David Rolph Seely and Dr. Jared M. Halverson, Ancient Scripture

Over three hundred years before Martin Luther drove his ninety-five theses into the door of Catholicism, another Protestant group was being driven from their homes amidst the Alps&the Waldenses. Named for Peter Waldo, this early Christian sect rejected the authority of the Catholic Church and based all their beliefs on the Bible. Most scholars say the sect originated in the late 12th century, although some more zealous supporters have tried to argue that the Waldenses, or Vaudois in French, can be traced back to Christ’s original church itself.

In spite of discrepancies regarding time of origin, all sources agree that the Waldenses originated as a separate sect centuries before the “Reformation” with which we are more familiar. What makes them noteworthy is not their size&for they were small in number&but their longevity, surviving centuries of persecution, exile, and martyrdom.

Unlike later Protestant groups that began with merely a desire to reform the Catholic Church, the Waldenses rejected Catholicism completely. They saw it not as something to reform, but as something to escape. They believed that the Catholic Church had departed so far from Christ’s original model that the two churches were entirely different in both doctrine and practice. They further held that because they had maintained their primitive beliefs within the relative isolation of the alpine mountain valleys, their theology remained untouched, unchanged, and undiluted by centuries of apostates, philosophers, pagans, or Romans.

The Catholic Church of course disagreed and did so forcefully. Nestled in the Piedmont valleys between Italy and France, two of the most Catholic countries in Europe, the Waldenses held a precarious position, but that position also proved to be their greatest strength. Popes repeatedly abused their power to enlist the aid and armies of European kings in order to reclaim the wayward Waldenses. The mountains that had isolated them for centuries protected them from their enemies, but were far from insurmountable. Over the years, thousands of Waldenses were slaughtered, burned alive, or thrown from the cliffs. Others more fortunate were merely driven from their homes and robbed of their property, their dignity, and their way of life.

Yet no amount of persecution could extinguish the fire of faith. Villages were rebuilt, exiles returned, and truth was preserved. The youth memorized entire books of the Bible in order to preserve its words when its pages could not be protected. They lived and died for their religion, never allowing suffering to stifle spirituality, and for centuries, they hung on.

The Waldenses not only sowed the Reformation’s first seeds of separation; they were the Restoration’s first harvest of souls in Italy. When Lorenzo Snow dedicated Italy for the preaching of the gospel in 1850, he did so on Waldensian soil&soil that had been plowed by centuries of struggle, fertilized by martyrs’ blood, and sown with seeds of truth. After briefly studying their history, Elder Snow felt impressed that the Waldenses were worthy to receive the first proclamation of the Gospel in Italy.

The Waldenses in Italy had been granted civil and religious liberty only two years previously, and Elder Snow and three companions felt impressed to ascend the mountain heights and preach the restored gospel to the Waldenses. Throughout the rest of Italy, their message had been met with skepticism and rejection in the name of traditionalism. Here among the Waldenses, they found success, baptizing over 180 people, seventy-two of whom later immigrated to Utah.

What brought that success&the only initial success for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Italy&lies in the Waldensian past. An examination of their history reveals a list of similarities to the Restored Church too long to be presented here. Latter-day Saint scholars have long compared Mormon theology and history to ancient Israel. Several books on Waldensian history likewise compare them to ancient Israel, calling the Waldenses the Israel of the Alps. Linking Waldensian history to our Mormon heritage is therefore not too difficult a transition.

Their endurance through persecution, their isolation and protection in the mountains, their adherence to scripture, all prepared the Waldensian converts for a similar life in the restored Church. Doctrinal similarities prepared them for life in the gospel. From their belief that the Catholic Church had gradually altered the teachings of the Bible and the practices of Christ’s Church to their belief in the importance of fasting and fast offerings, their doctrinal heritage eased their transition into the revealed truth. In letters to Franklin D. Richards, Brigham Young, and Orson Hyde, Lorenzo Snow described his mission among the Waldenses and their similarities to the Saints. Other sources relate beliefs similar to the law of consecration, faith and works, the Latter-day Saint view of confession, ordination by the laying on of hands, missionary work, and an unpaid clergy. Many of their basic beliefs were set forth in what they called “Articles of Faith,” many of which share common elements with our own. Other parallels may be drawn to the school of the prophets and Zion’s Camp.

Perhaps even more importantly, God Himself prepared these people for the Restoration of the Gospel. In the spring of 1820, a fifteen-year-old girl had a vision of 12 personages dressed in white robes. Her father later foretold the restoration, telling his granddaughter that her generation would see the gospel restored to its purity and power and that in that day, she should remember him. This same family welcomed Lorenzo Snow and his company into their homes and hearts and became the first family to join the Church in Italy. Although the initial harvest was small compared to what was occurring in the British Isles and Scandinavia, those converts that immigrated to Utah proved as faithful and dedicated to their new-found beliefs and their forefathers had been to theirs.

During the rest of this year I plan to continue researching the history and doctrine of the Waldenses. So much exists that ties their Church to our own and this link should be more carefully examined and understood. The Waldenses share so many common elements with the Restored Church that it seems likely that they did in fact preserve many of the original beliefs and practices of Christ’s primitive Church. They survived the apostasy, not without errors in doctrine, but considering their lack of continuous revelation and divine authority, the theological fountain from which they drank remained remarkably pure.