so closely interrelated in the minds of the Saints that there was little distinction between religious and secular affairs. In the political realm, for example, Joseph Smith was able to obtain a charter for the city that made it practically independent of the state. He became mayor of Nauvoo, newspaper editor, and lieutenant general of the Nauvoo Legion. He promoted the economic development of the city and even became a candidate for the presidency of the United States in 1844, though he was murdered more than four months before the election by an angry mob.

The Saints built a magnificent temple in Nauvoo, intended not just for meetings but also for the introduction of the sacred ordinances now performed in all Mormon temples. Other distinctive Mormon teachings and practices were introduced in Nauvoo, but none was more controversial, or fraught with more far-reaching consequences for the church as an institution, than plural marriage. It began after Joseph Smith received a revelation in answer to his query about why ancient biblical prophets had more than one wife, and he was commanded to institute the same practice among the Latter-day Saints. In Nauvoo it was practiced secretly, and limited to a relatively small number of selected church leaders. It was first preached publicly in 1852, after the Saints were securely settled in the Great Basin.

Problems similar to those they encountered in Missouri continued to plaque the Mormons. Their growing political and economic strength, and rumors of polygamy, eventually alienated many of their neighbors and led to the threat of civil war in western Illinois and the intervention of the governor to try to avert such a catastrophe. Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were taken to jail in Carthage, Illinois, and there, on 24 June 1844, they were murdered by a mob. Some controversy ensued over who should succeed Joseph Smith as leader of the church, but by the end of August the large majority of Saints were convinced that the Quorum of the Twelve, under the leadership of Brigham Young, were the proper successors.

Persecution continued, and even as Brigham and the other leaders were pushing the temple to completion they were also planning the move to the West earlier envisioned by Joseph Smith. The exodus from Nauvoo began ahead of schedule when mob activity forced the Saints to begin crossing the ice-covered Mississippi River in February 1846.

This is the History of Polygamy by Jessie L. Embry - Utah History Encyclopedia

When establishing the LDS Church, Joseph Smith recorded numerous revelations he claimed to receive, often in answer to questions about the Bible, which are now included in the Doctrine and Covenants, part of the LDS canon. In answer to his question as to why many of the Old Testament leaders had more than one wife, Smith received what is now known as Section 132. Although the revelation was not recorded until 1843, Smith may have received it in the 1830s and married his first plural wife, Fanny Alger, in 1835. Polygamy was not openly practiced in the Mormon Church until 1852 when Orson Pratt, an apostle, made a public speech defending it as a tenet of the church. From 1852 until 1890, Mormon Church leaders preached and encouraged members, especially those in leadership positions, to marry additional wives.

A majority of the Latter-day Saints never lived the principle. The number of families involved varied by community; for example, 30 percent in St. George in 1870 and 40 percent in 1880 practiced polygamy, while only 5 percent in South Weber practiced the principle in 1880. Rather than the harems often suggested in non-Mormon sources, most Mormon husbands married only two wives. The wives usually lived in separate homes and had direct responsibility for their children. Where the wives lived near each other, the husbands usually visited each wife on a daily or weekly basis. While there were the expected troubles between wives and families, polygamy was usually not the only cause, although it certainly could cause greater tension. Since polygamy was openly practiced for only a short time by Mormons, there were no established rules about how family members should relate to each other. Instead, each family adapted to their particular circumstances.

Reactions from outside the church to statements about polygamy were immediate and negative. In 1854 the Republican party termed polygamy and slavery the "twin relics of barbarism." In 1862 the United States Congress passed the Morrill Act, which prohibited plural marriage in the territories, disincorporated the Mormon Church, and restricted the church's ownership of property. The nation was in the midst of the Civil War, however, and the law was not enforced. In 1867 the Utah Territorial Legislature asked Congress to repeal the Morrill Act. Instead of doing that, the House Judiciary Committee asked why the law was not being enforced, and the Cullom Bill, an attempt to strengthen the Morrill Act, was introduced. Although it did not pass, most of its provisions later became law. Out of a number of other bills introduced during the 1870s against polygamy, only the Poland Act passed, in 1874. It gave district courts all civil and criminal jurisdiction and limited the probate courts to matters of estate settlement, guardianship, and divorce.

The Mormons continued to practice polygamy despite these laws, since they believed that the practice were protected by the freedom of religion clause in the Bill of Rights. To test the constitutionality of the laws, George Reynolds, Brigham Young's private secretary, agreed to be tried. In 1879 the case reached the Supreme Court, which upheld the Morrill Act: "Laws are made for the government of actions, and while they cannot interfere with mere religious belief and opinion, they may with practices."

In 1882 Congress passed the Edmunds Act, which was actually a series of amendments to the Morrill Act. It restated that polygamy was a felony punishable by five years of imprisonment and a $500 fine. Unlawful cohabitation, which was easier to establish because the prosecution had to prove only that the couple had lived together rather than that a marriage ceremony had taken place, remained a misdemeanor punishable by six months imprisonment and a $300 fine. Convicted polygamists were disenfranchised and were ineligible to hold political office. Those who practiced polygamy were disqualified from jury service, and those who professed a belief in it could not serve in a polygamy case. All registration and election officers in Utah Territory were dismissed, and a board of five commissioners was appointed to direct elections.

Because the Edmunds Act was unsuccessful in controlling polygamy in Utah, in 1884 Congress debated legislation to plug the loopholes. Finally, in 1887, the "hodge-podge" Edmunds-Tucker Bill passed. It required plural wives to testify against their husbands, dissolved the Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company (a loan institution that helped members of the church come to Utah from Europe), abolished the Nauvoo Legion militia, and provided a mechanism for acquiring the property of the church, which already was disincorporated by the Morrill Act. The Cullom-Struble Bill with even stricter measures was debated in 1889, but the Mormon Church helped to prevent its passage by promising to do away with polygamy.

All of these pressures had an impact on the church, even though they did not compel the Latter-day Saints to abolish polygamy. Church leaders as well as many of its members went into hiding--on the "underground" as it was called--either to avoid arrest or to avoid having to testify. Mormon Church President John Taylor died while in hiding. His successor, Wilford Woodruff, initially supported the continued practice of polygamy; however, as pressure increased, he began to change the church's policy. On 26 September 1890 he issued a press release, the Manifesto, which read, "I publicly declare that my advice to the Latter-day Saints is to refrain from contracting any marriages forbidden by the law of the land." The Manifesto was approved at the church's general conference on 6 October 1890.

Rather than resolving the polygamy question, however, according to one historian: "For both the hierarchy and the general membership of the LDS Church, the Manifesto inaugurated an ambiguous era in the practice of plural marriage rivaled only by the status of polygamy during the lifetime of Joseph Smith." Woodruff's public and private statements contradicted whether the Manifesto applied to existing marriages. As a result of the Manifesto, some men left plural wives; others interpreted it as applying only to new marriages. All polygamous general authorities (church leaders including the First Presidency, Council of the Twelve Apostles, church patriarch, First Council of Seventy, and Presiding Bishopric) continued to cohabit with their wives. Based on impressionistic evidence in family histories and genealogical records, it appears that "most" polygamists followed the general authorities' example.

