{"id":26303,"date":"2015-09-11T12:00:13","date_gmt":"2015-09-11T18:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=26303"},"modified":"2015-09-11T12:00:13","modified_gmt":"2015-09-11T18:00:13","slug":"158-years-ago-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2015\/09\/158-years-ago-today.html","title":{"rendered":"158 years ago, today"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"MMM<\/a>
A monument erected (by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a>, I\u2019m told) at the site of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, in southern Utah
(Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Mountain Meadows Massacre is the worst episode\u00a0in the history of the Restoration, the most terrible\u00a0story in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. \u00a0It can, perhaps, be partially understood, but it cannot be excused.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

That said, despite the best efforts of generations who dearly wanted to use it as a weapon against Mormonism, \u00a0it also cannot be laid at the feet of Brigham Young, nor at the feet of the Church itself.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, I think, it doesn\u2019t so much speak of the nature of Mormonism as it does of human<\/em> nature.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The most puzzling, and, in a sense, the most significant and troubling thing about it is that it was executed, overwhelmingly, by otherwise good men. \u00a0That\u2019s the mystery and the concern of the event.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

If these had been crazy people, or homicidal thugs, it would be easier to grasp. \u00a0But they weren\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Moreover, if you understand the story leading up to it, you can\u2019t help but sensing some of the horrifying inevitability of a Greek tragedy. \u00a0Each step closes off alternative options, makes the final tragedy more and more likely. \u00a0You find yourself wanting to scream out \u201cStop! \u00a0Don\u2019t go any further!\u201d at various stages of the unfolding narrative \u2014 knowing, sadly, that it will do no good.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The best books on the subject to this date remain:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Juanita Brooks, The Mountain Meadows Massacre<\/em> (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1950).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ronald W. Walker, Richard E. Turley, Jr., and Glen M. Leonard, Massacre at Mountain Meadows<\/em> (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

You might also find these articles helpful:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Robert D. Crockett, \u201cA Trial Lawyer Reviews Will Bagley\u2019s Blood of the Prophets,\u201d FARMS Review<\/em> 15\/2 (2003): 199-254.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Richard E. Turley, Jr., \u201cThe Mountain Meadows Massacre,\u201d Ensign<\/em> (September 2007).<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s much to be learned from the Mountain Meadows Massacre. \u00a0I see it as an excellent subject for moral reflection. \u00a0I could even see myself using it \u2014 unlikely as this may sound, and unlikely as it is that anybody would welcome such a venture \u2014 as a subject for a fireside or a sacrament meeting talk. \u00a0Bracing. \u00a0Unpleasant. \u00a0But a potential source of wisdom and insight for the future.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 The Mountain Meadows Massacre is the worst episode\u00a0in the history of the Restoration, the most terrible\u00a0story in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. \u00a0It can, perhaps, be partially understood, but it cannot be excused. \u00a0 That said, despite the best efforts of generations who dearly wanted to use […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n158 years ago, today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    The Mountain Meadows Massacre is the worst episode\u00a0in the history of the Restoration, the most terrible\u00a0story in the history of the Church\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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