First Revelation
 

I was junior at the University of Arizona, and was enrolled in a class at the “Mormon Institute” when I accidentally found a rare old book relic and learned the incredible true history of the Mormon religion. When I first saw “The Book”, it sat nondescriptly on a dusty shelf, ironically within the confines of Mormon religion’s very own “Mormon Institute”. For those of you not familiar with this religion, the “Institute” is a place of higher learning situated on the campuses of major universities across America in order for Mormon youth to more easily congregate with members of their own faith and continue their religious studies. I had already stopped attending Sunday religious services at the “church ward” I was assigned to, and was only taking the “Institute” class in the first place because the ward bishop had tricked me into signing up for it. As a brand new member of the religion, I found the Sunday “services” to be quite strange, and I could only tolerate them for about 6-months before I decided to cancel them from my life for good. My reasons for this included “church leaders” having “visions from God” about who you should vote for on election day (get your list at the door on your way out), what kind of cars you can buy (cheap ones so you have more to tithe), painful brainwashing techniques used on little children who cried in front of the entire congregation (a.k.a. “giving your testimony”) and the utmost intrusion into one’s personal life by sycophantic church lackeys who asked never ending streams of personal questions, and who I found out later were “Young Adult Leaders”.

Within a short period of time, I found my new church to be quite strange and different compared to all of the other mainstream Christian Churches I attended during my youth. I also couldn’t help but notice how the names of all the Mormon edifices could easily be associated with hospitals and mental facilities, like their “wards” and “institutes”. Ironically, the ward bishop himself duped me into taking the “Institute” class I was now enrolled in, after representing to me that class credits for “Institute” classes were transferable to the University. But, I later found out this was not the case after the University declined to give me credit for the class. The ward bishop, who was also a full-tenured economics professor at the University I attended, was also later involved in attempts to bribe me into staying in the Mormon Church, manipulating my University grades and offering me a contract to be a paid member of the church and “Young Adult Leader”. It also turns out the ward bishop was really just a “lay” official, as opposed to a bona fide holy man who had dedicated his life to the study of God. So, I found myself in a position of having stopped attending church services at the “ward”, stuck in an “Institute” surrounded by Mormon youth who seemed to be unable to think independently, and taking a religion class about a man of questionable character, but was venerated as a prophet of God.

It was the spring semester of 1977, and my “Institute” class was entitled “The Teachings of Joseph Smith”. As the semester continued, I remember sitting in class thinking it wasn’t much better than the Sunday services I had already stopped attending. I was really looked forward to the end of the semester so I could be done with my Mormon experience altogether. But, one day with about 4-weeks left in the semester, fate intervened to change my life forever. That was the day the instructor announced that everyone in class would be required to write a research paper, and proceeded to pass out a list of approved topics. When the list got to me, I immediately began searching for the most controversial topic I could find. I did this for two reasons. First, I had been on the debate team as a freshman and learned that controversial topics seemed to provide a spark for what might otherwise be a mundane task. Second, I found a topic that actually intrigued me. The topic I chose was entitled “Politics and the Church”, and the reason it peaked my interest was because most of the kids I had grown up with in Arizona had all heard some vague and foreboding tale about Mormons, which they had heard from someone else. But, they had always seemed just a bit too vague for me, and I never put much credence in them. But, I never forgot them either.

At least the last 4-weeks of class wouldn’t be so boring, I thought, as I selected that topic. I actually enjoyed doing research, and was quite good at it, too. And, I immediately commenced working on my new research project with great gusto, and resolved to find something out about these mysterious Mormons, who now did seem more and more strange. I was also content in the knowledge that soon I’d no longer even be affiliated with these people. The “Mormon Institute” I attended even had its own little library, so I went there to browse through the card catalogue and look for books associated with politics. When I found a subject that looked interesting, I made a note of the code and went to that section in the library to peruse through the books there, hopefully to find something interesting. That’s how I came across “The Book”. It was sitting nondescriptly on a lower rack in the “Institute’s” windowless one-room library when I first saw it. Its hardbound cover was faded with time and had no printing on it whatsoever. From all outward appearance there was absolutely no clue to the incredible secrets it kept hidden within. Its aged appearance even distinguished it from all of the other books that surrounded it. It was clearly a unique and old relic, and even had that musty old smell that only an ancient artifact seems to have. When I did research, I normally pulled a book from the stack and scanned it right there. That way if it wasn’t worthy I could shove it back and move on. So, I squatted down to more easily inspect it, pulled the book out of the rack and caught the musty aroma of stale paper as I opened its yellowed pages with anticipation.

