In this article:
- A forgotten chapter of American compassion
- The Mormon experience with state and federal persecution
- The irony of modern political alignment
- Fear, difference, and dehumanization
- A call to choose compassion in 2026
American history holds many uncomfortable truths. One of them is that groups once persecuted for being different can later participate in persecuting others. The story of the Mormon people — and their treatment by state and federal governments — is a powerful reminder of how fear becomes cruelty when compassion is abandoned.
When the State Declared a People Expendable
In 1838, the State of Missouri signed into law what became known as the Mormon Extermination Order — a directive that declared members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints must be driven from the state or exterminated.
This was not metaphorical language. It was a state government openly authorizing violence against a religious minority for their beliefs, practices, and perceived difference.
Families were forced to flee. Homes were abandoned. Lives were lost. The crime was not violence — it was being different.
Compassion in Quincy, Illinois
When the persecuted Mormon families crossed the Mississippi River into Quincy, Illinois, they arrived starving, sick, and desperate. Quincy itself was a small town with limited resources.
Yet the citizens of Quincy chose compassion.
They held public meetings, gathered supplies, opened their homes, and helped the refugees survive — despite religious differences and political risk. The notice shown above is one such call for aid, a historical reminder that compassion can exist even in fearful times.
You can learn more about this moment of humanity in this documentary video:
Watch: Compassion in Quincy — A Forgotten Story
Federal Power and Forced Conformity
After settling in Utah, the Mormon community once again faced federal pressure — this time over the practice of polygamy, an alternative lifestyle where a man was permitted and encouraged to have more than one wife.
The federal government threatened to seize Mormon-owned land unless the practice ended. Under that pressure, polygamy was formally abandoned.
Once again, government power was weaponized to force conformity — not because of harm, but because of difference.
The Modern Irony
Today, many within the Mormon political sphere actively support efforts to use state and federal power against the LGBTQ+ community — opposing protections, supporting discriminatory laws, and encouraging legal rollbacks of hard-won rights.
The irony is difficult to ignore.
A people who know the pain of being targeted for their lifestyle, beliefs, and identity are now supporting the same mechanisms of power once used against them.
Fear Always Comes First
Cruelty rarely begins with hatred. It begins with fear.
Fear of those who are different. Fear of losing cultural control. Fear of unfamiliar lives lived openly.
That same fear once justified the extermination order in Missouri. That same fear justified forced abandonment of polygamy. And that same fear now fuels efforts to suppress LGBTQ+ lives.
Pro Tip: When a group argues that another group’s existence is a threat, history tells us cruelty is never far behind.
A Choice That Repeats Across History
History shows us two responses when confronted with difference:
- Some choose cruelty
- Some choose compassion
The citizens of Quincy chose compassion.
Others chose fear.
A Message for 2026
Being different is not a threat. It is a strength.
Judging those who are different leads to dehumanization. Dehumanization leads to cruelty. Cruelty leaves scars that last generations.
The LGBTQ+ community is not asking for dominance — only the right to live safely, openly, and in peace.
May 2026 be a year where more choose compassion. Where power is used to protect, not punish. Where love is not conditional on similarity.
Love one another.
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