Crossword clues for danite
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Danite \Dan"ite\, n.
A descendant of Dan; an Israelite of the tribe of Dan.
--Judges xiii.2. [So called in remembrance of the prophecy in Gen. xlix. 17, ``Dan shall be a serpent by the way,'' etc.] One of a secret association of Mormons, bound by an oath to obey the heads of the church in all things. [U. S.]
Wikipedia
The Danites were a fraternal organization founded by Latter Day Saint members in June 1838, in the town of Far West in Caldwell County, Missouri. During their period of organization in Missouri, the Danites operated as a vigilante group and took a central role in the events of the 1838 Mormon War. Whether or not the Danites existed after the 1847 arrival of the LDS Church in Utah is still debated. However, they remained an important part of Mormon and non-Mormon folklore, polemics, and propaganda for the remainder of the 19th century, waning in ideological prominence after Utah gained statehood. Notwithstanding public excommunications of Danite leaders by the Church and both public and private statements from Joseph Smith referring to the band as being both evil in nature and a " secret combination" (i.e., a derogatory term used in the Book of Mormon) to which he attributed no part of, the nature and scope of the organization, and the degree to which it was officially connected to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, are a matter of some dispute among historians. Earlier in the band's existence, Joseph Smith appeared to endorse the group's actions, but later turned against them as violence increased and the actions of the Danites inspired a hysteria in Missouri that eventually led to the Extermination Order.
In 1834, during the march of Zion's Camp, Joseph Smith created a militia known as the "Armies of Israel" to protect his community. Some historians have alleged this militia to be the original formation of the Danite band. After the 1838 war, the term "Danite" was often connected with Latter Day Saint peacekeeping, including the Nauvoo, Illinois police, the bodyguards of Joseph Smith, and the "whistling and whittling brigades". Although some members of these later groups had been Danites in the Missouri period, the leadership of the 1838 secret society, particularly Sampson Avard, was not associated with the leadership of the peace-keeping militias commonly referred to by the same name.
Usage examples of "danite".
If some modern-day freelance Danite was behind all this, Robin Torr wanted nothing to do with it.
It is at this day certain, also, that about this time, the prophet instituted an order in the Church called the Danite Band.
To this day, in the lonely ranches of the West, the name of the Danite Band, or the Avenging Angels, is a sinister and an ill-omened one.
Stenhouse relieves me of any anxiety I had felt in regard to having my swan-like throat cut by the Danites, but thinks my wholesale denunciation of a people I had never seen was rather hasty.
They had at first considered staying around Salt Lake, but the stories they heard of Porter Rockwell, Bill Hickman, and others of the Danites, had given them the impression it might become extremely unhealthy in that region.