Black Pete, as he was known, was born in 1775 in western Pennsylvania.  (Staker speculates that his last name may have been Carroll, but it is unclear.)  Pete’s owner John Kerr stipulated that Pete would be freed 10 years after Kerr’s death, so Pete was freed at the age of 29.  Pete continued to work for the Kerrs, as well as the Carrel family.  The two families later moved to Ohio (near Kirtland), and Pete moved with them.  About 1820, Black Pete associated with Sidney Rigdon and the Reformed Baptist movement.

It is believed that Black Pete’s mother Kino came from the Slave Coast of Africa, which includes the modern day countries of Guinea, Mali, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Liberia, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau.  Staker says she was probably a Muslim, and probably was brought to America in the 1750s-1760s time frame.  Pete was immersed  in many of these ecstatic religious experiences of the time.

Slaves in America developed their own kind of religious worship by combining elements of Muslim worship, Christianity, and Native American influences.  Slaves often practiced ecstatic religious expressions such as speaking in tongues and dancing, and other expressions, sometimes known as the “slave shout.”  Many of these practices became part of the Second Great Awakening in America and were adopted by white communities as well, including Methodist and later Mormon religious services.

In late October 1830, Joseph Smith received a revelation that Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer, Parley Pratt, and Ziba Peterson were to go on a mission.  They met Sidney Rigdon in Mentor, Ohio; Rigdon initially was quite unreceptive to the missionaries message.  The missionaries continued on to Kirtland, and found that they were much more successful there.  One of the first converts in Kirtland was the Morley family, and this led to many other baptisms in Kirtland.  Rigdon came to the Morley farm to perform a wedding on November 4, and was a bit more receptive to the missionaries.  On November 8, Sidney and his wife Phoebe were baptized, and Sidney abandoned his role as a minister for the Baptist Church.

The missionaries soon headed south to Cincinnati, leaving the early church members with no real leadership. Staker discusses how Black Pete was one of the citizens that filled the vacuum on pages 64-65.

Black Pete had lived on the Whitney property during their communal experiment and may have continued to do so for a time.  He became a central figure in the new religious community by early December.  The typical pattern for slaves’ conversion to various Christian congregations was through “a radical encounter with spiritual beings” as they sought divine manifestations from the spiritual world.⁸⁵ It seems probable that Black Pete, as a “revelator” in the new religious community, would have built on the ecstatic religious world he knew well.  Because he left no written records, his beliefs and role in the movement can be glimpsed only through the eyes of others as his involvement intensified that winter.

Short lists of those who were ordained and commissioned to preach after their baptism never included Black Pete.  However, the men who wrote about their baptisms note they were also ordained and commissioned as part of their conversion process, and many of the early converts were not included in lists of commissioned preachers, leaving Black Pete’s authority to preach and baptize uncertain.  As part of Kirtland’s ecstatic religious experiences, a number of the men received “letters” that fell from heaven which were copied onto paper before the original letter disappeared.  Black Pete was among those who received one of these letters, his delivered by a black angel.  Because the letters were apparently divine commissions to travel the countryside and preaching and baptizing and because Black Pete was among those who went about the country preaching, it is likely he also performed baptisms during January of 1831.  Careful studies of the relationship between black members and priesthood ordination confirm that some early black members were ordained to the priesthood well after Black Pete’s conversion.⁸⁶ Although the beginning date for a priesthood ban on black members is not firmly established, it is clear that during Black Pete’s period of involvement in early Latter-day Saint history, there were no priesthood restrictions on black members.  Black Pete may well have acted in his role as Book of Mormon preacher in an authorized capacity.  Nevertheless, the newly founded religious movement in Ohio quickly looked to Black Pete for direction; and as this small Church of Christ spread, it seemed to take on a life of its own.

Following his conversion to Mormonism, Staker notes that Pete went with some missionaries (probably Levi Hancock, Edson Fuller, and Heman Bassett) to the shores of Lake Erie in Astabula County.  On February 5, 1831, the Ashtabula Journal “identified Black Pete as a leader in this new religion, suggesting that the group of young men recognized him as their chief source of influence.”  The footnote references “The Golden Bible or the Book of Mormon,” Ashtabula Journal, 3, no. 10 (February 5, 1831):  Levi Hancock in later years became a close friend of black Latter-day Saint Elijah Abel and took special note of blacks in his writings.

In chapter 8, Staker describes many examples of ecstatic religious experiences in the “Mormonite” community in Kirtland.  Of course, may members and non-members were uneasy about the practices.  Sidney Rigdon and Edward Partridge went to New York to meet Joseph Smith, arriving in January 1831.  Joseph quickly sent John Whitmer to preside over the branch.  The missionaries returned in March 1831 and the practices were perceived as “unusual.”  Whitmer wrote years later that (quoting from page 94) ‘a false spirit misled members and that “the devil blinded the eyes of some good and honest disciples.”‘⁶ Staker notes that “Whitmer was apparently unable to resolve concerns about enthusiasm”.

Joseph soon left New York and arrived in Kirtland in February.  Church members looked to him for direction.  Staker notes on page 103,

Black Pete and his associates were forbidden to preach and baptize on the basis of letters from heaven: “It shall not be given to any one to go forth to preach my gospel, or to build up my church, except he be ordained by some one who has authority, and it is known to the church that he has authority and has been regularly ordained by the heads of the church” (D&C 42:11).

It is known that Joseph Smith was aware of Black Pete.  On page 105, Staker writes,

Some of these accounts of Morley family meetings subtly expressed discomfort that a black man would be in a familiar relationship with white women.  ”White women would chase him [Black Pete] about,” recalled Reuben Harmon.¹⁰ The interest apparently went both ways as Lovina Williams, Frederick G. Williams’s youngest daughter, became the object of Black Pete’s affections.  She turned fourteen a month before the missionaries arrived from New York.  According to W. R. Hine, “Black Pete claimed to receive a revelation to marry her.”  Hine also recalled that D. P. Hurlbut “before he left the Mormons” likewise “courted Dr. Williams’ beautiful daughter, and told her he had a revelation to marry her; she told him when she received a revelation they would be married.  Everybody about Kirtland believed he had left the Mormons because she refused him.”¹¹ Henry Carroll claimed that Black Pete sought a revelation from Joseph Smith after his arrival in Kirtland “and wanted to marry a white woman.  Jo Smith said he could get no revelations for him to.  Pete claimed he [Black Pete] did.”¹² Three years later, Lovina married Burr Riggs, one of Black Pete’s close associates, on November 19, 1834.

