Let's start by taking it straight from the pig's mouth (meaning from Joseph Smith):
--Ignoring the Book of Mormon on Animal Blood Sacrifices
Quoting their “prophet” Joseph Smith, Latter-day Saints like to boast that the Book of Mormon is the “most correct book of any on Earth."
Said Smith:
“I spent the day in the council with the Twelve Apostles at the house of President Young, conversing with them upon a variety of subjects. . . . I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on Earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.“
(“History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” B.H. Roberts, ed. [Salt Lake Cit, Utah: Deseret Book, 1957], vol. 4, p. 461)
If, as it claims, the Mormon Church regards the Book of Mormon as the most dead-on book in the world, then why don't they follow it when it comes to the post-mortem Jesus doctrine forbidding the blood-sacrificing of animals?
Perhaps Mormons want to get closer to dead animals through any book other than the Book of Mormon.
The fact of the matter is that the Mormon Church officially teaches blood-sacrifice of animals--even after the death of Jesus--and despite the fact that Book of Mormon declares emphatically that such barbaric blood-letting is now a no-no.
According to the Mormon Jesus's own words:
"And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.”
(3 Nephi 9:19 )
Damn the Book of Mormon. Whip out the knives, full speed ahead (or headless, as the case may be).
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--From the Joseph Smith Articles of Faith: We Believe in Sacrificing Animals, as Long as They are Sacrificed Correctly
According to the LDS Church-sanctioned “Encyclopedia of Mormonism,” when it comes to “sacrifice in Biblical times,” there is official justification for the Mormon Cult's present-day, non-New Testamental doctrine of slitting the throats of altar-bound animals.
It goes simply like this:
“ . . . [T]he sacrificial system that antedated Moses was not fulfilled in Jesus.“ (Translated: It's acceptable--indeed, it's required--for Mormons to blood-sacrifice animals in these, the latter-days. Why? Because that's what their God has commanded them to do).
To back up this bloody belief, the “Encyclopedia of Mormonism” invokes Joseph Smith (the same Joseph Smith who, in his Book of Mormon, said blood sacrifices were no longer acceptable to Joseph's Jesus):
“The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that blood sacrifices similar to those revealed to Adam will once again be performed prior to Christ's second coming in order to complete the RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS.” (original emphasis)
The “Encyclopedia of Mormonism” then goes on to provide Smith-related references on the matter of animal splatter, wherein Smith's is quoted as declaring:
“It will be necessary here to make a few observations on the doctrine set forth [on the subject of Levitical sacrificial rituals, as] it is generally supposed that sacrifice was entirely done away when the Great Sacrifice [i.e.,] the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus was offered up and that there will be no necessity for the ordinance of sacrifice in [the] future; but those who assert this are certainly not acquainted with the duties, privileges and authority of the Priesthood or with the Prophets.”
Smith then goes on to explain that it will be the assigned duty of Mormon priesthood holders to slaughter animals after Jesus returns:
“The offering of sacrifice has been connected and forms a part of the duties of the Priesthood. It began with the Priesthood and will be continued until after the coming of Christ, from generation to generation.
“We frequently have mention made of the offering of sacrifice by the servants of the Most High in ancient days, prior to the law of Moses, which ordinances will be continued when the Priesthood is restored with all its authority, power and blessings.“
(Joseph Smith, in “Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith: Taken from his sermons and writings as they are found in the Documentary History and other publications of the Church and written or published in the days of the Prophet's ministry; Selected and arranged by the Historian, Joseph Fielding Smith and his Assistants in the Historian's Office of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” under the subheading, “Sacrifice to be Part of Restoration”[Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company, 1976], p. 172; as referenced in “Encyclopedia of Mormonism” Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., under “Sacrifice in Biblical Times,” by Richard D. Draper [New York, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992), vol. 3, p. 1249)
Mormon historian H. Michael Marquardt, in his book, “The Rise of Mormonism: 1816-1844,” confirms that Smith taught the continuaton of Old-Testament style “sacred” slaying of animals:
“Joseph Smith taught that performing animal sacrifice was still a duty of the priesthood. Smith said that Elijah held these priesthood keys. . . . [I]n 1836, Smith and Oliver Cowdery had a vision wherein they received keys from Elijah the prophet. At the October 1840 conference Joseph Smith said [the following] in his prepared remarks on priesthood, read by his scribe Robert B. Thompson . . . :
“Smith . . . explain[ed] that the offering of sacrifice 'will be continued when the priesthood is restored with all its authority, power and blessings. Elijah was the last prophet that held the keys of this priesthood and, who will before the last dispensation, restore the authority and deliver the Keys of this priesthood in order that all the ordinances may be attended to in righteousness.'”
