![FairMormon Logo](https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2021_fair_logo_primary.png)
FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
m (Bot: Automated text replacement (-{{IndexClaim\n\|claim=\n\*(.*)\n\|response=\n +{{IndexClaimItemShort\n|title={{check}}\n|claim=\1\n}}\n)) |
m (Bot: Automated text replacement (-\|authorsources=\n* +|authorsources=<br>\n#)) |
||
Line 33: | Line 33: | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
{{AuthorQuote|"But after Smith arrived, the Mormons suddenly could not remember making an agreement to limit their settlements to one county."}} | {{AuthorQuote|"But after Smith arrived, the Mormons suddenly could not remember making an agreement to limit their settlements to one county."}} | ||
− | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
− | None | + | #None |
}} | }} | ||
{{propaganda|The author employs sarcasm. | {{propaganda|The author employs sarcasm. | ||
Line 49: | Line 49: | ||
Brodie, p. 211: "On a high bluff overlooking the river someone in the party discovered the ruins of what seemed to be an altar and excitedly led the prophet to it. After examining it, Joseph stood silent, his eye sweeping over the prarie that rolled away beneath him..." | Brodie, p. 211: "On a high bluff overlooking the river someone in the party discovered the ruins of what seemed to be an altar and excitedly led the prophet to it. After examining it, Joseph stood silent, his eye sweeping over the prarie that rolled away beneath him..." | ||
*[[../../Rewording secondary sources|Rewording secondary sources]] | *[[../../Rewording secondary sources|Rewording secondary sources]] | ||
− | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
− | *Endnote 7 simply states: "This event occurred c. June 1838 at Spring Hill, MO." | + | #*Endnote 7 simply states: "This event occurred c. June 1838 at Spring Hill, MO." |
*Brodie is not cited as a secondary source, nor are any primary sources cited. | *Brodie is not cited as a secondary source, nor are any primary sources cited. | ||
}} | }} | ||
Line 60: | Line 60: | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
The author claims that "Twenty-first century Mormonism" promotes the idea that Cain, Abel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, and Noah lived in Missouri. | The author claims that "Twenty-first century Mormonism" promotes the idea that Cain, Abel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, and Noah lived in Missouri. | ||
− | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
− | *No source provided. | + | #*No source provided. |
}} | }} | ||
{{misinformation|It would be safe to say that ''Twenty-first'' century Latter-day Saints rarely discuss this issue. ''Nineteenth century'' and early ''twentieth century'' Latter-day Saints may have speculated on this. | {{misinformation|It would be safe to say that ''Twenty-first'' century Latter-day Saints rarely discuss this issue. ''Nineteenth century'' and early ''twentieth century'' Latter-day Saints may have speculated on this. | ||
Line 71: | Line 71: | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Did Oliver Cowdery accuse Joseph of having a "dirty, nasty, filthy affair" with Fanny Alger? | Did Oliver Cowdery accuse Joseph of having a "dirty, nasty, filthy affair" with Fanny Alger? | ||
− | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
− | Oliver Cowdery, letter to Warren Cowdery, January 21, 1838. | + | #Oliver Cowdery, letter to Warren Cowdery, January 21, 1838. |
}} | }} | ||
{{information|Oliver did accuse Joseph of such activities. | {{information|Oliver did accuse Joseph of such activities. | ||
Line 83: | Line 83: | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Did Joseph allow the formation of the Danites? | Did Joseph allow the formation of the Danites? | ||
− | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
− | *Hill 75. | + | #*Hill 75. |
*William Edwin Berrett, ''The Restored Church'', 198. | *William Edwin Berrett, ''The Restored Church'', 198. | ||
*Sampson Avard, ''Correspondence, Orders'', 97-98. | *Sampson Avard, ''Correspondence, Orders'', 97-98. | ||
Line 101: | Line 101: | ||
Did Sidney Rigdon give public approval to the Danites during a speech he delivered on June 17, 1838? | Did Sidney Rigdon give public approval to the Danites during a speech he delivered on June 17, 1838? | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
+ | #<br> | ||
*Winn, 124. | *Winn, 124. | ||
*Reed Peck, ''Reed Peck Manuscript'', 3. | *Reed Peck, ''Reed Peck Manuscript'', 3. | ||
Line 114: | Line 115: | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
{{AuthorQuote|"Such historical revisionism is typical of Mormon historians, who must at all costs, preserve the integrity of early Mormon leaders."}} | {{AuthorQuote|"Such historical revisionism is typical of Mormon historians, who must at all costs, preserve the integrity of early Mormon leaders."}} | ||
− | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
− | Author's opinion. | + | #Author's opinion. |
}} | }} | ||
*[[../Loaded and prejudicial language|Loaded and prejudicial language]] | *[[../Loaded and prejudicial language|Loaded and prejudicial language]] | ||
Line 127: | Line 128: | ||
}} | }} | ||
{{information|Joseph Smith's journal entry for 27 July 1838 shows that he was familiar with the Danites and that he believed that their objective was to "put to rights physically that which is not right" and to "cleanse the Church of very great evils." This likely refers to the encouragement of dissenters to leave the county. The entry in the journal is definitely crossed out, although the reason for this is not stated. | {{information|Joseph Smith's journal entry for 27 July 1838 shows that he was familiar with the Danites and that he believed that their objective was to "put to rights physically that which is not right" and to "cleanse the Church of very great evils." This likely refers to the encouragement of dissenters to leave the county. The entry in the journal is definitely crossed out, although the reason for this is not stated. | ||
− | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
− | Joseph Smith, ''Missouri Journal, 1838, March to September'', under July 27, 1838. Reprinted in Jessee, ''The Papers of Joseph Smith'', vol. 2, 262. | + | #Joseph Smith, ''Missouri Journal, 1838, March to September'', under July 27, 1838. Reprinted in Jessee, ''The Papers of Joseph Smith'', vol. 2, 262. |
}} | }} | ||
<blockquote> | <blockquote> | ||
Line 146: | Line 147: | ||
*[[Danites]] | *[[Danites]] | ||
*Leland Gentry, [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/byustudies&CISOPTR=460&REC=6 The Danite Band of 1838], ''BYU Studies'' 14/4 (1974): 421—50. | *Leland Gentry, [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/byustudies&CISOPTR=460&REC=6 The Danite Band of 1838], ''BYU Studies'' 14/4 (1974): 421—50. | ||
− | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
− | *{{CriticalWork:Quinn:Mormon Hierarchy|pages=479-485}} | + | #*{{CriticalWork:Quinn:Mormon Hierarchy|pages=479-485}} |
}} --> | }} --> | ||
Line 155: | Line 156: | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
{{AuthorQuote|"The Missourians actually seemed committed to continuing their pursuit of a peaceful co-existence with the Mormons."}} | {{AuthorQuote|"The Missourians actually seemed committed to continuing their pursuit of a peaceful co-existence with the Mormons."}} | ||
− | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
− | *Author's opinion. | + | #*Author's opinion. |
}} | }} | ||
*[[../Absurd claims#155|Absurd claims]] | *[[../Absurd claims#155|Absurd claims]] | ||
Line 168: | Line 169: | ||
}} | }} | ||
*[[../Absurd claims#156|Absurd claims]] | *[[../Absurd claims#156|Absurd claims]] | ||
− | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
− | *Author's opinion | + | #*Author's opinion |
}} --> | }} --> | ||
Line 177: | Line 178: | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Did Latter-day Saints plan to "take over" by voting? | Did Latter-day Saints plan to "take over" by voting? | ||
− | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
− | Author's opinion. | + | #Author's opinion. |
}} | }} | ||
{{propaganda|This is an absurd claim. Does anyone plan to "take over" when they exercise their right to vote? Isn't the entire point of voting to be able to participate in the process of selecting those who will govern us? | {{propaganda|This is an absurd claim. Does anyone plan to "take over" when they exercise their right to vote? Isn't the entire point of voting to be able to participate in the process of selecting those who will govern us? | ||
Line 189: | Line 190: | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
{{AuthorQuote|"...calling their attention to the fact that the Saints were 'horse thieves, liars, counterfeiters, and dupes.'"}} | {{AuthorQuote|"...calling their attention to the fact that the Saints were 'horse thieves, liars, counterfeiters, and dupes.'"}} | ||
− | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
− | LeSueur, 61. | + | #LeSueur, 61. |
}} | }} | ||
{{disinformation| This is not a "fact" as implied by the author. | {{disinformation| This is not a "fact" as implied by the author. | ||
Line 201: | Line 202: | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
According to the author, after driving the Saints from their homes, Bogart started to threaten the Saints "in their own territory." | According to the author, after driving the Saints from their homes, Bogart started to threaten the Saints "in their own territory." | ||
− | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
− | *Author's statement. | + | #*Author's statement. |
}} | }} | ||
{{propaganda|The author implies that those "Mormons" who were driven "from their homes" were ''not'' living "in their own territory." | {{propaganda|The author implies that those "Mormons" who were driven "from their homes" were ''not'' living "in their own territory." | ||
Line 214: | Line 215: | ||
}} | }} | ||
*[[../../Notable omissions|Notable omissions]] | *[[../../Notable omissions|Notable omissions]] | ||
− | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
− | *N/A | + | #*N/A |
}} --> | }} --> | ||
Line 223: | Line 224: | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
{{AuthorQuote|"...the evidence clearly revealed that Joseph had directed most, if not all, of the illegal activities in which the Saints had been engaged."}} | {{AuthorQuote|"...the evidence clearly revealed that Joseph had directed most, if not all, of the illegal activities in which the Saints had been engaged."}} | ||
− | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
− | Author's opinion. | + | #Author's opinion. |
}} | }} | ||
{{disinformation|This is the author's opinion, with no evidence to support it. | {{disinformation|This is the author's opinion, with no evidence to support it. |
Claims made in "Chapter 7: Woe In Ohio" | A FAIR Analysis of: One Nation Under Gods, a work by author: Richard Abanes
|
Claims made in "Chapter 9: March to Martyrdom" |
Claim Evaluation |
One Nation Under Gods |
![]() |
Jump to details:
The author claims that "Twenty-first century Mormonism" promotes the idea that Cain, Abel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, and Noah lived in Missouri.Author's sources:
- No source provided.