Neither did all new plural marriages end in 1890. Although technically against the law in Mexico and Canada, polygamous marriages were performed in both countries. Mormon plural families openly practiced polygamy in Mexico; the Canadian government allowed Mormon men to have only one wife in the country, so some men had a legal wife in the United States and one in Canada. In addition, a few plural marriages were performed in the United States.

During the Senate investigation in 1904 concerning the seating of Senator-elect Reed Smoot, a monogamist but a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Mormon Church President Joseph F. Smith presented what historians have called the "Second Manifesto" on 7 April 1904. It included provisions for the church to take action against those who continued to perform plural marriages and marry plural wives. Matthias Cowley and John W. Taylor, both apostles, continued to be involved in performing or advocating new plural marriages after 1904, and, as a result, Cowley was disfellowshipped and Taylor excommunicated from the church. In 1909 a committee of apostles met to investigate post-Manifesto polygamy, and by 1910 the church had a new policy. Those involved in plural marriages after 1904 were excommunicated; and those married between 1890 and 1904 were not to have church callings where other members would have to sustain them. Although the Mormon Church officially prohibited new plural marriages after 1904, many plural husbands and wives continued to cohabit until their deaths in the 1940s and 1950s.

Fundamentalist groups who believe that the church discontinued polygamy only because of government pressure continued the practice. As they were discovered by the LDS Church, they were excommunicated. Some of these polygamists have appointed leaders and continue to live in groups, including those in Colorado City (formerly Short Creek), Arizona, and Hilldale, Utah. Others, such as Royston Potter, practice polygamy but have no affiliation with an organized group.

Who were the wives of Brigham Young and how many were there

The oft asked question about the practice of polygamy in early Mormon history is: How many wives did Brigham Young have? The question isn't as easily answered as asked. When polygamy was a part of Mormon culture, there were different types of marriages or "sealings."

It is hard to determine how many wives Young actually lived with in the normal sense of husband and wife because of the practice of "sealing." Sealings, meaning a ceremony performed by Mormon church authorities that link a man and a woman, could be of two types. The most common, and the only one currently practiced by the Mormon church, is a ceremony that seals a man and a woman for time (mortal life) and eternity. A second form could seal a woman to one man for time and another for eternity. Such ceremonies usually occurred when a widow was sealed to her dead husband for eternity and to a living husband for time in the same ceremony. It was understood that any children by the second husband would be considered the progeny of the first. In the early days of the Mormon church, these relationships were commonly called proxy marriages.

According to Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) historical records, Brigham Young was sealed to as many as 56 women. Many of the wives to whom Young were sealed were widows or elderly women for whom he merely cared or gave the protection of his name.

When asked by Horace Greeley in 1859, Brigham Young said that he had 15 wives, "but some of those sealed to me are old ladies whom I regard rather as mothers than wives. . ." This answer reflects the complicated nature in the definition of "plural wife." As to the number of wives with whom it is known that he had conjugal relations, sixteen wives bore him 57 children (46 of whom grew to maturity). Several of his wives lived in the Lion House or the Beehive House; others had separate residences.

At the time of his death on August 23, 1877, Young had married 56 women--19 had predeceased him, 10 divorced him, 23 survived him, and 4 are unaccounted for. Of the 23 who survived him, 17 received a share of his estate while the remaining 6 apparently had non conjugal roles.

As forceful and dominant a figure as was Brigham Young, when it came to marriage he was as vulnerable as the next man. Some husbands are forever henpecked--others are assuredly lords of the manor; Brigham, it seems, was some of both.

As an exponent of polygamy, the Mormon prophet had more to answer to than most men. The quantity and quality of the Mmes.Young had made a handsome and lucrative career for professional wits of the period such as Artemus Ward and Mark Twain. Ward once remarked in a lecture, "I undertook to count the longstockings, on the clothesline in [Brigham's] back yard one day, and I used up the multiplication table in less than a half an hour." After his 1864 visit to Utah, Ward said, "I saw his mother-in-law while I was there. I can't exactly tell you how many there is of her--but it's a good deal. It strikes me that one mother-in-law is about enough to have in a family--unless you're very fond of excitement."

The precise number of Brigham's wives remains a matter of debate for some scholars, but insofar as the church record is recoverable, he is credited with 27 spouses and 56 children. (One popular anecdote of the day held that a geography teacher asked her class to name the principal means of transportation in Utah and a boy answered, "Baby carriages.")

Harriet Amelia Folsom was Wife No. 25 and had the reputation of being his true love, much to the chagrin and mortification of the youthful Ann Eliza Webb Dee Young, No. 27 on the list. When Amelia became part of the Young family in January 1863, she did not immediately move in with her sister-wives. In the only interview she ever granted a journalist--and that 14 years after Brigham's death--she told The Salt Lake Tribune reporter Eugene Traughber that she remained at home for three weeks after which she "took up residence at the Lion House. His wives and children all lived there, and each wife, including myself, had her separate room. At that time, there were 75 of us in the family, including the hired help." Amelia also dropped Harriet as her first name, since there were two other Harriets wed to the church leader.

In his 1894 copyrighted story, Traughber told how he found "the former queen of Mormon society" in the "Junior Gardo," a handsome and comfortable two-story house at No. 6 South 1st West street in Salt Lake City. Armed with a letter of introduction from Apostle George Q. Cannon, the newspaperman called on a cold winter day and was granted an audience. "An interview is almost as difficult to obtain from Mrs. Amelia Young as from the President of the United States, as she is daily besieged by curious tourists, both in person and by letter, and when admitted these morbid curiosity-seekers always subject their hostess to humiliating and often insulting questions and comments."

Traughber was careful not to make that mistake in framing his questions. He described Amelia as "tall and symmetrical of form, dignified and graceful of manner and a brilliant conversationalist. The silvery locks which tell of the fifty and five years of her eventful life, are mingled with the threads of gold, reminiscent of the beauty of former years, and the large blue eyes have lost nothing of their fire and expressiveness." It was easy for him to believe she had been the most popular of Brigham Young's wives, he said.

Brigham was in the habit of meeting incoming parties of pilgrims, Traughber said, and in October 1860 when the Folsoms reached the outskirts of the city in a company of Mormon immigrants, the church president and his first counselor, Heber C. Kimball, came out in a carriage to welcome them. Amelia Folsom was then 22 years of age, and in full bloom of her beauty, while Brigham was 59," Traughber wrote. "Beautiful women were not plentiful in this then desert valley, the number of men greatly predominating in the small settlements."

It seems, the newspaperman continued, to have been a well established case of love at first sight. If other writers are to be believed, then Traughber was guilty of understatement. M.R. Werner, a Brigham Young biographer, insists the church leader was lovesick. "Amelia could play the piano, and she could sing Fair Bingen on the Rhine. He was captivated by both her appearance and by her accomplishments; none of his other wives was so tall, so handsome and so refined, and none of his other wives could sing Fair Bingen on the Rhine."

