Thanks for the replies, this is all great info. I feel embarassed that I did not know that Joseph Smith (who founded the Mormon church, for those who didn't know) tried to defend himself by returning fire with a revolver, before he was killed by the angry mob. I really like this account, I showed it to my anti-gun friend:
“A shower of musket balls were thrown up the stairway against the door of the prison in the second story, followed by many rapid footsteps…A ball was sent through the door, which passed between us, and showed that our enemies were desperados… Joseph Smith, Mr. Taylor, and myself sprang back to the front part of the room, and…Hyrum Smith retreated two-thirds across the chamber directly in front of and facing the door. A ball was sent through the door which hit Hyrum on the side of his nose, when he fell backwards, extended at length, without moving his feet. From the holes in his [clothing], it appears evident that a ball must have been thrown from without, through the window, which entered his back on the right side, and passing through, lodged against his watch…At the same instant the ball from the door entered his nose. As he struck the floor, he exclaimed emphatically, “I am a dead man.†Joseph looked towards him and responded, ‘Oh, dear brother Hyrum!’ and opening the door two or three inches with his left hand, discharged one barrel of a six shooter (pistol) at random in the entry…A ball [from a musket of one of the mob] grazed Hyrum’s breast, and entering his throat passed into his head, while other muskets were aimed at him and some balls hit him. Joseph continued snapping his revolver round the casing of the door into the space as before…, while Mr. Taylor with a walking stick stood by his side and knocked down the bayonets and muskets which were constantly discharged through the doorway…When the revolver failed, we had no more firearms, and expected an immediate rush of the mob, and the doorway full of muskets, half way in the room, and no hope but instant death from within. Mr. Taylor rushed into the window, which is some fifteen or twenty feet from the ground. When his body was nearly on balance, a ball from the door within entered his leg, and a ball from without struck his watch…in his vest pocket near the left breast, … the force of which ball threw him back on the floor, and he rolled under the bed which stood by his side… Joseph attempted, a the last resort, to leap [from] the same window from whence Mr. Taylor fell, when two balls pierced him from the door, and one entered his right breast from without, and he fell outward, exclaiming, ‘Oh Lord, my God!’ … He fell on his left side a dead man†(History of the Church, 6:619-20).
Anyways it is nice to have more info to back up 2nd ammendment beliefs agreeing with Mormon beliefs.
I think there are a lot of Mormons these days that I would almost call "New-age Mormons", who are out-of-touch with the Church's history and the overall spirit of freedom the Church espoused throughout its history. There seems to be a new crop of Mormons who are more touchy-feely in their views.... Anti-guns, anti-hunting, PETA members, and the like... Some of these types have been raised only on the pap of cutesy stories about sharing and loving one another and being kind and humble and merciful etc.etc. etc. These are all valid things to teach, however, a lot of these folks got the milk but not the meat... There is another side to this religion, the fighting spirit that tells us to defend our beliefs, and tells us to stand up in the face of adversity. Some of these folks who were raised in times of peace and prosperity in this country have a skewed and incomplete understanding of their Church's teachings. Life is not all happy dancing fairies and fluffy clouds, and the Church leaders of today and days gone by know this. It's just that some people aren't in touch with this side of religion at all.
Another example of the kind of ignorance that can exist in any religion where the members haven't studied their own religion enough: We have a big Church conference every year that all the members of the Mormon church all over the world view.
This same anti-gun guy said to me the other day, "It was cool how in the conference nobody mentioned the Pope dying. Of course they aren't gonna say anything about the false prophet who leads the Chuch of the Devil! (referring to the Catholic church)."
Well, this guy doesn't realize that the Mormon Church officially does not label the Catholic church as that "whore of all the earth" spoken of in the Bible. In times past some put out that label on the Catholic church, but the fact of the matter is, that is NOT something the Mormon church teaches or espouses. In fact, I had to make a fool of my friend and correct him... The current President of the Mormon church DID in fact mention the Pope's death. He had very kind words for the Pope. The first thing he spoke about, to commence the conference, was the Pope's death. My friend must not have been listening! Here is some of what the President of the Church, Gordon B. Hinckley, said:
"We join those throughout the world who mourn the passing of Pope John Paul II, an extraordinary man of faith, vision and intellect, whose courageous actions have touched the world in ways that will be felt for generations to come."
"The pope's voice remained firm in defense of freedom, family and Christianity. On matters of principle and morality he was uncompromising. On his compassion for the world's poor, he has been unwavering."
:banghead:
