Review of September Dawn (2007) by Jenn T — 20 Nov 2007

I thought the movie was very good, if only for bringing to light an event in our history that HAS been buried for 150 years.

The LDS still owns the massacre site, to the best of my knowledge no systematic archaeological surveys have been done.

The first monument at the site was built by the US Dragoons in 1858 when they collected the scattered skeletal remains of the victims and constructed a tall rock cairn over one of the mass graves. Brigham Young had this memorial torn down in 1861.

The second monument at the site was erected in 1990 after years of work by the Mountain Meadows Association, a group made up primarily of descendants of the relatives of those slain.

The LDS finally moved to reconstruct the original rock cairn in 1999, 142 years after the massacre. During this reconstruction the jumbled remains of 29 massacre victims were accidentally unearthed; men, women and children, many shot in the forehead.

These bones were hastily re-interred before a full forensic examination could be done.

This month (September 07) the LDS magazine had finally, openly discussed this massacre with an article on it, which I believe is a great step.

There are two websites that also give much information about the massacre.

I don't know if I can give websites here but search on "Mountain Meadows Association", if you browse around on their site, much of the testimony given at the two trials of John D Lee in the 1870's can be found (there was not sufficient federal jurisdiction before that to press charges).

John D. Lee was the only one tried, he never denied his involvement.

Also the (mostly Mormon) well organized descendants of John D. Lee have their own website, search on "John D. Lee descendants".

On either of those sites, look up the "Last Confessions of John D. Lee" and "The Final Words of John D. Lee", both were written after his conviction, the "final words" as he was facing a firing squad.

John Lee was an important figure in the early Mormon church and an adopted son of Brigham Young, with whom he had frequent interaction, both before and for years after the massacre.

The LDS position still is that he was lying in his testimony and his final words.

Check the sources and draw your own conclusions.

The movie agrees pretty well with John Lee's account of events.

As for the movie, it is undeniable that these unfortunate emigrants were, after they proved too tough to wipe out by open attack, carefully lied to in order to get them to surrender. Systematically disarmed and sorted by gender, adults from children again through lies, and then all but 17 of the very youngest shot down in cold blood.

The youngest children, considered too small to tell of the event, were adopted by local families, the participants in the massacre all swore an oath of secrecy.

I do not think it is stretching truth to portray the perpetrators of this atrocity as fanatics.

All sources agree what happened to the emigrants, the contention being how much came at the behest of Salt Lake. Brigham Young DID send a message to let the emigrants proceed unmolested that arrived two days too late, but not generally mentioned is the first part of that letter stated that a federal invasion aimed against the Mormons (the invasion force was already on its way) would not occur until after the winter. Hence, the threat of an immediate war on the LDS by the US government had been suddenly lifted.

Brigham Young also stated in his deposition at the trials (see the MMA website) that he himself was only vaguely informed of the events of Mountain Meadows for months afterwards and had nothing to do with the planning.

Read John D. Lee's account to find out how much he stated that Brigham Young knew, before and after.

Whatever the truth, this all happened 150 years ago. Nobody alive today is remotely responsible for this deed.

I believe the modern LDS church would move heaven and earth if they could to undo this wrong.

What needs to be done now is to designate the Mountain Meadows as a National Historic Landmark, and for a thorough archaeological investigation of the site to be done.

See the movie, check the sources, and draw your own conclusions.