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< Utah | Crime and violence
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:If ever we live to see the kingdom of God set up we shall see the judgment poured out upon that man who seeks to overthrow the kingdom, for righteousness shall be put to line. I [Brigham Young] would also caution you against using the name of God in vain; it has been used too much and will be with us; like the ancients of old, they forbade them the frequent use of the same. For '''I tell you, the time is coming when that man [who] uses the name of the Lord [and] is used, the penalty will be affixed and immediately be executed on the spot.''' Why should we use it in our private and public conversation--the ancients have given us an example of reverencing they had for the name of the deity by calling the priesthood not after God, but after Melchizedek. It must be held sacred, nor must it be the common practice from this time and hencefor. If we do not purify ourselves we shall be devoured by our enemies. Even if we are gathered into the wilderness He will there destroy them either by famine or by Indians, who will be brought upon us and thereby destroyed.{{ref|stoutdiary1}} | :If ever we live to see the kingdom of God set up we shall see the judgment poured out upon that man who seeks to overthrow the kingdom, for righteousness shall be put to line. I [Brigham Young] would also caution you against using the name of God in vain; it has been used too much and will be with us; like the ancients of old, they forbade them the frequent use of the same. For '''I tell you, the time is coming when that man [who] uses the name of the Lord [and] is used, the penalty will be affixed and immediately be executed on the spot.''' Why should we use it in our private and public conversation--the ancients have given us an example of reverencing they had for the name of the deity by calling the priesthood not after God, but after Melchizedek. It must be held sacred, nor must it be the common practice from this time and hencefor. If we do not purify ourselves we shall be devoured by our enemies. Even if we are gathered into the wilderness He will there destroy them either by famine or by Indians, who will be brought upon us and thereby destroyed.{{ref|stoutdiary1}} | ||
− | Notice that Brigham says "the | + | Notice that Brigham says "the ''penalty'' will be affixed and immediately be executed on the spot." Brigham does not state what the penalty is. He is not saying that the person who takes the Lord's name is vain will be "executed on the spot," although that is what the ''Tanners'' apparently hope to achieve with this quote. |
It is interesting that the Tanner's had to dig into secondary sources to make their point. There are plenty of primary sources in which Brigham's own words on the subject of taking the Lord's name in vain were recorded: | It is interesting that the Tanner's had to dig into secondary sources to make their point. There are plenty of primary sources in which Brigham's own words on the subject of taking the Lord's name in vain were recorded: |
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Critics have created a long list of crimes for which they claim the 19th century church required death through blood atonement. The critics conflate blood atonement with captial punishment in order to promote the idea that the 19th century church was willing to kill anyone who disobeyed the law.
Main article: Blood atonement
Blood atonement is a concept taught by Brigham Young and several other early Church leaders. It states that:
1. There are certain sins of apostacy that may not be covered by Christ's atonement. Such apostacy would involve church members who had already been endowed and made covenants in the temple.
2. That a person willing to repent of such sins might need to be 'willing allow their own blood to be shed to do so.
Critics mine statements from early church leaders to make it appear that "blood atonement" was being applied to others for a variety of crimes against their will. The following table lists the crimes that the critics claim were "worthy of death," and the sources that they use to support this assertion.
Crime the critics claim was "worthy of death" | Critics' use of sources |
---|---|
Murder | History of the Church 5:296; Doctrines of Salvation 1:136; Mormon Doctrine, 1958, p.314 |
Adultery and immorality | Journal of Discourses 3:247; Journal of Discourses 7:20; Journal of Discourses 6:38; Journal of Discourses 7:19; Journal of Discourses 1:97 |
Stealing | Times and Seasons, vol. 4, pp.183-84; History of the Church 7:597; Journal of Discourses 1:108-9; Journal of Discourses 1:73 |
Using the name of the Lord in vain | Journal of Hosea Stout, vol. 2, p.71; p.56 of the typed copy at Utah State Historical Society |
Not receiving the Gospel | Journal of Discourses 3:226 |
Marrying an African | Journal of Discourses 10:110; Wilford Woodruff's Journal, January 16,1852; Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Spring 1973, p.26 |
Lying | "Manuscript History of Brigham Young," December 20, 1846 |
Counterfeiting | "Manuscript History of Brigham Young," February 24,1847 |
Condemning Joseph Smith | Quest for Empire—The Political Kingdom of God and the Council of Fifty in Mormon History, p.127; Daily journal of Abraham H. Cannon, December 6, 1889, pp.205-6 |
The allegation that murder was a crime worthy of death is based upon a quote from Joseph Smith during a Nauvoo City Council meeting:
It is apparent that Joseph Smith had an opinion regarding what should be done with a man who kills another. The quote above shows that Joseph preferred certain other modes of execution to hanging. However, this statement says little regarding the crimes for which this punishment would be applied, other than the statement "even if a man kill another."
