Mormon massacre?

[ISP2605]

"Joseph Smith was shot and murdered in a jail cell by a "lynch-mob" in I believe Missouri... or possibly Illinois (Not sure) "

A bit of IL trivia...
Nauvoo means "Beautiful Place" and it really is. Located on on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River.
Smith and his followers settled Nauvoo in 1839. At the peak Mormon settlement period the Mormons had a militia that was larger than the standing US Army. There was a lot of distrust of the Mormons by the locals and the IL government, mainly due to the size of the Mormon's militia.
In 1844 there were some Mormons who broke with Smith and the church, threatening to expose Smith as a polygamist. Smith, along with being the leader of the church, was also the mayor of Nauvoo. This threat of exposure angered Smith so he declared martial law in Nauvoo. This declaration of martial law didn't set well with the governor who called out the state militia and went to Carthage which is about 20 miles SE of Nauvoo. Smith and the leaders were charged and promised protection in the Carthage jail. A few days after their arrest, members from the Warsaw militia (a town about 20 miles south of Nauvoo along the Mississippi River) stormed the jail and firing thru the door, killed Smith and his brother.
The next year most of the Mormons had started moving west. At it's peak there were approximately 20,000 which made Nauvoo the largest city in IL (Chicago was just a hick settlement back then) and it was one of the 20th largest cities in the US. Today there are about 1000 people living in Nauvoo.

 

[Pointer]

Doesn't anyone see what's going down here?

Seems like nonsense... why would a man or a woman join a religion that almost certainly will stir enemies to murder them?

How is it that such a good and decent people could rise from the dregs of 19th century society?

How can good people risk all their posessions and abandon their farms, and be willing to die for a church that supposedly kidnaps non-Mormon women and at the same time helps them create the first all women's society in the history of mankind and gives women the vote before the rest of the US even thinks about it? And then frees all the slaves? (Gee was Missouri a free state... or a slave state? Duhhh.)

Who is telling these "dark" stories and spreading the sometimes OBVIOUS lies.

I prefer to believe that the good and decent Mormon's of today are heavily influenced for GOOD by their forefathers just as the Founding Fathers have left a legacy of great good for today's Americans...

When I was still small, I learned in Sunday School that Jesus said, "By their fruits ye shall know them..." Or something like that...

My mother taught me that if you look for trouble, that's exactly what you will find... and if you can't say something nice, don't say it... and that people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones...

 

[Al Norris]

Seems we have said all we're gonna say about the massacre itself.

Since the thread has moved on to other grounds, despite my last little missive...

Thread Closed.