Latter Day Saint martyrs are persons who belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) or another church within the Latter Day Saint movement who were killed or otherwise persecuted to the point of premature death on account of their religious beliefs, or while performing their religious duties.
Although the term "martyr" is not frequently used in Latter Day Saint terminology[ citation needed ], Latter Day Saints recognize a number of prophets, apostles, and other religious persons as recorded in the Bible, including both the Old Testament and New Testament, and Book of Mormon as martyrs within the same religious tradition (albeit at an earlier time) to which they subscribe. [1] For Latter Day Saints, the most notable martyr is Jesus Christ. Other scriptural examples include Abel ("the first martyr"), [2] John the Baptist, James, the brother of John, Stephen whose stoning is recorded in the Book of Acts, Abinadi, [3] women and children of Ammonihah, [4] etc. [5] Latter Day Saints also acknowledge as "Early-day Saint" martyrs those early Christians who were killed for their faith prior to or as a result of the Great Apostasy.
The most notable post-Biblical Latter Day Saint martyrs are Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum Smith. [6]
Individuals who die "in the Lord's service" are believed to be rewarded with eternal life: "And whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for my name's sake, shall find it again, even life eternal." [7] Joseph F. Smith, LDS Church president, declared: "I beheld that the faithful elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel ... in the great world of the spirits." [8]
In 1989, following the death of two LDS Church missionaries in Bolivia, apostle L. Tom Perry noted that from 1831 until 1989, "only seventeen LDS missionaries [were] killed by assassins." Also at that time, apostle M. Russell Ballard "indicated that of the 447,969 missionaries who have served since the days of Joseph Smith, only 525—about one-tenth of 1 percent—have lost their lives through accident, illness, or other causes while serving. 'When you contemplate that number,' he said, 'it appears that the safest place to be in the whole world is on a full-time mission.'" [9]
Missionaries who died from illness or accident are not listed. However, depending on the circumstances of their death, they could be deemed "martyrs" for having died while in religious service. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Many Mormon pioneers and other early church members who suffered privation and early death on account of their religious beliefs would likely qualify as "martyrs." However, they are too numerous to list here. This list also does not include early Mormon settlers who were killed in encounters with Native Americans during the Mormon settlement of the American West.
| Death date | Location | Name | Church | Cause of death | Age at death |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 7, 1832 | Pomfret, Vermont | Joseph B. Brackenbury (missionary) | Church of Christ | Poisoning | 43 |
| November 5, 1833 | Battle near the Blue, Jackson, Missouri | Andrew Barber | Church of Christ | Shot in battle [November 4] by Robert Patten - died the next day [15] | 17 |
| October 25, 1838 | Battle of Crooked River, Missouri | Gideon Carter | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Killed in battle | |
| October 25, 1838 | Battle of Crooked River, Missouri | Patrick O'Banion | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Killed in battle by John Lockhart | |
| October 25, 1838 | Battle of Crooked River, Missouri | David W. Patten (apostle) [16] | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Killed in battle | 39 |
| December 1838 | Haun's Mill, Missouri | Hiram Abbott | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Massacre; died in December 1838 from wounds [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] | 25 |
| October 30, 1838 | Haun's Mill, Missouri | Elias Benner Sr. | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Massacre [22] [19] [20] [21] | 43 |
| October 30, 1838 | Haun's Mill, Missouri | John Byers | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Massacre [23] [19] [20] | |
| October 30, 1838 | Haun's Mill, Missouri | Alexander Campbell | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Massacre [24] [19] [20] [21] | |
| October 31, 1838 | Haun's Mill, Missouri | Simon Cox | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Massacre; mortally wounded and lived until the next morning [17] [25] [19] [20] [21] | |
