Oath of vengeance

In Mormonism, the oath of vengeance (or law of vengeance) was part of the endowment ritual of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) implemented in 1845. Participants swore an oath to pray for God to avenge the blood of prophets. The term "prophets" wasn't explicitly clarified in reported wording of the oath, but many sources have reported it referred to the brothers Joseph and Hyrum Smith, who were killed by a mob the year before Smith's primary successor, Brigham Young, added the oath. The oath was part of the LDS endowment Temple (Latter Day Saints) ceremony for over 80 years (1845—1927).:122

The officiant of the ritual reportedly enjoined the participants as follows: "You and each of you do covenant and promise that you will pray and never cease to pray to Almighty God to avenge the blood of the prophets upon this nation, and that you will teach the same to your children and to your children's children unto the third and fourth generation." Participants swore to keep the oath a secret under penalty of execution as part of the temple penalties.:196