Young discouraged Mormons from cooperating with federal investigations into the massacre, propagating instead the theory that rogue Indians were solely responsible, an explanation that virtually nobody found credible. While it's clear that the Lord's prophets have often been preserved to perform sacred works, it is also clear that these near-death experiences provided Brigham Young with unparalleled insight into the nature of the spirit world. Apparently I succeeded, since critics in the employ of the LDS Church claim I dont prove Brigham Young ordered the murders. A disgraced former Geography professor at Mormon-founded Brigham Young University in Utah who was charged with sexually abusing a female students after allegedly telling her she needed to straddle . The incident occurred late Saturday afternoon at . 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. The non-Mormons who were present at Rigdons sermon were rightfully alarmed. (Right) John D. Lee. She has been placed on indefinite suspension for her actions, which include punching another . Pres. 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. Sometimes, he would send the husbands on missions in foreign countries and marry their wives while they were away and unable to object. Amid the tensions, however, a band of armed Mormons attacked a wagon train of non-Mormons heading west from Arkansas in a valley known as Mountain Meadows in September 1857. Reared in the famous Beehive House, Mrs. Spencer has carried with her through life the patient, loving influence of her parents. During Wyatt Earps later years, while he was living in Hollywood, were there any silent films or voice recordings made of him. 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. True West asked the authors of both books to lay out their claims. He promised they wouldnt stop until the last drop of blood was spilled. [5], Young was married to Lucy, the half-sister of Oliver Cowdery. According to this story, they told him that all religions existing at the time were abominations. Copies of Youngs letter exist both in rough draft and final draft form. Wild Bill Hickman, a famed gunslinger and friend of the Mormon leader, actually claimed that Young had ordered him to commit some of those murders. Hearing this, Brigham Young preached fiery sermons encouraging the saints to lift the sword and slay them.. The Utah War was resolved in 1858, with Young agreeing to step aside in favor of the new governor (though he remained de facto leader in the territory). In 1857, at the time of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, Brigham Young, was serving as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and as Governor of Utah Territory. Phineas Young was an older brother of Brigham Young, who was the president of the LDS Church and the first governor of the Territory of Utah. The company that was used up at the Mountain Meadowes included the fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters & connections of the men who murdered the prophets, he told John D. Lee, and they Merited their fate. The only thing that ever troubled Young was the lives of the Women & children, but that under the circumstances [it] could not be avoided.. 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. Even in households where the men could afford their wives and offered them full financial support, sometimes jealousy and spite divided wives to the point that some would kill themselves to avoid having to live in heaven with their husbands and their sister wives. There's little data documenting the number of social . The Center also supported student training for life-long temple and family history service. Every religion has less-than-savory moments hidden in its history. Enter your email to receive updates on our LDS Living content, 2022 LDS Living A Division of Deseret Book Company. In theearly church years, the method of judging apostolic seniority was base on the date of ordination. At Four Corners, in the southeast, Utah meets Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona at right angles, the only such meeting of states in the country. On. 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. Who were the models in Van Halen's finish what you started video? Weeks after Young's proclamation, in the high desert of the Utah territory, LDS Mormons murdered more than 100 Arkansas migrants. The seeing of our faithful Elders slaughtered in cold blood, he wrote after his friends death, is at times almost to[o] grevious to be borne, but as the Spirit within me whispers, peace be still. This advice was never changed. DJ Ferguson, 31, is in dire need of a new heart, but Brigham and. Young denounced Justice Perry Brocchus as either profoundly ignorant or corruptly wicked soon after his arrival, and ultimately all three federal officers gave up hopes of effective cooperation and left the territory. After a standoff of several days, the Mormons called a truce, only to massacre most of the wagon train party, including some 120 men, women and children. Provo, UT 84602, USA 801 . Seventeen children who were too young to remember the attack were spared. A CONFESSION etched on a newly discovered lead sheet has shaken the Mormon Church by linking its revered leader, Brigham Young, with one of the worst massacres in American history. He is also the founder of the first Baptist church in America. No other group of people [comes] close.. Later in 1841, Young served a mission to Cincinnati and its environs with Franklin D. Reading the September 