Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith

Joseph Smith received a revelation from God that the Garden of Eden was in Jackson County, Missouri. Despite its popularity, Smith’s new religion was not accepted by everyone. Smith had established a reputation as a fraud and conman because of his treasure hunting schemes. This move to Missouri brought Mormons into new and unforgiving territory. Missourians were wary of the Mormons flooding into the state, especially because Mormons promoted the abolition of slavery while most Missourians favored it. Jackson County residents were also annoyed by the Saints’ belief that they were the chosen people of God. The Mormons excluded and ostracized other Missourians. Smith received a revelation from God telling him to assemble Mormons on land that they believed was rightfully theirs. For members of Jackson County, this was a direct threat to their way of life.

In July 1833, Missourians assembled a mob against the Mormons and forced Mormon leaders to agree to leave Jackson County. Attacks continued upon local Mormons for weeks. The Mormons fled Jackson County to Caldwell County, where the Missouri government had hoped to establish the Mormons and quell the turmoil. As the group of Mormons grew and spilled out of Caldwell County, anti-Mormon rhetoric dominated the political world. Feeling his people had endured enough abuse, Joseph Smith took back his anti-violence stance and encouraged Mormons to retaliate. Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs ordered the Missouri militia to eradicate the Mormons. Known as the Haun’s Mill Massacre, the Missouri militia opened fire on a mostly defenseless community of Mormons.

To save his people, Smith offered himself and five other Mormon leaders to be taken by law enforcement. As national attention called into question Missouri’s actions against the Mormons, Smith and the other Mormon leaders were allowed to escape and cross the state border.

After leaving Missouri, Smith determined that the new home of the Mormons would be Hancock County, Illinois. Called Nauvoo, this new city populated with Mormons became the second-largest city in Illinois. However, Smith was plagued by his experiences in Missouri. There was a bounty for his arrest, and Missouri sheriffs attempted to apprehend him in Illinois. Bitter and angry at his perceived mistreatment, Smith prophesized that Boggs would die violently. One year later, Boggs was shot four times by an adamant follower of Joseph Smith from Nauvoo. Boggs survived the attempted murder by shooter Porter Rockwell, and no one was ever convicted of the crime.

The Illinois General Assembly granted Smith and his community sweeping rights unlike those seen anywhere else in the country, giving Smith total control over Nauvoo. Smith anointed himself “King, Priest, and Ruler over Israel on Earth” (108). He created his own militia which was roughly half the size of the entire U.S. Army. In January 1844, Smith announced that he would be running for the office of U.S. President, a bid that ended unsuccessfully.

Krakauer explores what made Mormonism last in a time rife with new religions. During the Second Great Awakening, self-proclaimed prophets flooded the religious market. Krakauer suggests that the success of Mormonism is owed to both Joseph Smith’s charisma and the uniqueness of the theology he offered. Mormonism was simple and clear and provided answers to major existential questions of the time. These answers were rooted in kindness but were also explicit. Where Calvinism emphasized hell and the sinfulness of man, Smith’s doctrine claimed that people were mostly virtuous and that following basic rules and even pursuing wealth were the keys to heavenly bliss.

Dan Lafferty was highly influenced by The Peace Maker, a pamphlet he believed to be written by Smith. Although this book was published using Smith’s printing press in 1842, it was written by Udney Hay Jacob. Jacob had been asked by Smith to study polygamy in the Bible and to publish the pamphlet to assess the sentiments of his congregation on plural marriage. The uproar over the publication led Joseph Smith to publicly denounce polygamy.

Despite his public denouncements, Smith practiced plural marriage in private. Calling it “the principle” or “celestial marriage,” Smith professed that plural marriage was sanctified by God (118). He found his relations with women besides Emma, including 15-year-old Marinda, so satisfying that he believed God would not have made the experience so enjoyable if it were not God’s intention that men take multiple wives. Smith’s affairs, however, did not always end enjoyably. A mob approached Smith after learning of his relationship with Marinda, beat him, and tarred and feathered him. When Smith was discovered having intercourse with 16-year-old Fanny Alger by his wife, Emma threw Fanny out of the house. Regardless of these consequences, Smith continued to practice polygamy. He believed in the principle, but he felt it was not yet time to reveal it to his followers.

In July 1843, Smith declared the principle in his writing, but the revelation was not conveyed to his followers until after his death. Between 1840 and 1844, Smith spiritually married approximately 40 women, many still young girls, such as in the case of 14-year-old Helen Mar Kimball. In many instances, Smith revealed to the girls and women that it was God’s will that they marry him and that denying the request would mean they had lost their place in the celestial kingdom. Although his private actions suggested otherwise, Smith repeatedly publicly denounced polygamy. 

Although Smith publicly denied polygamy, he continued to practice it, as did many in his immediate circle, much to the dismay of his wife Emma. She expected her husband to follow the vows he made at the time of their marriage, including fidelity. When Smith continued to have relations with other women, Emma threatened to take plural husbands. Smith recorded a revelation of God that spoke to the sanctity of plural marriage and called out Emma directly: “And I command mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not abide this commandment she shall be destroyed” (128). Smith’s revelation was clear: it was holy for men to take many wives, but women were not to take other husbands. Emma was not impressed by Smith’s alleged revelation.

Emma confided in Smith’s trusted advisor and friend William Law. Law begged Smith to abandon the principle, but Smith said he could not as it was God’s command, not his. Law attempted to create his own sect of Mormonism and used his vast wealth to open a new printing press, publishing a paper that revealed Smith’s indiscretions and pleaded with those practicing polygamy to abandon it. Smith was outraged at the publication and worried that it would divide his congregation. Two hundred members of Smith’s militia descended upon the printing press and burned the building.

While Illinois had welcomed Mormons with open arms, the same disagreements that had occurred in Missouri led to anti-Mormon sentiments in their new home. When Smith’s militia destroyed the printing press, Illinois residents felt that Smith was a tyrant who sought total control and denied the importance of the free press. Smith was charged with treason and a smattering of other crimes. He attempted to escape, but a letter from Emma brought him back, and Smith turned himself in. While Smith was awaiting trial, a mob of Illinois militiamen broke into the jail and shot both him and his brother. Joseph Smith died on June 27, 1844.