View source for Question: Was there an oath in a former version of the Mormon temple endowment that required vengeance upon the government of the United States?

{{Main Page}}
<onlyinclude>
==Question: Was there an oath in a former version of the Mormon temple endowment that required vengeance upon the government of the United States?==
===It is likely that there was an oath that asked members to pray that God would avenge the blood of the prophets===

Until 1927 the temple endowment very likely contained such an oath. The exact wording is not entirely clear, but it appears that it did ''not'' call on the Saints themselves to take vengeance on the United States, but that they would continue to pray that God himself might avenge the blood of the prophets.

Although the Oath of Vengeance contains no curses like those in the imprecatory psalms, like the psalmists, the Saints apparently had the wisdom to take directly to God their strong feelings in response to the injustices they had been dealt.  By doing so, they turned over to Him the responsibility for both justice and healing.

In nearly every anti-Mormon discussion of the temple, critics raise the issue of the "oath of vengeance" that existed during the 19th century and very early 20th century. These critics often misstate the nature of the oath and try to use its presence in the early temple endowment as evidence that the LDS temple ceremonies are ungodly, violent, and immoral.

The leaders of the Church have [[Temple endowment changes|modified the endowment]] from time to time. Prior to changes made in 1927, there was an oath to pray for the Lord's vengeance on those who murdered the prophets. In their sworn testimonies and temple exposes, apostates gave conflicting accounts on who was to do the actual avenging: the Lord or the Saints themselves.<ref>Van Hale, "The Alleged Oath of Vengeance," recorded 1 July 2007 during the ''Mormon Miscellaneous Worldwide Talk Show,''{{link|url=http://mormonmisc.podbean.com/2007/07/07/the-alleged-oath-of-vengeance/}}</ref> Surveying Mormon history for teachings about of vengeance can add perspective and  help evaluate which possibility is more likely. 

===During the Missouri conflict, the Saints were instructed through revelation to petition for governmental redress for the outrages they suffered===

In 1833, the Mormons were driven out of Jackson County, Missouri, in part due to anti-slavery sentiments that differed from the more established settlers. Through revelation, the Saints were instructed to petition for governmental redress for the outrages they suffered. The Saints were expected to be pacifists, but only up to a point.
{{scripture||D&C|98|23-31}}:

<blockquote>
Now, I speak unto you concerning your families—if men will smite you, or your families, once, and ye bear it patiently and revile not against them, neither seek revenge, ye shall be rewarded; But if ye bear it not patiently, it shall be accounted unto you as being meted out as a just measure unto you. And again, if your enemy shall smite you the second time, and you revile not against your enemy, and bear it patiently, your reward shall be an hundredfold. And again, if he shall smite you the third time, and ye bear it patiently, your reward shall be doubled unto you four-fold; And these three testimonies shall stand against your enemy if he repent not, and shall not be blotted out. And now, verily I say unto you, if that enemy shall escape my vengeance, that he be not brought into judgment before me, then ye shall see to it that ye warn him in my name, that he come no more upon you, neither upon your family, even your children’s children unto the third and fourth generation. And then, if he shall come upon you or your children, or your children’s children unto the third and fourth generation, I have delivered thine enemy into thine hands; And then if thou wilt spare him, thou shalt be rewarded for thy righteousness; and also thy children and thy children’s children unto the third and fourth generation. Nevertheless, thine enemy is in thine hands; and if thou rewardest him according to his works thou art justified; if he has sought thy life, and thy life is endangered by him, thine enemy is in thine hands and thou art justified.
</blockquote>

===The use of violence was condoned only in cases of self-defense or after the Lord had delivered up a previously warned enemy in the Saints hands=== 

Even then mercy towards enemies was encouraged and indications are that the Lord can fight his own battles (see v. 37) to extract his vengeance on the wicked. Note the repeated references to third and fourth generations of children that is added for rhetorical effect despite the impracticality of a single enemy being a menace for the encompassing time span.

===The earliest known oath of vengeance in a Mormon temple appears to have been introduced by Joseph Smith in Kirtland===

The earliest known oath of vengeance in a Mormon temple appears to have been introduced by Joseph Smith spontaneously at the Kirtland dedication on March 30, 1836:<ref>See 30 March 1836 Jesse Hitchcock record in "MS Joseph Smith Journal, 1835-36," 193 pp., ''Joseph Smith Collection,'' Church Archives cited in {{Book:Jessee:Personal Writings of Joseph Smith}}</ref>

:The seventies are at liberty to go to Zion if they please or go wheresoever they will and preach the gospel and let the redemption of Zion be our object, and strive to affect it by sending up all the strength of the Lords house whereever we find them, and I want to enter into the following covenant, that if any more of our brethren are slain or driven from their lands in Missouri by the mob that we will give ourselves no rest until we are avenged of our enimies to the uttermost, this covenant was sealed unanimously by a hosanna and Amen.

