Violence in Early Mormonism - Was It All Unjust Persecution?

MRM ^ | Bill McKeever

[Gamecock]

Members of the LDS Church often make a big issue of the fact that their ancestors faced terrible persecutions during the early years of the LDS movement. To most people, Missourian sites like Independence, Liberty, Far West, and Caldwell County mean very little. Yet to the faithful Latter-day Saint, these places carry a great amount of significance.

It is true that the Mormons were driven from several states before finally arriving in what is known today as the state of Utah, and this violence can never be condoned. However, with all of the talk of the persecution early Mormons faced, there is rarely any discussion as to the role played by the Mormons in those early years. To be sure, the average Mormon has no idea that both sides had their share of abuses in human rights. To many Latter-day Saints, their forebears were simply innocent victims.

It would be wrong to say that the Mormons were treated badly simply because they had theological disagreements with their new neighbors. In his book The Mormon Hierarchy - Origins of Power, former LDS historian D. Michael Quinn wrote,

"Fear of being overwhelmed politically, socially, culturally, economically by Mormon immigration was what fueled anti-Mormonism wherever the Latter-day Saints settled during Joseph Smith's lifetime. Religious belief, as non-Mormons understood it, had little to do with anti-Mormonism. On the other hand, by the mid-1830s Mormons embraced a religion that shaped their politics, economics and society. Conflict was inevitable" (p.91).

On page 82 of the book, The Story of the Latter-day Saints, LDS historians James B. Allen and Glen M. Leonard wrote, "Impressed by the Mormon image of group solidarity, some old settlers expressed fears that as a group the Mormons were determined to take over all of their lands and business."

In his book, The 1838 Mormon War in Missouri, historian Stephen C. LeSueur notes that "non-Mormon land speculators could not hope to compete with the Mormons, who were purchasing large tracts of land with Church funds," and that the huge immigration of Mormons to the area also "threatened to displace older towns as the political and commercial centers for their counties" (p.3).

Arrogance on the part of the Mormon settlers certainly did not help the situation. As Allen and Leonard write,

"The Saints themselves may not have been totally without blame in the matter. The feelings of the Missourians, even though misplaced, were undoubtedly intensified by the rhetoric of the gathering itself. They were quick to listen to the boasting of a few overzealous Saints who too-loudly declared a divine right to the land. As enthusiastic millennialists, they proclaimed that the time of the gentiles was short, and they were perhaps too quick to quote the revelation that said that 'the Lord willeth that the disciples and the children of men should open their hearts, even to purchase this whole region of country, as soon as time will permit" (The Story of the Latter-day Saints, p. 83).

Smith's leadership didn't help ease the tension. For instance, when First Counselor Sidney Rigdon gave a fiery "Fourth of July Oration" (1838) that threatened the state of Missouri with what he called a "war of extermination," Smith made this speech into a pamphlet. Also adding to the Missourians distress were the rumors of Mormon "Danites," a secret band of Mormon hit men known to intimidate non-Mormon "Gentiles" and LDS dissenters.

The acts of violence brought against the Mormon settlers and the fact that the Mormons felt they would not receive proper redress compelled them to retaliate. Writes LeSueur,

"Although Mormon military action was generally initiated in response to reports of violence, the Mormons tended to overreact and in some instances retaliated against innocent citizens. Their perception of themselves as the chosen people, their absolute confidence in their leaders, and their determination not to be driven out led Mormon soldiers to commit numerous crimes. The Mormons had many friends among the Missourians, but their military operations undercut their support in the non-Mormon community" (The 1838 Mormon War in Missouri, p.4).

LeSueur believes much of the blame for the "plundering and burning committed by Mormon soldiers in Daviess County" can be laid at the feet of Joseph Smith himself.

I have heard Latter-day Saints justify these actions by saying the frustrations experienced by the Saints would seem to warrant retaliation. While I may sympathize with their desire to "respond in kind," we must keep in mind that in doing so the moral high ground is lost. Once you lower yourself to the level of your enemy, you can no longer claim to be guiltless in the situation. This, unfortunately, is what many Mormons do.

Attempts to get along in Missouri proved fruitless. Both sides blamed the other, and each claimed to be the defender rather than the aggressor. The violence came to a head in late 1838 when a group of Missouri militia, led by Captain Samuel Bogart, moved through Ray County disarming Mormon settlers and ordering them to leave. Reports circulated among the Mormons that Bogart's men had burned and plundered several Mormon homes in their two-day march. Though there is no evidence to support this claim, LeSueur writes that it was readily believed by Mormon leaders (p.133).

On October 24, two Mormon spies were captured by Bogart's men and taken to their camp on Crooked River. In response, a band of over 50 Mormons, led by LDS Apostle David Patten, engaged in a firefight with Bogart's men. When the Mormons drew their swords and charged the camp, the militia fled, leaving one dead and another man wounded. Patten himself was mortally wounded in the battle. Two Mormon soldiers, coming upon the wounded and unconscious militiaman by the name of Samuel Tarwater, mercilessly mutilated the man's face with their swords and left him for dead.

When listing the atrocities brought against the LDS people in Missouri, the massacre at Haun's Mill always seems to come to the forefront. Speaking of the persecution faced by Mormons in the past, LDS Apostle Bruce R. McConkie wrote:

"We have staggered under the iron fist of persecution during our whole latter-day history, and we know that hatred and ill will and death will continue to be spewed out upon us until the coming end of the world. We have been driven and scourged and slain; the blood of our prophets stains Illinois; at Haun's Mill the innocent blood of the martyrs for truth cries unto the Lord of Hosts; and on frozen and desolate hills, across half a continent, lie the lonely graves of suffering saints who chose death in preference to the creeds of compulsion of a decadent Christendom" (A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, pp. 656-657).

McConkie's dramatic rhetoric fails to take into account the fact that the Haun's Mill massacre took place just one week after the battle of Crooked River. Quinn writes:

"A generally unacknowledged dimension of both the extermination order and the Haun's Mill massacre, however, is that they resulted from Mormon actions in the Battle of Crooked River. Knowingly or not, Mormons had attacked state troops, and this had a cascade effect… upon receiving news of the injuries and death of state troops at Crooked River, Governor Boggs immediately drafted his extermination order on 27 October 1838 because the Mormons 'have made war upon the people of this state.' Worse, the killing of one Missourian and mutilation of another while he was defenseless at Crooked River led to the mad-dog revenge by Missourians in the slaughter at Haun's Mill" (Origins of Power, p.100).

The Mormons would eventually be forced to leave Missouri and settle in Nauvoo, Illinois. Controversy, however, would not disappear. When Smith became the target in a newspaper known as the Nauvoo Expositor, he ordered the destruction of the press. This action caused no small disturbance, and in order to insure order, Smith called out his standing army (The Nauvoo Legion) and placed the city under martial law. Illinois Governor Ford felt the only way the problem could be solved was by a trial to be held in Carthage, the county seat. Although Smith was in the process of fleeing to the west, he was persuaded by friends to turn himself in. A gripping tale of persecution and unjust imprisonment is told during the tour of the Carthage Jail. The guide tells how Joseph Smith claimed that he was going to Carthage as a "lamb to the slaughter" (D&C

135:4). However, such a description of Joseph Smith's final moments is hardly close to the truth, as John Taylor's account in volume seven of the Documentary History of the Church shows:

