And if any nation, tongue, or people, should proclaim war against them, they should first

lift a standard of peace unto that people, nation, or tongue. Doctrine and Covenants, section 98, verse 34.

Hey listeners, this is Nick from Book of Mormon Central, and today's podcast addresses the question,

why were violent acts like the Mountain Meadows massacre committed by Latter-day Saints?

In September 1857, a wagon company from Arkansas that was passing through southern Utah on its way to California

was attacked, and eventually every member of the company, except 17 young children, was slaughtered

by Latter-day Saints at a place called Mountain Meadows. This tragic and senseless act of violence

was inexcusable and contrary to the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Some have tried to use this event as evidence that Latter-day Saints are violent people,

or that our faith tradition is inherently violent. The truth is much more complicated.

Violence is, tragically, an all-too common part of mortal life in this fallen world.

Recent years alone have witnessed riots, mass shootings, and war.

Such violence is endemic to the human condition.

Too often, regular people get swept up in the heat of a moment,

and a specific set of conditions leads typically good people to commit unspeakable acts of violence.

Regrettably, Latter-day Saints have not been immune to this common human problem.

Violence was an especially prevalent reality on the American frontier in the 19th century,

where it was often directed toward minority groups, including religious

minorities, who were unfairly perceived as the source of various social ills. As such,

Latter-day Saints were regularly victims of violence in the 1830s and 40s. Incidents like the Hans-Mille

Massacre, which was set amid the violent expulsion of

Latter-day Saints from Missouri, and the latter martyrdom of Joseph and Hiram Smith,

...