They Shoot Mormons, Don't They? Religious Bigotry, alive and well today

“I wouldn’t vote for a Mormon for dogcatcher, much less President of the United States!” There’s a lot of that kind of hateful rhetoric going around since Mitt Romney decided to throw his hat in the ring – as if Mormons are some kind of hideous evil monsters. The loudest anti-Mormon shouts, sad to say, are coming from America’s so-called “Christian right”. How can Mitt Romney hope to get a fair shake in this spiritually polluted atmosphere?

There was another man running for President who faced the same dilemma – John F. Kennedy – only he was the target of anti-CATHOLIC bigotry. In his 1960 speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, JFK said the following: “. . .I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end - where all men and all churches are treated as equal - where man has the same right to attend or not attend the church of his choice - where there is no Catholic vote, no anti-Catholic vote, no bloc voting of any kind - and where Catholics, Protestants and Jews, at both the lay and pastoral level, will refrain from those attitudes of disdain and division which have so often marred their words in the past, and promote instead the American ideal of brotherhood.” John F. Kennedy Library & Museum (Speeches, 1960). By the way, if you listen to the audio version of JFK’s speech, you will hear the hurt and frustration in his voice and the unfair treatment surely must have caused many a sleepless night.

Fast forward to 2007 where JFK might as well have been “whistlin’ Dixie”. The hostility toward Mormons today, in my opinion, is even worse than that suffered by JFK. Although it is said that JFK lost about a million votes to religious intolerance, Romney stands to lose even more if the anti-Mormon evangelicals hang together.

According to Media Matters for America - “. . . a Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media” - FOX News is not reporting accurately on the level of evangelical hostility to the Romney run. Media Matters for America points out that among evangelical leaders rejecting Mormons: Shirley and James Dobson (National Day of Prayer and Focus on the Family, respectively), the Southern Baptist Convention (collectively), Pat Robertson (Christian Broadcasting Network), and Dr. D. James Kennedy (Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Florida). “Among many conservative evangelicals – who comprise a significant part of the Republican base – Mormonism is considered an un-Christian cult.” Media Matters for America (2007)

While stumping in Florida, a man in the audience stood up during the Q&A portion and said the following to Romney: “You, sir, you’re a pretender. You do not know the Lord. You’re a Mormon.” Media Matters for America (2007). This is the kind of un-American, disrespectful treatment Mitt Romney will apparently have to endure throughout the entire campaign – as if just being a Mormon is reason enough to open the floodgates for free flow of pent-up hatred and vindictiveness.

For the record, the Mormon bashers know full well that the official name of Romney’s church is “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints” and the members should rightfully be called “members of the LDS Church” but the words “Mormon” and “Mormonism” have an aura of negativity so they prefer to use the “M” word as if it were dirty.

Less than five minutes cruising around the official LDS website (LDS.org) will show anyone who’s interested that the Church is a Christian organization, with Jesus Christ at the Head. There are no paid clergy – all are volunteers. Humanitarian aid is legendary. Members of the LDS Church believe in strong family values; they are patriotic, they are law-abiding upstanding citizens of their community. Many LDS young men right out of high school go on two-year missions – you know, the guys on bikes – and during their mission they don’t date, read newspapers, go to movies or watch TV; but rather they dedicate two years of their lives to serving others. Many women go on missions as well, and couples, only theirs is 18 months in length but the obligations are basically the same. Most members do not shop or go out to eat on Sundays – reminiscent of the good old days when shops and stores were closed in obedience to the Commandment, “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy”. If they can help it, LDS Church members do not work on Sundays, either, preferring to spend the day at church and with their families. Church members are encouraged to store up a year’s supply of food and water so they will be able to care for their families in the event of an emergency. The LDS Church believes in self-sufficiency and self-reliance but in the event of a financial hardship the Church distributes food and supplies through their welfare (Bishop’s Storehouse) program. Members of the LDS Church do not drink alcohol nor do they use illicit drugs; they do not drink coffee and tea. A Mormon in good standing, therefore, will not be found in a drunken stupor puking her guts out at 3 a.m. anywhere in the world. Furthermore, members of the church are encouraged to dress modestly, be polite and courteous. And members of the LDS Church are faithful tithe payers. Come on, people, what’s not to love?

