Mormonism is a term defining the religious beliefs and practices of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Mormons. Mormonism describes the doctrines of the Church that were started by Joseph Smith during the Second Great Awakening.
The early Church of Christ faced persecution from residents of several towns when they tried to gather and “establish God’s kingdom on the earth”. They were expelled from Jackson County in 1833 and fled to other parts of Missouri in 1838. Violence between the Missourians and church members resulted in the governor of Missouri issuing an “extermination order” against the Mormons, as they were called, which again forced the church to relocate. The displaced church fled to Illinois, to a small town called Commerce. Under Smith’s direction, the church bought the town, renamed it Nauvoo, and lived with a degree of peace and prosperity for a few years. However, tensions between Mormons and their neighbors again escalated and in 1844 Smith was killed by a mob, precipitating a succession crisis.