Attack on LDS Church harkens back to its early history of religious persecution

Memorials set up for victims near the site of a shooting and fire at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on October 1, in Grand Blanc, Michigan. Emily Elconin/Getty Images Grand Blanc Township, Michigan —

The early history of the LDS Church is one of persecution and violence.

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), commonly known as the Mormons, was killed by a mob in 1844 in Illinois. Fearing continued persecution, Smith’s successor, Brigham Young, led church members on an exodus to Utah, at the time a territory outside the jurisdiction of the United States, to freely practice their religion.

For LDS Church members, that history is taught from a young age as part of their self-identity. And that history of persecution is