"Elder Cyrus H. Wheelock came in to see us, and when he was about leaving drew a small pistol, a six-shooter, from his pocket, remarking at the same time, Would any of you like to have this?' Brother Joseph immediately replied, `Yes, give it to me,' whereupon he took the pistol, and put it in his pantaloons pocket. The pistol was a six-shooting revolver, of Allen's patent; it belonged to me, and was one that I furnished to Brother Wheelock when he talked of going with me to the east, previous to our coming to Carthage…I was sitting at one of the front windows of the jail, when I saw a number of men, with painted faces, coming around the corner of the jail, and aiming towards the stairs. The other brethren had seen the same, for, as I went to the door, I found Brother Hyrum Smith and Dr. Richards already leaning against it, They both pressed against the door with their shoulders to prevent its being opened, as the lock and latch were comparatively useless. While in this position, the mob, who had come upstairs, and tried to open the door, probably thought it was locked, and fired a ball through the keyhole; at this Dr. Richards and Brother Hyrum leaped back from the door, with their faces towards it; almost instantly another ball passed through the panel of the door, and struck Brother Hyrum on the left side of the nose, entering his face and head. At the same instant, another ball from the outside entered his back, passing through his body and striking his watch. The ball came from the back, through the jail window, opposite the door, and must, from its range, have been fired from the Carthage Greys, who were placed there ostensibly for our protection, as the balls from the firearms, shot close by the jail, would have entered the ceiling, we being in the second story, and there never was a time after that when Hyrum could have received the latter wound. Immediately, when the ball struck him, he fell flat on his back, crying as he fell, `I am a dead man!' He never moved afterwards. I shall never forget the deep feeling of sympathy and regard manifested in the countenance of Brother Joseph as he drew nigh to Hyrum, and, leaning over him, exclaimed, `Oh! my poor, dear brother Hyrum!' He, however, instantly arose, and with a firm, quick step, and a determined expression of countenance, approached the door, and pulling the six-shooter left by Brother Wheelock from his pocket, opened the door slightly, and snapped the pistol six successive times; only three of the barrels, however, were discharged. I afterwards understood that two or three were wounded by these discharges, two of whom, I am informed, died, I had in my hands a large, strong hickory stick, brought there by Brother Markham, and left by him, which I had seized as soon as I saw the mob approach; and while Brother Joseph was firing the pistol, I stood close behind him" (pp. 101-103).

Having taken this tour twice (once in 1980 and another in 1998), I noticed that both times the mention of the smuggled gun was left out. In fact, when the subject of the gun was brought up in the 1998 tour by a Christian in the crowd, we were told that it was not smuggled (it was "brought in") and that the shootout was not a "gun battle." This is an incredible game of semantics. The fact that Smith did try to defend himself disqualifies him from being described in the same manner as our Lord during His arrest, trial, and death (Acts 8:32).

After Smith's demise, things would be quiet for a time. Eventually, however, troubles between the Mormons and their Gentile neighbors would resurface. With little hope to see things resolved, plans were being made by the LDS leadership to leave Illinois. On August 23, 1845, a strategy was approved for an expedition beyond the Rocky Mountains. The first company, composed of 143 men, 3 women, and 2 children, would leave in mid-April. Three and a half months later they would arrive in the Salt Lake Valley.

Even with my strong views regarding the errors of the Mormon faith, I will be the first to denounce religious persecution, as it is properly defined, against any people, Mormons included. I say properly defined because many Mormons feel that any verbal disagreement with their faith is a type of persecution. However, it gets a little tiring to hear of Mormons constantly pointing to their 19^th Century persecutions as if this is some sort of sign of God's divine approval on the LDS Church. If violence against a certain faith were the only way to determine truth, then certainly the Mormons themselves would have to recognize that our Christian faith was just as viable as theirs. Can a Mormon, off the top of his head, recall when the last Mormon was killed just because he was a Mormon? Certainly we have heard of Mormons being tragically killed while serving missions, but these cases involve circumstances other than true martyrdom (robberies, car accidents, being mistaken for CIA agents, etc). On the other hand, it is not uncommon to hear of Christians around the world who are being killed because they refuse to denounce their belief that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. While martyrdom seems to be a thing of the past for the Mormons, it is a common occurrence among those who have placed their total trust in the Jesus of the Bible.

