Joseph Smith Jr. Quotes


We care not a fig for Whig or Democrat: they are both alike to us; but we shall go for our friends, our TRIED FRIENDS … DOUGLAS is a Master Spirit, and his friends are our friends—we are willing to cast our banners on the air, and fight by his side in the cause of humanity, and equal rights—the cause of liberty and the law


Context

One of their friends was then Judge Stephen Douglas who advocated equality for Mormons and appointed Mormons to various posts. Mormon support helped the Democrat’s Thomas L. Ford win the next gubernatorial race over his Whig opponent who was virulently anti-Mormon.


Citations

Joseph Smith, Jr., 1805-1844, Founder of the Mormon Religion, Mormon Candidate for President of the United States, Letter to the Illinois Newspaper, Times and Seasons, January 1, 1842

Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations

Linked Quotes

His use of the noun “Democracy” refers not to a form of government but the specific institution of the Democratic Party. Smith, like many of the Founding Fathers was deeply suspicious of political parties. See also {614907}. Smith had written to most of the then likely Presidential candidates of both major parties asking for their position on the Mormons who were facing persecution wherever they went. None of the politicians would make any satisfactory commitments. Smith took Direct Action and became the only major religious official to have run for the Presidency of the United States until Pat Robertson tried and failed in 2000. Smith’s assassination shortly thereafter cut his run for the Presidency short before it made much headway and politically he had no chance to affect the race.


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Joseph Smith Jr.
Joseph Smith Jr.
  • Born: December 23, 1805
  • Died: June 27, 1844
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Religious Leader

Joseph Smith, Jr. was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was twenty-four, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death fourteen years later, he had attracted tens of thousands of followers and founded a religious culture that continues to the present.