Theos-Talk Archives (December 2002 Message tt00134)

On Sun, 01 Dec 2002 18:48:07 -0000 "Steve Stubbs" <stevestubbs@yahoo.com>
writes:

> Smith was working for some charlatans who were far more dangerous 
> than he was, notably Brigham Young, who organized a gang he called 
> the "Avenging Angels" and sent them out to commit murders at his 
> behest. Not only did Young routinely order the murders of people he 
> thought were getting in his way, but it is interesting that Smith's 
> murder conveniently cleared the way for Young to rise to the top.

Most believe it was Sidney Rigdon who was most responsible for initiating
the Danite movement. This was in Missouri during the late 1830's. Rigdon
was at that time Smith First Councilor while Young was one of the twelve
apostles but not yet their leader. Rigdon preached some rather rabid
sermons including one in which he called for (and got) a war of
extermination between the Mormons and the old settlers. Missouri was for
years a seat of rabid, seething turmoil. 

Young was no where around during Smith's final days. He and many of the
other apostles were in the East campaigning for Smith who was a candidate
for the U.S. presidency. Those apostles in Nauvoo at the time,
accompanied Joseph to Carthage. One of them, John Taylor, was wounded
four times in the assault that ended Smith's life. Knowing the character
of Brigham Young, he too would have been with Joseph and may have himself
been killed if he had not been away. Also, Young was not the heir
apparent as President of the Twelve. That was Joseph's brother Hyrum
Smith who was Assistant Church President and Patriarch. He died minutes
before Joseph at Carthage. Then it became a battle between Young and
Rigdon, but Young one though Ridgon took a group of followers and went to
Pennsylvania where the church he founded remaind the #3 LDS group to this
day (behind the Utah Mormons and the RLDS) There IS some evidence that
Young did revive the Danites or Avenging Angels in Utah, but far more
likely that characters like Orrin Porter Rockwell and Bill Hickman simply
took matters into their own hands. Rockwell WAS a marshall and in the old
rough and tumbleWest not unlike Wyatt and Virgil Earp, Bat Masterson, Pat
Garrett or a score of other frontier law inforcement officials. Hickman
wrote a book blaming Young for all his deeds, but that may have just been
him trying to justify his outlaw antics. The best evidence for the
Mountain Meadows Massacre is that Young may have fanned the fire that
allow such an atrocity to occur but that the actual acts were the
respnsibilty of local Morman officers who had been fired up to a fever
pitch. Keep in mind that these folks had been kicked out of Nrw York,
Ohio, Missouri and Illinois, fled to a god forsaken land no one else in
their right mind would ever want and then faced the fury of a federal
army marching against them. They were damn mad and ready to fight. Those
poor folks at Mountain Meadows were at the wrong place at the wrong time,
and this after Young had counciled them to go a different way. 

There I go again. Some of you must think I am more passionate about
Mormons than I am about Theosophy, but after over thirty years as a
Mormon historian, I still get riled over what should be a dead issue. I
guess I was once to Mormonism what Daniel is to Theosophy and there's
still more of that cluttering my brains than I'll ever absorb of
Theosophy. 

Larry

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