SpencerMarsh at 00:09, 27 June 2026

2026-06-27T00:09:43Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:09, 27 June 2026
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	__NOTOC__		__NOTOC__
	<h1><b>Early Church Converts' Financial Circumstances</b></h1>		<h1><b>Early Church Converts' Financial Circumstances</b></h1>
	{{Summary1}} Critics sometimes claim that early Latter-day Saint missionaries in England took advantage of widespread poverty and poor living conditions to gain converts. ~~This article argues that the~~ historical evidence paints a more complex picture. While some converts hoped for better opportunities in America, joining the Church often required years of financial sacrifice to save enough money to emigrate, and many British members remained in England for years after their baptism. Some converts were financially comfortable and gave up successful careers or valuable property to gather with the Saints. ~~The article concludes that economic~~ conditions may have influenced some people's decisions, but the evidence does not support the claim that missionaries primarily relied on poverty or financial desperation to attract converts. ~~Did early Mormon missionaries to England take advantage of "intolerable social and economic conditions" in order to gain converts?~~		{{Summary1}} Critics sometimes claim that early Latter-day Saint missionaries in England took advantage of widespread poverty and poor living conditions to gain converts. The historical evidence paints a more complex picture. While some converts hoped for better opportunities in America, joining the Church often required years of financial sacrifice to save enough money to emigrate, and many British members remained in England for years after their baptism. Some converts were financially comfortable and gave up successful careers or valuable property to gather with the Saints. Economic conditions may have influenced some people's decisions, but the evidence does not support the claim that missionaries primarily relied on poverty or financial desperation to attract converts.
	----		----
	====Significant financial hardships were required even to immigrate: Immigration was also not a matter of instant financial benefits====		====Significant financial hardships were required even to immigrate: Immigration was also not a matter of instant financial benefits====
			Did early Mormon missionaries to England take advantage of "intolerable social and economic conditions" to gain converts? Critic Fawn Brodie originally made this claim in her book ''No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith ''. Brodie's claim oversimplifies significantly. Charles Dickens described Latter-day Saint immigrants as "the pick and flower of England." Immigration was also not about instant financial benefits.

	This claim was originally made by critic Fawn Brodie in her book ''No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith ''. Brodie's claim oversimplifies a great deal. Charles Dickens described LDS immigrants as "the pick and flower of England." Immigration was also not a matter of instant financial benefits.		Some immigrants doubtless were attracted by opportunities in America. But significant financial hardships were required even to immigrate. Some Latter-day Saints (e.g., John Benbow) left considerable property and very comfortable circumstances in England. As is typical, Brodie oversimplifies a complex issue, and it is not surprising that the effect is to make church missionaries look exploitative. She apparently wishes to downplay the spiritual appeal of the message that Latter-day Saint missionaries preached.

	Some immigrants doubtless were attracted by opportunities in America. But, significant financial hardships were required even to immigrate. Some Latter-day Saints (e.g., John Benbow) left considerable property and very comfortable circumstances in England. As is typical, Brodie oversimplifies a complex issue, and it is not surprising that the effect is to make church missionaries look exploitative. She apparently wishes to ~~down play~~ the spiritual ~~attraction~~ of the message preached ~~by LDS missionaries~~.

	For example, on the ship ''Amazon'' which sailed in 1863		For example, on the ship ''Amazon'' which sailed in 1863

SpencerMarsh at 00:07, 27 June 2026

2026-06-27T00:07:21Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:07, 27 June 2026
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	<small>[[Church finances\|Church Finances]] \| <span style="color:#7BB375">Early Converts to the Church</span></small>		<small>[[Church finances\|Church Finances]] \| <span style="color:#7BB375">Early Converts to the Church</span></small>
	__NOTOC__		__NOTOC__
	<h1><b>Early Church Converts' Financial Circumstances		<h1><b>Early Church Converts' Financial Circumstances</b></h1>
	{{Summary1}} Critics sometimes claim that early Latter-day Saint missionaries in England took advantage of widespread poverty and poor living conditions to gain converts. This article argues that the historical evidence paints a more complex picture. While some converts hoped for better opportunities in America, joining the Church often required years of financial sacrifice to save enough money to emigrate, and many British members remained in England for years after their baptism. Some converts were financially comfortable and gave up successful careers or valuable property to gather with the Saints. The article concludes that economic conditions may have influenced some people's decisions, but the evidence does not support the claim that missionaries primarily relied on poverty or financial desperation to attract converts. Did early Mormon missionaries to England take advantage of "intolerable social and economic conditions" in order to gain converts?		{{Summary1}} Critics sometimes claim that early Latter-day Saint missionaries in England took advantage of widespread poverty and poor living conditions to gain converts. This article argues that the historical evidence paints a more complex picture. While some converts hoped for better opportunities in America, joining the Church often required years of financial sacrifice to save enough money to emigrate, and many British members remained in England for years after their baptism. Some converts were financially comfortable and gave up successful careers or valuable property to gather with the Saints. The article concludes that economic conditions may have influenced some people's decisions, but the evidence does not support the claim that missionaries primarily relied on poverty or financial desperation to attract converts. Did early Mormon missionaries to England take advantage of "intolerable social and economic conditions" in order to gain converts?
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SpencerMarsh at 00:06, 27 June 2026

