Illinois state leaders close dark chapter in history
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Though relations with the Church have been good for a long time, representatives of Illinois state government on April 7 officially closed a rancorous 19th century "chapter" in history in which Latter-day Saints were persecuted and driven from the state.
Meeting with two members of the First Presidency in the Church Administration Building, representatives of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the state government presented a copy of House Resolution 793, passed March 24 by the Illinois House of Representatives. (See April 3 Church News, page 7.) The resolution acknowledges "the biases and prejudices of a less-enlightened age in the history" of the state and expresses regret for "the expulsion of the community of Latter-day Saints, a people of faith and hard work."
Presenting the resolution and appearing jointly at a news conference with President Thomas S. Monson and President James E. Faust, first and second counselors in the First Presidency, were Lt. Gov. Patrick J. Quinn; Rep. Daniel J. Burke, co-sponsor of the resolution; his brother, Alderman Edward N. Burke, president of the Chicago City Council; and Alderman Burke's wife, Justice Anne M. Burke of the Illinois Appellate Court.
President Gordon B. Hinckley, who had wanted to be at the event, was absent due to the death of his wife, Sister Marjorie Hinckley. Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve and Elder Donald L. Staheli of the Seventy were present, as were Utah Gov. Olene S. Walker and her husband, Myron. The Walkers' association with Alderman and Justice Burke led to the drafting of the resolution.
"There was a chapter in the history of Illinois that we are not proud of," Lt. Gov. Quinn said to reporters. "I want to express our official regrets to the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the events that occurred in Nauvoo in 1844 and also in Carthage, and the fact that people of faith were asked to leave our state is not something that Illinois is proud of. I think it's important to close that chapter of history by coming here today."
The lieutenant governor said the people of Illinois, "the land of Lincoln," believe in religious freedom. "There was a day in 1846, on Parley Street, in Nauvoo, Ill., when people who were practicing their faith, people of good faith, were asked to leave the state and move to another place because of the way they were practicing their religion. That wasn't right; we acknowledge that it was wrong, we express our official regrets, and we look forward to the future."
He extended an invitation to Latter-day Saints to come to Nauvoo "to see the history of your faith, to visit the grave of Joseph Smith, an ardent opponent of slavery."
Rep. Burke, who co-sponsored the resolution with Rep. Jack D. Franks, said, "The murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith 158 years ago and the subsequent expulsion of their followers . . . is a time that Illinois and my colleagues in government are not proud of. Indeed, by virtue of the unanimous support our resolution received in the Illinois House of Representatives, we have recorded our regret in the permanent record of the state of Illinois. The biases and prejudices of our predecessors in Illinois government so long ago still haunt us today."
He said he and Rep. Franks have been "literally overwhelmed" by hundreds of communications they have received from Church members since introducing the resolution, "expressing their heartfelt thanks for the intent and understanding this historical document represents."
Rep. Burke cited a quotation from Joseph Smith in which the Prophet said he would be as willing to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, Baptist or member of any other faith as he would the right of a Mormon. "For the same principle which would trample upon the rights of Latter-day Saints would trample upon the rights of the Roman Catholic or of any other denomination who may be unpopular and too weak to defend themselves," he said.
In response to Rep. Burke's reading of the lengthy resolution, President Monson said the perilous days of the 1840s "are long gone and far behind us."
"Today, the Church. . . is woven into the everyday fabric of life in Illinois," he said. "Fifty-one thousand Church members call Illinois home. More than 600 Mormon missionaries share our message of faith in cities and towns throughout the state. Illinois is one of two states east of the Mississippi River to have more than one of our temples, and an average of 350,000 people visit our temple and historic sites in Nauvoo each year."
Noting that the resolution calls the LDS community "a people of faith and hard work," President Monson said, "And so they were; and so we are today. . . . Belief continues to move the Church ahead today."
President Faust said, "The message of respect and reconciliation you have shared with us will long live in the hearts of this people." He noted that in May 2002, Laura Lynn Ryan, then the First Lady of Illinois, had been one of more than 330,000 visitors to the open house of the newly reconstructed Nauvoo Illinois Temple. "When asked by a local news reporter what she thought about the Latter-day Saints rebuilding the temple, she replied, 'I'm just glad to have the Mormons come home to Illinois.' "
He quoted President Hinckley as saying in the opening session of the recent general conference: "Church membership now reaches almost 12 million, with more members outside North America than reside within."
In that address, President Hinckley also referred to the Illinois resolution, saying, "This magnanimous gesture may be coupled with action taken by then-Gov. Christopher S. Bond of Missouri, who in 1976 revoked the cruel and unconstitutional extermination order issued against our people by Gov. Lilburn W. Boggs in 1838. These and other developments represent a most significant change in attitude toward the Latter-day Saints."
A reporter asked Elder Oaks if he thought this was the end of one chapter and beginning of another. He replied: "It signifies the end of a chapter, but I think relationships between this state (Utah) and the state of Illinois, between the people here and the people there, have been good for many years. But this is a formal recognition, and a very welcome one." He called it "the culmination of a healing."
"It's not the cause of the healing, but it's a culmination and recognition of it, and very welcome, I'm sure, on all sides."
E-mail to: rscott@desnews.com
