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. 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. He later became a prominent pioneer in southern Utah, and St. George, Utah, may have been named after him. 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. DJ Ferguson, who . 1940. Even on the day of the slaughter, couriers were reportedly hurrying from Cedar City30 miles to the eastto call it off. When it was over, men quarreled over responsibility, and many vowed that no one should ever know of their deadly work, including, presumably, Brigham Young. A later biography of Ann Eliza Young termed her The Twenty-Seventh Wife. History is often presented to young students within a single interpretative framework with little suggestion of the existence of alternative historical interpretations. How do you put shoes on a cloven-footed ox? According to the record, Alma the Younger was "a very wicked and an idolatrous man. 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. 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. Read a news summary of this talk. At first, it blamed Indians; later, it claimed a rogue church official was responsibleand after two trials, Mormon militia leader John Lee was hanged in 1877 for the killings. Sidney Rigdon was, for a time, the second most powerful person in Mormonism. However, President Snow announced apostolic seniority should be gauged by the entry date into the Quorum of the Twelve, making Joseph Fielding Smith the next prophet. 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. Illustrated with Photographs. Western Pride Enterprise. Brigham Young was a man well acquainted with life and death. Why Lee was selected as scapegoat remains unclear. What are the 4 major sources of law in Zimbabwe? The emigrants passed through Salt Lake City in early August, and headed south. Are there books about other independent women of the early West? Even though Young blessed it as a place to begin anew,his fears of continued religious persecution may have caused him to order a massacre. . Apparently I succeeded, since critics in the employ of the LDS Church claim I dont prove Brigham Young ordered the murders. From Vailsburg To Vaudeville 04. [2] Shortly after their baptisms, Phineas Young and Joseph Young became ordained elders in the church began preaching as missionaries in New York and Upper Canada. After this attack, Smiths successor, Brigham Young, led the Mormons West. By doing so, we may get a better understanding of Rupert, who . No evidence exists that the Indians at the council agreed to attack. 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. Through most of the nineteenth century, the American West was considered the land of opportunity. Prosecutors in New York City are investigating an incident in which a jazz musician said his 14-year-old son was attacked by a woman who falsely accused him of taking her iPhone. Did Brigham Young Approve the Attack? Why? In 1835, the Three Witnesses selected Young as one of the inaugural members of the Quorum of the Twelve. 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. Mormon Historians Shed Light On Sept. 11, 1857. Beginning in the 12th century and continuing for hundreds of years, the Inquisition is infamous for the severity of its tortures and its read more. Meanwhile, someone attempted to assassinate Governor Boggs, shooting him twice through the skull, once in the neck, and once in the throat. According to Todd Compton, a Mormon historian and author ofJohn Willard Young, Brigham Young, and the Development of Presidential Succession in the LDS Church, John Willard Young was the youngest person ever ordained an apostle, which happened during a private event in 1855. On Sept. 11, 1857, a Mormon militia in southern Utah . The text of the speech was endorsed by Joseph Smith. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has steadfastly denied responsibility. Witnesses later testified about Haslams dramatic arrival in Salt Lake City, the writing of the letter and its dispatch South. [9] In Utah Territory, Young worked as a printer, saddler and contractor.[10]. Isaac Haight's stake high council opposed the attack, and sent a messenger to Salt . 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? Ann Eliza Webb, after she decided to divorce Young in 1873, published an expos entitled Wife No. Provo, UT 84602, USA 801 . Those allegations have never been proven, but Young did indicate that he supported the sentiment even if he never ordered a murder. In early September, they stopped to rest at Mountain Meadows. This week, as America mourned those lost in the terrorist attacks of 9/11, some Mormons quietly remembered another tragedy that took place on the same day 144 years earlier: the Mountain Meadows Massacre, in which a group of Mormons militia members killed about 120 men, women, and children in cold blood. [6] Young was present in Richmond, Missouri when Cowdery died. 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. 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. Five days later the church president spoke to a congregation filled with many of the participants in the massacre. It's time to Hike and Light the Y and attend the much-anticipated BYU Spectacular! 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. Jun 2021 - Present1 year 10 months. How did the widow Pratt cross 1,500 dusty miles in a mere 21 days? The proclamation is very clear: . 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. According to Mormon doctrines, prophets speak to God and communicate God's will to Mormons. That question stumped me for years, and like many other Mormon mysteries the clues have been carefully purged from the records of Utahs past. Brigham Young led one of the largest group migrations in American historyover 12,000 peopleto Salt Lake City, Utah. Many American Protestant religions promoted slavery or the Ku Klux Klan. 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. On the other hand, Mormons have insisted that the massacre was perpetrated by local members acting without sanction from headquarters. 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. Brigham Young University was named in his honor. After the death of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, the mantle of leader of the church was up for grabs. 