(H. Michael Marquardt, “The Rise of Mormonism: 1816-1844” [Longwood, Florida: Xulon Press, 2005], p. 542)
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--The Mormon Church's Official Position on Animal Sacrifice is Officially Non-Christian
Don't get me wrong: I'm not Christian--and, despite its own public-relations claims, neither is the Mormon Church.
John R. Farkas and David R. Reed, in their book, "Mormonism: Changes, Contradictions and Errors," accurately note that "Mormon leaders' teachings show that they expect animal sacrifices to be reinstuted as part of the restoration of all things."
Taking issue with teachings on the subject by Mormon Cnurch inventor Joseph Smith; former official Mormon Church historian/eventual LDS president Joseph Fielding Smith; and Mormon Churchh apostle Bruce R. mConkie, Farkas and Reed observe that traditionally-accepted Christian teaching, as found in the Bible, declares that "Jesus was the final sacrifice; we need no other."
They go on to say that "[the Mormon Church teaching] of restoring blood sacrifices makes a mockery of the sacrifice for our sins. The following," they argue, "[is one of] the Scriptures that refute[s] this Mormon teaching:
"'Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he [Jesus] entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your consience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:12-14)' . . .
"Yes, that 'great and last sacrifice' [as noted by Farkas and Reed in quoting Alma 34:10, 13-14], was the Son of God himself. It is absurd and unbiblical to believe that animal sacrifices will be reinstituted."
(John R. Farkas and David A. Reed, "Mormonism: Changes, Contradictions and Errors" [Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1995], pp. 174, 176-77)
Spoken, of course, like true Bible-believing Chrisitans--and in direct opposition to Mormonism's official non-Christian teachings on the subject.
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--Joseph Smith's Roll Call for the Rolling of Animal Heads
Smith wasn't kidding about the animal killing--as indicated by his order to assign 144,000 Mormon priests to slaughtering the animals every day:
“At the close of the meeting, we returned to Benjamin F. Johnson's, where we slept; and I [Smith]remarked that the hundred and forty-four thousand sealed are the priests who should be anointed to administer in the daily sacrifice.”
(Joseph Smith, “History of the Church,” vol. 1, p. 326, under “ Future Animal Sacrifices,” at:
http://emp.byui.edu/marrottr/AnimalSacrificesFuture.html; for the pdf version, see:
http://emp.byui.edu/marrottr/AnimalSacrificesFuture.pdf)
Some may ask, “Was Smith actually referring to slaughtering animals when talking about the Mormon Christ'-s modern-day sanction of sacrifice?”
Hell, yes, as confirmed by Mormons in Smith's day, reported by Hyrum L. Andrus and Helen Mae Andrus, in their book, “They Knew the Prophet”:
“Words of Oliver B. Huntington: 'I heard the Prophet reply to the question: “Will there ever be any more offering of sheep and heifers and bullocks upon altars, as used to be required of Israel?”
“He said: 'Yes, there will; for there were never any rites, ordinances of laws in the priesthood of any gospel dispensation upon this earth but what will have to be finished and perfected in this last dispensation of time --the dispensation of all dispensations.'”
(Hyrum L. Andrus and Helen Mae Andrus, “They Knew the Prophet” [Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1974], p. 62, in ibid.)
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--From Animal-Killing Occultism to Official Mormon Doctrine
Given that Smith and his family practiced rituals of the occult, it should come as no surprise that he would advocate the sacrificial slaughter of animals.
As Richard Abanes notes in his book, “One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church”:
“. . . [T]estimony shows that Joseph, Jr. and his family often engaged in complex rituals based on occult lore generally not known except by avid practitioners of folk magic. . . .