Concerning Black Pete, Staker concludes with this on page 188:

Black Pete’s presence in the Mormonite community raised numerous other questions about gifts of the Spirit and discerning the things of God that provided a revelatory response.  These revelations continue to provide spiritual insight and answer additional questions within the Latter-day Saint tradition today.  After modern revelation had completely transformed the Morley family in Kirtland, Black Pete disappeared from the community sometime between 1831 and 1834.  On March 3, 1837 Joseph Smith, Sr., father of the Prophet, ordained a former slave, Elijah Abel, an elder.⁶⁹  Abel continued to play a role in the community for the rest of the centure and was probably its best-known black Latter-day Saint.  Other black Latter-day Saints also contributed to the early development of the Restoration.  However, it seems that none of them had as much influence on the early development of the movement as Black Pete.

I am amazed at the large role Staker puts on Black Pete.  How about you?  Were you aware that the first black Mormon was baptized within the first 7 months of the founding of the church? Do you think Staker presents evidence that Pete held the priesthood?

Lee Davidson is talking about today’s Mormons, not Mormons in Brigham Young’s day.  Davidson even asks the question of whether anyone should be afraid of Mormon beliefs.  He quotes current Salt Lake City Mayor (a non-practicing Escopalian):

“I don’t think the rest of the world needs to be worried,” Becker said. “I don’t see in my experience that people of the Mormon faith are different from people of other faiths in their approach to making decisions about politics,” Becker said. “… all of us are affected by our values and principles in terms of how we look at the world.”

I agree that current Mormon attitudes are not to be feared, but I was curious to see what scriptural support Davidson had in his article.

• D&C 101:80 – [God] “established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose”
• D&C 134:1- “We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man.”
• D&C 134:9 – “We do not believe it just to mingle religious influence with civil government”

It seems to me that Davidson is not quoting verse 9 in the same context as it was intended.  The exact quote from Davidson is this:

No arm twisting >> Doctrine and Covenants 134 says “We do not believe it just to mingle religious influence with civil government.”  So the church says it does not dictate policy to its members who are politicians.

Its mormon.org website says, “The church may communicate its views to them just as it would to any other elected official, but it recognizes these men and women must make their own choices based on their best judgment and with consideration of the constituencies they were elected to represent.”

While I agree with the sentiments Davidson is expressing, I think the whole verse should be quoted.  Here’s the entire verse:

We do not believe it just to ^amingle religious influence with civil government, whereby one religious society is fostered and another proscribed in its spiritual privileges, and the individual rights of its members, as citizens, denied.

In a Pew Research Forum interview in 2007, Richard Bushman gives a bit better context for this scripture.  In the 1830′s an 1840′s, it was legal to discriminate against Mormons, Jews, and Muslims in some states.  Even though Joseph was advocating for a theocracy, Bushman says,

One of the first ordinances passed by the Nauvoo council was a toleration act specifying that all faiths were welcome in the city and listing a number of them: Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Latter-day Saints, Catholics, Jews and “Mohammedans,” as Muslims were called. There was probably not a Mohammedan within a thousand miles, but it was a gesture of openness to every religion.

Nauvoo, then, was to be a diverse city, indicating that Joseph Smith’s civic idealism went beyond his own people to envision a much more cosmopolitan society.

So, the scripture is really advocating an openness toward all religions so that none are discriminated against.  It is not advocating that religion and government should never mix.  Less than a decade later, Joseph would run for U.S. President, and he had no thought to abdicate his role as prophet.

So, do you agree with Davidson’s assertion that “Church doctrine says it is unjust to mix religion and civil government”, or is there a bit more nuance?

Obviously, of greatest interest is the council activities surrounding the Nauvoo Expositor.  For those unfamiliar with the history surrounding the Expositor, here is a brief introduction.  William Law was originally a member of the First Presidency.  He was disturbed to learn about polygamy, and at first tried to work with Joseph Smith.  However, Joseph excommunicated him, and he was purged from the city council.

In response, William and his brother Wilson Law, along with a group of others started a rival newspaper called the Nauvoo Expositor, publishing information about polygamy as well as calling for the repeal of the city charter for Nauvoo.  The Expositor published only 1 issue; the city council met and declared the Expositor guilty of libel, a public nuisance, and called for the press to be destroyed.  The council also asked for a barn owned by the paper’s editor Robert Foster to be destroyed as well.

Following the destruction of the press, Joseph, Hyrum, and others were transported to Carthage on the charge of riot.  Once there, the charge was upgraded to treason.  I’ve talked previously about Michael Quinn downplaying polygamy in relation to the Expositor, as well as Dallin Oaks’ book discussing the trial of Joseph’s assassins.

I was lucky enough to receive a pre-release version of the book.  When I received it, I had to turn to June 1844, the month that changed Mormon history forever.  One of the interesting things to learn was how John Dinger compiled the book.  There are 3 sets of minutes for these city council meetings.  The minutes were originally recorded on loose sheets of paper.  Then, the minutes were corrected and copied to some rough bound books.  A final set was corrected, to be furnished for official publication to newspapers with additional additions and deletions.

Some of the originals were damaged crossing the plains, so it was important that different versions of the minutes survived.  The council minutes cover 1841-1845.  Each year composes  one volume. Volume 2 of the rough bound minutes are missing, and it is believed that the missing volume contained information about the trial of John C Bennett (also a former member of the First Presidency, and original mayor of Nauvoo.)  I wish that volume survived–I’d love to learn more about John C. Bennett.

I think that sometimes people look at the events of June 1844 with a limited scope: polygamy.  However, as we read the city council minutes, there were other larger issues that were discussed in addition to polygamy.  It becomes clear that agents in Missouri were still trying to extradict and arrest Joseph Smith, specifically for the assassination attempt on Missouri Governor Boggs.  As such, original Mayor John C. Bennett helped push the original Nauvoo city charter through the state legislature.  It was the most expansive city charter in Illinois (and in the nation.)

The city council, aware of Joseph’s problems in Missouri, passed the most expansive habeus corpus laws in the country to stymie efforts to arrest Joseph.  Because Missouri officials continued to make attempts to arrest Joseph, the Nauvoo city council granted itself the power to review all arrest warrants and determine their validity.  As such, it became nearly impossible to take Joseph out of Nauvoo, and prompted calls for the repeal of the Nauvoo city charter so that Joseph could be arrested and face charges in Missouri.

Disenchanted with polygamy, the Law and Higbee brothers (former members of the church hierarchy and city council) saw no other recourse than to call for the repeal of the city charter and publish information about polygamy.  This obviously didn’t sit well with the city council.

These notes are quite rough.  Brackets to fix grammar and add information about individuals has been added for readability.  Quoting from page 258, (items in blue are my editorial comments)

C[ounselor] H[yrun] Smith believed the best way [would be] to smash the press all to pieces and pie {or spill/scatter} the type…{several council members concur} A[lderman] [Samuel] Bennet…considered [the paper] a public Nuisance.

However, I was interested to learn that it was not unanimous.  (Please note that “the Mayor”  is Joseph Smith below.)  From page 259,

B[enjamin] Warrington [said he was] convinced [t]his [was] a peculiar ^situation^ for the city council to pass this a[ction, to declare a newspaper] a nuisance[,] [and] would [not] be hasty & [he] propose[d] giving a few days limitation & assess a fine of $3000.00 for any libel – & if they would not cease publishing [the] libels[,] [then] declare it a nuisance.  C[ouncillor] Warrington said the counsellor State made provisions [for such instances]. – [They could] fine [the paper] 500.00.

[The] Mayor was sorry to have one dissenting voice[.] – C[ouncillor] Warrington did not mean to be understood to go [against the proposition.] but [would] not be in haste.  C[ouncillor] [Hyrum] Smith – spoke of the Mortgages on the property of the proprietors of the Expositors [and thought they city could not collect fines against them.]

The rest of the minutes are interesting as well.  There were (unfounded) charges of infidelity against William Law, (unfounded) charges of Francis Higbee participating in counterfeiting money, and many other accusations against the proprietors of the Expositor.  Council members recited the indignities of Haun’s Mill, and mobbings in Missouri as a reason not to tolerate the Expositor.  Obviously the resolution to destroy the Expositor passed, setting into motion a series of unfortunate events, leading to Joseph’s death.

One day later is a short entry (June 11) references the burning of the Expositor and possible retaliation.  From page 266,

Jason R. Luce said [he heard] Ianthus Rolf said while the [Nauvoo Expositor] press was burning last eve[ning] [that] before 3 weeks [were out] the [Nauvoo] Mansion House would be strung [pulled] to the ground & he would help do it.  And Tallman Rolf said the city would be strung to the ground within 10 days (Moses Leonard heard it.  Joshua Miller was present[)].  ^Henry Redfield said^ Matthias Spencer said that [storeowner David] Bryant said before he would see such things[,] he would wade to his knees in blood.  (Others were present).

The day Joseph [Smith] went to Carthage[,] ^[I] was at^ [the] Finch & Rollison Key Stone [store].  [Abner] Powers ^a taylor^ was talking with Mr ^N. N.^ Davis – about Joseph’s going [to Carthage].  Powers ^of Potsdam N.H.-^ said they would attempt to kill Joseph.  Mr Davis replied ["]O no, I think not.["] – Yes says Powers[,] “they will by God & you know it[,] by God.

On June 21, the city council minutes were approved and the members in attendance were noted.  Joseph was killed on June 27, as a mob stormed the jail and killed he and Hyrum, wounding John Taylor severely, and Willard Richards slightly.

The book adds a ton of footnotes that I have omitted.  These footnotes give biographical and other information that aids in understanding, and they are very useful.  After all the emotion of the June 10 city council meetings, the July 1 meeting is much more somber and conciliatory.  Letters from Illinois Governor Ford and other government officials were read.  Councillor W.W. Phelps rose and stated on page 274,

As to the press[,] we will do whatever is right towards a remuneration “whatever we ascertain the minds of all the Proprietors of the Expositor.”  Moved by Ald[erman] Phelps that the resolution pass – and it was carried.  Moved that Hiram Kimball be appointed to make [an] [en]treat[y] with the Proprietors of the said Expositor – and carried.

It is interesting to see the combustible atmosphere of June 1844, and I haven’t even started talking about the High Council minutes.  I plan to talk about that more next week.  Comments or questions?  How do you think history would have changed if the city council had listened to Councilman Warrington?  Would the majority of the church be reading this while looking over the Mississippi River?

Few people have actually read the Spaulding manuscript, and its whereabouts were secretive for quite some time.  A man by the name of Doctor Philastus Hurlbut (Doctor was his first name, last name is also spelled Hurlburt) tried to find the Spaulding manuscript, and obtained it from Spaulding’s widow.  Hurlbut hinted that the document was related to the Book of Mormon, but didn’t publish the document.  Hurlbut became embroiled in controversy when he threatened to (quoting from page 136 of the Sidney Rigdon biography),

“wash his hands” in the prophet’s blood.  In January 1834, Smith filed a legal complaint bringing Hurlburt to trial on 1 April.  The court found him guilty, fined him $200, and ordered him to keep the peace for 6 months.

The notoriety surrounding Hurlbut, compounded by an embarrassing incident when his wife was discovered in bed with Judge Orris Clapp, tarnished his image.  He sold his research to Eber D. Howe, editor of the Painesville Telegraph, who held a long-term grudge against Mormonism for converting his wife and daughter.