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. 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, Brigham Born June 1, 1801 Whitingham, Vermont Died August 29, 1877 Salt Lake City, Utah Religious leader Mormon leader Brigham Young led his followers on a trek across the American plains to the Great Salt Lake Valley in present-day Utah. The game in question was against Brigham Young University, as part of the Mountain West semifinals. Some testimony came in private interviews when there was no motive to lie. Among other policies, he continued the limitations on African American participation in the church, instituting a ban on Black men receiving the Mormon priesthood. Hearing this, Brigham Young preached fiery sermons encouraging the saints to lift the sword and slay them.. On August 29, 1877, Brigham Young died in Salt Lake City at. . 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. In a speech he gave as governor of Utah to the state legislature, he announced that Utah should have the right to practice slavery. Youngs defiant stance toward outside authority meant frequent clashes with the federal government, especially after the churchs public embrace of plural marriage in 1852. If those who are there will leave let them go in peace. Earlier versions featured only Jesus or angels appearing to Smith. by Will Bagley and Ron Walker | Apr 1, 2003 | Features & Gunfights. The Taylor Mill Police Department (TMPD). . The little boy and his sister were at a friend's house in Wyoming earlier this month when a 1 . setTimeout(function(){var t=document.createElement("script");t.setAttribute("src","https://sample.dragonforms.com/getEmbeddedClientScript.do?embeddedsite=TW_dispatch_nl"),t.setAttribute("type","text/javascript"),document.body.appendChild(t)},5); Become a subscriber today and youll recieve a new issue every month plus unlimited access to our full archive of backlogged issues. He went on to become a missionary in England. 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. 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. He promised they wouldnt stop until the last drop of blood was spilled. However, church president Joseph Smith insisted that his brother William Smith be selected in place of Young. He is also the founder of the first Baptist church in America. Brigham Young (pictured) is revered by Mormons as the second prophet of modern times. Phineas' wife Clarissa was also baptized about this same time. Brigham Young. Ron Walker is one of the three Mormon historians writing the upcoming rebuttal to be published by Oxford University Press. What ever happened to Big Minnie of Tombstone? 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. Shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War, Brigham Young and his entourage visited Mountain Meadows for the first time since 1857. Young died in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory at the age of 80. the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Comprehensive History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phineas_Young&oldid=1133790119, This page was last edited on 15 January 2023, at 14:54. 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. 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. 19. 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. During Wyatt Earps later years, while he was living in Hollywood, were there any silent films or voice recordings made of him. [5], Young was married to Lucy, the half-sister of Oliver Cowdery. 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). 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. The victims bodies were stripped naked and left to rot in the open air. Young, himself, was subjected to house arrest for several weeks in 1872 and jailed briefly in March 1875. 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. 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. It is something that has been partially experienced and thoroughly documented by many individuals around the world. 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. The alleged rape came in the context of the bloody Mormon War of 1838, which saw the massacre of eighteen unsuspecting Mormon men and boys during an attack on a settlement by Missouri non-Mormons . Young won the leadership and Strang was considered a heretic and excommunicated from the Mormon Church. Wouldnt these events have kindled Youngs anger and led him to seek revenge? As she goes back in memory to the old home, she revives the scenes and varied events . For instance, Joseph Smith was once attacked by an apostate from the Church, William Law, who "attempted to kill Joseph and fired a pistol at him six times at close range. 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. In 1841, Joseph Smith announced a prophesy that Governor Boggs (pictured above) would, within a year, meet a violent demise. [7], After Joseph Smith was killed in 1844, Young joined the majority of Latter Day Saints in accepting the leadership of Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. 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. They were reacting to events as they took place. Why did Brigham Young allegedly send a message telling Southern Utahns NOT to kill the emigrants unless he was countermanding previous orders? 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. 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. 10 Strange Beauty Secrets Of History's Most Beautiful Women, Top 10 Disturbingly Dark Moments In Spider-Man History, 10 Dark And Esoteric Occult Practices From History, 10 Bizarre Secrets Behind America's National Treasures, 10 Amazing Secrets Recently Revealed At Historical Landmarks, 10 Secrets Businesses Don't Want You To Know, Top 10 Secrets Of Iconic Hollywood Sounds, 10 Controversial Toys You Might Already Have in Your Home, Ten Absolutely Vicious Fights over Inherited Fortunes, 10 Female Film Pioneers Who Shaped the Movies, Ten True Tales from Americas Toughest Prison, 10 Times Members of Secretive Societies and Organizations Spilled the Beans, 10 Common Idioms with Unexpectedly Dark Origins, 10 North American Animals with Misplaced Reputations, Institute for the Study of the American World, Widtsoe Collection, Utah State Historical Society, 10 Dramatic Ways Major Religions Have Reversed Positions, 10 Religions In The Middle East You Have Never Heard Of, Top 10 Proposed Locations For The Garden Of Eden, 10 Archaeological Relics From The Life Of Jesus Christ. Sometimes, he would send the husbands on missions in foreign countries and marry their wives while they were away and unable to object. 