What Was Brigham Young's Role in the Mountain Meadows Massacre? | Peace & Violence, Ep. 7

The unjustified slaughter of around 120 men, women, and children emigrants in Mountain Meadows Utah on September 11, 1857, was an unspeakable tragedy. For Latter-day Saints then and now, one of the many painful details about this event is that it was instigated under the direction of local LDS leaders in Iron County who served simultaneously as ecclesiastical, civil, and military leaders. On this episode of Church History Matters, we continue our discussion about the Mountain Meadows Massacre, with a focus on the aftermath of the atrocity. Specifically, we probe what we know of Brigham Young’s reaction to the massacre and where the erroneous idea came from that he ordered the attack. We walk through what we know about who was brought to justice for the massacre and what the eventual fate was of those who instigated and participated in this heinous tragedy.

This is the seventh episode of our podcast series on peace and violence in Latter-day Saint history. For a full transcript of this episode, as well as show notes and additional resources, visit our website at https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/podcast-episode/what-was-brigham-youngs-role-in-the-mountain-meadows-massacre.

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Originally published December 10, 2024

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