The Danites: Joseph Smith’s Secret Mormon Militia?

Comments · 38

• DA

  @DavidLong-mq9kf · 2 weeks ago

  Thanks for answering my question.

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• AN

  @annetteross4977 · 1 day ago

  Thank you! I appreciate the context! Thank you to Producer Anthony!

• AN

  @AnEx-MormonInformant · 2 weeks ago

  Dang, these videos fly by so fast! Great content as always Dr. Park!

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• GU

  @gurugrugaming · 2 weeks ago

  Topic idea: tell us about who Hyrum was! I feel like he’s a forgotten character because he’s in Joseph’s shadow!

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• LI

  @Littlefieldpj · 12 days ago

  Please do an episode on the "United Order".

• BR

  @brettkeeler8822 · 2 weeks ago

  I think a very apt comparison is our modern clash over whether Trump was responsible for January 6. Did Trump direct the insurrectionists’ actions?  Not specifically, but is he responsible for fomenting the insurrection and giving them “permission” to act? 100%!

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• TR

  @travisjones3794 · 2 weeks ago (edited)

  Discussing the extent of Joseph Smith’s involvement in something like the Danites, where it was clear they were playing with fire if he were openly involved, without mentioning the clear, documented and practiced pattern established around polygamy of Joseph telling someone in secret to do one thing but letting them know if they were caught, he would publicly have to disavow/excommunicate etc but that he would take care of them in some way, bringing them back into fellowship etc, misses the full picture of practiced duplicity that was the functional practice under Joseph’s leadership.  It obviously also complicates the historical record because you’re dealing with individuals fully aware that what is documented will shape the narrative and they had highly refined practices (like burning the Whitney rendezvous letter) to make sure they could say one thing and do something else and maintain plausible deniability. So while historians can comfortably say it cant be proven from the historical record, that was the whole point.

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• VR

  @vrmartin202 · 2 weeks ago

  So many things make sense now.

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• JO

  @JosephDewey · 2 weeks ago

  Such a cool and very detailed video! Thanks!!!

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• DH

  @dheard81 · 2 weeks ago

  I was having a need to learn for myself about JSJr&apos;s involvement in polygamy since it was becoming such a hot topic over the last few yrs. Some say he was directly involved but polygamy was a good thing at the time and others saying polygamy is wrong but JSJr wasn&apos;t involved in it at all and fewer people saying polygamy is wrong and JSJr was involved and he was wrong to do it (my position now).<br>Anyway, that was my intent for starting to dig into the history of JSJr on a level that I had never done before. One of my primary reasons for doing this is about JSJr&apos;s character as an individual (just as Dr. Parks did a video on). As I read about the Kirtland era JSJr and then about the Missouri era JSJr and then the Nauvoo era JSJr, there was a clear pattern emerging of plausible deniability being practiced. I believe that characterizes JSJr&apos;s leadership style quite well. William Marks who knew JSJr quite well and was faithful to him but not to some of his more radical ideas said an interesting quote which I&apos;ve tried to find but can&apos;t. Anyways, Marks served with both JSJr and JSJ III and was writing a friend and comparing the 2 in leadership style and he said that JSJr was more like lightning (almost impulsively) - he acted quickly, moved quickly on topics, etc; whereas JSJ III was more careful, thoughtful and steady. After I read that and was putting the pieces together, I thought &quot;Having a practice of plausible deniability in the face of being a revolutionary/impulsive leader would be extremely helpful.&quot;

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• AL

  @alanc1491 · 2 weeks ago

  We just had the 169th anniversary of the murder by Mormons in southern Utah Territory of around 120 members of the Baker–Fancher wagon train from Arkansas. Women, children, unarmed men shot or stabbed to death: “Brethren, do your duty!” I wonder how many of those men had been in the Danites?<br><br>By the way, those victims were real Americans with families who lived one county over from mine. Capt Fancher farmed just a mile from my ancestors. In northern Arkansas, there are still many Fanchers, Bakers, Dunlaps, and Camerons.

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• DE

  @Decision_Justice · 2 weeks ago

  Yet the Founders of the United States did not want Democracy. They observed that direct majoritarian rule inevitably led to volatile, emotion-driven decision-making. To the framers, a pure democracy maximized the risk of &quot;mob rule,&quot; where a temporary majority could easily violate the rights of a minority, threaten property, and ultimately collapse into tyranny.

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