This is another in a series of posts I'm forwarding which detail the causes of the Utah War and the MMM in 1857. In 2001, a non-Mormon poster on alt.religion.mormon wrote that US Army troops were sent to Utah because of the MMM. That, of course, is wrong---the troops were sent out months before the MMM, to put down the lawlessness and insurrection against federal officials and non-Mormons in which the Mormons were already engaging. A rabid TBM poster named Diana was also in the conversation. My agenda was to attempt to correct her ignorance and educate other readers. I wrote:

The MMM occurred while Johnston's Army was in
Wyoming on their way to the Salt Lake Valley. The army's mission was to depose
the belligerent Brigham Young as territorial governor, and to quash any Mormon
opposition to that change in power. The fact that Young ordered his men to
harrass the army, drive off their stock, and burn their supply wagons, is ample
evidence of the kind of opposition that Washington had been warned of to expect
from the Mormons. As you quoted somewhat from Sally Denton's "American Heritage" article,
the Mormons had harrassed and driven off a number of federal officials from the
territory. Some of those officials made their way back to Washington and gave
President Buchanan and Congress their reports of the Mormons' refusal to obey
U. S. laws or recognize federal authority. Shortly before the MMM occurred,
Illinois Republican Stephen A. Douglas gave a speech wherein he summarized
those reports that warned of Mormon atrocities:

"First, nine-tenths of the [Mormon] inhabitants [of Utah territory] are
aliens by birth who have refused to become naturalized, or to take the oath of
allegiance, or do any other act recognizing the government of the United States
as a paramount authority in the territory (Utah).
"Second, that the inhabitants, whether native or alien born, known as Mormons
(and they constitute the whole people of the territory) are bound by horrible
oaths, and terrible penalties, to recognize and maintain the authority of
Brigham Young, and the government of which he is head, as paramount to that of
the United States, in civil as well as religious affairs; and they will in due
time, and under the direction of their leaders, use all the means in their
power to subvert the government of the United States and resist its authority.
"Third, that the Mormon government, with Brigham Young at its head, is now
forming alliance with the Indian tribes in Utah and adjoining
territories---stimulating the Indians to acts of hostility---and organizing
bands of his own followers under the name of Danites or destroying angels, to
prosecute a system of robbery and murders upon American citizens who support
the authority of the United States, and denounce the infamous and disgusting
practices of the Mormon government......
"Should such a state of things actually exist as we are led to infer from the
reports---and such information comes in an official shape---the knife must be
applied to this pestiferous, disgusting cancer which is gnawing into the very
vitals of this body politic."

Douglas' speech was published in the 'Missouri Republican' on June 18,
1857---less than three months before the MMM occurred on September 11.
Douglas' remarks predicted in fine detail what the Mormons might do if they
were left unchecked by the government, stating that the Mormons might
"prosecute a system of robbery and murders upon American citizens." Those
reports to Washington are the reason why President Buchanan felt it wise to
send 2500 troops to escort the new governor, Cumming. So, although it's not
correct to say that Buchanan sent the Army out because the Fancher party had
been massacred, it is obvious from the reports sent to Washington before the
massacre that Buchanan sent such a large contingent out because he feared that
the Mormons might commit such atrocities. And the event of the Mountain
Meadows massacre on September 11 shows us that Buchanan's move was justified.

Most Mormons, Diana included, like to believe that the MMM was not the product
of institutional church teachings, but was instead planned and perpetrated by
renegade local Mormons. But that is refuted by a mountain of evidence, some of
which I listed in a post only a couple of weeks ago, and bears repeating here:

I documented the evidence for Young's and institutional Mormonism's culpability
in the MMM in a series of 18 posts last summer. The degree of Young's, and the
general church's involvement in the conspiracy can be determined by examining
the following:

*Mormon teachings beginning in Missouri in 1832, including Joseph Smith's
"revelation" that the Mormons should "consecrate" goods from the Gentiles for
the use of the "house of Israel" (which is what got the Mormons driven out of
Missouri)

*The formation and motives of the Danite band, including their oaths of
loyalty, obedience, vengeance, and secrecy

*The temple endowment oaths, which expanded on the Danite oaths, and which
every Mormon swore to in the endowment ceremony during the period of the MMM

*Brigham Young's many statements showing his intention to make Utah Territory
an independent nation, free from U. S. laws

*Young's refusal to recognize the authority of federal overseers, and the
harassment of them to the point that many of them fled Utah

*Young's many public threats of violence against apostates, Gentiles, etc.,
including his statement that he had "some of the meanest devils on earth"
(Danites) who could carry out his orders

*Young's actions in forming alliances with Indian tribes against the U. S.
government and its citizens, telling them that the Indians must fight with the
Mormons or the Americans would kill them both

*Young's statement to Army Captain van Vliet on September 7 that he "shall not
hold the Indians by the wrist any longer.....tell the government to stop all
emigration across the continent, for the Indians will kill all who attempt it."

