Two recent letters mentioned persecution of Mormons (“Denying human rights,” Forum, July 4; “LDS rights,” July 11). The idea that Mormons were persecuted in Ohio, Missouri and Illinois for religious beliefs is a myth. The trouble was that Mormons tried to impose their political will on their neighbors. This is documented by Stephen LeSueur in The 1838 Mormon War in Missouri, and in Cultures in Conflict, historians John Hallwas and Roger Launius write, “The Mormon conflict was not a matter of religious persecution.”

Furthermore, there is only one documented instance of a tarring and feathering. It was carried out against Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon by Mormons and former Mormons, not by “gentiles.” Its cause was anger over financial fraud or rumors (some say of polygamy), as historian Richard Bushman has documented.

Now The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wants to repeat history by counseling its neighbors on supposed moral questions. The church does not need to become bogged down in yet another attempt to defend its checkered past, especially its idiosyncratic marriage practices, while condemning the marriages of its neighbors.

Ron Priddis

Salt Lake City