People make what they want of the facts in my book, Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows, but for most readers, the evidence about who ordered the massacre is overwhelming. He trudged around the United States and England to gain converts for Mormonism, spoke in spiritual tongues, married more than 50 women, and eventually transformed a barren desert into his vision of the Kingdom of God. There are two ways to interpret the evidence about who ordered the brutal murder of 120 men, women and children at a remote Utah oasis on the road to California on September 11, 1857. Utah became the 45th member of the union on Jan. 4, 1896, with Salt read more, In 1844, reeling from the murder of their founder and prophet, Joseph Smith, and facing continued mob violence in their settlement in Illinois, thousands of Latter Day Saints (better known as Mormons) threw their support behind a new leader, Brigham Young. He was a brother of the Mormon prophet, Brigham Young (1801-1877). Also in 1854, President Franklin Pierce attempted to replace Young as territory governor, but nominee Edward Steptoe declined, explaining that he could not perform his duties in the face of fanaticism in the mass of the people and a religious oligarchy., By 1857, with Youngs approval, the territorial assembly sent a blunt warning to incoming U.S. president James Buchanan. Pissy Hastens 02. She, her husband Nate and their now 2-month-old son Luke fled their home in East Palestine the night of the train derailment to her mother's house about 14 to 15 miles away. FactSnippet No. What are the 4 major sources of law in Zimbabwe? Young said that the company that was used up at Mountain Meadows were the fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and connections of those that murdered the prophets; they merited their fate, and the only thing that ever troubled him was the lives of the women and children, but that under the circumstances this could not be avoided. The Center also supported student training for life-long temple and family history service. Five bank robbers convicted of, Tensions over Chinese immigrant labor came to a head in Rock Springs, Wyoming on September, The Fall Creek Massacre was all too typicalseven whites murdering nine Indians in Indiana in. After five years researching and writing about this horrific atrocity, I doubted Id ever find a definitive answer to the question, Did Brigham Young order the murders at Mountain Meadows?, To my surprise, I found evidence that convinced me beyond a shadow of a doubt that Brigham Young issued orders (probably verbal) to kill everyone in the Fancher party except those of innocent bloodchildren under eight years of ageto fulfill his sacred vow to avenge the blood of the prophets Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and more specifically, Apostle Parley P. Pratt. Enter your email to receive updates on our LDS Living content, 2022 LDS Living A Division of Deseret Book Company. Even on the day of the slaughter, couriers were reportedly hurrying from Cedar City30 miles to the eastto call it off. Later in 1841, Young served a mission to Cincinnati and its environs with Franklin D. For motives, they point to the persecution of the Mormon people and to the earlier killing of Mormon leaders Joseph and Hyrum Smith. In August 1857, Young reactivated the Nauvoo Legion, a militia first created in pre-exodus Illinois. Park City, Utah, United States. This will always be so.. That progressed into a host of angels, then it evolved to God appearing to Smith in a pillar of fire. It turns out that she was actually wife No. He stated in an 1861 sermon: When I reflect on how I found the gospel, I realize that my familys experiences informed two important pieces of my testimony. Young was not complicit in planning or executing the massacre. In this inspiring look at near-death experiences, authors Brent and Wendy Top illustrate how numerous recorded accounts of near-death experiences relate to Latter-day Saint teachings. Even though Mormon scriptures had numerous rules governing polygamy that included requirements that the first wife approve of subsequent marriages and bans on one man marrying mothers, daughters, or sisters, the rules were completely disregarded. What are the Physical devices used to construct memories? Sometimes, he would send the husbands on missions in foreign countries and marry their wives while they were away and unable to object. The last known version, the one in which he saw both God and Jesus, is the version contained in the Mormon book of scriptures known as the Pearl of Great Price and is the version taught both to the Latter-day Saint faithful and those considering converting to the faith. Unfortunately, these actions and the menacing content of Sidney Rigdons July 4 speech led to Governor Lilburn Boggs signing an order to exterminate all Mormons in Missouri. Not historical conspiracies created by authors speculating about the past. In 1857, President James Buchanan declared Utah to be in a state of rebellion, and