*Young's illegal declaration of martial law, stating that the U. S. Army had no
right to invade Utah territory, and his illegal orders that no emigrants could
travel through Utah without having a "pass" from him to do so (The Fancher
party rightfully refused to recognize the legality of such a "pass")

*Young's meeting with Jacob Hamblin, Dimick Huntington, and ten southern Indian
chiefs on September 1, of which Young wrote "A spirit seems to be takeing
possession of the Indians to assist Israel. I can hardly restrain them from
exterminating the Americans"

*The fact that another wagon train, the Duke party, was also attacked and
robbed in Southern Utah by Mormons disguised as Indians, during the same time
as the MMM. The attack on the Duke party refutes Mormon contentions that the
Fancher party had been singled out for punishment because they had committed
crimes against local Mormons or Indians.

*Dimick Huntingdon's journal entry concerning that September 1 meeting, wherein
Young gave the Indian chiefs "all the cattle that had gone to California by the
south route" (IOW, the route through southwestern Utah. The people with
cattle traveling through that route during that time were the Fancher and Duke
wagon trains, which were both attacked and robbed.)

*Young's 20-year effort in covering up the affair and sheltering any Mormons
from prosecution.

*Young's remark upon visiting the memorial erected to the MMM victims that
"Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, and I have taken a little," wherein his men
tore down the memorial.

Randy J.

Mormon apologists typically assert that President James Buchanan unjustifiably sent federal troops to Utah because false reports had alleged that Brigham Young and other church leaders were defying and harrassing federal officials and engaging in an insurrection against the government. Government officials didn't tell Young why the troops were coming, so that's why he ordered that the army be prevented from entering the territory.

All of this is false, as the documentation in this post shows.

A non-Mormon, James Hughes, quoted:

>>"By the time James Buchanan was elected, in 1856, the Mormons were defying
> every federal authority, from judges and U.S. marshals to Indian agents.
> Territorial officers were fleeing Utah. There followed increasing reports
of
> Mormon clashes with emigrant parties headed to California, as well as with
> the government surveyor Capt. John W. Gunnison, who, along with members of
> his party, was massacred in south-central Utah whil mapping a route for
the
> transcontinental railroad. Church militia­"blue-eyed, white-faced
Indians"­
> were said to be masquerading as Utah Paiutes in these confrontations."
> (Sally Denton, American Heritage magazine, Oct. 2001)

A rabid, ignorant, TBM named Diana chimed in. Her comments begin with an >arrow, and my responses have no arrow:

>Ah, yes...you might want, however, to read Juanita Brooks' account of
MMM.....

To which I responded:

Diana, I have read, and am fully conversant in Brooks' book, and she
corroborates what James Hughes quoted above. Perhaps YOU should read it.

>and BTW, Sally Denton's information is a little out of date and more than a
wee bit biased.

Please give us some evidence for such assertions.

>Be that as it may, the above quote does NOT say that
Buchanan sent the army out to punish the Mormons for MMM, as you claim.

I explained in another post that Buchanan sent such a large army contingent out
in part to PREVENT the Mormons from committing such atrocities as the MMM.
Unfortunately, Brigham Young prevented Johnston's army from entering SLC by
having his men harass them, drive off their stock, and burn their supply
wagons. If Young had not committed that act of treason, the army might have
entered Utah in time to escort the Fancher and Duke trains through the
territory so the Mormons couldn't attack them.

>For your information, Buchanan sent the army out to enforce the replacement of
Brigham Young as governor of the territory by Gov. Albert Cumming, because he
had heard rumors that the Mormons were in rebellion...rumors that were
unfounded.

They were official reports, not "rumors," and they most certainly were NOT
"unfounded," as evidenced by the fact that the Mormons harassed and drove off
federal officials, and Young, a federally-appointed territorial governor,
anounced that he was declaring "independence" from the United States:

"President B. Young in his sermon declared that the thread was cut between us
and the U. S. and that the Almighty recognized us as a free and independent
people and that no officer appointed by the government should come and rule
over us from this time forth." (Diary of Hosea Stout, September 6, 1857.)

"Difficulties arose when the first appointments were made by President Fillmore
to federal offices in the territory. Scarcely had these appointees taken their
oath of office when three of them: Chief Justice Brandenberry, Associate
Justice Brocchus and the Territorial Secretary, Broughton D. Harris, refused to
stay longer in the Territory and returned to the Eastern States. There they
spread the report that first, they had been compelled to leave Utah because of
the lawless and seditious acts of Governor Young; second, that Governor Young
was wasting federal funds allotted to the Territory; third, that the Saints
were immoral, and were practicing polygamy." ("The Restored Church," William
R. Berrett, p.321.)

In 1855, one of the succeeding associate justices, William W. Drummond,
tendered his resignation, and included among his reasons:

"That Brigham Young is the head of the Mormon Church; and, as such head, the
Mormons look to him, and to him alone, for the law by which they are to be
governed; therefore no law of congress is by them considered binding in any
matter; that he [Drummond] knew that a secret, oath-bound organization existed
among all the male members of the Church to resist the laws of the country, and
to acknowledge no law save the law of the priesthood, which came to the people
through Brigham Young; that there were a number of men 'set apart by special
order of the Church', to take both the lives and property of any person who may
question the authority of the Church." [Drummond was undoubtedly referring to
Young's "Avenging Angels" such as Porter Rockwell and "Wild Bill" Hickman.]
"That the records, papers, etc., of the supreme court have been destroyed by
order of the Church, with the direct knowledge and approbation of Governor
Young, and the federal officers grossly insulted for presuming to raise a
single question about the treasonable act. That the federal officers of the
territory are constantly insulted, harassed, and annoyed by the Mormons, and
for these insults there is no redress. That the federal officers are daily
compelled to hear the form of American government traduced, the chief
executives of the Nation, both living and dead, slandered and abused from the
masses as well as from all the leading members of the Church. The judge also
charged discrimination in the administration of the laws as against Mormon and
Gentile; that Captain John W. Gunnison and his party were murdered by Indians,
but under the orders, advice and direction of the Mormons; that the Mormons
poisoned Judge Leonidas Shaver, Drummond's predecessor; that Almon W. Babbitt,
secretary of the Territory, had been killed on the plains by a band of Mormon
marauders, who were 'sent from Salt Lake City for that purpose, and that only';
under direct orders of the presidency of the Church of the Latter-Day Saints,
and that Babbitt was not killed by Indians, as reported from Utah."

"Judge Stiles forwarded an affidavit affirming much of Drummond's charges.
These charges were further substantiated by a letter to President Buchanan,
written by Mr. W. F. Magraw.....'In relation to the present social and
political condition of the territory of Utah.....There is no disguising the
fact that there is no vestige of law and order, no protection for life or
property; the civil laws of the territory are overshadowed and neutralized by a
so-styled ecclesiastical organization, as despotic, dangerous, and damnable, as
has ever been known to exist in any country, and which is ruining, not only
those who do not subscribe to their religious code, but is driving the Mormon
community to desperation." (Berrett, p. 322-23.)

"It was now established, on sufficient evidence, that the Mormons refused
obedience to gentile law, that federal officials had been virtually driven from
Utah, that one, at least, of the federal judges had been threatened with
violence while his court was in session, and that the records of the court had
been destroyed or concealed. With the advice of his cabinet, therefore, and
yielding perhaps not unwilingly to the outcry of the republican party,
President Buchanan determined that Brigham should be superseded as governor,
and that a force should be sent to the territory, ostensibly as a posse
comitatus, to sustain the authority of his successor." (History of Utah,
Hubert Bancroft, p. 495.)

>Buchanan sorta forgot to let Brigham Young KNOW this small detail, that he was
being replaced.

This is another oft-repeated lie of Mormon apologists. Young knew VERY WELL
that the army's mission was to replace him as governor, as evidenced by Young's
remarks in a letter to Jacob Hamblin of August 4, 1857:

"Continue the conciliatory policy towards the Indians.....for they must learn
that they have got to help us or the United States will kill us both......We
have an abundance of 'news.' The government have appointed an entire set of
officials for the Territory. These Gentry are to have a bodyguard of 2500 of
Uncle's [Sam's] regulars.....They were to start from Fort Leavenworth July
15th.....There errand is entirely peaceful. The current report is that they
somewhat query whether they will hang me with or without trial. There are
about 30 others that they intend to deal with. They will then proclaim a
general jubilee and afford means and protection to those who wish to go back to
the States." (As quoted in Brooks, "Mountain Meadows Massacre," p. 34.)