So what on earth is their beef, the anti-Mormon zealots? Why is there such disdain for the LDS Church and its members? In Hugh Hewitt’s book, “Mormon in the White House?” he states his thesis that the fierce anti-Mormon sentiment among main-stream Christians stems from one or two or all three of the following factors (in order of importance):

3) “If there is a Mormon in the White House, Salt Lake City will call the shots, at least on the biggest issues.” Hewitt (2007, p. 221-227)

Hugh Hewitt has written an exquisite book about the Romney campaign and overcoming the “Mormon problem.” It’s a good read and I highly recommend it. Of the three problem points listed in the previous paragraph, Hewitt believes – unless some unforeseen blunder destroys his chances – none of the three is insurmountable for Mitt Romney. (Plus, he has the best hair.)

Well, I’m no Hugh Hewitt, not even close; he’s an icon on the conservative radio talk show circuit. Hewitt could talk circles around me (I’ve seen him in action in Sacramento); he’s brilliant; he’s well educated, well read, no doubt a genius, plus he’s kind of cute. I’m basically a “nobody” – an overweight grandma – but after having researched for this paper, I have come to a totally different conclusion as to why there is such in-your-face angst over Romney’s religion of choice: It’s all about money, power and control (in that order). I think they’re (the evangelical religious bigots, that is) scared half to death and are revving up their attacks, not to save souls, but to save their reputations (which if tarnished would lead to financial ruin).

As I said, all one must do is browse around the LDS official web site to see what the LDS Church believes and stands for. Any reasonable person would conclude that Mormons are not evil monsters at all. In fact, they are God fearing, Christ believing, Holy Ghost following people going about doing good. “You will know them by their fruit” and the LDS has plenty of fruit and they are willing to share.

Earlier, I stated that some high-powered ministries have publicly condemned Mormons: Shirley and James Dobson, the Southern Baptist Convention, Pat Robertson, and Dr. D. James Kennedy – just to name a few. There are hoards of others. Sunday after Sunday, preachers, evangelists, reverends and ministers from all Christian denominations pound the pulpit with anti-Mormon rhetoric. I heard the message loud clear when I was a Baptist and when I tiptoed through evangelical/Pentecostal territories. Was I ever miffed when I later learned for myself the Gospel truth about the LDS Church.

Just think about it, please. If Dr. D. James Kennedy, for example, who wrote the book, The Wolves Among Us, were to admit he’d been wrong in labeling the LDS Church a “cult” that leads unwary ignorant people astray (to hell), what would become of his multi-million-dollar ministry? Suffice it to say, there’s big money to be had by sale of books, tapes, CD’s, videos, and other anti-Mormon propaganda, not to mention speaking engagements and world-wide religious crusades. We’re talking trillions, all told. I realize the anti-Mormon aspect of these ministries is but a small portion of the business, but if the truth came out, that they had been using falsehoods about the LDS Church as a cash cow, their entire empires could tumble.

The ABC News program 20/20 aired on March 23, 2007, exposed the lavish lifestyles of some of the top evangelical preachers – million dollar mansions and personal jets. ABC News - 20/20 (2007) (Again, the LDS Church has no paid clergy.)

It’s nothing new. Severe harassment and persecution has been the lot of the LDS Church since it’s inception in 1820 when a 14-year-old boy named Joseph Smith saw visions and communed with heavenly beings. Rather than discuss the spiritual aspects of the LDS Church, however, let’s stick to facts of history. Taken from a college-level early American history textbook, Joseph Smith, upon experiencing the visions and visitations, believed “that God had work for me to do, and that my name should be for good and evil among all nations, kindreds and tongues.” Ayers, Gould, Oshinsky, and Soderlund (2004, p. 292). The textbook continues, “They were met with hostility virtually everywhere they went . . . . As the movement gathered momentum, hundreds of people joined the church; entire congregations of churches of other faiths joined . . .” Ayers, Gould, Oshinsky, and Soderlund (2004, p. 293)

During the dark time of American history when slavery was flourishing and when Native Americans were forced from their lands, the pioneers of the LDS Church also suffered at the hands of unscrupulous politicians, governmental leaders, and angry hate-filled mobs. “In the face of relentless persecution, Joseph Smith, the founder of the church, had led his flock to Illinois. There they had established the town of Nauvoo, which by the mid-1840’s had become the largest city in Illinois with over 15,000 people. . . In June 1844, a mob of non-Mormons broke into the jail where Smith was being held and killed both him and his brother. . .The Mormons abandoned Nauvoo in the spring of 1846 as anti-Mormons pounded the town with cannon, destroying the Great Temple. In a well-coordinated migration, 15,000 Mormons moved in stages to the Great Salt Lake.” Ayers, Gould, Oshinsky, and Soderlund (2004, p. 334-335) Many walked all the way and many died along the way, including innocent babes.

