The Mountain Meadows Massacre

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Third Hour Staff

Joined: Nov 2023

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was restored from Jesus Christ’s ancient Church in 1830. Since that time, there have been some black marks on the Church’s history. One of the most controversial and highly debated events is the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

Basic Timeline Of The Mountain Meadows Massacre

The Mountain Meadows Massacre took place over the course of five days. The first attack was on September 7, 1857. The final attack was on September 11, 1857.

September 7, 1857

John D. Lee, a member of the Church, and a militia major whose jurisdiction was over the Fort Harmony area in Southern Utah led an attack against the emigrant camp. Lee had recruited some Paiute Indians and had planned on fooling the emigrants into thinking they were only being attacked by the Paiutes. The emigrants fought back, and although several of them perished, they were able to force Lee to retreat. The emigrants then constructed a defensive hold with their wagons.

At some point after this first attack, Cedar City militiamen attacked two emigrants who were outside of the defensive hold. One of the emigrants died, however, the other managed to escape back to the other emigrants. He was able to inform the other emigrants that militiamen, not Paiutes, had attacked him and his companion.

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