Massacre site draws descendants

MOUNTAIN MEADOWS, Washington County — Descendants of the victims and perpetrators of the Mountain Meadows Massacre met on sacred ground Saturday, hoping to heal wounds, open hearts and work toward a common future.

Perhaps this whole valley should be considered a sacred site, Kent Bylund, a past member of the Mountain Meadows Association board of directors, told a gathering of descendants, friends and others interested in the historic ground located just off U-18 between Central and Enterprise.

The 1857 massacre of some 120 Arkansas immigrants by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints remains a volatile topic, constantly fueled by new books, films and other stories. Barely 17 young children were spared in the killings that left bodies of men, women and children scattered in the grassy meadow.

The only man convicted for his part in the massacre was John D. Lee, a Latter-day Saint whose descendants still live in southern Utah. After his second trial, Lee was taken back to the massacre site and executed by firing squad as he sat blindfolded on a coffin.

Brigham Young University history professor Ronald G. Walker spoke Friday at the annual meeting of the association in the Dixie Center. Lee's part in the massacre and his bitterness toward then-LDS Church President Brigham Young for his failure to publicly support him are well known. Perhaps less known, said Walker, is why Lee was taken back to the scene of the crime for his execution.

"It was an extraordinary decision. Perhaps part of the reason for selection of the site was for its moral example, that crime and punishment might go together," said Walker, one of three church historians working on a book about the massacre. "I don't know if you can come to a reconciliation or catharsis of this horrible event in Utah's history without full and honest disclosure. That's what we're trying to do with our book."

Co-author Glen M. Leonard, director of the Museum of Church History and Art, reviewed various maps drawn of the massacre site, pointing out where the immigrant's wagons were circled, where the defensive fire pits were dug, and the distances victims likely ran before being shot and killed.

"We know before the immigrants left the corral that 10 of their dead were buried," said Leonard, adding that aerial photos are adding a new dimension of information to the old maps. "Where are the other 90 or more victims?"