Joseph Smith at one time was tarred and feathered by a mob. No jury, no trial, no judge – and they had planned to castrate him, too. On October 27, 1838, the then governor of Missouri issued an “extermination order”: “The Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary . . .” Far West History (n.d.) Please note that the order called for exterminating “Mormons” making no distinction between men, women and children, and indeed women and children were subject to the extermination order.

In an event known in LDS history as “the Haun’s Mill Massacre”, precipitated by the extermination order, 30 to 40 LDS families were surprised by some 200 to 250 militia. After the smoke cleared, seventeen LDS people lay dead including a ten-year-old boy. Thirteen LDS members were wounded including a woman and a seven-year-old boy. “A few Missourians returned the next day and took plunder.” LDS FAQ (n.d.) No Missouri militiamen were killed but three were wounded. Just a few years earlier, the LDS folk who died that day had been members of other churches - Congregational or Methodist or Baptist or Presbyterian.

In l976, Governor Bond of Missouri officially rescinded the extermination order and presented apologies for the “unfortunate developments” it caused. Quoting from Governor Bond’s Executive Order: “WHEREAS, Governor Boggs’ order clearly contravened the rights to life, liberty, property and religious freedom as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, as well as the Constitution of the State of Missouri; and . . . Expressing on behalf of all Missourians our deep regret for the injustice and undue suffering rescind Executive Order Number 44 dated October 27, 1838, issued by Governor W. Boggs. . .” Far West History (n.d.) The individuals who harassed, abused, and even murdered Mormons in cold blood were never tried for their crimes.

I read Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and it really touched my heart. There he was, suffering for the Lord in jail, and these religious leaders with highfalutin titles on the outside wrote an open letter (“A Call for Unity”) in which they criticize King’s tactics and basically blame King for the racial turmoil of the time. Though you can tell King is upset and hurt by the attack – made worse because he’s stuck in jail and can’t confront the religious leaders face-to-face – his response is gentle genius. “I wish you had commended the Negro sit-inners and demonstrators of Birmingham for their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer, and their amazing discipline in the midst of great provocation. One day the South will recognize its real heroes.” Barnet and Bedau (2005, p. 881)

King has a few choice words for the Church, too: “If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.” Barnet and Bedau (2005, p. 880)

There’s an eerie commonality between what JFK and MLK endured at the hands of the religious bigots of their day and what Mitt Romney is facing today. I hope and pray that Romney will be able to fend off these undeserved attacks from the religious hypocrites with the same grace, dignity and God-inspired resolve displayed by the other two.

A few popular bumper stickers read: “Honk if you love Jesus” and “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven” or “Jesus is my co-pilot”. Yet, apparently, these same bumper-sticker Christians are the ones waging war against Mitt Romney’s run for the Presidency solely on the basis of his chosen faith in a Church that bears the name of the Savior of the world.

ABC News - 20/20 (2007). Philanthropic donations come from your heart, but where do they end up? Ex-money manager says "enough!" to secretive Christian Ministry spending. Glenn Ruppel & John Stossel. United States: ABC News.

Ayers, E. L., Gould, L. L., Oshinsky, D. M., & Soderlund, J. R. (2004). American Passages - a history of the United States - Volume I: to 1877 (2nd ed.). Belmont, California: Thomson/Wadsworth.

Barnet, S., & Bedau, H. (2005). Letter from Birmingham Jail. Current Issues and Enduring Questions - a guide to critical thinking and argument, with readings (7th ed., pp. 867-882). Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Far West History. (n.d.). The Extermination Order and how it was rescinded. Retrieved April 28, 2007, from http://www.jwha.info/mmff/exorder.htm

Hewitt, H. (2007). A Mormon in the White House? 10 things every American should know about Mitt Romney. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, Inc.

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. (1960, September 12). Address of Senator John F. Kennedy to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association. Retrieved April 22, 2007, from http://www.jfklibrary.org

Lds Faq. (n.d.). What was the Haun's Mill Massacre? Retrieved April 28-2007, 2004, from Brigham Young University Web Site: http://ldsfaq.byu.edu/view.asp?q=57

Media Matters for America. (2007). Fox News whitewashes evangelical hostility to Romney's faith. Retrieved April 22, 2007, from http://mediamatters.org/items/printable/200702280002

Found this at the trial link. Time line:

April 6, 1830
A group of six men including Joseph Smith organize "The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints" (later often called the Mormon Church) in Fayette, New York

July 1847
Leading a band of Mormons fleeing persecution in the East, Brigham Young (successor to the martyred Joseph Smith) arrives in the valley of the Great Salt Lake (in present day Utah) and declares it the permanent home of his people.