| October 30, 1838 | Haun's Mill, Missouri | Josiah Fuller | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Massacre [17] [26] [19] [20] [21] | 35 |
| October 30, 1838 | Haun's Mill, Missouri | Austin Hammer Sr. | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Massacre [17] [27] [19] [20] [21] | 34 |
| October 30, 1838 | Haun's Mill, Missouri | John Lee | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Massacre [17] [28] [29] | |
| October 30, 1838 | Haun's Mill, Missouri | Benjamin Franklin Lewis | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Massacre; shot by Mr. Rockholt, lived a few hours [17] [30] [19] [20] [21] | 35 |
| October 30, 1838 | Haun's Mill, Missouri | Thomas White McBride (justice of the peace) | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Massacre; shot in chest by Jacob Rogers with his own gun; head and body hacked with a corn knife [17] [31] [19] [20] [21] [32] [33] [34] | 62 [35] |
| November 1838 | Haun's Mill, Missouri | Charles Merrick (from Kirtland Camp) | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Massacre; died 25 November 1838 from wounds [17] [36] [19] [20] [21] | 9 |
| October 30, 1838 | Haun's Mill, Missouri | Levi Newton Merrick (from Kirtland Camp) | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Massacre [17] [37] [19] [20] [21] | 30 |
| October 30, 1838 | Haun's Mill, Missouri | William Napier Sr. | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Massacre [38] [20] [21] [39] | 43 |
| October 30, 1838 | Haun's Mill, Missouri | George Spencer Richards (from Kirtland Camp) | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Massacre [17] [24] [19] [20] [21] | 15 |
| October 30, 1838 | Haun's Mill, Missouri | Sardius Washington Smith (from Kirtland Camp) | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Massacre; top of skull blown off from musket shot by William Reynolds [17] [40] [19] [20] [21] [33] | 10 |
| October 30, 1838 | Haun's Mill, Missouri | Warren Smith (from Kirtland Camp) | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Massacre [17] [41] [19] [20] [21] [33] | 44 |
| October 31, 1838 | Haun's Mill, Missouri | John York Jr. | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Massacre; mortally wounded and died the next day [17] [42] [19] [20] [21] | 62 |
| May 27, 1840 | Nauvoo, Illinois | Edward Partridge (bishop) | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Persecution [43] | 46 |
| August 20, 1840 | Nauvoo, Illinois | Marietta Carter Holmes | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Mob attack in her home [44] [45] Note, it is disputed if a mob attack even occurred for Joseph Johnston claims there are no national news articles at the time, as was done for violence perpetrated against Mormons in 1840. Additionally, John Smith, uncle of the prophet, listed her cause of death as disease. [46] | 20 |
| June 27, 1844 | Carthage Jail, Illinois | Joseph Smith, Jr. | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Mob assassination | 38 |
| June 27, 1844 | Carthage Jail, Illinois | Hyrum Smith | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Mob assassination | 44 |
| July 30, 1844 | Nauvoo, Illinois | Samuel Harrison Smith (one of Eight Witnesses) | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Attributed to internal injuries sustained while fleeing a mob on horseback on the day his brothers were murdered [47] [48] | 36 |
| November 15, 1845 | Hancock County, Illinois | Edmund Durfee | LDS Church | shot in the back by arsonists | 57 |
| July 9, 1856 | St. James Township, Beaver Island, Michigan | James Strang (president of the church) | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) | Shot on June 16, 1856 by Thomas Bedford, a member who Strang had had flogged for adultery; Strang died in Voree, Wisconsin | 43 |
| May 13, 1857 | near Van Buren, Arkansas | Parley P. Pratt (apostle) | LDS Church | Shot and stabbed by Hector McLean, the ex-husband of one of Pratt's plural wives | 50 |
| July 21, 1879 | Varnell, Georgia | Joseph Standing (missionary) | LDS Church | Mob murder | 24 |
| August 10, 1884 | Cane Creek, Tennessee | William S. Berry (missionary) | LDS Church | Mob assassination | 46 |
| August 10, 1884 | Cane Creek, Tennessee | John H. Gibbs (missionary) | LDS Church | Mob assassination | 32 |
| August 10, 1884 | Cane Creek, Tennessee | W. Martin Conder | LDS Church | Mob assassination | 20 |
| August 10, 1884 | Cane Creek, Tennessee | John Riley Hutson | LDS Church | Mob assassination | 27 |
| May 1898 | Sanderson, Florida | George P. Canova | LDS Church | Shot and killed | |
