Danite

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This article is about the Mormon group. "Danite" can also refer to a member of the Tribe of Dan.

The Danites were a fraternal organization founded by Latter Day Saints in June of 1838, at Far West in Caldwell County, Missouri. During their brief period of formal organization in Missouri, the Danites operated as a vigilante group and took a central role in the events of the Mormon War. The exact nature and scope of the organization, and its connection to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a matter of some dispute among historians.

In 1834, during the march of Zion's Camp, Joseph Smith created a militia known as the "Armies of Israel" to protect his community; this group was also called the Danites. After the Mormon War of 1838, the term "Danite" was often connected with any Latter Day Saint militantism, including the Nauvoo police, the body guards of Joseph Smith, Jr., the "Whistling and Whittling Brigades," and Brigham Young's so-called "Destroying Angels" or "Avenging Angels." Although some members of these later groups had been Danites in the Missouri period, the leadership of the 1838 secret society, particularly Sampson Avard, was not associated with the leadership of the peace-keeping militias using the same name.

Contents

[edit] Background

Prior to 1838, the Latter Day Saint movement had two centers — one in Kirtland, Ohio and the other in northwestern Missouri. The headquarters and First Presidency of the church were in Kirtland, while the Missouri church was led by a Stake Presidency made up of David Whitmer, William Wines Phelps, and John Whitmer. In 1836, John Whitmer and Phelps founded the town of Far West, Missouri, which became the headquarters of the church in Missouri. Throughout 1837, the church in Kirtland was torn apart due to conflicts over the failure of the church's Kirtland Safety Society Bank. Ultimately, Joseph Smith, Jr. and Sidney Rigdon of the First Presidency lost control of the headquarters, including the Kirtland Temple, to dissenters led by Warren Parish, who had once stormed the temple armed with pistols and knives. Relocating to Far West in April of 1838, Smith and Rigdon were determined not to similarly lose Far West to dissenters.

In Missouri, financial disagreements had likewise created a dissenting group. The Missouri presidency stood accused of mismanaging church funds intended for the purchase of Missouri lands on which Latter Day Saints could settle. Thomas B. Marsh led a series of church courts, which released from office and ultimately disfellowshipped the presidency and their key supporters. However, these men and their families — who became known as dissenters — continued to live in Caldwell County but refused to do anything to help the saints protect themselves against the attacking mobs. The legal situation concerning the property they had purchased in their names — some of it on behalf of the church, some for their own use — was unclear. When leaders of the community at Far West attempted to claim some of the property for use by the onslaught of incoming converts, the dissenters filed lawsuits to retain possession of all the land and spoke out against the First Presidency (Anderson, pp. 61-64).

[edit] Early Organization

In June of 1838, a group of zealous Mormons began meeting together in Far West under the leadership of Sampson Avard, Jared Carter, and George W. Robinson to discuss the problem of the dissenters (Baugh, p. 36). The group organized under the name "The Daughters of Zion," but they soon became known as the "Sons of Dan."

Some have thought that Avard, named after the great Biblical figure Samson---who was of the tribe of Dan, chose the name to reflect the dramatic retaliations by his namesake hero upon the enemies of the Children of Israel.

Others feel that the group was simply named after the warrior tribe of Israel, whose name means "God will judge." Though initially a very unremarkable tribe, unable to conquer most of their assigned tribal area, the Book of Judges tells how a small group of 600 warriors from the tribe of Dan marched on the large, foreign city of Laish and conquered it (Judges 18).

Another view is that the "Danites" is a reference to a Biblical prophecy found in the Book of Daniel (7:18). According to Albert P. Rockwood, a loyal Mormon writing in October of 1838:

"The Companies are called Danites because the Prophet Daniel has said that the Saints shall take the kingdom and possess it forever" (Jesse and Whittaker, p. 23).

