Mountain Meadows

Tuesday marked the 150th anniversary of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. It's been an interesting event to witness here in the heart of Zion. Like so many people my age, I only heard about the massacre in the past 10 years or so. Even though I was raised in the Church and have studied a good deal of the history of the church I was surprised how little I knew about this tragic event. I know it's not something that people want to bring up and discuss, but there's always a problem when a group is unwilling to talk about part of their past.

I can't really say what made the members in Southern Utah commit such an atrocity. It certainly doesn't fall in line with anything in the doctrines of the Church and shouldn't be condoned by any members in the Church today. There are still a lot of unanswered questions that have been raised over the years: What was the provocation for the attack? How much did Brigham Young know about the event? Why would they kill women and children? What did John D. Lee do on his own and what was he instructed to do? I can't answer these questions, but it seems to me that the truth probably doesn't put many early church leaders in a good light.

I was really impressed by the memorial service that was held in Southern Utah. Elder Henry B. Eyring spoke and offered his love to all affected by the events of September 11, 1857. I really believe that the only way for true healing to take place is for the Church to acknowledge to tragedy and reach out the descendants of the Baker-Fincher party. I hope Tuesday's services were a step in the right direction.