I immediately searched for the statement of contents so I could obtain an overall summary of what the book contained. After quickly locating it, I immediately knew I’d hit the jackpot when the very first thing I saw staring back at me were the words “Utah War”, and I stared at those words in wonderment. The “Utah War” I thought incredulously. I immediately scanned my memory and knew without a shadow of a doubt the “Utah War” was not something the nice “missionary” had included in “the lessons” when he came to my apartment to indoctrinate me into his religion and explained how terribly persecuted the Mormons had been throughout their entire history. And, as I continued scanning the statement of contents and moved to body of “The Book”, I soon began recognizing other words that seemed just as improbable. I saw words like slavery, extermination order, treason, martial law, persecution, Kirtland Safety Bank, polygamy, Kingdom of Zion, independence from the United States and many other words that made little sense at the time. I was numb with excitement and spent the next 45 minutes thumbing through the book right there so I could absorb every detail this book had waited so long and so patiently to cede me. And, as I continued feasting on morsel after morsel of secret knowledge, I came to a rather imposing realization that I had be one of just a handful of people in the entire world who knew the dark history of the Mormon religion.

The book documented, in great detail, the entire chronological history of the Mormon religion between 1830 to about 1860. The bulk of it consisted of detailed accounts of the numerous Mormon conflagrations this religion had waged against their Christian enemies in Palmyra, Kirtland, Missouri, Nauvoo and finally Utah. And, as I crouched silently in the dusky confines of the institute library and continued scanning the book, I also began to understand the amazing truth behind what the Mormon religion refers to today as its “terrible religious persecution” in every land they settled. The book also disclosed many of the religious prophesies that Joseph Smith wrote, including how America would one day become a “Mormon Kingdom of Zion”, whether by choice or by force. Incredibly, it also revealed that Mormons were actually slave owners in the northern states at a time when slavery was relegated to states south of the Mason-Dixon line, and that Joseph Smith had been arrested for treason against the United States, not just once but twice. I was dumbfounded and numb with excitement at the same time. I had already determined that this class would be my final interaction with the Mormon religion, and any remorse I had about leaving evaporated in an instant. I was also a little angered at having been forced to listen to so many stories about the woeful persecution of Mormons at the hands of the “gentiles”. It seemed pretty clear that they had brought most, if not all of this, on themselves.

“The Book” presented a very straightforward and honest view of the Mormon religion, and its strange and unknown violent history. All of this history was supported with an extensive array of factual accounts, documents and articles, and even transcripts from The Congressional Record, which documented ongoing discussions being held in Congress at the time regarding the “Mormon Insurrection”. As opposed to being a novel “The Book” was more of a compilation of articles, stories, data and documents, which had been harvested from “official” sources and provided indisputable proof for everything that the book revealed. “The Book” began with the knowledge that although the “Mormon movement” originated prior to 1830, a great conflict began escalating around 1830 between members of this religious movement and non-Mormons, which also coincided with the official founding of this religion in 1830 as the “Church of Christ”. “The Book” went on to explain that the escalating conflict in Palmyra and Fayette, New York was due primarily to Joseph Smith’s dubious standing in the community, resulting from his prior arrests for “treasure-seeking”. But, the religious beliefs espoused by this new religion were very strange indeed and included the belief that Mormonism was the only true religion on earth, and that the entire United States would one day be a “Mormon Zion”, whether they liked it or not. And, in what was one of the most surprising, and damning things revealed by the book, it was disclosed that Mormons believed in slavery and actually owned slaves in a “northern state”, which didn’t allow slavery.

“The Book” explained that by 1830, because of this conflict, Smith and his followers were forced to move from Palmyra and Fayette, New York. The book made a distinction between the “main body” of Smith’s religion, which was migrating to Kirtland, Ohio and a smaller contingent that he sent to Missouri at the same time specifically for the purpose of establishing advance settlements there. It made the further claim that Smith had selected Missouri because Missouri was a slave state. Interestingly, even thought Missouri was a “northern state”, it had been admitted into the union as a slave state during the Missouri compromise of 1820. The book went on to document that Smith believed this would ultimately help bring an end to all of the conflict that the Mormons had to endure because, he thought, once in Missouri they would finally be among “their own kind of people” who also believed in slavery. The book documented that Smith’s advance contingent founded the town of Independence, Missouri, because of its strategic located at the very edge of the western borders of the United States, which would provide easy access to the western territories. It was also claimed that the name “Independence” was selected to signify the Mormon’s independence from the United States, and that the Mormons planned to eventually leave the United States altogether to form their own sovereign nation outside of the United States.

