Enter your email to receive updates on our LDS Living content, 2022 LDS Living A Division of Deseret Book Company. In regard to emigrating trains arriving and passing through our settlements, he wrote in a letter designed to restore calm in Southern Utah, We must not interfere with them. These clear and difficult-to-misread words were rushed to Cedar City after Young received an express from local setters there telling him of pending trouble. Fiery yet full of doubt, frequently ill yet strong when it . 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. 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 . All Rights Reserved. Joseph Nelson has always been fascinated by religion. "Settlers burned and vandalized at least 200 buildings in four Palestinian villages," according to The New York Times. Buy this book The curious mix of folklore, suspicion and myth that still attaches to the Mormon experience stems largely from the church that. 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. Reared in the famous Beehive House, Mrs. Spencer has carried with her through life the patient, loving influence of her parents. No. Brigham Young (pictured) is revered by Mormons as the second prophet of modern times. Youngs fiery discourses calling for blood and vengeance, his encouragement of Indian attacks on wagon trains and the lies he told to cover up the crime all show he was intimately involved in fomenting a vicious act of vengeance. Phineas Howe Young (also found as Phinehas) (February 16, 1799 October 10, 1879) was a prominent early convert in the Latter Day Saint movement and was later a Mormon pioneer and a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Experience in wood framing, excavation, roofing, painting, concrete, etc. 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. 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. Haight then turned the gun on himself. How do you put shoes on a cloven-footed ox? 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. Brigham Young was a man well acquainted with life and death. Brigham Young wasn't the only latter-day prophet to have such close experiences with death. Anonymous. However, church president Joseph Smith insisted that his brother William Smith be selected in place of Young. 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. 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. 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. Phineas Young was among the first Mormon pioneer company to reach the Salt Lake Valley in July 1847. Brigham Young, December 12, 1850, daguerreotype. The sheer variety of Brigham Young's marriages makes it difficult to make sense of them. He was also the founder of Salt Lake City and the first governor of the Utah Territory, United States. Their beliefs on the subject extend so far as to dictate that a prophet can never lead people astray. Conditions Governing Use The two main contenders were James Jesse Strang and Brigham Young. While several reasons for this statement may be suggested, most persuasive is the ebb and flow of the local decision-making during the weeklong event. Polygamy was far worse for the women of Utah in the mid- to late 1800s than even the staunchest of feminists would likely guess. 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. He announced that they were scrolls written by Abraham and, a year later, he said he translated the hieroglyphics by the power of God. But its not a formula for good history. If you happen to be named Brown or Jones or Spendlove or Lewis or Young or any name, it doesn't matter who your ancestors are. . It turns out that she was actually wife No. They are also among a cadre of doctors across the country who are confronting mounting intimidation on social media, and threats of violence. Catholicism has the Inquisition and the Crusades. Though he initially resisted adapting the churchs controversial custom of plural marriage, Young later embraced it as his duty, and would eventually have 55 wives and 56 (or 57) children. History is often presented to young students within a single interpretative framework with little suggestion of the existence of alternative historical interpretations. An early convert to Mormonism, Brigham Young succeeded founder Joseph Smith as the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1847; he led the church until his death in 1877. This applied to countries as well as individuals. 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. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has steadfastly denied responsibility. That progressed into a host of angels, then it evolved to God appearing to Smith in a pillar of fire. In short, the massacre is best explained by cascading local events in a setting of extreme excitement and fear. Witnesses later testified about Haslams dramatic arrival in Salt Lake City, the writing of the letter and its dispatch South. The only ones spared were 17 children under the age of eight, who were taken in by local Mormon families, and would later testify they saw their parents clothes and jewels being worn by locals. Did Brigham Young Approve the Attack? Tragically, Youngs letter arrived two days after the massacre, despite one of the epic rides in Western history. According to Mormon doctrines, prophets speak to God and communicate Gods will to Mormons. Not circumstantial evidence. Earlier versions featured only Jesus or angels appearing to Smith. Appointed governor by President Millard Fillmore, Brigham Young was able to continue imposing his will on the territory politically as well as ecclesiastically. Mormons believe that Joseph Smith had a vision in 1820 in which he saw God and Jesus (first vision depicted in a sculpture above). The Brink of War. Smithsonian Magazine, June 2008. After guiding an exodus of thousands of Mormons westward to the Great Salt Lake Valley, Young founded Salt Lake City and served as the first governor of the Utah Territory. 