The idea that murderers ought to be executed for their crimes is certainly not new or unique to Joseph Smith's time. Even today there is an ongoing and vigorous debate regarding the merits of capital punishment. The question here is whether or not this issue relates to blood atonement. Recall that the concept of "blood atonement" required that an apostate be willing to sacrifice his own life. This does not seem to relate to Joseph Smith's expressed preference regarding forms of execution.
It appears to have been Bruce R. McConkie who connected the form of execution with blood atonement. In his first edition of Mormon Doctrine, which was later recalled, Elder McConkie stated:
Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:
The Tanners conclude that "[a]s long as the Mormon church teaches the doctrine of blood atonement there is probably little chance of Utah using a gas chamber or electric chair for the condemned murderer." Utah, however, replaced hanging with lethal injection in 1980. This provided two choices to the condemned: firing squad or lethal injection. If the condemned failed to make a choice, lethal injection was to be employed.[4]
Among the various references used to "prove" that adultery is "punishable by death," the critics employ a well known quote from Brigham Young. Here is the quote as the Tanners present it:
As is always the case with the Tanners' work, it is always a good idea to fill in the parts that they omit in order to find out what Brigham was actually talking about. Here is the same quote with the parts mined by the Tanners highlighted.
There are a few things that are important to note.
It is clear that the point of Brigham's story is not to claim that adultery was "punishable by death." Brigham was relating a modern, literal interpretation of the Old Testament account of Phineas.[5]
Once again we will examine how the Tanners interpret the words of Brigham Young:
Looking at the first part of that quote, with some of the missing parts restored, and the Tanners' quote mining highlighted:
Notice how Brigham's statement that he has never harmed a man except with his tongue is carefully excised from the quote. Also notice that there is no mention of blood atonement, apostacy, or a willingness to give one's life to atone for some grievious sin. Brigham is simply expressing his disgust with thievery.
Brigham's remark was made in 1853—the Saints were in the midst of a serious struggle for subsistence in the Salt Lake Valley. Famine was often a real threat in these years. Those who thieved from their neighbors under such conditions put others' well-being and even lives at risk. If livestock were stolen, for example, this reduced a man's ability to plow his fields or do other animal-powered work. Such theft also took food and dairy animals from poverty-stricken settlers. Supplies, machinery, hardware, tools, or other items imported at great effort from the east could not be easily replaced in the Territory, even had the Saints had the money to do so.
The frontier was also known for lawless behavior among some, far from military or police power. Under these conditions, thievery could well result in the suffering and death of victims and others in their communities—hence Brigham's determination to stamp it out.
The Tanners use a second hand quote to "prove" that Brigham Young considered taking the name of the Lord in vain to be worthy of death:
As with any Tanner quote, it is best to see the quote in full context before proceeding further:
Notice that Brigham says "the penalty will be affixed and immediately be executed on the spot." Brigham does not state what the penalty is. He is not saying that the person who takes the Lord's name is vain will be "executed on the spot," although that is what the Tanners apparently hope to achieve with this quote.
It is interesting that the Tanner's had to dig into secondary sources to make their point. There are plenty of primary sources in which Brigham's own words on the subject of taking the Lord's name in vain were recorded:
The Tanners use the following quote from Brigham Young to conclude that those who do not receive the gospel should be killed:
The critics would like us to believe that Brigham was literally talking about killing those who were opposed to the Gospel. The first thing to note is that the Tanner have removed a phrase from the quote without indicating it's absence. The actual quote says:
One wonders why the critics felt they needed to remove the reference to "the old broad sword"—Perhaps it is because this phrase clearly indicated that Brigham was speaking figuratively rather than literally? Consider also, that just prior to the statement shown above, Brigham said:
Brigham is clearly not advocating that anyone who does not receive the gospel should be put to death.
This issue does not involve marriage, since anti-miscegenation laws forbade white/black marriages.
See FAIR wiki main article:Brigham Young on race mixing
The critics propose that lying is "worthy of death" based upon a statement made by Brigham Young. According to the Tanners:
The critics really have to stretch on this one, since if everyone who condemned Joseph Smith were "worthy of death," there would have been few critics left! This was obviously not the case during the 19th century, and the only support that the critics can gather for such a far-fetched idea is a second-hand quote from Brigham Young and a single entry in Apostle Abraham H. Cannon's journal. Cannon's journal says:
The only other evidence offered by the critics is a second hand quote said to have come from Brigham Young. Norton Jacob claims that Brigham said:
The critics take the story about Joseph F.Smith's emotional reaction to hearing of the death of Joseph and Hyrum, along with an alleged quote from Brigham Young from a second hand source, and ridiculously expand this to mean that "blood atonement" requires death for anyone who condemns Joseph Smith. The evidence for such an assertion by the critics is practically non-existent, and one must assume that they added this for the simple reason that they wanted to make the list of "crimes" that they relate to "blood atonement" more impressive.
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