Not only does Young's letter of August 4 indicate that he knew the army's
mission was to escort "an entire set of officials for the territory," his
sardonic remark about not knowing whether he would be hung "with or without
trial" demonstrates consciousness of guilt for his rebellion. The very reason
Young prosecuted a guerrilla war to prevent the Army from entering the valley
was because he feared being found guilty of treason and hanged.

>so all the Mormons knew was that, for the FIFTH time, they were about to be
driven out of their homes and forced to go somewhere else.

The Mormons deserved to be booted out of all the places they had been, and if
Young had not capitulated and given up his governorship, the Mormons would have
been run out of Utah as well, and they would have deserved that as well.

>This time, however, they decided that they were bloody
well not going to go.

To the contrary, Young looked for other places to emigrate to---even sending
his men out on a mission to find a non-existent lush habitat south of Utah that
he had claimed to have seen in a vision---and Young even went so far as to
evacuate SLC and tell the Mormons to gather seven years' worth of grain to live
on in the desert, if necessary. Young only decided to capitulate after Captain
Stewart Van Vliet informed him:

"In the course of my conversation with the governor and the influential men of
the territory, I told them plainly and frankly what I conceived would be the
result of their present course. I told them that they might prevent the small
military force now approaching Utah from getting through the narrow defiles and
rugged passes of the mountains this year, but that next season the United
States Government would send troops sufficient to overcome all opposition."

Young realized that if he continued his rebellion against the government, and
his efforts to make Utah Territory his own independent kingdom, that the
government would eventually send enough troops out to overthrow him. So he
caved in.

>There is NO historian who acts purely on fact that blames the Mormons for
Buchanan's Blunder.

All you're telling us here is that you haven't even studied the history, but
instead you are relying solely on propaganda dispensed by Mormon apologists.

>None. The rumors upon which Buchanan acted were just
that, unfounded rumors.

That is exactly what deceitful Mormon apologists claim, but the evidence says
otherwise.

"These troops had been ordered to Utah by John B. Floyd, Secretary of War in
the administration of President James Buchanan. The order to Harney from the
Commanding General of the Army, dated June 29, 1857, explained the move as
follows: 'The community and, in part, the civil government of Utah Territory
are in a state of substantial rebellion against the laws and authority of the
United States. A new civil governor is about to be designated, and to be
charged with the establishment of law and order." (Arrington, "Great Basin
Kingdom," p. 171.)

Randy J.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/2016 11:20AM by randyj.

The rabid TBM, Diana, wrote:

>Do read history books written by someone who is neither Mormon
nor anti-Mormon.

I responded:

<chuckle> Care to recommend one that deals specifically with this incident that
isn't written either by a "Mormon or an anti-Mormon?" Hey, Will Bagley's about
to publish a new book on the MMM called "Blood of the Prophets." Care to tell
us whether he's "Mormon," "anti-Mormon," or "non-Mormon," so that we can know
whether or not to rely on his work?

The problem with your suggestion is that if anyone writes a book that tells the
version of events that is unfavorable to the LDS Church, Mobots like you simply
brand them as "anti-Mormon," and you discredit them on that basis---just as you
have branded every single federal official who fled Utah in the
1850's and '60's as a horrible liar, simply because they published
information that was unfavorable to Brigham Young and his people.

>Try a couple of military history books. "Buchanan's Blunder' is not one of the USA's more shining moments.

Neither are the MMM or Brigham Young's forced removal as governor shining
moments of Mormon history.

I had earlier written:

>>Unfortunately, Brigham Young prevented Johnston's army from entering SLC by
having his men harass them, drive off their stock, and burn their supply
wagons. If Young had not committed that act of treason, the army might have
entered Utah in time to escort the Fancher and Duke trains through the
territory so the Mormons couldn't attack them.

Diana responded:

>Wasn't treason, you idiot.

Yes it was, you Mormon. "Governor Cumming attempted to establish his authority from
Camp Scott, on Black's Fork.....A grand jury, called for the purposes of the
court, returned indictments for treason against Brigham Young and sixty of his
associates.....In April, President Buchanan appointed a peace
commission.....the commission carried with them a proclamation of pardon, under
date of April 6, 1858. The proclamation declared the Church leader to be in a
state of 'rebellion' and 'treason', yet in order to prevent the shedding of
blood, granted a pardon to all who would submit to the authority of the federal
government." ("The Restored Church," William R. Berrett, pp. 331-333.)