However, as soon as Smith’s main body of Mormons began arriving in Kirtland, Ohio, new conflicts immediately began arising between the new settlers and non-Mormons already living there. Reasons for the new conflict in Kirtland, as explained by the book, included accounts of how Joseph Smith was tarred and feathered in 1832 for sexual indiscretions with 15-year old Nancy Marinda Johnson, and how U.S. Government agents visited Smith and the Mormons to rebuked them for continuing to own slaves in Ohio, which was still a “northern state” because it was located north of the Mason-Dixon line. The Ohio conflict was also exacerbated by the strange religious beliefs espoused by Smith and his Mormons, which included the belief that the Mormon religion was the only true religion in the world and that the entire United States would one day be a “Mormon Kingdom of Zion”, whether they liked it or not. And, polygamy had been recently added to the list as well, and the book discussed Smith’s initial revelations about polygamy, which were said to have occurred in Kirtland. But, the key issue that seemed to ultimately result in the Mormon’s migration out of Kirtland in 1838 was the Kirtland Safety Society banking scandal, which involved a Mormon bank being operated without a state banking charter, and Smith’s hasty exit from Ohio in the dead of night after absconding with all of the bank’s deposits.

The book began describing another war I never heard of called “The Missouri War”, which festered between 1831 and 1838 in western Missouri between members of the advance contingent of Mormons Smith sent to Missouri in 1830 and the non-Mormon settlers who already lived there. The “Missouri War”, which occurred mainly in Jackson, Clay, Ray, Caldwell and Daviess Counties in western Missouri, began escalating around 1832 after one of Smith’s revelations that prophesied, “…the riches of the Gentiles have been consecrated unto my people who are of the House of Israel” was published in The Evening and the Morning Star, a Mormon newspaper in Independence. Around this same time, large groups of Mormons began arriving in Clay County and “appropriating” and settling on lands that already belonged to the region’s non-Mormon settlers. Because of this, conflict soon began arising between the growing Mormon population and the non-Mormon inhabitants who had already settled there. But, Smith and his main contingent of Mormons were still in Kirtland as the Mormon war in Missouri began heating up. And, quite interestingly, the book claims that Smith hired Brigham Young to fight along side his embattled Missouri Mormons around the fall of 1836, and that Young even became the leader of the danites, Smith’s secret police and the enforcement arm of the Mormon religion.

“The Missouri War” escalated into armed conflict in the fall of 1836, and turned into all-out war after Smith and what was left of his “Kirtland Mormons” began arriving in Missouri in 1838, after escaping from Ohio in the wake of the Kirtland Safety Society banking scandal. Once in Missouri, Smith immediately unified his Kirtland Mormons with his embattled Missouri Mormons, and proclaimed, “This is the land of your inheritance, which is now the land of your enemies”, and “I will be to this generation a second Mohammed, whose motto in treating for peace was “the Koran or the Sword”, so shall it eventually be with us, “the church or the sword”. Further, During the Mormon’s 1838, 4^th of July celebration, Sidney Rigdon, Smith’s second in command at the time, gave a rousing address to the already agitated Mormons and proclaimed, “…it shall be between us and them a war of extermination; for we will follow them until the last drop of their blood is spilled, or else they will have to exterminate us.” Then, in keeping with the Smith’s prophesy that America would be a “Mormon Kingdom of Zion”, Smith’s unified Mormons attacked the Missouri State Militia at Crooked River on October 24^th, 1838, which lead to a counter-attack by the Missouri militia on October 30^th on the Mormon settlement of Haun’s Mill.

Between 1830 and 1838, a minor conflict between the Mormons and non-Mormons around Independence, Missouri grew into all-out war, and became known as the “The Missouri War”. In December of 1836, as the conflict escalated into armed conflict, Missouri Governor Lillburn Boggs even created Caldwell County specifically to accommodate the Mormons with their own county, and in the hopes of staving off further conflict. But, by 1838 with the war only increasing in scope, Boggs had no choice but to issue an executive order that mandated for every Mormon in the State of Missouri to leave entirely. In conjunction with this event, Smith was also arrested on charges of Treason against the United States, for the first time, and was placed in jail in Liberty, Missouri. But, Smith was able to bribe his jailors and escape, and make his way east to Illinois. Aside from the property disputes, “The Missouri War” also seemed to be exacerbated by the strange religious beliefs that the Mormons espoused, including the belief that Mormonism was the only true religion in the world and that America would one day be a “Mormon Kingdom”, which would be led by a Mormon King. Of course, the twin evils of polygamy and slavery greatly compounded these events as well.

