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87-632: The White Horse Prophecy is the popular name of an influential but disputed version of a statement on the future of the Latter Day Saints (popularly called Mormons ) and the United States . It was given by Edwin Rushton in about 1900, and supposedly made in 1843 by Joseph Smith, Jr. , the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement . The Latter-day Saints, according to Rushton's version, would "go to

174-501: A Great Apostasy began in Christianity not long after the ascension of Jesus , marked with the corruption of Christian doctrine by Greek and other philosophies, and followers dividing into different ideological groups. Additionally, Latter Day Saints claim the martyrdom of the apostles led to a loss of priesthood authority to administer the church and its ordinances . According to Latter Day Saint churches, God re-established

261-665: A battleground state in the 1840 United States presidential election , and Latter Day Saints anticipated it might be again in 1844. In 1843, Smith sent letters to John C. Calhoun , Lewis Cass , Richard Mentor Johnson , Henry Clay, and Martin Van Buren , the five leading contenders for the presidency, inquiring about their plans for ending the persecution that the Mormons were suffering in Missouri. Only Calhoun, Cass, and Clay responded to Joseph Smith's letters, and they did not commit to helping

348-548: A protest candidate but then began to suspect that victory might be attainable. Smith wrote in his journal, "There is oratory enough in the church to carry me into the presidential chair on the first slide" and "When I look into the Eastern papers and see how popular I am, I am afraid I shall be president." Illinois, where the Latter Day Saint population was in a position to play a pivotal role in presidential politics, had been

435-508: A Mormon, Beck had remarked, "I heard Barack Obama talk about the Constitution and I thought, we are at the point or we are very near the point where our Constitution is hanging by a thread." Hatch appeared on Beck's Fox News show in January 2009, and Beck prompted him by declaring, "I believe our Constitution hangs by a thread." Blogger and religious commentator Joanna Brooks has said that "it

522-465: A Rigdon supporter, to assume leadership and the surviving members of Smith's immediate family remained unaffiliated with any larger body until 1860, when they formed the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with Joseph's eldest son Joseph Smith III as prophet. These various groups are sometimes referred to under two geographical headings: "Prairie Saints" (those that remained in

609-642: A bloc behind candidates endorsed by church leaders. As a result, the city's Latter Day Saint residents held the balance of power between the Democrats and Whigs in state elections. Smith also commanded a quasi-public military force, the Nauvoo Legion , that with 2,500 men was almost one-third the size of the U.S. Army . Wicks and Foister argue in Junius and Joseph that political operatives with ties to Smith's Whig opponent Henry Clay were present at events surrounding

696-412: A complex theological, historical, and sociological relationship. Mormons express the doctrines of Mormonism using standard biblical terminology, and claim to have similar views about the nature of Jesus ' atonement , resurrection , and Second Coming as traditional Christianity . Nevertheless, Mormons agree with non-Mormons that their view of God is significantly different from the trinitarian view of

783-512: A country of every vestige of slavery, whenever they are assured of an equivalent for their property." Smith's compensated emancipation proposal was reportedly well received in Kentucky. Although Smith warned, "Speculators will urge a national bank as a savior of credit and comfort," he also put forward his own proposal for a national bank , which would operate on a principle of full-reserve banking . The mother bank's capital stock would be owned by

870-560: A great and mighty people established there, which I will call the White Horse of peace and safety." Smith added "I shall never go there" and predicted continued persecution by enemies of the church, and he reportedly said, "You will see the Constitution of the United States almost destroyed. It will hang like a thread as fine as a silk fiber.... I love the Constitution; it was made by the inspiration of God; and it will be preserved and saved by

957-694: A means to salvation. However, beginning with his accounts of the First Vision in the 1830s and 1840s, Smith—who said that Christ had told him not to join any existing church—departed significantly from traditional Christianity, claiming all churches of his day were part of a Great Apostasy that had lost the authority to direct Christ's church. Mormonism does not characterize itself as a Protestant religion, as Smith taught that he had received revelation direct from Christ to restore his original church. Mormons believe that God, through Smith and his successors, restored these truths and doctrinal clarifications, and, initiating