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. Bridger Walker, 6, is being hailed as a hero for protecting his 4-year-old sister from a dog attack. David Roberts. While this Indian council is important and requires extended scholarly discussion, this much can be said: No evidence suggests the councils focus was the Baker-Fancher party, much less its destruction. Then, his relationship with Joseph Smith (depicted above in a statue at the Temple Squares North Visitors Center) suffered due to a number of factors that strained the friendship including when Smith tried to marry Rigdons daughter (while Smith was already married) and his refusal to support polygamy. The Taylor Mill Police Department (TMPD). Although it would be ten more years before Congress officially made polygamy illegal, this provided further conflict with federal officials. Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. Or did his belief in heavenly justice prove him an unlikely culprit? Mormons are a religious group that embrace concepts of Christianity as well as revelations made by their founder, Joseph Smith. As Compton explains of Joseph F. Smith's ordination, which would later have a significant impact on Church history: Though John Willard "was publicly sustained as an assistant counselor to Brigham," he focused most of his time on business endeavors and lived most of his life in New York, according to Compton. 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. Some testimony came in private interviews when there was no motive to lie. After the death of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, the mantle of leader of the church was up for grabs. Matthew Bowman, The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith (Random House, 2012). Brigham Young urged every Mormon to resist the American military. [9] In Utah Territory, Young worked as a printer, saddler and contractor.[10]. . Brigham Young, ca 1850 Brigham Young was born June 1, 1801 in Whittingham, Vermont. 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. 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. Despite the fact that the leader of the Mormon Church is supposed to relay Gods will to mankind, though, Brigham Young espoused some terrifyingly racist ideals. [4] By 1841 he had relocated to Nauvoo. 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. 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. Brigham Young (pictured) is revered by Mormons as the second prophet of modern times. 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 council sought to create a Mormon-Indian alliance, and to make such an arrangement attractive to the Indians, Young allegedly told them that he would no longer stop them from stealing emigrant cattle on the California Trail. 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. 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. In return for surrendering their weapons, the emigrants would be allowed safe passage to Cedar City. Many American Protestant religions promoted slavery or the Ku Klux Klan. Brigham Young's adopted son. A teacher walks into the Classroom and says If only Yesterday was Tomorrow Today would have been a Saturday Which Day did the Teacher make this Statement? 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. How far apart were Wild Bill Hickok and Dave Tutt in their famous 1865 showdown in Springfield, Missouri? 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. Ted's son and Rupert were more prominently involved in Season 1 but weren't seen much the following season. It's time to Hike and Light the Y and attend the much-anticipated BYU Spectacular! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. As a church leader, Brigham Young stood in marked contrast to his predecessor, the charismatic, idealistic, and theologically innovative Joseph Smith. He stopped at the cairn the U.S. Armys First Dragoons had raised in 1859 over the grave of the emigrants whose scattered bones they had collected and buried. Western Pride Enterprise. They were murdered by a small Mormon militia and its Indian allies in a horrible ploy: after a four-day gun battle with their attackers, the pioneers accepted a truce that turned out to be a deadly lie. Sidney Rigdon was, for a time, the second most powerful person in Mormonism. His translation retells some Biblical stories as well as adding to the lore of the father of Judaism and Islam, and the translation was eventually canonized as scripture. No other group of people [comes] close.. A final investigation ultimately resulted in Lees execution in 1877, and other conspirators successfully going into hiding. Young testified that Cowdery's last statements were on the truth of Mormonism as revealed through Joseph Smith. Are there books about other independent women of the early West? Everybody (Source Codes) Finally, why has so much evidence been destroyed or purged from Mormon archives, and why has so much evidence been suppressed? Then rumors began to arise that the pioneers had been destroying fences, burning fields, and making threats against the Mormons, although none of the rumors were ever substantiated. How many nieces and nephew luther vandross have? not to spare horseflesh. He didnt. According to the record, Alma the Younger was "a very wicked and an idolatrous man. The Mormon apostle Parley P. Pratt had recently been murdered in Arkansas after essentially trying to kidnap children. Historian D. Michael Quinn succinctly describes Youngs actions shortly after the massacre: Apostle Wilford Woodruff, the official church historian, recorded that when Young first visited the mass burial site, he said that the memorial plaque should read: Vengeance is mine and I have taken a little.. Young settled in Salt Lake City. Since John Willard was ordained at such a young age, after the death of President Lorenzo Snow, he would have become the next president of the Church instead of President Joseph Fielding Smith. The massacre lasted less than five minutes, but when it was. For example, George W. Bean was called as a Seventy at age 14; Don Carlos Smith was called to preside over the High Priests Quorum at age 19; Joseph