Today, Mormons ironically refer to Boggs’s executive order as “The Extermination Order”, even though it was the Mormons themselves who first used the term “extermination” during Sidney Rigdon’s 1838 4^th of July celebration, as he referred to the Mormon’s “war of extermination” against the “Gentiles” and incited his Mormon followers to attack the Missouri Militia. Because of this misinformation, today Mormon youth speak righteously and vehemently about being the only “people” to have ever had an extermination order issued against them. And, they angrily point to the “gentiles” even today without knowing the dark lies that are propagated by the Mormon media machine. Today, Mormons have even made the claim that the “Missouri War” was largely due to the fact that the Mormons in Missouri were actually abolitionists who were trying to free the slaves there. They also claim that this may actually have incited the “gentiles” against them. But, this is simply not true. According to “The Book”, the conflict seems to have arisen primarily after Smith published his prophecy that claimed, “…the riches of the Gentiles have been consecrated unto my people who are of the House of Israel”, and after large numbers of Mormons began moving into Clay County and “taking” lands that had been previously settled by the non-Mormons who already lived there. It seems evident that the non-Mormons of Missouri were simply defending their ownership rights.

After being evicted from Missouri, the book documented that Smith led what remained of his Missouri Mormons back east into Illinois, and up the Mississippi River to where they founded the town of Nauvoo, Illinois. Nauvoo was also called “Industry” in the same manner that that Mormons had called Independence, Missouri “Independence”. And, by now Smith was extremely angry at what the Mormons began referring to as their “religious persecution” in New York, Ohio and now Missouri. Consequently, he proceeded to organize a contingent of Mormon leaders, which he led to Washington, D.C. for the purpose of seeking “redress of grievances” from the U.S. Government. But, Smith found neither “redress of grievances” nor much sympathy in Washington, and he was quoted at the time as saying that the nation’s capital looked much more like a Baptist slough then any kind of decent city. Being rebuffed only made Smith angrier, and he went back to Nauvoo, and began actively espousing the complete overthrow of the United States Government, which he also began to prophecy and write about. It was during this time that Smith issued his prophesy of the “Doctrine of the Constitution Hanging by a Thread”, which claimed that the Mormon Elders of Zion would one day rush in and save the Constitution after the people of America had torn it to shreds. He also began forming a “100,000 man army” known as the Nauvoo Legion, and inducted himself into the US Army as a Lieutenant General, even though he had no military experience.

Incredibly, the story only becomes more bizarre at this point. During this period of time, Smith began forming a secret “Council of Fifty” whose sole task it was to plan and execute the conversion of the United States into his “Mormon Kingdom of Zion”, which he had prophesied would happen. And, none other than Joseph Smith himself, as its new Mormon King, would lead this new “Kingdom”. Mormon theology actually taught that members of this religion were actually “subjects” of the Mormon Kingdom of Zion, and were to be ruled over accordingly. All of this, of course, was done in complete secrecy, perhaps because it is a rather unique notion when compared to the reality that America was and still is a Christian Democracy. In secret ceremonies around 1843 and 1844, Smith’s “Council of Fifty” ordained him as the first Mormon “King of Zion”, and Smith’s Kingdom of Zion held dominion over the entire United States of America. But, what Kingdom would be complete without vassals to carry out the King’s orders. So, Smith appointed Brigham Young as the new President of the United States, John Taylor as the new Vice President and other Church leaders as representatives of the various States in the U.S. House and Senate. A cabinet was also was appointed.

However, none of what Smith was doing had any bearing on reality whatsoever, and of course Smith had no real political legitimacy outside of the confines of his own religion, or Nauvoo. So, in a final attempt to gain “legitimate” control over the United States in 1844, Joseph Smith “condescended” to run for the office of President of the United States. He “condescended” to become the President of the United States because he was already the “King of Zion”, which held dominion over the entire United States of America, and he therefore he considered becoming President of the United States condescension on his part. George Miller, a member of the Council of Fifty, wrote, “If we succeeded in making a majority of the voters convert to our faith, and elected Joseph president, in such an event the dominion of the Kingdom would be forever established in the United States; and if not successful, we could fall back on Texas, and be a kingdom notwithstanding”. But of course, this bizarre myriad of events wasn’t the only cause for the continuing and worsening Mormon conflict, which was now in Illinois. There was still the blight of slavery and polygamy, and polygamy had grown to become a large-scale issue in Nauvoo.

