Mormonism and violence

Common card · No. 303613

The history of the Latter Day Saint movement, founded in 1830 in upstate New York by Joseph Smith, includes numerous instances of violence. Early Mormons faced significant persecution and mob violence. Forced expulsions from Missouri in the 1830s left thousands destitute, and further expulsions from Illinois followed the assassination of Joseph Smith and his brother by a mob in 1844, while both were in state custody. In response, early Mormons organized militias and occasionally engaged in violent confrontations; the Danites, a vigilante group briefly sanctioned by Mormon leaders, conducted armed raids in Missouri during the 1838 Mormon War. In the western United States, Mormon settlers were involved in prolonged conflicts with Native American tribes, including the Walker War and the Black Hawk War, where episodes such as the Battle Creek Massacre and the Circleville Massacre occurred. The Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857, in which a Mormon militia and allied Paiute Indians killed over...

Read on Wikipedia