PROVO — How people talk about religion depends upon their background. The words they use and the concepts they assume depend on what they were taught as children.
Joseph Smith's religious background was the subject of a presentation by Casey Paul Griffiths at the 37th annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium at Brigham Young University last weekend.
"What was the Smith's family religion? When Joseph Smith was learning from the Bible at his mother's and father's knee — like he said he did in his writings — what sort of words would they use? What sort of God would they have been teaching about?" asked Griffiths, a seminary teacher at Jordan High School.
The vision of the three degrees of glory described in Doctrine & Covenants 76 was not received with excitement by the early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Whole congregations apostatized, according to Griffiths. "It was new doctrine, and many stumbled at it," he said.
Members of the LDS Church with orthodox backgrounds clung to the traditional ideas of a heaven and a hell and did not embrace a more universal salvation. Joseph Smith, however, felt the vision was "a transcript from the records of the eternal world," and that "every honest man is constrained to exclaim: 'It came from God."'
"If we are trying to identify the difference between the Prophet and the other people, part of it might be their upbringing," Griffiths said. The majority of the church had troubles with the vision, but those with a different background did not.
Universalism was a well-known religious movement in Joseph Smith's day. "Universalism is the idea that Christ is going to save everyone — the wicked, the righteous, the sort-of-in-between — everybody receives salvation. And we are talking the whole nine yards: heaven," Griffiths said.
One of the primary leaders of the movement in America was John Murray, a popular preacher who lived in Gloucester, Mass. At a town nearby was another Universalist preacher named Asael Smith, Joseph Smith's grandfather.
Only one of Asael's children leaned toward accepting his sentiments concerning universal salvation: Joseph Smith Sr. He never formally joined with a Universalist congregation, but held to many of his father's ideas and attitudes.
Lucy Mack Smith, Joseph Smith's mother, also had a touch of Universalist upbringing. Her father embraced it for a while before rejecting it as "too sandy."
"Universalism wasn't exactly the Smith family religion, but it was an important overlay," Griffiths said.
Part of that overlay was the concept of a kind and loving God. The Universalists referred to him as "Heavenly Father," a term that was rare in other denominations.
A prevailing view of man's situation was found in Jonathan Edward's famous sermon, "Sinners in the hands of an Angry God." Griffiths believes that the Universalist concept of a loving God probably helped Joseph Smith feel that he could get an answer to his first spoken prayer in 1820 — a prayer that revealed a loving Heavenly Father.
Universalist traditions also put Joseph Smith's family already outside the orthodoxy of his day. Universalists railed against priestcraft and were more flexible in their doctrines. They had minds open to new ideas.
Universalists were also familiar with persecution. People criticized them for giving people unlimited license to serve the devil, according to Griffiths. Others called them the "first cousin to atheism."
Controversies swirled within the Universalists' ranks. It was hard to get people to come to church if they thought they were going to be saved anyway. And with such an open doctrine there were many unsolved questions.
Many of these questions may have led to inquiries by Joseph Smith, according to Griffiths. One example is Doctrine & Covenants 19, an answer to Martin Harris's inquiry about "endless punishment," a point of contention among Universalists.
Mormonism avoided some of the problems Universalists encountered. Griffiths said the LDS Church could give authoritative answers, had a formal organization and was able to harmonize an expansive salvation in a way that was consistent with the scriptures.
Over time, the vision in Doctrine & Covenants 76 became more accepted within the church, according to Griffiths. Joseph Smith himself began to teach it more.
"The amazing thing about Joseph Smith is, as you read his writings, it's almost like he is discovering how amazing his revelations are — along with the rest of us," Griffiths said. "He would read Section 76 and think, 'My goodness this is so incredible."'
Griffiths believes that it was no accident that Joseph Smith's family had heavy Universalist tendencies and traditions.
Having Universalism in Joseph Smith's background "was an important stepping stone in getting us a person who was malleable and changeable and had a relationship with God by the time he walked into that grove; where he felt like he could ask questions and not be 'upbraided' as the scriptures say," Griffiths said.
Asael Smith lived long enough to learn of the restoration and to read the Book of Mormon, but not long enough to be baptized. His son, Joseph Smith Sr., did join the church.
Griffiths called the day of Joseph Smith Sr.'s baptism one of Joseph Smith's proudest moments. The prophet wept to see his father finally join "the true church of Jesus Christ."
Then the father, who had taught his family about a loving Heavenly Father, was embraced with joy by his son.
E-mail: mdegroote@desnews.com