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. Young extensively promoted his theology of blood atonement, which held that certain crimes and sins were so vile that they could not be forgiven until a debt had been paid in blood. Sources conflict. Particularly telling is the testimony of those who did the killing at the Meadows. 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. The evidence has been so corruptedsuppressed, destroyed, and fabricatedits hard to determine the date the murders took place, let alone trace all the ins and outs of the conspiracy behind the crime. For instance, Joseph Smith was once attacked by an apostate from the Church, William Law, who "attempted to kill Joseph and fired a pistol at him six times at close range. https://www.history.com/topics/religion/brigham-young. He married -- was sealed to, in Mormon parlance -- young (Clarissa Decker, 15) and old (Hannah Tapfield King, 65). Seventeen children who were too young to remember the attack were spared. Johnson earned his freedom and owned a 250-acre farm, and his son . Pissy Hastens 02. PBS: American Experience. Niggas Sooooo Good 06. He was the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until his death. 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. 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. Copies of Youngs letter exist both in rough draft and final draft form. 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. Ted's son and Rupert were more prominently involved in Season 1 but weren't seen much the following season. He was a model Latter-day Saint; a good man possessed in large measure with friendliness, integrity, optimism, and unswerving loyalty to his leaders., Smith had a strong relationship with both the Prophet Joseph Smith and President Brigham Young during his apostleship. 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. They are also fascinated by stories of murder and especially murder on a grand scale. They arrived in the Great Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. Brigham Young urged every Mormon to resist the American military. 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. Because of this and the expulsion from Missouri, the Mormons at the time felt very strong prejudice against people from those two states. By the summer of 1877, Youngs health was in decline, but he continued to play an active role in the Mormon church up until the end. 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. 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. Why didnt he use his powers as territorial governor to hunt down the men who committed this despicable crime? 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. How many nieces and nephew luther vandross have? His son, also named Alma, rebelled against everything he was taught. Some of his brides were as young as 14, and he even married women who already had living husbands. While it started with a small group of adherents, many historians regard read more, The political and religious leader Roger Williams (c. 1603?-1683) is best known for founding the state of Rhode Island and advocating separation of church and state in Colonial America. Mormons responded to not being allowed to vote by forming a militia and attacking Gallatin as well as the nearby village of Millport (one militia battle is depicted in the painting above). Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. 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). Not circumstantial evidence. Speaking of lineage, I should like to explain to you that whatever your great-grandparents or forebears did cannot be grafted into your own life. 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. DJ Ferguson, 31, is in dire need of a new heart, but Brigham and. If I shoot, they get shot. Here's the account in his own words: Brigham Young wasn't the only latter-day prophet to have such close experiences with death. 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. Was brigham young stabbed by a son named Phineas? 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. The winners of the Church History Museums 12th International Art Competition have been announced, and the artwork is breathtaking. Anti-Mormons have long claimed that Mormon leader Brigham Young ordered the massacre. Experience in wood framing, excavation, roofing, painting, concrete, etc. 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. Director Henry Hathaway Writers Louis Bromfield Lamar Trotti (screenplay) Stars Tyrone Power Linda Darnell Dean Jagger Bridger Walker, 6, is being hailed as a hero for protecting his 4-year-old sister from a dog attack. 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. Young returned east to lead a second company of Mormons to the region in late 1847, and in 1848 was officially selected as the churchs new president. 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. He married single women and widows. October 11, 1973. Church descriptions of the massacre typically begin by pointing out that it took place as the United States was sending a small army to impose the Federal will on Utah Territory. No other group of people [comes] close.. 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. . 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. Why do people say that forever is not altogether real in love and relationship. In regard to emigration trains passing through our settlements, we must not interfere with them until they are first notified to keep away. An armed mob assassinated Smith in 1844, and Young and the other apostles took charge of leading the Mormon church.
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