Despite all of the lawless and cultish behavior in Nauvoo, which seemed to be fueled largely by Smith and a great religious fervor, it would take a watershed event to ultimately bring things to the boiling point. And, on June 7, 1844, such a watershed event finally did occur, which greatly polarized the Mormons and non-Mormons who lived in Nauvoo and the surrounding areas. It came in the form of the Nauvoo Expositor, a daily newspaper that managed to print just one single edition of its newspaper. The owner and editor of the Nauvoo Expositor was one William Law, and Law had been a member of Smith’s First Presidency and was closely associated with Smith at one point. Law was extremely upset after suspecting that Smith had made improper overtures towards his wife. So, he decided to start his own newspaper and publish articles that would expose Smith’s polygamous dalliances. It would also bring attention to the house of abortion that was known to be adjacent to the city of Nauvoo, where it is said many of the town’s maidens, duped into celestial polygamous marriages by Smith and his band of pedophiles, had their abortions done. Smith also happened to be Nauvoo’s Mayor and controlled the city council as well. Consequently, he had his city council declare the Expositor a public nuisance after it printed its first and only edition. Soon thereafter a mob loyal to Smith completely destroyed the Expositor’s presses and its offices, and put it out of business.

The destruction of the Expositor greatly enraged the non-Mormon population of Nauvoo and surrounding communities who didn’t agree with the bizarre religious beliefs and social practices of the Mormons. This incident was also viewed largely as a violation of the constitutional principle of freedom of the press. And, with all of the indecent and despicable acts that the defiant Mormons had already perpetrated, it ultimately took the destruction of the Expositor to finally ignite a furious backlash against the Mormons in Nauvoo, which at the height of its success had grown to be larger than Chicago. And, in what was Smith’s final act of defiance against the Christian American laws of the land, and in an effort to gain control over a bad situation, he declared martial law in Nauvoo to quell the backlash that had occurred due to the destruction of the Expositor. But, Smiths singular act of totalitarianism backfired, and created an even greater backlash, which forced Governor Ford of Illinois to intercede and quell what had evolved into just another Mormon conflict amid their growing history of conflicts. The situation was so bad that Governor Ford himself traveled to Nauvoo to monitor the situation, which led to Smith’s decision to flee Ford’s approaching justice, and Nauvoo, by crossing the Mississippi River and entering the western territories. Smith was eventually persuaded to come back and face justice, and was subsequently arrested on charges of treason against the United States, for the second time in 6-years.

It’s important to understand that, after leaving the Missouri insurrection behind them in 1839, Smith and his Mormons obtained generous special city charters from the Illinois Legislature, which gave them a broad range of powers to develop and govern their own town of Nauvoo, and other townships hadn’t received such generous charters. These special charters, which were granted in 1840, were signed by the Illinois Governor himself and were granted in response to the general sentiment that Smith and his Mormons had received harsh treatment in Missouri, and because the legislature wanted help the Mormons politically and provide legal safeguards for them in Illinois. But, on June 18, 1844, Governor Ford issued a warrant for Smith’s arrest on charges of treason against the United States; and, after Smith was persuaded to return from the Iowa hinterlands, on the other side of the Mississippi, Smith and his brother were arrested and placed in jail in nearby Carthage, Illinois. On June 27, 1844, Smith and his brother were killed in a gunfight, which ensued after sympathetic Mormons smuggled guns to his brother and him while they were still in jail. Immediately thereafter, the Illinois Legislature revoked all of the special charters were previously granted, and to add insult to injury, Governor Ford gave the remaining Mormons of Nauvoo until the end of 1845 to leave Illinois altogether.