Thomas B. Marsh, former President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was excommunicated when he continued to support claims made by him and his wife involving an arrangement to share milk and cream with others. As a dissenter, he made claims against the growing church. He used the fact that he had been present at many Danite meetings to attempt to bring validity to his claim that the Danites swore oaths "to support the heads of the church in all things that they say or do, whether right or wrong" (Document, p. 58). The newly formed band disagreed initially on what steps to take against the dissenters. Reed Peck, another bitter ex-Mormon, alleged that Jared Carter and Dimick B. Huntington proposed that the group "kill these men that they would not be capable of injuring the church" (Peck, p. 22). John Corrill and Thomas B. Marsh (while still a practicing Mormon), however, were able to argue strongly against the proposal.

John Corrill recalled that "the first presidency did not seem to have much to do with [the Danites] at first," some of the Danites clearly saw this sermon as a sign of approval (Corrill, p. 31). The matter was tabled until the following Sunday when Sidney Rigdon preached his Salt Sermon, in which he likened the dissenters to "salt that had lost its savor." He went on to state that the dissenters would be "trodden under the foot of men" (Van Wagoner, p. 218). Ironically, Sidney Rigdon soon after left the church and began persecuting the Mormons himself.

[edit] The Danite Manifesto

Ebenezer Robinson (who remained with the church after 1838), recalled that the next day a letter was "gotten up in the office of the First Presidency" (Quinn, p. 94), which Danite leader Sampson Avard later charged was written by Sidney Rigdon (Document, p. 102). The letter was addressed specifically to the principal dissenters: Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, John Whitmer, William Wines Phelps, and Lyman E. Johnson. It made several accusations concerning the actions and character of these dissenters and then stated:

"We have solemnly warned you, and that in the most determined manner, that if you do not cease that course of wanton abuse of the citizens of this county, that vengeance would overtake you sooner or later, and that when it did come it would be as furious as the mountain torrent, and as terrible as the beating tempest; but you have affected to dispise our warnings, and pass them off with a sneer, or a grin, or a threat, and pursued your former course; and vengeance sleepeth not, neither does it slumber; and unless you heed us this time, and attend to our request, it will overtake you at an hour when you do not expect, and at a day when you do not look for it; and for you there shall be no escape; for there is but one decree for you, which is depart, depart, or a more fatal calamity shall befall you" (Document, pp. 103-106).

The letter — the so-called "Danite Manifesto" — displayed the signatures of eighty-three Mormons, including that of Joseph Smith's brother, and fellow member of the First Presidency, Hyrum. Hyrum's personal involvement with the Danites, however, is questionable. Robinson later claimed that all of the signers were Danites (Quinn, p. 94).

The letter had the desired effect and the few named dissenters quickly fled the county, relocating to Liberty and Richmond in neighboring Clay and Ray counties. Despite the harsh treatment of the few vocal dissidents, a dozen others were permitted to peacefully remain in the community. One of the expelled dissenters, John Whitmer, claimed that they had been "driven from their homes" and robbed "of all their goods save clothing & bedding &c." (John Whitmer, p. 184). Reed Peck agreed, asserting that "the claims by which this property was taken from these men were unjust and perhaps without foundation cannot be doubted by any unprejudiced person acquainted with all parties and circumstances" (Peck, p. 28).

Joseph Smith (who denied any direct involvement with the Danites) noted in his journal that the dissenters "took warning and soon they were seen bounding over the prairie like the scape Goat to carry of[f] their own sins" (Faulring, p. 187). According to the critic Peck, Sidney Rigdon likewise approved, even asserting that the Mormons were within their rights to expel an undesirable minority from their midst, saying that:

"When a country, or body of people have individuals among them with whom they do not wish to associate and a public expression is taken against their remaining among them and such individuals do not remove it is the principle of republicanism itself that gives that community a right to expel them forcibly and no law will prevent it" (Peck, p. 33).

Nevertheless, dissenters whose actions did not threaten the lives of the Latter-day Saints were permitted to stay.

[edit] Expanded Roles of the Armies of Israel, and the Mormon War

Joseph Smith soon took action against Avard in the name of the church, removing him from all military duties and establishing him as a surgeon to help with the wounded; Avard mentions this demotion himself (Document, p. 99). With the opposition leaders ousted and the mob violence increasing, the sanctioned Danite group took on three additional primary functions, (1) enforcement of the Law of Consecration, (2) political activities, and (3) militia activities (see Anderson, pp. 28-30, 34-35, 61-64, Johnson pp. 42, Baugh, pp. 37-40).

