ldsfaqs wrote:
Bull.... Do you understand English? An order was given which was KILL, and then there is an "or" added to the order.
If the order had said what you claim, it would have said.... "Drive the Mormons from the State "OR" kill their stupid butts!"
Instead, it was written the opposite..... Exterminate OR drive them off.
Read words for as they are, instead of what you wish them to be.
And as to Mormons firing on people..... Mormons were the ones going around killing people. They "reacting" in self defense to unlawful and immoral actions is not THEM being the bad guys.
Are you telling me YOU wouldn't fire on people that were threatening your life, family, community, property, livelihood etc.??? Of course you would. Stop making Mormons who just wanted to practice their religion the bad guys.
You are like liberals who blame Israel for simply existing and defending themselves when attacked. If bigotry and murder wasn't standard fair for that region, there would be no problems, for Israel would live in their area and others would live in theirs.
I understand English perfectly, do you? Exterminate is harsh language, but it was also used by the Mormons first. Do you think that Sidney Rigdon and Jo Smith wanted to commit genocide against the church dissenters? Kill their whole families? No, they wanted them to leave or be killed. Yet Rigdon said it would be a "war of extermination" on them and their families. You are getting too worked up over the language on both sides. It was a difficult situation for both sides, and there was plenty of blame to go around.
Personally, I don't own a gun and I wouldn't fire on anyone. I'd walk away. That is what Jesus told us to do. In fact, Jesus told us to give them your possessions. Now, there is nothing wrong with self defense, but I'm not personally comfortable with the thought of killing anybody. Maybe you are. The fact is, Jo and Sidney called for the extermination of those that left their church and were critical of it. Their response was to "exterminate" them. Gov. Boggs, on the other hand, was dealing with actual violence. His reaction was extreme, but the reaction of the Mormon Hierarchy to the dissenters was far worse, because (to my knowledge) not one of them had threatened any of their brethren.
As for "blaming Israel for existing", what does that have to do with the Rigdon/Bogg's call for extermination? It is not just wanting to "practice your religion" when you threaten to kill people who leave your church as Jo and Sidney did to Oliver Cowdery, the Whitmers, John Corrill, and others.