LDS leaders given regrets — in person

Seeking to send a message about the dangers of intolerance and religious bigotry, Illinois state government officials expressed their regrets in person Wednesday to top leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints nearly 160 years after persecution eventually drove some 20,000 early Latter-day Saints from their homes beginning in 1846.

Illinois Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn said the assassination of LDS Church founder Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, in 1844, and the subsequent mobbings, property destruction and terrorizing of early Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo, Ill., is "a chapter in the history of Illinois that we are not proud of."

Respect for the religious beliefs of all people and tolerance for those who are different is "a fundamental part of American democracy. It's what we're fighting the war against terrorism over," he said.

"There was a day in February 1846 on Parley's Street (in Nauvoo) where people who were practicing their faith, people of good faith, were asked to leave the state and asked to move to another place. It wasn't right. We acknowledge it was wrong and express our regrets and look forward to the future."

Quinn said it is "important to come here to Salt Lake City to tell you that the people of Illinois are a warm and generous group of citizens. . . . We believe in religious freedom as a fundamental part of the Illinois and the U.S. constitutions."

Many Americans had forebears who came to the U.S. seeking freedom from religious persecution and the chance to practice their faith, he said, adding, "Those values need to be protected today in the 21st century as they should have been protected back then."

Rep. Daniel J. Burke, of the Illinois House of Representatives, expressed "sincere regret and commiseration for the horrific events" that occurred in driving early Latter-day Saints from Illinois. He said his office and other government officials have been "literally overwhelmed by the number of communications we've received" from Latter-day Saints since word of House Resolution 793's unanimous passage expressing "regret" for 19th century persecution broke last week.

"Hundreds of members of the church from all over the globe" have expressed their thanks for the gesture, he said. "Through these communications, we've learned how important this is to your community." Burke read the two-page resolution aloud to reporters before presenting a leather-bound copy of it to President Thomas S. Monson, first counselor in the church's First Presidency.