Barbara Jones Brown & Richard Turley

SAT, AUG 5, 2023   |  7:30-9:00 pm MDT

156 years ago the most horrific travesty ever committed by Mormon Saints occurred. Why did it happen and how can we ensure it never does again?

IN-PERSON GATHERING:

THE CONVERSATION:

On September 11, 1857, a group of Mormon settlers in southwest Utah used false promises of protection to coax a party of California-bound emigrants from their encircled wagons and massacre them. The slaughter left the corpses of some one hundred men, women, and children strewn across a highland valley called the Mountain Meadows. In Vengeance Is Mine: The Mountain Meadows Massacre and Its Aftermath, historians Richard E. Turley Jr. and Barbara Jones Brown examine more deeply than ever before the massacre and its fallout. Richard and Barbara will talk about what they’ve learned from their combined total of more than forty years of researching and writing about arguably the most horrific episode in Utah and Mormon history. They’ll also talk about why it’s important to understand and learn lessons from the Mountain Meadows Massacre, and how Latter-day Saints and descendants of massacre perpetrators can seek peace and healing of the crime through seeking reconciliation with descendants of victims and any whom they deem their enemy.

ABOUT BARBARA:

Barbara Jones Brown is the company director of Signature Books Publishing. Previously she was the executive director of the Mormon History Association, historical director of Better Days 2020, and content editor of the award-winning Massacre at Mountain Meadows (2008). She is co-author of the book’s sequel, Vengeance Is Mine, The Mountain Meadows Massacre and Its Aftermath. Brown earned a Master’s degree in American history from the University of Utah and a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and English from Brigham Young University.

ABOUT RICHARD:

Richard E. Turley Jr. was a long-time historian for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah, and a co-author of Massacre at Mountain Meadows. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the American Historical Association’s Herbert Feis Award and the Historic Preservation Medal from the Daughters of the American Revolution. Turley also represented relatives of the Mountain Meadows Massacre victims in their successful petition of the federal government to grant National Historic Landmark status for the atrocity site.

EXPLORE BEFORE WE MEET:

CLICK HERE TO WATCH  THE RECORDED ZOOM CONVERSATION
Please Note:

1. Barbara and Rick invited us to reach out to victims of the Mountain Meadows Massacre and apologize. When asked how to go about this, Barbara gave me an email that she set up: MMMreconciliation@gmail.com

She will then send them on to the victims.

2. There is a place within this recording where I interrupt a friend’s question. He was at the back of the room and began by asking, “Raise your hands if you’ve been to the Mountain Meadows Massacre site?” I had been anxious to ask a question related to something one of the authors said that was very important to me and I broke in, and to my immediate horror said something like, “let’s hold that, I have a more important question.”

Tom was gracious then and afterward. And while I made sure he was given a chance to field his full and very good and important question not long after, I felt terrible. I apologized at the end of the evening to the group and apologized to Tom personally. I apologized again to him and the hosts by text later. It was one of those times where as soon as it came out of my mouth I regretted it. It’s one of those times where I just can’t believe I have either the hubris or cluelessness to act in such an unChristian way.

I could have edited out my mistake but it is a “good” bad example of what not to do when you feel like you have something important to say but want to also encourage others to share what they feel is important and learn from them.

• Click on the Zoom link above for either last month’s recorded conversation (if the event date has passed) or the live conversation now. If you are participating in the live conversation keep reading.
• When you are connected you will either be waiting in a lobby and will let be in shortly or you will immediately be able to see other participants. Please make sure that you muted and that your video is on if you choose to have it on. (Love to see and hear you live, but we’ll take curious lurkers also.)
• If you can’t hear the host, me, or others, find your settings and make sure you have a working microphone and speaker selected. Also, make sure you have your volume up. OR tell me or others to speak up!

ZOOM ETIQUETTE: 

• Please mute your microphone before entering and when you are not speaking so noises are not heard by everyone else.
• Rather than have the whole group watch you try to get your camera or screen positioned, or play with funky green screen backgrounds, feel free to get that figured out prior to when we meet.
• Resist the urge to multitask—be with us fully if at all possible. But we’ll be grateful for whatever presence you are able to offer. Just knowing you are there is nice.
• If you are going to multitask, or wander around a lot, please turn off your video and make sure you are muted. No one wants to be distracted by you eating or using the loo.
• If you are having difficulty with the technology, don’t hold up the meeting by distracting other participants for solutions. Try Googling your problem. I do that with most of life’s problems.
• Speaking of distractions—just as when we used to meet in person in the good old days, let’s be cautious about using the chat for side conversations that may distract others. You can always ask for people’s contact info and continue your conversation—I’d love that to happen. Or, let me know, and I’ll do my darndest to give you a chance to share to the group.
• Please share air time and follow the guidelines under “Intentions” on this website.