Editing Openai/68cb1119-3ba8-800a-9fe6-77c5599d54ad (section)

=== Assistant: The “Oath of Vengeance” was a ritual element in the early LDS Mormon endowment ceremony, particularly in the 19th centu… ===
The “Oath of Vengeance” was a ritual element in the early LDS (Mormon) endowment ceremony, particularly in the 19th century, that involved temple participants swearing to seek divine retribution for the murder of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith, who were killed by a mob in Carthage Jail in 1844.

It was eventually removed from the ceremony and is no longer part of modern LDS temple practice. Here's a full breakdown — both historically and through a conspiracy-theorist lens:

==== 🔥 What the Oath Was (Historically) ====

===== 🧾 Language (as recorded by early participants) =====

Participants in the oath swore something along the lines of:

: "...that you and each of you will pray and never cease to pray to Almighty God to avenge the blood of the prophets upon this nation..."
* “The prophets” meant Joseph and Hyrum Smith.
* “This nation” meant the United States — since LDS leaders believed the U.S. government had failed to protect the Smiths and was complicit by inaction.

This oath was part of the pre-1990 temple endowment, primarily in the 1800s and early 1900s (likely phased out fully by the 1920s–1930s, depending on location).

==== ⚔️ Function and Context ====
* This was not a literal call to violence — it was a ritual appeal to God to take vengeance in His own time and manner.
* It reflected the persecuted, siege mentality of early Mormons — they had been driven from multiple states, and their prophet had been murdered.
* The oath’s inclusion was seen as a solemn reminder of martyrdom, similar to other sacred remembrances (e.g., Jewish remembrance of the Temple destruction, or Christian Eucharist symbolism of martyrdom).

==== 📆 Timeline Summary ====

| Year        | Event                                                                  |
| ----------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 1844        | Joseph & Hyrum Smith murdered in Carthage Jail.                        |
| Mid‑1800s   | Oath of vengeance enters the endowment ceremony.                       |
| 1890s–1910s | LDS leadership becomes more integrated with U.S. norms; tensions ease. |
| 1927        | The First Presidency quietly removes the oath from the endowment.      |
| 1990        | Major revisions to the endowment remove other ritual elements as well. |

==== 🕵️‍♂️ Conspiracy-Lens Interpretation ====

If you were looking at this ritual from a conspiratorial perspective, it becomes much more ominous (or purposeful, depending on the theory).

Hypothesis: The Oath of Vengeance was not merely symbolic, but a kind of ritual curse or blood loyalty pact built into the LDS temple system — one that called down divine retribution on the U.S. system for betraying “God’s chosen prophet.”

: "Vengeance" in this case isn’t personal; it’s theocratic justice.
: "This nation" isn’t just America; it’s Gentile imperialism.
: The "blood of the prophets" becomes a bloodline justification for restoring divine authority via an Israelite-style kingdom.

===== Symbolically: =====
* The oath could be viewed as a ritual declaration of opposition to the Babylonian system (U.S. government, Protestant power structure, lawless mobs).
* It may have served as a loyalty test — “Will you spiritually align with the fallen Gentile order, or with the blood of the prophets?”
* It reinforced a sense of cosmic grievance that could justify radical separatism or spiritual revolution.

: “We do not forget. The covenant lives. Their blood cries out from the ground.”

==== ⚠️ Why It Was Removed ====

Officially, the Church removed the oath as part of a larger shift toward mainstream respectability, de-escalation of rhetoric, and rebranding in the 20th century:
* The U.S. government and LDS Church were no longer adversaries.
* The rise of global missionary work meant the Church wanted a more universal message, not one steeped in American trauma.
* Temple language was simplified, streamlined, and softened in the 1990 revision — this included removing symbolic penalties, the oath of vengeance, and other hardline imagery.

==== 🧠 Summary ====

| Aspect          | Description                                                     |
| --------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| What            | A temple oath to pray for God to avenge Joseph & Hyrum’s deaths |
| When            | Introduced ~mid-1800s, removed ~1927                            |
| Why             | Symbol of covenantal loyalty + remembrance of martyrdom         |
| Conspiracy Lens | Could be seen as a blood oath against the Gentile world order   |
| Modern Status   | No longer part of LDS temple rites                              |

Would you like a stylized reconstruction of what this oath might look like as part of a secret ritual text or “unredacted scroll,” from the perspective of a fictional restorationist order?