“On some occasions, Smith made animal sacrifices to appease whatever spirits might be guarding the buried treasures [he was digging for].
“Emily M. Austin recounted one time when Joseph told his money-digging company 'there was a charm on the pots of money and if some animal was killed and the blood sprinkled around the place, then they could get it.' Austin remembered: 'So they killed a dog and tried this method of obtaining the precious metal. . . . Alas! How vivid was the expectations when the blood of poor Tray [i.e., the dog] was used to take off the charm and after all to find their mistake . . . and now they were obliged to give up in despair.'
“Hiel Lewis, a cousin of Joseph's wife, Emma, reported that the sacrifice of white dogs, black cats and other animals 'was an indispensable part or appendage of the art which Smith, the embryo prophet, was then practicing.'“
(Richard Abanes, “One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon” Church” [New York New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 2002], p. 31)
Mormon historian Fawn Brodie, in her book, “No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith the Mormon Prophet,” provides graphic evidence of Smith's penchant for killing animals in a quest for supernatural power needed to enrich himself and his treasure-seeking comrades:
“[A] neighbor, William Stafford, swore [by affidavit] that Joseph Smith told him there was buried money on his property, but it could not be secured until a black sheep was taken to the spot and 'led around a circle' bleeding, with its throat cut. This ritual was necessary to appease the evil spirit guarding the treasure.
”'To gratify my curiosity,' Stafford admitted, 'I let them have a large, fat sheep. They afterwards informed me that the sheep was killed pursuant to commandment; but as there was some mistake in the process, it did not have the desired effect. This, I believe, is the only time they ever made money-digging a profitable business.' . . .”
(affidavit of William Stafford, in “Fawn Brodie, ”No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet” [New York, New York: Alfred A. Knopt, 1983], pp. 21, 434)
Historian Rodger I. Anderson, in his book, “Joseph Smith's New York Reputation Re-examined,” provides the full text of Staffords' affidavit, where more details of Smith's throat-slitting sacrifice of the sheep is laid bare:
“ At another time, they devised a scheme, by which they might satiate their hunger, with the mutton of one of my sheep. They had seen in my flock of sheep, a large, fat, black weather. Old Joseph [Sr.] and one of the boys came to me one day and said that Joseph Jr. had discovered some very remarkable and valuable treasures, which could be procured only in one way.
“That way, was as follows: That a black sheep should be taken on the ground where the treasures were concealed; that after cutting its throat, it should be led around a circle while bleeding.
“This being done, the wrath of the evil spirit would be appeased; the treasures could then be obtained and my share of them was to be four-fold. To satisfy my curiosity, I let them have a large, fat sheep. They afterwards informed me that the sheep was killed pursuant to commandment, but as there was some mistake in the process, it did not have the desire effect. This, I believe is the only time they ever made money-digging a profitable business. They, however, had around them constantly a worthless gang, whose employment it was to dig money nights and who, day times, had more to do with mutton than money.”
(affidavit of William Stafford,, State of New York, Wayne County, confirmed as follows: “I certify that on this 9th day of December 1833, personally appeared before me, William Stafford, to me know, and made oath to the truth of the above statement, and signed the same. [signed] Th. P. Baldwin, Judge of Wayne County Court,” as quoted in Robert I. Anderson, “Joseph Smith's New York Reputation Re-examined” [Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 1990], pp. 145-46)
Jerald and Sandra Tanner, in their essay, “Was Joseph Smith a Magician?,” describe how the sacrificial slaughter of animals was part and parcel of the folk-magic rituals performed by Smith and other like-minded practitioners of the occultic arts in his day:
“Animal sacrifices were often a part of the magic rituals that accompanied money-digging. In the first edition of his book, 'Early Mormonism and the Magic World View,' p.144, Dr. D. Michael Quinn gives this information: '
"A cousin of Smith’s wife Emma reported that Smith ‘translated the book of Mormon by means of the same peep stone, and under the same inspiration that directed his enchantments and dog sacrifices; it was all by the same spirit' (H. Lewis 1879).
