This article is about the concept in Mormonism. For the blood atonement of Jesus, see Passion (Christianity). For blood atonement in the context of Israelite animal sacrifice, see Korban.
Execution by firing squad of John D. Lee for his role in the Mountain Meadows massacre. Lee's blood was shed on the ground where the massacre had taken place 20 years earlier; nevertheless, Brigham Young said that Lee "has not half atoned for his great crime."[1] Evidence points to Young himself being complicit in the planning and ordering of the massacre.
Blood atonement was a doctrine in the history of Mormonism still adhered to by some fundamentalist splinter groups, under which the atonement of Jesus does not redeem an eternal sin. To atone for an eternal sin, the sinner should be killed in a way that allows his blood to be shed upon the ground as a sacrificial offering, so he does not become a son of perdition. The largest Mormon denomination, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), has denied the validity of the doctrine since 1889 with early church leaders referring to it as a "fiction" in spite of evidence to the contrary and later church leaders referring to it as a "theoretical principle" that had never been implemented in the LDS Church.[2][3]
The doctrine arose among early Mormon leaders and it was significantly promoted during the Mormon Reformation, when Brigham Young governed the Utah Territory as a near-theocracy. According to Young and other members of his First Presidency, eternal sins that needed blood atonements included apostasy, theft and fornication (sodomy and adultery were two sins that did not need blood atonements).[4]
Young taught that sinners should voluntarily choose to practice the doctrine but he also taught that it should only be enforced by a complete theocracy (a form of government which has not existed in modern times).[5] Young considered it more charitable to sacrifice a life than to see them endure eternal torment in the afterlife. In Young's view, in a full Mormon theocracy, the practice would be implemented by the state as a penal measure.
The blood atonement doctrine was the impetus behind laws that allowed capital punishment to be administered by firing squad or decapitation in both the territory and the state of Utah.[citation needed][6] Though people in Utah were executed by firing squad for capital crimes under the assumption that this would aid their salvation, there is no clear evidence that Young or other top theocratic Mormon leaders enforced blood atonement for apostasy.[7] There is some evidence that the doctrine was enforced a few times at the local church level without regard to secular judicial procedure.[8] The rhetoric of blood atonement may have contributed to a culture of violence leading to the Mountain Meadows massacre.[9]
Blood atonement remains an important doctrine within Mormon fundamentalism[10] and is often referenced by alt-right Mormon groups (such as the DezNat community online).[11] Nonetheless, the LDS Church has formally repudiated the doctrine multiple times since the days of Young. LDS apostle Bruce R. McConkie, speaking on behalf of church leadership, wrote in 1978 that while he still believed that certain sins are beyond the atoning power of the blood of Christ, the doctrine of blood atonement is only applicable in a theocracy, like that during the time of Moses.[3] Nevertheless, given its long history, up until at least 1994 potential jurors in Utah have been questioned on their beliefs concerning the blood atonement prior to trials where the death penalty may be considered.[12]
^(Young 1877, p. 242)
^The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (2010-06-17). "Mormon church statement on blood atonement". Deseret News. Archived from the original on 2010-08-26. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
^ abMcConkie 1978.
^Quinn, D. Michael (2001). Same-Sex Dynamics Among Nineteenth-Century Americans: A Mormon Example. University of Illinois Press. p. 269. ISBN 9780252069581. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
^Snow, Lowell M. "Blood Atonement". Encyclopedia of Mormonism. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
^"Utah History Encyclopedia". www.uen.org. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
^(Campbell 1988, ch. 11)
^(Stenhouse 1873, pp. 467–71)
^(Quinn 1997)
^"FLDS Church Holds Fast to Doctrine of Blood Atonement". Archived from the original on 2008-09-07.
^Hitt, Tarpley (24 January 2019). "The Cult of #DezNat: Alt-Right Mormons Targeting Porn and the LGBTQ Community". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 13 January 2021. The Bowie knife motif is tied to an obscure, and often glossed over, part of Mormon doctrine called blood atonement. It's based on the idea that there are some crimes so foul, that Jesus did not atone for them with his death. These crimes, so the doctrine goes, can only be solved by bloodshed. "The church doesn't like to talk about blood atonement," Brother Mike said. "They distance themselves from that all day long. But the idea is, if you're an apostate, you are worthy of death."