Joseph Smith outlined some of the expanded roles in his journal on July 27, 1838:

"Thus far, according to the order of the Danites. We have a company of Danites in these times, to put to right physically that which is not right, and to cleanse the Church of every great evil which has hitherto existed among us inasmuch as they cannot be put to right by teachings and persuasyons [sic]. This company or a part of them exhibited on the fourth day of July [—] They come up to consecrate, by companies of tens, commanded by their captains over ten" (Faulring, p. 198).

[edit] Danites as Enforcers

The Law of Consecration was a commandment given to the church to establish a kind of communitarian program, similar to that order established in the Book of Acts ch. 5, whereby the saints were to give or "consecrate all their money and property to the Church" and lease it back, so that the church could purchase lands for settlement by the destitute converts continually pouring into northwestern Missouri. Corrill recalled that "shortly after the Danites became organized, they set out to enforce the Law of Consecration, but this did not amount to much" (Corrill, p. 46, see also Lee, pp. 64-66).

In the realm of politics, the Danites were called upon to distribute tickets containing the names of candidates approved by the Presidency for the election which was held on August 6. Church leader John Corrill was the approved candidate and consequently won election to the Missouri House of Representatives, but he conceded, "Many saw that it was taking unfair advantage of the election and were extremely dissatisfied" (Corrill, p. 33). A second outpost of Danites had been organized in Daviess County under the leadership of Lyman Wight, who was also a colonel in the state militia. The Danites in Daviess County took part in the Gallatin Election Day Battle, when a group of non-Mormons attempted to prevent any Mormons from voting (Lee, pp. 60-63).

[edit] Danites as a Militia

On July 4, 1838, the Latter Day Saints in Far West held a large Independence Day celebration. As part of the celebration, a military review was held in which both the Mormons of the legal Caldwell County militia (led by Colonel George M. Hinkle), and the Danites (led by Jared Carter, Sampson Avard and Cornelius P. Lott) paraded (Baugh, p. 45, see Elders' Journal Aug. 1838). The key-note address came from church spokesman, Sidney Rigdon, who gave an oration, sometimes referred to as the Mormons' "Declaration of Independence" from the "persecution of mobs." In it, Rigdon controversially announced:

"And that mob that comes on us to disturb us, 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, for we will carry the seat of war to their own houses and their own families, and one party or the other shall be utterly destroyed..." (Van Wagoner, p. )

Although the First Presidency was generally pleased with the speech and had copies printed and distributed, Brigham Young later recalled that it was "the prime cause of our troubles in Missouri" (Times and Seasons, Oct. 1844).

[edit] Danites and the Daviess Expedition

The new policy of an "aggressive defense against mobs" was put into practice in Daviess County when a group of non-Mormon vigilantes, primarily from Clinton and Platte counties, began to harass Mormons in outlying areas. The vigilantes hoped to drive the Mormons from the county through a policy of intimidation, the burning of isolated homes, and the plundering of property. Seeing the mob violence as a repeat of the nightmares they went through in Independence, Missouri a half-dozen years earlier, the Latter Day Saints requested assistance from state authorities, with little success. On October 18, Joseph Smith called for the assistance of all men who could participate; elements of the Caldwell militia, as well as some of the Danites and their secret oaths of vengeance, gathered at Adam-ondi-Ahman, the saints' headquarters in Daviess County. From there, Apostle David W. Patten led raiding parties against the settlements of Gallatin, Millport, and Grindstone Forks. The cannon with which the mob had promised to attack Far West was found buried in the ground, and the towns were basically deserted; remaining non-Mormons were expelled, and some stores and homes were burned. Additionally, the property left by the fleeing mobs was "consecrated" by the raiding parties and brought back to the bishop's store house in Adam-ondi-Ahman (see Mormon War). These actions caused Apostles Thomas B. Marsh and Orson Hyde to dissent after this incident. They travelled to Richmond and swore out an affidavit replete with falsehoods concerning the existence of the Danites, and spread rumors that a Danite "destroying company" had been set up with instructions to burn Richmond and Liberty (Document, pp. 57-59).