sent some 2,500 federal troops to help replace Young as territorial governor. How many nieces and nephew luther vandross have? On the 7th, Lee attacked with militia men and some Paiute Indians he had recruited. After fleeing hostile forces in Missouri and Illinois, Mormons settled in the Salt Lake Valley under Brigham Young and from there established colonies all over the West as well as in Mexico. The game in question was against Brigham Young University, as part of the Mountain West semifinals. Young undertook a careful study of the book and eventually passed it on to others in his family, including his brothers Brigham, Joseph and John. But Matt Easton, 24, political science valedictorian at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah said the timing was right to tell 10,000 people he was gay. How did the widow Pratt cross 1,500 dusty miles in a mere 21 days? While not on missions, Young lived with the Latter Day Saints in Kirtland, Ohio and Far West, Missouri. Why do people say that forever is not altogether real in love and relationship. Copies of Youngs letter exist both in rough draft and final draft form. There's little data documenting the number of social . For instance, during his time with Zion's Camp, cholera swept among the men and he watched "other men die like flies, but his own life was spared" ("Brigham Young on Life and Death"). Learning how Eleanor McLean Pratt got to Salt Lake City convinced me Brigham Young did it. The 12th Mrs. Pratt had buried her polygamous husband Parley in Arkansas the previous May, and she was obsessed with exacting vengeance from his murderers. In this period, militia leaders at Cedar City and at Mountain Meadows changed their minds several times whether the killing should go forward. The Mormons: Brigham Young. Ann Eliza Young was not acting in a vacuum, however. Why did he shield the murderers and allow the churchs newspaper to blame the crime on the Paiutes for a dozen years after Jacob Hamblin told him Mormons were involved? When he isnt exploring the dark secrets of various religions, he is a major sci-fi/fantasy geek and the lead editor and author for The Elders Blog on Elders of Genova. Brigham Young at Home is a valuable addition to the history of the home life of pioneer days. In regard to emigration trains passing through our settlements, we must not interfere with them until they are first notified to keep away. The Anglican Church began its existence with a purging of Catholics. Western Pride Enterprise. The other versions are never mentioned, though they are available on a Church-run website. Rockwell never directly denied the crime, even when he was tried for it, insisting, Ive never shot at anybody. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has steadfastly denied responsibility. George A. Smith was born in 1817, and he was the cousin of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Logically, the idea of ordering a massacre as 2,500 U.S. troops marched upon Salt Lake City is absurd. Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. In 1867, a group of non-Mormon pioneers from Missouri and Arkansas were trying to pass through Utah on their way to California but ran into trouble as they tried to get through the Beehive State. After this attack, Smiths successor, Brigham Young, led the Mormons West. Dr. John C. Bennett, one of Smiths former close associates (who was no longer in the Church and deeply hated Smith at this point), wrote a letter to the Sangamo Journal in Carthage, Illinois, informing them that he inquired one day about the whereabouts of Orrin Porter Rockwell (Smiths bodyguard), and Smith replied that Rockwell had gone to fulfill prophecy. Are there books about other independent women of the early West? 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. Church historians revealed over the summer that the 144-year-old Brigham Young Family Cemetery, 140 E. First Avenue, has been bedeviled during the past two years by a spate of trespassing . According to the record, Alma the Younger was "a very wicked and an idolatrous man. He married -- was sealed to, in Mormon parlance -- young (Clarissa Decker, 15) and old (Hannah Tapfield King, 65). Why was the decision Roe v. Wade important for feminists? Brigham Young, December 12, 1850, daguerreotype. The proclamation is very clear: . Yet no narrative has a daily summary of what went on using the rich documents compiled at the time or the growing body of historical literature on the topic. How far apart were Wild Bill Hickok and Dave Tutt in their famous 1865 showdown in Springfield, Missouri? But lets back up a little farther to see why. Fifty-three years ago Juanita Brooks classic study, The Mountain Meadows Massacre, concluded the crime was the result of one unfortunate circumstance after another. He trekked with Zions Camp in 1834, was driven with his ailing parents from Missouri in 1838, and in 1840, so ill he could barely walk, he left on a mission to England. During those trying times, he was ordained a Seventy inMarch 1835 at