“In a magic book known as 'The Greater Key of Solomon,' p. 122, we read that “[i]In many operations it is necessary to make some sort of sacrifice unto the demons, and in various ways… Such sacrifices consist of THE BLOOD AND SOMETIMES THE FLESH' [emphasis by Tanners]."
Regarding the color of William Stafford's sheep that Joseph and Company sacrificed, the Tanners write:
“The reader will notice that it was a 'black' sheep that was supposed to have been sacrificed. This is interesting because 'The Greater Key of Solomon,,' p. 122, says that, "Sometimes white sheep are sacrificed to the good Spirits and black to the evil.'
“In any case, the Mormon apologist Richard L. Anderson says that, "If there was such an event of a borrowed sheep, it had nothing to do with dishonesty." ('Brigham Young University Studies,' Spring 1970, p. 295). On p. 249 of the same article, Professor Anderson quotes the following from BYU Professor M. Wilford Poulson’s notes of a conversation with Wallace Miner: 'I once asked Stafford if Smith did steal a sheep from him. He said no, not exactly. He said, he did miss “a black sheep,” but soon Joseph came and admitted he took it FOR SACRIFICE but he was willing to work for it. He made wooden sap buckets to fully pay for it [emphasis by Tanners]."
Despite such efforts by Mormon apologists to minimize the reality of Smith's animal-killing rituals, the Tanners help confirm the credibility of Stafford's affidavit through the testimony of one of Staffords nephews:
“C[ornelius]. R. Stafford testified concerning the same incident;
“'Jo[e] Smith, the prophet, told my uncle, William Stafford, he wanted a fat, BLACK SHEEP. He said he wanted to CUT ITS THROAT and make it walk in a circle three times around and it would prevent a pot of money from leaving' (“Naked Truths About Mormonism,” January 1888, p. 3; also reproduced in “Early Mormon Documents,” Vol. 2, p. 197) [emphasis by Tanners).”
(“Was Joseph Smith a Magician?, ” in “Salt Lake City Messenger,” Issue #95, April 1999, at:
http://www.utlm.org/newsletters/no95.htm; for further confirmation of William Stafford's affidavit involving Smith's sacrificing of the black sheep, see Anderson, “Joseph Smith's New York Reputation Re-examined,” pp. 60n, 66, 168; see also, D. Michael Quinn, “Early Mormonism and the Magic World View” [Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 1987], p. 144; as well as Abanes, “One Nation Under Gods,” p. 496n44)
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--Mormonism's Top Non-Sacrificed Dogs Admit that Joseph Smith was into Sacrificial Animal Throat-Slitting
Smith's commitment to contemporary sacrificial animal slaughter has been confirmed by contemporary Mormon leaders.
Joseph Fielding Smith, in his book “Doctrines of Salvation,” writes under the capitalized headline, “RESTORATION OF BLOOD SACRIFICES”:
“We are living in the dispensation of the fulness of times into which all things are to be gathered, and all things are to be restored since the beginning. Even this earth is to be restored to the condition which prevailed before Adam's transgression.
“Now in the nature of things, the law of sacrifice will have to be restored, or all things which were decreed by the Lord would not be restored. It will be necessary, therefore, for the sons of Levi, who offered the blood sacrifices anciently in Israel, to offer such a sacrifice again to round out and complete this ordinance in this dispensation. Sacrifice by the shedding of blood was instituted in the days of Adam and of necessity will have to be restored.”
(Joseph Fielding Smith, “Doctrines of Salvation,” vol. 3, p. 94, quoted under “Future Animal Sacrifices,” at:
http://emp.byui.edu/marrottr/AnimalSacrificesFuture.html)
Similarly, Mormon apostle Bruce R. McConkie, in his book, “The Mortal Messiah,” invokes Joseph Smith's teachings in declaring the necessity of continued animal sacrifice:
“It was during this [Book of Mormon] American ministry that our Lord instituted in the New World, as he had done in Jerusalem and the Old World, the sacramental ordinance in which broken bread was eaten in remembrance of his body, and wine was drunk in remembrance of his blood.
“From that blessed day onward the sacrament replaced sacrifices except that as part of the restitution of all things and then on a limited basis only blood sacrifices will be offered again.
