Mormon Wars

I want to address a common charge that has poisoned the minds of the anti-Mormons. It is simply that the LDS church is a church of murders and wars.

This complaint is not new. The short answer is that, yes, mormons have killed and will kill again. But we are only allowed to kill under specific circumstances. These include the defense of our life, the lives of our family, friends, and neighbors, or property. It also includes fighting in wars for our country.

The LDS church is strict: we abide by all laws of our country, whether we like them or not.  In fact, in countries where it is illegal to preach or worship, we do not preach or worship. That also means that if our country declares war, we also declare war. This resulted in mormons fighting mormons in World War II as there were mormons in Germany and the United States.

Now, as for allegations of mormons murdering in Missouri or Illinois back in the latter half of the 19th Century, I hope to lay this to rest. You have before you plenty of historical resources from which you can draw historical facts. You can go read about the Missouri Mormon Extermination Order, where mormons could be shot on sight. You can go read about the President of the United States refusing to send troops to Missouri and Illinois to stop the violence. You can also read about the various militias that were raised, legally and lawfully, and put under the command of the state authorities in those states.

Let me give you the short version. There were people who hated the mormons, hated them so much that they would kill them. A particularly painful event in our history is the massacre at Haun’s Mill in Missouri, where a mob moved in and murdered in cold blood women, men, and children.

You can read about how assassins were sent after Joseph Smith and others, and how they were unsuccessful. In one instance, an assassion caught Joseph Smith alone in a barn. When confronted, Joseph Smith put his arms in the air and challenged him to fire his gun. The man fled, thankfully, giving Joseph a few more years of his life.

Was there a Mormon War in Missouri? Yes, there was. As mormons moved into Missouri, the natives began forming mobs and harrassing the mormons. To stop the fighting, the governor sent a general to raise troops and quell the violence. The troops raised were from the mormons, and they were ordered to disarm the mob. This involved violence, violence which was exaggerated until it reached the governor’s ears. Then the order came to disarm the mormons and arrest the leaders. The leaders surrendered and the mormon militia disbanded. Then came the Extermination Order. The leaders were carried away into a dismal, cold jail, where they barely survived the winter. The rest abandoned their belongings and moved to Illinois.

In Illinois, the church enjoyed a few years of relative peace, thanks to the generosity of the residents there. However, it wasn’t long before the mobs were stirred up, and war was about to break out between the lawfully organized Mormon Militia in Nauvoo, and the illegally rallied mob. Joseph Smith was summoned for trial, and like a lamb to the slaughter, he went. There, the mob broke into the jail, and murdered Joseph and his brother Hyrum, martyring them.

The church was driven out of Illinois, once again abandoning their cities and their property. Once again, they had to flee through winter. Once again, they paid a heavy price in human lives. The trek across the plains was no picnic either. Not only did they who lived in Illinois have to flee, my own ancestors among them, but converts from England had to make the trek also to join the church in Salt Lake Valley.

I wish to share you a story of the faith of these converts. These were not frontiersmen like the earliest members were. These were city folk, usually of lower class. They took handcarts in companies, led by an able captain. The Willie and Martin Companies left a little late from their starting point. The captain cautioned them to stay the winter and try in the spring. They were willing to take the risk to spend that winter with the saints in the valley, and so he led them.

Caught in a terrible snowstorm outside of the valley, President Brigham Young heard the news and cancelled general conference to organize a rescue party. With great effort, and even the sacrifice of human lives, they brought the companies the last few miles into safety.

Even in the Salt Lake Valley, however, the persecution did not stop. Far away in Washington D.C., anti-mormons were spreading false rumors of the mormon’s intention to form a separate nation. A worried president dispatched federal troops to quell the rebellion. Yes, this was another war, a war that ended once again with the church surrendering. Luckily, no lives were lost on either side, but the mormons had to suffer a military base in the middle of their capitol city, complete with prostitution, gambling, and alcohol.

Whenever anyone sets their hand to do what is right, the hands of opposition are there to stop it. Anyone who has made an effort to do good knows this. The greatest acts of goodness are met with the greatest acts of violence and intolerance. The mormons were no exception to that rule.

As for intolerance, hatred, cruelty, and persecution, LDS members worldwide are familiar with these even today. LDS members are taught not to hate their enemies, but to love them. They are taught not to complain, but to praise God. We are taught to count themselves lucky to beaten with a few of the stripes that Christ was beaten with. We are taught to respond to all the intolerance and hatred and fear not with antipathy and violence, but with kindness and love and faith. That is the history of my ancestors and my church, and I am not ashamed of it.