Sacred Space: Exploring the Birthplace of Mormonism

Many Church members may not realize that the birthplace of Mormonism is not just a cut-and-dried bit of historical trivia. In fact, the place where the Church was established was rarely mentioned by the early Saints, and initial Church publications referring to the organizational meeting mistakenly claimed it happened in Manchester, New York. The authors of the book Inventing Mormonism challenged traditional Latter-day Saint history by pointing out inconsistencies concerning the Church s birthplace. Sacred Space sorts through the complicated history of where the Church was established. Building on Dr. MacKay s work for The Joseph Smith Papers, this volume examines what the existing historical documents really tell us. This book reestablishes the significance of Fayette as the true birthplace of Mormonism and illuminates what the sacredness of a place means for modern-day members.