“It was of these future sacrificial ordinances that Malachi prophesied, in a setting descriptive of the Second Coming of the Son of Man, that the returning Lord would 'purify the sons of Levi,, . . . that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.”' Of this offering, to be made in 'Judah and Jerusalem,' the prophecy says it shall be 'pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.”' (Mal. 3:1-5)
“It was to these sacrifices that Ezekiel alluded when he set forth the nature and use of the temple yet to be built in Jerusalem. And so that they might be performed by Levites who once again were legal administrators, John the Baptist, a Levite whose right it was to offer sacrifices anciently, and who was in fact the last Levitical priest to hold the keys of the ministry brought back the ancient order of Aaron, saying to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, as he did so, that 'this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.”'(D&C 13)”
(Bruce R. McConkie, “The Mortal Messiah,” vol. 1, p. 128, as quoted in ibid.)
McConkie also argues that animal sacrifices in the allegedly modern Mormon age are necessary in order “[t]o complete the restoration of all things, apparently on a one-time basis . . . .“ Therefore, he declares, such “sacrifices will again be offered in this dispensation. John the Baptist, for instance, brought back the commission and power whereby the sons of Levi shall offer again in righteousness those offerings which they made in ancient days. (D&C 13:1)”--meaning slaughtering animals in God-invoking religious rituals.
McConkie attempts to make the ritualistic killing of animals more palatable to human sensibilities by arguing that at least these slaughters aren't as bad as blood-sacrificing people on the altar of God:
“As a natural historical development, perverted forms of sacrifice have found place among various portions of humankind. The most abominable of all these perversions of the truth has been the offering of HUMAN SACRIFICES [emphasis by McConkie]. Even the house of Judah, at one period, offered its sons and daughters as sacrifices to the God Molech (Jer. 7:29-34). Captive Nephite women and children were offered in sacrifices to idols by the Lamanites in some of the final struggles of those then-apostate remnants of Israel (Morm. 4:14-15, 21). The Aztecs offered scores of thousands of human sacrifices in the days of Cortez.
“False and apostate sacrifices, as with all perversions of the truth, have no saving power. 'The things which the Gentiles sacrifice,' Paul said, 'they sacrifice to devils , and not to God.' (1 Cor. 10:20)
(Bruce R. McConkie, “Mormon Doctrine,” 2nd ed., under “Sacrifices,” [Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1966, pp. 666-67)
According to official Mormon Church belief, acceptable--indeed, mandated--sacrifices are ones where Mormons secretly kill animals as an offering to the Elohim, the universe's one and only true God.
Notice how McConkie attempts to blunt the barbarism of Smith's animal-sacrifice doctrine by claiming that the practice was to be performed in modern-day Mormonism on a “one-time” and “limited basis only.”
Likewise the “Encyclopedia of Mormonism” tentatively suggests that “[t]hese [blood sacrifices of animals] may be undertaken for only a brief period of time and perhaps only by a selected group.”
(“Sacrifice in Biblical Times,” in “Encyclopedia of Mormonism,” p. 1249)
Really? Recall that Smith's idea of a “select group” sacrificers was 144,000 Mormon priests assigned the task of killing animals daily.
--Going to the Temple and I'm Going to be Slaughtered
The “Encyclopedia of Mormonism” eventually lets the sacrificed cat out of the bag, so to speak, when it goes on to claim that “[i]n a very different sense sacrifice continues in modern LDS temples (D&C 124:38-39), for those laboring therein are modern equivalents of Levites . . . .”
(ibid.)
In actuality, it is not different as far as the God-ordained use of Mormon temples for animla sacrifice because Smith in fact, directly commanded that animals be put to death in modern-day LDS temples.
As the Tanners note:
"Animal sacrifice after the death of Christ is [an] Old Testament practice that has found a place in Mormon beliefs. It was Joseph Smith himself who taught this doctrine:
"' . . . It is generally supposed that sacrifice was entirely done away when the Great Sacrifice . . . was offered up and that there will be no necessity for the ordinance of sacrifice in [the] future, but those who assert this are certainly not acquainted with the duties, privileges and authority of the priesthood, or with the Prophets . . . .
"'These sacrifices, as well as every ordinance belonging to the Priesthood, will, when the Temple of the Lord shall be built, . . . be fully restored and attended to in all their powers, ramifications and blessings (“History of the Church," vol. 4, p. 211).'"
