Early Mormon history is marred by many instances of violent persecution , which has helped shape the faith 's views toward violence . The first significant violent persecution occurred in Missouri . Mormons tended to vote as a bloc there , wielding " considerable political and economic influence , " often unseating local political leadership and earning long-lasting enmity in the frontier communities . These differences culminated in the Missouri Mormon War and the eventual issuing of an executive order ( since called the extermination order within the LDS community ) by Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs , which declared that " the Mormons must be treated as enemies , and must be exterminated or driven from the State . " Three days later , a renegade militia unit attacked a Mormon settlement at Haun 's Mill , resulting in the death of 18 Mormons and no militiamen . The extermination order was not formally rescinded until 1976
Haun 's Mill
Haun's Mill massacre
Sectarian violence among Christians