Each of us needs to eliminate our own prejudices and work to ensure that persecution never happens again to anyone or any group.
By Cindy McDavitt
I am a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My ancestors joined the Church in the first 10 years of its history. We are often referred to as “Mormon,” but “Latter-day Saints” is more correct.
In the frontier history of the state of Missouri, right here in the greater Kansas City area in fact, the Latter-day Saints, including some of my ancestors, were sorely persecuted. In 1838, Governor Lilburn Boggs issued Missouri Executive Order 44, commonly called “the extermination order,” stating that “the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State.” The image above is that executive order.
Our people fled the state and were welcomed as refugees by the citizens of Quincy, Illinois, who opened their homes and hearts to the hundreds of desperate, homeless families, regardless of their beliefs. Less than 10 years later, settling just north of there and building the beautiful city of Nauvoo, our prophet, Joseph Smith, and his brother Hyrum, were murdered by a mob. Once again, we were driven out. We made the long trek to the Salt Lake Valley in Utah where the Church was firmly established and is still headquartered today.
Our members slowly began to return to Missouri, and today more than 35,000 Latter-day Saints reside in the greater Kansas City area, but it was not until 1976 that Governor Boggs’ executive order was officially rescinded.
This really happened — right here in Missouri, and we cannot let this kind of thing happen again. Each of us need to eliminate our own prejudices and work to ensure that persecution never happens again to anyone or any group because of their ethnicity, faith or life philosophy.
This is the core value of interfaith – caring for our neighbors, helping those in need, learning about and appreciating others’ beliefs, and bringing God’s children together in unity and love. A scripture from my own faith teaches us to become “Of One Heart.” I think about that beautiful concept and pray and yearn for its fulfillment in our own community.
Join us to rejoice in diversity and devotion at the Table of Faiths Hybrid Event on September 23. Register or become a sponsor today.
Cindy McDavitt is the Chair of the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council and an At-Large Director. Her faith tradition is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.