Did Oliver Cowdery accuse Joseph of having a "dirty, nasty, filthy affair" with Fanny Alger?Author's sources:
- Oliver Cowdery, letter to Warren Cowdery, January 21, 1838.
Did Joseph allow the formation of the Danites?Author's sources:
- Hill 75.
- William Edwin Berrett, The Restored Church, 198.
- Sampson Avard, Correspondence, Orders, 97-98.
- Winn, 123.
- David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ, 27-28.
The Danites were a brotherhood of church members that formed in Far West, Missouri in mid-1838. By this point in time, the Saints had experienced serious persecution, having been driven out of Kirtland by apostates, and driven out of Jackson County by mobs. Sidney Rigdon was publicly preaching that the Saints would not tolerate any more persecution, and that both apostates and mobs would be put on notice. The Danite organization took root within this highly charged and defensive environment.
The Danites are sometimes confused with the “Armies of Israel,” which was the official defensive organization that was tasked with defending the Saints, and which was supported by Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon. This is complicated by the fact that members of the Danite organization also served in the “Armies of Israel.”
Regardless of their original motives, the Danites ultimately were led astray by their leader, Sampson Avard. Avard attempted to blame Joseph Smith in order to save himself. Joseph, however, clearly repudiated both the organization and Avard.
Did Sidney Rigdon give public approval to the Danites during a speech he delivered on June 17, 1838?Author's sources:
- Winn, 124.
- Reed Peck, Reed Peck Manuscript, 3.
Rigdon's speech was directly targeted at dissenters within the Church, and strongly implied that they should leave.
Leland H. Gentry,
The first official encouragement given to removing these "dissenters" from Caldwell County came in the form of a speech given by Sidney Rigdon on Sunday, 17 June 1838. Familiarly known in church history annals as the "Salt Sermon," Rigdon's address remains one of the controversial events of the period.[1]:423
Gentry notes John Corrill's description of the sermon,
President Rigdon delivered from the pulpit what I call the "Salt Sermon;" 'If the salt hath lost its savour, it is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men,' was his text; and although he did not call names in his sermon, yet it was plainly understood that he meant the dissenters or those who had denied the faith. He indirectly accused some of them with crime.[2]
The Danites were led by Dr. Sampson Avard, and the group appears to have been formally formed about the time that Sidney Rigdon gave his “Salt Sermon” in Far West, in which he gave apostates an ultimatum to get out or suffer consequences.[1]:4 According to Avard, the original purpose of the band was to “drive from the county of Caldwell all that dissented from the Mormon church.”[3]:25 Once the dissenters had left the country, the Danites turned their attention to defending the Saints from mobs.
Author's quote: "Such historical revisionism is typical of Mormon historians, who must at all costs, preserve the integrity of early Mormon leaders."Author's sources:
- Author's opinion.
The author is expressing his negative opinion as if it were fact.
Did Joseph write in his private journal that he was aware of the Danite's purpose? Were these words then crossed out so that they wouldn't appear in the history of the Church?
27 July 1838 Friday
July 27th some time past the bretheren or saints have come up day after day to consecrate, and to bring their offerings into the store house of the lord, to prove him now herewith and se[e] if he will not pour us out a blessings that there will not be room enough to contain it,167 They have come up hither Thus far, according to the ord[e]r of the Dan-Ites, we have a company of Danites in these times, to put to rights physically that which is not righ[t], and to clense the Church of verry great evils which hath hitherto existed among us, inasmuch as they cannot be put to rights by teachings & persuaysons,168 This company or a part of them exibited on the fourth day of July They come up to consecrate, by companies of tens, commanded by their Captain over ten.[4]
See also Leland Gentry, The Danite Band of 1838, BYU Studies 14/4 (1974): 421—50.
Author's quote: "The Missourians actually seemed committed to continuing their pursuit of a peaceful co-existence with the Mormons."Author's sources:
- Author's opinion.
Did Latter-day Saints plan to "take over" by voting?Author's sources:
- Author's opinion.
Author's quote: "...calling their attention to the fact that the Saints were 'horse thieves, liars, counterfeiters, and dupes.'"Author's sources:
- LeSueur, 61.
According to the author, after driving the Saints from their homes, Bogart started to threaten the Saints "in their own territory."Author's sources:
- Author's statement.
Author's quote: "...the evidence clearly revealed that Joseph had directed most, if not all, of the illegal activities in which the Saints had been engaged."Author's sources:
- Author's opinion.
Notes
FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
We are a volunteer organization. We invite you to give back.
Donate Now