[edit] Background of the Danites and the Battle of Crooked River

1838 saw an escalation in tensions between the members of the Latter Day Saint church and their neighbors in northwestern Missouri. Ray County was located immediately south of the Mormon Caldwell County. The two counties were separated by a no man's land 6 miles wide and 1 mile high, known as "Bunkham's Strip" or "Buncombe Strip." This unincorporated strip was attached to Ray County for administrative and military purposes. The citizens of Ray County and their neighbors to the west in Clay County, first began to have concerns about the Mormons to the north when a group of "dissenters" from the church was expelled from Caldwell County. These dissenters, including David Whitmer, W.W. Phelps, John Whitmer and Oliver Cowdery had been the leaders of the Latter Day Saint church in Missouri. They relocated their families to Richmond and Liberty, the county seats of Ray and Clay, respectively, and claimed that their lives had been threatened and their property had been stolen by the Mormons (Peck, pp. 27-28).

Conflicts between the Mormons and non-Mormons in Carroll County and Daviess County throughout the summer put settlers in the more settled counties of Ray and Clay increasingly on edge. This unease reached a bursting point when further dissenters, Thomas B. Marsh and Orson Hyde of the Mormon Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, arrived in Richmond and reported that the Mormons had invaded Daviess County and sacked the county seat of Gallatin. They also charged that a Mormon group known as the Danites planned to burn Richmond and Liberty to the ground. This testimony sent the worried citizens into a near frenzy. Women, children and property were ferried across the Missouri River for protection against an imminent Mormon invasion, and the state militia was put on alert.

[edit] Lead Up to the Battle

General David R. Atchison, of Clay County, commander of the state militia in northwestern Missouri ordered a company led by Captain Samuel Bogart of Clay County to patrol Bunkham's strip to "prevent, if possible, any invasion of Ray county by persons in arms whatever" (Document, p. 108). Bogart was not necessarily the best man for the job. According to Peter Burnett, a resident of Liberty, "Captain Bogard was not a very discreet man, and his men were of much the same character."[1] Bogart had previously participated in a vigilante group that harried the Mormons in Carroll County.

Bogart quickly exceeded his orders. He and his men began visiting the homes of Latter Day Saints living in Bunkham's Strip, forcibly disarming them and ordering them to leave Ray County. Bogart then apparently penetrated into Caldwell County and began to similarly harass Mormons there, advising them to remove to Far West, the county seat (Baugh, p. 100). Returning to Ray County, his men captured three Mormons — Nathan Pinkham, Jr., William Seely, and Addison Green — who may have been acting as scouts against a potential invasion from Ray County.

Exaggerated reports quickly made it to Far West to the effect that a "mob" had captured and intended to execute a group of Mormon prisoners. The Mormons immediately assembled an armed rescue party. Although Colonel George M. Hinkle, head of the official Caldwell County militia was available, Joseph Smith placed Apostle David W. Patten in charge of the force (Document, p. 127). Patten, who had come to be known as "Captain Fear-not," for his part in the attacks in Daviess County, was apparently a leader in the Danite organization, and the choice of him over Hinkle may indicate the rescue was planned as an unofficial excursion. The Mormon force quickly moved south along the main road connecting Far West and Richmond.

[edit] The Battle

On the night of October 24, 1838, Captain Bogart's unit had camped along the banks of Crooked River in Bunkham's Strip. Patten and the Mormon rescue company approached from the north along the main road. At daybreak on the 25th, the Mormons encountered the militia's sentries. A brief firefight ensued with each side testifying that the other had fired first (Baugh, p. 103). One of the sentries, John Lockhart, shot Patrick Obanion, the Mormons' scout. Obanion later died from this wound. Lockhart and the other guards then fled down the hill to the militia camp which took up a defensive position (Document, p. 142).

The Mormon company approached the camp of the Ray militia and formed a battle line in three columns, led by David W. Patten, Charles C. Rich, and Patrick Durfee. Rich later recalled that soon after the Mormons had formed their lines, the militia "fired upon us with all their guns" (Baugh, p. 104). A general firefight commenced, but the militia were situated behind the riverbank and held the strategically superior position. Patten decided to charge the militia position, shouting the Mormon battle cry of "God and Liberty!" The Missourians were without swords and so broke their lines and fled across the river in all directions. During the retreat, the Mormons continued to fire and one of the militiamen, Moses Rowland, was killed.

