Blood Atonement After Brigham Young
By 1877, when Brigham Young died, the blood atonement doctrine, whether or not it was properly understood by the public, had "done more than any other thing save polygamy to bring Mormonism into disrepute". In response, church leaders and journalists took an active interest in explaining and justifying the doctrine, and in countering the negative press. John Taylor, Young's successor, acknowledged in North American Review the "we believe some crimes can only be atoned for by the life of the guilty party"; however, he said, "all culprits worthy of death...should be executed by the proper civil officer, not by any exercise of the lex talionis or the intervention of ecclesiastical authority".
Chief among the Latter-day Saint writers defending the doctrine in the late 19th century was Charles W. Penrose, editor of the church-owned Deseret News, who would later become a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency.
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Famous quotes containing the words blood, atonement, brigham and/or young:
“I too have been in the underworld, as was Odysseus, and I will often be there again; not only sheep have I sacrificed so as to be able to speak with a few dead souls, but neither have I spared my own blood as well.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“What atonement is there for blood spilt upon the earth?”
—Aeschylus (525–456 B.C.)
“Looks like we got a trial ahead of us. But it’s not the first time. We’ve had to go it alone before, and we’ll have to go it alone again. We’re tough. We’ve had to be tough ever since Brother Brigham led our people across the plain. Well, they survived and I dang it, we’ll, well, we’ll survive too. Now put out your fires and get to your wagons.”
—Frank S. Nugent (1908–1965)
“Three young rats with black felt hats,
Three young ducks with white straw flats,”
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