The Powers of Darkness

One of the darkest days in our history was October 30, 1838 when the Haun’s Mill Massacre took place. Over 200 Missourians in a mob attacked a small Latter-day Saint community—one which had had no involvement in the escalating tensions between members of the Church and the local Missourians—and 17 men and boys died. It hits home particularly to me because a 9-year-old boy (Charles Merrick) and 10-year-old boy (Sardius Smith) both died. A seven-year-old boy Alma Smith was also severely wounded (but later miraculously healed). Having boys around those ages makes it incomprehensible to me that grown men could do this to little children, with one of them even reported as saying in justification, "Nits will make lice, and if he had lived he would have become a Mormon." It is no wonder that Joseph would later pray to the Lord, “Let thine anger be kindled against our enemies; and, in the fury of thine heart, with thy sword avenge us of our wrongs” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:5). Surely there are many figurative millstones awaiting these kind of perpetrators who went far past simply offending these little ones (Matt. 18:5-6).

                President Eyring wrote about this massacre in a First Presidency Message and described how the Jacob Haun may have been warned to leave the mill. He said, “When tensions ran high in northern Missouri in the fall of 1838, the Prophet Joseph Smith called for all the Latter-day Saints to gather to Far West for protection. Many were on isolated farms or in scattered settlements. He specifically counseled Jacob Haun, founder of a small settlement called Haun’s Mill. A record of that time includes this: ‘Brother Joseph had sent word by Haun, who owned the mill, to inform the brethren who were living there to leave and come to Far West, but Mr. Haun did not deliver the message.’ Later, the Prophet Joseph recorded in his history: ‘Up to this day God had given me wisdom to save the people who took counsel. None had ever been killed who abode by my counsel.’ Then the Prophet recorded the sad truth that innocent lives could have been saved at Haun’s Mill had his counsel been received and followed.” That is a terrible tragedy indeed, and while we certainly have no place to judge Jacob Haun, this can serve as a stark reminder that we should do all that we can to follow the counsel of our prophet.

              The Lord put it this way: “Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me; For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.” It is I believe very instructive to see that the Lord wants us to have both patience and faith as we seek to heed the counsel of His servants. This implies I believe that we will not always understand the why of the counsel that we receive (hence we need faith) and that we may not see the fruit of following that counsel immediately (and so we need patience). In a culture prone to demand instant validation and immediate gratification, many find it difficult to follow the counsel of prophets who may suggest actions we don’t agree with. But the promised blessings from the Lord will be worth all our efforts to be true to the counsel of His servants: “For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory” (Doctrine and Covenants 21:4-6). And surely in the coming days we will need that kind of protection against the powers of evil in this world.