27 Oct Mormon Extermination Order

Yes, but there is a prophecy by Joseph Smith that is recorded by church historian B.H. Roberts many years later. Roberts’ essay on this point is published in front of one of the seven volumes of church history. Joseph Smith essentially prophesied that the state of Missouri would be a bloodbath and that those who persecuted the saints would have the same happen to them ten fold or a hundred fold. I don’t remember the exact quote. This prophecy was realized during the US Civil War 1861-1865. The worst and most brutal carnage and destruction; the result of severe guerrilla warfare was waged in the state of Missouri. So, I don’t really dwell on the extermination order, knowing that vengeance is the Lord’s, and he took care of it just as the Prophet Joseph Smith prophesied. Nevertheless, it was a terrible episode in the church’s history from the insider’s perspective.

I often see or hear this “fullfillment” of prophecy but I wonder how valid it is. Is it quantifiable? I think the people of Georgia might also disagree with it.

I really appreciated MH’s chronology above. I realize just how little I know about Church history since the Church sources are not all that reliable.

Besides “Rough Stone Rolling” all of this is in Leonard Arrington’s “The Mormon Experience” and James Allen’s “The Story of the Latter-day Saints”. They were published when Arrington was the church historian and Allen’s history was published by Deseret Book. It my not be part of the four year cycle of gospel doctrine lessons but nobody’s suppressing it, either. I don’t fault church curriculum for not being complete on church history. It’s not written by historians but by educators that want to find faith promoting messages and meaning in past events. Church history interesting to me and helps me be a bit more grounded about the people and events that often get turned into myths.