Brandon G. Kinney - The Mormon War: Zion and the Missouri Extermination Order of 1838

In 1820 in Palmyra, New York, Joseph Smith, Jr., like many others, joined the revival of faith in America. A great awakening had occurred and the country was seized by religious fervor with preaching and proselytizing. There is no record of what attracted Smith to explore the spiritual life; he was later to write that he became interested in theology at the age of twelve. Perhaps the adolescent farmer was drawn to the evangelist revival meetings in order to experience God in a direct sense, much like his parents may have with religious folk magic or Christian mysticism. He may have simply regarded the revivals as a way to earn a living, being impressed by the passion and offerings generated by itinerant preachers. Regardless of his motivation, on his way to get religion, Smith claimed he had received a revelation:

One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, (pointing to the other) This is my beloved Son, hear him....I asked the personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects [churches] was right, and which I should join. I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong... that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt.

Smith established the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or Mormon church, as a purified and refined version of Christianity with the intent of replacing all Although he was charismatic, he found it difficult to convert people in New York to his religion. In 1831, Smith therefore moved his church to Kirtland, Ohio, where his skills as a prophet were put to the test when dissension among the faithful and a disastrous banking enterprise threatened to destroy the fledgling organization.

In January 1838, Smith resolved to relocate the church's main headquarters to the town of Far West, Missouri, despite the Mormons being violently driven out of their first gathering place in Independence in 1833. Upon settling in the young state his message was clear: dissenters and those who doubted Smith's revelations must be forced from the church or true believers would never inherit the favor and blessings of God. Western Missouri at this time was populated by mostly proslavery settlers who farmed and ranched. It was also a place where the political upper hand could be readily gained, particularly with a large emigration of like-minded converts as voters. Smith developed an ambitious plan for his church to dominate the political landscape as a way to allow the laws God provided through him to become the supreme law of the land.

In due course the Mormons suffered from the prejudices of the local settlers who were wary of both the Mormon's abolitionist leanings and their non-mainstream Christian beliefs. Once Smith began his plan of political control and the number of Mormons grewbolstered by waves of Canadian and English converts, his followers became emboldened and clashes erupted between Mormon and non-Mormon groups. Despite the destabilizing threat to the state, Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs did nothing for some time, allowing the tension between the Mormons and their neighbors to devolve into a shooting war. When the governor finally took action, he mobilized the state militia and issued an extermination order, perhaps one of the most infamous official acts in United States history, an order to either kill or forcibly remove all those of the Mormon faith from the state.

Known as the Mormon War, the Missouri Mormon War, and the Mormon War of 1838, the conflict is better characterized as a clash of ideologies and the ultimate expression and defense of First Amendment rights, rather than as a full-fledged series of battles between armies. However, the Missouri Mormon War is a major event in American history, despite its lack of popular notoriety. Here in 1830s Missouri, we have the seeds of the Civil War, challenges to core American beliefs in freedom, and an outcome that shaped the future of westward migration. It is also a stark lesson in the damages of prejudice, a problem that our country has continued to struggle with throughout its history. It is an event charged with controversy and emotions that are still felt today. Even the names used to describe the participants can indicate a bias. Mormon sympathizers use terms like saints and martyrs for Mormon particiants and the term mob and villains to describe those against them, while the anti-Mormon side of the story refers to the Mormons as fanatics and dupes. These terms appear within accounts written at the time that are included in this book, but throughout I refer to the Latter Day Saint participants generally as Mormons and the Missouri citizenry as volunteers, settlers, or residents.

In order to relate the history of the Mormon War it is necessary to explore the origins of Mormonism and the movements of its leaders and followers that led them ultimately to Missouri. Since one of the main charges levelled at the Mormons was their arrogance and dishonesty when interacting with non-Mormons, it is important to discover the nature of these claims. Much of what we know about the inner workings of the early church and its history up to the death of Joseph Smith, Jr., outside of official church histories, comes from affidavits and other claims by persons who were excommunicated from the church. Sometimes these persons ended up recanting their statements taken under oath when they were reconciled with the church at a later date; others stood by their statements as spoken or written. Mormon literature tends to discredit or discount contrary accounts, which is to be expected. Nonetheless, without judging the veracity of these records, they contributed to the received information of persons who came into contact with Mormons. From the moment the church was first revealed to the greater public in April 1830, newspaper accounts and books criticizing Mormonism appeared in great frequency.

I am a lawyer by profession and have brought that expertise to my interpretation of the reports and court transcripts in an effort to understand the legal proceedings and claims of governmental authority. In addition, I have traveled to the sites of many of the events of this book and include descriptions of these places to help the reader visualize the events of the Mormon War. My goal is to provide a general history of a fascinating, but tragic event in American history and one that can provide lessons for our day-to-day interactions with fellow citizens of different faiths, cultures, and circumstance.