Mormons have experienced significant instances of violence throughout their history as a religious group.[1] In the early history of the United States, violence was used as a form of control. Mormons faced persecution and forceful expulsion from several locations. They were driven from Ohio to Missouri, and from Missouri to Illinois. Eventually, they settled in the Utah Territory. These migrations were often accompanied by acts of violence, including massacres, home burnings, and pillaging.
One notable incident was the death of their prophet, Joseph Smith. In 1844, Smith was in protective custody in Carthage, Illinois, where he was killed by a mob. He attempted to defend himself using a small pistol provided by church leader Cyrus Wheelock but was ultimately shot by the mob while trying to escape through a window. His brother Hyrum Smith was also murdered.
There were also instances where Mormons themselves were involved in acts of violence. For example, under the direction of Mormon leaders, the Danitesburned and looted Davies County and engaged in clashes with the Missouri state militia during the 1838 Mormon War. Additionally, there were incidents such as the Mountain Meadows Massacre, Battle Creek Massacre, and Circleville Massacre, where Mormons were implicated in acts of violence against non-Mormon groups. Furthermore, Mormons participated in various conflicts, including the Walker War and the Black Hawk War, which involved clashes between Mormon settlers and Native American tribes in the western United States.
Instances of anti-Mormon violence are a notable part of early Mormon history and have influenced the views on violence within the Latter Day Saint movement.
Shortly after the formal organization of the Church of Christ in upstate New York in 1830, hundreds of Mormons began to settle in Jackson County, Missouri. The rapid growth of the Mormon population and their distinct religious beliefs created tension with the existing non-Mormon residents. The Mormons' communal living, economic success, and their proselytizing among Native Americans heightened the fears and anxieties of the non-Mormon community.
In July 1833, a group of vigilantes issued an ultimatum demanding that all Mormons leave the county.[3] The Mormons were given a short amount of time to comply; when they refused to leave, a violent expulsion occurred. The Mormons were forced to flee their homes and seek refuge in neighboring counties. The Missouri state government, rather than protecting the Mormons, largely turned a blind eye to the violence and displacement.[4]
In 1836, the state congress established Caldwell County as a place for the Mormons to settle. The church relocated its main headquarters in January 1838 from Kirtland, Ohio to Far West in Caldwell County. Mormon settlement increased as thousands of Mormons poured into Missouri from Kirtland and other areas into the new headquarters. Mormons established new colonies outside of Caldwell County, including Adam-ondi-Ahman in Daviess County and De Witt in Carroll County. The earlier settlers saw expansion of Mormon communities outside of Caldwell County as a political and economic threat.
On August 6, 1838, in Daviess County, a brawl erupted between a group of Mormons and non-Mormon residents during election day. The perception that Mormons intended to vote as a bloc clashed with the opposition of non-Mormons who sought to prevent them from casting their ballots.[5] Meanwhile, the siege of DeWitt unfolded in Carroll County. As tensions mounted, a large mob of non-Mormons encircled the settlement, cutting off its supplies and demanding the Mormons' departure. Outnumbered and fearing violence, the Mormons sent appeals for assistance to other Mormon communities in nearby counties. The siege ultimately ended when a state militia unit arrived, and the Mormons agreed to evacuate the town.[6]
Hostilities culminated in 1838 when Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs issued an executive order, commonly known as the Mormon Extermination Order. This order declared that "the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State." Just three days later, a militia unit attacked a Mormon settlement at Haun's Mill, resulting in the death of 18 Mormons.
Conflict in Illinois
In Illinois, conflict was often based on the tendency of Mormons to "dominate community, economic, and political life wherever they landed."[6] The city of Nauvoo, where Mormons constituted a majority of the population, had become the largest in Illinois. The city council was predominantly Mormon, and the Nauvoo Legion (the city's militia) continued to grow. Other issues of contention included polygamy, freedom of speech, anti-slavery views during Smith's presidential campaign, and the deification of man. After the destruction of the press of the Nauvoo Expositor, Smith was arrested and incarcerated in Carthage Jail, where he was killed by a mob on June 27, 1844. The conflict in Illinois became so severe that most of the residents of Nauvoo fled across the Mississippi River in February 1846.
Utah Territory and the Utah War
After Mormons established a community hundreds of miles away in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, anti-Mormon activists in the Utah Territory persuaded President Buchanan that the Mormons in the territory were rebelling against the United States under the direction of Brigham Young.[7] In response, in 1857 Buchanan sent one-third of United States's standing army to Utah in what is known as the Utah War. During the Utah War, the Mountain Meadows massacre occurred.
