Peace & Violence in Latter-day Saint History
3 Episodes
One narrative about religion, including Latter-day Saint religion, is that it leads to violence. This view was forwarded by the best-selling book, Under the Banner of Heaven, written by atheist Jon Krakauer, and the TV show by the same name. But is it true? Does faith in general, and the faith of the Latter-day Saints in particular, lend itself to acts of aggression and violence? What does reflecting on our Church’s history—and specifically the violent episodes of our history—teach us about this important question?
Art Credit: Image by Scripture Central, adapted from image by Jesús Esteban San José from Pexels
Episodes
Episode 1
Does Religion Make People More Violent?
Did you know that one of the best-selling books in Latter-day Saint history on Amazon.com was not written by a Latter-day Saint or a historian? It was a controversial book written by atheist Jon Krakauer in 2003 titled, Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, which still tops the Amazon charts (in Kindle releases) in the category “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” And an adaptation of the book was released as a mini-series in 2022. One of the major …
62 Min
Episode 2
The First Violence Against Latter-day Saints
In the late summer of 1831, select groups of Church members began settling on the far western frontier of the United States in Jackson County, Missouri. Earlier that year the prophet Joseph Smith had received a revelation identifying the area as “the land of promise” and “the place for the city of Zion,” and shortly afterward the gathering to Zion had begun. Tensions between Church members and the non-Latter-day Saint locals in Jackson County …
57 Min
Episode 3
Was Zion's Camp Violent?
In November 1833, ruthless mobs of local settlers drove over a thousand Church members out of Jackson County, Missouri, plundering their property and burning their homes to dissuade them from ever returning. These battered and scattered saints took refuge that winter in various nearby counties while local Church leaders sent desperate letters to Ohio to seek the counsel of the prophet Joseph Smith. As the prophet petitioned the Lord’s guidance on the matter he was told …
65 Min
Episode 4
The Contested Reorganization of the First Presidency in 1847
Shortly after the Nauvoo Saints voted on August 8, 1844 to sustain the Twelve Apostles as the new leaders of Church, Sidney Rigdon was excommunicated (for reasons we will discuss in this episode). Then for more than three years, between 1844 and 1847, Brigham Young and the Twelve led the Church as a group of equals. Together they oversaw the completion of the Nauvoo temple and organized an exodus out of the United States. Yet after leading a vanguard company to …
77 Min
Episode 5
The Two Orsons and the Question of Succession
Who is next in line to become the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Today this is not a difficult question. It is well understood that whoever is the next most senior apostle to the current Church president will be the next president, should he live long enough. The singular issue is seniority. It all boils down to seniority. So, what determines seniority among the apostles? Again, today there is a ready answer to this question. But it was not always so. In fact, in …
70 Min
Episode 6
A Young Apostle Questions Succession By Seniority
From the history we’ve covered in this series so far, we know that the succession plan of having the most senior apostle become the next Church president took time to develop and wasn’t fully fleshed out in Joseph Smith’s lifetime. In fact, it was during the decades of President Brigham Young’s presidency that this plan was ultimately finalized … well, mostly. It turns out that prior to President John Taylor’s death, there was one young apostle who challenged this plan of succession one last time. …
67 Min
Episode 7
What If the Church President Can't Serve Due to Poor Health?
Between the presidencies of Lorenzo Snow in 1898 and Russell M. Nelson today, there have been a few key clarifications relative to the inner workings of Church government at the level of the Church presidency. And on this episode of Church History Matters we want to talk about them! The first of these clarifications deals with the confusion introduced during Joseph F. Smith’s presidency surrounding the role and position of the presiding Church Patriarch within the Church’s hierarchy. The second is …
58 Min
Episode 8
What If All the Apostles Died At Once? Succession Q&R with Dr. Daniel C. Peterson
In the unlikely event that the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve all died simultaneously, how would that affect succession? In this hypothetical worst-case scenario, would the keys of the kingdom be lost? And, if an apostle came down with a debilitating health problem, is there any precedent for making him an emeritus apostle? And speaking of apostles, is there a set procedure in calling them, or does the method vary from Church president to president? Also, sometimes …