| May 4, 1912 | Diaz, Galeana, Chihuahua, Mexico | James D. Harvey | LDS Church | Shot and killed | 49 |
| August 27, 1912 | Colonia Pacheco, Mexico | Joshua Stevens | LDS Church | Killed by Mexican rebels | |
| 1915 | San Marcos, Hidalgo, Mexico | Rafael Monroy (branch president) [49] | LDS Church | Execution by Liberation Army of the South | |
| 1915 | San Marcos, Hidalgo, Mexico | Vicente Morales [49] | LDS Church | Execution by Liberation Army of the South | |
| August 20, 1972 | Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico | Joel LeBaron (president of the church) | Church of the Firstborn of the Fulness of Times | Shot and killed by Daniel Jordan on the orders of Ervil LeBaron, Joel's brother and a rival fundamentalist Mormon leader | 49 |
| October 1974 | Austin, Texas | Gary Darley (missionary) | LDS Church | Murder by an unidentified individual (Robert Elmer Kleason was convicted for the crime but his conviction was later overturned); presumably dismembered with chainsaw [50] | 20 |
| October 1974 | Austin, Texas | Mark Fischer (missionary) | LDS Church | Murder by an unidentified individual (Robert Elmer Kleason was convicted for the crime but his conviction was later overturned); presumably dismembered with chainsaw [50] | 19 |
| May 10, 1977 | Murray, Utah | Rulon C. Allred (head of church) | Apostolic United Brethren | Shot and killed by Rena Chynoweth and another woman on orders of Ervil LeBaron, a rival fundamentalist Mormon | 71 |
| December 15, 1979 | North Charleston, South Carolina | Elizabeth King (missionary) | LDS Church | Found beaten and shot to death in a car in a parking lot | 66 |
| December 15, 1979 | North Charleston, South Carolina | Ruth Teuscher (missionary) | LDS Church | Found beaten and shot to death in a car in a parking lot | 65 |
| February 1987 | Lisbon, Portugal | Roger Hunt (missionary) | LDS Church | Shot and killed by a security guard who thought he had stolen a car | 19 |
| May 24, 1989 | La Paz, Bolivia | Todd Ray Wilson (missionary) [9] [51] | LDS Church | Assassination in terrorist attack by Zarate Willka Armed Forces of Liberation | 20 |
| May 24, 1989 | La Paz, Bolivia | Jeffrey Brent Ball (missionary) [9] [51] | LDS Church | Assassination in terrorist attack by Zarate Willka Armed Forces of Liberation | 20 |
| May 27, 1990 | Dublin, Ireland | Gale Stanley Critchfield (missionary) | LDS Church | Stabbed to death | 20 |
| August 22, 1990 | Huancayo, Peru | Manuel Antonio Hidalgo (missionary) | LDS Church | Assassination in terrorist attack by Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement | 22 |
| August 22, 1990 | Huancayo, Peru | Cristian Andreani Ugarte (missionary) | LDS Church | Assassination in terrorist attack by Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement | 21 |
| March 6, 1991 | Tarma, Peru | Oscar Zapata (missionary) | LDS Church | Shot and killed after getting off a bus | 20 |
| October 17, 1998 | Ufa, Russia | José Manuel Mackintosh (missionary) | LDS Church | Stabbed outside the lobby of a building where he and his companion had been visiting Church members | 21 |
| April 24, 1999 | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | Jonathan Philip Barrett (missionary) | LDS Church | Stabbed while walking to a teaching appointment. | 19 |
| January 2, 2006 | Chesapeake, Virginia | Morgan W. Young (missionary) [52] | LDS Church | Fatal shooting | 23 |
| August 29, 2010 | Visalia, California | Clay R. Sannar (bishop) [53] | LDS Church | Killed by an ex-member of the church while performing his duties as bishop. | 40 |
Bishop Edward Partridge died at Nauvoo, age 46 years. He lost his life in consequence of the Missouri persecutions, and he is one of that number whose blood will be required at their hands.
Adam-ondi-Ahman is a historic site in Daviess County, Missouri, about five miles south of Jameson. It is located along the east bluffs above the Grand River. According to the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is the site where Adam and Eve lived after being expelled from the Garden of Eden. It teaches that the place will be a gathering spot for a meeting of the priesthood leadership, including prophets of all ages and other righteous people, prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
The Nauvoo Legion was a state-authorized militia of the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, United States. With growing antagonism from surrounding settlements it came to have as its main function the defense of Nauvoo, and surrounding Latter Day Saint areas of settlement.