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1044-625: A new heavenly dispensation, restored the original church and Christianity taught by Jesus. For example, Smith rejected the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity as of one body and substance, with no "body, parts, or passions", and instead taught that the Godhead included God, the Eternal Father, also known as Elohim ; his only-begotten son in the flesh, Jesus Christ, also known as Jehovah , the savior and redeemer of

1131-464: A prophet of God that there will yet devolve upon the Priesthood of this Church the responsibility of protecting the rights and the Constitution of our great country." Then again in general conference in 1941 he says, "If our rights expire in a convulsion, the body politic now being slowly drugged by the opiate of a borrowed prosperity, will suffer a major financial operation, which will cause the death of

1218-467: A revelation from God that officially changed the name to the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints". In 1844, William Law and several other Latter Day Saints in church leadership positions publicly denounced Smith's secret practice of polygamy in the Nauvoo Expositor , and formed their own church . The city council of Nauvoo, Illinois , led by Smith, subsequently had the printing press of

1305-403: A smaller body would "do more business than the army that now occupy the halls of the national legislature." More generally, he warned, "No honest man can doubt for a moment but the glory of American liberty is on the wane" and exhorted the people, "Curtail the officers of government in pay, number, and power". He argued, "More economy in the national and state governments would make less taxes among

1392-550: A statement that said that the church is "politically neutral" and hoped that "the campaign practices of political candidates would not suggest that their candidacy is supported by or connected to the church." Rammell later retracted his original plan to limit his meetings to Latter-day Saint men and apologized to "all those citizens who are not members of the LDS faith, who have expressed a sincere interest in attending my meetings and discussing this prophecy and how we can step forward and save

1479-472: Is likely that Beck owes his brand of Founding Father–worship to Mormonism.... Many Mormons also believe that Joseph Smith prophesied in 1843 that the US Constitution would one day 'hang by a thread' and be saved by faithful Mormons." Washington Post journalist Dana Milbank has described Beck's views as essentially "White Horse Prophecy meets horsemen of the apocalypse," but Milbank has also observed that

1566-574: Is not embraced as Church doctrine." Also in 2010, Latter-day Saint historian Don L. Penrod examined significant differences in two early handwritten accounts of the prophecy, noted some words and phrases that were not characteristic of Joseph Smith's speaking style or current in his time, and speculated that Rushton had "in his elderly years recorded some things that [Smith] actually said, mixing in words of his own creation." It additionally noted that "memories of words and events, especially many years later, are often faulty." Several sources attribute to Smith

1653-513: Is now in the balance." On the Constitution, Clark went on to cite its "free institutions," separation of powers , and the Bill of Rights . He added that "if we are to live as a Church, and progress, and have the right to worship... we must have the great guarantees that are set up by our Constitution." In a 1986 Brigham Young University speech, Ezra Taft Benson , then president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, stated, "I have faith that

1740-448: Is that Mormonism is a form of Christianity, but is distinct enough from traditional Christianity so as to form a new religious tradition, much as Christianity has roots in but is a distinct religion from Judaism. The Mormonism that originated with Smith in the 1820s shared strong similarities with some elements of 19th-century Protestant Christianity including the necessity of baptism, emphasis on family, and central doctrine on Christ as

1827-547: The Book of Mormon , which he published in 1830 as a complement to the Bible . Based on the teachings of this book and other revelations, Smith founded a Christian primitivist church, called the "Church of Christ ". The Book of Mormon attracted hundreds of early followers, who later became known as " Mormons ", "Latter Day Saints", or just "Saints". In 1831, Smith moved the church headquarters to Kirtland, Ohio , and in 1838 changed its name to

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1914-646: The Expositor destroyed. In spite of Smith's later offer to pay damages for destroyed property, critics of Smith and the church considered the destruction heavy-handed. Some called for the Latter Day Saints to be either expelled or destroyed. Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, the Assistant President of the Church , were both killed by a mob while in a Carthage, Illinois jail , and several individuals within

