Abraham Lincoln Hated Mormons (and the Constitution)

It was soon after the battle at Gettysburg. The prophet Brigham Young in Utah territory was following the footsteps of the Prophet Joseph Smith, seeking to establish the Kingdom of God on the earth, through the authority given him by God.

President Abraham Lincoln penned these words to a Pastor Chiniquy, a Canadian Marxist activist as well as former Roman Catholic priest:

“Two cankers are biting the very entrails of the United States today: the Romish and the Mormon priests. Both are equally at work to form a people of the most abject, ignorant and fanatical slaves, who will recognize no other authority but their supreme pontiffs. Both are aiming at the destruction of our schools, to raise themselves upon our ruins. Both shelter themselves under our grand and holy principles of liberty of conscience, to destroy that very liberty of conscience, and bind the world before their heavy and ignominious yoke.

The Mormon and the Jesuit priests are equally the uncompromising enemies of our constitution and our laws; but the more dangerous of the two is the Jesuits the Romish priest, for he knows better now to conceal his hatred under the mask of friendship and public good: he is better trained to commit the most cruel and diabolical deeds for the glory of God.

“Till lately, I was in favour of the unlimited liberty of conscience as our constitution gives it to the Roman Catholics. But now, it seems to me that, sooner or later, the people will be forced to put a restriction to that clause towards the Papists. Is it not an act of folly to give absolute liberty of conscience to a set of men who are publicly sworn to cut our throats the very day they have their opportunity for doing it? Is it right to give the privilege of citizenship to men who are the sworn and public enemies of our constitution, our laws, our liberties, and our lives?

(Pastor Chinequy, “Fifty Years in the Church of Rome,” p. 488)

A few interesting notes

Christ’s restored and one true gospel is lumped in with the Jesuit religion by Lincoln, showing no distinction or perception on his part. Yet both religions were considered, as it were: enemies of the state. Because they did not support his unconstitutional efforts in the War of Northern Aggression, Lincoln condemns them.

Notice how worldly governments and leaders felt about the Mormons then. One cannot help but see a marked departure from how conspiring men treated the prophets and apostles of God, in days past—compared with today. There was no handshaking with Babylon nor was there warm affections toward the restored church. Rather, the Mormons were despised by those leaders, such as Lincoln, conspiring for more obedience and power. This letter of vitriol and animosity by the president of the United States of America towards Mormons is evidence of it. We have no persecution like this today. Today, we have quite the opposite.

Note how Lincoln is against liberty of conscience and against the free exercise of faithful followers of Christ. “Till lately, I was in favour of the unlimited liberty of conscience as our constitution gives… But now…” Lincoln ceased to believe in the protections enshrined in our Constitution with these statements. Therefore, he does not support God-given liberty.

Questions to ponder

  • What does this kind of dialogue say about the true character of Abraham Lincoln?
  • Was Lincoln the freedom-loving patriot that modern propaganda has made him out to be? Why do both the Democrat and the Republican parties lionize Lincoln?
  • Are there more evidences, besides those posed here, that Lincoln did not believe in the Constitution and instead set it aside, yet while professing to believe or protect it?
  • Was Lincoln a man of integrity and principle?
  • Where else do we see this kind of pattern today?

One final thought

Some will be lightning quick to defend Lincoln, saying that his heart changed after checking the Book of Mormon out from the Library of Congress. First of all, Lincoln checked out a number of anti-Mormon books in addition. From this, at best, we can say he was simply learning “all the angles” of Mormonism, not that he was pro or positive toward the religion in any way. It would require actual evidence to believe that he was in favor. For example, sources showing Lincoln protecting the rights of the Saints or, perhaps, converting to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. These would be more compelling evidences. The truth is, Lincoln checked out and returned The Book of Mormon a full year before writing these dark accusations against the Mormons, believing our priests were trained to “commit the most cruel and diabolical deeds for the glory of God.”

We would be wise to acknowledge the words and actions we have been given, as evidenced here, to discern this U.S. President’s true nature. Don’t let confirmation bias—as painful as it is—distort evidence that is… well, plainly evident. Yes, we were all lied to in our public educations/ indoctrinations and had many historical events twisted or hidden from us. Villains were presented as heroes. It is never too late, however, to discover what is factually correct and ultimately will allow us to draw nearer to God.

To learn more about the “Real Abraham Lincoln,” please check out this video from author Thomas DiLorenzo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97wfeFPXuZE

Also check out all of these great past articles from Faithful Saints about Lincoln:

https://faithfulsaints.com/?s=lincoln

10 thoughts on “Abraham Lincoln Hated Mormons (and the Constitution)”

  1. Please provide sources when making claims about people.
    As far as I’ve been able to find, Charles Chiniquy himself is the only source for the claimed Lincoln letter; he wrote it into his book “Fifty Years in the Catholic Church.” No corroborating information was found, no second witness. Nor did I find any connection to Marx, including searching through Chiniquy’s 400-page book. I did find that Lincoln was the lawyer representing Chiniquy in an 1856 defamation case; the trial was settled when Lincoln convinced Chiniquy to recant his accusations against another priest.
    Chiniquy is not somebody who is considered trustworthy. When a Catholic priest, he had a reputation for inappropriate behavior with women, and was suspended in 1851 for performing a ‘criminal act’ on a girl. He didn’t reform, and was excommunicated in 1858. Even then he continued offering Mass to others. He joined the Presbyterians and spent the rest of his life railing against the Catholic church. He was known to lie and misrepresent, in order to inflame the people and increase his income.

    Maybe Lincoln said those things. Maybe he didn’t. Either way, I don’t recommend leaning on Chiniquy’s words in order to make a case against Lincoln.

    1. Feel free to read all the other articles and videos we provide references for, regarding Lincoln’s character. There are many witnesses and actions that verify that Lincoln was not a principled man. This is just one tip of the iceberg.

  2. I like how you claim he hated the constitution, but the alleged quote you excerpt from indicates he hates Mormons because he views them as a threat to the constitution

  3. Although Lincoln is lauded as the first or second best President of the United States, for LDS he is the third worst, after Van Buren who let the Missouri mobs destroy the Saints and Buchanan who attacked Utah. Lincoln said if the Saints left him alone, he would leave them alone. If he would have followed that, he wouldn’t have been bad, but he encouraged anti-polygamy laws to persecute the Saints.

  4. Bs, and where are you sources? Also, the saints were very pleased when he said he would leave them alone. They even celebrated his 2nd term and morned his murdered. Maybe he wasn’t the best man, and maybe he struggled with the constitution and even thw saints, but you can’t just write off a person based on some supposed facts. Nor can you accept one for the same reason.

  5. Lincoln was a traitor of the nth degree and hated anything to do with the life/freedom giving constitution. Read a book that exposes this criminal for who he really was, titled, “Lincoln Unmasked”. History revisionist have credited this monster with all kinds of patriotic and cute little saying that Lincoln never actually said. He was a severe fascist, just take a good look at all the fascists symbols all over his memorial in DC. He single handily killed 620,000 Americans needlessly on US soil over the 10th amendment, not slavery. Slavery was already on its way out and had little to do with the civil war. He used the slavery issue to advance his totalitarian regime, squashing states rights in favor of a strong central government. Precisely the reason we are in such a mess right now.

    For instance, were you aware of the following facts about Lincoln and the war?

    – He did not believe in racial equality, and stated this publicly a number of times (such as when he pledged to uphold Illinois’ law against interracial marriage).
    – As a lawyer, he once defended a slave owner’s right to keep his slaves, but never defended a runaway slave.
    – Lincoln and Republicans opposed the extension of slavery because they wanted to keep the territories free for white settlement.
    – He favored a constitutional amendment (the Corwin Amendment) that would have guaranteed the existence of American slavery in perpetuity and would have been irrevocable.
    – He was willing to leave every slave in slavery if it would “help save the Union”.
    – He preferred that all American blacks be “colonized” outside of the United States, and actively worked for this – including during his time as president.
    – The Emancipation Proclamation was strictly a military measure designed to “suppress said rebellion”, not a humanitarian gesture; and it freed only those slaves in parts of the Confederacy that were not under Union occupation. Slaves in the border states and occupied areas were unaffected by it. As his own Secretary of State said, it applied to slaves where Lincoln could not reach them, but left them in bondage where he could have easily freed them.
    – He ordered the arrest of the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Roger Taney, when Taney referred to Lincoln’s suspension of Habeas Corpus as an act of despotism.
    – He and his military machine closed down anti-war newspapers; censored telegraphs, sermons and sheet music; unlawfully arrested thousands for expressing anti-Lincoln or anti-war sentiments (including in the Northern states); and made pitiless war against Southern civilians in an effort to win this “peoples’ contest”. Entire towns and cities, such as Meridian, Mississippi and Atlanta, Georgia, were laid waste, their inhabitants left destitute and starving.
    – Secession is not forbidden by the Constitution, and is a more American ideal than that of Union by force. The United States of America came into existence as an act of secession, justified by the Declaration of Independence, which states that all people to have a right to a government of their consent.

  6. This is such an incredibly dumb take it doesn’t even deserve taking the time to refute.

    Calling it “the war of Northern aggression” belies your prejudice and historical ignorance.

    For non-Latrer-Day Saints: This take is not what the vast majority Mormons believe.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top