2000 True West article by Glenn Shirley, titled, A Tireless Energy & Nerves of Steel, I was fascinated by Caroline Bonneville. Simpson murdered his wife. It is something that has been partially experienced and thoroughly documented by many individuals around the world. Israeli settlers "torched dozens of cars and homes in a Palestinian town" as retaliation on Sunday evening, and one Palestinian was killed during the chaos, The Associated Press reported. By John G. Turner. Brigham Young, ca 1850 Brigham Young was born June 1, 1801 in Whittingham, Vermont. Young read the Bible verse the soldiers had inscribed on a cedar cross atop the monument: Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord., It should read, he said, Vengeance is mine, and I have taken a little. Young then directed the desecration of the grave. A later biography of Ann Eliza Young termed her The Twenty-Seventh Wife. His brother Joseph was baptized the next day and Brigham Young was baptized approximately one week later. Are there books about other independent women of the early West? Matthew Easton, a 24-year-old political science major, told an audience of thousands, "I'm not broken." While looking at a Tombstone photo, I saw a sign that says mule and ox shoes to order. They are also among a cadre of doctors across the country who are confronting mounting intimidation on social media, and threats of violence. He governed the territory as a theocracy, with church doctrines taking precedence over laws. Anonymous. Finally, why has so much evidence been destroyed or purged from Mormon archives, and why has so much evidence been suppressed? Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. The Taylor Mill Police Department (TMPD). Nor did Pratts death stir blood lust. 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 . 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. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. According to Bennett, Rockwell returned the day before news of the assassination attempt arrived at Nauvoo. In 1841, Joseph Smith announced a prophesy that Governor Boggs (pictured above) would, within a year, meet a violent demise. In 1870, church leaders quietly excommunicated Isaac Haight, John D. Lee, and militia leader George Wood. She demanded Mormon authorities listen to the cry of his blood and take swift vengeance against the Fancher train, which had left Arkansas long before Pratt was killed. The winners of the Church History Museums 12th International Art Competition have been announced, and the artwork is breathtaking. They are also fascinated by stories of murder and especially murder on a grand scale. Jun 2021 - Present1 year 10 months. His son, also named Alma, rebelled against everything he was taught. When Mormons turned up to vote on election day that year, a drunken brawl broke out that resulted in Mormons being blocked from accessing the polls. 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. Despite the fact that the Book of Mormon (which Smith said he translated by the power of God) denounces polygamy, Smith didnt stop with two wives and, before he died, he had married close to 40 women and possibly many more. Fears of Mormon aggression, as well as Mormons taking control of the county government, led to anti-Mormon sentiments among the residents of Gallatin, the seat of Daviess County. Mormons are a religious group that embrace concepts of Christianity as well as revelations made by their founder, Joseph Smith. [4] By 1841 he had relocated to Nauvoo. On September 11, 1857, 120 men, women and childrenpioneers from Arkansas headed for Californiawere massacred after being promised safe passage through a Southern Utah valley known as Mountain Meadows. Some testimony came in private interviews when there was no motive to lie. Young was too cleverand too religiously devoutto have destroyed the emigrants and thus irreparably harm the reputation of his people. Their beliefs on the subject extend so far as to dictate that a prophet can never lead people astray. He married -- was sealed to, in Mormon parlance -- young (Clarissa Decker, 15) and old (Hannah Tapfield King, 65). It is alarming to see how intensely and openly the family is under attack in contemporary society. Meadows, not big enough to be a settlement, he reports to Bishop Higbee in Cedar City. They looted and gutted shops and set fire to numerous homes, stores, and government buildings until nearly all homes in Daviess County not owned by Mormons were destroyed. Justice John F. Kinney was appointed in 1854, and quickly fought with Young over statutes designed to protect polygamists. Even on the day of the slaughter, couriers were reportedly hurrying from Cedar City30 miles to the eastto call it off. By the summer of 1877, Young's health was in decline, but he continued to play an active role in the Mormon church up until the end. But, I can hear Mormon historians object, this is purely circumstantial evidence Young actually ordered the killings. Could be, but its no more circumstantial than the evidence O.J. Director Henry Hathaway Writers Louis Bromfield Lamar Trotti (screenplay) Stars Tyrone Power Linda Darnell Dean Jagger According to Mormon doctrines, prophets speak to God and communicate God's will to Mormons. Why do people say that forever is not altogether real in love and relationship. And in the fall of 1842, Brigham Young faced a mysterious and deadly illness. 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. 