1850
A territorial government is established in Utah, with Brigham Young its first governor.

1856
Brigham Young announces the Reformation, a plan to arouse religious consciousness among Mormons that also had the effect of encouraging fanaticism and suspicion of outsiders.

January 14, 1857
The Utah legislature reorganizes the territorial militia by reactivating what was called the Nauvoo Legion. Daniel Wells is named commander-in-chief of the Legion.

Spring 1857
Reports of harassment of federal officials and destruction of court records by Mormons convince President Buchanan to send an army to Utah to quell the "rebellion." (A federal judge, a territorial surveyor, and the U.S. marshal--all the federal officials in Utah except for one Indian agent--fled the territory on April 15, convinced that they were about to be killed.)

April and May 1857
Several extended families leave Arkansas on what is planned to be a long emigration via wagon train to California. The route for the Fancher party, consisting of about 140 men, women, and children, will eventually take them through Utah. In May, Parley Pratt, one of the original apostles of the LDS Church, is murdered in western Arkansas by an aggrieved husband whose wife Pratt had taken.

June 1857
News of Parley Pratt's killing reaches Utah in late June and inflames Mormon hostility against non-Mormons.

July 1857
Word reaches Mormon officials in Utah that a federal army is on its way to the Territory to quiet what federal officials call "a rebellion."

September 1, 1857
As the Fancher party camps 70 miles north of Mountain Meadows, Brigham Young meets in Salt Lake City with southern Indian chiefs to devise a strategy to stop overland emigration through southern Utah. In the meeting, according to an entry in the diary of Dimick Huntington, Young's brother-in-law, Young encouraged the Indians to seize "all the cattle" on the "south route" to California.

September 4, 1857
The Fancher party arrives in Cedar City, Utah. About this time, Isaac Haight, second in command of the Nauvoo Legion's southern brigade, tells John Lee that he planned to arm the Paiute Indians and "send them after the emigrants." Two chiefs meet with Haight and John Higbee and receive orders to kill the Fancher party members and take their property as spoil.

September 5, 1857
John Lee heads south and camps with his Paiute war party. Men ordered by Haight and Higbee to participate in the action against the emigrants are told to report to a place in the hills near the ranch of Jacob Hamblin. The Fancher party heads south toward Mountain Meadows.

September 6, 1857
Brigham Young, in a sermon, declares that the Almighty recognizes Mormon Utah as a free and independent people, no longer bound by the laws of the United States.

September 7, 1857
The Fancher party, encamped near Mountain Meadows, wakes to gunfire coming from about 40 to 50 (some accounts give a much higher number) Indians and Mormons disguised as Indians. The well-armed Fancher party puts up strong resistance and the battle turns into a siege. Haight, responding to pressure from some Mormons, sends a courier to Brigham Young (a 600-mile round trip that would take at least four days) informing him of the situation at Mountain Meadows and asking him what to do next.

September 8-10, 1857
Mormon reinforcements, totally about 100 men, arrive at Mountain Meadows and join the fight. Haight and Colonel William Dame, the head of southern Utah's militia, are kept informed of developments. A meeting is held at Dame's house at which he says, "My orders are that the emigrants [except the youngest children] must be done away with." On September 10, militia commanders ring the town bell in Cedar City, calling out trusted members of the Nauvoo Legion. The same day, the messenger carrying news to Salt Lake gives Haight's letter to Brigham Young. Young, according to published Mormon reports, sends a message back to let the Indians "do as they please," but--as for Mormon participation in the siege--if they will leave Utah, "let them go in peace."

September 11, 1857
Mormon leaders devise a plan to end the stand-off. Carrying a white flag, Mormons meet with members of the Fancher party and pledge the emigrants safe passage back to Cedar City as a way of getting them to give up their arms. The Fancher party is divided into two wagons, carrying the wounded and the youngest children ("the innocent blood"), with the older children and women marching behind, followed by the men, marching in single file. The men are led off to a place near the side of the road where Higbee orders a group of Mormons guards to begin the killing: "Do your duty!" A quarter of a mile away, John Lee leads the wagons until they reach a point where Nelphi Johnson orders the slaughter of the women and older children. Men rush at the party from both sides, and the killing continues amidst "hideous, demon-like yells." It is over in just a few minutes. 120 members of the Fancher party are dead. The youngest children, those under about age seven, are taken away.

