MormonTimes.com: More Utah War attention predicted

LOGAN — William MacKinnon opened his speech at the 14th annual Leonard J. Arrington Mormon History Lecture by admitting that although this was his first visit to Logan, he could still claim a unique connection to the man the lecture is named after.

That connection is through the book Arrington — former LDS Church historian who lived in Cache Valley and taught at Utah State University — wrote, "Great Basin Kingdom."

Thirty-six years ago, on a deserted 24th floor of a Manhattan office tower overlooking Central Park, MacKinnon said he traded his "beloved first car," a 1961 VW Beetle, to a co-worker for a prize he coveted even more than that mustard-colored sedan: a copy of the book in mint condition. "Do you know anyone else who would do such a thing?" MacKinnon asked the audience in the Logan Tabernacle on Thursday evening.

After staking that claim, MacKinnon, an independent historian, management consultant and former General Motors vice president, moved on to the focus of his lecture, "Predicting the Past: The Utah War's 21st Century Future."

Read the full story at MormonTimes.com