Richard E. Turley Jr., “The Mountain Meadows Massacre,” Ensign,
Sep 2007, 14–21 This month marks the 150th anniversary of a
terrible episode in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. On September 11, 1857, some 50 to 60 local
militiamen in southern Utah, aided by American Indian allies,
massacred about 120 emigrants who were traveling by wagon to
California. The horrific crime, which spared only 17 children
age six and under, occurred in a highland valley called the
Mountain Meadows, roughly 35 miles southwest of Cedar City. The
victims, most of them from Arkansas, were on their way to
California with dreams of a bright future. For a century and a
half the Mountain Meadows Massacre has shocked and distressed
those who have learned of it. The tragedy has deeply grieved the
victims’ relatives, burdened the perpetrators’ descendants and
Church members generally with sorrow and feelings of collective
guilt, unleashed criticism on the Church, and raised painful,
difficult questions. How co