The Mountain Meadows Massacre
The majority of this website is devoted to defending the Church's scripture, doctrine, and history. However, the Mountain Meadows Massacre is truly a tragedy. On the part of the members of the Church involved, there is no defense. What they did was nothing short of murder in cold blood. Nearly 200 immigrants who were on their way to California were killed in Southern Utah. There is no excuse. Nothing that happened to the Saints in New York, Ohio, Missouri, Nauvoo or Carthage justifies it.
However, rumors have floated around for decades that Brigham Young was involved and authorized the killing. He absolutely was not involved and did not authorize it. After the attack, John D. Lee (one of the leaders of the attack), rode north to Salt Lake City to tell Brigham Young that the Indians were planning on attacking the immigrants. We have Brigham Young's letter to the Saints in Southern Utah telling them to not harm the emigrants, but rather to lead them to safety.
It wasn't until about 15-20 years later that stories of what actually occurred began to trickle in to Brigham Young. By that time, he was an old man and no longer a government official. Recently, a correspondence between one of the men involved in the attack and Brigham Young has been found. The letter from the man indicates that he was feeling the torment of his conscience. He writes to Brigham asking what he should do to feel some peace. Brigham writes back, "A loop around the neck with a large knot and a swift jerk". Brigham was implying that the man would only find peace if he went through the due order of law and paid the ultimate price for his sin.
The Mountain Meadows Massacre, like everything else in history, is complex. To read what actually happened, read the following PDF files.
However, rumors have floated around for decades that Brigham Young was involved and authorized the killing. He absolutely was not involved and did not authorize it. After the attack, John D. Lee (one of the leaders of the attack), rode north to Salt Lake City to tell Brigham Young that the Indians were planning on attacking the immigrants. We have Brigham Young's letter to the Saints in Southern Utah telling them to not harm the emigrants, but rather to lead them to safety.
It wasn't until about 15-20 years later that stories of what actually occurred began to trickle in to Brigham Young. By that time, he was an old man and no longer a government official. Recently, a correspondence between one of the men involved in the attack and Brigham Young has been found. The letter from the man indicates that he was feeling the torment of his conscience. He writes to Brigham asking what he should do to feel some peace. Brigham writes back, "A loop around the neck with a large knot and a swift jerk". Brigham was implying that the man would only find peace if he went through the due order of law and paid the ultimate price for his sin.
The Mountain Meadows Massacre, like everything else in history, is complex. To read what actually happened, read the following PDF files.
mountain_meadows_1.pdf | |
File Size: | 1385 kb |
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mountain_meadows_2.pdf | |
File Size: | 1145 kb |
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mountain_meadows_3.pdf | |
File Size: | 2747 kb |
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