Apostates

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Prophet Brigham Young (1801 - 1877):

“I say, rather than that apostates should flourish here, I will unsheath [sic] my bowie knife, and conquer or die [Great commotion in the congregation, and a simultaneous burst of feeling, assenting to the declaration.]. Now, you nasty apostates, clear out, or judgment will be put to the line, and righteousness to the plummet [Voices, generally, ‘go it, go it.']. If you say it is right, raise your hands [All hands up.]. Let us call upon the Lord to assist us in this, and every good work.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 1, p. 83; online at Link is here.

“‘What will you do with all those who have sought to kill you?' Make them soap-boilers and kitchen flunkeys, we are not going to send them into hell fire, for it takes a good Latter-day Saint apostatized to get down that deep (did I say bottomless?) pit. A person, to become an angel of the Devil, has first to be a good Saint, and then deny the Lord who bought him.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 8, p. 179; online at Link is here.

Apostle Heber C. Kimball (1802 - 1868):

“I have not a doubt but there will be hundreds who will leave us and go away to our enemies. I wish they would go this fall: it might relieve us from much trouble; for if men turn traitors to God and His Servants, their blood will surely be shed, or else they will be damned, and that too according to their covenants.”

- Apostle Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses, v. 4, p. 375; online at Link is here.

Apostle Orson Hyde (1805-1878):

“I would have a tendency to place terror on those who leave these parts [Utah], that may prove their salvation when they see the heads of thieves taken off, or shot down before the public.... I believe it to be pleasing in the sight of heaven to sanctify ourselves and put these things away from our midst.”

- Apostle Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses, v. 1, p. 73; online at Link is here.

“...it was the imperative duty of the Church to obey the word of Joseph Smith, or the presidency, without question or inquiry, and that if there were any that would not, they should have their throats cut from ear [to] ear.”

- Sidney Rigdon letter to Apostle Orson Hyde, October 21, 1844, in Nauvoo Neighbor, December 4, 1844; see also Quinn, Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power, p. 94

Danites: (see also: Danite)


“Punishment by death is the penalty for refusing to obey the orders of the Priesthood. I knew of many men being killed in Nauvoo by the Danites. It was then the rule that all enemies of the Prophet Joseph should be killed, and I knew of many a man who was quietly put out of the way by the orders of Joseph and his apostles while the church was there.”

- Elder John D. Lee (1812 – 1877), Danite and adopted son of Brigham Young, John D. Lee Diaries

"I always feel that it is my duty to look to myself, for I am in as much danger of apostatizing as any in the Church. If I ever do get led astray and depart from the principles of the gospel of salvation, it will be because I led myself off from the path; it was not my brethren who led me away, it was my own doing."

- Elder Hosea Stout (1810 - 1889), Danite, General Conference, 1858; online at Link is here.

Apostle Melvin J. Ballard (1873 - 1939):

“Any man or woman who has heard the Gospel and rejected it – not only those in the days of Noah, but any man or woman in this day who has had a good chance to receive and embrace the Gospel and enjoy its blessings and privileges, but who has been indifferent to these things, ignoring and neglecting them – such a person need not hope or anticipate that when he is dead the work can be done for him and he can gain celestial glory. Don't you Latter-day Saints get the notion that a man can live in defiance or total indifference, having had a good chance – not just a casual chance or opportunity – to accept the Gospel and that when he dies you can go and do the work for him and have him receive every blessing that the faithful ones are entitled to.”

- Apostle Melvin J. Ballard, Crusader for Righteousness, p. 221

Apostle Boyd K. Packer (1924 - ):

“Remember: when you see the bitter apostate, you do not see only an absence of light, you see also the presence of darkness. Do not spread disease germs.”

- Apostle Boyd K. Packer, “The Mantle is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect,” speech given August 1981 at BYU, Brigham Young University Studies, Summer 1981; available online as a PDF file BYU Studies Volume 21:3 or as a web page at Link is here.

“Save for those few who defect to perdition after having known a fulness [sic], there is no habit, no addiction, no rebellion, no transgression, no offense exempted from the promise of complete forgiveness.”

- Apostle Boyd K. Packer, “The Brilliant Morning of Forgiveness,” speech available on-line at Link is here.

Others:

“Defectors became a kind of bogey to haunt all inhabitants of the Mormon Kingdom. Without vigilance and strength of character they [other members], like the defectors, could become overwhelmed by the baseness of their character and, thus, open to Satan's enticements. In this way blame was shifted from the Kingdom to the individual defector. More importantly, dissent was portrayed as the outward sign of personal weakness and sin. Dissent, therefore, could no more be tolerated than sin itself. This attitude within the Kingdom militated against any legitimate expression of doubt. There was no loyal opposition within the Kingdom of God. As no dissent from orthodox opinion was allowed, either the inhabitant accepted it or he was compelled to withdraw.”

- Gordon D. Pollock, “In Search for Security: The Mormons and the Kingdom of God on Earth, 1830-1844,” p. 22-23, Ph.D dissertation, Queen's University, 1977
The Case of General Authoriy George P. Lee (see also: George P. Lee)

“The excommunication of the church official, Elder George P. Lee, a 46-year-old Navajo, was announced Friday in a one-paragraph statement. It followed his assertion that Mormon leaders were racist and that the church's president was too feeble to make decisions.
“The excommunication is the first in 46 years imposed against a Mormon general authority, one of 85 men who administer the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“The church's statement said Mr. Lee had been expelled for ‘apostasy and other conduct unbecoming a member of the church.' A church spokesman, Don LeFevre, said he would not elaborate on the statement.

- New York Times, September 3, 1989, p. 29

"After reading in person a 23-page letter detailing his concerns, [George P.] Lee said he was astounded at the speed with which he was ousted.
"Within minutes, two officials came to his office and told him to turn over all church property, including a credit card and a signed pass with which faithful Mormons gain entry to their temples.
“‘I was stripped of everything,' said Lee... ‘It was just absolutely cold.'"

- Salt Lake Tribune, September 10, 1989, p. 14B