It is one of the uglier parts of early Mormon history -- the murder of non-Mormon settlers passing through Utah. Among the questions in dispute is the role of Brigham Young in the events? Did he order the murders? Did he fail to act to prevent them? Or is there some point in between.

One hundred fifty years ago, a glorious September morning in the Utah mountains morphed into Mormonism's darkest hour when a militia opened fire on a wagon train, leaving more than 120 men, women and children dead in a flowery field.

Now the "Mountain Meadows Massacre" is becoming more than a subject of somber reflection within tight-knit Mormon circles. Two new films and a forthcoming book aim to tell the nation what happened, why and -- perhaps most important -- whether the revered Mormon prophet Brigham Young ordered the killing.

At stake are not just the details of a tragic moment in pioneer history. For the 5.8 million Americans who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the Mormon church is officially known, the integrity of one of their most important heroes hangs in the balance. For others, the depictions stand to forge new impressions of a controversial religious minority that has known both violent persecution and substantial influence across its tumultuous 180-year history.

"As a society, we are definitely at a crossroads" in terms of rethinking Mormonism, says Alan Wolfe, director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College. "This is a huge moment, because it's a very important religion."

There are three projects in the works. One, a movie, depicts the events sensationally and stakes out the position that this was an act inspired by, if not ordered by, Brigham Young. The second, a PBS documentary, tries to contextualize what happened and does not, in so far as I can tell, really take a clear position on Young's involvement. And an upcoming book by three Mormon historians takes the official Mormon position that Young had nothing to do with the events of that morning at all -- and that he tried to stop it.

What is the answer? In the end, I suspect the PBS documentary may do a great service by contextualizing the events, coming as they did as a part of the "Mormon War" in Utah. And personally, I doubt that Young actually ordered these murders -- but I do suspect that his words, like those of Henry II in the case of Thomas a Becket, could legitimately have been taken by some of his more loyal followers as an implicit call for these events. As such, one might fairly impute an indirect moral responsibility to the Mormon leader, though perhaps not the sort that those who claim he directed the massacre would insist upon. But regardless, the events of September 11, 1857 remain a blot upon the history of the LDS Church -- and will likely continue to be a source of controversy.

Posted by: Greg at 02:23 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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