First, the authors of Massacre at Mountain Meadows–the book forthcoming in summer 2008 from Oxford University Press–are not all “high ranking officials of the Mormon Church” as Mr. Kikman asserts. While Turley is the managing director of the Family and Church History department, Walker is a retired BYU professor, and Leonard is the retired director of the church’s museum of history and art. Both Walker and Leonard have PhDs in history.

Second, Mr. Kirkman mentions that I have been editing the book since 2005 and asks, if the book will not be published until 2008, why is it taking so long? The answer to that question is simple–a good historical book takes years to write because it must be built on solid, exhaustive, historical research. Those who choose to read this book will be able to see for themselves the exhaustive research that has gone into the book and its thorough documentation. The second part of my answer to Mr. Kirkman’s question is that after publishers receive a manuscript from an author, they generally require several months to review, edit, typeset, print, and publish a book, and Oxford is no exception.

It is my hope that readers will read the book for themselves and judge it on its own merits rather than on the criticisms of someone who has never even seen the book.

Sincerely,

Barbara Jones Brown

Unfortunately Mr. Hall sounds like he has his own hard line Mormon ax to grind. In no way is Mr. Capurro’s book based upon “Blood of the Prophets”. It is hard for me to believe that Mr. Hall has read either book.

Mr. Capurro’s book “WHITE FLAG: America’s First 9/11” is an excellent historical novel based on Mr. Capurro’s research on the history of his great-great grandfather Bishop Philip Klingensmith, of the Cedar City Ward in 1857.

The trial lawyer that Mr. Hall refers to is Mr. Robert D. Crockett a trial and appellate lawyer in Southern California. His recent focus has been in real estate and land use disputes.

Mr. Crockett completely discredits Mr. Bagley using Juanita Brooks as one reference to do so. It looks as though he had better stick with real estate law because defending Brigham Young is only going be believed by the all ready duped ears of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Mr. Crockett very obviously fails to mention the fact that Fancher wagon train was one of the wealthiest wagon trains to travel through Utah worth over $70,000 dollars with some estimates going as high as $300,000. Well over one million dollars by today’s standards. He also fails to mention that within months of the massacre Brigham Young was seen driving one of the fancy hand carved wagons, looted from the butchery, on the streets of Salt Lake City.

Mrs. Brooks does mention in her book that the tithing room at the Cedar City Ward was filled with the bounty from the Fancher Train. The blood soaked clothes and the rest of the booty was still in the tithing room when the investigators arrived.

The trial lawyer obviously avoids mentioning that six months after the Army built the Rock Cairn, President Brigham Young had it desecrated. He also avoids the issue of burial for the wagon train victims. What kind of a leader would allow the victims to lay out in the meadow naked (Mormons took all their clothing and jewelry) for years to be fodder for the vultures?

Blood Atonement and Holly Larceny? Mr. Crockett has a right to be proud and defend (or worship) his fearless early church leader Brigham Young. Prophet Young is in fact one of the main reasons the church is worth over 8 billion dollars today.

As you finish the article you will realize that according to Mr. Crockett it was not Jesus Christ who walked on water and had the fishermen bring in their nets full of fish but it was the all mighty himself “Brigham Young”!

Mr. Crockett’s motives have got to be taken seriously. After all the LDS church’s co-founder and his alma mater’s namesake is being threatened by Will Bagley’s and other author’s books.

Will Bagley is a highly respected western history researcher and author. I will take his word any day over any trial or real estate lawyer. For instance Mr. Bagley went into President GORDON BITNER HINCKLEY office and asked for the records in the first presidency office, regarding the Mountain Meadows Massacre. He was refused! To me and to any reasonable and prudent person this would be an indication that the Mormon Church has something to hide!

Mr. Bagley’s book “Blood of the Prophets” sold more books per capita in Salt Lake City, Utah, than any other large city in the USA. Is that why the LDS hardliners such as Mr. Crockett are always trying to discredit Will Bagley’s work?

