The Renaissance, The Reformation, and the Restoration

The rise of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was an anomaly in its relation to the Reformation. Its origins seemed to directly correspond with Reformist ideal- namely, that revelation was open to all seekers of God; that a lowly farm boy could establish a spiritual maturity through the Bible; and that gifts of the Spirit could be made manifest in church members. The Reformation was a time in which people felt they were free to interpret the Bible according to their own conscience, and not only bow to Catholic authorities. That kind of intellectual liberality was born in the Renaissance, which encouraged individual thought.

The Renaissance contributed a number of ideals. The humanistic elevation of the individual is found in how achievement and self-respect became trademarks of the Renaissance. This would prove vital to the Latter-day Saint deification of Man. The notion of discovery and ‘brave new worlds’ is the basis of the narrative in the Book of Mormon- a narrative of finding the promised land on the American continent. Latter-day Saint missions also hold the same spirit of exploring new cultures to convert people to a different style of living. This is mirrored in the way Europeans around the 1500s viewed America. Be it during the Renaissance or the Reformation, the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is well rooted in hundreds of years worth of culturally crafted ideals.

Differences

The anomaly is in the dual nature of the Latter-day Saint movement. It encouraged Reformist positions, but was structured as a hierarchical priesthood. This was the very sort of institution reformers fought against. While people cried that “Sola fide” (only faith) was necessary for salvation, the Restored Gospel strictly maintained that a series of priesthood-administered ordinances were necessary for salvation. While Luther encouraged reformers to reject anything but “sola scriptura” (only scripture) in his 95 theses, Latter-Day prophet Joseph Smith added the Book of Mormon and claimed the right to add any revelation he received to the official scripture cannon.

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As far as Renaissance ideals went, it curiously defied those expectations as well. As individualistic as the church’s doctrine was, it also encouraged a complete economic consecration to the community. While conquerors of the New World such as Cortés and Pizarro depended on a sense of ‘us and them’, or ‘white man and savage’, the Book of Mormon taught that the Native Americans were descended from Europeans themselves. This upended the original paradigm completely.

Latter-day Saint Perspective

 The result of the church’s duality is suitably twofold- it has something that appeals to all schools of thought, but also happens to offend everyone at the same time. From a Latter-day Saint perspective, however, pieces fit into glorious place. The last several centuries were stepping stones, not completely accurate in their quest for truth, but an upward path that allowed for the full truth to be revealed once more to a prophet of God. The Renaissance and the Reformation may be considered the efforts of noble people that brought the world closer to God.