View source for Criticism of Mormonism/Books/American Massacre/Chapter 14

{{FairMormon}}  
{{H1
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Books/American Massacre/Chapter 14
|H=Response to claims made in Chapter 14: "Mountain Meadows, May 25, 1861"
|S=
|L1=
|T=[[../../|American Massacre: The Tragedy at Mountain Meadows]]
|A=Sally Denton
|<=[[../Chapter 13|Chapter 13]]
|>=[[../Chapter 15|Chapter 15]]
}}
[[File:Chart AM chapter 14.png|center|frame]]
<onlyinclude>
{{H2
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Books/American Massacre/Chapter 14
|H=Response to claims made in American Massacre: The Tragedy at Mountain Meadows, "Chapter 14: Mountain Meadows, May 25, 1861"
|S=
|L1=Response to claim: 209 - Brigham's trip south in May 1861 was "to insure the southern Utahns understood the need for silence on the subject of Mountain Meadows"
|L2=Response to claim: 210 - Brigham is said to have ordered the cross and cairn at Mountain Meadows torn down
|L3=Response to claim: 215 - The "entire blame of the massacre was shifted to" John D. Lee's shoulders
|L4=Response to claim: 215 - The author claims that Lee was "regaling" his family with "the divinity of Smith and their one true religion"
|L5=Response to claim: 216 - Former bishop Klingensmith is said to have claimed that the militia was "called out for the purpose of committing acts of hostility" against the emigrants
}}
</onlyinclude>

==Response to claim: 209 - Brigham's trip south in May 1861 was "to insure the southern Utahns understood the need for silence on the subject of Mountain Meadows"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=American Massacre
|claim=
Brigham's trip south in May 1861 was "to insure the southern Utahns understood the need for silence on the subject of Mountain Meadows."
|authorsources=<br>
*{{CriticalWork:Bagley:Blood of the Prophets|pages=246}}
*{{CrossRef:Bagley:Blood of the Prophets|pages=246}}
}}
{{misinformation|There is no evidence the Church blocked prosecution of the Massacre perpetrators}}
{{:Question: Was prosecution of those responsible for Mountain Meadows Massacre blocked by the Church?}}

==Response to claim: 210 - Brigham is said to have ordered the cross and cairn at Mountain Meadows torn down==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=American Massacre
|claim=
Brigham is said to have ordered the cross and cairn at Mountain Meadows torn down.
|authorsources=<br>
#Wilford Woodruff journal, May 25, 1861.
}}
{{disinformation|Neither Wilford Woodruff, nor John D. Lee said anything in their journals about Brigham Young ordering the destruction of the monument.
}}
{{:Question: Did Brigham Young order that the Mount Meadows monument be destroyed?}}

<!-- ==Response to claim: 213 - The "Godbeites" were "demanding disclosure" about the massacre==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=American Massacre
|claim=
The "Godbeites" were "demanding disclosure" about the massacre.
|authorsources=<br>
#The author references a series of anonymous letters written under the pseudonym "Argus" that were published in the ''Utah Reporter'' between 1870 and 1871.
}}
* {{Detail|Blood_of_the_Prophets:_Brigham_Young_and_the_Massacre_at_Mountain_Meadows/Use_of_sources/Anonymous source: "Argus"|l1=Anonymous source: "Argus"}}
-->

==Response to claim: 215 - The "entire blame of the massacre was shifted to" John D. Lee's shoulders==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=American Massacre
|claim=
The "entire blame of the massacre was shifted to" John D. Lee's shoulders.
|authorsources=<br>
#Brooks, ''John Doyle Lee'', 296.
}}
{{disinformation|This is clearly false. Contemporary government documents show that federal officials continued to "show...efforts by the federal machinery to prosecute others for at least eight years after Lee's trial." <ref>{{FR-16-1-9}}</ref>  If blame rested on Lee alone, this would make no sense.
}}
{{:Question: Was there a "deal" made with Brigham Young regarding prosecution for the Mountain Meadows Massacre?}}

==Response to claim: 215 - The author claims that Lee was "regaling" his family with "the divinity of Smith and their one true religion"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=American Massacre
|claim=
The author claims that Lee was "regaling" his family with "the divinity of Smith and their one true religion."
|authorsources=<br>
#Brooks, ''Emma Lee'', 57.
}}
{{propaganda|LDS doctrine has never regarded Joseph Smith as divine.
}}
{{:Question: Do Mormons believe that Joseph Smith must approve whether or not they get into heaven?}}

==Response to claim: 216 - Former bishop Klingensmith is said to have claimed that the militia was "called out for the purpose of committing acts of hostility" against the emigrants==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=American Massacre
|claim=
Former bishop Klingensmith is said to have claimed that the militia was "called out for the purpose of committing acts of hostility" against the emigrants, and that they were ordered to "kill all of said company of emigrants except the little children."
|authorsources=<br>
*"A MORMON MONSTROSITY": ''New York Herald'', September 14, 1872. Philip Klingensmith affidavit, April 10, 1871, printed in {{CriticalWork:Stenhouse:Rocky Mountain Saints|pages=439-442}}
*Brooks, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre'', 238-242.
*Backus, ''Mountain Meadows Witness'', 274-277.
*''New York Herald'', September 14, 1872.
* {{CrossRef:Bagley:Blood of the Prophets|pages=178}}
}}
{{misinformation|The author fails to tell us that the "former bishop" had admitted to participation in the murder, that his testimony was uncorroborated, and that he was deemed to be so unreliable that he was not called during the successful second trial of John D. Lee.
}}
{{:Question: How reliable is the testimony of Bishop Philip Klingensmith with regard to the Mountain Meadows Massacre?}}

{{endnotes sources}}



<!-- PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE -->