Spiritualism Movement

[Jersey Girl]

First, let me ask you all to bear with me here. I'm writing this in real time as it's happening.

Some of you may be aware that I take part in what is called the True Crime Community online. I just now decided to check in with, in my opinion, one of the THE best content creators in the youtube True Crime Community because she does a special series in October and I look forward to it. The 2-part piece that I am listening to right now is about Hinsdale House in New York which is allegedly a haunted house or some such thing.

Listening to the intro she mentions her home town of Rochester, New York, and the Spiritualism Movement of the 1800's in that area. Then she defines the movement. Things start to click in my head. I pull up the wiki on Spiritualism, notice Swedenborg (guess where I'm going with this) and as she is talking about Palmyra and Joseph Smith Jr., I see Mormonism mentioned in the wiki. Now she is talking about mound builders. Okay, so what, right?

If you would like to look in on this 2 part series maybe there is something there you haven't previously considered that intersects with what you know to be true about the Mormon Church. Maybe you'll just enjoy the content. Or not.

I invite you to get some place quiet, make a cup of coffee or whatever, put your feet up and give her a listen. I stopped the video just now to write this so I have no idea what the content will be or the story behind it. In my view, what makes her one of the very best content creators are her research skills and delivery. She's a good story teller, very easy to listen to. I will just link you to the first video, the second you can find on your own if you find it of interest.

Here she is:

Harloween: The Haunting Of Hinsdale House Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTStm36v6dY

Oh and Happy Harloween!

Jersey

[Jersey Girl]

ETA: As I am just now restarting the video, I thought to mention that she'll do a short promotion of a sponsor. It won't last long.

[Physics Guy]

Interesting connection. Spiritualism launched in 1848 with the rapping of the Fox sisters, which is four years after the death of Joseph Smith, but Spiritualism took off so fast, from such a trivial base, that I think the culture of the time must have been dry tinder for supernatural excitement. A climate like that could only have formed over preceding decades, so some overlap with early Mormonism does make some sense.

There must have been this widespread and persistent hunger in the 1850s for seemingly solid confirmation of spiritual claims, an eagerness for proofs of spiritual things even if the ostensible proofs were odd and arbitrary. Maybe that attitude stretched back earlier, too. People who could go gaga over toe-tappings would likely have loved golden plates.

The 1830s to 1850s were also an amazing time in science and technology. Steam power moved from ponderous mine-draining water pumps into high-pressure locomotives, electricity moved from bizarre experiments into telegraph cables, and the modern world moved from gestation into infancy. The world we know was born.

Those developments weren’t happening in upstate New York, but some news about them must have spread. Invisible forces were real and they would bring a new age. If entropy and electrical fields, why not angels and ghosts?

[Jersey Girl]

Finished both videos. There was nothing more related to Mormonism beyond the intro narrative so far as I can tell. She did show photos of the mounds and a photo of in illustration of something that looked like a revival--think Rigdon type thing. But...if you are up for a spooky paranormal type story on a cozy fall night...give it a try! She really only does the paranormal type topics during Harloween. She ends up doing a vlog visit to the haunted house that runs at the end of the second video. This is one youtuber in the True Crime community who goes the extra mile which is why I enjoy and appreciate her. And no, she's not "out there".

[Jersey Girl]

Physics Guy thank you for your comments. I really can't respond right now. I'm trying to process and remember everything I just saw and heard in the two videos. I will probably view them again tomorrow before I choose to comment because I might have missed something the first go round. I might not comment at all if I think there wasn't anything useful to a Mormon application.

[Kishkumen]

Spiritualism did make inroads in the Mormon community out west. I believe the schismatic Godbeite movement, which was partly a protest against the tyranny of Brigham Young, included spiritualist and mystical elements. The Godbeites were at the core of Utah's dissident culture in many ways. It's a fascinating history.

[Res Ipsa]

Aaron Mankhe's Unobscured Podcast examined the history of spiritualism in its second season. https://historyunobscured.com/season2/ Although Mormonism and spiritualism went down different paths, their origins were more closely related than I had realized. I found the podcast to be very well done, and it includes lengthy interviews with historians who have studied spiritualism.

[Kishkumen]

Aaron Mankhe's Unobscured Podcast examined the history of spiritualism in its second season. https://historyunobscured.com/season2/ Although Mormonism and spiritualism went down different paths, their origins were more closely related than I had realized. I found the podcast to be very well done, and it includes lengthy interviews with historians who have studied spiritualism.

Cool! Thanks for sharing that, RI!

[Yahoo Bot]

Apostle Moses Thatcher was bounced out for spiritualism.

Spiritualism and in particular table rapping likely brought down the Godbeites.

[Kishkumen]

Apostle Moses Thatcher was bounced out for spiritualism.

Spiritualism and in particular table rapping likely brought down the Godbeites.

Did not know that. Thanks, Bot!

[Jersey Girl]

Lots of interesting replies here. Anyone watch the video?

[Res Ipsa]

Lots of interesting replies here. Anyone watch the video?

Not yet. Been waiting for that quiet moment when I get to put my feet up.