Howe kept up the pressure, printing a pamphlet called Mormonism Unvailed. After reading the manuscript, Howe hinted that there must be a second undiscovered manuscript, because the manuscript in his possession didn’t seem to match the Book of Mormon.  Howe didn’t keep Painesville Telegraph very long.  In January 1835, he sold the paper to his brother for $600, but the newspaper folded later that year.   A man by the name of LL Rice purchased the assets of the Painesville Telegraph in 1839-40.

Many documents came with the purchase, but Rice did not view them at the time.  Rice later moved to Honolulu, Hawaii.  In the 1880s, James Fairchild, president of Oberlin College in Ohio suggested that Rice look through the documents in search of pre-Civil war slavery information.  It was at this point that the Spaulding document was discovered.  Rice notes “There is no identity of names, of person, or places; and there is no similarity of style between them.”

The actual manuscript was given to Oberlin College in Ohio, and a copy of the manuscript can be downloaded here.  The document was labeled faintly in pencil “Manuscript Found—Conneat Creek”.  I thought it would be interesting to give a brief synopsis of the book so that you can get an idea of how different the book is from the Book of Mormon.  The RLDS church first published the contents of the manuscript, and it includes a section giving a brief background.

In the introduction to the book, there is a letter dated in 1885 offering the manuscript to Joseph Smith III rather than the LDS church.  Tellingly, Rice said to Smith:

“I am of the opinion that no one who reads the Manuscript will give credit to the story that Solomon Spaulding was in any wise the author of the Book of Mormon….Finally, I am more than half convinced that this is his only writing of the sort, and that any pretence that Spaulding was in any sense the author of the other, is a sheer fabrication.  It is easy for anybody who may have seen this, or heard anything of its contents, to get up the story that they were identical.”

Here is a brief summary of the contents of the book.

Introduction

Spaulding tells how he came up with the manuscript.  The introduction actually bears some remarkable resemblances to the story in the Pearl of Great Price on how Joseph said he obtained the golden plates, though there are some notable differences.

Spaulding tells a story in which he discovers a stone covering an underground cavern.  After climbing into the cavern, Spaulding found 28 rolls of parchment, written in Latin behind another stone.  The rolls had a variety of subjects, but this is the story that captured Spaulding’s attention, “a history of the author’s life & that part of America which extends along the great Lakes & the waters of the Mississippy.”  (I have previously documented some of the horrendous spelling errors and humorous stories in this work.)

Chapter 1

Fabius tells that he was born in Rome.  The emporer Constantine sent Fabius on a mission to take supplies to “Brittain”.  On his way there, Fabius and his crew encountered a large storm blowing west, and they were lost.  They discovered a new land inhabited by natives with odd “jesticulations”, dancing, and singing.  Often these natives barked like dogs and sounded like bullfrogs.

Chapter 2

Fabius negotiates a treaty with the natives to obtain 6 wigwams.  In return the natives received 50 knives and a scarlet cloth.  Captain Lucian and Fabius become judges over their crew, and built houses of worship.  (Fabius and crew were Christians.)  Trojanus becomes their minister of choice.  Since there were 7 women on board, these women are allowed to make their choice of which man to marry, leaving 6 men single.  Fabius notes that the natives were uncivilized, like an “Orang outang”.  They ate dinner, got drunk, and “retired two by two, hand in hand.  Ladies heads a litte awri, blushing like the morn.”  They also resolved to build a church.

Chapter 3

The language of the natives was Deliwanucks.  They were tall, wore loin cloths and the clothing was made of animal hair.  “The one half of the head of the men was shaved & painted with red and the one half of the face was painted with black.”  Dogs were sacrificed to their god, and Fabius tells of a strange mud wrestling ceremony.

Chapter 4

Fabius begins a strange discussion about whether the sun or earth is the center of the universe.  He decided to go up river to find other civilizations.  Fabius, Crito, and a Delawan interpreter meet the king and bring an animal called a Mammoon back.  A Mammoon is bigger than an elephant, docile, provides milk, and its fur is shaved to make clothing.  Crito notes these people are also ignorant savages, but they are kind like Christians.  They go up the Suscowan River to a city called Owkwahon and received further gifts from the king there.

Chapter 5

After further travels, Fabius and crew meet a new race of people.  They meet a group of farmers with domesticated animals such as elk, horses, turkeys, and “gees” (geese).  This group of people manufactures iron, lead, and steel tools.  They make beautiful pottery, but buildings are very simple.

Chapter 6

Fabius reports that a group of people called the Ohons had an alphabet and wrote on parchment.  “Their constitution & laws are committed to writing.” They loved to write poetry.

“RELION 7”

Spaulding discusses their religion.  They believed in an omnipotent being “who is self-existent & infinitely good & benevolent.”  This being formed 7 sons that “manage the affairs of his empire.”

“There is also another great intelligent Being who is self-existent & possessed of great power but not of Omnipotence.  He is filled with infinite malice against the good Being & exerts all his subtlety & power to ruin his works.”

After death, “Material Bodies are prepared for the souls of the righteous….But the wicked are denied etherial bodies”.  He goes on to describe some of their religious laws, telling them to be kind and not lustful, among many religious laws.

“it is ordained that on every eighth day, ye lay aside all unnecessary labour, that ye meet in convenient numbers & form assemblies, that at each assembly a learned holy man shall preside, who shall lead your devotions & explain this sacred Roll & give you such instruction as shall promote your happiness in this life & in the life to come.  Once in three months ye shall hold a great festival in every great city & town, & your priests shall sacrifice an Elk as a token that your sins deserve punishment, but that the divine mercy hath banished them into shade of forgetfulness.”

Chapter 8 “An account of Baska”

A partial story of a man named Baska is told, “he was celebrated as a man of the most brilliant & extraordinary talents.”

Chapter 8 (yes labeled the same as above.)

Spaulding takes a break from the story “with a few sceches of Biography” and proceeds to tell of

“the great and illustrious Lobaska.  He is the man who first introduced their present method of writing….

As for instance he is represented as forming a curious machine & having placed himself upon it he mounted into the Atmosphere & assended a great hight & having sailed a considerable distance thro’ the air he desended slowly & received no damage that multitudes of astonished Spectators had a number of times seen him perform this miraculous exploit.”

