Mormonism and Christianity/Martyrdom in Christian history

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Question

Critics claim that Joseph Smith is not a martyr because, while in jail, he fought back against those attacked him. Have Christian martyrs always been understood as only those who do not fight back?

Source(s) of the Criticism

• Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Utah Lighthouse Ministry (accessed 7 May 2003).

Response

Throughout history, Christian martyrs have accepted their fate quietly, and have fought back and even killed their persecutors.

Further reading

FAIR wiki articles

Definitional fallacies wiki articles

• Jesus' relation to Satan
• Joseph Smith as a martyr
  • Martyrdom in Christian history
• Latter-day Saints aren't Christians
• LDS Church is a cult
• Worship different Jesus

FAIR web site

• FairMormon Topical Guide: Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith FairMormon link
  
• Lance Starr, "Was Joseph Smith a Martyr or a Murderer?," (Mesa, Arizona: FAIR, May 2003) PDF link

External links

• Joseph I. Bentley, "Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith," in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow, (New York, Macmillan Publishing, 1992), 2:860–862. FAIR link
• Reed Blake, "Martyrdom at Carthage," Ensign (June 1994): 30.off-site
• Stephen R. Gibson, "Was Joseph Smith Really a Martyr?," in One-Minute Answers to Anti-Mormon Questions (Bountiful, Utah: Horizon Publishers, 2005) ISBN 0882907840. off-site
• W. John Walsh, "Was Joseph Smith a Martyr?" off-site

Printed material

• Dallin H. Oaks and Marvin S. Hill, Carthage Conspiracy, the Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith (Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1979), 1. ISBN 025200762X. (Key source)