2026-06-27T00:06:53Z

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	~~{{Main Page}}~~		<small>[[Church finances\|Church Finances]] \| <span style="color:#7BB375">Early Converts to the Church</span></small>
	~~{{Navigation~~:Church ~~finances}}~~		__NOTOC__
			<h1><b>Early Church Converts' Financial Circumstances
	<~~onlyinclude~~>		{{Summary1}} Critics sometimes claim that early Latter-day Saint missionaries in England took advantage of widespread poverty and poor living conditions to gain converts. This article argues that the historical evidence paints a more complex picture. While some converts hoped for better opportunities in America, joining the Church often required years of financial sacrifice to save enough money to emigrate, and many British members remained in England for years after their baptism. Some converts were financially comfortable and gave up successful careers or valuable property to gather with the Saints. The article concludes that economic conditions may have influenced some people's decisions, but the evidence does not support the claim that missionaries primarily relied on poverty or financial desperation to attract converts. Did early Mormon missionaries to England take advantage of "intolerable social and economic conditions" in order to gain converts?
	{{~~Header~~}}		----
			====Significant financial hardships were required even to immigrate: Immigration was also not a matter of instant financial benefits====
	*[[Other financial topics#Did early ~~Mormon~~ missionaries to England ~~take~~ advantage of ~~"intolerable social~~ and ~~economic~~ conditions~~" in order~~ to gain converts~~?\|Did early Mormon missionaries~~ to England ~~take advantage of "intolerable social~~ and economic conditions~~" in order~~ to ~~gain~~ converts~~?]]~~
	~~</onlyinclude>~~
	==Did early Mormon missionaries to England take advantage of "intolerable social and economic conditions" in order to gain converts?==
	===Significant financial hardships were required even to immigrate: Immigration was also not a matter of instant financial benefits===

	This claim was originally made by critic Fawn Brodie in her book ''No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith ''. Brodie's claim oversimplifies a great deal. Charles Dickens described LDS immigrants as "the pick and flower of England." Immigration was also not a matter of instant financial benefits.		This claim was originally made by critic Fawn Brodie in her book ''No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith ''. Brodie's claim oversimplifies a great deal. Charles Dickens described LDS immigrants as "the pick and flower of England." Immigration was also not a matter of instant financial benefits.

GregSmith at 03:42, 8 May 2024

2024-05-08T03:42:00Z

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	</blockquote>		</blockquote>


			{{Critical sources box:Mormonism and politics/Economics of LDS immigration/CriticalSources}}

GregSmith: bot - remove old references code

2024-04-13T02:56:33Z

bot - remove old references code

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	~~==References==~~
	~~{{Reflist}}~~
	{{endnotes sources}}		{{endnotes sources}}
	[[Category:American Massacre]]		[[Category:American Massacre]]

	[[es:Pregunta: ¿Los primeros misioneros mormones en Inglaterra se aprovecharon de "condiciones sociales y económicas intolerables" para ganar conversos?]]		[[es:Pregunta: ¿Los primeros misioneros mormones en Inglaterra se aprovecharon de "condiciones sociales y económicas intolerables" para ganar conversos?]]

GregSmith: Bot, replaced: {{Navigation Church finances}} → {{Navigation:Church finances}}

2024-04-12T19:33:36Z

Bot, replaced: {{Navigation Church finances}} → {{Navigation:Church finances}}

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	{{Main Page}}		{{Main Page}}
	{{Navigation Church finances}}		{{Navigation:Church finances}}

	<onlyinclude>		<onlyinclude>
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			==References==
			{{Reflist}}
	{{endnotes sources}}		{{endnotes sources}}
	[[Category:American Massacre]]		[[Category:American Massacre]]

	[[es:Pregunta: ¿Los primeros misioneros mormones en Inglaterra se aprovecharon de "condiciones sociales y económicas intolerables" para ganar conversos?]]		[[es:Pregunta: ¿Los primeros misioneros mormones en Inglaterra se aprovecharon de "condiciones sociales y económicas intolerables" para ganar conversos?]]

