150 years ago today - Aug 11, 1863

[RLDS Church] On 11 August 1863 Brigham Young and about thirty other church leaders met with Briggs and McCord to discuss the situation. The Reorganization missionaries declared their purpose, condemned the organization that Young headed, and immediately set up a confrontational relationship. As a result, Young told them he would not allow them to preach in any building that the church controlled in Utah Territory, which was most of them, and suggested that Briggs and McCord leave Utah because they might not be safe. Young said that zealots might try to cause them harm and that he "would not be responsible for [their lives] on the streets for a single hour." Whether this was an honest expression of concern or a veiled threat matters little, for there were no incidents of physical violence during the missionaries' stay in Utah. With enmity clearly showing between the factions the meeting then broke up; but, as they left, the missionaries declared their intention to continuing their preaching.

[Source: Utah History Encyclopedia: R.L.D.S Church, http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/r/REORGANIZEDCHURCH.html]

1 comment:

  1. This is the correct link:

    http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/r/REORGANIZED_CHURCH_LDS.html

    " ... an honest expression of concern or a veiled threat ..."

    This was a bluff of Brigham's. He already had blood on his hands from the MMM and he certainly did not want even more trouble from the main body of the Reorganization or from the U.S. Army troops stationed nearby.

    ReplyDelete

Please Enter your Comment: