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Church issues apology for massacre

Great, now how about an apology for the racist priesthood ban?

As an active 8th generation member of the LDS churce, I am all for this apology. It's about time.

The article mentioned basically that the fault was with the local leaders. I really believe this is true. I have lived in the St. George area for now going on 10 years, and I actually could see that happening again. Why? Well, the local leaders here are very different than the rest of the country, or State for that matter. It is very hard for an outsider to fit in here. I have lived here 10 years now, and am just starting to fit in. Plus, when certain things are done elswhere in the church across the land, St. George seems to want to be different. I really believe it is because of their lack of geographic identity. Close to Arizona, Nevada etc. They always blame the Northern Utahns for their troubles. Same scenario in Vernal Utah, Close to Wyoming and Colorado. Their ties are more with those states, like here, St. George is linked more to Vegas than SLC cause of miles. SO many leaders here don't want to help anyone but their own! And their own are the native property owners and business owners...Nepotism is alive and still doing quite well in St. George Utah.....

May peace replace hurt for those on both sides of the aftermath of this long-ago event.

Good for the Church. It was the right thing to do.

I appreciated the LDS church stepping foward and offering an apology. I feel it is a very important step and I will try to resist the temptation to judge this apology as insincere and short on avowing responsibility.

I feel it was a good (but small) step in the right direction of providing solace and justice for the victims and their descendants. I hope we can continue to support the healing and reparations owed to their descendants and that it can someday serve as an example of a group of people truthfully facing the past and acknowleding the wrong and moving to make it right.

Hopefully more is to come.

TO KEEP APOLOGISING FOR SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED 150 YEARS AGO IS REDICULOUS AS NOBODY TODAY CAUSED THE ACTION. IT WAS COVERED UP 150 YEARS AGO AND DENIED SINCE BUT LIFE GOES ON AND IT IS TIME TO MOVE FORWARD WITH TODAY HOPING TO HAVE LEARNT FROM YESTERDAY

Well, this sort of makes all those people who were commenting in yesterday's thread against apologizing look silly, doesn't it?

I'm not sure that this changes much, but it has symbolic value, and I particularly think that it makes the church look more morally consistent, having gratefully and graciously accepted apologies in recent years from both the state of Missouri and the state of Illinois for atrocities committed in those states against Latter-day Saints many many years ago.

What's next--reparations?

I'm glad that the Church has apologized not only to the families of the murdered victims but to the Native American tribes who took the blame for so many years.

Perhaps by all sides exploring what really happened we can discover what drives people to commit such horrible acts and prevent it from happening in the future.

Now we need an apology from the US Government for the war that caused much of the circumstances of MMM, and an apology from all the people of the East at the time who hounded their representatives into causing the persecution that created the mentality that caused MMM, and from those who drove them from their homes into the desert, and from all those who today continue to call for apologies when no apology will satisfy their desire to continue the harassment of the LDS Church. How about if now we all move on to modern times and leave MMM as a footnote in history from 150 years ago.

Perhaps now the church will agree to federal stewardship of the land. That would ensure preservation of the site and go a long way to earning the trust of the descendants of the Massacre.

BTW, JR, adult literacy programs are easy to find in the valley. Did you have some one read the story to you? :)

JR: To me an apology is an apology as long as it is sincere. The Lord forgives whom he will but of us it is required to forgive all men...and I don't think it matters if something happened 150 years ago or one minute ago. If it is determined that wrong doing took place then an apology is expected no matter what the time frame is. It is no our place to judge.

I hope all the whiny descendants can get over it and move on with their lives now. My ancestors were threatened with murder and run out of Missouri. You don't see me stomping around and demanding apologies. I simply admire their courage. I believe that's what they'd want me to do.

when does the apologizing stop? People need to grow up and move on, it happened 150 years ago!

"Some have also petitioned the church to transfer to the federal government ownership of the monument and surrounding lands the church has purchased to preserve the site"

I would comment that the LDS church has done an excellent job of beautifying, maintaining, and reverencing this land. They have the money and the vested interest to continue to do so.
If ownership were transferred to the federal government, I think the area wouldn't be as sacredly maintained. It would become more like an area of 'historical signifigance to the region'. And they would start charging the public to enter and tour the area, just like any other federally owned park.

I say let the LDS church keep the area, and forever maintain it's sanctity, in a way as extended apology and restitution to those that perished there.

I am neither for nor against this apology, but I don't understand the "demand" for it. I think the aplogy from the state of Missouri to the LDS Church was silly and unnecessary. I think this was unnecessary. It is similar to descendents of slaves today asking me to apologize for slavery if my great-great-great grandfather were a slave-owner. What happened was wrong on every level and in every sense of the word. But as JR said, no one in the LDS Church now was responsible for what happened just like no one alive now is responsible for slavery and no Missourians now are responsible for driving the LDS people out of Missouri. Everyone has their opinion as to who was at fault and no one is going to be able to "prove" anything at this point. It's time to move on.

And anyone that feels like the Federal Govt can maintain a historical site like this better than the LDS Church can hasn't visited very many small historical sites in this country. They do great with the biggies, but not so good with the small ones like this would be.

Thank you BB for your insight. I agree that of us it is required to forgive all men, and also to accept a sincere apology. I believe the apology the LDS church gave was sincere. It is my hope that we can continue to learn from this great tragedy and take many more steps to repairing the damage it has caused.

I agree with your analysis of what an apology is, but an apology from me to you for something your neighbor did is simply unnecessary.

Certainly, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as an institution has zero moral culpability in the massacre. Those who hate the church would love to have you assume otherwise. To be consistent, detractors must go after every organized church as well as every agnostic and aetheist because individuals espousing their views have committed atrocities. As long as we recognize the intellectual dishonesty of those who wish to lay this unfortunate event at the feet of the LDS church, I don't think there is much controversy left to discuss on this issue.