Then there was Fanny Stenhouse, an English convert who came to Utah in 1857 with her Mormon husband, newspaperman T.B.H. Stenhouse. In her unfriendly book, Tell It All, she writes that she was personally acquainted with 19 of Brigham's wives, and well remembered Amelia's arrival in Zion.

Her opinion of their romance? "One thing is very certain--he was as crazy over her as a silly boy over his first love, much to the disgust of his more sober brethren, who felt rather ashamed of the folly of their leader." Amelia's version is less colorful. The courtship, she said, began immediately after her arrival in Great Salt Lake Valley, and it lasted for two years, until August 1862 "when we were engaged." The marriage took place the following January After the marriage, was she immediately accepted into the "family?"

"No," Amelia replied, "I remained at home three weeks, when I took up residence in the Lion House We all dine at the same table, over which President Young presided. Every morning and evening all gathered in the large room for prayers, and here also my husband presided, I afterward took up quarters in the Beehive House, but returned to the Lion House later, and remained there until the death of President Young, August 29, 1877."

But in her notorious expose of polygamy Brigham Young-style, Wife No. 19, (the title implied she was the 19th living spouse), Ann Eliza complained that Amelia had established certain ground rules before becoming another Mrs. Young. Among them was the condition that she did not have to live as did the other wives.

From the day of their marriage, it became clear that Amelia ruled the roost. For instance, Ann Eliza said, in the dining room Amelia and Brigham sat by themselves while the rest of the family occupied a large table, and that the couple shared delicacies which were not served to the rest of the general multitude. "Polygamist, as he professed to be, he is, under the influence of Amelia, rapidly becoming a monogamist in all except the name," she said. Clearly, Amelia was his favorite, Ann Eliza sniffed.

Amelia had jewelry, fine clothes, a carriage of her own and she played the piano. She also was allowed to travel. Whenever they went to the theater, she occupied the seat of honor next to her distinguished husband in the box, while the other wives sat in the special row of chairs reserved for them in the parquet. Ann Eliza pointed out that when Amelia was ensconced in her "beautiful new elegantly furnished house," Brigham nearly deserted the Beehive, except during business hours, spending most of his time at Amelia's. That home, the Gardo House, was Amelia's pride and joy, her palace. She planned it herself, as she did the Junior Gardo which became her residence after Brigham's death.

As for being his favorite, she skirted the question with Traughber. "I can't say he had any favorites. He was equally kind and attentive to all in his lifetime, and left each surviving wife an equal legacy. I was absent from home at long intervals during the 15 years of my married life, having visited several times in the East, and having taken an extensive tour of Europe."

Then Traughber asked the question: "Do you still believe in polygamy?"

"Certainly I do. If polygamy was once right, it is still right. There is no reason why a polygamous marriage may not be as happy as the ordinary marriage, if it is entered understandingly." That was not quite the way Ann Eliza felt about it when she fled Utah and slapped Brigham with a major divorce action.

In Wife No. 19, she reveals that Brigham wanted their marriage to be kept as secret as possible out of concern that federal officers would find out. But it was Amelia's reaction he feared. "She had raised a furious storm a few months before when he married Mary Van Cott and he did not dare so soon encounter another such domestic tornado."

"Amelia and I rarely spoke to each other," Ann Eliza said. "Since Amelia's marriage, she ruled Brigham with a hand of iron. She has a terrible temper and he has the benefit of it," Ann Eliza remarked. "On one occasion he sent her a sewing machine, thinking to please her; it did not happen to be the kind of a one which she wanted; so she kicked it down stairs, saying, What did you get this old thing for? You knew I wanted a Singer.' She got a Singer at once."

Once Ann Eliza bolted and dragged Brigham Young's name through the courts in the late 1870s, newspapers around the world played hob with the story. After seven years of polygamous marriage, Ann Eliza charged Brigham with neglect, cruelty and desertion. She asked for huge alimony. "He is worth $8 million," she announced, "And has an income of $40,000 a month!" Balderdash, retorted the church leader, his fortune did not exceed $600,000 and his income was but $6,000 a month.

He offered to pay her $100 a month to settle. When she refused, he retaliated by pointing out his marriage to the former Miss Webb was not legal because in the eyes of the law he was the husband of Mary Ann Angell [first wife]. . .unless, of course, the courts would recognize Mormon plural marriage, something it had stubbornly refused to do for lo, these past 30 years!

Ann Eliza, Brigham railed, was nothing but an extortionist and that was that. The case dragged on through the courts, but in the end it was found that Ann Eliza was not legally married to Brigham Young, so there could be no divorce--and no alimony. A judge tried to force Brigham to pay $9,500 alimony in arrears while the suit was being adjudicated, but he refused. Ann Eliza settled for court costs and $100 a month, Brigham's original offer.

Source of this material: Jeffery Ogden Johnson, "Determining and Defining `Wife': The Brigham Young Households," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Vol. 20, No. 3, Fall 1987; Leonard J. Arrington, Brigham Young: American Moses, Knopf, New York, 1985.

17. Mormon paper currency

Then there is the Mormon paper currency -

I found this information at the Salt Lake Tribune at http://www.sltrib.com
Spanish Doubloons & Mormon Gold
Mormon Coins Supplant The Bartering System

Hal Schindler
Published: 03/26/1995 Category: Features Page: J1

With 10,000 or so Mormons populating the Great Salt Lake Valley and neighboring settlements by summer of 1849 and with more on the road, the need for some sort of hard cash in the economy was acute. The barter system had worked for a while, but as more members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints heeded the call to gather in their new mountain home, the principle of "What have you?" and "What do you need?" began to wear thin.

According to historian J. Cecil Alter, Brigham Young, while sojourning in Winter Quarters that first winter, remembered how the boys in the valley were wearing out their pockets reaching for money they did not have and brought with him on his return in September 1848 about $84 in small change. But in a burgeoning population, that was chicken feed and disappeared in the crowd as if it had never been.

An effort was made in December 1848 to circulate paper money, using handwritten scrip signed by Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball with Thomas Bullock, clerk, as a countersignee. The scrip was issued in $1 and $5 denominations backed by gold dust, which was prevalent in the valley, but awkward and inexact in common use. (A pinch of dust varied from thumb to thumb.) After several other attempts, including the re-issue of Kirtland Safety Society anti-Banking notes from the church's failed venture in organizing an Ohio bank, Brigham gave up on paper currency. What was needed was coin.

The first solid money showed up in Great Salt Lake Valley in December 1847 after Young had left for Winter Quarters to prepare the rest of the Saints for the journey to Utah the following spring. Captain James Brown had ridden into the valley from San Francisco, his saddlebags heavy with Spanish doubloons--back pay owed the Pueblo Detachment of the Mormon Battalion.

The precise sum is a matter of debate, church records have it ranging from $5,000 to $10,000. But whatever the amount, the doubloons, probably coins of 8-escudo denomination ($20 U.S. value), had been paid by the U.S. Army paymaster to Brown, who held powers of attorney from the Pueblo veterans. Depending on the sum involved, Brown would have had from 250 to 500 of the Spanish coins in his pouches.