age 17 and as an apostle in the Quorum of the Twelve on April 26, 1839. The events at Mountain Meadows do not suggest a conspiracy, and certainly none involving Young. The founder of the religion, Joseph Smith, began claiming he had been commanded by God to take additional wives after his first wife caught him having sex with their teenage maid in the barn. Meadows, not big enough to be a settlement, he reports to Bishop Higbee in Cedar City. Enter your email to receive updates on our LDS Living content, 2022 LDS Living A Division of Deseret Book Company, John Willard Young, Brigham Young, and the Development of Presidential Succession in the LDS Church, There is room for my brown paper-doll family: 2 gospel truths I learned as a young girl that carry my faith, Bright lights in the desert: How Latter-day Saints have shaped Las Vegas culture, community, and politics, See the stunning winners of the Churchs International Art Competition. According to Mormon doctrines, prophets speak to God and communicate God's will to Mormons. by Will Bagley and Ron Walker | Apr 1, 2003 | Features & Gunfights. A case in point is Poe's short story of 1843, "The Tell-Tale Heart." Narrated in retrospect, Poe's confessional tale features a "Mad" protagonist who recalls his grisly murder of an old man, his . The facts are these: Young spoke out against revenge killings. He wasn't elected or picked to lead the Saints west, he was foreordained to lead them and gained their love and belief in his guidance. Brigham Young was the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, from 1847 until his death in 1877. What is are the functions of diverse organisms? Polygamy, Brigham Young and His 55 Wives. HuffPost, August 27, 2012. Through most of the nineteenth century, the American West was considered the land of opportunity. In 1832, he was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the religion founded by Joseph Smith in 1830 based on the Book of Mormon, a scripture that Smith claimed to have translated from gold plates given to him by an angel named Moroni. They are also among a cadre of doctors across the country who are confronting mounting intimidation on social media, and threats of violence. When Filmore appointed non-Mormon judges for Utah, tensions arose quickly. Luther spent his early years in relative anonymity as a monk and scholar. Brigham Young, second President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, better known as the Mormon Church, ranks among the most influential and important historical figures not just in Mormon, but also in American history. The footage showed the massive professional athlete throwing the victim around her home with brutal force in front of their then-5-month-old son. Will Bagley, a history columnist for the Salt Lake Tribune, is the author of Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows published by the University of Oklahoma Press. The emigrants passed through Salt Lake City in early August, and headed south. However, he was not the youngest apostle ever ordained. That question stumped me for years, and like many other Mormon mysteries the clues have been carefully purged from the records of Utahs past. Ronald K. Esplin, a Young biographer and president of the Brigham Young Center Foundation, points to the leader's remarks suggesting he may have had some kind of divine communication on that matter. TUCKER CARLSON: You always imagine in your mind's eye that it's evil men who destroy society: wild-eyed, spit-flecked dictators pounding the podium to demand the annihilation of their enemies. The Taylor Mill Police Department (TMPD). The nation was and remains horrified by what happened at Mountain Meadows. Critics assume, yes. Joseph Nelson has always been fascinated by religion. On. In the early days of the Church, it was common for members to be called to serve at young ages. DJ Ferguson's family say he was first on the list to receive the transplant at Brigham and Women's Hospital but he is no longer eligible because of his vaccination status, CBS Boston reported. Catholicism has the Inquisition and the Crusades. His brother Joseph was baptized the next day and Brigham Young was baptized approximately one week later. They were reacting to events as they took place. 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In theearly church years, the method of judging apostolic seniority was base on the date of ordination. March 28, 1884: Or was it March 8? The second explanation is that the massacre was a calculated act of vengeance. Numerous records, including journal entries from those who experienced the attack and affidavits sworn against the Mormon mob, included allegations that the Mormon mob forced pregnant women and children out into the cold, stole livestock, and took prisoners for interrogation. Some Mormons say that some of the scrolls must still be missing, but Smith included facsimiles of the scrolls in his translation and they are clearly misinterpreted, with female figures listed as male, canopic jars indicated to be