{"id":54227,"date":"2026-08-02T10:14:43","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T16:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/?p=54227"},"modified":"2026-08-02T10:14:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T16:14:43","slug":"the-irascible-old-pepper-box-kerry-william-bate-on-pioneer-john-steele","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2026\/08\/the-irascible-old-pepper-box-kerry-william-bate-on-pioneer-john-steele\/","title":{"rendered":"The “Irascible Old Pepper Box”: Kerry William Bate on Pioneer John Steele"},"content":{"rendered":"

When examining the early settlement of the American West, the history of the Latter-day Saints is often populated with complex figures whose religious zeal blurred the lines between civic duty and frontier vigilantism. Few embody this tension as fully as the Latter-day Saint pioneer John Steele<\/a>, an Irish-born convert, Mormon Battalion veteran, and pioneer physician who helped forge the high deserts of Southern Utah. Raised by a Waterloo veteran with strict military discipline, Steele carried an authoritarian temperament into the rugged landscape, becoming an influential militia leader during the Utah War and Black Hawk War. A fascinating new interview over at the Latter-day Saint history blog, From the Desk<\/i>, features biographer Kerry William Bate<\/b>, author of The Life and Times of John Steele: Mormon Kingdom Builder<\/i>, who unpacks the irascible spirit of a man known as much for his dedication to building Zion as he was for being a feared “thrasher” of dissent. Bate explores how Steele\u2019s rigid enforcement of obedience shaped the Iron Mission and left a complicated, gritty legacy that reveals the intense realities of carving a self-sufficient “Mormon Kingdom” out of the desert.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Military Mindset and a “Fractious Horse”<\/h3>\n

John Steele\u2019s personality was inextricably tied to his upbringing. Standing at five feet, six inches tall and weighing just 130 pounds, he was famously described by newspaperman Frank A. Beckwith as an “irascible old pepper box” and an “Irish midge” who “just itched for a fight.” This combative temperament was forged by his father, a retired soldier who fought the French at Waterloo. Family lore recalled that Steele was trained with a cane to execute military maneuvers as a boy, absorbing a philosophy of absolute obedience: “You do as they say!”<\/p>\n

Bate notes that Steele frequently projected this rigid, militaristic worldview onto his theology. He seemed to conflate his strict earthly father with his Heavenly Father, writing in his records, “The Lord has his own way of punishing his Children he uses the Rod to make them learn whare they Stand and to whip them into Subjection as we would do a fractious Horse.” This uncompromising approach to authority became the defining feature of his later leadership.<\/p>\n

The Mormon Battalion: Defiance and Pragmatism<\/h3>\n

Before ever reaching the Great Basin, Steele\u2019s inclinations were tested by the US government’s call for the Mormon Battalion during the Mexican-American War. Like many Latter-day Saints who had just been driven from Nauvoo under the threat of mob violence, Steele was furious at the prospect of fighting for the nation that had failed to protect them. His initial reaction was blunt: “I must ask pardon for thinking or saying they may all go to hell together.”<\/p>\n

However, he ultimately enlisted when Brigham Young explained the pragmatic benefits: political leverage, securing resources, and the potential to acquire California for the Saints. The decision paid dividends. Although he left Council Bluffs almost penniless, Steele arrived in the Salt Lake Valley a year later riding a fine horse, hardened into a rugged frontiersman. The Battalion experience provided him with tactical training, a powerful network of fellow soldiers, and eventually, a US pension in his old age\u2014an ironic benefit given his initial anti-government defiance.<\/p>\n

The Iron Mission and Thrashing Dissent<\/h3>\n

Steele\u2019s most significant historical footprint was left in the high deserts of Southern Utah. When Brigham Young determined that the territory needed an internal supply of iron (“Iron we need and we must have,” Young declared, “if we have to send to England for it”), he organized the “Iron Mission” to settle Parowan and Cedar City. Finding volunteers for the harsh region was difficult, so Young called specific men, including Steele.<\/p>\n

As a leader in the Iron Mission and a member of the Parowan Stake presidency, Steele brought his authoritarian streak to bear on the new community. Bate describes Steele as a “thrasher” of dissent who systematically purged independent voices to enforce a climate of unquestioning obedience. Steele leaned into this agricultural metaphor, declaring, “This is truly the great thrashing-floor; you are the reapers in the field; we are the thrashers.”<\/p>\n

This rigid enforcement of orthodoxy made Steele a genuinely frightening figure to outsiders. A federal doctor who later examined him for a pension increase admitted that his own life “would scarcely be safe” if Steele knew the true contents of his medical report. By crushing dissent, Steele helped forge a unified community capable of surviving the desert, but he also contributed to the tense, hyper-obedient climate that left local authorities unchallenged during the tragic lead-up to the Mountain Meadows Massacre.<\/p>\n

\n

For more of Bate’s insights on the Mormon pioneer John Steele<\/a>‘s practice of pioneer folk magic, his complex relationship with John D. Lee, and his military actions during the Black Hawk War, head on over to the Latter-day Saint history blog, From the Desk<\/i>, to read the full interview.<\/p>\n

While you’re there, check out the new David O. McKay quotes<\/a> page!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When examining the early settlement of the American West, the history of the Latter-day Saints is often populated with complex figures whose religious zeal blurred the lines between civic duty and frontier vigilantism. Few embody this tension as fully as the Latter-day Saint pioneer John Steele, an Irish-born convert, Mormon Battalion veteran, and pioneer physician who helped forge the high deserts of Southern Utah. Raised by a Waterloo veteran with strict military discipline, Steele carried an authoritarian temperament into the rugged landscape, becoming an influential militia leader during the Utah War and Black Hawk War. A fascinating new interview over at the Latter-day Saint history blog, From the Desk, features biographer Kerry William Bate, author of The Life and Times of John Steele: Mormon Kingdom Builder, who unpacks the irascible spirit of a man known as much for his dedication to building Zion as he was for being a feared “thrasher” of dissent. Bate explores how Steele\u2019s rigid enforcement of obedience shaped the Iron Mission and left a complicated, gritty legacy that reveals the intense realities of carving a self-sufficient “Mormon Kingdom” out of the desert.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10397,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2890],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-the-desk"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10397"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54227"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54228,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54227\/revisions\/54228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}