The 1838 Mormon War, also known as the Missouri Mormon War, was a conflict between Mormons and non-Mormons in Missouri from August to November 1838, the first of the three "Mormon Wars".
Missouri Executive Order 44 was a state executive order issued by Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs on October 27, 1838, in the aftermath of the Battle of Crooked River—a clash between members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a unit of the state militia in northern Ray County during the 1838 Mormon War.
David Wyman Patten was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was killed at the Battle of Crooked River and is regarded as a martyr by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is referred to twice in the Church of Jesus Christ's Doctrine and Covenants—once in section 114 and posthumously in section 124.
Orson Hyde was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement and a member of the first Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 to 1875 and was a missionary of the LDS Church in the United States, Europe, and the Ottoman Empire.
The Haun’s Mill Massacre occurred on October 30, 1838, when a mob/militia unit from Livingston County, Missouri, attacked a Mormon settlement in eastern Caldwell County, Missouri, after the Battle of Crooked River. By far the bloodiest event in the 1838 Mormon War in Missouri, it has long been remembered by the members of the Latter Day Saint movement. While the spelling "Haun" is common when referring to the massacre or the mill where it occurred, the mill's owner used the spelling "Hawn" in legal documents.
William Wines Phelps was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement. He printed the first edition of the Book of Commandments that became a standard work of the church and wrote numerous hymns, some of which are included in the current version of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' hymnal. He was at times both close to and at odds with church leadership. He testified against Joseph Smith, providing evidence that helped persuade authorities to arrest Smith. He was excommunicated three times and rejoined the church each time. He was a ghostwriter for Smith. Phelps was called by Smith to serve as assistant president of the church in Missouri and as a member of the Council of Fifty. After Smith's death, Phelps supported Brigham Young, who was the church's new president.
Titus Billings was an early convert to the Latter Day Saint movement. He served in several positions in the church and was a contemporary of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Billings was a counselor in the first Bishopric of the Church to Edward Partridge. He participated in the Battle of Crooked River and was a colonel in the Nauvoo Legion. He participated in the Mormon migration as a Captain of Fifty in the second company and was a notable settler of Manti, Utah.
John Portineus Greene was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement.
Church Historian and Recorder is a priesthood calling in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The role of the Church Historian and Recorder is to keep an accurate and comprehensive record of the church and its activities. His office gathers history sources and preserves records, ordinances, minutes, revelations, procedures, and other documents. The Church Historian and Recorder also chairs the Historic Sites Committee and Records Management Committee, and may act as an authoritative voice of the church in historical matters.
Phineas Howe Young was a prominent early convert in the Latter Day Saint movement and was later a Mormon pioneer and a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Phineas Young was an older brother of Brigham Young, who was the president of the LDS Church and the first governor of the Territory of Utah.
Joel Hills Johnson was a Latter-day Saint missionary and hymn writer, known for being the author of "High on the Mountain Top". Johnson was also the founder of Enoch, Utah.
Cleveland Township is one of eighteen townships in Callaway County, Missouri, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 742.
Jackson Township is one of eighteen townships in Callaway County, Missouri, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 2,150.
Almon Whiting Babbitt was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement, a Mormon pioneer, and the first secretary and treasurer of the Territory of Utah. He was killed in a raid by Cheyenne Native Americans in Nebraska Territory while travelling on government business between Utah and Washington, D.C.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Missouri refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Missouri. The official church membership as a percentage of general population was 1.14% in 2014. According to the 2014 Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey, roughly 1% of Missourians self-identify themselves most closely with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The LDS Church is the 8th largest denomination in Missouri.
Algernon Sidney Gilbert was a merchant best known for his involvement with Latter-day Saint history and his partnership with Newel K. Whitney in Kirtland, Ohio. He is mentioned in seven sections of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Doctrine and Covenants. He was ordained as a high priest in the state of Missouri and served as a missionary in the United States.
Reid Larkin Neilson is the assistant academic vice president (AAVP) for religious scholarly publications at Brigham Young University (BYU). He was the Assistant Church Historian and Recorder for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2015 to 2019, and the managing director of the church's history department from 2010 to 2019.