Lobaska was about 40 years old, affable, but not locquacious, and “none could withstand the energy of his reasoning.”  He set up schools of “Schollars”, teaching them writing as well as making tools of iron.  He lived among a group called the Siotans.

A man named Tobaska taught theology “comprised in the sacred Roll.”  The king and chiefs allowed Tobaska to teach throughout the kingdom.  The message revealed to Tobaska by “the second son of the great & good Being…..They forgot their old religion which was a confused medly of Idolitry & superstitious nonsense.”

However, war came because Bombal, King of the Kentucks “had taken great umbrage against Kadokam the King of Siota.”  Kentucks had “exclusive right to wear in their caps a bunch of blue feathers” but the Siotan princes “assumed the liberty to place bunches of blue feathers upon their caps.”  Spaulding discusses war strategy, noting that Lobaska had a cunning plan.  After the battle, a peace treaty was signed that anyone could wear blue feathers.

Chapter 9 Government and Money

The people lived on both sides of the Ohio River, “Excepting the Cities of Golanga & Gamba, whose Kings claimed jurisdiction over an extent of country of about one hundred & fifty miles along the River Ohio…”  Lobaska devised “a system of Government with a design of establishing two great Empires one on each side of the River Ohio.”  The Sciotan constitution is described with “Emporer, Labamack the oldest son of Lobaska.”  Government will pass to his eldest son, and they must marry within the Siotan kingdom.  Money shall not depreciate.  “Lambon the third son of Lobaska shall preside over them & shall have the title of high Priest…”

Chapter 10 – Military Arrangements, Amusements, Customs, & Extent of the Empires

The Sciota and Kentuck Indians believed that a strong military was the best deterrent.  Both groups held military drills for soldiers 4 times per year, with a mock battle once per year.

Then Spaulding starts talking about courting rituals.  Men and women wear different colors of feathers to show they are available.  Once a couple has decided they like each other, they meet the parents and arrange to date 10 times within 60 days.  If all goes well, a marriage follows.

Chapter 11

The Sciota had a son (Elseon) and the Kentucks had a daughter (Lamesa) of marrying age.  Their constitutions said that they were only to marry within the kingdom. However, an exception was made to allow them to marry.  Some were not happy, and tried to disrupt the wedding, but finally Elseon and Lamesa were married in a traditional wedding.

Chapter 12

Following their marriage, Elseon (of the Kentucks) and his bride Lamesa (of the Sciota) surreptitiously leave for the land of the Kentucks.  Apparently this was not part of the bargain of the Sciota.  They demanded that Lamesa return to Sciota, and said if she did not return, they would declare war on the Kentucks.  (It was their understanding that that would remain in Sciota.)  After much discussion, the Kentucks would not return Lamesa, but offered to give the Sciota something as reparations to avert war.

Chapter 13

There are quite a few speeches from the leaders of the Sciota and Kentucks about how to handle the situation.  The Sciota considered reparations, and asked for the death of Elseon.  Of course, that was rejected, and so they made preparations for war.  Lamesa and Elseon felt sad for starting the conflict, but declare their love for each other.

Chapter 14

This is the last chapter, although it doesn’t appear to be finished.  The war grinds on.  There is so much death, at one point the two sides declare a two-day armistice so they can bury the dead.  The leaders begin to work on different “stratigems” to win. They attack at night, assuming the other side is asleep.  Once again, there is more death.  They bury the dead in giant mounds of mass graves.

Sambul, king of Sciota attacks a fort and finds Lamesa.  Cruelly, he kills a woman trying to protect Lamesa.  Lamesa asks him to kill her too because she does not want to return.  Then Elseon leads a counter-attack on the fort, and ends up fighting Sambul in hand to hand combat.  Elseon kills Sambul with a sword, and frees everyone in the fort.  The war appears to be winding down with the death of Sambul, but it is not clear how the story ends.  The story ends abruptly,

Hamback altered his plan & determined to wait for the return of Sambul.  As for Hamboon he concluded to wait until Elseons return.  These determinations of the hostile Emporers prevented for the time any engagements between the two grand armies.  But when the fate of Sambuls division was decided & Elseon had returned with the joyful news of his victory, the Kentucks were all anxious for an immediate Battle.

There is more to the manuscript, but it does not appear to be part of the story. To me, it appears to be Spaulding talking in his own voice, not of the book.  I am only quoting a portion here–See the original manuscript for a full quote.  A note on page 156 that says,

Note – This was found with the foregoing manuscript an in the same handwriting.

But having every reason to place the highest confidence in your friendship & prudence I have no reluctance in complying with with your request.  in giving you my sentiments of the christian Religion….In giving you my sentiments of the Christian religion, you will perceive that I am not trameled with traditionary & vulgar prejudiuce that I do not believe certain parts & certain parts & certain propositions to be treu merely because that my ancestors believe them & because they are popular….But notwithstanding I disavow any belief in the divinity of the Bible, & consider it as a mere human production designed to inrich & agrandize its human production designed to inrich and agrandize its authors & to enable them to manage the multitude.  Yet casting aside a considerable mass of rubbish & fanatical rant, I find that it contains a system of ethics or morals which cannot be excelled on account of their tendency to amiliorate the condition of man….having a view therefore to those parts of the Bible which are truly good & excellend I sometimes speak of it in terms of high commendation.  And indeed I am inclined to believe that notwithstanding the mischeifs & injuries which have been produced by the bigoted zeal of fanatics & interested priests yet that such evils are more than counterbalances in a Christian land by the benefits which result to the great mass of the people by their believing that the Bible is of divine origin.  & that it contains a revelation from God.  Such being my view of the subject, I pre fer my candle to remain under to remain under a bushel, nor make no exertions to dissipate their happy delusion, as

Note to Copyist.–On the other side of the paper on which the above is written & in what seems the same hand is the following:

Itham Joyner privlg to erect Mill, & the pvlg of wtr.  Wright has prefern & he next.  To fix to take out wtr for himslf & to be at one 1/4 expense of keeping dam in repair.  If wishing to sell to gv Wrt pvlg buing if dont buy to sel to another his works but not pvlg of wtr I. Joyner & W. Brigham agree to build a house for their use.  Sd B. to 6 feet on the water below the width of the house & J to have for six feet & B to 12 feet on the same side in the rear bank & 12 feet of the garret.  to be at equal expense in the water works.  To be at equal expense in the partitions of the rooms.

