Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 8

1. REDIRECTTemplate:Test3

Response to claims made in "Chapter 8: Big Trouble In Little Missouri"

Claims made in "Chapter 7: Woe In Ohio"

A FAIR Analysis of: One Nation Under Gods A work by author: Richard Abanes

Claims made in "Chapter 9: March to Martyrdom"

The Missourians actually seemed committed to continuing their pursuit of a peaceful co-existence with the Mormons.
—One Nation Under Gods, p. 155

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The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

The author claims that "Twenty-first century Mormonism" promotes the idea that Cain, Abel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, and Noah lived in Missouri.

Author's sources: *No source provided.

FAIR's Response

It would be safe to say that Twenty-first century Latter-day Saints rarely discuss this issue. Nineteenth century and early twentieth century Latter-day Saints may have speculated on this.

The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

Did Oliver Cowdery accuse Joseph of having a "dirty, nasty, filthy affair" with Fanny Alger?

Author's sources: Oliver Cowdery, letter to Warren Cowdery, January 21, 1838.

FAIR's Response

1. REDIRECTFanny Alger was Joseph Smith's first plural wife#Did some of Joseph Smith's associates believe that he had an affair with Fanny Alger?

The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

Did Joseph allow the formation of the Danites?

Author's sources: *Hill 75.

• William Edwin Berrett, The Restored Church, 198.
• Sampson Avard, Correspondence, Orders, 97-98.
• Winn, 123.
• David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ, 27-28.

FAIR's Response

• Leland Gentry, The Danite Band of 1838, BYU Studies 14/4 (1974): 421—50.

Question: Did Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon support the formation of a vigilante band called the Danites?

The Danites are sometimes confused with the “Armies of Israel,” which was the official defensive organization that was tasked with defending the Saints

The Danites were a brotherhood of church members that formed in Far West, Missouri in mid-1838. By this point in time, the Saints had experienced serious persecution, having been driven out of Kirtland by apostates, and driven out of Jackson County by mobs. Sidney Rigdon was publicly preaching that the Saints would not tolerate any more persecution, and that both apostates and mobs would be put on notice. The Danite organization took root within this highly charged and defensive environment.

The Danites are sometimes confused with the “Armies of Israel,” which was the official defensive organization that was tasked with defending the Saints, and which was supported by Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon. This is complicated by the fact that members of the Danite organization also served in the “Armies of Israel.”

Although Joseph Smith was aware of the intent of the Danites to cleanse the Church of "evil," he rejected the illegal activities of the Danite band

Regardless of their original motives, the Danites ultimately were led astray by their leader, Sampson Avard. Avard attempted to blame Joseph Smith in order to save himself. Joseph, however, clearly repudiated both the organization and Avard.

Claim

• Did Sidney Rigdon give public approval to the Danites during a speech he delivered on June 17, 1838?

Author's source(s)

• Winn, 124.
• Reed Peck, Reed Peck Manuscript, 3.

Response

• Danites
• Leland Gentry, The Danite Band of 1838, BYU Studies 14/4 (1974): 421—50.

Claim

•  Author's quote: "Such historical revisionism is typical of Mormon historians, who must at all costs, preserve the integrity of early Mormon leaders."

Author's source(s)

• Author's opinion.

Response

• Loaded and prejudicial language

Claim

• Did Joseph write in his private journal that he was aware of the Danite's purpose? Were these words then crossed out so that they wouldn't appear in the history of the Church?

Author's source(s)

• Joseph Smith, Missouri Journal, 1838, March to September, under July 27, 1838. Reprinted in Jessee, The Papers of Joseph Smith, vol. 2, 262.

Response

• Danites
• Leland Gentry, The Danite Band of 1838, BYU Studies 14/4 (1974): 421—50.

Claim

• D. Michael Quinn claimed that the Danites numbered between 800 and 1000 people.

Author's source(s)

• D. Michael Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power (Signature Books, 1994), 479-485.

Response

• Danites
• Leland Gentry, The Danite Band of 1838, BYU Studies 14/4 (1974): 421—50.

Claim

•  Author's quote: "The Missourians actually seemed committed to continuing their pursuit of a peaceful co-existence with the Mormons."

Author's source(s)

• Author's opinion.

Response

• Absurd claims

Claim

• After Sidney Rigdon's July 4th sermon in Far West, the author claims that "long-buried suspicions were raised and old prejudices renewed."

Author's source(s)

• Author's opinion

Response

• Absurd claims

The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

Did Latter-day Saints plan to "take over" by voting?

Author's sources: Author's opinion.

FAIR's Response

• Does anyone plan to "take over" when they exercise their right to vote?
• Loaded and prejudicial language

The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

 Author's quote: "...calling their attention to the fact that the Saints were 'horse thieves, liars, counterfeiters, and dupes.'"

Author's sources: LeSueur, 61.

FAIR's Response

• Was this indeed a "fact" as stated by the author?
• Loaded and prejudicial language

The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

According to the author, after driving the Saints from their homes, Bogart started to threaten the Saints "in their own territory."

Author's sources: *Author's statement.

FAIR's Response

• Does the author mean to imply that those "Mormons" who were driven "from their homes" were not living "in their own territory?"
• Absurd claims

Claim

• The book fails to mention how General Lucas ordered Alexander Doniphan to execute Joseph Smith and other Church leaders at Far West, and how Doniphan refused to do so because he considered it "cold blooded murder."

Author's source(s)

• N/A

Response

• Notable omissions

Claim

•  Author's quote: "...the evidence clearly revealed that Joseph had directed most, if not all, of the illegal activities in which the Saints had been engaged."

Author's source(s)

• Author's opinion.

Response

• Loaded and prejudicial language

Notes