Two unsolved murders. One Black Mormon born into slavery. A doctor who challenged Brigham Young’s power. And a mutilated body left on Arsenal Hill with a warning pinned to its chest. In the winter of 1866, Salt Lake City became the scene of a story involving blood atonement, racial terror, vigilante violence, and a possible …
Tag: Danites
Episode 138: Mormon Castrations and Warren Snow
In this gripping episode, Bryan and Lindsay delve into the controversial rumors of punitive castrations carried out by Mormon elders, focusing on figures like Bishop Warren Snow. They examine the source materials, weighing the evidence and context behind these shocking claims. Was this zealotry, justice, or something else entirely? Join the discussion as they bring …
Episode 137: Mormon Reformation, part three
In Part Three of our series on the Mormon Reformation, we dive into the most harrowing chapter yet. This episode uncovers the brutal measures Mormons took against apostates and outsiders during this period of fiery zeal, exploring the violent and gory tactics used to enforce loyalty and obedience. We also delve into the dark side …
Danites, Damsels, and World Domination: Mormons in the Dime Novels
By Michael Austin Michael Austin is co-editor of the Mormon Image in Literature series from Greg Kofford Books, which includes annotated reprints of 19th-century novels about Mormons including many of the works mentioned in this article such as The Doomed Dozen, The Bradys among the Mormons, and Eagle Plume: The White Avenger. Or …
The Culture of Violence in Joseph Smith’s Mormonism–Part III
Continued from Part II In May 1842, Joseph Smith reassembled a cadre of bodyguards, selecting primarily those with experience as Danites in Missouri. Former Danites such as Dimick B. Huntington, Daniel Carn, and Albert P. Rockwood began serving as Nauvoo’s “Night Watch.”[i]Previously a Danite captain, Rockwood had already been serving as “commander of my [Smith’s] …
The Culture of Violence in Joseph Smith’s Mormonism–Part II
Continued from Part I One 24 September 1835, notwithstanding the absence of an external threat, Joseph Smith organized militarily in Kirtland. He proposed “by the voice of the Spirit of the Lord” to raise another Mormon army “to live or die on our own lands, which we have purchased in Jackson County, Missouri.” His manuscript …
The Culture of Violence in Joseph Smith’s Mormonism–Part I
By D. Michael Quinn D. Michael Quinn is an independent scholar in Rancho Cucamonga, Southern California. His first ancestral Mormon mother, Lydia Bilyeu Workman, died in Nauvoo on 30 September 1845, just days after she was burned out of her farmhouse by mobs. Her five youngest children were aged six to eighteen. It is extremely …
Danites, Donut Holes, and Mao: Remaking Mormon Culture as Resistance
Danites, Donut Holes, and Mao: Remaking Mormon Culture as Resistance