The writings of Sollomon Spaulding Proved by Aron Wright Oliver Smith, John N Miller & others.  The testimonies of the above Gentlemen are now in my possession.

Signed

D. P. Hurlbut.

With that ending and summary, do you think this is really the source of the Book of Mormon?

In 1835  David Patten was called  to be one of the original 12 apostles.  Patten was known as “Captain FearNot”.  Just 3 years after being called to be an apostle, he was killed in the Battle of Crooked River in Missouri while trying to recover some Mormons captured by a Missouri mob.

A biography of Patten written in 1900 referenced a letter written between two apostles: Abraham Smoot and Joseph F. Smith (future president of the church).  Smith had heard that Patten claimed to have met Cain, and apparently Smith had written to Smoot asking about this experience.  As the letter states, David Patten was on his way to Smoot’s house.  Smoot relates that Patten said,

[I] met with a very remarkable personage who had represented himself as being Cain who had murdered his brother, Abel … I suddenly noticed a very strange personage walking beside me … for about two miles.  His head was even with my shoulders as I sat in my saddle.  He wore no clothing but was covered with hair.  His skin was very dark … he [said] that he had no home, that he was a wanderer in the earth … He said that he was a very miserable creature, that he had earnestly sought death … but that he could not die, and his mission was to destroy the souls of men … I rebuked him in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by virtue of the Holy Priesthood, and commanded him to go hence and he immediately departed out of my sight. [Cited in Lycurgus A. Wilson, The Life of David Patten, the First Apostolic Martyr (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1900) 45-47.  Smoot's 1893 letter was to future Church President Joseph F. Smith.]

Could Cain really be alive after a few thousand years?  Apparently, the apostles believed the tale.  Smith brought the tale to the apostles, and Elder Abraham Cannon wrote  that “he had always entertained the idea that Cain was dead.”  Eliza R. Snow wrote a poem discussing the incident in 1884.

As seen by David Patten, he was dark
When pointing at his face of glossy jet
Cain said, “You see the curse is on me yet.”
The first of murderers, now he fills his post
And reigns as king o’er all the murd’rous host.

Bowman’s essay documents several tales where Cain appeared to anonymous apostles, bishops, missionaries, and stake presidents who were seeking to destroy the church of God.  President Spencer W. Kimball discussed Patten’s account in Miracle of Forgiveness.  Following the 1978 revelation, Bowman states that there have been changes in this legend.  From page 123 of the book,

There is evidence that since the 1978 revocation of its ban on black priesthood holders, there have been social and cultural transitions in the Church that may be the very reason the monstrous image of Cain has been transformed to something else.  No longer an arche-typical racial slur, Bigfoot is more of a curiosity of nature that lacks the weight of nineteenth-century Mormon demonology.  Though the stories seldom do little to rehabilitate Cain’s image in that he is still hostile, the emphasis of the legend has shifted.  The older stories, from Patten’s own experience through the third quarter of the twentieth century….Now Cain rarely speaks.  Now his specific mission to destroy the church has dissolved into the general hostility that one would expect from a wild animal.

In 1980, Bigfoot made some appearances in Utah, documented in the Ogden Standard-Examiner.  From page 125,

On Sunday afternoon, February 3, 1980, a South Weber high school student named Pauline Markham glanced out of her kitchen window and saw what she described as “a big, black creature” climbing down a mountain ridge a half-mile away.  Markham, a Mormon, reported that she simply put her drinking glass down and “went to church”.  Early the next morning, her cousin, Ronald Smith, saw a “big dark figure” in his field.  He fled into the house, leaving an agitated horse in the pasure. The next morning, odd tracks in the show had been trampled by hoof prints.  The story was pursued by an Ogden Standard-Examiner reporter, Jay Barker, who claimed he had also personally encountered Bigfoot three years earlier.  At this point in 1980, none of the witnesses–Markham, who is clearly identified as a practicing Mormon, or Barker, who has devoted a great deal of investigation to the events–seem to have associated Bigfoot with Cain.

..

Another man, Sterling Gardner, compared what he believed to gbe the stench of Bigfoot that agitated his dogs to that of a skunk.  However, ten years after the fact, local historian Lee D. Bell noted that South Weber citizens had begun associating these local sightings of Bigfoot with Cain.  Twenty-three years later, the Deseret News pinpointed this event as the genesis of the Bigfoot/Cain idea.”

Bowman goes on to discusses other Boy Scout stories, seminary teacher stories, and even the Three Nephite legends as popular urban myths. What do you make of these stories of Cain becoming Bigfoot?

Meri and Kody on their wedding day

Before I answer that question, let me give you a bit of info about the family for those of you who haven’t seen the show. Kody Brown, 42 is the patriarch. He served an LDS mission in the Texas San Antonio mission. While he was on his mission, his parents decided to become fundamentalist Mormons who embraced polygamy. (Season 2, episode 2 discusses their conversion.) I will mention that the show is not focused on their theology at all, and only gives passing references to it. Upon return from his mission, Kody decided to convert as well. At age 22, he married his first wife Meri, who was raised in a fundamentalist lifestyle. Meri and Kody have 1 daughter, Mariah.

early photo of Janelle and Kody

A few years later, Kody married Janelle, his 2^nd wife. Janelle also grew up LDS, but became a fundamentalist Mormon. Now the story gets really interesting. Janelle’s first marriage was to Meri’s brother. It didn’t last very long, and I’m not sure why they divorced, but they did. So, Kody essentially married his sister-in-law. (This hasn’t been covered in the show yet.) If you think that’s strange, it gets stranger. Janelle’s mom Genielle decided to become a fundamentalist Mormon as well, and she married Kody’s father just 3 months before Kody and Janelle. So Kody and Janelle are step-brother and sister. (Yes, Season 2, episode 2 covers this as well, but doesn’t quite cover all the bases.) Kody and Janelle had 6 children together in their 17 years of marriage. (Incidentally, Janelle is a year older than Meri.)
Then a year later, Kody married Christine. Christine was also raised as a fundamentalist. At the start of season 1, Christine was pregnant with she and Kody’s 6^th child Truely. Season 1 Episode 4 shows the actual birth at the American Fork Hospital.

