Item Detail
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17126
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English
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Did Brigham Young Say that He Would Kill an Adulterous Wife with a Javelin?
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The FAIR Journal
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November 2004
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"It is a common practice for anti-Mormon critics to search through the sermons of early leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and pull out quotes that are shocking or disturbing to the more genteel sensibilities of Latter-day Saints. This is typically done without giving context for the quoted material. One frequently used quote comes from Brigham Young: 'Suppose you found your brother in bed with your wife, and put a javelin through both of them, you would be justified, and they would atone for their sins, and be received into the kingdom of God. I would at once do so in such a case; and under such circumstances, I have no wife whom I love so well that I would not put a javelin through her heart, and I would do it with clean hands.' Removed from its context, this quote can be quite shocking to the modern reader, as it seems to condone violence in response to sin and the impossibility of repentance and forgiveness through Christ's atonement. This article will look at the background and context of Brigham's statement."