During his charge, however, Patten was shot and mortally wounded. Ebenezer Robinson recalled that Patten had been "brave to a fault, so much so that he was styled and called 'Captain Fearnought'" (Baugh, p. 104). Although it was not immediately realized, Gideon Carter had also been killed, making a total of three Mormon fatalities and one militiaman fatality. The Mormons collected their wounded as well as the baggage Bogart's unit had left in the camp and made their way back to Far West.[2]

[edit] Aftermath

Although the battle resulted in only four fatalities, the effect was a massive escalation of the Mormon War. Exaggerated reports (some claiming that half of Bogart's men had been lost) made their way to Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs who responded by calling out 2,500 state militiamen to put down what he perceived to be open rebellion by the Mormons. In the end, the leaders of the church were captured and the bulk of the membership were forced to leave the state.

Thousands of Latter Day Saints had flowed into Missouri in just a few years; they were against slavery and voted as a bloc. This led to the unease and the mob action against the Saints; Sidney Rigdon fueled the fire with his July 4 speech. The state of Missouri considered the Mormons to be the aggressors in the war, and after the destitute saints were forced to flee to Illinois, their homes in Far West and Adam-ondi-Ahman were occupied by the mob. A large number of church leaders, including Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Hyrum Smith, Parley P. Pratt, and George W. Robinson were charged with many crimes including treason. It was during a preliminary hearing that Smith and the other defendants learned that Danite leader Sampson Avard had testified against them. As a result of the testimony, Judge Austin A. King of the Fifth Circuit of Missouri, ruled that there was sufficient evidence to hold Smith, Rigdon, and other leaders for trial Nevertheless, after waiting for six months in Liberty Jail for their trial, Smith and the others escaped and soon made their way to join the Latter Day Saints in Quincy, Illinois.

[edit] Scholarly Controversies concerning the Danites

There are many primary accounts of the Danites and their activities — from the recorded court testimony to numerous eye-witness and personal accounts — but these sources are often highly partisan and are occasionally contradictory. The existence of the Danites from June 1838 until the end of the Mormon War, and their participation in key events is well attested. However, scholars have some points of dispute, mainly concerning: (1) The extent of Danite membership among the Mormons, (2) the legitimacy of Avard's testimony concerning the Danites, and (3) Joseph's Smith and the church's relationship to the Danites.

[edit] Number of Danites

The two primary and opposing views concerning the extent of the Danite organization are represented by authors D. Michael Quinn and Alexander L. Baugh.

Quinn follows the affidavit of self-professed Danite John N. Sapp, who stated on Sept. 4, 1838, that the number of Danites was "betwixt eight and ten hundred men, well armed and equipped..." He also credits the testimony of another Danite, Anson Call, who claimed that "the whole of the Military Force" at Far West belonged to the Danite organization. Based on these and other statements, Quinn concludes that nearly the entire fighting force of some 900 Mormon men in Caldwell and Daviess counties had become Danites, and that by end of summer 1838, to be a member in full standing a Mormon must also have been a Danite.[3]

Baugh disagrees and argues that the Danites were always "a select group." He finds the testimony of John Corrill, who gave the total number of Danites at 300, more reliable than that of Sapp or Call.[citation needed]

[edit] Avard's Testimony

Sampson Avard became the star witness for the prosecution in the trial of Joseph Smith and other Mormon leaders. Many had been expected Avard to be the primary suspect, and his role as a witness was a surprise to both the Mormons and Missourians.[4] Avard testified that he considered "Joseph Smith, jr., as the prime mover and organizer of the Danite band" (Document, p. 97). He went on to record several pages of testimony in which he implicated Smith as the overall commander of the Daviess Expedition and other Danite vigilante activities. He also included a recitation of a Danite Constitution with 8 articles, specifying that the "executive power" of the Danite society would be "vested in the president of the whole church" (Document, p. 102).