F. Smith was ordained as an elder and sent on a mission at age 15; and George A. Smith was called to be a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy at age 17 and as an apostle in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at age 21, making him the youngest apostle to ever serve in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (500 Little-Known Facts in Mormon History). Most recently, Will Bagley made this case in his 2002 book, Blood of the Prophets. According to lds.org, George A. Smith was deeply committed to the Church since his baptism in 1832. His grandson and namesake, George Albert Smith, later became an apostle and prophet of the Church. When Filmore appointed non-Mormon judges for Utah, tensions arose quickly. His views on religious freedom read more, In 1950, L. Ron Hubbardthe founder of Scientologypublished his bestselling book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. Though he originally conceived of Dianetics as a science of the mind, Hubbard later adapted his theories into a more religious approach, calling read more, The Inquisition was a powerful office set up within the Catholic Church to root out and punish heresy throughout Europe and the Americas. In 1844, after the assassination of Mormon leader Joseph Smith by an angry mob in Illinois, the Mormons choose Brigham Young as their new leader and follow him to a new promised land in Utah. Not theories. By doing so, we may get a better understanding of Rupert, who . President Brigham Young ordained his 11-year-old son John Willard Young as an apostle shortly after John received his temple endowment, though John never joined the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Because the historical past will always be opaque, historians must seek the weight of evidence, and in this case, the preponderance suggests Youngs innocence. (Right) John D. Lee. Copies of Youngs letter exist both in rough draft and final draft form. But we only make the tragedy worse by saying that it was something other than what it wasby trying to fit events into a pre-conceived theory of conspiracy. 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. On April 15, 1832, Young and his brother John were baptized into the Latter Day Saint Church of Christ. Theres one answer to all these questions: Brigham Young ordered the murders as a righteous act of vengeance. The second explanation is that the massacre was a calculated act of vengeance. Just six years after the murder of Joseph Smith and five after the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo, Young was in no mood to accommodate outside interference with governing the Saints as he saw fit. Called to organize and lead the Mormon Raiders which consisted of 100 men. TAMPA, Fla. Acting as his own lawyer, a double-murder defendant opened his death penalty trial by shouting at jurors that he did not attack his girlfriend and disabled daughter. On Sept. 11, 1857, a Mormon militia in southern Utah . 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. While the church leaders temper and strong words at the pulpit earned him a reputation for coercion, in truth, those who knew him best often spoke of his caution and his abhorrence of bloodshed. Bad Hands 03. As one of John D. Lees wives put it, The Mormons were so insulted and indignant over the death or murder of Pratt that they Raked untold Vengeance on the poor Emigrants.. But history is not assumption. No evidence exists that the Indians at the council agreed to attack. 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. However, Smith told as many as 10 versions of the story and many had serious contradictions. He died of appendicitis in August of 1877. Writing a polemic trying to blame Brigham Young would be self-defeating, just as writing an apologia to clear his skirts would ultimately have to justify murder. Tracklist: 01. The Indians we expect will do as they please but you should try and preserve good feelings with them. True West asked the authors of both books to lay out their claims. In this company, Young served as a captain of ten.[8]. 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. Critics assume, yes. If those who are there will leave let them go in peace. Brigham Young was the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, from 1847 until his death in 1877. Americans enjoy a good mystery, and they like conspiracies. 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 a rough-hewn craftsman from New York whose impoverished and obscure life was electrified by the Mormon faith. 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. 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. PBS: American Experience. 52 or thereabouts. Young, himself, was subjected to house arrest for several weeks in 1872 and jailed briefly in March 1875. A US hospital has rejected a patient for a heart transplant at least in part because he is not vaccinated against Covid-19. While looking at a Tombstone photo, I saw a sign that says mule and ox shoes to order. Death is not the end of our existencejust a change in our being. Recent studies, including my own, have found 55 well-documented marriages. 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. In early September, they stopped to rest at Mountain Meadows. 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Likewise, John D. Lee, the only man convicted of the murders, was repeatedly offered leniency in exchange for incriminating Youngthe last offer was made just moments before his execution. Several church leaders, including Young, were later charged under the law; Young was not convicted, but a case involving his secretary, George Reynolds, went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 1879 unanimously decided that the law was constitutional and the First Amendment did not protect polygamy. The text of the speech was endorsed by Joseph Smith. 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. Traditions abound for alums returning to campus and for students during Homecoming week, October 15-19, 2019.