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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

history, Mormonism, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania

College

Religious Education

Department

Church History and Doctrine

Abstract

Since Mormonism’s exodus from New York and Pennsylvania, due to what Joseph Smith described as a “spirit of persecution” in the area, popular perceptions among many locals have been anything but positive. “It is a fact, of which we are not particularly proud, that Susquehanna County harbored such a madman as Joe Smith,” wrote Emily C. Blackman in her 1873 History of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. Negative perceptions were perpetuated throughout the twentieth century through continually recited folklore, often printed in newspapers and county histories, and even manifest itself in occasional hostility toward missionaries. More recently, however, popular attitudes to Mormonism seem to have ameliorated in Susquehanna County, particularly in the towns of Susquehanna and Oakland (formerly Harmony). This shift in attitude seems to have begun with the organization of the Susquehanna Branch in 1999 and was aided by the subsequent organization of an annual pageant held at the Aaronic Priesthood Restoration site, which included community activities and service projects. Many locals eagerly anticipate future developments at the Aaronic Priesthood Restoration site because of the economic advantages tourism could bring to the area. Overall, locals seem optimistic about Mormon developments in their county and Church members are in harmony with their neighbors in the area.

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