These gold escudos (worth today on the numismatic market about $500 in good condition) were readily accepted by Americans. With approval of the Mormon High Council in Brigham's absence, Brown spent $2,000 to buy Fort Buenaventura from Miles Goodyear; the balance is said to have gone to Battalion members. Still, the reluctance of travelers to accept Mormon scrip or Kirtland Bank notes as legitimate money continued to be a problem.

As J. Cecil Alter explained it, "To those who knew the sound of his voice, Brigham Young's signature made the new money legal tender by common consent." But with transients, who from 1849 became an important segment of the population--at least in summer--it was a different matter entirely. They were moving onward and would carry the money into a land that knew not Joseph Smith's successor, consequently immigrants not only paid out good money for what they bought, but demanded money they could use in California and Oregon in exchange for wagons, livestock, groceries, clothing, tools and implements they sold in the valley. And, Alter pointed out, that not only threatened depletion of the meager supply of U.S. money but of the gold dust deposits held in security as backing for the paper money issued.

It was imperative that a coin be struck that in itself was intrinsically worth the amount claimed on its face, which would be acceptable and usable by Mormon residents, Mormons abroad and by non-Mormons in Great Salt Lake City and elsewhere. With the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill early in 1848, gold dust was finding its way into the Mormon economy in increasing amounts. There are numerous cases of Mormons paying their church tithing in gold dust (at $15 an ounce). This "church treasure," as Alter describes it, was to be melted and rolled into strips from which coins could be stamped.

The extent to which Mormon authorities had concerned themselves with the situation is evident in a letter from Brigham Young to Thomas (Peg-Leg) Smith, who ran a trading post in the Bear River Valley. "[I] understand that you have a desire to dispose of your establishment, cattle, stock, &c. now in the Bear River Valley," Young wrote, "I send herewith Mr. Lewis Robison, a friend of mine, who is fully authorized to treat with and make suitable arrangements for pay, transfer of property, &c. Whatever arrangements he may make in regard to the pay, you may consider me responsible for the amount.

The coined money, I have now not on hand, but we are preparing to put the gold dust into coin without an alloy, which if you are disposed to take, you can have--but if you choose the American-coined money we can probably get it by the time you want it. If not, it will probably save me some little trouble." All that remained in the planning process was for Young to order the design of such coins and create the dies to stamp them with.

Part of that task took place November 25, 1848, when Brigham Young, with John Taylor and John M. Kay, sketched out the coin designs and decided upon inscriptions for them. Alfred B. Lambson forged the dies, the punches, tools and collars; Robert L. Campbell engraved the first stamps for the coins; a drop hammer was forged by Martin H. Peck, John Kay engraved the dies and minted the coins. William Clayton and Thomas Bullock acted as accountant and weigher, respectively.

Originally, the plan was to mint $2 1/2, $5, $10 and $20 gold pieces, and while this ultimately was done, the $10 coin was the first struck; with twenty-five minted the first day. The first design called for an obverse with the motto Holiness to the Lord and an emblem of the priesthood--a three-pointed Phrygian crown over an All-Seeing Eye of Jehovah. On the reverse, the $2 1/2, $5 and $20 coins were inscribed G.S.L.C. P.G. (Great Salt Lake City Pure Gold) over two clasped hands symbolizing friendship, then the value and the year date.

The $10 coin bore the words Pure Gold on its reverse, rather than the initialed phrase. This was altered in later coins so the obverse inscription would read Deseret Assay Office, Pure Gold and, at the base, 5 D. On the reverse side was a crouched lion, surrounded by Holiness to the Lord written in Deseret Alphabet characters, then the year 1860. The coins were .899 fine, with a bit of native silver, but no other alloy, for strength. Most of the coins bore the date 1849, but a great many were issued in 1850 and later.

With hard cash a reality, Daniel H. Wells and Thomas Bullock spent September 10, 1849, destroying the Mormon paper currency. "They tore up and burned between $3,000 and $4,000," according to church records. When the coins were first circulated in St. Louis by Salt Lake merchants who used them to pay for merchandise, the $20 were accepted at $18 because of the touch of silver alloy. In the valley, however, the coins went for face value.

But over the long account, the Mormon minters had the last laugh, because the numismatic value of these golden treasures are worth many fold what the Saints asked for them. (A $20 1849 Mormon gold piece, for example, is valued at between $25,000 and $50,000, according to Alvin Rust's Mormon and Utah Coin and Currency.)

The day of the Mormon coiners came to an effective close when the new San Francisco Mint went into operation in 1854, producing U.S. gold and silver hard money by the bagsful daily. The last Mormon gold was minted in 1860. See: Leonard J. Arrington, "Coin and Currency in Early Utah," and "Mormon Finance and the Utah War," in Utah Historical Quarterly 20 (January, and July 1952); and Harry F. Campbell, Campbell's Tokens of Utah, 3rd Edition (1987).

I found this information in the Utah.gov website:
Until the Civil War, the United States had no national currency, and most of the coins in circulation were privately minted. In order to provide a satisfactory circulating medium for the early settlers of Utah, Brigham Young and his associates in the LDS Church established a church mint in 1848, and also placed in circulation paper money backed by the treasury and officials of the LDS Church. Coins were minted in 1849, 1850, and 1860; currency with Brigham Young's signature was placed in circulation in 1848, 1850, and 1858.

The church mint, a small adobe building on the northeast corner of Brigham Street (South Temple) and Main, was made possible when members of the Mormon Battalion returned from California in the summer and fall of 1848, bringing gold dust earned in California after the discovery of gold there earlier that year. In addition, some twenty or more young Mormons were sent in 1849 and 1850 to California to prospect for gold. Although they were not particularly successful, they did send back or take back to Utah several thousand dollars worth of gold dust. Much of this ended up in the church treasury. In November 1848 Brigham Young commissioned John Kay to make dies and coin the gold dust. The inscription for the Deseret coins was designed by Brigham Young, John Taylor, and John Kay. On one side, the phrase "Holiness to the Lord" encircled the ancient emblem of priesthood, a three-point Phrygian crown over the all-seeing eye of Jehovah. On the other side, the words "Pure Gold" and the denomination encircled clasped hands, the emblem of friendship. The stamps for the coins were engraved by Robert Campbell, a young Scottish convert. Forty-six $10 gold pieces were coined before the crucibles were broken in late December. New crucibles could not be brought in from the Midwest until the following fall.