Today, the Carthage jail is essentially a religious shrine, and the vast majority of visitors there are members of the Mormon faith who routinely go on pilgrimages and visit the sacred sites where Mormons fought so righteously against their enemies. Such sites include Nauvoo, Carthage, Haun’s Mill, Adam-ondi-Ahman, Kirtland and Hill Cumorah. These sites are largely controlled by the Mormon religion, and visitors typically know absolutely nothing about this religion’s violent past or the actual events that took place on these sacred sights. At Carthage, the sophisticated Mormon media machine, which would be the nation’s 14^th largest media corporation if the Mormon Church were a mainstream corporation today, presents a much different and more sanitized version of Smith’s final day. Today, Mormon tour guides at Carthage jail make no mention of the guns that were smuggled to Smith and his brother while they were still in jail, or that Smith even shot and killed another man while trying to escape. Rather, their version of the story regales listeners to discussions of Smith’s “martyrdom” and how he went, “like a lamb to the slaughter”, which is much better suited to someone revered as a prophet of God. Their story is also better suited at reinforcing the legend that Joseph Smith was actually “Christ like”, and detracts the reverent masses from asking too many questions or learning the real truth.

In 1845, Brigham Young filled the void left by the death of Joseph Smith to become the religion’s new Mormon prophet. However, before this would occur, Young had to subdue his many rivals who, like Young, were vying to take the place of Smith and claimed to be the legitimate heir to Joseph Smith’s throne of Zion. These rivals included Sydney Rigdon, Jesse James Strange, and Emma Smith, Joseph’s widow, all of whom ultimately formed separate sects of the Mormon religion, which became known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints – Rigdonites, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints – Strangites, and The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, respectively. Rigdon led his flock to Pennsylvania, Strange led his into Northern Michigan, and Beaver Island and Emma and her group remained in Nauvoo. It really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise either, that Young won the battle for succession, when you consider that Young had been the leader of the danites, also known as Smith’s “avenging angels”, which were essentially the secret police and the enforcement arm of the Mormon religion. Young had earned this status after originally being hired by Smith in 1836 to fight along side the Mormons in the “Missouri War”. Ironically, if you look up “danite” today in Wikipedia, an Internet encyclopedia, you will see “danites” comically characterized today as a “fraternal order”.

After the fight for succession was resolved, Young ultimately led what remained of the Smith’s religion beyond the western borders of the United States, and into the western territories in order form their own sovereign Mormon nation, which they called Deseret. In July of 1847, almost 2-years after leaving Nauvoo, Brigham Young stopped his carriage after viewing the pristine lands bordering the Great Salt Lake and began surveying the desert valleys that surrounded its shores. After completing his survey he proclaimed, "This is the right place." Never mind that Young and the Mormons were actually intending to go to California or Oregon, or that Young mistakenly thought the Great Salt Lake was the Pacific Ocean due to the salinity content of its water. And, during the next decade, thousands of Mormons from the eastern States, and Mormon converts from England began leaving their homes to travel to the fledgling Mormon nation of Deseret. The Mormons had always viewed themselves as being separate from the rest of America, and they now looked forward to being independent of the Judeo-Christian principles of American law, and its Christian culture as well. By the mid-1850’s, Salt Lake City was the thriving capital of a Mormon nation that included parts of what are now Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico, most of Utah, Nevada and Arizona and the southern half of California.

Young was not just the new Mormon prophet either; he was also the President of Deseret. And, at the same time, he was also a Government employee and held the titles of Territorial Governor of Utah and Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the U.S. Government. During this same time, America also continued its relentless westward migration, and there even was talk of the new transcontinental railroad that would soon run through Utah, which Government officials hoped to use as a tool to dilute the concentration of Mormons in the Utah Territory. Initially, Young was adamantly against this new railroad because he was well aware of its potential to bring in throngs of non-Mormon settlers into his nation of Deseret. However, Young later changed his mind after being persuaded by railroad executives to help recruit workers for the construction of the railroad. He also saw this as an opportunity to prosper personally as well, and to help bring prosperity to the citizens of Deseret who were mired in an economic malaise caused by plagues of grasshoppers that were destroyed their crops during that period of time. By the time the railroad was completed, Young claims to have been owed over one million dollars, but when he asked for payment from the railroads, they just ignored him. Young was so angry about this that he even refused to attend the ceremonies at Promontory Point, Utah where the golden spike was driven on May 10, 1869.

