I went to the library and noticed something interesting when I was looking at the LDS section. There were at least eight books dedicated to Porter Rockwell. He had the second most books behing Joseph Smith. Is it simply because books about him sell? If that is the case, why? Does he bring out the inner-renegade in Mormons?

I think the fascination, at least mine, with him, is that he so totally loved and followed JS, but at the same time he would murder for him without a thought. How can you believe in a man as a prophet of God, in otherwords be a believing and God fearing man, yet at the same time have not a problem with murder? I loved reading about him, and I have a grandson named after him. That is just my guess. It is sort of like the "lying for the lord" idea the mo's so justify, only with him it was "killing for the lord."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/13/2011 05:16PM by think4u.

That had me stumped, Cabbie, and Hatch's wiki biography did not help, though I was stunned to find that the senator was born here in Pennsylvania, and went to law school in Pittsburgh.

Then I paid a virtual visit to Rockwell's grave, and it became clear, what Rockwell's first and middle names were.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=dfl&GRid=3463

A nice touch is that website's note, "The Virtual Flowers feature has been turned off for this memorial because it was being continually misused."

For years Porter named was not even mentioned due to the church trying to put on the face of love and kindness. But when the research was on on Porter it goes to show how hard core mormons really were back in the day.

I dunno . . . but my dumb@ss TBM SIL named her baby Porter a few years ago.

;o)

last known Mormon with balls.

I always found Wild Bill Hickman more interesting. Probably because he wrote a tell all book. Either way they were both murderous thugs.

But Rockwell had some virtues, even as a killing machine. He was loyal, and helpful, and resourceful as a spec ops soldier.

Bingo. Porter got pushed to the forefront because he was the more palatable of the two unsavory characters!
& it was done at the dictate of Brig Young who was angry at Hickman because Hickman had spoken to Fed Investigators in the wake of MMM. It infuriated Young. Hickman was essentially hiding out from the MORmONS by that time in the far reaches of tooele county tending cows for the Burtons, prominent MORmONS of burton lumber & now defunct beneficial life fame.
Young called in burton & demanded that Hickman be fired.
It was all business for B.Y. I recall this incident & LAUGH when anyone tells me how the LDS church advocates getting along & forgiveness. Youngs action against Hickman was a de facto death sentence at the time. Hickman retired to the plains of WYoming with some devoted family members & waited to die.

In diamond Lils restaurant in SLC there are many photos of prominent old time MORmONS. Hickman's is one of the largest and most striking. people often mistake it for Rockwell, whose photo is also prominently displayed, and shows him to be a very disheveled unremarkable person in appearance, Unlike William A.

in Draper because he had a farm and brewery there. Also a picture of him on an overpass abutement in cement at 123000 South in Draper. I guess he is some sort of hero now.

People like deviants on some level. The listen up when stories on the news are about serial killers etc.

Rockwell was a deviant that is safe to like for TBM's.

I think it's the same as peoples fascination with Charles Manson, Jeffery Dahmer, Vlad the Implaler, Ivan the Terrible, or Karen Greenlee.

Bodyguard.
Everyone is still fascinated by bodyguards. Just the fact that Joseph Smith Jr. had a bodyguard is fascinating.

Secondly, Joseph Smith Jr, gave him that odd promise not to cut his hair: "no bullet or blade can hurt thee." Joseph liked to get" Biblical"!

In Utah, his life is celebrated as he figures prominently in it's history with the Mormons.

He must have been "old" for the times, as he died of old age, at 65.

Read one of the books! Which reminds me, I don't have any books on his life. I think I need to read up on him, and refresh my memory.

He is a folk hero.

I remember as a kid I was taught that Porter Rockwell, and Lyman Wight, were heros that stopped those cruel nonmormon thugs from picking on the delightsome MOs. I don't know if the average TBM knows much more than that about him.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/14/2011 12:34PM by jon1.