2001-789: The Midwest United States ); and "Rocky Mountain Saints" (those who followed Young to what would later become the state of Utah). Today, the vast majority (over 98 percent) of Latter Day Saints belong to the LDS Church, which reports over 16 million members worldwide. The second-largest denomination is the Missouri-based Community of Christ, which reports 252,000 members. Small denominations that trace their origins to Rigdon, James Strang , or other associates of Smith's still exist, and several fundamentalist sects which separated from

2088-680: The Nicene Creed of the 4th century. Mormons consider the Bible as scripture and have also adopted additional scriptures. These include the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants , and Pearl of Great Price , although not all denominations use all books as part of their scriptures. Mormons not only practice baptism and celebrate the eucharist but also participate in religious rituals not practiced in traditional Christianity. Focusing on differences, some Christians consider Mormonism "non-Christian"; members of

2175-534: The Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , which supports lineal succession of leadership from Smith's descendants, and the more controversial Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints , which defends the practice of polygamy . The movement began in western New York during the Second Great Awakening when Smith said that he received visions revealing a new sacred text,

2262-568: The Rocky Mountains and... be a great and mighty people," associated in the prophecy's figurative language, with one of the biblical four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in the Book of Revelation . Smith's supposed original statement predicts that the US Constitution will one day "hang like a thread" but be saved by Latter-day Saints. The embellished version portrays it to be "by the efforts of

2349-540: The Salt Lake Tribune , "I haven't heard my name associated with [the White Horse Prophecy] or anything of that nature. That's not official church doctrine.... I don't put that at the heart of my religious belief." Conservative media figure Glenn Beck , who joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1999, has alleged that President Barack Obama "is going to bring us to the verge of shredding

2436-606: The Twelve Apostles , including Brigham Young , from mob violence, since in the faraway places such as Boston where they were traveling, they were out of reach of the Carthage mob. John Taylor and Willard Richards were the only two apostles left behind in Nauvoo. On the other hand, George R. Gayler notes that the absence of Mormon leaders such as Young, Heber C. Kimball , Orson and Parley P. Pratt , Orson Hyde , and John D. Lee ,

2523-1316: The early Christian church as found in the New Testament through Joseph Smith. In particular, Latter Day Saints believe that angels such as Peter , James , John , and John the Baptist appeared to Smith and others and bestowed various priesthood authorities on them. Thus, Smith and his successors are considered modern prophets who receive revelation from God to guide the church.     * ^  Membership worldwide; generally church-reported; with an occasional exception     ^ Once larger [REDACTED] Media related to Latter Day Saints at Wikimedia Commons [REDACTED] The dictionary definition of Latter-Day Saint at Wiktionary [REDACTED] Works related to Category:Mormons at Wikisource [REDACTED] Quotations related to Category:Latter Day Saints at Wikiquote Joseph Smith 1844 presidential campaign The campaign of Latter Day Saint movement founder Joseph Smith and his vice presidential running mate, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints First Presidency first counselor Sidney Rigdon , took place in 1844. The United States presidential election of that year

2610-447: The "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints". After the church in Ohio collapsed due to a financial crisis and dissensions, in 1838, Smith and the body of the church moved to Missouri. However, they were persecuted and the Latter Day Saints fled to Illinois. After Smith was killed in 1844, a succession crisis led to the organization splitting into several groups. The largest of these,

2697-488: The "latter days", before the Second Coming of Christ , and is used to distinguish the members of the church, which considers itself the restoration of the ancient Christian church. Members are therefore often referred to as " Latter-day Saints " or "LDS", and among themselves, "saints". The Latter Day Saint movement classifies itself within Christianity, but as a distinct restored dispensation . Latter Day Saints hold that

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2784-459: The Constitution and the country would be in danger of an overthrow; and... if the Constitution be saved at all, it will be by the elders of Church." In 1922, the Church's fifth presiding bishop , Charles W. Nibley , stated that "the day would come when there would be so much of disorder, of secret combinations taking the law into their own hands, tramping upon Constitutional rights and the liberties of