The widely publicized Mountain Meadows massacre occurred on September 11, 1857, during a period of escalating tensions between Mormons and the United States which Mormons viewed from an apocalyptic lens. It was a mass killing of about 130 emigrants, mostly from Arkansas, who were passing through the Utah territory on their way to California. The massacre was influenced, in part, by unfounded rumors that some of the emigrants had previously persecuted Mormons. Leading the massacre were William H. Dame, regional church president and colonel of the Mormon militia, and his battalion leaders Isaac C. Haight (also a regional church president), John D. Lee, and John H. Higbee. The militia surrounded the emigrants and laid siege, and after forcing them to surrender, the militia systematically executed all of them except the youngest children, who were taken and adopted by nearby residents. The militia covered up the massacre by blaming it on largely uninvolved Native American tribes. Though Dame, Haight, and other leaders were indicted in the 1870s for their roles in the massacre, John D. Lee was the only participant who stood trial, where he was ultimately convicted and executed.
Though widely connected with the blood atonement doctrine by the United States press and general public,[citation needed] there is no direct evidence that the massacre was related to "saving" the emigrants by the shedding of their blood (as they had not entered into Mormon covenants); rather, most commentators[who?] view it as an act of intended retribution. Brigham Young was accused of either directing the massacre or with complicity after the fact. When Young was interviewed on the matter and asked if he believed in blood atonement, he replied, "I do, and I believe that Lee has not half atoned for his great crime." He said "we believe that execution should be done by the shedding of blood instead of by hanging," but only "according to the laws of the land".[8]
American troops who visited the site later constructed a cairn at the site, topped with a sign saying "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." According to a Mormon present at the event, when Young visited the site sometime afterward, he remarked "Vengeance is mine, and I have taken a little"; his party proceeded to destroy the cairn and memorial.[9]
Skirmish after several Missourians captured a Mormon ferry on the Big Blue River.[10] Mormons were subsequently forcefully expelled from Jackson County.
In an attempt to find a group of horse thieves, Captain Porter Rockwell took 30 uninvolved Ute people prisoner. Later most escaped, but 4 or 5 remained and were executed.[11]
Joseph Smith did not teach blood atonement, but taught a "blood for blood" law of God's retribution, stating that if he could enact a death penalty law, "I am opposed to hanging, even if a man kill another, I will shoot him, or cut off his head, spill his blood on the ground and let the smoke ascend thereof up to God. ... "[14]
Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, was a strong proponent of capital punishment, and he favored execution methods that involved the shedding of blood as retribution for crimes of bloodshed. In 1843, he or his scribe commented that the common execution method in Christian nations was hanging, "instead of blood for blood according to the law of heaven."[15] In a March 4, 1843, debate with church leader George A. Smith, who argued against capital punishment,[16] Smith said that if he ever had the opportunity to enact a death penalty law, he "was opposed to hanging" the convict; rather, he would "shoot him, or cut off his head, spill his blood on the ground, and let the smoke thereof ascend up to God."[14] In the church's April 6, 1843, general conference, Smith said he would "wring a thief's neck off if I can find him. if I cannot bring him to justice any other way."[17]Sidney Rigdon, Smith's counselor in the First Presidency, also supported capital punishment involving the spilling of blood, stating, "There are men standing in your midst that you can't do anything with them but cut their throat & bury them."[18] On the other hand, Smith was willing to tolerate the presence of men "as corrupt as the devil himself" in Nauvoo, Illinois, who "had been guilty of murder and robbery," in the chance that they might "come to the waters of baptism through repentance, and redeem a part of their allotted time".[19]
Brigham Young, Smith's successor in the LDS Church, initially held views on capital punishment that were similar to those of Smith. On January 27, 1845, he spoke approvingly of Smith's toleration of "corrupt men" in Nauvoo who were guilty of murder and robbery on the chance that they might repent and be baptized.[19] On the other hand, on February 25, 1846, after the Saints had left Nauvoo, Young threatened adherents who had stolen wagon cover strings and rail timber with having their throats cut "when they get out of the settlements where his orders could be executed".[20] Later that year, Young gave orders that "when a man is found to be a thief, ... cut his throat & throw him in the River."[21] Young also stated that the decapitation of repeated sinners "is the law of God & it shall be executed."[22] There are no documented instances of such a sentence being carried out on the Mormon Trail.