Recognizing the need for a temporary circulating medium superior to packets of gold dust, Brigham Young and his associates made plans to issue paper currency until coins could once more be minted. The first issue consisted of small bills, two inches wide and four inches long, hand-printed by pen and ink on plain white paper (there was not yet a printing press in the region). Bills were made for 50 cents, $1.00, $2.00, $3.00, and $5.00, and were signed by Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball (Brigham Young's counselor), and Newel K. Whitney, presiding bishop of the church. The bills were stamped with the seal of the Twelve Apostles, which consisted of the emblem of the priesthood encircled by sixteen letters: P.S.T.A. P.C.J.C.L.D.S. L.D.A.O.W., which was an abbreviation for "Private Seal of the Twelve Apostles, Priests of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the Last Dispensation All Over the World." All of the 830 notes in the initial issue, with a face value of $1,365.00, bore the date January 2, 1849." A second issue of 735 separate bills with a face value of $1,217.50 was issued bearing the date of January 5, 1849. The church also had a supply of engraved Kirtland, Ohio, bank notes which bore the signatures of Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, and decided to reissue these with the additional signatures of Young, Kimball, and Whitney. Thomas Bullock, clerk of Brigham Young, also put a private mark on the bills to authenticate those issued against gold dust. Some 135 of these bills in $1.00 and $3.00 denominations were placed in circulation on 10 January 1849, and 256, mostly of the $5.00 denomination, were in circulation before fall, bearing a face value of $1,331.00. Later in January 1849, Truman Angell, church architect, made a press that could print paper currency. On 20 January 1849 a total of $3,329 bills in 50 cents, $1.00, $2.00, and $3.00 denominations were issued; these carried a face value of $5,529.50, and were modeled after the handwritten bills issued on 2 January. Feramorz Y. Fox, who studied the records of these issues, which are in the LDS Church Archives in Salt Lake City, found that these issues of currency were secured by an 80 percent reserve of gold. Most of the gold, in California-minted coins or dust, was paid in to the church as tithing. These gold-backed church treasury notes, or perhaps more accurately, warehouse receipts for gold dust, appear to have been a generally acceptable means of exchange in the Salt Lake Valley. When the church mint resumed coinage in the fall of 1849, the paper currency was redeemed, and most of it was destroyed. Of the original 5,150 notes, only 184 notes, valued at $269.00, were outstanding in May 1850.

Crucibles for minting were brought to the territory in September 1849, and the church mint was ready to resume operations. Dies were prepared for $2.50, $5.00, and $20.00 gold pieces to supplement the $10.00 dies made in late 1848. There was a slight change in the new design. The words "Pure Gold" were represented by the initials P.G. and the letters G.S.L.C. (for Great Salt Lake City) were added. The new coinage began in September 1849 and continued into 1851. Approximately $70,000 in gold pieces, mostly in the lower denominations, were coined, some on church account, but mostly on private account. The coins were at first minted without any alloy, but later a small percentage of silver was added to increase hardness.

The edge was not milled. The coins were accepted for full value in the Salt Lake Valley, but most of them went east to buy machinery and equipment and other needed commodities not available in "Deseret." With the discontinuance of new supplies of gold dust, the press and stamp were sold to John and Enoch Reese, of Carson Valley, Nevada, who minted coins from Nevada gold dust for a brief period. The dies were destroyed in the early 1850s.

In 1860 approximately $1,000.00 in $5.00 gold coins were produced at the church mint. The design was much prettier and more artistic than the 1849-51 coins. On its face the coin had a crouching lion in the center with three mountain peaks in the background and a small stretch of water in the foreground. Around the rim was "1860 Holiness to the Lord." The phrase "Holiness to the Lord" was written in characters of the Deseret Alphabet. The reverse side had an eagle with outstretched wings and a beehive on its breast and an olive branch and arrows in its talons. It closely resembled the United States $5.00 gold piece of the time. Around the edge was "Deseret Assay Office, pure gold 5 D."

The territorial governor, Alfred Cumming, disapproved of this issue and issued an order in 1861 prohibiting further coinage. A congressional act of 8 June 1864 permanently forbade the private coinage of gold.

There was one other issue of local currency. In January 1858, when troops of the United States Army ("Johnston's Army") were en route to Utah, Brigham Young and his associates were certain that the army intended to conquer the Saints. For that reason they determined to outfit a large defensive force to hold off the troops at Echo Canyon, and the settlers abandoned their homes in northern Utah in order to avoid any conflict. Cost of the defense was met by the issue of approximately $100,000 of "Deseret Currency" in denominations of $1.00, $2.00, $300, $5.00, $10.00, and $20.00. Most of these notes were personally signed by Brigham Young and his secretary Hiram B. Clawson. Not having sufficient gold to serve as backing, the church made the currency redeemable in livestock--horses, cattle, and sheep--of which it had large herds. The church expected to issue engraved notes, but pending their completion, $3,750.00 in "defense" notes were printed by the Deseret News and issued immediately. These were printed from 19 February to 17 March 1858. They followed by a "Move South" series consisting of $40,146.00 in printed notes issued from 31 March to 17 July 1858.

Engraved currency was ready in September 1858, and during the next month 8,512 engraved notes were issued, bearing a face value of $16,512.00. These notes represented the first copperplate printing done in the West and were elegant. As described by U.S. Treasury investigator Marcus E. Jones, on one end was an Indian with bow and arrows, or a gun (in the $3.00 bill); on the other end was a hunter in various attitudes. Between the hunter and Indian was a beehive. The $1.00 bill had, in addition, a group of livestock in the center. The $2.00 bill had the picture of a man plowing with a yoke of oxen, and a range of mountains in the background. The $3.00 bill had a sheep-shearing scene and two women milking cows, one on either side of the scene. The $5.00 note pictured a group of farmers harvesting wheat, with a bust of George Washington on the right side and an American eagle just below it. The wording on the $3.00 bill was "Deseret Currency Association will pay the bearer $3.00 in livestock on presentation of $100"; that is, the Currency Association, Brigham Young, president, would redeem the bills in livestock at going prices. The back side of the thin paper bills was blank.

All of the 1858 notes presented were redeemed by July 1859. Some of the currency was redeemed with horses and "horned stock," and some of it was contributed as tithing. In 1862, the books of the Deseret Currency Association were closed. In January 1864, as part of the Civil War, the United States outlawed the issuance or circulation of any currency or substitute for money by private firms or associations. Shortly thereafter, all remaining notes held by the Deseret Currency Association were burned and the dies destroyed.



I haven't found much real value in the paper currency as most common sets in G-VG condition are valued at only $225 +/- from dealers which might translate into even less value from a private party. Here is a list of some high end notes that I found:

The names of these paper money is:
The Kirtland $100 Notes - value $11,000
On 2 November 1836 the Kirtland Safety Society Bank was organized by Joseph Smith, Jr. as cashier and Sidney Rigdon as president. The Ohio legislature had denied the charter. As a substitute, on 2 Jan 1837 the Mormon leaders organized the Kirtland Safety Society Anti-Banking Company. All of the Bank notes were issued by authority of the Anti-Banking Co. They were issued in denominations of $1, $2, $3, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100. Most of Joseph Smith, Jr.'s signatures are proxy signatures.

The highest Mormon Church officials gathered in January 1849 to finalize and circulate the most historic paper currency in their history. Using Kirtland Safety Society Bank notes that were emitted in Ohio twelve years earlier, the notes were countersigned by the group for use in Salt Lake City and redeemable in gold. Placing their signatures on these notes were N.K. Whitney, Brigham Young, and Heber C, Kimball. Also penned on the notes are the “TB” mark of Thomas Bullock.



