Drawing from passages in the Old Testament, Young later made many statements similar to his comments here, teaching that some sins were so serious that the perpetrator’s blood would have to be shed for the individual to receive forgiveness. This concept came to be known as “blood atonement.” Preachers in various American Christian traditions had a long history of utilizing intimidating rhetoric in their sermons. Young’s listeners probably understood his rhetoric as hyperbole; three years later, Young stated, “I av [have] feelings— I frequently sa[y] ‘cut his infernal throat’ I dont mean any such thing.” JS may have alluded to this idea in March 1843, during a city council discussion on punishment for criminals. He “said he was opposed to hanging if a man kill another shoot him or cut his throat. spilling his blood on the ground and let the smoke thereof ascend up to God. and if I ever have the privilige of Making a law on this point I will have it so.” (Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses, 21 Sept. 1856, 4:53–54; Lambert, Inventing the “Great Awakening,” 46–47; Peterson, “Mormon Reformation of 1856–1857,” 65–69; Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 17 Mar. 1848; JS, Journal, 4 Mar. 1843.)

Journal of Discourses. 26 vols. Liverpool: F. D. Richards, 1855–1886.

Lambert, Frank. Inventing the “Great Awakening.” Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999.

Peterson, Paul H. “The Mormon Reformation of 1856–1857: The Rhetoric and the Reality.” Journal of Mormon History 15 (1989): 59–87.

Historian’s Office. General Church Minutes, 1839–1877. CHL