b"Saints continued from page 11The Nauvoo Expositor attacked Joseph Smith. Hedied brutally on September 11, 1857, at a place called fought back, ordering the newspaper destroyed. ThisMountain Meadows.retaliatory action put Smith outside the law. He, along with his brother, Hyrum, were arrested and placed inIt would not be fair to say that Joseph Smith intended jail at Carthage, Illinois. Shortly thereafter, an angryto brainwash but, it would be fair to say that he had a mob broached the jail and both of the brothers weremasterful hand when it came to controlling his follower's murdered. The belief was that on June 27, 1844, morebehavior. They needed a new religious direction; he than eleven years of strife between the Mormons andaspired, as his father had, toward the better things in their neighbors of the western frontier ended. life. His Mormonism accomplished both. The new converts were drawn to believe that divine intervention On July 8. 1844 the New York Herald postulated: Thehad delivered Joseph Smith, a prophet, to them; he had death of the modern Mohammed will seal the fate ofreaped financial stability and power.Mormonism. They cannot get another Joseph Smith. The holy city must tumble into ruin and the Latter-DayIt is difficult to imagine the power created by the Saints have, indeed, come to the latter-day. Mormon theocracy, with Joseph Smith and, later, Brigham Young at the helm. At the time of the massacre The Herald could not have been more wrong. Thethree concurrent governments took charge of every martyrdom of Joseph Smith served only to strengthenBrigham Young detail of common life: the territorial or civil of all affairs the Saints, to almost fanatical proportions. concerning Gentiles, or cases between Gentiles and In 1857, another murder occurred which sent theMormon; the ecclesiastical of all religious questions, At the same time, a new leader emerged by the nameMormon community into a frenzy once again. Oneand the church civil system of all the industries and of Brigham Young, a powerful carpenter who wouldof their apostles, Parley P. Pratt, was killed by Hectorcommerce of the people. Brigham was a prophet and lead the people out of bondage. He had been in EuropeMcLean in Arkansas. Non-Mormons could notseer in the ecclesiastical; first President in the industrial recruiting converts at the time of the holocaust activitiesunderstand the justification of the killing and tensionand civil, for seven years governor in the territorial in America, but with the death of Joseph Smith, hisbegan to build again. As if that was not enough, becausegovernment, and long afterward virtual dictator of the position as the new prophet was assured. With a shipthere had been many frightful mutilations and murderspolicy of his successors.loaded with new converts, Brigham Young returned toat the hands of the Mormons under the guise of the America to assume that role. Utah was their eventualblood atonement doctrine, President BuchananBrigham Youngs power was complete. Where the destination and was considered to be a land where allremoved Brigham Young as Governor in Utah Territory,Mormon followers went, what they did, and what they legal hardships were to be cured and all men to be equal,stating that he was going to station an army in the area tosaid were under the control of their prophet leader. and the spirit of the brotherhood among the Britishsquelch the deprivations. With this act of aggression, thePresident Youngs Reformation evinced an even greater Saints at this time, to which all observers bear witness,Mormons saw nothing short of war being waged againstcontrol over his subjects. Young created a fanatical they thought only a foretaste of the perfect oneness inthem. It was more than they could tolerate. frenzy. His people had been murdered and oppressed Christ which was to prevail in Utah. for thirty years. Now an army had been dispatched Brigham Young and his Mormon church retaliated.by President Buchanan, later known as Buchanans It is important to understand that when the MormonsThe Utah Militia, actually the Nauvoo Legion, whichBlunder, the emigrants themselves threatened traveled to their new Zion, a desolate land later toestablished in Illinois, was now reactivated to protect theretribution from the west.become Utah Territory, they were actually leavingpeople. President Young, in one of his sermons, declared, another country, the United States. By 1850, Utah wasThe thread was cut between us and the U.S. and thatWith all these elements of destruction in place, a form of established as a Territory of the United States withthe Almighty recognized us as a free and independentmass hysteria came into play. There can be no doubt that Brigham Young appointed as Governor. people and that no officer appointed by the governmentthese were ordinary people motivated by extraordinary should come and rule us from this time forth. circumstances. Their belief was that war had been However, the trip to Utah was not an easy one. Thedeclared upon them; they became desperate people in church leaders had determined that immigrants fromThe Mormons controlled all the streams and springs indesperate circumstances with what seemed to be only Europe should walk from Missouri to Salt Lake City,their territory. Proclamations were issued by Brighamone solutionkill or be killed. Brigham Young held a and trundle hand-carts loaded with their baggage.Young stating that all immigrants were to leave thetight rein on his Latter-day Saints who believed the time Nearly three hundred died en route. This dire calamityterritory and announced in another sermon that if theyhad finally come to divorce their kingdom of God from appeared to excite an epidemic madness in Utah.came, he would turn the Indians loose on them.Manyall other kingdoms of the world.Brigham Young and some other leaders of the churchwagon trains passed through Salt Lake City without advocated the doctrine of blood atonement; that is,mishap. However, the ill-fated Fancher party of ArkansasWhether or not Young was versed well enough in the killing men to save their souls. and Missouri, loaded with booty, the first train to take science of psychology to consciously manipulate their the Southern route across Utah to California, met behavior will probably never be determined. But we In the fall of 1856, the Mormon leader issued awith annihilation.do know that his power was all-encompassing. The proclamation to have all the Saints reaffirm their faith.Mormons were prime examples of how behavior could This was known as the Reformation. For many of theIt appears the group was somewhat divided, one partybe modified and manipulated. Even John Lee, the man followers who had survived the persecution suffered inbeing a troublesome lot, boastful that they had hastenedwho was tried, convicted, and ultimately executed for Missouri and Nauvoo, the Reformation offered a hopethe Mormon departure from Missouri. One man claimedbeing the sole perpetrator of the massacre stated that he that God would avenge the death of theto wear the pistol used to killwould never have carried out any orders he thought were Prophet Joseph Smith, and suffering ofJoseph Smith. Some were surly,contrary to the wishes of Brigham Young.his Saints. Certainly the church officialsdemanding, and the Mormons gained a stronger rein of control overhad been told not to sell themThe Mountain Meadows Massacre has been a stigma in their subjects through the acts of so much as a kernel of grain. the annals of Latter-day Saints Church history for more this reformation. than a hundred years, but it was only the culmination The only allies left to theof the many extenuating circumstances, propagated Mormon faction, who by thisagainst them. Something we all seek, the Mormon time felt hatred toward allSaints searched for and found what seemed to be a Gentiles, as well as the Unitedbetter way of life for themselves. Unfortunately, the rest States political machine, wereof early American society was not willing to accept so the Indians. After all, thedrastic a change. The oppression the Saints suffered is Mormon religious doctrinenot significant to the Mormon church alone but, more was based upon early Indiancorrectly, it must be considered a part of all of our history. They would have to stand together againstAmerican history. all aggressors or be destroyed. Years of frustration, oppression, persecution and murderous loss of lifeUnfortunately, there will always be powerful people in had nerves tingling. The comedy of circumstances,positions of authority who will hold the destiny of large as described by Doctor McGrath, had come fullnumbers of people in their hands. Hopefully, the lesson circle; something had to give way and give waywill have been learned and we will never succumb to it did. One hundred men, women, and childrensuch tyranny again. 12 January 2020"