From the article: The mob pushed their rifles through the partially opened door and the prophet Joseph Smith aimed and began firing a six-shooter pistol, but only three barrels fired. The mob fired back.
Yup. "The mob fired back." (Ya better believe that ANY prisoner in ANY jail with a loaded weapon is likely to be fired upon!!!)
From the article: The destruction of the press was not the best public relations move for Smith, a presidential candidate.
(Understatement of the day)
From the article: In Nauvoo, Smith held the titles of president and prophet of his church and also held the positions of mayor, court judge and commander of the militia called the Nauvoo Legion.
#1 While Smith assumed all this public power, his first wife, Emma, actually said it wasn't his public persona that led to his gun-battle death...she said it was the "secret things" that did him in-- meaning polygamy. Smith took dozens of wives on the sly; one guy finally decided to publish something about it in the Nauvoo Expositor; Smith ordered the destruction of that printing press to keep his polygamy secret; and that's when the locals had enough of his criminal shenanigans (he was a criminal bigamist/polygamist; a corrupt bully-mayor, etc).
#2 Ever notice how Lds general authorities (top leaders of the church) are EACH on many different boards of companies, etc? Ever notice how Brigham Young was simultaneous "prophet" of the church & Utah territorial governor? As the article says: Young established a theocracy in Salt Lake City where the Mormon religion and government shared no separation. Young began preaching an end-of-the-world scenario where God would exact vengeance on gentiles. Mormon leaders preached a doctrine of 'blood atonement' for the previous persecution of Mormons. Some historians and scholars believe that this blood-for-blood doctrine and the end-times rhetoric resulted in the incident that would become known as the Mountain Meadows massacre.
From the article: A government investigation later revealed that Mormons disarmed the men, separated them from the women and children and led them all into a field where they were shot dead. Two years later, the remains of the immigrants lay unburied where they were killed. Government investigator Brevet Major J.H. Carleton surveyed the crime scene, which he called 'one too horrible and sickening for language to describe. Human skeletons, disjointed bones, ghastly skulls and the hair of women were scattered in frightful profusion over a distance of two miles.'
What do you want them to do discredit their own foundings? And Muslims should have an honest discussion about Mohammed and child molestation? I don’t think that’s realistic or even constructive, actually.
no, it wasn't his "political ideas" that he wanted to further...it was the thought of taking on 13 yro girls as brides as many as he wanted and never having to face the law nor God about it....because he created the god that allowed that....how cozy....
religions do that....smooth the way to rationalize all sorts of behaviour...
I appreciate the mostly good people that are Mormons....I know the good and the bad and ugly of them....good marriage, family values,patriotism, etc...but the foundation that Mormonism arises from....yikes....there is just no explaining it in a good way....I wish there was...
It was a rather one-sided gun battle: hundreds of fully armed militiamen launched an unprovoked attack again four men armed with two pistols and a couple of sticks. It hardly deserves the grand title of "gun battle."
From the article: The mob pushed their rifles through the partially opened door and the prophet Joseph Smith aimed and began firing a six-shooter pistol, but only three barrels fired. The mob fired back.
Yup. "The mob fired back." (Ya better believe that ANY prisoner in ANY jail with a loaded weapon is likely to be fired upon!!!)
Nope. The mob did not "fire back." The mob was already firing and had, in fact, killed his brother Hyrum. It was Joseph Smith who "fired back."
Your observation about an armed prisoner being fired upon is beside the point. The mob did not murder Joseph and Hyrum Smith because the prisoners had loaded weapons; I doubt any of the murderers even knew that.
No, the mob came to the jail with the intent to lynch the Smiths and their companions, and would have done so had the prisoners been unarmed. And indeed, the mob also shot John Taylor, who had no weapon but his walking stick.
Joseph Smith aimed and began firing a six-shooter pistol, but only three barrels fired.
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Well. that was good shooting on Joey Smith’s part. He shot three men and two of them died.
I guess that bein' a "PROPHET" thingy ain't 100% accurate all the time!
Ever notice how protesters try to justify the murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith? Really, the protesters should get over that lie.
If he had kept his privates in his pants and not gone around destroying private property in the interest of keeping his shenanigans from being exposed, he wouldn’t have been in a position to be “martyred”.
Sorry, no sympathy here. The folks of that town obviously felt that he was going to get away with his affronts to public decency in addition to the destruction of private property and decided to dispense a bit of frontier justice. In retrospect, they unfortunately compounded the root of the problem.
The belief in polygamy, adultery and pedophilia in the name of God had taken root and BY now had a “martyr” he could hold up to the flock as “proof” of the so-called “correctness” of their abominable behavior.
SZ