In the Salt Lake Valley, Young acted as the executive authority while the Council of Fifty acted as a legislature. One of his main concerns in the early Mormon settlement was theft, and he swore that "a thief should not live in the Valley, for he would cut off their heads or be the means of haveing [sic] it done as the Lord lived."[23] A Mormon listening to one of Young's sermons in 1849 recorded that he said that "if any one was catched [sic] stealing to shoot them dead on the spot and they should not be hurt for it."[24]
In the Utah Territory, there was a law from 1851 to 1888 that allowed persons who were convicted of murder to be executed by decapitation; during that time, no person was executed by that method.[25]
"Blood atonement" is the controversial concept that there are certain sins to which the atonement of Jesus does not apply, and before a Mormon who has committed such sins can achieve the highest degree of salvation, he or she must personally atone for the sin by "hav[ing] their blood spilt upon the ground, that the smoke thereof might ascend to heaven as an offering for their sins".[26] Blood atonement was supposed to be voluntarily practiced by the sinner, or it was contemplated as being mandatory in a theoretical theocracy which was planned for the Utah Territory, but it was supposed to be carried out with love and compassion for the sinner, not out of a desire for vengeance.[27] The concept was first taught in the mid-1850s by the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) during the Mormon Reformation, when Brigham Young governed the Utah Territory as a near-theocracy. Even though there was discussion about implementing the doctrine, there is no direct evidence that it was ever practiced by the Mormon leadership in their capacity as the leaders of both church and state.[28] There is inconclusive evidence, however, to suggest that the doctrine was independently enforced a few times by Mormon individuals.[29] Scholars have also argued that the doctrine contributed to a culture of violence, which, combined with paranoia that resulted from the church's long history of being persecuted, incited over a hundred extrajudicial killings by Mormons, including the Mountain Meadows Massacre.[30]
LDS Church leaders taught the concept of blood atonement well into the 20th century within the context of government-sanctioned capital punishment, and it was responsible for laws in the state of Utah that allowed prisoners on death row to be executed by firing squad (Salt Lake Tribune, 11 May 1994, p. D1). Although the LDS Church repudiated the teaching in 1978, it still has adherents within the LDS Church as well as adherents within Mormon fundamentalism, a schismatic branch of the Latter Day Saint movement whose adherents seek to follow early Mormon teachings to the letter. Despite its repudiation by the LDS Church, the concept also survives in Mormon culture, particularly with regard to capital crimes.[31] In 1994, when the defense in the trial of James Edward Wood alleged that a local church leader had "talked to [Wood] about shedding his own blood," the LDS Church's First Presidency submitted a document to the court that denied the church's acceptance and practice of such a doctrine, and included the 1978 repudiation.[31]
Penalties
Blood oaths
Historically, Mormon ritual provided an example in which capital punishment is contemplated, though not necessarily required, for violations of historical blood oaths in the endowment ritual. The blood oaths in the ceremony were related to protecting the ritual's secrecy. Participants made an oath that rather than ever revealing the secret gestures of the ceremony, they would rather have: "my throat ... be cut from ear to ear, and my tongue torn out by its roots," "our breasts ... be torn open, our hearts and vitals torn out and given to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field," "your body ... be cut asunder and all your bowels gush out," showing an entire refusal to accept the promises made in the washing and anointing ordinances.[32] They were changed to a reference to "different ways in which life may be taken".[32] The entire "penalty" portion of the ceremony was removed by the LDS Church in 1990, and during its lifetime, there is no documented instance in which a person has been killed for violating the oaths of secrecy.
Law of vengeance
After the death of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young added an oath of vengeance to the Nauvoo endowment ritual. Participants in the ritual made an oath to pray that God would "avenge the blood of the prophets on this nation".[33] "The prophets" were Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and "this nation" was the United States.[33] The oath was removed from the ceremony during the 1920s.[34]
In 1877, Young noted what he viewed as a similarity between Smith's death and the blood atonement doctrine in that "whether we believe in blood atonement or not," Smith and other prophets "sealed their testimony with their blood."[35]
In October 1976, LDS Church apostleBoyd K. Packer gave a sermon, "To Young Men Only,"[36][37] in which he encouraged young male Latter-day Saints to defend themselves, physically if necessary, against sexual assaults by other men. The sermon was later published as a pamphlet and was widely circulated to LDS young men. Historian D. Michael Quinn, who is gay,[38] criticized Packer's comments, saying they constituted an endorsement of gay bashing; he also argued that the church endorses such behavior by continuing to publish Packer's speech.[39]
On July 5, 2015, the LDS Church issued an official statement in response to the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage and to clarify its official position of nonviolence to the LGBT community:[40]
The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us to love and treat all people with kindness and civility—even when we disagree. We affirm that those who avail themselves of laws or court rulings authorizing same-sex marriage should not be treated disrespectfully. Indeed, the Church has advocated for rights of same-sex couples in matters of hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment, and probate, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches.
On August 23, 2021, in an address to faculty and staff at Brigham Young University, apostle Jeffrey R. Holland called for "a little more musket fire from this temple of learning" in "defending marriage as the union of a man and a woman."[41]
Violence in the Mormon scriptures
War is a central, cyclical theme in the Book of Mormon. There are many wars mentioned in the Book of Mormon, depicted as the consequence of prideful or sinful behavior. Battles often occur between two peoples called the Nephites and Lamanites, but other groups attacked or drawn into battle include "secret combinations" (i.e., organized criminals), factions among the Jaredites.
