If we want to remedy the various violations of our Constitutional liberties, we must go back and revisit where many of those intrusions began. One of the most glaring examples came about when the government actively persecuted the LDS church in the 1800's.

First of all, let me note that I am NOT LDS, nor am I an apologist for their doctrine. In fact, I could hold my own in a debate about the doctrines and practices of the LDS church, but do not wish to do so. They have a right to hold views contrary to my own. but I AM a historian, and a civil libertarian, and I feel that the church was treated rather harshly by a government bent on its destruction. It is important to note that many critics of the LDS church allege that their temple practices were plagiarized from the practices of the Masonic lodge, an organization so controversial that it at one time had an entire political party dedicated to its destruction. Because the timeline of the founding of the LDS church coincided with the height of the anti-masonic party (which was prominent in the 1820's to the 1840's; the LDS church was officially established in 1830), it seems logical that the mood from the anti-Masonic party spilled over to the newly established church because of the rumors involved (I will not engage in debate about whether these rumors are true or not, it seems a useless red herring in this instance).

In 1844, Joseph Smith was shot by a mob as he awaited trial in a Carthage, Illinois jail. LDS history refers to this as a martyrdom, and, for the sake of argument, we will accept it as such (Smith was jailed for various crimes for which their appeared to be just caused, but due to the fact he had not been convicted by a jury of his peers, he died an innocent man, legally speaking). The Mormons attempted to migrate outside of what was then the United States, and to establish their own government, but remained respectful enough of the federal authority to allow their young men to be mustered into service in Iowa before they began the trek westward. It was after they arrived in Utah, which was not then part of the United States, that the government persecution intensified. Under the doctrine of "manifest destiny", the government felt a compelling need to annex the state of Utah, and the actions of some groups of LDS settlers in incidents such as the Mountain Meadows Massacre gave them just cause, in their mind, to threaten the use of military force and the seizure of the properties of the church and its members if the church did not comply with the federal designs on the area controlled by LDS settlers (which extended beyond the borders of present day Utah into southern Idaho, northern Arizona and New Mexico, eastern Nevada, western Colorado and southwestern Wyoming, areas where there remains a considerable LDS presence). It was under this threat that the church was infamously forced to abandon its practice of polygamy, a practice deemed abhorrent by Catholic and most Protestant sects at the time. In Reynolds vs. U.S. (1878), the Supreme Court held that it was justified in prohibiting polygamy on the same grounds as it would be justified in prohibiting human sacrifice without violating the first amendment, a spurious argument at best, since the first example involves consensual partners whose lives are not first, while in the second instance, even a consensual victim could well be held to have consented under duress, and the forfeiture of his life would make his decision irreversible.

The aforementioned Supreme Court case is a prime historical example of an incident where the government aggressively and systematically persecuted a religion specifically based upon its beliefs, and directly contrary to the protections afforded to individuals under the First Amendment. While the practice of polygamy remains abhorrent to many Catholic and Protestant faiths (and, indeed, to many Mormons; contrary to commonly held urban legend, the practice and even vocal support of, polygamy within the SLC church is grounds for excommunication; as for "splinter" groups, it is important to note that, while they have equal claim to the name of the LDS church, they are NOT what most of us recognize as "the LDS church; eg, the cleancut young men in white dress shirts and black business suits). I have often stated that if we're going to protect the right to free exercise of religion, we must protect the rights of ALL faiths, even if we disagree with their doctrine. The LDS church is no exception.

The 1878 SCOTUS decision was an unjustified violation of the religious rights of the LDS church, and, more importantly, it provided a "slippery slope" to more government intervention into the rights of other faiths. A Baptist should be as outraged as a Mormon over the decision and its repurcussions.