September 12, 1857
Col. Dame and Lt. Col. Haight visit the massacre site with John Lee. Dame seemed appalled at what he saw and said, "I did not think there were so many of them [women and children], or I would not have had anything to do with it." Dame's comment angered Haight, who expressed concern that Dame might try to throw the blame on him for an action that he ordered. (Lee's account) The men pledge to keep Mormon participation in the massacre secret.

September 13, 1857
The messenger sent to ask of Brigham Young what to do with the emigrants at Mountain Meadows returns to Cedar City and presents a letter from Young to Isaac Haight. "Too late, too late," Haight says as he reads the letter and begins to cry.

September 15, 1857
Brigham Young issues a proclamation (of questionable legality) declaring martial law in the Utah Territory. The proclamation prohibits "all armed forces...from entering this Territory," orders the Nauvoo Legion to prepare for an invasion, and prohibits any person from passing through the Territory without a permit from "the proper officer."

September 16 or 17, 1857
Brigham Young hears his first reports concerning Mormon participation in the massacre at Mountain Meadows.

September 20, 1857
John Lee leaves for Salt Lake, where he will provide Young with a detailed account of the massacre. According to Lee, Young first expresses dismay and concern that the massacre will damage the LDS reputation. The next day, however, Young tells Lee, "I asked the Lord if it was all right for the deed to be done, to take away the vision of the deed from my mind, and the Lord did so, and I feel first rate. It is all right. The only fear I have is from traitors."

September 27, 1857
Garland Hurt, the federal Indian agent for the Territory, hears reports that he will be assassinated by Mormons who fear that he knows too much about the massacre and, with the help of Utes, flees to safety.

October 1857
Federal forces, under General Albert Johnston, sent to suppress the Utah rebellion decide to overwinter at Fort Bridger, rather than fight the men of the Nauvoo Legion guarding the canyons leading to Salt Lake. Meanwhile, the first published reports of the massacre begin to appear in the press. The reports place much of the blame on Mormon fanatics, and many people call for military action against those responsible. The San Francisco Bulletin, for example, calls for "a crusade against Utah which will crush out this beast of heresy forever."

November 20, 1857
Lee writes a fictionalized report of the massacre, attributing all the killing to the Indians, and sends it do Young.

January 6, 1858
Brigham Young submits a report to the Indian Commissioner laying the blame for the massacre on mistreatment of Indians by non-Mormons.

February 25, 1858
Thomas Kane, sent to Utah by President Buchanan to attempt to work out a peaceful solution to the Utah problem, arrives in Salt Lake City.

March 18, 1858
Congress debates the massacre at Mountain Meadows. It orders an inquiry.

April 1858
Alfred Cumming, the newly appointed governor of Utah sent from Washington, arrives in Salt Lake to assume office. Cumming announces that he will head south to begin an investigation of the massacre. Young assures Cumming that he is also determined to get to the truth of the matter, and Cumming seems to believe him.

May 11, 1858
Gov. Cumming declares the California trail open and says emigrants can once again "pass through Utah territory without hindrance or molestation."

June 26, 1858
Federal troops (one-fourth of the United States Army) march through Salt Lake City toward their headquarters at Camp Floyd, forty miles away. They do so after Young, recognizing the overwhelming size of the federal force, accepted federal terms--including a pardon for acts of rebellion.

August 6, 1858
George A. Smith, one of the twelve apostles in the LDS Church, begins drafting an apostolic report on the massacre. The report blames the emigrants for inciting Indians. It also places John Lee at the scene, thus identifying him as the best possible Mormon scapegoat for the crime. (Historian Juanita Brooks believes to be the person ultimately responsible for the massacre, having told Dame to issue the order that all the emigrants be killed.)

November 1858
U. S. District Judge John Cradlebaugh arrives in Utah and begins to take an immediate interest in prosecuting those responsible for the massacre. Prosecution will be frustrated by a Utah law that places jury selection in the hands of Mormon officials.

March 1859
Indian Superintendent Jacob Forney travels through southern Utah, rounding up children orphaned by the massacre. He eventually retrieves 17 children.

April 1859
Judge Cradlebaugh issues arrest warrants for John D. Lee, Isaac Haight, and John Higbee. The men, all accused in connection with the Mountain Meadows murders, flee.

