Customer Reviews

Mormonism Unveiled: The Life and Confession of John D. Lee, Including the Life of Brigham Young

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is an enigma. It is classic period writing, with a marvelous flavor for the "spirit" of Utah during its formative years, as well as the obvious disdain the "gentiles" felt for Brigham Young and his Mormon adherants. But it so clearly has an axe to grind that it's difficult to really know what's true and what's fiction. Do we believe John D. Lee? Do we believe the witnesses at the trial? Those outside the church in those days loved what Lee had to say in condemnation of the church that sacrificed him, and in publishing this in the manner they did, it is not unlikely that they were happy to leave unquestioned any of Lee's motives. On the other hand, the fact that the Church is so reluctant to have Lee's journals in the hands of the public is an indication that he really DID have some things to say that would cast a dark shadow over the church, and especially the teachings and tactics of its highest leaders. (It is interesting to note that the John D. Lee journals were recently made public as a part of the Leonard Arrington collection at Utah State University, and the church made a concerted effort to recover them, which effort they lost!)

There is an obvious tension that exists in this book... Lee paints himself as the single most noble, humble and honest man that ever walked the face of the earth, while Brigham Young was the grossest, most lascivious monster that ever shared the same planet with Lee. Of course, the truth lies somewhere in the middle, and you won't find that middle in this book. However, that's okay. The whole point of reading this book ought to be for "perspective," not for anti-Mormon propaganda. And this is GREAT perspective! Provided that you realize who published this book, namely Lee's defense attorney, and can read this for its "feel" rather than its "facts," then this is most worthwhile. If you get hung up on the "facts," you lose some of the perspective, because remember, this only tells one side of the story, and that from a man condemmed to die for one of the West's most infamous crimes. Nevertheless, this is a real eye-opener, and though I've read considerable church history, there were still things I learned in this book. It is a worthwhile addition to the library of anyone interested in the history of the west, and especially as that history pertains to the Mormons.

Few events in Mormon history are more controversial than the 1857 massacre of the Fancher emigrant party at Mountain Meadows, Utah. First published in 1877, Mormonism Unveiled: The Life and Confession of John D. Lee Including the Life of Brigham Young points an accusing finger at Brigham Young and other prominent church leaders for their complicity in the deaths of 120 men, women, and children. Written while Lee was in prison awaiting execution for his part in he massacre, and prepared for publication by his attorney William W. Bishop, this blistering attack on the Mormon hierarchy includes Lee's autobiography up until 1847, his confession dictated to Bishop, accounts of assassinations carried out by the Mormon Church's "avenging angels," the transcript of the 1876 trial, an account of Lee's death by firing squad, and a biographical sketch of Mormon leader Brigham Young. It should come as no surprise that Lee, who for many years operated a ferry at the Colorado River crossing that still bears his name, portrays himself as a true believer who was set up as a scapegoat by Young and other church leaders. A sensation in its day, Lee's "confession" has been out of print for almost a century. This reprint allows modern-day readers to form their own judgment on Lee's role and Young's involvement in the Mountain Meadows tragedy.

The Journal of Arizona History, p.202, summer 2002

Few events in Mormon history are more controversial than the 1857 massacre of the Fancher emigrant party at Mountain Meadows, Utah. First published in 1877, Mormonism Unveiled: The Life and Confession of John D. Lee Including the Life of Brigham Young points an accusing finger at Brigham Young and other prominent church leaders for their complicity in the deaths of 120 men, women, and children. Written while Lee was in prison awaiting execution for his part in he massacre, and prepared for publication by his attorney William W. Bishop, this blistering attack on the Mormon hierarchy includes Lee's autobiography up until 1847, his confession dictated to Bishop, accounts of assassinations carried out by the Mormon Church's "avenging angels," the transcript of the 1876 trial, an account of Lee's death by firing squad, and a biographical sketch of Mormon leader Brigham Young. It should come as no surprise that Lee, who for many years operated a ferry at the Colorado River crossing that still bears his name, portrays himself as a true believer who was set up as a scapegoat by Young and other church leaders. A sensation in its day, Lee's "confession" has been out of print for almost a century. This reprint allows modern-day readers to form their own judgment on Lee's role and Young's involvement in the Mountain Meadows tragedy.

The Journal of Arizona History, p.202, summer 2002

This book is a reprint of John D. Lee's autobiography and story of the Mountain Meadows Massacre in southwestern Utah. Lee, of Lee's Ferry fame, was a distant relative of Robert E. Lee and a stalwart of the early Mormon church. In 1857, more than 120 emigrants headed for California were slaughtered by a force of Native Americans and Utah residents; Lee was the only person punished, being executed in 1877 after he was cut loose by the Mormon church. The reprinted trial transcripts are fascinating and disturbing; it's amazing how many of the 50 Utah settlers who were present couldn't recall who was there, and saw nothing except the actions of John D. Lee and the Native Americans. Mountain Meadows reminds me of more recent massacres such as My Lai and Srebenica. Those who created the atmosphere or gave the orders for the killing, in this case some of the early leaders of the Mormon church, maintain insulation and deniability. This was a very educational read about a little-known part of southwestern U.S. history. The massacre seems almost inevitable as you read the history of early Mormon-Gentile clashes in Missouri and Illinois, and the concept of "blood atonement" that was advanced by the Mormon leadership. It would be great to see a publication of Lee's journals, which were taken over by the church before Lee was condemned.

I first came across references to this book while reading Fawn Brodie's masterpiece, "No Man Knows My History," her brilliant biography of Joseph Smith, the lunatic charlatan who invented mormonism. I was quite surprised to find this book, Mormonism Unveiled, while browsing for something else to read. The fact that this book was written so long ago (1877) and was a first-hand account of the infamous Mountain Meadows Massacre by the only mormon convicted of participating in that heinous act of unadulterated human slaughter, only made the book that much more intriguing.

