August 6, 1838, Daviess County Missouri: The local county elections were heating up, the Democrats verses the Whigs. William Peniston, a Whig, was running for a seat as a state representative. He had campaigned throughout the county, but came to the realization he was not likely to win due to the large number of Mormon voters in that county. The Mormons tended to vote Democrat, the party of Andrew Jackson. And they distrusted Peniston because of his involvement with mobs that had driven them from Ray County two years before.

Now this angered Peniston and his friends, and they determined that if the Mormons wouldn’t vote for him, they shouldn’t be allowed to vote at all. Now the Saints did not like to be deprived of their liberty and right, said John Lowe Butler, a Mormon, and he and his brethren set their minds to go to Gallatin, the county seat, and cast their vote.

They arrived about 11:00 in the morning, and found about 40 to 50 Missourians gathered around, and there were, as they counted, about 8 to 10 Mormons. All were waiting for the polls to open.

It was at this point that Peniston got up on the head of a barrel, and delivered a very inflammatory speech against the saints. When he was through he called on all hands to drink, which they did - for whiskey passed free, and they drank as freely.

As the point, Samuel Brown, one of the Mormons, tried to go in and vote. Dick Weldon, a non-Mormon who was well armed and drunk, stopped Brown and began insulting him. He took a swing at Brown and missed. At this point, one of the Latter-Day Saints jumped to the defense of Brown, and it was on; it was an all-out me lay.

John Butler was out of sight at the fight. He heard the commotion, and not liking the spirit of it, decided he would leave. However, when he came around the building and saw his brethren, some of whom were outnumbered 8 to 1, he realized he couldn’t leave. John Low Butler was a Danite and under covenant to defend his brethren.

John hollered out at the top of his voice and gave the Danite distress signal. At that point he started forward and picked up a heart of oak stick about 4 feet long and weighing about 7 pounds. And into the fray he waded. As he did so, he realized he had no desire to kill anyone, only to stop the affray, he said. He knew he would have to temper his licks as he put it, or he would kill someone.

John rushed to the aid of his brethren, swinging the club as he went. One observer said Butler was a brave and true man, and a leader, that it was a pleasure to follow when duty called.

Butler later testified that he felt the Spirit “rest upon me with power. I felt like I was 7 or 8 feet high, and my arms 3 or 4 feet long, for I certainly ran faster than I ever did before, and I could reach further and hit a man, and they could not reach me to harm me.”

Well, it was over in minutes. “I believe there was as many as 30 men with bloody heads, and some of them badly hurt.”

John gathered his brethren and faced the mob vowing to fight as long as the blood ran warm in their veins. The mob on the other hand begged for peace, and insisted the brethren go in and vote. It is uncertain how many actually voted, but Peniston still lost the election.

How willing are we to fight for the right to vote?