[MHGinTN]

When I was younger, folks in these parts raised beagles, for rabbit and bird hunting. I still recall sitting on the porch down in Crouch Hollow listening to my beagle sing as it ran a scent trail. Our chow and sheperd mix (named Chris ... we got him for Christmas when I was eight) would run the field trying to find that beagle, jumping up over the tall grass to sight for the trail made by the beagle crashing along with head down, nose to the ground. Those farming those fields now keep the grass mowed and bailed, so a beagle wouldn’t be hidden as it ran, if there were any to run now. City folks have so infiltrated the area that the ‘noise’ of a beagle singing is considered a nuisance. Of course, down on my Mother’s land, wild turkey are still heard gobbling on the occasional summer/fall evening, up on the hill among the Oak and Hickory woods.

[Old Mountain man]

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve flushed wild turkeys driving down the hill to town. One morning, a bald eagle landed next to the river and I stopped and stared at him for about 5 minutes. The only deer I ever shot there were after I got them with a vehicle. What a wonderful part of the world.

[SkyPilot]

The Nauvoo Pentagrams

____________________________________________________________________

Excerpt:

History of the Pentagram

The five-pointed star is a simple design that has shown up in the artwork of several cultures. Deciding when the inverted star actually came to be known as a symbol of evil can be confusing. There is no general consensus among historians and even Wiccans and witches are not in full agreement. Some say this happened around the time of the Inquisition, while others say it could have been as late as the 19th century.

Mormon apologists are correct when they insist that Christians have used the pentagram or pentacle in their artwork. For instance, at one time the five-pointed star was commonly known as the "five wounds of Christ." However, the time frame in which Christians used this symbol becomes very important, and, as I will examine later in this article, tend to discount many LDS assertions. One thing we do know and that is the inverted pentagram has come to be associated with evil. Of that there is little doubt. Consider the following:

"The pentagram with one point upwards repels evil, but a reversed pentagram, with two points upwards, is a symbol of the Devil and attracts sinister forces because it is upside down and because it stands for the number 2. It represents the great Goat of the witches' sabbath and the two upward points are the Goat's horn." (The Black Arts, Richard Cavendish (G.P.Putnam's Sons Publishing; 1967, p.265).

............................................

The LDS Perspective

I am not aware of any evidence that proves Smith was purposely attempting to use a symbol that society at the time would have viewed as evil, nor do I know of any LDS who feels such a symbol is meant to represent Satan either blatantly or esoterically. In fact, most Mormons have told me that the pentagrams used on LDS buildings symbolize the stars mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:41. Perhaps that works for a Mormon, but I personally don't imagine pentagrams when I read how "one star differs from another star in glory." But then again, that's just me.

BYU professor of history William Hamblin raises some good questions when he asks what the five-pointed star meant in the 1840s in the United States (email received 9/10/02). This is important because we would assume that what this emblem meant at the time the Nauvoo temple was built would probably reflect how Joseph Smith would have seen it as well.

Mr. Hamblin mentions in the same email that the "the swastika is a symbol of Nazism in the mid-twentieth century, but is a symbol of the sun-god or of good luck in India and Tibet." This is true. In fact, for thousands of years the swastika, or the reversed sauvastika, shows up in artwork all over the world, including the artwork of American Indians. However, when Adolph Hitler chose to use this emblem as an insignia for his Nazi Party, things began to change very rapidly. This, I feel, is the whole issue regarding the LDS Church's use of the inverted pentagram on its buildings. Mormons may argue that Smith's pentagram was perfectly harmless in the 1840s, but there is no denying that many people in the world today associate it with evil. Show most people a picture of an inverted pentagram and I am sure that only Mormons would insist this is the star mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:41.

..........................................

Joseph Smith's fascination with folk-magic may supply some of the answers to this mystery. His use of seer stones, amulets, and magical parchments certainly do not help us draw a conclusion that Smith had no knowledge of what was known to be "occultic" in his time period. We do know that the word occult during Smith's time meant, "to conceal." Other definitions include invisible, secret, unknown, undiscovered, and undetected. The 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language states, "...the occult sciences are magic, necromancy, &c." The fact that the LDS temple ceremony (prior to 1990) on numerous occasions used the words secret and secrecy would tend to fit well within this definition.

Even if it could be proven that prior to the 1840s the inverted pentagram did not have any relationship to evil, it does not explain why the Mormons would continue to use it during a time period when, by Hamblin's own admission, it definitely does have that connotation. The LDS Church has used the inverted star to decorate other buildings that were completed long after 1855. This would include the famous Salt Lake temple, which was finished in 1893. Several inverted stars with an elongated point at the bottom can also be found in the woodwork in the Christus Rotunda in the North Visitor's Center on Temple Square that was built in 1963.

.......................................................

No Win Situation

When I heard that the LDS Church was going to rebuild the Nauvoo temple using its original design, I felt that they were going to find themselves between a rock and a hard place when it came to the pentagrams. If they kept them, they would be criticized for its now universal association to evil. If they changed them, it would be construed as somehow recognizing something was amiss. However, make no mistake about it, there is good reason to believe that Gordon Hinckley knew full well that this symbol would cause controversy. He could have easily avoided it, but he chose not to.

In his book entitled Window Maker, Charles W. Allen tells how he was commissioned by the LDS Church to build the leaded glass stars that encircle the outside of the Nauvoo temple. The original plan was to stick as closely as possible to the original design, so Allan commenced to put together stars that would be placed in an inverted fashion. However, Allan notes on page 182 of his book how on Tuesday, May 8 [2001] he was approached by three men from his church. He writes, " ...Ron Prince, Cory Karl and Keith Stepan were in the shop this morning to see how I was doing and to take a look at the colored glass in the star sash. They really liked what they saw. Keith asked me whether, if President Hinckley wanted to have the star pointed in an up position, that would be possible? I said yes, that all I had to do is to rotate the sash. He made a recorded note of that for his next meeting with President Hinckley. There is some concern by members of the temple committee that the upside down star would be interpreted as a Satanic symbol which some cults believe in today."

....................................................

Conclusion

I personally feel that Hinckley's loyalty to Smith's original design is to blame for much of this controversy. We have no reason to believe he was compelled to remain completely true to the temple's original design given the fact that the upright angel atop the steeple is not the same as the horizontal weathervane/angel used in 1846.

If I may offer my suggestion, I think the best way this issue could have been avoided would have been for Hinckley to change the design and issue a press release that said something like, "Because the meaning of the inverted pentagram has changed drastically since the 1840's we felt that in order not to offend the many Christians who see this design in a negative light, we plan to place the stars in an upright position." In doing so he would have calmed the concerns of his temple committee and probably put to rest many undo criticisms.

.....................................................

Bottom line: if I saw a church with a swastika in its stone face, I would draw back. The LDS church does not even recognize, and you have reinforced it with your defense, the problem of having this Occult symbol as part of its architecture.

[SkyPilot]

Mormons like this symbol as well. Care to have a go at it and say Mormons are gay now as well?

12God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; 13I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. 14"It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, 15and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16"When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."

Genesis 9: 12-16

Just because homosexuals hijacked God's symbol of Hope and turned it into a symbol of deviancy, does not take away what God intended.

I would suspect the painting you mentioned was to speak to the Genesis flood. If you don't believe that, then perhaps you are already on the planet Kolob.

[MHGinTN]

A star is a star. BUT, an inverted star shape, with an elongated downward pointing portion and shortened side points is the Baphomet symbol perversion of the five pointed star. The perversion can be traced only so far back as Levi int he 1800s, but in approximate timeline to the Smithian ignorant borrowing of symbols and signs for his new religion.

[MHGinTN]

History Channel, Investigating History, is at this minute covering the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

[MHGinTN]

Ping

[Colofornian]

Well, most of the “incidents” seem to me to be jealousy from those around the saints coupled with the arrogance of a few of the saints. Missouri was about stealing the saints’ land, pure and simple and the thieves got away with it. All fine protestants, to be sureLet by good ole Governor Boggs. [OMM]

Gov. Boggs and Gov. Ford. Anti-Mormon’s favorite Democrats. [Rameumptom]

Boy, there seems to be a pattern here. Folks at the state level do something against Mormons. Why, the next thing ya know, the Governor's a target.

Fundie Mormons are targeted in 2008; suddenly the Gov's home is torched.
Missouri has antagonisms & conflict with 19th century Mormons, and then the Gov becomes a target of an assassin's bullet shortly after leaving office.

In May, 1842, ex-Gov. Boggs was shot while sitting alone in a room @ his residence. Boggs almost died. Boggs made an affidavit 2.5 months later, accusing notorious LDS strong-arm thug Orrin Porter Rockwell of Illinois of committing the murder. A second affidavit was made, where Boggs said he had "good reason to believe, from evidence and information now in his ;possession, that Joseph Smith, commonly called 'the Mormon Prophet,' was accessory before the face of the intended murder..."

O.J. Simpson like, only with Rockwell getting further than the visa-in-car Simpson, Rockwell headed out of the area & got clear to New Jersey where he hung out for the rest of 1842.

Rockwell was spotted & arrested after returning to the Midwest. He was jailed for 9 months, become an escapee in the process, but was jailed again & then graciously released by the Missourians as a Christmas present to Rockwell, but mostly because they wanted Rockwell to return to Illinois so he would lure Smith back to Missouri.

(So we see Guv's popularity with the Mormons)

[UCANSEE2]

“Boy, there seems to be a pattern here.”

One can read the account of all this from Gov. Ford’s perspective, and if you change the names, and places, the exact same scenario is repeating itself.

The Gov’s comments about the lawyers the ‘mormons’ got, was very enlightening.

[Gamecock]

Mr. Hamblin mentions in the same email that the "the swastika is a symbol of Nazism in the mid-twentieth century, but is a symbol of the sun-god or of good luck in India and Tibet." This is true. In fact, for thousands of years the swastika, or the reversed sauvastika, shows up in artwork all over the world, including the artwork of American Indians. However, when Adolph Hitler chose to use this emblem as an insignia for his Nazi Party, things began to change very rapidly. This, I feel, is the whole issue regarding the LDS Church's use of the inverted pentagram on its buildings. Mormons may argue that Smith's pentagram was perfectly harmless in the 1840s, but there is no denying that many people in the world today associate it with evil. Show most people a picture of an inverted pentagram and I am sure that only Mormons would insist this is the star mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:41.

Once upon a time one could say "I'm having a gay old time!" and convey an entirely different meaning than today. The entire culture has adjusted to this change.

[Old Mountain man]

Wow! What an editorial against Mormons! Your OPINION hit piece is a good example of the genre - long on accusations and short on facts. How many Mormons were murdered in Missouri? Ever heard of Hahn’s Mill?

[Elsie]

The only deer I ever shot there were after I got them with a vehicle.

Just last night, I almost got a family of 4 skunks with mine!

They ran out just in front of me - no time to stop - and I ran over 3 of them, but none were hit! (A 1 ton Chevy van sits REALLY high!)

[Elsie]

I’m too far out for cable...

[Elsie]

 

Your OPINION hit piece is a good example of the genre - long on accusations and short on facts.

 

 

Here are some FACTS:

---

 

 Galatians 1:6-9
 6.  I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--
 7.  which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.
 8.  But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
 9.  As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! (niv)

 

 

 

ANYBODY???

 

Like this fine looking fellow???

 

 

 

 

 

2 Corinthians 11:12-15
 12.  And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about.
 13.  For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ.
 14.  And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
 15.  It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. (niv)

Like THESE guys??

 

 

http://scriptures.lds.org/en/js_h/1/19#19

 

 

17 It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

 

 

---

---

Ephesians 2:1-2

   As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,  in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

---

---

KJV 1 Corinthians 4:17
  For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.

 

KJV 1 Corinthians 11:2
   Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.

 

 KJV 2 Thessalonians 2:15
   Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

 

KJV 2 Timothy 1:13
   Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

 

KJV 2 Timothy 3:14-15
 14.  But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
 15.  And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

[Old Mountain man]

They sure can stink if you hit them. I remember that they like to go out into the road after dark to breed. Used to be lots of dead skunks in the road early in the morning when I was going to work in Knoxville.

