Joseph Smith’s encounter with the prophet Matthias ends when he bans Matthias from Kirtland. The two men both swear that the others are possessed. Smith believed Matthias was deranged when he said “his brain was evidently full of darkness (5)”. On page 6, he also acknowledges Matthias is a murderer. Both men were uneducated and poor men who fell on hard times after the Market Revolution. They were part of a religious movement that relied on the experiences of ordinary people, rather than educated ministers. On page 6, the author explains that the seers and their followers have had a profound impact on American History. Finneyites are another sect that was religiously fanatic during this period. They rejected Calvinism, which is based on predestination and determinism. The Finneyites held that people could be saved from inherited human selfishness by praying and repenting. Finneyites advocated religious mobility, but they also wanted to keep the two spheres, one industrial, and the other domestic. Men were to dominate the industrial and financial side, while women could lead in homekeeping and childrearing activities.
Elijah Pierson’s dislike for the class hierarchy in Morristown was formed by his upbringing. As a teenager, Pierson was outraged at the assignment of church seats. The seats assigned to the elite were better. Pierson was deeply affected by the intolerance he saw in Morristown. His mentality led to him wanting to reach out to everyone, including the most unlikely of groups. This is why he set up shop in Bowery Hill and Five Points. As a Wall Street clerk in New York City he was able establish his connections with Spring’s Brick Presbyterian Church. Pierson meets Sarah Stanford in this church. They marry soon after. Ironically, the retrenchment practices that included fasting led to Sarah Stanford’s death. Elijah was also likely driven mad by these fasts. He was a virgin up until he turned 35, which prevented him from growing into a mature adult. This made it impossible for him to become a socially confident person. Pierson is a story of love because Pierson was a man that fell into darkness after the death his only love, Sarah Stanford.
Robert Matthews who was to become the Prophet Matthias, was raised and born in a Scottish Settlement on the Hudson River. Matthias experienced fire and broom-stone sermons as well as people experiencing visions about Jesus (56). Matthews was known to be a person who would take visions seriously and act on them. Matthews was considered nervous as a young boy in the area where he grew up. This may have been due to Matthews’ sudden desire to gain supporters under his self-proclaimed son of Israel. Matthews was driven to madness by the loss of his financial independence. In his quest to become a prophet, Matthews was likely influenced by the abandonment that he believed he had received from his parents. His inability to support them was also a factor.
