The Danites were a Latter Day Saint vigilante group organized in the late 1830s. Danites were allegedly responsible for the organized defense of Mormons and some proactive attacks in their conflict with mobs and known mob members in Missouri, and other enemies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Relationship to the Church

There are various, sometimes conflicting sources regarding the history of the Danites. Some report the group was tightly controlled and directed by LDS leaders, including Church founder Joseph Smith, Jr.. Others argue the Danites were more loosely organized and that tales of their deeds were exaggerated and sensationalized, or that the organization was not supported by Joseph Smith and other church leaders. Regardless, it is almost universally agreed that the original Danite group was short-lived and was broken up in less than one year.

LDS leaders publicly condemned many of the alleged actions of the group, including possible involvement in the Battle of Crooked River, which led to the extermination order, the Haun's Mill Massacre and other attacks on Church settlements.

Several suspected members of the group went on to play key roles in later Mormon security forces.

Affidavit of Thomas B. Marsh and Orson Hyde

By 1838, apostles Thomas B. Marsh and Orson Hyde had become disaffected from the church. They signed an affidavit that claimed that the Danites existed, that they took an oath to uphold the decisions of the leaders of the church right or wrong, and that they had formed a "Destruction Company" that would burn the surrounding areas if they fought against the Mormons. The affidavit also stated that Smith believed he would conquer the world, that Smith was another Muhammad, and that there were roughly 300-400 men organized to carry this out. Marsh and Hyde signed the affidavit October 24, 1848, in the presence of judge Henry Jacobs in Richmond, Missouri in Ray County.

The next day, October 25, the Battle of Crooked River takes place in Ray County. Two days after that, on October 27, Governor Lilburn W. Boggs signed the Extermination Order. Both of these events occurred because of the affidavits signed by Marsh and Hyde. Both Thomas Marsh and Orson Hyde later declared that these charges were false, but by then the damage was done.

Avard's testimony

Doctor Sampson Avard was arrested and tried in Missouri and testified at length regarding the Danites. Avard claimed that he organized the group in 1838, but that it was directed by Smith. Some have argued Avard's testimony was opportunistic, falsified in order to point blame at Smith. Avard was later excommunicated .

These court documents, not journals or other accounts, is the primary source of information about the Danites. Available journal entries are typically second- or third-hand accounts by those not present at alleged events, and are therefore not considered reliable first-hand accounts. During this and later periods, the group became the subject of many Urban legends.

However, it is unlikely that Smith ordered the direction of the group as Avard claimed. Although some journals suggest Smith was aware of the group and possibly attended some gatherings, Avard was usually cited as the group's sole leader even before his excommunication. No known documentation substantiates Smith's supposed direction of the group.

Smith's condemnation

Smith condemned Avard publicly and in the official "History of the Church" (specifically, in volume 3, pp. 179-181). He claimed Avard, then a new member to the church, formed a "secret combination", an allusion to wicked alliances in the Book of Mormon. Smith furthermore said that Avard's prideful leadership skills and zeal prompted him to organize the group contrary to the will of Smith, and the other heads of the LDS Church. According to this view, Avard illegitimately claimed to be the Lord's agent, and according to a quote Smith attributed to Avard, he wanted to profit from vigilantism by taking "spoils of the goods of ungodly Gentiles [non-Mormons]".

Smith also condemned Avard harshly,

"When a knowledge of Avard's rascality came to the Presidency of the Church, he was cut off from the Church, and every means proper used to destroy his influence, at which he was highly incensed and went about whispering his evil insinuations, but finding every effort unavailing, he again turned conspirator, and sought to make friends with the mob."

Therefore, Joseph Smith, Jr. at least publicly condemned the organization and its founder, discouraging Latter-day saints from making any more vigilante groups, exhorting them to instead have groups strictly for "self defense, in case of an attack from the mob". Mob violence was an ongoing problem for the Mormons in this period, and in all likelihood the problem was enhanced by rumors about the Danites.

Smith, like many other sources, also claimed the Danite group was short-lived.

Utah Period

Similar groups may have been organized in the 1850s and were popularly known as the "Sons of Dan" or "Destroying Angels" during the Utah War. Evidence for these groups exists anecdotally, however, evidence that they were centrally organized, controlled by Church leadership or that they were a continuation of the Danite group is ambiguous. It was during this period that the group received national attention and the urban legend was elevated to an international spotlight.

Arthur Conan Doyle fictionalized the Danites in his Sherlock Holmes story, "A Study In Scarlet," published in 1887.

Connection to other Mormon Controversies

Some critics of the church have attempted to draw a connection between alleged Danite activity and Mormon actions during the Utah War and Mountain Meadows Massacre, specifically naming John D. Lee as a member of the group. Historians generally disagree with these theories. For example, Lee condemned Mormon groups that proactively defended Mormon properties. Such groups include the Whistling and Whittling Brigade and alleged actions by the Nauvoo Legion which was the territorial militia in Utah before permanently disbanding in 1870.

Others critics have tried to draw connections with Blood atonement, but no evidence pointing to this is available. (see "Controversy" section at Blood atonement).

External links

• One analysis of Danites evidence: http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/response/history/danites_eom.htm
• Affidavits signed by Thomas B. Marsh and Orson Hyde [1]
• A comprehensive collection of writings on the Danites: http://churches.net/churches/utmiss/Fundamentalists/Danites%20Research2.htm
• The Reed Peck Manuscript, a first-hand account regarding the Danites.