The Tanners oreport how, in the journal of Smith's faithful Mormon supporter, Wandle Mace, the following is recorded about Smith's order that a room in Mormon temples be set aside for the sacrificial slaughter of animals:
"'Joseph told them to go to Kirtland and cleanse and purify a certain room in the Temple, that they must kill a lamb and offer a sacrifice unto the Lord which should prepare them to ordain Willard Richards a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.'"
("Journal of Wandle Mace," p. 32, microfilmed copy at Brigham Young University). “
(Jerald and Sandra Tanner, "The Changing World of Mormonism: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Changes in Mormon Doctrine and Practice" (Chicago, Illinois: The Moody Bible Institute/Moody Press, 1980-81), pp. 488-89)
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--Animal Sacrifices: The Sure Sign of the Cult
The Mormon Church would like the non-Mormon world to believe that sacrificing animals in secret LDS temple rituals is normal and justifiable.
But, as Abanes writes, in this regard the Mormon Church is manifesting the trappings of a “sociological cult”--as judged by “whether that group's religious practices and day-to-day behavior are normative for the surrounding culture.”
To be sure, when it comes to the Mormon Church's advocacy of animal sacrifice in its temples, one could regard this doctrinally-approved practice as something that Abanes describes as a “sociological red flag.”
However, Abanes adds a cautionary flag of his own:
“When dealing with sociological cults, . . . the government must be careful to not infringe on constitutionally-protected forms of religious expression simply because they diverge from societal norms.
"Debate regarding exactly how much freedom is too much freedom remains a heated and emotional topic that has sparked several court battles. In 1992, for instance, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case centering on the ritualistic killing of animals in Florida by followers of Santeria, a fusion of Roman Catholicism and African tribal religions ('Church of the Lukumi Babalu v. City of Hialeah').
"The Court ruled that Santerians should be allowed to practice their sacrifices, even though such acts are technically illegal and contrary to societal norms.”
(Abanes, “One Nation Under Gods,” pp. 394-95)
Sounds like Mormonism.
But, Mormon defenders counter with the claim that Joseph Smith actually loved animals.
As one blogging defender of Smith writes:
“We look to the Prophet Joseph Smith for proper teaching [on the treatment of animals].
“He said once:
“'We crossed the Embarras river and encamped on a small branch of the same about one mile west. In pitching my tent we found three massasaugas or prairie rattlesnakes, which the brethren were about to kill, but I said, ‘Let them alone--don’t hurt them! How will the serpent ever lose his venom, while the servants of God possess the same disposition and continue to make war upon it? Men must become harmless, before the brute creation; and when men lose their vicious dispositions and cease to destroy the animal race, the lion and the lamb can dwell together, and the sucking child can play with the serpent in safety.’ The brethren took the serpents carefully on sticks and carried them across the creek. I exhorted the brethren not to kill a serpent, bird, or an animal of any kind during our journey unless it became necessary in order to preserve ourselves from hunger.”
(Tariq Khan, “What Does Mormonism Say About Animal Rights?,” 4 October 2010, at:
http://themormonworker.wordpress.com/2010/10/04/what-does-mormonism-say-about-animal-rights/; see also Smith's account of the same incident which “occurred while Zion's Camp was on the march from Kirtland to Missouri,” under “Kindness to Animals Required of Man, “ in “Documentary History of the Church,” vol. 2, p. 71, 26 May 1834, as quoted in “Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith,” p. 71)
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--Killing Animals "Needlessly" vs. Killing Them Faithfully
The book, ”Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith,” lists that Smith believed “[a]nimals . . . should not be killed needlessly.”
(“Index and Concordance,” p. 398)
That, in the mind of Joseph Smith, of course, didn't apply (or is necessarily limited to) the sacrificial altar-slaughtering of “sheep and heifers and bullocks.”
And for today's Mormon Church, it, of course, still doesn't apply.
After all, what's good for Joseph Smith and the Mormon God is good for the Mormon Church and its anointed-'n-appointed animal slicers.
That's because it's official Mormon Church doctrine.
Joseph Smith said so.