DavidSmith at 15:49, 28 April 2023

2023-04-28T15:49:47Z

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	<onlyinclude>		<onlyinclude>
	{{T5		{{Header}}
	~~\|H=Other financial topics~~
	}}
	*[[Other financial topics#Did early Mormon missionaries to England take advantage of "intolerable social and economic conditions" in order to gain converts?\|Did early Mormon missionaries to England take advantage of "intolerable social and economic conditions" in order to gain converts?]]		*[[Other financial topics#Did early Mormon missionaries to England take advantage of "intolerable social and economic conditions" in order to gain converts?\|Did early Mormon missionaries to England take advantage of "intolerable social and economic conditions" in order to gain converts?]]
	</onlyinclude>		</onlyinclude>

DavidSmith: correcting main page link

2023-03-02T21:26:06Z

correcting main page link

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	{{~~FairMormon~~}}		{{Main Page}}
	{{Navigation Church finances}}		{{Navigation Church finances}}

DavidSmith: added navigation box

2023-03-02T21:18:48Z

added navigation box

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:18, 2 March 2023
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			{{Navigation Church finances}}

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	{{T5		{{T5

DavidSmith: moving content to consolidated page

2023-03-02T19:20:40Z

moving content to consolidated page

New page

{{FairMormon}}
<onlyinclude>
{{T5
|H=Other financial topics
}}
*[[Other financial topics#Did early Mormon missionaries to England take advantage of "intolerable social and economic conditions" in order to gain converts?|Did early Mormon missionaries to England take advantage of "intolerable social and economic conditions" in order to gain converts?]]
</onlyinclude>
==Did early Mormon missionaries to England take advantage of "intolerable social and economic conditions" in order to gain converts?==
===Significant financial hardships were required even to immigrate: Immigration was also not a matter of instant financial benefits===

This claim was originally made by critic Fawn Brodie in her book ''No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith ''. Brodie's claim oversimplifies a great deal. Charles Dickens described LDS immigrants as "the pick and flower of England." Immigration was also not a matter of instant financial benefits.

Some immigrants doubtless were attracted by opportunities in America. But, significant financial hardships were required even to immigrate. Some Latter-day Saints (e.g., John Benbow) left considerable property and very comfortable circumstances in England. As is typical, Brodie oversimplifies a complex issue, and it is not surprising that the effect is to make church missionaries look exploitative. She apparently wishes to down play the spiritual attraction of the message preached by LDS missionaries.

For example, on the ship ''Amazon'' which sailed in 1863

<blockquote>
"of prime importance in determining when a family would emigrate was the matter of finances. In spite of great faith, many would-be emigrants found it difficult to save enough money to pay for their passage and other expenses. Charles and Eliza West joined the Church in 1849 and began in 1853 to put money into the individual emigrating accounts kept by local Church leaders. But the expenses of a growing family made saving difficult....Half the married adults aboard the Amazon had been Latter-day Saints for thirteen years or more. Even those with a larger income found it difficult to save for emigration. But single adults, without the expense of a family, generally emigrated three to four years sooner after baptism than married adults. Though some of the Amazon passengers were recent converts, eighty-five percent of the adults had been members more than five years before they emigrated....Some husbands and fathers of Amazon passengers had emigrated earlier, hoping to establish a home in Utah and earn enough to pay for their families’ emigration. This was not an uncommon practice among emigrants. On the other hand, some wives—even expectant mothers—and children aboard the Amazon were leaving their husbands and fathers behind; these breadwinners hoped to join their families the next year after earning the rest of the emigration money and closing out their financial affairs." <ref>{{Ensign1|author=Richard L. Jensen and Gordon Irving|article=The Voyage of the ''Amazon'': A Close View of One Immigrant Company|date=Mar 1980|start=16}} {{link|url=https://www.lds.org/ensign/1980/03/the-voyage-of-the-amazon-a-close-view-of-one-immigrant-company?lang=eng}}</ref>
</blockquote>

{{endnotes sources}}
[[Category:American Massacre]]

[[es:Pregunta: ¿Los primeros misioneros mormones en Inglaterra se aprovecharon de "condiciones sociales y económicas intolerables" para ganar conversos?]]

Other financial topics - Revision history