Mormon historians question the accuracy of much of Avard's testimony. Some have pointed out that to avoid prosecution himself, he may have promised prosecutors that he could implicate Smith in the Danite organization.[5] As such, he might have deliberately over-emphasized or evenly falsely implicated Smith in some of the events. Some of the details Avard relates are unattested to or contradicted by other sources. For example, no one else makes any reference to the elaborate Danite constitution outlined by Avard.

It should also be noted that Smith condemned Avard publicly and in the official "History of the Church" (volume 3, pp. 179-181). According to Smith's account, Avard, then a new member to the church, formed a "secret combination," an allusion to nefarious alliances in the Book of Mormon. Smith further stated that Avard's prideful leadership and zeal prompted him to organize the group and that this occurred contrary to the will of Smith and the other heads of the LDS Church. According to this view, Avard illegitimately claimed to be the Lord's agent, and according to a quote Smith attributed to Avard, he wanted to profit from vigilantism by taking "spoils of the goods of ungodly Gentiles [non-Mormons]."[citation needed]

Smith also condemned Avard harshly, saying:

"When a knowledge of Avard's rascality came to the Presidency of the Church, he was cut off from the Church, and every means proper used to destroy his influence, at which he was highly incensed and went about whispering his evil insinuations, but finding every effort unavailing, he again turned conspirator, and sought to make friends with the mob."[citation needed]

Therefore, Joseph Smith, Jr. at least publicly condemned the organization and its founder, discouraging Latter-day saints from making any more vigilante groups, exhorting them to instead have groups strictly for "self defense, in case of an attack from the mob." Mob violence was an ongoing problem for the Latter Day Saints during this period, and in all likelihood the problem was enhanced by rumors about the Danites.

[edit] Relationship to Joseph Smith and the church

There are conflicting views concerning the connection between the Danites, the church, and Joseph Smith, Jr.. At the one extreme is the view that Smith was the prime mover in every aspect of the group's activities and at the other is the view that he had no connection whatsoever, save to condemn it. There are good reasons to discount both extreme positions, and identifying an accurate middle view remains a point of conflict among scholars.

As mentioned above, Sampson Avard claimed that Smith was the leader of the group and Smith claimed that Avard was the leader. Both views are backed up by additional testimony in the trial and also by first hand recollections of the participants.

Moses Clawson, John Corrill, Reed Peck, and others all named Avard as the head of the organization and George M. Hinkle testified that Joseph and Hyrum Smith never commanded any Danites in the field (Baugh, p. 41). Statements from other participants including Ebinezer Robinson (Quinn, p. 93), Morris Phelps (Document, pp. 109-110), and John D. Lee (Lee, p. 73), however, place Smith in a commanding role.

While it is clear that Smith was aware of the existence of the Danites and initially approved of certain Danite activities, his role in the creation of Avard's secret society (if any) and his involvement in its later actions depend on the emphasis given to different sources. It does seem clear, however, that after Avard's betrayal (and subsequent excommunication), Smith publicly condemned both Avard and the organization, which ceased to operate as a society.

[edit] Later Danite Connections and Folklore

While numerous rumors followed the Latter Day Saints in their later centers of settlement, there is little (if any) evidence for the continuing existence of the Danite society after 1838. However, even if they no longer acted as Danites, many prominent former Danites continued to occupy prominent roles in the church. For example, Lyman Wight who was expelled from Far West along with other dissenters, returned to the church and was ordained an Apostle of the Church three years after the events of the Mormon War in Missouri.

Other prominent former Danites continued to fulfill militant roles associated with the church. Hosea Stout, for example, became the chief of police in the new church headquarters of Nauvoo, Illinois. Under Brigham Young, Stout was made the head of the "Whistling and Whittling Brigade" — an extralegal group of young boys that peacefully followed strangers who would visit Nauvoo and made them nervous until they left. Another former Danite, Orrin Porter Rockwell, became a body guard to Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, and later to Brigham Young. In Utah, Rockwell gained fame as one of Young's so-called "Destroying Angels."

Former Danite John D. Lee was one of the leaders of the Mormon militia in southern Utah that participated in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Lee's lengthy confessional autobiography describes the operations of the Danites in Missouri, but makes no indication of any continuing existence of the organization (see John Doyle Lee, Mormonism Unveiled: The Life & Confessions of John D. Lee).