Bank of Monroe

Nauvoo Material

Valley or White Notes - $1 unc. value $1,850 $3 AU value $2,250
On 20 January 1849 Church leaders issued printed valley notes to ease the tedious task of handwriting. The printed notes were backed 80 percent by the gold dust in the treasury, as were the handwritten valley notes and the countersigned and reissued Kirtland Safety Society notes. Truman 0. Angell, the Mormon Church architect, made the type and designed and made the press. Brigham Young and Thomas Bullock set the type. Brigham H. Young, nephew of the Church President, operated the press. (This was the first printing done in Utah Territory.) All of the printed valley notes were uniface and printed on perforated white paper with light blue lines. The printed valley notes were stamped with the official seal of the Twelve Apostles, which consisted of the emblem of the priesthood: a three-pointed Phrygian crown over an all-seeing eye. Encircling the emblem were the following sixteen initials: PSTAPCJCLDSLDATW (Private Seal of the Twelve Apostles, Priests of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the Last Dispensation, All Over the World). The seal had been designed by Brigham Young and John Taylor on 23 January 1845 in Nauvoo, Illinois. The single issue of the printed valley notes consisted of denominations of 50¢, $1,$2, and $3, dated 20 January 1849. They were actually issued intermittently from 30 January 1849 through 10 April 1849.

Deseret Currency - $2 value $7,250
The Deseret Currency Association was unique in that its notes were backed by livestock. Land or real estate could not be used to back the notes as the United States did not recognize land titles in Utah Territory until 1869. The Deseret Currency Association provided another local circulating medium of exchange and justifiably could be regarded as Utah's first banking institution.

Great Salt Lake City Corp - $.25cent $575 $.50cent $1,375
Because there was still a lack of medium of exchange in Great Salt Lake City in 1864, Great Salt Lake City Corporation began issuing notes in denominations of 25¢, 50¢, $1, and $2, payable in U.S. Legal tender notes or U.S. Coin. There is a variation in the $1 notes in that one shows Great Salt Lake City Corporation, and the other shows simply Salt Lake City Corporation. In 1868 the Great Salt Lake City Corporation council dropped the word Great from its title. Thereafter, the city was referred to as Salt Lake City rather than Great Salt Lake City. (Rust pp 96 - 102)

Bishop's & General Tithing - $.10cent blue canceled $150-$250 $.10cent meat or produce in G4 w/ or w/out overstamp is about $275
Because of a lack of cash in the valley in the first few years, much of the tithing was donated in kind. The General Tithing Storehouse, established in Great Salt Lake City in 1850, distributed the donated merchandise. In addition to storing the donated goods, the storehouse served somewhat like a retail store, except that most of the goods were exchanged rather than sold. People could bring in their excess items and exchange them for other items they needed. Workers on church projects were given credit for their labor and could draw provisions. The Church issued tithing scrip in denominations of 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, and $1. This tithing scrip was payable in kind and was a convenient method of distributing produce and meat from the storehouse. (Rust pp. 164 - 172)

Co-op Material - $.01, .05, .15, .25cent up to fine condition about $100 These are called Scipio bills either signed or unsigned
Shortly after they arrived in the Great Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young sent many of the pioneers to outlying districts to establish communities. Each settlement was usually small and had one store or Co-op to supply its needs. The purpose of a co-op was to allow the people to buy goods at a cheaper price, make it convenient to purchase these goods. The outlying communities lacked a medium of exchange, so scrip was issued to stimulate trade.

Utah National Bank Notes average values
This is one of six notes in the census for this charter number. This early Salt Lake City bank was opened for business only from 1872 to 1876. A rare addition for the collector interested in owning a Utah territorial note.
SLC National Bank $1 Note VG $9500
1902 Ogden $20 Note F-VF $375
1902 Salt Lake $5 Note F-VF $275

Drovers Bank Set - $1, $2 or $3 value about $3500
or the $1 note about $400 by itself in fair condition
or the $1 note in VF condition $1150

Bank Checks from the Gold Mountain Consolidated Mining Co., in VG-F condition are about $95
The Gold Mountain Consolidated Co. check is marked "Pay to Bearer." This would allow the holder of the check to conduct business with anyone with confidence in the company check, without having to make a trip to the bank to conduct a transaction. A trip to the bank would have been more than 30 miles from Kimberly where the mine was located. Gold Mountain Consolidated Mining Co. was closed in 1910.





1929 Ogden $10 Note VG $95
1929 Salt Lake $20 Note F $120
1929 Salt Lake $50 Note VG $350

16. Mormon Gold Coins

Story behind the Mormon gold coins -
The gold coin Mormon were minted in the issues of 1849, 1850, and 1860. Gold Mormon coins are some of the most unusual and most collected non-US issued gold coins available to collectors today. Values for gold Mormon coins can be as little as a few thousand dollars to as much as mid-five figures.

The Gold Mormon Coin History according to http://goldmormoncoins.com/:
The story of Mormon gold begins in 1848, just like so many other American gold stories have begun. Mormon veterans of the Mexican War were part of the original discoverers of gold at Sutter’s Mill in California in 1848. However, these same men took the gold they could find in California and brought it to the Great Salt Lake Valley. This extra medium of exchange was welcomed and it was quickly decided that the gold dust should be converted into coins in order to not waste the dust lost in daily transactions.
The first gold Mormon coin entered circulation on December 12, 1848. Interestingly, these first coins actually sold at a 5% premium. Only 46 gold coins were minted in 1848 due to die breakages. It wasn’t until September 1849 that the gold coins were again issued. The first series of Mormon gold coins were pure gold and did not last very long in circulation. Later gold coins were alloyed with some silver in order to increase the durability of the coin.
There is no evidence that any Mormon gold coins were minted after June 19, 1851. This means that all the gold coins marked 1849 and even 1850, could have been minted at any time between late 1848 and mid-1851. All told, it is estimated that $70,000 worth of Mormon gold coins went into circulation. If you assume all denominations were printed in equal quantities, then about 7,500 Mormon gold coins were minted. Based on known survival percentages, it would appear that the two lower denominations were either minted in greater quantities, or they were just easier to save.
As stated above, gold Mormon coins were minted to help alleviate the lack of a reliable medium of exchange in an isolated part of the world. Mormon gold was shipped to places like New York and Baltimore on the east coast to secure goods needed back in the territory. It is easy to think that a trader in a major city could have put aside a strange coin from a faraway place as a keepsake from a profitable transaction. Surely some high grade Mormon gold coins were saved purely because of their curiosity factor.
Today it is thought that around 300 gold Mormon coins are held by collectors. New discoveries in the field of Mormon coinage are always happening and always exciting.

More Info About Gold Mormon Coins:
Today the LDS has all the original gold coin dies
Gold Mormon Coins were re-struck and today there are many more replicas than authentic coins When dealing with gold Mormon coins, 99% of the time you are going to see modern reproductions. It's sad but true.

Fake Mormon coins are being produced as you are reading this. These modern reproductions will not fool a seasoned collector or dealer. However, if you have never seen a genuine Mormon gold coin before, then you might have some trouble spotting a fake.

