PROVO, Utah -- The biggest target of 19th century anti-Mormons was not the Book of Mormon. "The real issue was that Mormonism was a religion that professed to be constantly engaged with the supernatural world," said Christopher James Blythe, a graduate student in the history department at Utah State University.

The word "supernatural," in the way Blythe used it, is an academic term for "spiritual gifts" such as revelation, visions and healings. He spoke on Thursday, July 2, at Brigham Young University during the Mormon Scholars Foundation Summer Seminar, "Parley and Orson Pratt and the Formation of Mormon Thought."

"Parley P. Pratt became one of the principle voices of 19th century Mormonism," Blythe said. "He was an apologist and a polemicist eager to defend the faith."

Pratt confronted a two-front war against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: On the one side was mainstream Christianity that all but denied any spiritual manifestations; on the other side were other new religions claiming their own spiritual gifts.

"In the case of Mormonism, apologists . . . differentiate themselves from a Christendom perceived as bereft of spiritual gifts and at the same time they felt compelled to differentiate themselves at the other end of the spectrum from those whose immersion in spiritual gifts tended towards extremism and fanaticism -- in the view of Mormons," Blythe said. "Mormons faced a difficult balancing act of negotiating boundaries on both sides at the same time."

Pratt's religious experience in the LDS Church was filled with spiritual manifestations from inspired dreams to priesthood healing of the sick. Critics within 19th century mainstream Christianity discounted such manifestations, saying they belonged to New Testament times. The central problem critics had with Mormonism, according to Blythe's research, was with its claims to spiritual gifts and revelation.

Pratt struck back. "Do away (with) the principles of direct revelation then, and we do away with the religion of the Bible, and have nothing left but atheism," Pratt wrote in 1840. "(T)his atheism in a new dress -- this religion which shuts heaven, and cuts off all communication between God and his creatures."

On the other side of the spectrum were Irvingites, Shakers, Swedenborgians and Spiritualism -- new expressions of religion that claimed spiritual manifestations. Mainstream critics were quick to lump all such groups together -- including Mormonism.

Members of the LDS Church were aware of the claimed similarities -- and focused on distinguishing between legitimate and illegitimate expressions of spirituality. Pratt's tactic, according to Blythe, was to engage these groups on their doctrine rather than their claims of spiritual experiences.

But the existence of other claims to spiritual gifts led the LDS Church to define orthodox experience. "In early Mormonism, rather than seeing revelation as a difficult thing to receive, they began to see revelation as a widespread experience," Blythe said. "The question was how to determine a real or correct revelation from a false one."

Pratt wrote briefly about a visit to the Shakers, according to Blythe. Pratt then wrote about inappropriate spiritual behavior in a Mormon branch he had visited.

Encounters with groups on this end of the spiritual spectrum led to clearer self-definition, just as encounters with the other end of the spectrum had done so. Religious identity, according to Blythe, is "both what a religion is and what a religion is not."

"Pratt clarified Mormonism's identity by emphasizing the supernatural power of the saints," Blythe said. This distinguished the LDS Church from mainstream Christianity.

On the other hand, in response to the spiritual claims of other groups, Blythe said, "The saints began to see themselves as the only body operating in the spiritual world, knowing what they were doing and able to discern the nature of the pervasive manifestations."

E-mail: mdegroote@desnews.com