The period of time between 1847, when Young and the Mormons first began settling Utah, and 1857, which marks beginning of the “Utah War”, and the year Brigham Young declared Deseret’s independence from the United States was characterized by “relative peace”. However, this was only because the interior of the west was largely unsettled, and its main occupants at the time were Mormons and Native Americans, and Young controlled both groups. But, as America’s westward expansion continued, in accordance with the divine concept of “manifest destiny”, fate would conspire once again to heat up the “Mormon conflict”, and soon it would come to a boiling once again. This of course was exacerbated by the influx of non-Mormon settlers who were encroaching on the Mormon nation of Deseret. History records many mysterious disappearances and murders within the confines of Deseret during this period of time as well, and one of the most famous cases is the Gunnison Massacre, which occurred on October 26, 1853. It essentially involved the massacre and mutilation of Lieutenant John Gunnison and seven of his men who were surveying the right-of-way for the new transcontinental railway. According to Brigham Young, the Indians were to blame, but Gunnison’s wife always believed that the Mormons had actually been behind this act of terrorism, and there were also the rumors of white men who had dressed up as Indians being involved as well.

This was just one of the many events that began causing a great consternation in Washington, D.C., which began being referred by members of Congress as the growing “Mormon insurrection”. Mormons had also hijacked the Federal court system in the Utah territory, and were dispensing their own brand of Mormon justice as well. It was in this atmosphere that President Buchanan finally issued an order to remove Brigham Young as the Territorial Governor of Utah. On September 11th, 1857, in an incident eerily similar to the 1853 Gunnison Massacre, danites and members of the Nauvoo Legion, now in Utah, dressed up as Indians and massacred 120 innocent men, women and children in what is known today as “The Mountain Meadows Massacre”. All of the victims were civilian members of the Fancher wagon train party that was traveling from Arkansas, through southern Utah to California at the time. And, the only Mormon ever prosecuted for this act of terrorism was John D. Lee, Brigham Young's adopted son who was also a danite leader. At the time, Lee actually claimed that Brigham Young himself ordered the attack, in retaliation for President Buchanan’s order to remove him as the Territorial Governor. When Young first heard this, he was quoted as saying, “That won’t diminish my power one little bit”. On September 15^th, 1857 Young trumped Buchanan by declaring Deseret’s complete independence from the United States of America, and declared martial law. Thus began America’s little-known “Utah War”.

The date of September 11^th is quite significant in Mormon lore. On September 10, 1831, after being recently being forced out of New York, Joseph Smith wrote the following passage in his Doctrine and Covenants, where he documented all of his revelations:

For after today cometh the burning for verily I say, tomorrow all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble; and I will burn them up, for I am the Lord of Hosts; and I will not spare any that remain in Babylon.”

The significance of this prophecy is that Smith and his Mormons had just been forced out of Palmyra, the rest of his Mormons were either already in Kirtland or were in the process of migrating there and Smith was extremely angry. Smith references September 11^th again in 1836, which is the same year the “Missouri War” begins escalating into armed violence. Smith sent a letter from Kirtland, Ohio to Lyman Wight in Missouri stating that September 11, 1836, “…was the appointed time for the redemption of Zion”. This statement is very significant because Smith’s initial contingent of Missouri Mormons were forced out of Jackson County, Missouri in 1833, and fled to Clay, Ray and Daviess Counties where they were initially welcomed as guests by the “gentile” inhabitants of those counties who tried to help them.

During 1834 and 1835, these same displaced Mormons began to regroup and devise a plan to reclaim the properties they claimed were theirs, but had been forced out of in 1833. Further, the Mormons of Clay County even established an armory where they began making swords, knives, pistols and repaired rifles and shotguns. And, Lyman Wight, who was the person Smith wrote to in his letter was not only a member of Smith’s Quorum of the Twelve, he was also the Mormon’s chief military commander in Missouri and held the rank of Colonel in the Missouri Militia. He also fought with distinction during the war of 1812. By 1836, the Mormons in Clay, Ray and Daviess counties began outwearing their welcome for the same reason, it is said, they were originally forced out of Jackson County in the first place. Finally, on June 29, 1836, the “gentiles” of Clay County told the Mormons to leave or they would commence a civil war against them. Because of this, in December of 1836, the Governor of Missouri created Caldwell County as a refuge for the Mormons. It seems fairly obvious that September 11^th is not only a significant date in Mormon lore, it also always seems to be associated with planned attacks against the “gentiles” of America. And, September 11^th, 1857, the date of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, is just a third reference to armed attacks by Mormons against “gentiles” on September the 11^th.