Generally speaking, fake gold Mormon coins won't have many details and they will be very shiny. The fake coins are made of a cheap alloy that really doesn't even look like gold.

These modern reproductions are worth a few bucks due to their curiosity factor. They are not collectible though.


According to this site http://goldmormoncoins.com/, The important People Involved In The Gold Coin Production Process were:
Willard Richards, Brigham Young, John Taylor, John Kay, Robert Campbell, Martin Peck, William Clayton, Thomas Bullock




Holiness to the Lord Coin



1849 Mormon Gold Coin



Book of Mormons Coins




PCGS graded MS61 Mormon gold coin. Hard to believe that this one coin has never been touched by human hands.



This NGC graded coin AU53 shown is for sale $49,500 from one collector. There is an 1860 NGC AU55 gold coin which is also listed for $49,500 for those of you who are comparing prices for your next purchase.

The 1849 $2.5 dollar gold coin is the smallest denomination coin minted for the six coin series. The 1849 two and a half dollar coin was the lowest denomination and it wouldn't have been especially painful for most people of the time to hold onto one as a keepsake. On one side of the 1849 coin you will find the phrase 'HOLINESS TO THE LORD' encircling the emblem of Priesthood--a three-point Phrygian crown (aka hat) over the all-seeing eye of Jehovah; on the reverse encircling clasped hands, the emblem of friendship, should occur the words "G. S. L. C. P. G." and the denomination of the coin. The abbreviation is short for Great Salt Lake City Pure Gold. It is currently thought that about 75 1849 two and a half dollar gold Mormon coins are held by collectors and dealers. The coin tends to come in very high grade and attractive grades.


The 1849 five dollar gold coin is one of the more common Mormon coins from the entire six coin series. On one side of the 1849 five dollar coin you will find the phrase 'HOLINESS TO THE LORD' encircling the emblem of Priesthood--a three-point Phrygian crown over the all-seeing eye of Jehovah. On the reverse of the coin encircling clasped hands (the emblem of friendship), should occur the words "G.S.L.C.P.G" and "Five Dollars". This states that the coin is made of five dollars worth of pure gold. It is currently thought that about 75 1849 five dollar gold Mormon coins are held by collectors and dealers. The coin tends to come in very high grade and attractive grades.


The 1849 ten dollar gold coin is very rare and valuable. Like all 1849 gold Mormon coins, the ten dollar denomination features an open eye and a hat like form on the obverse. (The hat is actually a crown). The central image is surrounded by "Holiness To The Lord." The reverse of the 1849 ten dollar gold Mormon coin shows two hands clasped. The date of 1849 is below the shaking hands image. "Pure Gold" and "Ten Dollars" is also written around the hands. This is the only 1849 coin that does not say "GSLCPG." It is currently thought that only about fifteen 1849 ten dollar Mormon coins are held by collectors and dealers. This limited supply means that these coins are valuable.


The 1849 twenty dollar gold coin is the highest denomination coin minted for the entire Mormon gold issue. The twenty dollar gold Mormon coin is not only an important denomination to the Mormon series, but this coin is in fact the first twenty dollar gold piece minted for circulation use in the entire United States. The Mormon twenty was issued three months before the federal 1849 $20, and a full year before the 1850 double eagle. It is thought that around one thousand 1849 twenty dollar gold Mormon coins entered circulation. The gold used for the issue was low quality and the twenty dollar gold coin had almost three dollars less gold in it than it should. This fact meant that the coin was a bit of a hot-potato to a very precious metal aware society. Today there are somewhere around fifteen 1849 $20 gold Mormon coins known to exist. Most of the survivors are well used and not exactly show pieces compared to the two lowest denomination coins which were much easier to save. The 1849 twenty dollar Mormon coin has a similar design to other 1849 Mormon coins. There are two clasped hands, an all seeing eye, and a three pointed hat. "To The Lord Holiness", "GSLCPG", and "Twenty Dollars" are all written out on the coin.


The 1850 five dollar gold coin is very similar but also very different from the 1849 coin. The reverse of the 1850 $5 gold coin features two hands clasped and supposedly shaking. Underneath the hands is the year 1850 and Five Dollars. Above the hands is the abbreviation "G. S. L. C. P. G." This stands for Great Salt Lake City, Pure Gold. All of this is exactly the same as the 1849 five dollar coin. The obverse of the 1850 five dollar gold mormon coin is different from the same 1849 reverse. The 1850 reverse has nine stars. The hat/crown above the eye is also different; the 1850 crown has three points. There is also a halo or circle between the eye and crown, which is not found on the 1849 coins. Lots of 1850 five dollar Mormon gold coins were minted. However, due to impurities, they didn't stay in circulation very long. Today there are less than 100 known to exist with collectors.

The 1860 five dollar gold coin has the most unique design of all Mormon coins. The obverse of the 1860 $5 gold coin features a crouching lion in front of a small pool of water. The lion is surrounded by the phrase "Holiness to the Lord" written in the deseret alphabet. The alphabet really just looks like strange characters to the observer today. The reverse shows an eagle behind a beehive. The eagle is clutching arrows in its talons. Deseret Assay Office Pure Gold 5 D is written around the eagle. Gold was discovered in Colorado in 1858, this led to an increased amount of gold coming into Utah around the same time period. This new supply meant that new coins could be minted. Coins struck between 1859 and 1861 are all of the five dollar denomination and all the coins say 1860. It is thought that less than one thousand 1860 five dollar gold Mormon coins were minted. Today less than 100 are known to exist.


According to historian J. Cecil Alter, Brigham Young, while sojourning in Winter Quarters that first winter, remembered how the boys in the valley were wearing out their pockets reaching for money they did not have and brought with him on his return in September 1848 about $84 in small change. But in a burgeoning population, that was chicken feed and disappeared in the crowd as if it had never been.

An effort was made in December 1848 to circulate paper money, using handwritten scrip signed by Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball with Thomas Bullock, clerk, as a counter-signee. The scrip was issued in $1 and $5 denominations backed by gold dust, which was prevalent in the valley, but awkward and inexact in common use. (A pinch of dust varied from thumb to thumb.) After several other attempts, including the re-issue of Kirtland Safety Society anti-Banking notes from the church's failed venture in organizing an Ohio bank, Brigham gave up on paper currency. What was needed was coin.

The first solid money showed up in Great Salt Lake Valley in December 1847 after Young had left for Winter Quarters to prepare the rest of the Saints for the journey to Utah the following spring. Captain James Brown had ridden into the valley from San Francisco, his saddlebags heavy with Spanish doubloons--back pay owed the Pueblo Detachment of the Mormon Battalion.

The precise sum is a matter of debate, church records have it ranging from $5,000 to $10,000. But whatever the amount, the doubloons, probably coins of 8-escudo denomination ($20 U.S. value), had been paid by the U.S. Army paymaster to Brown, who held powers of attorney from the Pueblo veterans. Depending on the sum involved, Brown would have had from 250 to 500 of the Spanish coins in his pouches.

