Chapter X.
Why Did Mormonism Catch On So Hard?

1. New Land, New Revelation, New Start

19th-century America was paradise for weirdos, visionaries, cults, and spiritual revolutions.
People wanted a new beginning, and Smith said, „You are the new chosen people!„
Any Ohio farmer could become an apostle, any seamstress—a prophetess.

2. Promise of Direct Contact With God

Catholicism?—hierarchy, Latin, Pope in Rome.
Protestantism?—less red tape, but same old story.
Here: „God spoke through Smith to you—personally, here and now!„
Revelations not just for the prophet—”everyone can have their own.”

3. Simple Narrative That Makes Sense of Everything

The Book of Mormon explains where Native Americans came from, why America is special, and why—by “accident”—we landed on the world’s best continent.
A new Bible for a new world: “Here’s your own salvation story!”

4. The American Self-Made Myth

With Smith, you don’t wait for a miracle in Jerusalem.
Salvation is here, in your own cornfield.
Join the Mormons, and you get a new identity and “a local key to heaven.”

5. A Community That Never Leaves Anyone Behind

From day one, Mormons were “one big family.”
You help others, share wives (back then!), get material and spiritual support;
migrating across half of America bonded the group like a graveyard oath.

6. Organizational Firepower

Want to know how to build a corporation with a soul?
Look at the Mormons:
division of roles, hierarchy, logistics, their own banks, schools, insurance.
Salt Lake City started in a desert and turned into a “zero-to-hero” metropolis.

7. Cure for Fear, Emptiness & Chaos

In times of crisis, any faith that gives you simple rules and makes you “chosen” will grab people by the throat.
Mormonism was powerful because it was simple and complete: you get a prophet, a promised land, and your own Book.

8. Social Engineering—and a Bit of Luck

Smith was a genius storyteller, manipulator, and leader.
He spun up the dream machine and turned it into religious MLM (multi-level-messiah).
And America—like any stock market—loves something new.

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In Short:

Mormonism caught on because it was tailor-made for the American dream:
– simplicity
– the promise of success
– real community
– “do it yourself” logic
– and faith that God sends new revelations like iPhone updates:
“Install today, be saved tomorrow!”

And if you think this has nothing to do with your life, look around your nearest corporation.
You’ll find a prophet, a rulebook, and an eternal promo on salvation.

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Why Is It Hard to Laugh at Them?

Sure, the Mormon epic is full of absurd hats, golden plates, and polygamist prophets—but it’s hard not to respect their collective grit and social engineering.

1. Because They Survived Against Everyone

Persecuted, driven out, murdered, robbed.
You need balls (and a collective brain for logistics) to build a city in the desert when others are whining about muddy boots.
They organized like nobody in the 19th century:
irrigation, local government, education, social solidarity.

2. Because They Built a Real Community

It wasn’t just about “the need to belong”—they had a real safety net, purpose, support system.
The Mormon community was—and still is—famous for mutual aid, fast crisis response, education, investing in people.
They had schools, health care, support for widows, orphans, and the poor—before welfare was even a thing.

3. Because They Walked the Walk

While 90% of Americans moaned about freedom and brotherhood, Mormons actually lived like communards (at least for a few decades).
Their system was tough, sometimes oppressive, but it worked—they survived by organization and discipline, not miracles.

4. Because Their Origin Myth, Absurd as It Is, Had Power

What started in myth and a hat outgrew its original goofiness:
they built a state within a state, a culture, a lifestyle, even influenced US politics.
Genealogy, missions, self-help, work ethic—it didn’t come from nowhere.

5. Because Every Crazy Movement Leaves Something That Lasts

Salt Lake City today isn’t just the LDS capital—it’s a tech, business, and science center.
The LDS Church is one of the world’s most effective charities—without bragging about philanthropy.

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Irony:

We laugh at magic stones and hats, but in the 21st century, those “funny” desert kids have their own cities, universities, way of life—
and the rest of America, the ones who shunned them, prays for that level of community.

Absurdity beats cynicism, if it’s fueled by stubbornness and hard work.
You don’t have to believe in golden plates,
but you can’t help but believe in the power of the community they built.

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