The author, John D. Lee was, like all mormons, a religious fanatic who ascribed godly characteristics to lecherous and vile human beings such as Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. He spent most of his life serving the evil cult of mormonism. This shocking autobiography, written as he was sitting in jail awaiting his execution as the mormon's scapegoat for the 40 or 50 other cult members who slaughtered more than 120 innocent souls, is filled with tales of the lawlessness of his evil religion. John D. Lee spares no expense in sharing his personal history in which he was an active polygamist (he had nineteen wives); exposes the death squad of the mormon Danites who would murder anyone upon the command of Smith, Young, and others; would castrate young men who refused to give up their girlfriends because some old geezer polygamist wanted to add these young ladies as yet another wife in their collection; and many, many other atrocities. Perhaps no other book documents what a filthy subhuman cretin Brigham Young really was.

While this book had been out of print for an extremely long time (perhaps 100 or more years), it has fortunately been republished so that the world can know that truth about the evil foundation that mormonism is built upon. John D. Lee was executed for his crimes - it's only a shame that all of the other cult members who took part in the slaughter did not meet a similar fate. Fortunately, one must assume that they are all now serving time where they belong - in Hell.

The Mountain Meadows massacre is one of those events in history that is too large for partisanship. John Lee and what happened to him is no more, no less a matter worth understanding than Mountain Meadows. Here is a book that comes as nearly as any is likely to ever approach to help students of history and the human condition grasp how abysmal that condition can become. John Lee was a good man who found himself killing men, women and children in cold blood. Anything to help humans understand how he came to do this is worth the read. Certain similar massacres of Vietnamese civilians by US troops, the Cambodian killing fields, the Nazi concentration camps and Spanish Inquisition are a single facet of humanity painful to examine. But we all need to examine them. This book is a good place to begin.

It is important to remember when reading this version of John D. Lee's writings that his words were manipulated by the editor to convey an anti-Mormon message. Lee NEVER turned his back on his religion, nor did he ever point the finger at Brigham Young for the massacre (whether Young ordered it or not.) He was angry with Young when he died - he felt betrayed and rightly so and he did speak and write angry words regarding Young. But Lee actually REFUSED an opportunity to go free if he would agree to implicate Young and speak out against the church. He refused and was executed. He was a faithful Mormon to the end. This book is availible in it's more pure form under the title "The Writings of John D. Lee." - His diaries were also recently republished under the title "A Mormon Chronicle" - read these books for a more complete picture. --------- I am a Lee descendant.

While browsing the "reviews" of this book it was hard to ignore this one:

"I am a very devoted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints(mormons). I know that the formation of Utah was aided by god for my ancestors to settle there and this book is an exageration and a byest opinion".

First of all, anyone who claims to be a Latter-Day Saint wouldn't just blurt something like this in a book review forum. Secondly, I happen to know that "Mormons" know how to spell "biased".

Okay...okay...enough of the entertainment portion of my review. The two major aspects of this memoir/book by JD Lee are the following:

1 - JD Lee never said anything against the doctrine, gospel, or teachings of the Latter-Day Saints. He never even recanted his belief in the (then) prophet of the church, Brigham Young. With all of this loyalty towards his church and his leaders it is hard to take into account some of the things that were written in the book. We do know that it wasn't supervised by JD Lee during the publication of the book so there isn't any corroboration on the statements made in the book. His lawyer was pretty high-strung on the idea of hurting Mormons (like so many other people at that time), which makes it hard to swallow that he was the man responsible for publishing it.

2 - We still really don't know what happened that day in Mountain Meadows, Utah! Every instance of recounted "history" is still blurred with too much conjecture to make any sort of a conclusion. The Mormons were viciously attacked, murdered, and kicked out of every place they had been up until the early 1900's (even by the federal government), which makes a plausible scenerio of Mormon settlers quick to react to a situation. We also know that the Lee group from Arkansas were Baptist Christians and it's no secret that Baptists have taken a very stern stance against Mormons and have (to this day) expended much energy and money to the defamation of the Latter-Day Saints.

I've read the book and watched the documentaries, yet my mind is still as clear as mud on this issue. There are way too many contradictions of myth and (purported) events to make any kind of a conclusion.

It is a shame that an event like this actually happened and it pains my heart to know that families were torn apart that day in the desert. The Mormon people were treated like fourth-class citizens during that age in American history many of whom were brutally murdered (see: Hauns Mill Massacre; Joseph Smith; Extermination Act of Missouri by Governor Boggs; etc...), but it doesn't give anyone the right for revenge on a party of people not connected to any of the other grievances suffered by the LDS people. You can judge a tree by the fruit that it yields and to this day I can't find too much rotten fruit produced by the Mormon religion. If this event of the Mountain Meadows Massacre was indeed a barbaric act conducted by a band of southern Utah men then there is no excuse for them and I'm certain they will (or have already) receive their punishment by He whom they believe in, but at this juncture and with the information we have I, personally, cannot make a judgement on the matter.

I think the Mormon people have come a long way, however. They are now a very well respected group of people who, for the most part, live good and honorable lives with high standards and morals. It's hard to hate a people that try to live a better and more moral way of life. There are a handful of Mormons I know that haven't lived up to "Mormon standards", but on the whole they are still good guys with good hearts, just like any other god-fearing Christian.

I can't say that I recommend the book or don't recommend the book because there wasn't a reason to hate it and there isn't a reason to love it. It's not a clean, clear, crisp book by the way it was written, but I'm just one man.

I am a very devoted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints(mormons). I know that the formation of Utah was aided by god for my ancestors to settle there and this book is an exageration and a byest opinion