Attack on LDS Church harkens back to its early history of religious persecution

Grand Blanc Township, Michigan (CNN) — The early history of the LDS Church is one of persecution and violence.

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), commonly known as the Mormons, was killed by a mob in 1844 in Illinois. Fearing continued persecution, Smith’s successor, Brigham Young, led church members on an exodus to Utah, at the time a territory outside the jurisdiction of the United States, to freely practice their religion.

For LDS Church members, that history is taught from a young age as part of their self-identity. And that history of persecution is newly relevant after the mass shooting and arson targeting an LDS church in Michigan last Sunday.

“The idea that Mormons were a persecuted group in the 1800s is deeply ingrained in the M