LDS Church will seek landmark designation for Mountain Meadows
Elder Marlin K. Jensen, historian for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told leaders of three descendant organizations on Friday in Carrollton, Ark., that the church will seek that designation for property it owns in southwest Utah where the Mountain Meadows Massacre occurred.
Late last year leaders of the Mountain Meadows Association, the Mountain Meadows Massacre Descendants and the Mountain Meadows Monument Foundation unanimously asked for the landmark status.
"A National Historic Landmark designation, along with the continued efforts of the church and descendants groups, will ensure that those who died at Mountain Meadows will always be remembered as part of our nation's history," Elder Jensen said in a press release sent to Utah media by the LDS Church on Friday.
The release said that during his meeting with the three groups, Elder Jensen "also sought input from the descendants groups on proposed plans to create a second memorial with interpretive markers at the Burgess upper gravesite, an area recently acquired by the Church where remains of some of the victims are thought to lie."
While Mountain Meadows already is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, requirements for a landmark designation involve a process of documenting the historic significance of the site, a public comment period and review by the National Park Service and a government-appointed board of experts, with a final decision by the secretary of the interior.
The three descendant organizations long have discussed stewardship of the site, but their approach to dealing with church leaders and their ultimate goals often have been different. Some consensus developed among them late last year in their request for National Historic Landmark status for the property, and all three organizations sent the same letter to the church requesting its cooperation in December.
The groups held a three-day commemorative anniversary at the site in September, marking the 150th anniversary of the massacre. During one of those services, the Mountain Meadows Monument Foundation offered then-Elder Henry B. Eyring of the church's Quorum of the Twelve a packet of documents with letters from more than 400 descendants of massacre victims, as well as from several Arkansas politicians, seeking support for the National Historic Landmark status.
Elder Jensen traveled to Arkansas earlier this week with Richard Turley and Steve Olsen of the church's Family and Church History Department to meet with representatives of the descendant groups.
The massacre occurred Sept. 11, 1857, when LDS leaders directed 50 to 60 local Mormon militiamen, aided by some native people, in the slaughter of 120 emigrants passing through Mountain Meadows on their way to California. Most were from Arkansas and were known as the Baker-Fancher wagon train.
The only members of the group to survive were a few small children the attackers believed were too young to tell anyone about the murders. They were parceled out to LDS families in Cedar City for a time, then eventually returned to family and friends in Arkansas.
John D. Lee was the only man ever tried and convicted for his role in leading the massacre. He eventually was executed at the massacre site.
The episode has been researched for decades by historians with a variety of perspectives on the events. Public discussion in recent years has become more pointed and vocal with the formation of the descendant groups, who have sought to document and publicize what they say is a chapter in U.S. history too long forgotten.
A recent fictionalized feature film about the massacre, "September Dawn," also has helped re-ignite public discussion, along with a string of books on the topic published in the past decade.
The LDS Church has improved the area in recent years with the erection of public memorials. Descendants have argued the description and interpretation of the massacre shouldn't be left to the church, but to those who know the victims best.
During the September 2007 memorial service, Elder Eyring expressed "profound regret" for the massacre and told the group, "What was done here long ago by members of our church represents a terrible and inexcusable departure from Christian teaching and conduct. We cannot change what happened, but we can remember and honor those who were killed here."
E-MAIL: carrie@desnews.com
Recent comments
Well let's see how much napalm I can dump on this discussion....
Fireman | March 31, 2008 at 2:16 a.m.
If what you say is true, then either the Mormons did this just for...
re No Reason | 2:55 p.m. | March 29, 2008 at 3:55 p.m.
The only thing one can say is that the MORMON church needs to admit...
Truth works | March 29, 2008 at 1:33 p.m.
