In that thread people keep saying the LDS were forced out of IL, one even said at cannon point, but I though they left IL of their own volition? That Emma and other LDS remained in IL and were unmolested seems to imply they weren't forced out of IL. So were the LDS forced out of IL like they were in MO?
cafe crema wrote:Were the LDS forced out of IL? I don't see anything that supports this claim, is there something?
They were forced out, of Nauvoo mostly. Mob action continued against the saints to a lesser degree during the year after Joseph Smith was murdered. Whether or not they would have stayed, had there been no more threats, is debatable. They were looking to resettle even before Joseph Smith died and I suspect they would have emigrated eventually, perhaps leaving behind some to take care of the temple.
Most of the Mormons living in and around Nauvoo left with BY, most of those living in outlying areas stayed. Emma actually left Nauvoo for a while due to concerns for her own safety.
"Any over-ritualized religion since the dawn of time can make its priests say yes, we know, it is rotten, and hard luck, but just do as we say, keep at the ritual, stick it out, give us your money and you'll end up with the angels in heaven for evermore."