>Buchanan guaranteed that one when he "forgot" to tell Young that he was being
replaced, and simply sent the army.

Diana, I've already explained that

a) Buchanan had no requirement to send Young advance notice of his replacement,
because Young's term was up in 1854, and Buchanan could replace him at his
pleasure

b) Young's declarations that he was severing ties with the United States and establish an independent kingdom in Utah Territory made him a
traitor to his office, and thus invalidated his authority as governor

c) Young's declaration of martial law, prohibition of "foreign troops" from
entering the valley, and his orders to attack the army contingent prevented
Cumming or army officials from communicating their intent to him.

>As it turned out, the only person he had to send was Cummings, the
replacement.

Nonsense. If Cummings had gone in alone, the Mormons would have harassed him
and driven him off just like they did all the other federally-appointed
officials before him.

> After all, that's who ended up doing the job anyway, without help, you will
remember, from the army.

More nonsense. If the army hadn't been present, the Mormons might have
continued to interfere with federal officials' duties, and run them off, for
years. It was Van Vliet's promise that Washington would send a much larger
army contingent the next spring that forced Young to re-think his position and
cut a plea bargain the following April. And Cumming's resignation in disgust
in 1861 shows that the Mormons were still incorrigible at that time.

Interesting . . . but MMM?

Not related to church of the FSM is it?

"Interesting . . . but MMM?

"Not related to church of the FSM is it?"

Sorry, I can't decipher your question.

Perhaps I can dispel some of the confusion. MMM Stands for Mountain Meadows Massacre. It happened a couple miles north of St George Ut, during Brigham's theocracy in Utah. I would call it one of the most callous and horrible acts of domestic terrorism of its time.

It has nothing to do with the flying spaghetti monster.

"Perhaps I can dispel some of the confusion. MMM Stands for Mountain Meadows Massacre."

I know very well what the MMM is. I just wondered what the hell "the church of the FSM" has to do with the subject.

"I know very well what the MMM is. I just wondered what the hell "the church of the FSM" has to do with the subject."

I was trying to address zenjamin.

How the train of thought traveled to church of FSM, I have no idea.

https://books.google.com/books?id=36NUAAAAcAAJ&pg=RA1-PA9&lpg=RA1-PA9&dq=daniel+h.+wells+secretary+of+war&source=bl&ots=VF9vTVOIlS&sig=q_obQe9KKzAS8nW6hnLxb9EJHAs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwitq-S_s9DKAhVX8WMKHRjTCYcQ6AEIOzAG#v=onepage&q=daniel%20h.%20wells%20secretary%20of%20war&f=false

Pages 8-10, for those interested. Buchanan detailed the Mormons' lawlessness and rebellion, and the reasons why he ordered an army contingent out to quell it.

In another thread on ARM, the same TBM poster, Diana Newman, had asserted that 19th-century Mormons were law-abiding and patriotic, and that they were persecuted and driven out of everywhere they had settled purely because of religious bigotry. That, of course, is what modern Mormons are taught by the church. In this post, I attempted to enlighten Diana on the facts.

Diana Newman wrote:

> > Would you mention that MORMONS are among the most patriotic of people,
> > whatever nation they happen to live in?

A non-Mormon, Lee Paulson, asked:

> Evidence of that?

Diana wrote:

>You are kidding here, right? Look at the history of Utah, for crying out
>loud! Can you think of ANY other people that would have put up with what we
>did, and long so much to be a part of the nation that not only kicked it
>out, but sent an ARMY after it?

Randy responded:

Diana, you continue to display your ignorance of Mormon history. The Mormons
were kicked out of Missouri and Illinois not because of "religious
persecution," but because of their 14-year culture of criminal activity and
civil disobedience.

When the Mormons left Illinois in 1846, they did not "long to be a part of the
nation." They had opportunities to settle in Texas, Oregon, or California, but
Brigham Young picked Utah specifically because it was outside of U. S.
territory at the time. Young chose the area because he wanted to practice
polygamy, which was illegal in the U. S., and so he could build an empire with
him as its theocratic dictator.

