Danites

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The Danites , also the sons of Dan or the destructive angels , are a secret society that was associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 19th century . He is said to have been primarily responsible for carrying out the doctrine of blood atonement developed by Brigham Young . Another task was the fight against enemies of the church and apostates. However, the ordinary member of the Church has no knowledge of the existence of such a secret organization within the Church.

What is certain is that the Danites were founded and led in 1837 by David Patten and Sampson Avard . According to a statement by Sampson Avard, who was expelled from the church shortly afterwards, Joseph Smith is said to have been the main mastermind behind the retribution of the Danites against enemies of the church.

Even under the leadership of Brigham Young , the secret society of the Danites was maintained and supported by the church leadership. Critics of the church use quotations from Brigham Young to prove that he approved of the criminal acts of the Danites and even wanted to intimidate "enemies" of the church.

The most famous Danite was Bill Hickman , who, with his autobiography on file with a lawyer, provided the strongest evidence that these killers actually existed on behalf of the church leadership.

The Danites are also said to have been involved in the planning and execution of the Mountain Meadows massacre . As a ringleader, the alleged Danite member John D. Lee was sentenced to death and executed in 1877 at the site of the massacre.

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