Last modified: 2015-06-20 by rob raeside
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I would like to kindly respond to the submissions found on this web site rel-morm.html. My name is John-T Wardle and I am the owner/LLC manager of Wardle Creation, dba The Church Flag™; a.k.a. The Mormon Pioneer Flag™ located online at www.TheChurchFlag.com. Not only is the The Church Flag™ my exclusive trademark but also the flag image is a trademark company logo as is the copyrighted design and description of The Church Flag™.
Please be mindful and know that any reproduction, duplication, manufacturing or derivative works, in any form, of The Church Flag™ including all or part of the image, or graphic design is not permitted (without written consent and license and/or terms of use) and is in violation of trademark and copyright laws.
Since there may be some that are interested in information about The Church Flag™ souvenir business and me, let me briefly submit some facts here. I am a faithful and active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called Mormon or LDS) and had created The Church Flag™ design based on historical Mormon documents written in the 1800’s, through the1880’s, and historical commentaries/analysis written from 1800’s to 2001. Mostly the research and documents are found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church Archives, Utah State Historical Archives, and private LDS writings and journals.
Having done my research and eventually designating a design for The Church Flag™ it is not incorrect to assume that I had to interpret and produce The Church Flag™ from multiple manuscripts, descriptions, motifs and an assortment of available sources. Be assured that this design best represents the depictions, ideals and meaning of the original Mormon pioneer designers and know that I am very satisfied to offer it as a truthful and accurate Mormon pioneer souvenir item.
There are several accounts of a Mormon flag (or as I coined The Church Flag™) having been discussed, created, and displayed in the 1830’s and 1840’s. Let me say that for proprietary reasons I’m withholding additional specific sources at this time until I have completed The Church Flag™ book currently being written. I have some very factual and solid evidences as well as (pending permissions) images of actual The Church Flags™ from the 1800’s.
Until publication of The Church Flag™ book, here are a couple quotes just to clarify the facts. In June of 1844 Mary E. Lightner a seamstress living with her non-Mormon husband outside of Nauvoo, IL wrote in her journal about making a Mormon flag for a group of men who had come to her under the ruse of protecting Joseph Smith at Carthage jail. She writes that she knew their intention to use the flag as a ploy and tried not to help them, “I was called to make a flag for this company… but there was no one that knew how to make the flag but me, and I was compelled to make it or suffer the consequence, for I was the only Mormon in the place.”
In the year1853 at Salt Lake City the temple corner stones where dedicated and several journals record that the Mormon’s National Flag (The Church Flag™) being displayed and unfurled during these events. As David L. Bigler quotes in his book “The Forgotten Kingdom,” of the April, 1853 events “A blue and white banner with stripes and twelve stars encircling a single large star was unfurled to the breeze.” See also the Desert News April 16, 1853, Minutes of General Conference. For additional information on The Flag of the Kingdom of God (The Church Flag™) read D. Michael Quinn’s article “The Flag of the Kingdom of God.” BYU Studies 14 (Autumn 1973) p. 105-114.
These are just a couple of the many sources I found in connection with The Church Flag™ and there is no doubt that the evidence is clear and correct provided on my web site. Please visit and read more on the history of The Church Flag™ at http://thechurchflag.com/FlagFAQ/FlagFAQ.htm.
Now let me respond to some postings on this site. Some submitters on this site, it seems to me, are unable to move past their personal biases and prejudices to evaluate Mormon history in an objective manner. I don’t know why some people tend to cloud their minds with myth, folktales, and presumptions so that anything new learned or discovered is discarded in favor of old distorted notions of humorous, horrifying, but generally false images of Mormonism. It reminds me of some people that actually believed and enjoyed the ambiguous and scrupulous anti-Mormon literary work found in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with there portrayal of polygamous and Danite fixated melodramatic myths brought about by writers of books like “ Saved at Last From Among the Mormons, Sacrificed on the Mormon Alter, The Lions of the Lord, Riders of the Purple Sage. I could go on and on citing instances of buffoonery and villainy at the expense of LDS. Today most sensible and balanced minds understand the difference between bigoted based fiction and fair and realistic observations.
Is it a preoccupation to perpetuate the disfigured, twisted perception of Mormon history with some zealous vexillologist today? I think so. If you look rationally and reasonably (a key trait of Mormons past and present) at 500 words (4 paragraphs) submitted by people at this site and look at the key points made they are: (1) Brigham Young states LDS only have a national flag. (2) Pro-polygamy association with The Church Flag™. (3) Links to anti-Mormon sites. (4) Discussion of fictional Danite bodyguards. (5) Danites or LDS stealing Brannan’s flag. (6) The Church Flag not displayed on Ensign Peak.
Is that an objective view? Perhaps you could slip those types of misrepresentation in a book of 50,000 words unnoticed and subtly disguise the real intention but within 500 words the true colors shine clearly. Perhaps they feel they are just getting to the truth quickly and succinctly, but sadly that is a rationalization for distorting the view.
It makes me laugh and at the same time feel sad to see such an obvious unfocused, and underhanded presentation of The Church Flag™, Mormon history and thoughts. My strong recommendation is to advise readers to indeed be careful posting on this site. Submitting only clear evidence and to reject undocumented and unrelated subjects meant to cloud the issues. The positions and writings that seem strange and unassociated to rational and reasonable thinkers generally are just that.
In an effort not to make personal attacks or begin a bashing episode on Mormon believes or doctrines I simply want to suggest readers go directly to the sources for themselves. Here are a couple sites that will be helpful in understanding Mormon history. The first is the official LDS church site at http://www.lds.org. Visit this site and click the search button at the top of the page, then enter any subject your heart desires. If you want to search anything from flags to Danites you’ll find many articles (I prefer reasonable subjects like a Savior, Faith in the Lord, or Mormon Pioneers). Another basic site for understanding current and basic Mormon thought is the LDS site http://www.mormon.org. A good site from a non-faith source on Mormon history is found on the Utah History Encyclopedia site http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/. If you are interested in The Church Flag™ history or our products the site is located at http://www.thechurchflag.com. Please remember in your zeal (omnia pro vexillum) to temper predetermined notions with logical, measured, and truthful information.
Owner/LLC Manager The Church Flag™