Even though Utah territory became U. S. property in 1848 as a result of the
Mexican War---and Brigham Young had been appointed territorial governor by
President Millard Fillmore in 1850---Young and his Mormon minions refused to
accept the authority of federal overseers from that time forward.

Because of Young's insubordination, the U. S. government began taking steps to
remove Young as governor as early as 1855. In response to those moves, Brigham
Young haughtily declared:

"It is reported that I have said that whoever the President appoints, I am
still governor. I repeat it, all hell cannot remove me. I am still your
governor. I will still rule this people until God himself permits another to
take my place." ("New York Herald," May 4, 1855.)

As Young and the Mormons continued to defy, harass, and intimidate federal
officials---while also overseeing the Mormon system of hostility, robbery, and
murders upon American citizens, which culminated in the Mountain Meadows
Massacre---President James Buchanan sent 2500 Army troops to depose the
insurrectionist Young and escort a new governor into the territory. Young
responded to that by declaring the Mormons' "independence" from the United
States on September 6, 1857 (the day before the MMM):

"President B. Young in his sermon declared that the thread was cut between us
and the U. S. and that the Almighty recognized us as a free and independent
people and that no officer appointed by government should come and rule over us
from this time forth." (Diary of Hosea Stout, Sept. 6, 1857.)

And of course, to prevent his ejection from office, Young directed his men to
keep the Army contingent and the new governor from entering the SL valley by
burning their supply wagons and running off their stock, which nearly caused
the death of some 2500 troops who were forced to winter in the Wyoming
mountains.

But the following spring, the troops and the new governor arrived; Young and 60
of his subordinates were charged with treason against the United States, and
were pardoned upon promising to end their insurrection.

But after serving only three years, the new governor, Alfred Cumming, resigned
in disgust. Historian David Bigler relates:

"When Sir Richard Burton came to Great Salt Lake in 1860, the English explorer
and writer found Governor Cumming disheartened because his 'scrupulous and
conscientious impartiality' had only served to alienate other federal
officials, who considered him to be a pacifist and had won no acceptance of him
from the people. Still firmly in command was the territory's true governor,
Brigham Young, while other federal officials, civil and military, had either
quit in disgust or were getting ready to go. That year, Cumming reported that
Utah was 'bordering on anarchy'.....Deeply disillusioned, the federal
bureaucrat later reported his labors had been 'onerous and embarrassing' and
asked for a leave of absence until a new appointee 'shall have arrived and
qualified.' When asked how a successor would get along, he replied, 'Get
along?
Well enough, if he will do nothing. There is nothing to do. Alfred Cumming is
Governor of the Territory, but Brigham Young is Governor of the people.' "
(Bigler, "Forgotten Kingdom," p. 197-98.)

Thus we see that Brigham Young was still the dictator of the Mormon people even
though he was no longer governor, and he remained so until his death in 1877.

These facts refute your claims that the Mormons "are among the most patriotic of
people, whatever nation they happen to live in."

After Young's death, Mormon church leaders continued to rebel against the
government in many other instances, such as practicing polygamy for some 40
years after it had been made illegal, by using a system of marked electoral
ballots which guaranteed a nearly 100% vote for candidates which had been
picked by church leaders, and by censuring and/or excommunicating church
members who dissented from church leaders' political positions and exercised
their constitutional rights to vote for whom they chose to (such as apostle
Moses Thatcher, who was kicked out of the Q12 in 1897 and disfellowshipped for
that very reason.)

In fact, Mormons in general did not even begin to become "patriotic" until the
"Great Accommodation" era, which began in 1890 with the bogus "Manifesto" and
the granting of statehood in 1896.

In short, for the first 70 or so years of the LDS church's existence, the
organization was characterized more as lawless, insurrectionist, and defiant,
more than it could be described as "patriotic."

The reason early-20th-century church leaders decided to remake their church's
image into a law-abiding, "patriotic" entity was because they realized they
could attract more potential converts that way. The church did not attain a majority favorable opinion among Americans until the early 1900s.

The fact that you, a lifelong Mormon, are so ignorant of these facts is
testament to the power of Mormon-written revisionist history.

Randy J.

If you take a tour of the Lion House, you might see a folded USA flag neatly tucked into a little cubby (in the front room, I believe.) Cracks me up. Nice try. You might get the impression the Mormons were good patriots. The Mormons were trying to create their own empire. They sent tentacles out everywhere, setting up little posts even in California. I'd be saluting the flag of Deseret now, if they'd had their way, and I'm not even in Utah.