Although many former Danites may have continued to perform in militia capacity during the years following 1838, nothing indicates that they did so as members of a continuing or reorganized Danite society like the one set up by Avard. Nevertheless, numerous accounts of the "Danites" and their supposed atrocities continued to be a part of Mormon and general folklore. A particularly famous example is Arthur Conan Doyle's fictionalization of the Danites in "A Study in Scarlet," the first Sherlock Holmes story, published in 1887. In the story, the Danites constitute a rather brutal group of enforcing vigilantes operating under the direction of Brigham Young---and more particularly the fictional Sacred Council of Four, silencing criticism and questioning, and preventing dissenters from leaving the Salt Lake Valley. Though recognized now as an obvious embellishment of the fabrications of the activities of the original Missouri band---transplanted to the "wild west," the notoriety of Rockwell and stories & rumors of others of Young's Avenging Angels made acceptance of the "authoritative" Sherlock story a simple matter for English readers.

[edit] Rumors of "Danites" practicing "blood atonement"

Remarks made by Brigham Young and Jedediah M. Grant during the Mormon Reformation of 1856 led to speculation that a doctrine called "blood atonement" had been put into practice. Many of these rumors associated the alleged practice with Danites, despite the lack of evidence that the group existed beyond the time that it was disbanded in Missouri. Any Mormon militarism or unexplained murder in Utah was attributed to the mysterious "Danites." Brigham Young commented on these rumors in a sermon given on April 7, 1867:

Is there war in our religion? No; neither war nor bloodshed. Yet our enemies cry out "bloodshed," and "oh, what dreadful men these Mormons are, and those Danites! how they slay and kill!" Such is all nonsense and folly in the extreme. The wicked slay the wicked, and they will lay it on the Saints.[6]

[edit] References to Danites in modern works

A number of modern authors make references to "Danites" as a shadowy, secret group who terrorized 19th century Utah. These references often appear in works critical of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and rumors of "Danites" practicing some form of "blood atonement" often plays a significant role in these accounts.

In her book Leaving the Saints, Martha Beck postulates the existence of a "Danite" band "disposing" of people who opposed Brigham Young:

Brigham Young formalized and anointed these assassins as the Danites, whose mission included espionage, suppression of information, and quietly, permanently disposing of people who threatened the Mormon prophet or the Latter-day Saint organization. Again, not many Mormons know this detail of Church history, but every now and then, Utah papers record murders with uniquely Mormon flavoring (death by temple-sanctioned methods, for example), and the word that goes out on the Latter-day grapevine is Danite.[7]

Sally Denton, in her book American Massacre, claims that the Danites and "blood atonement" had a prominent role in 19th century Utah society. Denton attributes the creation of the Danites to Joseph Smith as his “secret group of loyalists” and suggests that they became “one of the most legendarily feared bands in frontier America.” According to Denton, this “consecrated, clandestine unit of divinely inspired assassins” introduced “the ritualized form of murder called blood atonement-providing the victim with eternal salvation by slitting his throat.”[8] Denton claims that “blood atonement” was one of the doctrines which Mormons held “most sacred” and that “[t]hose who dared to flee Zion were hunted down and killed.” [9] Denton implies that large numbers of such “atonements” occurred during the Mormon reformation of 1856, although “none of the crimes were ever reported in the Deseret News," and that the “bloody regime…ended with [Jedediah] Grant’s sudden death, on December 1, 1856.” [10]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ LeSueur 1990, p. 132
  2. ^ LeSueur 1990, pp. 141-42
  3. ^ Quinn 1994, pp. 102-03
  4. ^ Lesueur 1986, p. 6
  5. ^ Lesueur 1986, p. 13
  6. ^ Young 1867, p. 30
  7. ^ Beck 2005, p. 190 LDS scholars note a contradiction between the existence of a "Latter-day grapevine" that is aware of "Danites" and the statement that "not many Mormons know this detail of Church history"
  8. ^ Denton 2003, p. 16
  9. ^ Denton 2003, p. 70, 106
  10. ^ Denton 2003, p. 106

[edit] References

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