American Massacre
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Book Review Assignment:
American Massacre
By Sally Denton
Sally Denton writes a clear document and argument on the events of the Mountain Meadows Massacre in September 1857. Her beliefs and biases on the events that transpired are extremely interesting and thought provoking. She blames the church, specifically Mormons for the bloody and violent attacks that history has been arguing for over a century. With the accusation of John D. Lees religion being based on hallucination and mind manipulation, Sally Denton puts blame on the church and their beliefs. She sees John. D. Lee as a mass murderer, Brigham Young as a liar, thief, and marauder, and Joseph Smith as greedy and only seeking self-success.
She lays out a bloody history of the Church of Ladder Day Saints, and effectively argues that the slaughter of 120 men, women, and children in Utah was the attempt of Mormons and the Church authorities. While reading her book, she makes good argument that Brigham Young, who was head of the church at the time of the slaughter, is at the head of the crimes and is at sufficient blame for the massacre. She portrays the settlers as violent, taking over cities, and refusing to do business with the non-Mormons. Denton concentrates directly on Brigham Young and the churchs violent history, making a good case against the church and its authorities. Brigham Youngs military strategy centered on the Saints intimate knowledge of the harsh and mountainous terrain that had been their home for a decade, and his Nauvoo Legion set out to block and fortify the mountain passes and canyon narrows that provided the only access from the east into Zion (Denton 114). Brigham Young wanted a militant Zionist religion and manipulated the Mormons and Saints by use of God and religion. Sally Denton uses the diaries and letters of Joseph Smith, who founded the religion, and later took almost all the blame for the massacre. He organized a large group of men who he called, “Danites.” This group was based on the biblical prophecy of Daniel and the end of the world. She uses evidence of a practice called “Blood Atonement.” From Dentons perspective, “In such a killing of higher purpose, the victims blood must be spilled into the earth in order for his spirit to ascend into heaven, and the murderer in effect provides the victim with eternal salvation by slitting his throat.”
I feel Denton makes a great case against the Mormons and these men. Even though the Mormons were tried for the crime, and Brigham Young was never proved to be at blame, a practice of “blood atonement” and the churches violent history gives the history of the event a good look at the religion. She sees all the bloodiest stories in her book to come from the diary of John D. Lee, who was the highest standing