Mr. Hall conveniently forgot to mention that the soon to be released book “Massacre at Mountain Meadows,” by Ronald W. Walker, Richard E. Turley Jr., and Glen M. Leonard. Turley’s are all high ranking officials of the Mormon Church. Whose book are they basing their book on Mr. Hall? Barbara Jones Brown an employee of the Mormon Church has been editing it since 2005, and it is going to be released in 2008? Why are they taking so long?

Brigham Young, is undeniably the worst mass murderer in the history of the United States of America, just from the fruits of his preachings.

And if the Gentiles wish to see a few tricks, we have “Mormons” that can perform them. We have the meanest devils on the earth in our midst, and we intend to keep them for we have use for them; and if the Devil does not look sharp, we will cheat him out of them at the last, for they will reform and go to heaven with us.—Brigham Young, January 17, 1858, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 176

Virtually every federal officer who became involved the investigations of the massacre would conclude that Young personally ordered the atrocity used his position to shield the killers who had followed his instructions, and personally directed the elimination of all evidence incriminating himself and his closest advisers.

Paiute chiefs Tonche and Jackson told federal investigators that they carried with them a letter from Young ordering the emigrants to be killed, though no such document was ever found.

Governor Alfred Cummings that was appointed to replace Young shortly after the massacre told the Salt Lake Daily Tribune he believed Young “to have been the prime mover in the conspiracy that consummated that massacre, and that he ought to have been indicted as an accessory before the fact.” Cummings went on to describe Young as “one on the damndest rascals that ever went unhung.”

Helen Brockett, a ninety-two-year-old descendant of a Salt Lake City Mormon, was told by her grandmother that her great-grandfather J. J. Davidson had been ordered by Brigham Young to go south to participate in the slaughter. “Instead, Davidson “backtracked through a river bed” and fled to California. For years afterward he lived in fear of Young’s retribution.

Mr. Capurro’s own great-great grandfather Bishop Philip Klingensmith, was reportedly chased into Sonora Mexico and killed by Brigham Young’s hit men.

I know Mr. Bagley and Mr. Capurro personally and they are individuals of the highest integrity and I take exception to Mr. Hall’s bigoted and skewed remarks.

Robert Crocketts’ critique of Bagley’s book is very weak. His contention that the Indian Chiefs would not have been able to make the ride from SLC (Sept. 1) to Mountain Meadows in time to attack the Fancher train (Sept. 7) is laughable. So was his tired, overworked defense of the impossibility of Haslam’s ride. His conclusion, that Brigham and George A. Smith were not even accessories after the fact, is something I would expect from a trial lawyer who has no shame.

Walker, Turley and Leanoard’s much anticipated book will undoubtedly represent a further retreat from the LDS leaderships’ previous untenable positions (I’ve read some of their early release promo’s). For this they are to be commended. Any step in the direction of truth is a welcome one. Isaac Haight will now become the LDS latest scapegoat… but this will not do. The credibility of the LDS leadership has been so compromised over the years, in the eyes of any serious historian, it is unlikely their latest self defense will be seen as anything more than their latest smokescreen… which is what it likely will be.

All of the characters in my book are of named individuals who actually lived in that time and in that place. The things I have them doing are the things I believe they did. With fiction, one can explore deeper truths that nonfiction works fail to reveal. My hope in writing “WHITE FLAG” was to put the reader on the scene and to tie many of the peripheral murders that were then being carried out, by an LDS Theocracy, to the dramatic struggle in play between Mormons and Gentiles in the Autumn of 1857. My thanks to Sgt. Mom for an honest and fair review of my book.

Wayne A. Capurro, G.G. Grandson of Philip Klingensmith, Mormon Bishop of Cedar City in 1857, and a participant in the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

A trial lawyer has examined Bagley’s “evidence” and finds it wanting:
http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=509

For a better history based on all available documents, wait for the book soon to be released by Oxford University Press: “Massacre at Mountain Meadows,” by Ronald W. Walker, Richard E. Turley Jr., and Glen M. Leonard. Turley’s summary of their conclusions can be found here:
lds.org/mountain-meadows-massacre