2871-468: The Constitution will be saved as prophesied by Joseph Smith. But it will not be saved in Washington. It will be saved by the citizens of this nation who love and cherish freedom. It will be saved by enlightened members of this Church – men and women who will subscribe to and abide by the principles of the Constitution." In 2010, Elder Dallin H. Oaks spoke at a Constitution Day celebration and warned about

2958-527: The Constitution, of massive socialism." On November 14, 2008, after Obama's election, Beck appeared on Bill O'Reilly 's show The O'Reilly Factor and said that "we are at the place where the Constitution hangs in the balance, I feel the Constitution is hanging in the balance right now, hanging by a thread unless the good Americans wake up." Earlier in November, while interviewing US Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, also

3045-629: The European nobility "knows that [Mormonism] is true, but it has not pomp enough, and grandeur and influence for them to yet embrace it." He is also reported to have said that a temple that the Latter-day Saints had planned to build in Jackson County, Missouri "will be built in this generation." In 1844, Smith rejected the platforms of the major candidates for president of the United States and decided to conduct his own third-party campaign which

3132-995: The Future, by scriptural scholar and lay theologian Duane Crowther in 1962; and, more recently, the Prophecy has been referenced in the writings of speculative theology by the Mormon fundamentalist Ogden Kraut . In 1918, Joseph F. Smith , president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dismissed the White Horse Prophecy as a "ridiculous story... and a lot of trash that has been circulated about... by two of our brethren who put together some broken sentences from [Joseph Smith] that they may have heard from time to time." In his 1966 book Mormon Doctrine , Latter-day Saint theologian (and later apostle ) Bruce R. McConkie wrote, "From time to time, accounts of various supposed visions, revelations, and prophecies are spread forth by and among

3219-490: The LDS Church after it rejected plural marriage in 1890 claim tens of thousands of members. Most members of Latter Day Saint churches are adherents to Mormonism , a theology based on Joseph Smith's later teachings and further developed by Brigham Young, James Strang and others who claimed to be Smith's successors. The term Mormon derives from the Book of Mormon , and most of these adherents refer to themselves as Latter Day Saints or Mormons. Mormonism and Christianity have

3306-505: The LDS Church, focusing on similarities, are offended at being so characterized. Mormons do not accept non-Mormon baptism. Mormons regularly proselytize individuals actually or nominally within the Christian tradition, and some Christians, especially evangelicals , proselytize Mormons. The LDS Church has a formal missionary program with nearly 70,000 missionaries, with 15 training centers and 407 missions worldwide. A prominent scholarly view

3393-641: The LDS Church, migrated under the leadership of Brigham Young to the Great Basin (now Utah ) and became known for its 19th-century practice of polygamy . The LDS Church officially renounced this practice in 1890 and gradually discontinued it, resulting in Utah Territory becoming a U.S. state . This change resulted in the formation of several small sects that sought to maintain polygamy and other 19th-century doctrines and practices, now referred to as " Mormon fundamentalism ". Other groups originating within

3480-549: The Latter Day Saint movement followed different paths in Missouri , Illinois , Michigan , and Pennsylvania . For the most part, these groups rejected plural marriage and some of Smith's later teachings. The largest of these, Community of Christ (known previously as the "Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints"), was formed in Illinois in 1860 by several groups uniting around Smith's son, Joseph Smith III . The founder of

3567-474: The Latter Day Saint movement was Joseph Smith, and to a lesser extent, during the movement's first two years, Oliver Cowdery . Throughout his life, Smith told of an experience he had as a boy having seen God the Father and Jesus Christ as two separate beings, who told him that the true church of Jesus Christ had been lost and would be restored through him, and that he would be given the authority to organize and lead

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3654-548: The Latter Day Saints. Smith wrote scathing replies to these letters, denouncing the subterfuges of politicians. On January 29, 1844, Smith held a meeting in the mayor's office at Nauvoo with the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and others. It was unanimously decided that Smith would run for president on an independent platform. Smith remarked, "I would not have suffered my name to have been used by my friends on any wise as President of

