Mormon Massacre

A report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media.  This week’s item is from Christian News, April 23, 2002, with a headline: “Mormon leader ordered massacre of settlers.”A confession etched on a newly discovered ledge sheet has shaken the Mormon Church by linking its revered leader, Brigham Young with one of the worst massacres in American history.The note claims that the founder of Salt Lake City ordered the 1857 Mountain Meadows massacre when a wagon train of 120 settlers, mostly women and children, were killed after they had thrown down their weapons on a promise of safe passage.The Church of the Latter Day Saints as Mormons are properly known, first tried to blame Indians for the slaughter, but after huge pressure from the federal government, John D. Lee, a militia man that was Young’s adopted son, was tried and executed twenty years later for organizing the attack.The church has always maintained that the militia acted alone despite persistent claims that documents incriminating its leaders were burned at the end of the 19^th century.School books in Utah do not mention the incident and it has been airbrushed out of the religion’s official history.The ledge sheet is the first evidence to directly link the killings to Young who is considered a modern day prophet by Mormons after he led them on their trek across America to found the city at SaltLake.It was found during restoration work on the debris of Lee’s fort a citadel at which Lee’s militia forces were based on the Colorado River under several inches of dirt and rat droppings in the main chamber.It is signed by Lee who had 19 wives and 64 children and claims to be written by my own hand 15 years after the events it describes.Filled with misspellings, grammatical errors and halted sentences, it says, “I do not fear authority for the time is closing and am willing to take the blame for Fancher.The wagon convoy was known as the Fancher party after Alexander Fancher who led it.” It continues, “Colonel Dane, Major Higby and me on orders from President Young, through George Smith, took part.I trust in God.I have no fear.Death hold no terror.”The massacre occurred amid a climate of war hysteria as Utah’s Mormons prepared for an invasion by federal troops who had been dispatched to suppress the theocracy established in the region a decade earlier.As the settlers convoy entered the state in route from Arkansas to California rumors spread that it contained men who had killed a Mormon leader and church leaders vowed vengeance.After a five day siege, the Mormon militia sent in a party under a flag of truce and promised safe passage.When the Gentiles left their encampment all but the youngest children were killed.In Salt Lake City, Mormon leaders insisted that further checks had to be conducted on the authenticity of the note before it could be accepted as a historical document.In 1999, work to restore a memorial at the settlers’ burial site turned up bones and a forensic test showed many in the group had been shot and not bludgeoned to death by the Indians who had no guns.

Tom:

Dave it is interesting to go through the more objective history about Mormonism and this isn’t the only issue that’s just outrageous.

Dave:

Well Tom, it could be that they were doing these people a favor by shooting them, caused their blood to be shed because you know—

Tom:

According to Mormon theology.

Dave:

Teaching of blood atonement.That would be the way to redeem them.They would be redeemed by their own blood.This is why, last I knew, it may have changed, but I doubt it, that Utah is the only state in the Union that still has execution by firing squad.Because blood is shed and that would redeem you by your own blood being shed.I think that it has been pretty well settled long ago that it was the hierarchy of the church that ordered this massacre.Now this is further evidence, but I don’t know that we needed any further evidence.Mormons have to face the fact that their prophets are not prophets and that Joseph Smith gave so many false prophecies.They have a non-profit organization spelled P-R-O-P-A-T-T, because they claim—this is one of the boasts of the Mormon Church and I’m not trying to put the Mormons down, but look, let’s just face the facts. You boast that you have a prophet at the head of this thing.When did he last prophesy?And your prophets who have prophesied beginning with Joseph Smith, their prophecies were false.There are so many problems in the Mormon Church.It is a cult.You check your mind at the door.This is Mormon theology— when the prophet speaks the thinking has been done.So what the prophet does, he doesn’t prophesy, but he tells you what to do.And he expresses the doctrine and you cannot question it or change it.It is like the Jehovah’s Witnesses.This is the mark of a cult.

Tom:

Dave, one of the distressing things about a new thrust in Mormonism is to bend over backwards to say that they are no different from any other Christian denomination and they are getting a lot of support for those who are in the ecumenical movement.

Dave:

I’m old enough Tom, to remember when that was not the approach the Mormon missionaries took.They very clearly said on your front porch, we are not Christians, we are Mormons.And of course, the whole pitch is there is one true church founded by this man Joseph Smith, outside of which there is no salvation.They are offering you salvation in a church, no matter what they say.Salvation is offered through faith in Christ alone.When the Philippian jailer said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” there was nothing about a church, not the Mormon Church, not the Catholic Church, not the pope, not the magisterium, or the bishops or whatever, nothing about sacraments, Paul simply said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”Now if that were universally understood the Mormon Church is out of business.Because their whole claim is oh, true Christianity was restored under Joseph Smith and we have the prophets and so forth, and they have an organization now and you must be part of this and submit—talk about sacraments, become a temple Mormon, go through the Temple rituals, and baptism for the dead, I mean so much that has to be done apart from Christ.Christ said, “It is finished.”But there is so much that the Mormon Church says they’ve got to do, it’s got to be done through them and the Roman Catholic Church is the same. So I think they need to face the facts and the Catholic Church needs to face the facts too.Now we’ve got this thing about homosexuals among the priesthood and pedophilia—Tom, a few years ago, six ladies came from France to Rome beseeching the Pope for an audience. They said we represent thousands of women who have children by priests.We can’t tell our children the names of their fathers.Would you please get rid of this celibacy thing?The Pope wouldn’t see them.I have files as you know, you have, full of this.This has been going on—well there were some of the Popes who were the sons of celibate popes.The popes used to marry their children in St. Peter’s Cathedral.We just have to face the facts whether it is the Mormon Church, Catholicism or about supposed evangelical leaders whoever they are, let’s face the facts.