The Mormons used military force to defend themselves in Missouri, but eventually they were driven out after an exterminating order was issued against them by governor Boggs. Further petitions for redress in Missouri were met with rejection. Martin van Buren remarked "Your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you." Enemies in Missouri, including the next governor, conspired to kidnap Joseph in Illinois and bring him to Missouri to face trumped up charges.

===Nauvoo Developments: Wilford Woodruff later situated the temple instruction in praying for the Lord's biblical vengeance of blood of the prophets===

Perhaps anticipating his death, Joseph met often with apostles and other close associates to restore the temple endowment prior to the completion of the Nauvoo temple. Wilford Woodruff, later situated the temple instruction in praying for the Lord's biblical vengeance of blood of the prophets as follows:<ref>Wilford Woodruff interview, ''Deseret News'' 22 November 1889</ref>

:I have already said that there is nothing [antagonistic to the government in the Mormon endowments] of that kind in any part or phase of Mormonism. I ought to know about that as I am one of the oldest members of the church. A good deal is being made of a form of prayer based upon two verses in the sixth chapter of the revelations of St. John as contained in the New Testament. It relates to praying that God might avenge the blood of the prophets. An attempt has, I see, been made to connect this with avenging the death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith and to have reference to this nation. It can have no such application as the endowments were given long before the death of Joseph and Hyrum and have not been changed. This nation and government has never been charged by the Mormon people with the assassination of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. As it is well known the murder was the act of the local mob disguised.

===Recent generations of Latter-day Saints, who haven't experienced mob violence, may be surprised at or uncomfortable with such oaths===

Recent generations of Latter-day Saints, who haven't experienced mob violence, kidnapping attempts, and death threats, may be surprised at or uncomfortable with the feelings of many earlier saints who were praying for justice instead of praying for their enemies. But we live in kinder, gentler times; and nineteenth-century Mormons&mdash;especially those who came out of Nauvoo&mdash;saw the hand of God whenever their persecutors suffered misfortune, a feeling common to most powerless, persecuted minority groups.
  
After Joseph Smith's death, his closest friends continued to meet after his death.<ref>For a history of prayer circles, see {{BYUS | author=D. Michael Quinn | article=Latter-day Saint Prayer Circles|vol=19|num=1|date=Fall 1978|start=79|end=105}}{{pdflink|url=http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?/byustudies,712}}</ref> This group met to test revelation ("try all things"), pray for the healing of sick members, pray for the success of church projects, and pray for deliverance from their enemies. Heber C. Kimball recalled that after Joseph's death the prayer circle met and prayed for God's vengeance.<ref>See his 21 December 1845 diary entry in ''The Nauvoo Endowment Companies, 1845&ndash;1846: A Documentary History,''  Richard Van Wagoner, Devery Scott Anderson, and Gary James Bergera, eds. (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2005).</ref>

Summarizing Willard Richards' activities immediately after the martyrdom, historian Claire Noall wrote:

<blockquote>
True, in this [1850] speech Richards finally denounced the actual murderers; but when notifying the Church of Joseph Smith's death at Carthage jail, he wrote to Nauvoo that the people of Carthage expected the Mormons to rise, but he had "promised them no." The next day from the steps of the Prophet's home, he reminded his people that he had pledged his word and his honor for their peaceful conduct. And when writing the news of Smith's death to Brigham Young then near Boston, Willard Richards said the blood of martyrs does not cry from the ground for vengeance; vengeance is the Lord's.<ref>Claire Noall, "The Plains of Warsaw," ''Utah Historical Quarterly'' 25/1 (January 1957): 47&ndash;51.</ref>
</blockquote>

Temple work in general and, more specifically, prayers that God, rather than Mormon members, would avenge Joseph Smith is what was the salvation of the church in Nauvoo. Instead of giving vent to passionate desires for revenge using the impressively-sized Nauvoo Legion, the brethren were able to get members to channel their frustration and anger into petitions to the Almighty for justice. Their actual energy was concentrated on the things of heaven through temple building and service. Temple prayer became a way of ritually memorializing Joseph Smith's martyrdom.

===Conflict in Utah: To pray the Father to avenge the blood of the prophets and righteous men that has been shed===

After the exodus to Utah, ordinances usually reserved for the temple were performed in the Endowment House, while temple construction was in progress. In a late recollection, David H. Cannon described the instruction at the Endowment House in regards to vengeance:

<blockquote>
To pray the Father to avenge the blood of the prophets and righteous men that has been shed, etc. In the endowment house this was given but as persons went there only once, it was not so strongly impressed upon their minds, but in the setting in order [of] the endowments for the dead it was given as it is written in 9 Chapter of Revelations [''sic''] and in that language we importune our Father, not that we may, but that He, our Father, will avenge the blood of martyrs shed for the testimony of Jesus.<ref>{{Dialogue1 | author=David John Buerger | article=[http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/dialogue,27430 The Development of the Mormon Temple Endowment Ceremony]|vol=34|num=1|date=Spring/Summer 2001|start=103}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Although the religious stress was on letting God perform the actual vengeance, individuals sometimes imagined they might be called upon to take a more active role. This phenomenon reached a low point after the rhetorical hyperbole of Mormon Reformation<ref>{{periodical|author=Paul H. Peterson| article=[http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/jmh,17244 The Mormon Reformation of 1856–1857: The Rhetoric and the Reality] | journal=Journal of Mormon History| date=1989 | vol=15|num=1| start=59 |end=88}}</ref> and the war time hysteria created by President James Buchanan sending troops against Utah. From the pulpit, many Church leaders held the United States as a nation responsible for letting mobocracy get out of control. As tensions mounted, vengeance motifs surfaced in the apocalyptic language of some patriarchal blessings. The Saints were prepared to fight in a just war. 

While the Utah War was nearly a bloodless conflict, tragedy struck some caught in the crossfire. A recent work has examined the way conspiring, local Mormon leaders manipulated others to become complicit in the Mountain Meadows Massacre in part by exploiting their desires for vengeance.<ref>{{Book:Turley Walker Leonard:Massacre at Mountain Meadows/Full title|pages=13&ndash;14,92,135,181,286n48}}</ref> However, in their approach to explain how basically good people could commit such an atrocity, the authors found elements in common with vigilantism and mass killings perpetrated everywhere. They agree that these southern Utah Mormons were acting against the principles of their religion.<ref>{{Book:Turley Walker Leonard:Massacre at Mountain Meadows|pages=xiii&ndash;xiv}}</ref> Their oaths of taught them to channel their righteous indignation into petitioning God for justice while they worked constructively to build and defend Zion.

===The Reed Smoot Hearings brought to light that the Saints were covenanting to ask God to avenge the blood of Joseph Smith on the nation===

Most accounts of the temple ''oath of vengeance'' stressed that God, rather than man, would do the actual punishing. For example, August Lundstrom, an apostate Mormon, testified at the Reed Smoot hearings in December 1904:

:<span style="font-variant: small-caps">Mr.</span> [Robert W.] <span style="font-variant: small-caps">Tayler</span> [counsel for the protestants]: Can you give us the obligation of retribution?
:<span style="font-variant: small-caps">Mr. Lundstrom:</span> I can.
:<span style="font-variant: small-caps">Mr. Tayler:</span> You may give that.
:<span style="font-variant: small-caps">Mr. Lundstrom:</span> "We and each of us solemnly covenant and promise that '''''we shall ask God''''' to avenge the blood of Joseph Smith upon this nation." There is something more added, but that is all I can remember verbatim. That is the essential part.
:<span style="font-variant: small-caps">Mr. Tayler:</span> What was there left of it? What else?
:<span style="font-variant: small-caps">Mr. Lundstrom:</span> It was in regard to teaching our children and children's children to the last generation to the same effect.<ref>Testimony of August W. Lundstrom, ''Proceedings before the Committee on Privileges and Elections of the United States Senate in the Matter of the Protests Against the Right of Hon. Reed Smoot, a Senator from the State of Utah, to Hold His Seat'' (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1906), 2:153.{{pdflink|url=http://nboman.people.wm.edu/Smoot_2.pdf}}</ref>

One could object that Lundstrom, as an apostate, fabricated the existence of such an oath or, intentionally or unintentionally, distorted its wording. However, others who spoke publicly (such as David H. Cannon above) had similar recollections. 

===Biblical Perspective: justice is a responsibility reserved for God===

The Oath of Vengeance is a vivid reminder that the Saints understood the writings of the Apostle Paul&mdash;that justice is a responsibility reserved for God.

{{scripture||Romans|12|19}}

<blockquote>
19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
</blockquote>
</onlyinclude>
{{endnotes sources}}
[[es:Pregunta: ¿Hubo un juramento en una versión anterior de la investidura del templo mormón que requería venganza contra el gobierno de los Estados Unidos?]]

[[Category:American Massacre]]
[[Category:John Dehlin's "Questions and Answers"]]
[[Category:One Nation Under Gods]]
[[Category:Questions]]