Reader comments
Massacre apparently will never die

Wrong answer, you halfwit! Think things through really hard before you publish something as heartless as this. I hope this bites you.

That's pretty tacky.

True Christians are forgiving (even of biased film producers with an Evangelical axe to grind).

Unfortunately, in today's political atmosphere, it is the groups who protest and sue who ususally get public opinion on their side.

If we were all true Christians we wouldn't have MMM or films such as this.

If anyone should appreciate the importance of truth it is the Mormons. What I find amazing is the way many Mormons view Muslims. And yet they support, like no other people the pre-emptive invasion of another country, resulting in untold misery. There is an obvious disconnect.

We are all afflicted with Cognitive Dissonance. The greater our religious, social or political affiliation, the greater the affliction. We hear what we want to hear. We believe what we want to believe. Truth becomes irrelevant.

I completely agree-Pres. Young would never have given the order to kill. It wasn't his way. Isn't it time to let go of something no one will ever know any more about. The articles (and now the film) can only speculate on what happened that day. Who ever was responsible will be taken care of. Let's move on!

As much as I like Lee Benson, I have to disagree this time. The bottom line is that over 100 innocent people were killed by members of the LDS Church. That is a much more atrocious act than any mud-slingling that is going on with Brigham Young's good name.

The subject will never die -- nor should it, but this film is already dying a fast death at the box office. Roger Ebert gave it 'zero' stars in his review and it made less than $1 million its opening weekend.

The reason MMM is "never going to die" in the minds of the victims and their families is that there has never been real closure. Denials and half acceptance of the LDS and their role makes MMM live on in the minds of those victimised. Stop jumping up and down as a church and take responsabilty and you may find that there is nothing to complain about anymore and everyone will move on.

Matt, can you please provide some evidence or justification before censuring the writer? What was wrong about what he wrote? I have often wondered the same things as Mr. Benson. Why is Mountain Meadows talked about so much when there were multiple massacres against Native Americans during the same time period? And throughout history, there have been similar atrocities against other groups. Why so much talk about Mountain Meadows? It was definitely an awful event, very awful. But it was not at all an isolated event during the 1800s. Unfortunately, things of this nature happened several times, particularly against minority groups, but Mountain Meadows is the one talked about the most. Why is that?

Thank you.

Well, Lee, you certainly showed your prejudice . . . and mine, too. Remember this, however, as long as there are Mormons, there will be Mormon haters, and therein lies the real reason for September Dawn's being.

Hollywood has a long history of making Christians look foolish. After all, Christianity stands for everything Hollywood does not and vice versa.

Remember PBS's four-hour presentation of "The Mormons"? The Mountain Meadows massacre filled nearly an entire half hour, nearly one-eighth of the entire 177-year history of the Mormons.

Polygamy was another subject the filmmaker spent an inordinate time on. Most of the people who were interviewed were not even Mormons, although they call themselves Fundamentalist Mormons. President Hinckley, I believe it was, said there are no such things.

The filmmaker made a modicum of effort to try and present both sides of the issues, but her prejudices were easily seen by where she spent the most time, and those times were dedicated to all the controversies she could find.

Politics are the same way. Look at the way Mitt Romney has been treated by the media and many Christian leaders, simply because he is a Mormon. The same thing happened when his father, George Romney, ran for President.

So, Lee, don't expect equal and fair treatment regarding Mormons. You're not going to get it.

As far as these other two comments are concerned, they're a lot of hot air with no substance.

Good luck in the future from a former Utahn.

Wow--what a bitter article.

The fact that calls your conclusion into doubt is this: when, in the entire history of the Mormons, did any Church sanctioned group ever do anything without direction from the top leaders? That never happens. It is only with direction from the Prophet that any serious action is undertaken.

The FACT that Brigham Young did NOT order the "incident",did not want it to occur,was angry and heartsick afterward,just doesn't make any difference to the usual suspects.There is plenty of evudence to that affect,NONE to the contrary,yet some just KNOW Brother Brigham was behind it all.Not very intelectually honest.This movie is a great disservice to understanding how these men could have down the deeds they did.That is so sad,really.We needed context,nuance and deep reflection,we got cartoon villians and false portraits.The movie makers were on a mission,but not a holy one.

The church - particulary this year - has been far more open to truth telling and openness on this event that has the church's critics. While there is more evidence that Brigham Young had nothing to do with it, the critics do not show the integrity and intellectual honesty to admit it. They can't even go so far as to say they are open to accept it.
The critics agenda is to cause pain and to settle some score.
Are any of the critics descendants? Have any of them anything to gain besides the church's pain? The church is in pain over it already. There's not a person alive today who participated. All those have gone home to a just God who will sort things out. The descendants of the participants are suffering this year, yet they had nothing to do with it.
It's time for the critics and pundits to acknowledge Brigham's innocence and let eveyone rest. If the grandchildren of the murdered need further comfort, I'm sure that only the completely voluntary, genuinely apologetic and momument-building sincerity of the church will help. If you try to force new apologies from people who came along two generations later, I can see no good coming from it at all.

It is good to know how Mormons view Muslims. I'm sure you have facts to base this on. What a joke.

Where are the movies about the Haun's Mill Massacre, Far West, the Extermination Order, etc., etc.?

A TV series could be done, with one atrocity against early Mormons shown each week.

Given that little is known about the event, maybe someone could come up with a movie in which the actual killers were renegade Mormons and Indians. Maybe they thought they were killing in self defense. The Church and Brigham Young would be totally blameless. It might even be close to the truth. It would add balance to the story. Somebody should be able to come up with something.

I'm just sick of it all. The person that wrote this article has obviously lived most of his life in the Mormon box. Yes, I'll admit, I was a convert for 6 years. Then I found out old Jo married a 14 year old along with other men's wives. I also found out a group of MORMONS, sanctioned by the church killed 100 innocent people and the church won't apalogize. To do so would admit fault, and the MORG doesn't admit fault. I'll be glad when this church finally destroys itself with the help of the Internet and fades from the anals of American history. People like Benson are an embarrasment to civilized society.

This story shouldn't die, just as any other atrocity shouldn't die. That's like asking us to forget about 9/11, and, as one comment suggested, "move on."
Some of the facts may be controversial, but the reality of the event is fact. And as far as descendants of Brigham Young suing the filmmaker, does it hold true that the the decendants of those killed should sue the church for everything they've got?

Thanks Lee Benson,
I'm amazed that antagonist to the church don't want to hear differing opionions or consider facts and history.