Massacre services reopen wounds

“There's two things that rankle the Fanchers: one, that the massacre occurred; and two, that no one has ever stepped up and said, 'We did it, and we're sorry.' For 100 years, it was covered up the best it could be”

William Henry Tackitt was a baby when his parents and several extended family members were murdered, so his descendants came to southern Utah to remember him this weekend, knowing he was lucky to come out ... via Deseret News

[Brian Birch]

9-11, 150 Years Ago, Lest We Forget

On September 11, 1857, 150 years ago, a massacre of 121 Americans, from Missouri and Arkansas took place. The dead were unarmed men and women of a wagon train, shot in cold blood by Mormons in Utah. The killers were under the leadership of their Mormon Church, doing this killing in the name of Mormon religious beliefs. They also manipulated and lied to the area's Indians with the sole purpose of laying the whole world's blame on them. This parallels, somewhat, the New York twin towers attack.
The Mormons entered the encircled wagon train under a false white flag of peace and gave hope to the embattled group. The Mormons promised safety from hidden Indians and other disguised Mormons outside and from the attack that they had earlier experienced. The Mormons marched the women and children some distance forward of the men in single file to be ambushed. The men followed in file; each man was accompanied by at least one Mormon "security" guard. At the Mormon's predetermined signal, the Mormons on horseback shot in cold blood every man. This signaled the Indians and hidden Mormons to massacre every woman and some of their children, save 17 children, who were supposed to be those who could not yet talk, so supposed "innocent blood" would not be shed. The women and children were shot or had their throats cut and horribly bled to death as they screamed for mercy.
Last week I viewed the movie, September Dawn that depicted the massacre. It was the first movie that caused me to cry. I was not alone. It was a fictional love story that was in the setting of the Mormon "Mountain Meadow Massacre". This movie was so compelling that I went home and jumped on the Internet to verify the setting for this movie, since the Mormon Church was said to be at blame.
Nearly every site I looked at turned out to be a Mormon constructed site. That was both bad and good. The sites gave me some 40 plus pages of reading. More than I anticipated. Several reviewed September Dawn and said the movie had "Zero stars", their play on words. Let me say, every cast member was a star! I have attended local little theaters for years and many have stars that excel our touted "Hollywood movie stars". Not one of those professional stars has made me cry like I did viewing September Dawn.
We must never forget 9-11-1857, 150 years ago and only remember 9-11-2001, because both were tragedies committed in the name of men's gods. Both being false gods. That is what is so significant. Men create their own gods, and it is disastrous.
The Mormons used two scapegoats to justify their killings. The Indians and Mormon John D. Lee, Brigham Young's adopted son. Lee was the only Mormon to face the firing squad for this mass crime. The court could have convicted Brigham Young, a follower of Joseph Smith, Jr., or Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of Mormonism. Instead Lee, the Mormon scapegoat, was executed.
Joseph died after killing several men in 1844. It was Smith's lifestyle that ultimately created the Mormon doctrines that allowed him to be a multiple child molester, have multiple sex affairs, and marry some 35 women, in the name of his Mormon religion. It also allowed the massacre to develop in the name of religion. Smith's doctrines created this atmosphere of carnage at Mountain Meadow. Brigham Young testified against his adopted son for his religion.
The Mormons took an oath of secrecy and vowed to kill anyone who told the truth. I suggest everyone read Lee's confession at http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftri... Lee's father's denial and church leadership must have cut Lee deep, so Lee wrote his sincere testimony and yet covered for his Mormon leaders. It was his death he could not avoid, one way or the other, by Mormon or by military hands. The Mormon Church denies the real religious issue, today.

You have my permission to print this article. BLB

[GreenwoodGuy]

And now, the always conveniently left out "rest of the story".

The Church as an organization did not sustain or endorse this action.
An express rider was sent to Salt Lake City to seek instruction from President Brigham Young on how to proceed (the local militia feared outsiders and had also been warned of potential military action once again against the Mormons to drive them from their homes yet again), they feared the intent of the wagon train.
President Young returned the following reply with the express rider that arrived too late:
President Young’s message of reply to Haight, dated September 10, read: "In regard to emigration trains passing through our settlements, we must not interfere with them until they are first notified to keep away. You must not meddle with them.
Although it is represented as a Church action due to local leaders being involved, it indeed was not.
It was however and unfortunate occurance that is deeply regretted.

[Koko]

I wonder what the Rebbe would have to say about this?

[Koko]

And lest us never forget this day in history in so far as it relates to Jewish history;

The ghetto in Stolin, Poland, was wiped out with the mass murders of 11,000 Jews, 1942.

90,000 Jews were sent to their deaths from the Warsaw ghetto, 1942. A total of 300,000 Jews were sent to Nazi killing camps during a 53 day period from Erev Tish'a b'Av until Erev Rosh HaShana that year.

First organized attack by Nazi stormtroopers, Berlin, 1931.

Ghetto of Uman was liquidated by the Nazis, 1941.

The liquidation of the Minsk and Lida ghettos began, 1943.

Charles Lindbergh made an anti-Semitic speech on radio, 1941.

Daf Yomi was initiated by Rabbi Meir Shapira of Lublin, 1923.

The first moshav was established in the Jezreel Valley, 1921.

JEWISH COLONIAL ASSOCIATION, 1891

Let us never forget. I think the 90,000 figure supersedes the 150 Mormon murders by far.

[GreenwoodGuy]

The "left out" rest of the story:

An express rider was sent to Salt Lake City to obain direction from Church President Young.
The return message from President Young arrived too late.
This was not a church sanctioned occurrance.

President Young’s message of reply to Haight, dated September 10, read: "In regard to emigration trains passing through our settlements, we must not interfere with them until they are first notified to keep away. You must not meddle with them.

[GreenwoodGuy]

Sorry about the double post. Topix acting up again.

[Poncho]

GreenwoodGuy wrote:

Sorry about the double post. Topix acting up again.

Did anyone catch the LDS Church's apology for the Mountain Meadow Massacre?

http://www.sltrib.com/lds/ci_6862682

[Nicki]

I guess that is where all our neighborhood missionaries went.

I did fall asleep, but the snoring next to me woke me up.