Mormonism

• The Book of Mormon published 1830

  Presented as the record of ancient peoples in the Americas, translated by Smith from golden plates. It centres on a visit by the resurrected Christ to the New World, and it is the text that makes the church a distinct religion rather than a reform movement.

• Doctrine and Covenants first compiled 1835, still added to

  A collection of revelations given to Smith and later church presidents, covering church organisation, the priesthood, the three degrees of glory and, in later sections, the 1890 end of plural marriage and the 1978 extension of priesthood to Black members. It is the clearest evidence that the canon is treated as open.

• Pearl of Great Price compiled 1851

  A short volume containing the Book of Moses, the Book of Abraham, Smith's own account of the First Vision and the Articles of Faith. Much of the church's distinctive cosmology, including the pre-mortal existence of souls, lives here.

• c. 6–4 BCE – 30/33 CELife of Jesus of NazarethLife of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity, crucified in Roman Judea c. 30–33 CE.
• c. 30 CEJerusalem church formsAfter the crucifixion, apostles led by Peter and James form the nucleus of the earliest Christian community, initially a sect within Judaism practicing communal living.
• c. 46–60 CEPaul's missions and the Council of JerusalemPaul's journeys plant churches across Asia Minor and Greece; the first Christian council in Jerusalem opens the faith to Gentiles without full Jewish law observance.
• 64 CENero's persecutionAfter the Great Fire of Rome, Christians are scapegoated and brutally executed — the first imperial-level targeting of the new faith.
• c. 70 CEGospel of Mark writtenThe earliest gospel is composed; Matthew and Luke follow c. 80–90, John c. 90–100.
• 249–251 CEDecian persecutionFirst empire-wide persecution: edicts require all citizens to certify sacrifices to the gods and emperor, producing mass lapses, confiscations, and martyrdoms.
• 303–311 CEThe Great PersecutionDiocletian and Galerius demolish churches, burn scriptures, and demand universal sacrifice; its failure — capped by Galerius's 311 toleration edict — demonstrates Christianity's resilience.
• 313 CEEdict of MilanConstantine and Licinius decree religious toleration across the Roman Empire, legalizing Christianity.
• 325 CECouncil of NicaeaFirst ecumenical council establishes the Nicene Creed and fixes the date of Easter, defining orthodox Christology against Arianism.
• c. 350 CECodex SinaiticusOldest surviving complete Christian Bible, in Greek including the Septuagint.

Learn why a religion that asks for so much gets so much back.

1. Module 1

   A Boy in a Grove

   You understand the founding claim and the 1820s revival culture that made it plausible to some and outrageous to others.

   Do: Read Joseph Smith's own 1838 account of the First Vision and note exactly where you find it convincing or not.

2. Module 2

   The Book Itself

   You know what the Book of Mormon actually says, as distinct from what people assume it says.

   Do: Read 3 Nephi 11 and write down three things that surprised you about the tone.

3. Module 3

   Exaltation

   You can explain how a religion arrived at the idea that humans can become gods, and how that reframes the whole moral system.

   Do: Write out what changes about ambition if you assume your potential is literally divine rather than metaphorically.

4. Module 4

   The Machine

   You see how missions, callings, tithing and weekly service build one of the most effective community engines in modern religion.

   Do: Map your own week and count the hours you give to any group that would notice if you vanished.

5. Module 5

   High Agency, High Control

   You can hold both truths: the system produces extraordinary capability, and the cost is a great deal of your autonomy.

   Do: Interview or read two accounts, one from a committed member and one from someone who left, and note where they agree.

• General Conference first weekends of April and October

  Two days of broadcast sermons from church leadership in Salt Lake City, watched worldwide and freely streamed, which functions as the movement's twice-yearly pulse check.

• Fast Sunday first Sunday of every month

  A congregation-wide fast followed by an open-microphone meeting where ordinary members stand and share testimony without a prepared script.

• Pioneer Day 24 July

  A Utah state holiday marking the 1847 arrival of the first Mormon wagon company in the Salt Lake Valley, celebrated with parades, fireworks and handcart re-enactments.

The missionary system produces confident, resilient, multilingual nineteen-year-olds at a rate almost nothing else in modern life matches. Is that a case for high-demand religion, or just proof that any sufficiently intense two years would do the same and we have simply stopped asking young people for anything?