These gold escudos (worth today on the numismatic market about $500 in good condition) were readily accepted by Americans. With approval of the Mormon High Council in Brigham's absence, Brown spent $2,000 to buy Fort Buenaventura from Miles Goodyear; the balance is said to have gone to Battalion members. Still, the reluctance of travelers to accept Mormon scrip or Kirtland Bank notes as legitimate money continued to be a problem.

As J. Cecil Alter explained it, "To those who knew the sound of his voice, Brigham Young's signature made the new money legal tender by common consent." But with transients, who from 1849 became an important segment of the population--at least in summer--it was a different matter entirely. They were moving onward and would carry the money into a land that knew not Joseph Smith's successor, consequently immigrants not only paid out good money for what they bought, but demanded money they could use in California and Oregon in exchange for wagons, livestock, groceries, clothing, tools and implements they sold in the valley. And, Alter pointed out, that not only threatened depletion of the meager supply of U.S. money but of the gold dust deposits held in security as backing for the paper money issued.

It was imperative that a coin be struck that in itself was intrinsically worth the amount claimed on its face, which would be acceptable and usable by Mormon residents, Mormons abroad and by non-Mormons in Great Salt Lake City and elsewhere. With the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill early in 1848, gold dust was finding its way into the Mormon economy in increasing amounts. There are numerous cases of Mormons paying their church tithing in gold dust (at $15 an ounce). This "church treasure," as Alter describes it, was to be melted and rolled into strips from which coins could be stamped.

The extent to which Mormon authorities had concerned themselves with the situation is evident in a letter from Brigham Young to Thomas (Peg-Leg) Smith, who ran a trading post in the Bear River Valley. "[I] understand that you have a desire to dispose of your establishment, cattle, stock, &c. now in the Bear River Valley," Young wrote, "I send herewith Mr. Lewis Robison, a friend of mine, who is fully authorized to treat with and make suitable arrangements for pay, transfer of property, &c. Whatever arrangements he may make in regard to the pay, you may consider me responsible for the amount.

The coined money, I have now not on hand, but we are preparing to put the gold dust into coin without an alloy, which if you are disposed to take, you can have--but if you choose the American-coined money we can probably get it by the time you want it. If not, it will probably save me some little trouble." All that remained in the planning process was for Young to order the design of such coins and create the dies to stamp them with.

Part of that task took place November 25, 1848, when Brigham Young, with John Taylor and John M. Kay, sketched out the coin designs and decided upon inscriptions for them. Alfred B. Lambson forged the dies, the punches, tools and collars; Robert L. Campbell engraved the first stamps for the coins; a drop hammer was forged by Martin H. Peck, John Kay engraved the dies and minted the coins. William Clayton and Thomas Bullock acted as accountant and weigher, respectively.

Originally, the plan was to mint $2 1/2, $5, $10 and $20 gold pieces, and while this ultimately was done, the $10 coin was the first struck; with twenty-five minted the first day. The first design called for an obverse with the motto Holiness to the Lord and an emblem of the priesthood--a three-pointed Phrygian crown over an All-Seeing Eye of Jehovah. On the reverse, the $2 1/2, $5 and $20 coins were inscribed G.S.L.C. P.G. (Great Salt Lake City Pure Gold) over two clasped hands symbolizing friendship, then the value and the year date.

The $10 coin bore the words Pure Gold on its reverse, rather than the initialed phrase. This was altered in later coins so the obverse inscription would read Deseret Assay Office, Pure Gold and, at the base, 5 D. On the reverse side was a crouched lion, surrounded by Holiness to the Lord written in Deseret Alphabet characters, then the year 1860. The coins were .899 fine, with a bit of native silver, but no other alloy, for strength. Most of the coins bore the date 1849, but a great many were issued in 1850 and later.

With hard cash a reality, Daniel H. Wells and Thomas Bullock spent September 10, 1849, destroying the Mormon paper currency. "They tore up and burned between $3,000 and $4,000," according to church records. When the coins were first circulated in St. Louis by Salt Lake merchants who used them to pay for merchandise, the $20 were accepted at $18 because of the touch of silver alloy. In the valley, however, the coins went for face value.

But over the long account, the Mormon minters had the last laugh, because the numismatic value of these golden treasures are worth many fold what the Saints asked for them. (A $20 1849 Mormon gold piece, for example, is valued at between $25,000 and $50,000, according to Alvin Rust's Mormon and Utah Coin and Currency.)

The day of the Mormon coiners came to an effective close when the new San Francisco Mint went into operation in 1854, producing U.S. gold and silver hard money by the bagsful daily. The last Mormon gold was minted in 1860.

One writer wrote: Mormon Gold Coins were minted in 1849, 1850 and 1860. The Twenty Dollar Mormon Gold Coin was the first $20 piece to be minted in the United States, though many of the other dollar denominations had been minted for some time. Soon afterwards the other Assay Companies across the country followed suite, also striking their $20 piece. Private Gold, or gold coins minted outside of the U.S. owned mints were important to the early gold rush prospectors/traders/and general public. There wasn't enough federal currency circulating, and in the western territories and states specifically, money became so scarce of a commodity that the gold and silver they mined was converted to coinage for that very reason.

Generally speaking the gold was marked by the assayer such as early jeweler and gunsmith, Templeton Reid in Georgia, near the 1830's. Thou Reid was a good measure of weight, his assay were not so "pure". His mint was attacked in the newspapers and soon public confidence was low. His mint went out of business by the end of the year. With a mintage of a mere 1,600 coins, even though the purity of his coins was poor - those owning the coins today are not (poor). He struck a $2.50, $5.00 and $10 dollar coin. Most or at least many of those coins now are worth 6 figures.

The Bechtlers were a skilled group of German metallurgist's. A father and son team, they operated their mint in Rutherford, North Carolina, and were the first to produce a gold dollar in the United States, producing the first in 1831. The U.S. mints followed suite nearly 18 years later in 1849.

Moffat & Co. (1849) was probably one of the most successful in California - as the successors of their company eventually formed the United States mint of San Francisco (1852). I am thinking they may have been "forced" out, if you know what I mean. The old merger of sorts.

These assayers were set up wherever prospectors were mining, which consisted of most of the western frontier and territories. And, not only did they strike coins, but also bars, ingots, and even fractional currency were struck. Bearing weight and purity, they became currency even if they were not struck with a face amount.

Some of the more distinct patterns and shapes, my favorites, of early gold coins came from the Mormon Mint (Deseret Mint), the Oregon Exchange Company, J.S. Ormsby in Sacramento, the Pacific Company in San Francisco, and Pikes Peak Gold in Colorado. Like all coin collectors, I am fascinated with the Carson City mint, and the stories that the Reno, Sparks, and Carson City areas hold with early settlers, prospectors, and pioneer stories.



As with all my research, it is ongoing and always under construction. So whatever you may be reading, there's a good chance it will change by the time you read it a second time. As I learn more about the Mormon teaching, I will post it and revise what I have written. I encourage questions, comments or corrections from any readers.