If you read “Wikipedia’s” explanation of the ”Utah War” on the Internet, you’ll see that the “Utah War” is playfully referred to as “Buchanan’s blunder”, and there is a trite discussion regarding what an expensive mistake it was for the U.S. Government to wage the ”Utah War”. It goes on to state that the ”Utah War” pitted approximately one-third of the U.S. military against, “...what was arguably the nation’s largest and most experienced militia.” This is a referral to Smith’s “Nauvoo Legion”, which he originally formed in Nauvoo in the 1840’s as a means of overthrowing the U.S. Government, but was now in the Utah Territory. It also might not be too hard to imagine what media group wrote this version of history. The Congressional Record at this time also records the serious discussions being held in Congress at the time, which referred to the growing “Mormon insurrection”, and documented how the Mormons of Utah seemed to be acting like anything other than patriotic American citizens. Just like the altered history that surrounds Smith’s death at the Carthage jail, “Wikipedia” implies that the “Mormon Army” might have actually presented some kind of actual military threat to the U.S. Cavalry. But, in actuality there weren’t any battles at all, the Mormons simply employed “terrorist tactics” to impede the U.S. Army’s passage into the Salt Lake basin and to delay conflict altogether.

Regardless of this apparent modern-day bluster, the Deseret Mormons of 1857 feared annihilation and surrendered before the United States Cavalry could even gain entrance into the Salt Lake Valley. So, the “Utah War” consisted only of a few isolated skirmishes by outgunned and outmanned Mormon insurgents who were trying to delay the advancing U.S. Military by using terrorist tactics. A total of approximately 30 men died on both sides of the conflict. However, if the 120 civilian members of the Mountain Meadows Massacre are included, the total rises to approximately 150 people. The Mormons ultimately capitulated to the removal of Brigham Young as Territorial Governor and Superintendent of Indian affairs, but Young was still the Mormon prophet and the President of Deseret. President Buchanan ultimately replaced Young with Alfred Cumming, who the Mormons completely sabotaged and ignored, and even made jokes about how they “left him sorely alone”. As President of Deseret, a Mormon theocracy, Young had also replaced the Judeo-Christian laws of man with Mormon Law, which is also God’s law. And, Cumming’s primary responsibility at the time was to infuse Christian American Democracy back into the Utah territory. Interestingly, Young had a contingency plan to relocate the entire Mormon religion to Northern Arizona if Salt Lake were to ever be “occupied” by the U.S. Army.

Every time I turned another page, “The Book” provided me with some new and amazing revelation, and every new revelation seemed to be more incredible than the last. The book was so fantastic, it was almost like reading science fiction, but I knew everything was real, which just made everything even more incredible. My new perspective on “American history” also began providing me with an enhanced understanding of the politics and culture of Arizona, and the entire southwest. But, a dilemma also began to emerge. It seemed apparent that maybe the Mormons didn’t even know their own history, which is why they seemed to propagate a history that wasn’t true. Or, could it be the Mormons did know their true history, which motivated them to purposely propagate a history that was not true? Ultimately, I greedily consumed all of the dark revelations that “The book” offered me, which also seems to have coincided with the beginning of my struggle for Constitutional freedom in America. Because of what I accidentally found, this religion first tried to bribe me, and then began harassing and trying to intimidate me. Because of these actions, I began to believe that they did know everything I knew, and were desperately trying to hide the ugly truth. Regardless, just like I was programmed to do, I wrote my research paper, including full bibliographies, and presented my research paper to an entire class of multigenerational Mormon youth.

A few days before our research papers were due, the instructor made a surprise announcement that all of our research papers were to be presented in class. I remember this seem to cause some minor consternation on my part, but I figured the truth was the truth, so what the heck! And, on the last day of the semester, I stood in front of class and presented the previously unknown violent history of the Mormon religion to a class of multigenerational Mormon scions my own age, and an instructor who was also bishop in this religion. I’ll never forget the look on everyone’s faces as I presented my research, they all just sat and stared in stony silence with their mouths agape. I expected to be stopped at any moment, but to my surprise, the instructor let me present the entire body of my research without interruption. After completing my presentation, I sat and listened to the students who presented after me. And, when the bell rang I stood up, walked over to the instructor and handed him my paper, with full bibliographies. Then, without a word I exited the stuffy confines of the Mormon “Institute” and stepped into the warmth of the spring sun, and also suddenly felt like a free man. I was ecstatic about no longer having any ties to this strange religion, or so it would seem at the time. I was so focused on moving forward with my new life that, later on that summer, I even threw away the only other copy of my research paper, with full bibliographies.