This post is an addendum to this one:

http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1763474,1763545#msg-1763545

In that post, I had written:

"Smith and Rigdon were really just empire-seekers. They wanted the land in Missouri so they could build an agriculture-based financial empire. Fort Leavenworth was across the river in Kansas, and Smith and Rigdon hoped to get rich on Army supply contracts. Their preaching of building a 'New Jerusalem' and 'Zion' were just a front for their secret land-and-money-grabbing scheme."

The church, of course, teaches that western Missouri was the location of the ancient Garden of Eden, and that it was to become the Latter-day "Zion," with a magnificent temple built there. I recently retrieved from my attic the book "The 1838 Mormon War In Missouri" by Stephen LeSueur, which provides further detail on Smith's and Rigdon's true intentions for wanting to settle in, and take over, western Missouri:

"Northern Missouri's Platte country, only recently annexed by the state, had previously served as a government relocation center for American Indians. In 1830 Congress assigned the Sacs, Foxes, Iowas, and a number of other tribes two million acres of choice land east of the Missouri River, bordering Missouri's northwestern boundaries. Local settlers complained loudly; not only did they object to having the Indians located so closely to their borders, but they also coveted the country's fertile valleys and prairies, and they wanted the easy access to the Missouri River those lands would provide. In addition, Fort Leavenworth lay directly across the Missouri River, the garrison's six hundred soldiers and the numerous Indian tribes nearby providing an abundant market for Missouri produce and labor. The temptation proved too much for Missouri settlers, and by 1835 more than two hundred families had settled on Indian lands. The endless complaints from Missouri's congressmen---Sen. Thomas H. Benton labeled the Indians a 'useless and dangerous population'; Sen. Lewis F. Linn warned that the illegal white settlers could not be removed without violence---finally persuaded the federal government to move the Indians across the Missouri River. Land-hungry settlers from Missouri's western counties immediately swarmed to the new area when it was officially attached to the state in 1837...

"The rapid influx of Mormons alarmed the older settlers, especially those who had purchased land or town lots in areas they hoped to develop into prosperous communities. [Mormon bishop] John Corrill reported that the Mormon settlement at Diahman 'stirred up the people of Davies in some degree, [because] they saw that if this town was built up rapidly it would injure Gallatin, their county seat....' In addition, once the Saints moved into a neighborhood, property values would decline because non-Mormons refused to settle there...

"The developing Mormon enterprises also threatened to displace established merchants and businesses, especially in their trade with Fort Leavenworth. The garrison, located just thirty miles west of Caldwell County, purchased supplies not only for itself, but also for the numerous Indian tribes whose reservations surrounded the fort. Local settlers considered the fort's presence a godsend because of the great wealth it brought to the region. Leavenworth's vast market also caught the notice of Mormon leaders, who published enthusiastic reports of the large quantities of goods and grains purchased---and the high prices paid---at the fort. By early October the Mormons' newly organized cooperative firms began bidding for government contracts. The increased competition was not welcomed by the non-Mormon citizens. Consequently, while some merchants viewed the burgeoning Mormon population as an opportunity for increased business, others feared their investments in their farms and towns would be wiped out by the new Mormon communities." (Lesueur, pp. 21, 34-35.)

So we see that the Mormons' troubles in Missouri weren't the product of "religious persecution," but rather was a land-and-money war between competing factions. About 12,000 Mormons moved into the area en masse and tried to squeeze out
the settlers who had already been there for years. Smith and Rigdon concocted the idea that the area was "Adam-ondi-Ahman" and "Zion" in order to induce their disciples to move there and provide the manpower for their planned agricultural-based financial empire. The Missourians retaliated and booted the Mormons out.

And now you know the rest of the story.

Great, informative post! I love Mormon history. Everything I learned in seminary turns out to be false.

What do you expect from a cult? The Truth?

That would be a novel approach. A Cult that tells the truth. Who would have thought that???????

Making money from land speculation in the western territories was a long established practice before the Mormons came along. Washington was a big investor and proponent of western expansion.

http://lehrmaninstitute.org/history/founders-land.html

The genius of Smith was to convert your buyers and have them move to the property before you sell to them.

"Making money from land speculation in the western territories was a long established practice before the Mormons came along. Washington was a big investor and proponent of western expansion."