Kody and Robyn at their wedding

Season 1 details the courtship of a new wife Robyn, who was also raised as a fundamentalist. Robyn was previously married to a man by the name of David Jessop. Robyn and David had 3 children before they divorced in 2007. The show chronicles the courtship, and I hear that Robyn gave birth to a honeymoon baby on Oct 27, but I haven’t seen the episode yet. Among the 4 wives, they have a total of 17 children now. This family tree is available on their Facebook page.

The show has already caused some problems. Following their appearance on the Today Show (chronicled in Season 2 Episode 1), the Lehi Police Department opened up an investigation of bigamy. The Browns decided to move to Nevada to avoid arrest and breakup of their family. Meri announced that she lost her job in Season 2 episode 5. Robyn quit her job in order to marry Kody, and has had trouble finding work.

So, how do they afford this lifestyle? Kody said that’s the number one question he gets. They have some nice cars: a Lexus, Suburban, convertible, and a van. In Season 2, episode 3 they discuss finances, and Kody says

“I hate to say it’s communal, but it’s really very socialistic. We’re all working together for the same cause. We all use our own talents, and everybody works together.”

Janelle and Kody both work full-time. According to this website, Kody and Meri declared bankruptcy in 2005 in Wyoming. Kody owned a firearms company, but now he is a salesman of some sort. Janelle is also full-time, and seems to pull in a pretty good income. Meri worked part-time at a mental health facility, but was fired after she came out publicly as a polygamist. Christine is the stay-at-home mother. Not only does she “rule the roost”, but she is an avid coupon clipper, buying in bulk. As Robyn has come into the family, she has helped Christine with the many children as she has continued to look for work. The first 3 wives shared 1 huge home, and Robyn had a house about a block away. As I understand it, they have not been able to find a huge house in Las Vegas, so they have 4 separate houses now.

As they have pooled their resources, they have had to become a bit communal. I’ve enjoyed Stephen M’s posts (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, and part 5—I hope I got them all) on the economics of utopias. In the Browns case, I don’t see how they could live this lifestyle without being communal. In that sense, they seem very true to the vision that Joseph Smith had for consecrating all their possessions. The wives share food and resources freely with each other (Christine was surprised to hear that they were out of sugar—Meri admits to using the last of it.) It is this sense of communalism that seems quite in line with early Mormonism. They genuinely seem to get along, and even my wife mentioned that she could see some nice benefits of not having to worry about babysitters and having a built in social support network of the sister wives.

Kody and his wives

I am reminded that early Mormons in Utah were out to create a new economic order: the United Order. Capitalism was strongly denounced by Brigham Young as “profiteering”. Brigham often set price controls for basic necessities. Consecration tries to control the market, it doesn’t like free markets, because free markets often gouge individuals. As I outlined in my post on Consecration vs United Order, the early polygamy persecutions were as much about forcing free markets onto the Mormons as it was about eradicating polygamy. The Perpetual Emigration Fund and all church assets were targeted as an economic problem and driver of polygamy. It could be argued that “gentiles” used the issue of polygamy as a cover to dump the economics of the United Order. Gentiles really wanted to break into Mormon markets, and were prohibited from trading with Mormons by Brigham Young, John Taylor, and Wilford Woodruff. The government used economics to kill polygamy.

Early Mormons preferred a more socialistic economy of the United Order. (Please don’t confuse this with Marxist Socialism-that is not what I’m trying to say.) I do wonder if some of the virulent free market Mormons of today have forgotten Brigham Young’s admonitions against the profiteering side of capitalism. I wonder if this form of socialism the Browns are doing is more in line with early Mormon thought. Free markets don’t always equate to fair markets, especially for individuals, and Brigham Young did everything he could to regulate the “economy of heaven.” He was quite successful through his death, but later persecutions forced capitalism into Utah, and now some Mormons seem to think that unregulated markets are the “order of heaven.”
What do you think of early Mormon attempts to solve the problem of inequity by eliminating free markets and capitalism in Utah? If p0lygamy becomes legal again via gay marriage, will the church embrace polygamy?

I am always a bit puzzled by statements like this one made by GBSmith: “I remember believing for years that the saints were totally innocent in the Missouri business and victims, pure and simple, of Governor Boggs and the mob. Too bad it wasn’t true.”  Well, there is plenty of blame to go around both on the Missouri side and on the Mormon side.  Cooler heads certainly did not prevail.  Kenny Ballentine put together a documentary on the Missouri problem, and I blogged about it previously when I discussed his documentary film titled, Trouble in Zion.

Mormons weren’t blameless.  Missouri mobs weren’t blameless.  Here are some key events leading to the Haun’s Mill Massacre.

1)  July 1833, WW Phelps published an article in the Evening and Morning Star that Mormons wanted to welcome people of all color.  This is the reason the Missourians were upset.

2)  July 20, 1833.  Bishop Partridge is told to leave Jackson County immediately.  He refuses and is tarred and feathered.  Mobs destroyed the Mormon printing press in retaliation of the Phelps article.  Three days later, Partridge signs an agreement to leave the county.

3)  Oct 31-Nov 7.  Missourians incite hostilities against the Mormons.  Mormons flee Jackson County for Clay County.

4) In 1836, the Missouri legislature declares that Caldwell County will be set aside for Mormon settlement.  (This is the home of Far West.)  Non-Mormon Alexander Doniphan brokers a deal in the Missouri legislature to create the county.  This is partly to make a home for Mormons in recompense for Jackson County, but Alex Baugh has referred to this as a “Mormon reservation”.  Mormons were not supposed to settle anywhere outside of this county.

