Church History Matters

094 "Vengeance Is Mine," An Interview with Richard Turley and Barbara Jones Brown

Dec 17, 2024

In this discussion, Richard Turley, a historian for the Latter-day Saints, and Barbara Jones Brown, Director at Signature Books, delve into their book, 'Vengeance is Mine'. They analyze the Mountain Meadows Massacre's grim legacy and the elaborate efforts to obscure the truth behind it. Key topics include the historical accountability of church leaders and the emotional journey of reconciliation with victims' descendants. They emphasize the importance of transparency, acknowledging past wrongs, and fostering healing within the community through truth-telling and collective remembrance.

01:16:04

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Episode guests

Barbara Jones Brown

Richard Turley

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Quick takeaways

The podcast emphasizes the efforts of church and civic leaders to obscure their involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre through misinformation and political maneuvering.

It highlights the complex legal aftermath where only John D. Lee faced execution among nine indicted individuals, reflecting a failure to hold broader culpability accountable.

The discussion also focuses on the importance of reconciliation initiatives, like quilt-making, which foster healing and connections between descendants of victims and perpetrators.

Deep dives

Concealment and Misinformation

The aftermath of the Mountain Meadows Massacre involved concerted efforts by church and civic leaders in southern Utah to obscure their involvement in the atrocity. This included silencing witnesses and spreading misinformation to evade accountability and stall investigations by both governmental and church authorities. Leaders employed various political maneuvers to sabotage potential inquiries and maintain a narrative that shifted blame away from themselves. Ultimately, numerous strategies were employed to protect those culpable while ensuring that public discourse surrounding the massacre remained muddied.

Intro

2min

Unveiling the Mountain Meadows Massacre

17min

Exploring Historical Scholarship and Resources

2min

Unraveling Historical Narratives

10min

Unraveling the Mountain Meadows Massacre

27min

Healing Through Reconciliation

15min

Healing Through Acknowledgment of History

3min

In May 2023 Richard Turley and Barbara Jones Brown published a book through Oxford University Press entitled Vengeance is Mine, which documents the aftermath of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, including the efforts of Church and civic leaders in southern Utah to conceal their involvement in the atrocity through witness silencing and misinformation, as well as evading or stalling investigations by both government agencies and church organizations by lack of cooperation and political maneuvering. They also chronicle details about the nine individuals who were ultimately indicted, the five who were apprehended, and John D. Lee, who ultimately faced execution.

In this episode of Church History Matters, we sit down with both Richard Turley and Barbara Jones Brown to discuss their important book, to hear their informed insights and perspectives, and to consider what Latter-day Saints and others can learn from this tragedy and how we can productively move forward.

For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/