7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Sacrifices of John D. Lee, September 7, 2009
This review is from: Mormonism Unveiled: The Life and Confession of John D. Lee and the Complete Life of Brigham Young (Paperback)
John D. Lee's devotion to the Mormon Religion and to Brigham Young was repaid with animosity, deceit, and denial. In modern terms we would say that the church "threw him under the Bus", but in this case, the Bus backed up and ran over him again with Brigham Young at the wheel. Though somewhat biased because John D. Lee's descendants (son) sold a home to my wife's family, it was her first home. Close descendants were related to my wife's family and often told stories about Mr. Lee. There is no doubt that his total devotion to the LDS Church leadership was the motivation for the despicable acts that occurred at Mountain Meadows. In his own words, Mr. Lee described his disillusionment and sadness at having been thrown aside so casually. This book portrays Lee's deepest feelings during and after the massacre. His description of emotions after he knew that the church was going to make him the single scapegoat in this sordid affair. To tell much more would take away some of the powerful chapters of this book. It is very well written and edited. It would be difficult for the reader to not share the sorrow, not only of the loss of about 125 souls but also, the sorrow about the treatment of Mr. Lee. Warning: It is very hard to put this book down once you begin.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Historically Significant Document, August 15, 2009
This review is from: Mormonism Unveiled: The Life and Confession of John D. Lee and the Complete Life of Brigham Young (Paperback)
The original subtitle, from the 1891 edition, was "Autobiography of John D. Lee, a Bishop and `Enforcer' of Secret Terrorist Organizations of the Mormon Church during the Years of 1838-1875." The so-called "complete life" of Brigham Young consists of a twenty-page obituary at the end of the book.
The book is composed of Lee's autobiographical memoir, cut short when he was whisked off to be executed for murder in 1877; his confession and accusation of the Mormon hierarchy for the Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857; documents from the investigation and trial of Lee and his co-defendants; and the Brigham Young obit.
Lee was an early convert to the Mormon religion, who participated in the Mountain Meadows Massacre,a Mormon-led Indian uprising against a band of anti-Mormon settlers in their westward migration from Missouri, resulting in the slaughter of a hundred twenty men, women, and children.
The Mormons were a persecuted sect, practicing polygamy and financial fraud, and moving west in the belief that they would find a place they could govern, and from which they could eventually take over the world by divine ordination. John D. Lee claims he received orders from a chain of command involving "all in authority," and laying ultimate blame for the massacre clearly at the feet of Brigham Young.
Lee's account has a familiar ring: it's the outline of a cult that draws people to it, enslaves them mentally and physically by giving them power and showing them the consequences of apostasy, then involves them in the worst crimes in order to expand the power of those at the top. Despite his bitterness against Brigham Young, Lee nevertheless obviously had a lot of what he liked in life before things went bad, namely nineteen wives and sixty-four children. Among the wives were two sets of sisters and one mother-daughter combination. A letter at the back of the book by one "J.W.R." claims that this was a common practice among polygamous Mormons, and that there would be children born to these combinations. One of the more lurid of Lee's accounts describes how a lecherous old bishop separated a young couple in order to have the young woman "sealed" to himself, first offering "eternal" rewards to the young man, and later having him castrated when he wouldn't cooperate.
Sickening as parts of it are, the book is a valuable historical document, and will be interesting to students of religious history and American westward migration in the mid-nineteenth century.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A good read, but be warned..., January 17, 2011
This review is from: Mormonism Unveiled: The Life and Confession of John D. Lee and the Complete Life of Brigham Young (Paperback)
I enjoyed reading through the confessions and stories here, until I found out that this particular title includes some writings and things that were NOT originally included by John D. Lee. The publisher for whatever reason decided to include some derrogatory and almost anti-mormon snippets to "liven" things up a bit I guess. The book titled The Writings of John D. Lee is essentially the exact same collection as found here, WITHOUT the garbage added to it - I recommend it over this one.
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