idolatrous gods, and the Egyptian fertility god, Min (depicted in a painted relief above), labeled God, sitting on his throne. The image of Min in the facsimile included in Mormon scriptures is sporting a comically exaggerated erection. Some of his brides were as young as 14, and he even married women who already had living husbands. Why Lee was selected as scapegoat remains unclear. Stubborn facts. Brigham Young wasn't the only latter-day prophet to have such close experiences with death. His sisters were: Nancy Young Kent Fanny Young Murray Rhoda Young Green Nabby Young (who died young) Susannah Young Little Louisa. After spending the winter of 1846-47 in a camp along the Missouri River between Iowa and Nebraska, Young headed further west with 142 men, including six apostles, three women and two children, in April 1847. Why didnt he use his powers as territorial governor to hunt down the men who committed this despicable crime? The Love and Laws of God By President Russell M. Nelson ,, An address given at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, on September 17, 2019. And in the fall of 1842, Brigham Young faced a mysterious and deadly illness. Brigham Young University. Tragically, Youngs letter arrived two days after the massacre, despite one of the epic rides in Western history. Good history must be based on facts. After the death of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, the mantle of leader of the church was up for grabs. Brigham Young was a rough-hewn craftsman from New York whose impoverished and obscure life was electrified by the Mormon faith. One wife of Apostle Orson Pratt actually died of neglect after getting sick while living in poverty because he wouldnt allocate enough money for her care. Police are investigating. Brigham Young's adopted son. According to Mormon doctrines, prophets speak to God and communicate Gods will to Mormons. As the pioneers entered Utah, Brigham Young forbade everyone from selling them much-needed supplies. In 1838, Joseph Smith purchased an Egyptian mummy and a set of papyri. (1975) "Letters of Brigham Young to His Sons Dean C. Jessee," BYU Studies Quarterly: A later biography of Ann Eliza Young termed her The Twenty-Seventh Wife. You must not meddle with them. Brigham Young, ca 1850 Brigham Young was born June 1, 1801 in Whittingham, Vermont. From Vailsburg To Vaudeville 04. Former NFL running back Zac Stacy, 31, will spend half a year behind bars for a pair of vicious attacks on his ex-girlfriend one of which was caught on tape and quickly went viral. Ron Walker is one of the three Mormon historians writing the upcoming rebuttal to be published by Oxford University Press. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. (She also established from the most impeccable Mormon sources that Brigham Young had obstructed a murder investigation for 18 years, which made him guilty of felony murder.). No other group of people [comes] close.. In early September, they stopped to rest at Mountain Meadows. Sept. 11 was a tragic date in American history long before the terrorist attacks of 2001. Brigham Young had six sisters and four brothers. Following Haights orders, Lee negotiated a cease fire with the wagon company on September 11. When the rumors expanded to include a claim that the pioneers were going to bring troops back from California to attack the Mormon settlements, a group of Mormons dressed as Native Americans attacked their wagon train and, after a three-day assault, killed all men, women, and children over the age of eight. The trailer showed clips of the two of them being more involved in "Ted Lasso" Season 3, even if their roles may not be as big as some of the show's main characters. He was removed from his post but, when Rigdon was still Smiths second-in-command, his input helped shape much of Mormon theology and he also gave the majority of important sermons to the earliest Mormon congregations. Though many suspected Young of ordering or at least covering up the attack, John Lee, an adopted son of Youngs, was the only Mormon brought to trial for the Mountain Meadows massacre; he was executed in 1877. What type of electrical charge does a proton have? When the United States claimed sovereignty over the area in 1848, Mormons petitioned Congress for recognition, and in 1850 the United States organized Utah Territory. John D. Lee leading elder in Mt. The non-Mormons who were present at Rigdons sermon were rightfully alarmed. It misfired six times, and he then pointed it at a post and all six shots discharged properly" (Remembering Joseph" by Mark L. McConkie, 73-74). Brigham Young Pioneer Prophet. With Congress repeatedly rejecting proposals for Utah statehood, Young firmly resisted the territorys involvement in the Civil War, especially after passage of the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act in 1862, which effectively outlawed plural marriage in U.S. territories. PBS: American Experience. From 1864 through 1871 Young served as the bishop of the Salt Lake City 2nd Ward. Richards.