May 5-6, 1859
The army and Judge Cradlebaugh inspect the massacre scene. Skulls, bones, masses of women's hair, and bits of clothing still litter the scene. Remains of the victims are buried by troops. Cradlebaugh follows up his visit with a letter to President Buchanan outlining his conclusion that the murders were committed "by order of council."

May 12, 1859
An arrest warrant is issued for Brigham Young. He appears voluntarily before Judge Joseph Smith (in a Mormon probate court) to give a statement about the massacre, in which he accused of being an accessory after the fact. The case is apparently dismissed for lack of evidence.

June 3, 1859
The federal case against 38 Mormons for the massacre is essentially dropped when the U. S. Marshal declares his unwillingness to make arrests without federal troops to protect him from local citizens, and that help is not provided.

August 13, 1859
A report from the scene of the massacre, accompanied by a grisly cover sketch, appears in Harper's Weekly.

December 12, 1859
Indian Superintendent Forney arrives in Washington, D.C. with the two oldest surviving boys from the massacre. Forney hopes the boys will be allowed to testify before Congress.

1860
With the Union ready to split apart, interest in prosecuting the Mountain Meadows massacre begins to wane. In Utah, Governor Cumming is unwilling to press prosecution, which he sees as futile: "God Almighty couldn't convict the butchers unless Brigham Young was willing."

1861
With the onset of the Civil War, federal troops leave Utah.

1862
Abraham Lincoln appoints non-Mormons to fill all federal offices in Utah and signs a law outlawing polygamy, although the law is largely ignored in Utah.

March 1864
John D. Lee, a man with a domineering personality who repeatedly boasted of his role in the massacre, is relieved of his position as elder of the Harmony, Utah branch of the LDS.

1868
Gov. J. Wilson Schaffer, appointed by President Grant, abolishes the Nauvoo Legion. The Mormon political condition generally begins to deteriorate.

1870-71
Charles W. Wandell, under the pen name "Argus," writes a series of stories in the Utah Reporter challenging Brigham Young's response to the Mountain Meadows massacre. Wandell's articles eventually produce the first confession by a massacre participant. About this time, Young meets with Lee, Haight, Dame, and others involved in the massacre. Historians suggest that Young singles out Lee to take the blame, confident in the belief that Lee will do as he is told at any trial. Lee is excommunicated.

April 10, 1871
Philip Klingensmith, a former LDS bishop who subsequently left the Church, appears in a Nevada court and swears out an account of the massacre, including his own role in it.

1874
Congress passes the Poland Act, which redefines the jurisdiction of courts in Utah. The law restricted the authority of Mormon-controlled probate courts and opened Utah juries to non-Mormons. The Poland Act finally makes prosecution for the murders at Mountain Meadows a real possibility.

October 1874
Arrests warrants are issued for Lee, Higbee, Haight, Stewart, Wilden, Adair, Klingensmith, Jukes, and Dame.

November 7, 1874
John Lee, a fugitive for fifteen years, is captured in a chicken coop near Panguitch, Utah. Soon thereafter, federal authorities arrest William Dame.

July 23, 1875
The trial of John Lee opens in the courtroom of Judge Jacob Boreman. Payment for Lee's defense is arranged by Brigham Young. The prosecution's star witness is Philip Klingensmith.

August 5, 1875
The trial of John Lee ends in a hung jury, with the nine Mormon jurors voting to acquit and the three non-Mormon jurors voting to convict. The trial, however, severely tarnishes the reputation of the LDS Church in the eyes of most Americans.

September 1, 1875
George A. Smith dies.

Summer 1876
Prosecutor Sumner Howard, the new U. S. attorney for Utah, makes a deal with Brigham Young. Young agrees to find witnesses to convict John Lee in return for his affidavit being placed in evidence (largely exonerating him) and charges are dropped against William Dame and other Mormon officials.

September 14, 1876
The second trial of John Lee opens in Beaver, Utah. Numerous Mormons testify against Lee, but the testimony does not implicate other Mormons. Lee asks that no witnesses testify in his behalf.

September 20, 1876
After only a few hours of deliberation, an all-Mormon jury convicts John Lee.

Winter 1876-77
While his appeals play out, John Lee writes his autobiography and confession, which he gives to his attorney, William Bishop, and which is later published under the title, Mormonism Unveiled.

March 23, 1877
John Lee is executed by firing squad while sitting on his coffin in Mountain Meadows.

August 29, 1877
Brigham Young dies, possibly of appendicitis.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.