3741-516: The Latter-day Saints were headquartered in Nauvoo, Illinois . One of Smith's associates who heard the statement was Edwin Rushton. The most complete copy of Rushton's version of Joseph Smith's statement is contained in a 1902 diary entry made by John Roberts of Paradise, Utah . That rendering asserted that in his statement, Smith had prophesied that the Mormons "will go to the Rocky Mountains and will be

3828-449: The Latter-day Saints, who should know better than to believe or spread such false information. One of these false and deceptive documents that has cropped up again and again for over a century is the so-called White Horse Prophecy." In early 2010, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement stating that "the so-called 'White Horse Prophecy' is based on accounts that have not been substantiated by historical research and

3915-572: The Lord has revealed and what [the Mormons], through listening to the Lord and being obedient, will help to bring about, to stabilize and give permanency and effect to the Constitution itself. That also is our mission." In 1938 Joseph L. Wirthlin second counselor in the Church's Presiding Bishopric in the October 1938 General Conference quoted Brigham Young , and then says, "We see from this prophecy, uttered by

4002-552: The Rushton version of the Prophecy, the Church has stated that "the so-called 'White Horse Prophecy'... is not embraced as Church doctrine; while numerous Mormon fundamentalists continue to preach the doctrine." Latter-day Saint Church founder Joseph Smith went to Washington, DC , in November 1839 in an unsuccessful attempt to obtain help for his persecuted followers. Pat Bagley of the Salt Lake Tribune wrote that from then on, Smith and his followers "considered themselves

4089-452: The Saints a candidate they could support in good conscience; avoiding a political party fiasco between the Whigs and Democrats in Illinois; publicizing the Latter Day Saint cause to help obtain redress for Church members' lost property in Missouri; and bringing the tenets of the church and the political ideas of its prophet to the attention of the nation. Another effect of the campaign was to protect

4176-609: The United States Constitution that each elector cast at least one of his votes (for president and vice president) for a candidate who is not an inhabitant of the same state as himself, Smith wanted to choose a running mate who was not a resident of Illinois. New York educator James Arlington Bennet was invited to be Smith's running mate, but the invitation was withdrawn due to a misunderstanding regarding Bennet's supposed birth in Ireland, which would have made him ineligible for

4263-457: The United States Constitution." Latter Day Saint movement Collectively, these churches have over 17 million nominal members, including over 17 million belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), 250,000 in Community of Christ , and several other denominations with memberships generally ranging in the thousands of members. The predominant theology of

4350-468: The United States may have been saved from the bloodiest election in its history by the death of the Prophet." Scholars have debated what Smith thought his chances of winning were. At the same time that Smith was running for president, he was also making plans to move the Saints from Nauvoo to Texas or Oregon, for the safety of them and their property. Historian Richard Bushman argues that Smith started out as

4437-527: The United States, or candidate for that office, if I and my friends could have had the privilege of enjoying our religious and civil rights as American citizens, even those rights which the Constitution guarantees unto all her citizens alike." On March 11, 1844, Smith organized the Council of Fifty , a deliberative political body to promote Smith's candidacy. Due to the requirement in the Twelfth Amendment to

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4524-435: The White Horse Prophecy is "actually a fairly benign prophecy. They're talking about restoring law and order and peace and tranquility. It doesn't sound like a violent thing." In 2009, Idaho gubernatorial candidate Rex Rammell announced plans to hold a series of meetings with believing Mormon men, which were to include discussion of the White Horse Prophecy. In response, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued

4611-505: The White Horse Prophecy, have arisen from time to time as prominent church members have become involved in American politics. The White Horse Prophecy has been characterized as "effectively plac[ing] believers on perpetual Red Alert for the Constitution's possible demise" and as admonishing Mormons to "come to the rescue and restore the true Constitution by any means necessary." Writers such as Richard Abanes and Elaine Wolff have speculated, on

4698-506: The White Horse Prophecy. In 1967, US presidential candidate George W. Romney said the following on the White Horse Prophecy: "I have always felt that they meant that sometime the question of whether we are going to proceed on the basis of the Constitution would arise and at this point government leaders who were Mormons would be involved in answering that question." In 2007, US presidential candidate Mitt Romney , George's son, told

