Eazly Mormonism and the Magic Worldview Mormonism, also known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), is a religious movement that emerged in the early 19th century in the United States. It was founded by Joseph Smith Jr., who claimed to have had a series of visions and revelations from God. One aspect of early Mormonism that sets it apart from other Christian denominations is its unique worldview. This worldview incorporates elements of a magical worldview, which is characterized by a belief in the supernatural and the power of magic. In early Mormonism, there was a deep belief in the existence of a magical and enchanted world.
But what exactly is so wrong about placebo effects anyways? Skeptics will often elicit the term in the pejorative, as if to minimize what is happening to the afflicted when they request for a priesthood ordinance to be administered. Now to be clear, what is not happening is some inexplicable supernatural event above man’s capacity to discern. But should man be unable to detect natural causes and effects, he will elicit the term “magic” as being synonymous with the term “mystery.”
Throughout early Mormonism and even present today, the Saints believe that through prayer and ritual they can manipulate supernatural powers to their advantage, whether it be to cast out demons, summon divine presence, or in special instances, raise their right hand to the square and recite a unique incantation that expunges the very presence of evil and witches as defined above. Now this isn t to suggest that mere belief will always cure the believer, but it also isn t to understate, or worse denigrate the remarkable power of the mind and its power to stave of sickness.
In early Mormonism, there was a deep belief in the existence of a magical and enchanted world. This magical worldview was influenced by the prevailing cultural beliefs of the time, as well as a strong belief in the divine intervention and the power of miracles. According to Mormon teachings, God actively intervened in the affairs of individuals and provided them with signs and wonders to confirm their faith.
Early Mormonism and the Magic Worldview
I recently finished D. Michael Quinn’s seminal study on “Early Mormonism and the Magic Worldview,” a book which for some Latter-day Saints may be viewed as enlightening, embarrassing, or in an ironic way— faith-promoting. I saw it as the first and the last. In summary, Quinn argues for the overlapping magisteria between magic and religion, making a case that both traditions have not been clearly demarcated by LDS apologists who seem to believe that religious belief becomes mere superstition “if we admit any relationship with magic.” This makes sense too given that twentieth-century Americans have been secularized by the scientific worldview to the point that the terms “magic” and “occult” have been given polemical definitions such as “the opposite of reality.” However, the nature and significance of ritual, both within religious and magical traditions, creates a divisive prejudice for religious cultures when they seek to validate their own peculiar set of rituals as legitimate, divine, while others as illegitimate, not divine.
Erwin R. Goodenough observes that “it is easier for people to classify a religious practice as magic when it occurs outside their own religion.” John Dominic Crossan notes: “More simply: “we” practice religion, “they” practice magic.” Quinn concludes: “[Crossan] dismisses the religion/magic divide as political validation of the approved and the official against the unapproved and the unofficial.” A problem here Quinn raises relates to how careful and specific LDS apologists have been when claiming they are convinced that magic and religion cannot be the same thing. Hence, “if prayer cannot be distinguished from incantation or [ordinance] from enchantment, sorcery or wizardry,” wrote respected Jewish scholar Jacob Neusner, “then religion cannot be set apart from magic.”
We can examine just a few of Mormonism’s rituals and ceremonies that seem to situate its religious practices still very much in the thick of the magical tradition. Put differently, magic and the occult have not yet been throughly extinguished from the modern LDS tradition, or from what many LDS apologists wish to escape, for as Quinn argues, magic in the LDS tradition has simply been “steadily renamed, consolidated, centralized, and regulated its practice.” In examining this relationship between magic and religion, Quinn plays with semantics and uses a figurative lens to showcase the cross-current parallels between both studies as porous, interlacing disciplines.
First, the study of magic and the occult include using “ceremonies or objects to summon or repel otherworldly beings.” For modern Mormonism, this can open up a large, complex discussion on how LDS lay members might draw the battle lines against folk religious ceremonies like incantation beliefs (that magic words, when uttered, summon spirits), and say more current institutional ceremonies like the sacrament—both which are attempting to summon otherworldly agents, or invite the Spirit into a person’s life. LDS priesthood blessings would be another example of enacting a ritual that Mormons believe can either summon divine spirits or repel satanic ones.
Second, the study of magic and the occult includes “the wearing of medallions or other objects for their own inherent powers to bring about protection or good luck.” In a somewhat similar context, faithful Mormons have often regarded the temple “garment” as a kind of spiritual amulet, which they believe “becomes a shield and protection to the wearer.” In Mormon folklore the temple garment sometimes functions as a classic amulet that has power in and of itself. Stories about men and women caught in hotel fires and all their clothing burnt except for where the garment covered clearly shows that the wearing of the garment cannot be simply construed as spiritual metaphor, for as Quinn argues “If [a] man’s righteousness alone were the source of this protection, [these people] would have escaped all injury.” For some Mormons the garment has power to protect only what it touches, like a spiritual talisman.
Third, the study of magic and the occult includes “the belief in witches (humans capable of summoning evil forces) and in remedies against them.” Throughout early Mormonism and even present today, the Saints believe that through prayer and ritual they can manipulate supernatural powers to their advantage, whether it be to cast out demons, summon divine presence, or in special instances, raise their right hand to the square and recite a unique incantation that expunges the very presence of evil and witches (as defined above).
Fourth, the study of magic and the occult includes “the performance of ceremonies to find treasures and be healed from disease.” Modern Mormons throughout the world still use consecrated olive oil to heal in connection with the priesthood ordinance of administering to the sick. “If asked about this now,” Quinn argues, “most Mormons would answer that applying special oil to the head during a religious ordinance is purely symbolic. That definition falters in view of nineteenth-century Mormon practice of applying the oil directly to the part of the body to be healed.” Furthermore, the use of consecrated oil in LDS priesthood blessings, in addition to Christ’s use of spittle for healings, or that charismatics would expect to be healed by touching the hem of a pure person’s clothes, illustrate powerfully what Richard Bushman taught concerning the practical function of magic in the Smith family home: “Magic had served its purpose in [Joseph’s] life. In a sense, it was a preparatory gospel.”
It is at this crossroads of magic-as-preparatory versus magic as seen by moderns as irrational and anti-religious that early Mormonism emerges. Bushman concedes this point: “Joseph Smith stood on the line dividing visionary supernaturalism from rational Christianity,” a perspective I believe that Quinn himself cannot overstate enough in his book. And in light of of modern Mormonism’s penchant for magic’s continual influence and power on its current traditions and ritual (as illustrated above), I personally believe apologists don’t really have a leg to stand on when attempting to distance the current LDS church as somehow wholly other from the magic worldview. Apologists shouldn’t feel embarrassed either by Joseph’s involvement in the treasure-quest, his wearing of an astrological Jupiter talisman, his possession of seer stones, a dagger for drawing magic circles, or use of magical parchments to ward off thieves and communicate with good spirits.
If these magical things were and are but preparatory elements awaiting to be fulfilled in deeper knowledge, deeper laws and understanding of how the cosmos operate, or how divinity communicates with us, I see then no conflict between magic and religious ritual, for both are necessary in what it means to “grow up unto the Lord.” Magic is to religion like training wheels are to a bicycle.
Take for example when the methods of science have been exacerbated and accompanying prayers to heaven have gone unnoticed. It is in these moments when we can enlist the power of ritual, the power of ordinance. An ordinance is an outward symbol expressing an inner-spiritual reality, as evidenced in the scriptural case of the laying on of hands and the associated verbal incantation for the sick to receive added strength and healing. A recent national study survey indicates that many people have “experienced or witnessed a divine healing” in these regards. The skeptic, however, dismisses these miraculous experiences as nothing more than human placebo effects.
But what exactly is so wrong about placebo effects anyways? Skeptics will often elicit the term in the pejorative, as if to minimize what is happening to the afflicted when they request for a priesthood ordinance to be administered. Now to be clear, what is not happening is some inexplicable supernatural event above man’s capacity to discern. But should man be unable to detect natural causes and effects, he will elicit the term “magic” as being synonymous with the term “mystery.”
The relationship between magic and religion, I think, can be better understood with this notion of placebo. For example, a priesthood blessing is very much tied to the power of the mind and the body’s own healing capacities to recover. A person must believe that he or she can be healed. Belief precedes the miracle, and “miracle” here is nothing more than the unstated but curious power of placebos. In other words, if a person really believed that an objective ritual, once performed, can thereby unlock the subjective and extraordinary power of the mind to heal itself, then this petition must express the power of honest placebos.
Now this isn’t to suggest that mere belief will always cure the believer, but it also isn’t to understate, or worse—denigrate—the remarkable power of the mind and its power to stave of sickness. When we are sick, there ought to be the harmony between applying the best techniques of science in addition to relying upon the miracle of the mind, the miracle of belief, to heal the soul. Again, the term “miracle” in these instances should not conjure up feelings of the supernatural but should be related to our and appreciation for how elegant we really are.
This, from my perspective, places magic and religious ritual within their proper contexts, like Yin and Yang, both necessary for our maturation into godhood.
Mormonism exploded in a very specific context that allowed for it to do so.
Magic was also a prominent aspect of early Mormonism. Joseph Smith claimed to possess a seer stone, which he used to translate the Book of Mormon from ancient golden plates. This practice of divination and using magical objects was seen as a necessary tool for communicating with the divine and accessing hidden knowledge. Furthermore, early Mormonism incorporated elements of folk magic and ritual practices. For example, the use of divination tools such as seer stones and divining rods was not uncommon among early Mormons. These practices were believed to enable individuals to receive spiritual guidance and revelation. Overall, early Mormonism embraced a magical worldview that saw the world as a place filled with supernatural powers and divine intervention. It is important to note that over time, as Mormonism evolved and grew in size, the magical elements of the religion became less emphasized, and the focus shifted towards more traditional Christian teachings and practices. In conclusion, early Mormonism was characterized by a unique worldview that incorporated elements of a magical worldview. The belief in the supernatural, divine intervention, and the use of magical objects were central to the early teachings and practices of the LDS Church. However, as the religion matured, these magical elements became less prominent, and the focus shifted towards more conventional Christian beliefs and practices..
Reviews for "The Role of Magic in Eazly Mormonism: An In-Depth Analysis"
1. Name: Sarah - Rating: 1/5
Review: I was really disappointed with "Eazly mormonism and the magic worlf yiew". The writing was so poor that I couldn't even finish the book. The plot was confusing and the characters were poorly developed. It felt like a rushed attempt at combining religion and fantasy without any real depth. Overall, I found it to be a complete waste of time and would not recommend it to anyone.
2. Name: John - Rating: 2/5
Review: I had high expectations for "Eazly mormonism and the magic worlf yiew", but ultimately, it fell short. The concept seemed interesting, but the execution was lacking. The writing style was disjointed and difficult to follow, and the dialogue felt forced and unnatural. Additionally, I found it hard to connect with the characters, as they lacked depth and complexity. While it had potential, it missed the mark for me.
3. Name: Emily - Rating: 2/5
Review: "Eazly mormonism and the magic worlf yiew" was not what I expected. The writing was tedious and the pacing was slow. The plot seemed promising at first, but it quickly became convoluted and confusing. Furthermore, the characters lacked development and their actions felt illogical. I struggled to finish the book and found it to be a disappointing read.