Oath of Vengeance - Doctrinal Basis

Doctrinal Basis

Blood atonement is the idea that spilled blood "cries out" for retribution and finds several examples in Mormon scripture as well as numerous references in the speeches and writings of early LDS Church leaders. In the Bible, for example, the blood of Abel ascended to the ears of God after he was killed by Cain (Genesis 4:10). In the Book of Mormon, the "blood of a righteous man" (Gideon) was said to "come upon" the theocratic leader Alma "for vengeance" against the murderer (Nehor) (Alma 1:13). Mormon scripture also refers to the "cry" of the blood of the saints ascending from the ground up to the ears of God as a testimony against those who killed them (2 Ne. 26: 3; D&C 88:6).

According to Brigham Young, it was inevitable that Joseph Smith's blood, and the blood of all martyrs to the faith, would be "atoned for" in "His own due time". Their blood, he said, was "under the altar" and "crying to God, day and night, for vengeance". Young was the most prolific author of speeches referencing Blood Atonement, his most direct speech stating that a person who "has committed a sin that he knows will deprive him of that exaltation which he desires, and that he cannot attain to it without the shedding of his blood, and also knows that by having his blood shed he will atone for that sin, and be saved and exalted with the Gods, is there a man or woman in this house but what would say, 'shed my blood that I may be saved and exalted with the Gods?' All mankind love themselves, and let these principles be known by an individual, and he would be glad to have his blood shed. That would be loving themselves, even unto an eternal exaltation. Will you love your brothers or sisters likewise, when they have committed a sin that cannot be atoned for without the sheding of their blood? Will you love that man or woman well enough to shed their blood? That is what Jesus Christ meant."

The oath of vengeance was referenced by John D. Lee in his confession of his involvement in the Mountain Meadows massacre. Lee stated, "I believed then as I do now, that it was the will of every true Mormon in Utah, at that time, that the enemies of the Church should be killed as fast as possible, and that as this lot of people had men amongst them that were supposed to have helped kill the Prophets in the Carthage jail, the killing of all of them would be keeping our oaths and avenging the blood of the Prophets." After the events of the massacre became known to the U.S. government, Lee was the only man out of the dozens of participants who was executed by Utah's territorial government. In keeping with Mormon beliefs about blood atonement, Lee was executed by firing squad. Utah's capital punishment laws have always allowed the condemned to make a choice in the method of execution, with firing squad remaining as an option that allows for blood to be spilled on the ground.