4785-558: The White Horse." On the basis of either Rushton's version or Smith's original statement, some critics of Mormonism and some Mormon folk doctrine enthusiasts hold that Mormons should expect that the US will eventually become a theocracy dominated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . The idea that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will at one or more times take action to save an imperiled US Constitution has been referenced by numerous Church leaders, but as to

4872-596: The basis of the prophecy, that Mormons expect that the US will eventually become a "Mormon-ruled theocracy divinely ordained to 'not only direct the political affairs of the Mormon community, but eventually those of the United States and ultimately the world'" and that "a Mormon, if he were elected president, would take his orders from Salt Lake City." Besides many members of the Republican Party , some Democratic Party church members have also been inspired to run for office by

4959-452: The buildings for "seminaries of learning" so that intelligence would banish barbarism. Smith suggested reforming criminals through "reason and friendship" and wrote, "Petition your State legislatures to pardon every convict in their several penitentiaries, blessing them as they go, and saying to them, in the name of the Lord, Go thy way, and sin no more . Advise your legislators, when they make laws for larceny, burglary, or any felony, to make

5046-612: The campaign as a proselytizing opportunity as well as a political mission, and therefore continued on their mission of preaching, baptizing, visiting church branches , and curbing apostasies after Smith's death ended the campaign. They began referring to Smith as a martyr. Smith's platform was published in the pamphlet "Views of the Powers and Policy of the Government of the United States", which his electioneers distributed and presented in public and private meetings, and read to congregations of

5133-544: The church and the general public. In a change from the strongly anti- abolitionist stance that he had previously adopted, Smith proposed the abolition of slavery by the year 1850 through compensated emancipation funded with revenue from the sale of public lands, and with the savings from cutting the salaries of members of the United States Congress from $ 8/day to $ 2/day. Smith explained, "The Southern people are hospitable and noble. They will help to rid so free

5220-574: The church claimed to be the senior surviving authority and appointed successors. These various claims resulted in a succession crisis. Many supported Brigham Young, the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles ; others Sidney Rigdon , the senior surviving member of the First Presidency . Emma Hale Smith failed to persuade William Marks , the president of the Presiding High Council and

5307-580: The churches in the movement is Mormonism , which sees itself as restoring again on Earth the early Christian church ; their members are most commonly known as Mormons . An additional doctrine of the church allows for prophets to receive and publish modern-day revelations . A minority of Latter Day Saint adherents, such as members of Community of Christ, have been influenced by Protestant theologies while maintaining certain distinctive beliefs and practices including continuing revelation , an open canon of scripture and building temples . Other groups include

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5394-562: The distinctive theological developments they believe to have been developed later in Mormonism. The beliefs within the LDS Church with regard to saints are similar but not quite the same as the Protestant tradition. In the New Testament , saints are all those who have entered into the Christian covenant of baptism. The qualification "latter-day" refers to the doctrine that members are living in

5481-485: The efforts of the White Horse, and by the Red Horse who will combine in its defense." According to the diary, Smith also said that Mormons would send missionaries to "gather the honest in heart from among the Pale Horse, or people of the United States, to stand by the Constitution of the United States as it was given by the inspiration of God." The account quotes Smith as predicting numerous wars involving Great Britain, France, Russia, China, and other countries, and saying that

5568-478: The entire manpower of the church in the campaign. Smith presidential electors were appointed and D. S. Hollister was sent to Baltimore to observe and possibly lobby for the Smith candidacy at the Whig and Democratic national conventions . The Latter Day Saints formed a new political party, the Reform Party , that held a nomination convention on 17 May which was attended by delegates from all 26 states and ten Illinois counties. The nomination of Smith and Rigdon

5655-432: The federal government, and the bank's branches would be owned by their respective states. The officers and directors would be elected annually by the people. Smith proposed the adoption of a "judicious tariff " to protect agriculture, manufactures, navigation, and commerce. Smith also called for a reduction in the size of the United States House of Representatives to two members per million of population, believing that

5742-498: The idea that the US Constitution would one day hang by a thread, and Church leaders have issued similar warnings about the Constitution. In 1855, Brigham Young reportedly wrote that "when the Constitution of the United States hangs, as it were, upon a single thread, they will have to call for the 'Mormon' Elders to save it from utter destruction; and they will step forth and do it." In 1858, Orson Hyde , another contemporary of Smith, wrote that Smith believed "the time would come when

5829-472: The importance of preserving the US Constitution. To that end, he claimed that "all citizens—whatever their religious or philosophical persuasion" should maintain several responsibilities regarding the Constitution: understand it, support the law, practice civic virtue, maintain civility in political discourse, and promote patriotism. Questions on Latter-day Saint attitudes towards the United States government, whether they are considered on their own or as parts of

5916-434: The land. He remarked: And when a neighboring realm petitioned to join the union of the sons of liberty, my voice would be come —yea, come, Texas; come, Mexico; come, Canada; and come, all the world: let us be brethren, let us be one great family, and let there be a universal peace. Abolish the cruel custom of prisons (except certain cases), penitentiaries, courts-martial for desertion; and let reason and friendship reign over

6003-399: The last Real Americans" and "the legitimate heirs of the pilgrims and Founding Fathers ," who would be called upon one day to save the US Constitution. Smith is believed to have said in 1840 that when the Constitution hung by a thread, Latter Day Saint elders would step in "on the white horse " to save the country. Joseph Smith is said to have made his statement in early May 1843, while

6090-406: The most important of which is that Christ is the savior of the world and that he suffered for the world's sins so that the penitent can return to live in heaven. A small fraction of Latter Day Saints, most notably those within Community of Christ, the second largest Latter Day Saint denomination, follow a traditional Protestant theology. Community of Christ views God in trinitarian terms, and reject

6177-424: The next president. Hundreds of elders volunteered, and the Quorum of the Twelve scheduled public political conferences in each state. Electioneers included Wilford Woodruff , Franklin D. Richards , Heber C. Kimball , Moses Tracy and his wife Nancy, John D. Lee , Ezra T. Benson , Norton Jacob , James Burgess , Edson Barney , George Miller , Joseph Holbrook , and David Pettegrew , among others. Smith enlisted

6264-489: The penalty applicable to work upon roads, public works, or any place where the culprit can be taught more wisdom and more virtue, and become more enlightened." Smith advocated elimination of courts martial , proposing that deserters instead be given their pay and dishonorably discharged , never again to merit the nation's trust. Smith called for a day when "the neighbor from any State or from any country, of whatever color, clime, or tongue, could rejoice when he put his foot on

6351-407: The people". Praising the vision of the "respected and venerable Thomas Jefferson ", he remarked, "what a beautiful prospect an innocent, virtuous nation presents to the sage's eye where there is space for enterprise, hands for industry, heads for heroes, and hearts for moral greatness." Smith advocated reforming the penal system by mostly abolishing prisons , including debtor's prisons , and using

6438-453: The people, that the Constitution would hang as by a thread. Yes, but it will still hang, and there will be enough of good people, many who may not belong to our Church at all, people who have respect for law and for order, and for Constitutional rights, who will rally around with us and save the Constitution." In 1928, the apostle Melvin J. Ballard of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints remarked that "the prophet Joseph Smith said

6525-453: The presidency under the Constitution's natural-born-citizen clause . Colonel Solomon Copeland , a state legislator and wealthy and prominent resident of Paris, Tennessee , was then offered the position, but he declined. Rigdon, a Pennsylvanian, then became Smith's running mate. At the April 9, 1844 church general conference , a call was made for volunteers to electioneer for Joseph Smith to be

6612-470: The raid on the jail where Smith was awaiting trial for treason, among other charges. In his campaign platform, Smith proposed to gradually end slavery, to reduce the size of Congress, to re-establish a national bank, to annex Texas, California, and Oregon, to reform prisons, and to authorize the federal government to protect the liberties of Latter Day Saints and other minorities. Motivations that have been cited for Smith's candidacy include wanting to give

6699-441: The ruins of ignorance and barbarity; yea, I would, as the universal friend of man, open the prisons, open the eyes, open the ears, and open the hearts of all people, to behold and enjoy freedom—unadulterated freedom. Smith advocated granting of power to the president to suppress mobs without waiting for a request from state governors (as required by Article Four of the Constitution ), on the principle that "The governor himself may be

6786-440: The sacred soil of freedom, and exclaim, The very name of ' American ' is fraught with friendship! " With regard to territories that opted to remain outside the federal union, Smith opined that "wisdom would direct no tangling alliance ". Smith suggested as an alternative accepting into the union Texas , California , and Oregon , as well as other countries, with the consent of the peoples concerned, including any Indians inhabiting

6873-401: The time will come when, through secret organizations taking the law into their own hands... the Constitution of the United States would be so torn and rent asunder, and life and property and peace and security would be held of so little value, that the Constitution would, as it were, hang by a thread. This Constitution will be preserved, but it will be preserved very largely in consequence of what

6960-436: The true Church of Christ. The Latter Day Saint church was formed on April 6, 1830, consisting of a community of believers in the western New York towns of Fayette , Manchester , and Colesville . The church was formally organized under the name of the "Church of Christ". By 1834, the church was referred to as the "Church of the Latter Day Saints" in early church publications, and in 1838 Smith announced that he had received

7047-502: The world's greatest democracy; and the vultures and the buzzards of some foreign "ism" will be waiting the moment to step in and devour the carcass" and then refers to the Brigham Young prophecy. In 1942, J. Reuben Clark , an apostle and a member of the church's First Presidency , said that "You and I have heard all our lives that the time may come when the Constitution may hang by a thread.... I do know that whether it shall live or die

7134-526: The world; and the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit, an individual personage of spirit whose influence can be felt in many places at once. Further, Smith taught that the essence of all humans is co-eternal with God and that humans, as the spirit offspring of God the Father, have the potential to become like God. The LDS Church, the largest Mormon denomination, while acknowledging its differences with mainstream Christianity, often focuses on its commonalities, which are many,

7221-452: Was a great disadvantage to Smith when he was arrested and imprisoned at Carthage, and that these missing apostles were then hurriedly recalled, but arrived at Nauvoo too late. He also notes that Mormon political conventions in Boston and Dresden, Tennessee , ended in riots, and that judging "from the troubles in Illinois, Massachusetts and Tennessee due largely to the announcement of his candidacy,

7308-537: Was cut short by his murder on June 27 that year. After a succession crisis in which Brigham Young was accepted as Smith's successor by the majority of the Latter-day Saints, the Mormon migration to the Intermountain West began, under Young's direction, in February 1846. The authenticity of the White Horse Prophecy is much disputed. Most of its symbolistic content was not attested to during Smith's lifetime but

7395-569: Was instead asserted by Rushton many years after Smith's death. Whereas a philosophical kernel in Rushton's version is confirmed by contemporary Church leaders as having been taught by Smith, Rushton's formulation, as a whole, has often been repudiated by the Church over the years since as early as 1918. An analysis of the White Horse Prophesy was included, along with mentions of its questioned authenticity, as an appendix within Prophecy: Key to

7482-424: Was scheduled for November 1 to December 4, but Smith was killed in Carthage, Illinois , on June 27. Smith was the first Latter Day Saint to seek the presidency, and the first American presidential candidate to be assassinated. In 1844, Smith was the mayor of Nauvoo, Illinois , which was then the second most populous city in Illinois with 12,000 residents. Latter Day Saint leaders requested that adherents vote in

7569-452: Was uncontested, and a platform was adopted stating that the party would support Smith for the presidency, "the better to carry out the principles of liberty and equal rights, Jeffersonian democracy , free trade , and sailors' rights , and the protection of person and property." Arrangements were entered into to hold a national convention in New York on 13 July. Many of the electioneers used

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