[Osage Orange]

I will tell you a funny story.....

I've got two border collies. We were out walking in some big open country...my dogs jumped up a large fawn...and they gave chase. I could see they weren't gonna catch it...so I didn't call them off. They generally give up fast..and they've never caught one yet.

Anyway they got out of sight briefly...then they both come back running hard to beat all get out...with momma doe right on their tails. She was gonna give them "what for"...

I was rolling with laughter..and they both had stupid looking looks on their faces. Ha!!

[Old Mountain man]

I have seen my dog chasing and being chased on more than one occasion. I think the blasted deer thought she was one of them, just a little small.

[Tennessee Nana]

Ever heard of Hahn’s Mill?
______________________________________________

Ever hear of the Bear River Massacre ???

Bear River Massacre

Before dawn on a bitterly cold Jan. 29, 1863, the California Volunteers attacked Boa Ogoi, the winter camp of the Northwestern Shoshone on Bear River near today’s Preston, Idaho. U.S. troops came to Utah the previous fall to protect America’s overland wagon roads fromIndians, specifically Shoshone raiders who had attacked travelers on the Oregon-California Trail.

The bands at Bear River had little to do with these raids, but they had resisted the (Mormon) settlers who began moving into Cache Valley in 1860, appropriating their land and water during the next three years.

“They rejected the way of life and salvation,” Mormon leader Peter Maughn told Brigham Young. The (Mormon) settlers wanted the tribe out of the way.

There was no love lost between the Army and the Mormons, but Young’s bodyguard, Porter Rockwell, led the soldiers north to the Shoshone camp. Before leaving Salt Lake, Connor announced he would take no prisoners.

Frostbite crippled almost a third of the soldiers before they reached Brigham City, and the approach of the Army was no secret to the Indians. Years later, William Hull recalled that three Indians from Bear Hunter’s band visited his father’s farm the evening before the attack. When he saw the approaching “toquashes,” or soldiers, Hull told them, “Maybe you will all be killed.”

Maybe touquasho be killed, too,” one warrior reportedly responded.

The Shoshone had fortified the 10-foot bank of Beaver Creek. When the freezing soldiers arrived, the warriors were ready for a fight. Hull remembered that Bear Hunter waved his buffalo robe and shouted, “Come on, you California sons of bitches! We’re ready for you!” Others believe it was Sylvanus Collett, a white man, (a Mormon), who taunted the soldiers.

The outraged troops launched a disastrous frontal assault before flanking the Shoshone position and cutting off their retreat. By 8 a.m., the Shoshone were out of ammunition. Soldiers shot down the survivors with their revolvers.

Hull recalled Connor ordered, “Kill everything! Nits make lice.” The battle quickly became a vicious slaughter of women and children with the undisciplined soldiers pausing only to rape and pillage. The next morning Hull counted nearly 400 dead, “two-thirds of the number being women and children.”

The soldiers took their dead back to Camp Douglas and buried them in the post cemetery. They left the vanquished corpses for the wolves and crows.

Local Mormons hailed the atrocity “as an intervention of the Almighty,” but Army surgeon John Lauderdale thought otherwise. This “hardest fought battle was instigated without a doubt by the Mormons. The latter being unfriendly to our army thought they would betray us into the hands of the Indians. They thought by so doing they would make a little speculation out of it themselves. They made the Indians believe they could capture us most easily & agreed to reward them finely if successful.”

The sequel of the story, Lauderdale wrote, “proved the destruction of the Indians.”

Despite its historic significance, only a few roadside signs identify the blood-stained ground at Boa Ogoi.

http://www.lemhi-shoshone.com/bear_river_massacre.html

[Tennessee Nana]

Ever heard of Hahn’s Mill?
_____________________________________

Ever heard of Mountain Meadows ????

[Old Mountain man]

Yeah, and you know what? Somebody got executed for Mountain Meadows. Can you say the same for Hahn’s Mill? Can you say the same for the lynching at Carthage? What is your problem? Not enough dead mormons for you?