The Book of Mormon concludes with a cataclysmic war between the Nephites and Lamanites. The final prophet of the Book of Mormon, a Nephite named Moroni, laments that his people have participated in sexual violence, torture, and cannibalism:
And notwithstanding this great abomination of the Lamanites, it doth not exceed that of our people in Moriantum. For behold, many of the daughters of the Lamanites have they taken prisoners; and after depriving them of that which was most dear and precious above all things, which is chastity and virtue—And after they had done this thing, they did murder them in a most cruel manner, torturing their bodies even unto death; and after they have done this, they devour their flesh like unto wild beasts, because of the hardness of their hearts; and they do it for a token of bravery.[42]
Several decapitations and dismemberments are also described in the Book of Mormon. In chapter 4 of the First Book of Nephi, the prophet Nephi is commanded by the Spirit to kill a man named Laban, whom he decapitates.[43] In Ether chapter 15, the warrior Coriantumr, who is the last survivor of the Jaredites, decapitates Shiz.[44] In Alma chapter 17, Ammon (a Nephite missionary) defends a Lamanite king's livestock by cutting off the arms of several thieves and killing several others with a sling.[45]
In chapter 9 of the Third Book of Nephi, Christ announces to ancient Americans that he has destroyed more than a dozen cities and their inhabitants due to their corruption. He announces that he destroyed some cities by causing them "to be burned with fire because of their sins and their wickedness", while others were "sunk in the depths of the sea" or "covered with earth".[46] The text reports that some of the victims mourned, "O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and had not killed and stoned the prophets, and cast them out; then would our mothers and our fair daughters, and our children have been spared".[47]
The Book of Mormon is not unique in describing divinely directed or sanctioned violence. Additional examples appear in the Old Testament, which Mormons also consider to be sacred scripture.[citation needed]
^Gregor, Anthony James (2006), The Search for Neofascism, Cambridge University Press, p. 164, ISBN978-0-521-85920-2, A long and doleful history of violence attended the founding, establishment, and fostering of [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] ... Nonetheless, little purpose would be served in identifying the [church] as neofascist.
^Jennings, Warren A. (1962). Zion is Fled: The Expulsion of the Mormons from Jackson County, Missouri. University of Florida. the mob declared that they or the mormons must leave the county, or they or the mormons must die. Under the pressure of this intimidation, the leaders reluctantly agreed to depart.
^Lund, Matthew (2012). The Vox Populi Is the Vox Dei: American Localism and the Mormon Expulsion from Jackson County, Missouri. Feeling powerless, Governor Dunklin eventually conceded to popular rule in Jackson County. Likewise, submitting to the limitations of the federal constitution, the Jackson Administration bowed to the local will and sovereignty of the state. Consequently, the Mormons failed to receive protection and redress from local, state and federal authorities for depredations committed against them.
^This statement is found in Roberts 1902, p. 435, which was written by Willard Richards in 1843 (Jessee 441) harv error: no target: CITEREFJessee441 (help). Years before making this remark, however, Smith was quoted as saying that the hanging of Judas Iscariot was not a suicide, but an execution carried out by Saint Peter (Peck 1839, pp. 26, 54–55).
^ abStack, Peggy Fletcher (November 5, 1994), "Concept of Blood Atonement Survives in Utah Despite Repudiation", Salt Lake Tribune, In the past decade, potential jurors in every Utah capital homicide were asked whether they believed in the Mormon concept of 'blood atonement.' The article also notes that Arthur Gary Bishop, a convicted serial killer, was told by a top church leader that "blood atonement ended with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ."
^"The LDS Church (Mormo) & homosexuality. Church statements: 1976 to 1999". Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Retrieved April 24, 2012.; Packer had said, "There are some men who entice young men to join them in these immoral acts. If you are ever approached to participate in anything like that, it is time to vigorously resist. While I was in a mission on one occasion, a missionary said he had something to confess. I was very worried because he just could not get himself to tell me what he had done. After patient encouragement he finally blurted out, "I hit my companion." "Oh, is that all," I said in great relief. "But I floored him," he said. After learning a little more, my response was "Well, thanks. Somebody had to do it, and it wouldn't be well for a General Authority to solve the problem that way" I am not recommending that course to you, but I am not omitting it. You must protect yourself." Packer 1976
Buerger, David John (2002), The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship (2nd ed.), Salt Lake City: Signature Books, ISBN1-56085-176-7.
Penrose, Charles W. (1884), Blood Atonement, As Taught by Leading Elders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City((citation)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).