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. Why did Brigham Young allegedly send a message telling Southern Utahns NOT to kill the emigrants unless he was countermanding previous orders? What are the answers to studies weekly week 26 social studies? However, the revelation that Smith said he received commanding polygamy specifically forbade women marrying more than one man. He dedicated his whole life to church service and made a significant contribution in the early days of the Church. Read a news summary of this talk. In short, the massacre is best explained by cascading local events in a setting of extreme excitement and fear. "Settlers burned and vandalized at least 200 buildings in four Palestinian villages," according to The New York Times. Appointed governor by President Millard Fillmore, Brigham Young was able to continue imposing his will on the territory politically as well as ecclesiastically. Police are investigating. The man's son was allegedly attacked by a fellow student who believed him to be a racist. Ann Eliza Young was not acting in a vacuum, however. Brigham Young https://www.mormonnewsroom.org Thousands of exhausted, freezing pioneers marching across dozens of inches of snow in the dead of night, their end goal hundreds of miles away, all led by one man: Brigham Young. No. While not on missions, Young lived with the Latter Day Saints in Kirtland, Ohio and Far West, Missouri. Letters of Brigham Young to His Sons Dean C. Jessee Stanford J. Layton Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq Part of the Mormon Studies Commons, and the Religious Education Commons Recommended Citation Layton, Stanford J. Brigham Young chosen to lead Mormon Church After Joseph Smith, the founder and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormonism, and his brother, Hyrum, were murdered by. Instead I tried to tell the story as honestly and accurately as possible and let readers make up their own minds about who ordered the slaughter of more than 80 women and childrenand why. An anti-Mormon mob killed Joseph and Hyrum Smith in Carthage, Illinois. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War, Brigham Young and his entourage visited Mountain Meadows for the first time since 1857. As any attorney knows, the problem with a guilty client is he acts guilty, and after the massacre Brigham Young never behaved like an innocent man. Young won the leadership and Strang was considered a heretic and excommunicated from the Mormon Church. Seeking a place where they could avoid the persecution that had driven them from Ohio and Missouri, Young and the other apostles planned a westward exodus of thousands of Mormons from the settlement in Nauvoo, Illinois to the Great Salt Lake Valley, then part of Mexico. Americans enjoy a good mystery, and they like conspiracies. Most Mormons are aware that Young instituted a ban on black people holding Church leadership positions and entering their temples, but few are aware of how extreme he was. They were clubbed, stabbed or shot at point-blank range, then stripped and left to be scavenged by wolves and buzzards. 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. According to lds.org, George A. Smith was deeply committed to the Church since his baptism in 1832. So do some authors whove written about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Tracklist: 01. Catholicism has the Inquisition and the Crusades. However, he was not the youngest apostle ever ordained. In 1838, Joseph Smith purchased an Egyptian mummy and a set of papyri. Phineas Young was among the first Mormon pioneer company to reach the Salt Lake Valley in July 1847. The crisis of the Utah War demanded that he husband moral authority and public opinion. In this period, militia leaders at Cedar City and at Mountain Meadows changed their minds several times whether the killing should go forward. How did the widow Pratt cross 1,500 dusty miles in a mere 21 days? The Mormon apostle Parley P. Pratt had recently been murdered in Arkansas after essentially trying to kidnap children. [6] Young was present in Richmond, Missouri when Cowdery died. But I am determined by the help of God never to bear false witness against My Neighbour. Later, he complained that those who questioned him wanted lies, not truth. Even though Bennets claims were never directly supported by others, they were implicitly supported by William Law, the man who was Joseph Smiths right-hand man at the time. The game in question was against Brigham Young University, as part of the Mountain West semifinals. A final investigation ultimately resulted in Lees execution in 1877, and other conspirators successfully going into hiding. Polygamy has long been a blight on Mormonisms public relations. Sept. 11 was a tragic date in American history long before the terrorist attacks of 2001. The family of a Boston man is speaking out after they say their 31-year-old son was struck from a waitlist for a heart transplant because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19. Phineas Young was a printer; building contractor; and Mormon bishop, missionary, and pioneer. After a 500 mile round trip journey, militiamen received this response on Sept 13, two days too late to prevent the massacre. Within five minutes, recalled massacre participant Dudley Leavitt, not one stone stood upon another., A few days later Young justified the massacre as a necessary act of righteous vengeance. Haight then turned the gun on himself. They were reacting to events as they took place. 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. How do you put shoes on a cloven-footed ox? Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Ann Eliza Webb, after she decided to divorce Young in 1873, published an expos entitled Wife No. 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. Wouldnt these events have kindled Youngs anger and led him to seek revenge? The two main contenders were James Jesse Strang and Brigham Young. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! No evidence exists that the Indians at the council agreed to attack. Brigham Young urged every Mormon to resist the American military. From deeply disturbing acts by its founder, Joseph Smith, to atrocities committed in the name of God in Utah, Mormonism has some very dark secrets that even most members of the Church dont know about. 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. 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. Despite a growing bitterness toward his former mentor, Lee refused. Earlier versions featured only Jesus or angels appearing to Smith. The great historian Harold Schindler spent 40 years learning everything there was to know about Orrin Porter Rockwell, Man of God/Son of Thunder (the title of his definitive biography). Young testified that Cowdery's last statements were on the truth of Mormonism as revealed through Joseph Smith. But its not a formula for good history. This video is private Watch on My dear brothers and sisters, Wendy and I have looked forward to being with you today. According to a BYU Scholars article, His speaking talent, organizational and leadership ability, and political sagacity were given untiringly to the service of his church. Mormon Historians Shed Light On Sept. 11, 1857. There are no other trains going south that I know of. Isaac Haight's stake high council opposed the attack, and sent a messenger to Salt . Young unambiguously condoned the attack afterwards. Adding fuel to Mormon rage, they argue, was the killing, a few months before the massacre, of Apostle Parley P. Pratt. 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. The following are a few facts necessary for an understanding of this terrible event in Western and Mormon history. Tensions were further inflamed when news reached Utah around this time that early church leader Parley P. Pratt had been killed by the estranged husband of one of Pratts polygamous wives while he was on a mission to the Eastern United States. He married single women and widows. Polygamy was utterly shocking to many non-Mormons and, as such, there was a. PBS: American Experience. College volleyball's opening weekend ended with a fan banned from Brigham Young University's athletic facilities and statements expressing regret from two universities and the governor of Utah. When Mormons were living in Daviess County, Missouri, he delivered a fiery oration on Independence Day of 1838 in which he promised that the Missourians who Mormons felt were persecuting them (the sentiments had some justification although Mormons did their fair share of antagonizing as well) would need to stop any disputes with the Mormons or face a war of extermination. Critics assume, yes. Johnson earned his freedom and owned a 250-acre farm, and his son . But that life would rest read more, Mountains, high plateaus and deserts form most of Utahs landscape. On the other hand, Mormons have insisted that the massacre was perpetrated by local members acting without sanction from headquarters. He later became a prominent pioneer in southern Utah, and St. George, Utah, may have been named after him. How far apart were Wild Bill Hickok and Dave Tutt in their famous 1865 showdown in Springfield, Missouri? The sheer variety of Brigham Young's marriages makes it difficult to make sense of them. 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. According to the record, Alma the Younger was "a very wicked and an idolatrous man. If Washington continued to appoint office seekers and corrupt demagogues, Utahs citizens would send them away., Faced with this blatant insubordination, Buchanan ordered an army of 2,500 troops to Utah to install Alfred Cumming as the new governor. Anti-Mormons have long claimed that Mormon leader Brigham Young ordered the massacre. Over the next few decades, as thousands of Mormons arrived in Salt Lake City, the charismatic Young styled himself after the great prophets and leaders of ancient Israel, earning nicknames like Lion of the Lord and American Moses.. 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. 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. Why was the decision Roe v. Wade important for feminists? Brigham Young was a rough-hewn craftsman from New York whose impoverished and obscure life was electrified by the Mormon faith. Who is Katy mixon body double eastbound and down season 1 finale? Egyptologists (both Mormon and non-Mormon) were invited to view the scrolls and translate them, but they found that the scrolls were ordinary funerary texts that had nothing to do with Abraham. There is a logic to this. He said, I was always Josephs friend; his enemies are my enemies.. Join the celebration! Richards. 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. Brigham Young tried to stop the massacre. Bridger Walker, 6, is being hailed as a hero for protecting his 4-year-old sister from a dog attack. What type of electrical charge does a proton have? (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.). Brigham Young later privately set apart three other sons and Joseph F. Smith as apostles who served as "assistant Counselors to the First Presidency."