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LDS Church historian concludes Brigham Young did not order 1857 massacre
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I'm not even a Mormon. active or jack, but i recognize that there are different possablities than just guilt.
What did your research show? and can you share it with the community to discredit this story?
If so I will listen with open ears and mind. Until that time, this looks like the best report on the subject.
Oh by the way they did say that it was thier oppinion that there was'nt enough evidence to say that he did or did not order it.
Inconclusive but wieghing against the oppinion that he (brigham) did order the massacre. By deduction, there is still that possiblity,
which leaves the door open even in thier minds (although slightly ajar). Do your scholarly best and prove them wrong. We all (the christian community) are is search of the truth. "for it shall set us free"
... on Saturday his conclusion, "based on the totality of evidence, is that Brigham Young did not order the massacre."
You say you will listen with open ears and mind, however it appears you wear blinders. Guess it is true that some hear(see) what they want to hear (see) and disregard the rest.
Do your scholarly best to refute the quoted expert.
Next week- church leaders find that Mark Hoffman never existed.
Is it a crime now that the LDS holds in it's possession evidence? People attack the church saying that one of it's OWN historians with it's OWN evidence proving it is obviously false.
The early church members looking for shelter came to Utah. They were hated by many and most people tried to falsify things relating to the LDS church and many people tried to cover up ANYTHING good from the church. Members collected items and records partly because of revelation from Joseph to do so but also because no one else at that time cared enough for 'Mormons' to keep their history straight or at all anyway. So the church had good reason then, and what's wrong with keeping it now?
If you want to learn about my grandfather do you ask the man who hated him or do you ask me? I probably have his journal and my dad knew him better than the man who hated him...
It's a VERY logical thing for the Church to keep records and defend against any attack, especially a stupid/false one like this.
I also reject the so called evidence because it doesn't support the conclusion I prefer. After all, TV tells me that all tragedies can be traced to some high level of authority involved in some grand conspiracy. TV never lies people, therefore Brigham Young must be guilty!
(I love watching you mormons and non mormons go the rounds... are you a non or anti or exed mormon??)
both side should be fair... and none of you here are.. this is great a non-mormon deffending the mormons @ killing non-mormons I LOVE IT!!!
....you must have skipped the first paragraph just to zero in on the second one... haha... my every blinded by hate friend read:
"There is insufficient evidence to say former LDS Church President Brigham Young ordered the Mountain Meadows Massacre, and ample evidence that says he did not, according to the church's assistant historian."
read what is said and interpret. He did not say that there was no evidence... "just insufficient evidence" (that means that there was evidence.. in case you were wondering)
and more or sufficient,(that's what ample means) evidence that says he did not. He did not say for sure or beyond a shadow of a doubt.
more like he meant beyond a reasonable doubt or even beyond a preponderance of the evidence.
lol your turn
sincerely,
your brother in christ matrix
The powerful? It isn't like there are a lot of people against them, good reason to put a lot of effort into DEFENDING yourself. How are they rewriting history by presenting evidence which cannot be falsified and stating that there is no for certain fact but that there is more evidence on one side for the time being... how is that forcing history to be rewritten?
Oh and the whole bit about everyone 'knowing it' is as un-fact/historian/truth-seeking as you could have possibly made it.
I KNOW that Brigham didn't do it simply because NOTHING in his life at any other point could reference this type of decision when ALL others by him and the church leadership at the time don't have any relationship to this type of behavior.
The only purpose for pushing this event at this day and age with out ANY WHERE NEAR enough evidence to prove anything is ONLY to try to disprove the LDS church as a true church or only to hurt the church.
I'm not saying this in ignorance; I only state that without sufficient evidence this is only an attack.
Shame on anti-thinking.
Bagley himself admits his own evidence, interpreted in the most generous way in his favor, is still only circumstantial. I've read his so-called "damning evidence" (Huntington journal), and it is weak at best. Mulitiple other interpretations are possible and much more likely given the full body and string of evidence.
The first paragaph of the article states the reality of the evidence very accurately and succinctly. Unfortunately, for a certain audience, anything but a guilty verdict for BY will be unsatisfactory. For those people, the absence of evidence seems to be the best evidence of all. Such hand wringing does injustice to MMM victims' memory.
We routinely see articles from scholarly sources including the LDS Church that doesn't reflect positively on the hurch and the same is true of other religions, and governments when they write about themselves. For example, you don't see the Catholic Church trying to deny the Inquisition.
The basic tenent of a Historian is that the facts are the only thing that matter and even if Brigham Young did order the massacre it would be a historical fact that we would want to know so we could better understand Brigham Young and early Mormons.
Speaking as a historian, it would be interesting if Brigham Young did order this massacre but that's just my opinion since it would show the doctrinal truth that prophets are human and make mistakes is valid but unforunately we have no evidence that he did order the massacre yet there is no proof but the Church would benefit if it was.
And I now call on all Catholics to share blame for the inquest, all Christians to share blame for the crusades, and all Baptists to share blame for Hauns Mill, and all Mormons to share blame for Mountains Meadow. And don�t forget President Theodore Roosevelt and the Moro crater, let's all share that as Americans.
Now that the blame is shared, what�s next?
The church has never tried to cover it up when the church leaders break the law. We all know that David went from Prophet to murderer. Solomon fell from grace because of his greed. Paul, before his conversion, assisted men who were stoning another to death. Church leaders are human, they make mistakes sometimes. If the mistakes are more than minor, the Lord will take care of it and the man in question will be removed from his office. Don't we have more faith in His guidance than that?
Now that the blame is shared, what�s next? BLAME YOURSELF FOR GETTING SO ANGRY >:o(
In the end, the truth will be made knows when we are all dead all evidence is available, untainted by opinions and desires for revenge, unless of course you believe that death ends all. And if death ends all, all involved are dead and it doesn't matter.
If death doesn't end all, then we'll meet those involved and better understand what actually happened.
There are five year old children in Texas that would not be able to tell you who their mother and father are. So history can be as accurate as what is there, thank heavens God has the complete story and just like our time, people will get away with murder, but not when they meet their maker.
This is what these D-N posts are all about, and for one to voice ones opinion. My opinion is the Brigham Young knew and helped plan the massacre. It doesn't make him any less of a person. It's always better to look like a hero even if he made a mistake then make him look like a coward. I have done a lot of reading and research on the subject as has anyone on here.
Lee's testimony would be shocking enough without Beadle's and others' subsequent "improvements".
If anyone would accept the truth here they would know that persistent news was discovered weekly in Sacramento newspapers calling for the annihilation of all Mormons across the earth. Then frightening word arrives on horseback to the effect that an army was marching to Utah Territory "to scalp old Brigham", "massacre Mormon leaders", and "drive the hated Mormons from their homes". People were naturally scared. Just 10 years earlier these Mormon settlers had traveled 2000 miles to escape such aggressions. With all this in mind, consider watching as a group of unsympathetic outsiders from a hostile border state to Missouri passes through your scanty fortifications. They are headed to this same California that wants the Mormons extinct. They send for direction, but the group is leaving before word arrives. They panic. They try to stall them, but some get killed. Now they have to cover tracks.
This is the saddest tale of the old west, but please learn from their mistakes. STOP WITH THE HATRED. WE DON"T NEED IT ANYMORE.
Do you mind getting your own posting name and not using mine, so that people wont confuse me with YOU.
Just read the New Testament and early Christian era history and see how Christ and the early Christians were treated - as a demonic cult with barbaric practices, false accusations and injustices.
Now ask me about global warming!
Sure am enjoying all you so called experts out there!
This is really quite silly. Those of you who harbor angst against the church will find anyway of doing so whether it be the MMM or a meriad of other things you can wallow in the mire in. Fortunately for me, life will go on.
Personally (and really that's what it all boils down to, our personal belief) my testimony is based on Christ, the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the divinity of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Ghost. Whether or not a leader or group or person acted in a certain way has no bearing on that. Human fallacy will never cease nor am I in a position to condemn anyone, especially Brigham Young.
I truly believe that there is inefficient evidence to show Brigham Young did or didn't do it. If there was definitive, conclusive, irrefutable evidence, it would have been brought forth by now (not legend or heresay passed from one person to another).
People who lack the totality of evidence should wait for the book before trying to discredit it, and then should use historical scholarship in their argument. Arguing against scholarly history with emotional diatribe is sort of silly.
It's not quite as silly as standing outside someone else's church meeting and shouting names at them, but it's pretty silly just the same.
I will tell you what I think. I think the Mormon pioneers and Brigham Young were all in together on the massacre, including the Arkansas wagon train. I once heard from some very old, old timers from Cedar City, who once told me some great stories about the massacre. They said, that the Arkansas group were up to no good while passing through S-Lake City and Southern Utah, and taunting all the Mormons. They made threats with Johnson's army, and made fun of the Mormons. So it looks like perhaps the massacred group may have egged it on just a bit, and made the Mormons and Brigham Young very paranoid, and got themselves murdered. It was the wild, wild west, and anything could have happen back then.
See Ether 8:19 in the Book of Mormon: "For the Lord worketh not in secret combinations, neither doth he will that man should shed blood, but in all things hath forbidden it, from the beginning of man." Ether could not be any clearer on this matter.
The Massacre occurred due to the shedding of blood via a secret combination--in direct violation of foundational Mormon scripture.
You are full of yourself and are making judgments of Mormon pioneer people you never knew. Get a life! Read the scriptures, but don't set yourself up to be a judge of others, events and people you know nothing of. That is Gods duty--not yours!
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