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Show John Tanner and His 94 Hinckle's part, the Saints good thing and prevented were rendered Family helpless; perhaps this was a serious bloodshed. Eventually scores of Mormon brethen were arrested and charged with such crimes as treason, murder, arson, burglary, robbery, and perjury. Among this group more John Tanner, his four and Martin Henry and a were Nathan, - Sidney, John Joshua, son-in-law, Amasa M. Lyman." sons - All the Tanners were caught up in this furious assault on the in Missouri. The general practice was for the Tanner men to leave their women and children with the John Tanner family so as to be available for guard and other military duty. The situation Latter-day Saints come close to a state of total anarchy, with the mob acting under the orders of the governor, wearing official uniforms, and carrying state arms. Emotion ran so high and military restraint was so lax, that beatings, murders, arson, and pillage became daily occurrences. had In so highly a charged atmosphere, it is difficult to determine in individual incidents who was to blame. Name calling and threats being hurled back and forth, and the wonder is that general blood-letting did not take place. Of course, the law, such as it was, rested with the mob militia which was acting under the orders of the were governor. It is difficult to understand how such a state of affairs could come about, and many writers have gone to great pains to find an Most Mormon writers, though not all, have the easy that these were wicked men prompted by the devil to oppose the work of God. The anti-Mormon of the day had the equally explanation. answer answer that the Saints were a bad lot and if left unopposed, they would not only take over the country, but would destroy much which the local people held dear. ready An objective person who follows the histroy of the Mormon hardly help noting that the Mormons were in trouble wherever they went. For instance when they moved to Kirtland, Ohio, in 1831 there was little, if any, overt opposition, but in a few years so much local opposition developed that by 1838 the lives of church leaders like Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Brigham Young were in jeopardy and they fled to escape violence. Shortly thereafter the majority of the Saints left Ohio and moved to Missouri. people can What conclusion should be drawn from this? Much the same situation occurred in Missouri. The first Mor settlers in Jackson County were received kindly, but in a short time were unwelcome and within two years were forced from the mon |