5)  In 1838, Joseph leaves Kirtland under the cover of night due to the Kirtland Bank Crisis.  Upon arriving in Missouri, he finds dissent among Missouri Mormons as well.  John Whitmer, David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery, and WW Phelps are excommunicated.  Many of these dissenters opposed living the Law of Consecration.  Non-Mormons find the excommunications another reason to dislike Mormons.

6)  June 17, 1838.  Sidney Rigdon issues the “Salt Sermon.”  In the sermon, he referenced the scripture about “salt that has lost it’s savor”, and essentially issued an ultimatum that Mormon apostates should leave the county or be forcibly removed.  Most of the dissenters move south to Ray County, and find sympathy with anti-Mormons.

7)  July 4, 1838.  Rigdon issued another fiery patriotic sermon stating that the Mormons and Missourians would wage a “war of extermination…one party or the other”.  It seems the subsequent Extermination Order by Governor Boggs wasn’t quite what Rigdon had in mind.

8|  Aug 6, 1838 – Mormons in Daviess County were prevented from voting.  The Whig candidate said Mormons were only supposed to live in Caldwell County and should be ineligible to vote.  He was concerned that Mormons would vote for the Democratic Candidate, because Mormons were overwhelming Democrats back then.  A big brawl broke out that has often been called a “battle”.  There were exaggerated rumors that Mormons were killed.

9)  Aug 19, 1838 – Following the election, Missourians decided to expel Mormons from DeWitt, in Daviess County.

10)  Oct 18, 1838 – The Mormons decide to retaliate for the first time.  Known as the Daviess Expedition, a group of Danites (a secret Mormon militia group) led an effort to expel Missourians from Gallatin, Millport and Grindstone Fork.   Mormons plundered the property and burned the stores and houses to the ground.

11)  Oct 24, 1838 – The Battle of Crooked River.  Mormons attack and scatter the Missouri Militia.  Many of the Missouri Militia erroneously believe all others are killed.  Only 1 Missourian was killed, but 2 Mormons were killed:  LDS Apostle David Patten (known as “Captain FearNot”) and Danite leader Gideon Carter; 9 other Mormons were wounded.

12)  Oct 27, 1838 – Governor Lilburn Boggs issues the Extermination Order; “the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace…”

13)  October 30, 1838 – The Hauns Mill Massacre; 18 Mormons are killed, ranging in age from 10-year old Sardius Smith, to 62 year old Thomas McBride.  These 2 deaths were particularly gruesome.

• After surrendering his weapon, 62 year old Thomas McBride was hacked to death with a corn knife.
• An enraged Missourian leveled his gun against the 10 year old boy’s head, and after proclaiming that ‘nits become lice” pulled the trigger, killing Sardius Smith instantly.

There is plenty of blame to go around both on the Missouri side and on the Mormon side.  Cooler heads certainly did not prevail. Previous to these terrible events of 1838, Mormons tried several times to get Governor Boggs to step in, but Boggs consistently said that he could do nothing.  When Mormons took matters into their own hands, Boggs issued the Extermination Order.  Certainly Boggs handled the situation poorly.

Obviously, Mormons have moved on from this tragedy, with no commemoration of these terrible events and Halloween.  Do you think it is wise to ignore this Halloween tragedy?

Many of us are familiar with Wilford Woodruff’s vision of the Founding Fathers in the St. George Temple.  Brian Stuy gives some interesting background on this story.  Just after the temple was dedicated in 1877, apostle and temple president Wilford Woodruff had a dream on two successive nights.  The signers of the Declaration of Independence said to Woodruff,

You have had the use of the Endowment House for a number of years, and yet nothing has ever been done for us.  We laid the foundation of the government you now enjoy, and we never apostatized from it, but we remained true to it and were faithful to God.

Stuy notes that Woodruff had been reading a book titled Portrait Gallery of Eminent Men and Women of Europe and America.  Woodruff participated in proxy work for not only these famous Americans, but also Christopher Columbus and John Wesley.  Stuy believes this book to be the source that may have inspired Woodruff to ponder on the subject.

However, Woodruff was not the first to perform proxy work for the Founding Fathers.  Stuy quotes Charlotte Haven, writing in May 1843.  She witnessed baptisms for the dead performed in the Mississippi River:

We drew a little nearer and heard several names repeated by the elders as the victims were douched [bathed], and you can imagine our surprise when the name George Washington was called.

Stuy goes on to say on pages 84-86,

In addition to the event Haven witnessed, there were at least three other occasions in Nauvoo when George Washington was baptized.⁵ Others for whom this proxy ordinance was performed in Illinois include Benjamin Franklin;⁶ Presidents John Adams, William Henry Harisson, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe;  George Washington’s wife, Martha Dandridge Custis Washington; mother Mary Ball Washington; and Thomas Jefferson’s wife, Martha Wayles Jefferson.⁷ Later in St. George, Woodruff would arrange to have proxy baptisms perfromed for all of these individuals.

…

In 1876, most likely in response to the centennial the nation celebrated that year, [John] Bernhisel began systematically arranging for the baptism of all the Founding Fathers and other well-known U.S. leaders.  On August 9, he and his daughter Mary went to the Endowment House and were baptized for most of the deceased U.S. presidents and their wives.  Bernhisel was also baptized for Revolutionary War hero Patrick Henry.¹³

Duplicate temple work is something that has long been a problem.  In fact, that is a major reason why the church has put the new program for familysearch online.  With the old PAF files, duplication was a tremendous problem.  With the new Family Search, the hope is for more collaboration and less duplication.

While the baptisms were performed multiple times, Stuy notes that the Endowment House only allowed for “live” ordinances.  The St. George Temple is the first temple in which endowments were performed for the dead.  In that case, even though baptisms were performed previously for the Founding Fathers, Woodruff wsa the first to allow the other ordinances to be performed for these men and women.  Stuy notes that in 1985, President Benson wanted to make sure these ordinances were performed.  While most had been performed, some wives and children of the signers weren’t completed, so Benson made sure these were done in time for the bicentennial celebration of the Constitutional Convention in 1987.

What do you make of Woodruff’s vision?

The maps are pretty cool.  What do you think?