True. Acquiring land and becoming wealthy is part of the American dream. But no people or groups are out there misrepresenting the history except for the Mormons. That misrepresentation fuels a large portion of the devotion and dedication modern Mormons have towards the church, and it's all built on a "big lie."

This issue reminds me a little of watching the old 1950s Walt Disney fairy tale Fess Parker version of Davy Crockett and the Alamo. The image presented was a bunch of good old patriotic Americans going out to Texas to free the land and the settlers from the evil dictator Santa Anna. The truth is that Texas was Mexican territory, and the Americans (largely southerners) wanted the vast region so they could get rich raising cattle and cotton. Nowadays, that info is widely known and accepted as the actual reason for the Texas war. But Mormons still tell a false story and give false reasons for the Missouri War.

but the Americans didn't want to submit to Mexican law and they also wanted slavery.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empresario



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2016 01:17PM by anybody.

MarkJ Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The genius of Smith was to convert your buyers and
> have them move to the property before you sell to
> them.

And Nauvoo proved that.

Thank you so much of that, randyj. You have greatly expanded my knowledge of that particular part of Mormon History since I am fascinated with it because I see the Mormons as being retaliated against for bad behavior, or at least questionable tactics. It was not religious persecution for the most part. Being Mormon was just an annoying detail, not the main impetus.

No wonder Joseph made Missouri the Garden of Eden. He did have a gift for a con even if he didn't turn out to be virtuoso in the end.

What really makes me sick though is how badly the Native Americans were abused.

"No wonder Joseph made Missouri the Garden of Eden."

Ironically, early on, Smith identified the Great Plains as the "land of desolation" of the BOM, which was of little value to "the world":

"The world will never value the land of Desolation, as it is called in the book of Mormon, for any thing more than hunting ground, for want of timber and mill-seats: The Lord to the contrary notwithstanding, declares it to be the land of Zion..."

“What the design of our heavenly Father was or is, as to these vast prairies of the far west, I know no farther than we have revelation. The book of Mormon terms them the land of desolation..."

http://www.bookofmormonpromisedland.com/W.%20W.%20Phelps'%20LAND%20OF%20DESOLATION.htm

But that was a few years before Smith realized how much federal money there was to be made in the area.

Wow. Just wow.
You'd think it couldn't get any clearer as to the intentions of Joseph Smith and Co. but then you read something like this and the anger comes back.
Con artists.
Ruined lives.
Legacy of fraud and lies.

And still it continues by the current leadership. The real estate holdings by the LDS church continues to this day by bilking unsuspecting converts and members.

The irony is when family members continue to believe even when evidence is given that it is a fraud. The church is more important to them then family or truth. The con lives on.

Thanks for the information about the move to Missouri. It is one more piece of the mormon puzzle of that time.

I'm the Poster Guy for how tscc ignores Hate & Lies done by a tithe-paying TBM.


they just don't give a toot about Truth (Facts) or Family, I'm living Proof.

Someday, I'll post all the gory details.

Wow - Great job Randy. This will be archived for sure. I hope to see you Sunday.

Thanks for sharing this interesting history. I learn a so many interesting facts on this forum.

Topping so more get the chance to read. This is great information to know and have in the back of your mind when the Mormons start talking about "persecution" of the early Saints.

I guess it really hits home for me because my father could go on about the persecution of the Mormons foreeeeeeverrr.

It just makes you sad to know how frikkin' jerky people are to other people.

The only problem with humans is that they're humans...

This account seems MUCH more logical and plausible than the Mormon version.

"This account seems MUCH more logical and plausible than the Mormon version."

Not to mention the fact that it's supported by well-documented history.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/11/2016 02:23PM by randyj.

I don't know how I missed this post. I have a TBM relative that's closely related to Stephen. I'd like to assume they've read his book. However, it seems that they've somehow been able to brush over all of his findings and research. How that's happened, I can't understand.

If SL can't convince them with his massive research and writing a book, there's no hope that I would have any influence.

How so many intelligent people can be such block heads is just mind blowing to me. I feel so incredibly sad for the children that are born into this family. The Le Suers have doubled down on their determination to be mormon and to make sure the up and coming generations follow their lead. It's sickening to watch.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2016 12:13AM by madalice.

WoW. Great Posting. The more you know the more the fraud is revealed.

All wars and civil strife have economics at their root. I don't think that there are any exceptions, even when it appears so.