September 11th marks the anniversary of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. A five day siege that culminated in the slaughter of some 120 California-bound immigrants in 1857, at the hands of Mormon militiamen (reinstated Nauvoo Legion) from Parowan, Utah.1 A month before the emigrants departed Arkansas on their journey west, Parley P. Pratt (LDS Apostle) was … Read more
Excerpt from ‘Address of the Prophet—His Testimony Against the Dissenters at Nauvoo’ (Sunday, May 26, 1844), shortly before his death:1 Be meek and lowly, upright and pure; render good for evil. If you bring on yourselves your own destruction, I will complain. It is not right for a man to bare down his neck to … Read more
Excerpt from the ‘Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo’, LDS Gospel Topic Essay:1 “When God commands a difficult task, He sometimes sends additional messengers to encourage His people to obey. Consistent with this pattern, Joseph told associates that an angel appeared to him three times between 1834 and 1842 and commanded him to proceed with … Read more
Image: LDS Temple sealing room Excerpt from the LDS temple marriage ceremony (sealing of spouses). 1 [The sealer sits at the head of the altar with two witnesses, one seated at his right and the other at his left. The bride and groom kneel at opposite sides of the altar, facing one another, clothed in … Read more
Joseph Smith Jr. From the LDS Gospel Topic Essay, Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo found on LDS.org. ‘The youngest [of Joseph’s brides] was Helen Mar Kimball, daughter of Joseph’s close friends Heber C. and Vilate Murray Kimball, who was sealed to Joseph several months before her 15th birthday.’ Teen Brides of Joseph Smith Jr. … Read more
Image: Joseph Smith Jr. ‘Address of the Prophet [Joseph Smith Jr.] — His Testimony Against the Dissenters at Nauvoo.’, History of the Church1 President Joseph Smith read the 11th Chap. 2 Corinthians. My object is to let you know that I am right here on the spot where I intend to stay. I, like Paul, … Read more
Image: Artists portrayal of Joseph Smith Jr. addressing the Relief Society The LDS Relief Society is lauded as one of the oldest and largest women’s organizations in the world. Yet it is an organization that is presided over, budgeted and organized by men.1 Crash Course: The Relief Society – WikiPedia Nauvoo Women: An Overlooked History of the … Read more
Image: Nauvoo Illinois, LDS Temple. Masonic First Degree, Duegard of a fellow craft mason:1 The left arm, as far as the elbow, should be held in a horizontal position, and the rest of the arm in a vertical position, forming a square. The right hand detached from the stomach, fingers extending outward. PENALTY Draw the right … Read more
The Nauvoo Expositor was a newspaper in Nauvoo, Illinois, that published only one issue, on June 7, 1844. Its publication set off a chain of events that led to the death of Latter Day Saint prophet Joseph Smith. The Expositor was founded by several seceders from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints … Read more
Image: Polygamist FLDS Prophet Warren Jeffs. From the LDS church’s Gospel Topic Essay ‘Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo’ 1 ‘Careful estimates put the number {of wives} between 30 and 40.’ ‘The youngest was Helen Mar Kimball, daughter of Joseph’s close friends Heber C. and Vilate Murray Kimball, who was sealed to Joseph several months before her … Read more