^Stack, Peggy Fletcher, Concept of Blood Atonement Survives in Utah Despite Repudiation, Salt Lake Tribune November 5, 1994 notes that "In the past decade, potential jurors in every Utah capital homicide were asked whether they believed in the Mormon concept of 'blood atonement.'" In 1994, when the defense in the trial of James Edward Wood alleged that a local church leader had "talked to Wood about shedding his own blood", the LDS First Presidency submitted a document to the court that denied the church's acceptance and practice of such a doctrine, and included the 1978 repudiation. Stack, Peggy Fletcher, 1994. The article also notes that Arthur Gary Bishop, a convicted serial killer, was told by a top church leader that "blood atonement ended with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ."
Bloodatonement was a doctrine in the history of Mormonism still adhered to by some fundamentalist splinter groups, under which the atonement of Jesus...
the Adam–God doctrine. Young also taught the doctrine of bloodatonement, in which the atonement of Jesus cannot redeem an eternal sin, which included apostasy...
executed by that method. "Bloodatonement" is the controversial concept that there are certain sins to which the atonement of Jesus does not apply, and...
referred to as “bloodatonement” is discussed. Decker states that the concept of bloodatonement “glorifies the atoning power of the blood of the Mormon...
Nothing But The Blood of Jesus is a traditional American hymn about the bloodatonement and propitiation for sin by the death of Jesus as explained in...
atoned for by Jesus's death. Calvinists do not believe, however, that the atonement is limited in its value or power, but rather that the atonement is...
oration. He also introduced various controversial doctrines, such as bloodatonement and the Adam-God doctrine, both of which were rejected by other church...
sect and in rival polygamous groups, using the religious doctrine of bloodatonement to justify the murders. He was sentenced to life in prison for orchestrating...
HaKippurim, 'day [of] the atonements'. This name is used in the Bible, Mishnah, and Shulchan Aruch. The word kippurim 'atonement' is one of many Biblical...
Saints released a statement clarifying its position on the issue of bloodatonement of individuals. The case also attracted debate over capital punishment...
Lamb of God, who ordered the murders of his opponents, practicing bloodatonement, including Rulon C. Allred, and a hit-list carried out by followers...
his blood was collected, and the two rabbis took it." A novel, Death of a Monk, based on the Damascus affair, was published in 2004. Bloodatonement Blood...
return of the former Mormon principle of bloodatonement. This required that a sinner must have their blood shed in order for them to have a place in...
of the endowment but was often performed separately. Bloodatonement is the idea that spilled blood "cries out" for retribution and finds several examples...
God. He preached the importance of bloodatonement, a long-renounced Mormon principle that required that the blood of sinners be shed to ensure that they...
Limited atonement (also called definite atonement or particular redemption) is a doctrine accepted in some Christian theological traditions. It is particularly...
Substitutionary atonement, also called vicarious atonement, is a central concept within Western Protestant Christian theology which asserts that Jesus...
the interviewer if he believed in bloodatonement, Young replied] "I do, and I believe that Lee has not half atoned for his great crime" Staff (1857)...
The ransom theory of atonement was a theory in Christian theology as to how the process of Atonement in Christianity had happened. It therefore accounted...
called penal substitutionary atonement or, sometimes, esp. in older writings, called forensic theory) is a theory of the atonement within Protestant Christian...
URL (link) Big Love s2e2 Martin, Denise (September 9, 2008). "HBO's 'True Blood': Audiences don't bite". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 17, 2017...
bowie knife imagery as a homage to Brigham Young and the concept of bloodatonement for certain sins, a practice the LDS Church leadership has disavowed...
the world and that all people can be saved through his atonement. Mormons accept Christ's atonement through faith, repentance, formal covenants or ordinances...
Global Information